Star.
London, England, 1825-12-09 00:00:00

ESSEX ASSIZES.

CHELMSFORD, Decants 7.

Elizabeth Philbriek, a girl sixteen years of age, was
indicted under Lord Ellenborough's Act, for feloniously
administering a certain quantity of arsenic to Ann, the
wife of .11;hn Hurrell, at Boreham, on the 3d of Oc-
tober, with intent to murder her. '
The case proved in evidence waithis:;—The prisoner,
who was the daughter of poor parents,•lived as servant
of all-work in the family of Mr. Harrell, a respectable
farmer, at Boreham, near Chelmsford.: 9.1 the 2d of
October, Mr. Harrell had prbcared some arsenic, for
the purpose of destroying some rats, and having poisoned
the body of" a dead fowl, which he intended to put
into a rat-hole, he put the remainder of the deleterious
drug into a paper, on which he wrote the word
" poison," in large letters. The prisoner 'was present
at the time this took place, and heard her master and
mistress conversing about the death of a woman, who
had then recently been poisoned; at Witham, in con-
sequence of taking some arsenic by mistake for
magnesia. The prisoner took. ,the paper in :her hand,
and read the word 6, poison" aloud. Mr. Harrell thea
locked up the pArcel in his bureau,
.and put the key
into hit pocket. On the following morning, Mrs. Hur.
tell being indisposed, did not get sip at her usual hour.
Mr. Hurrell made tea, and desired the prisoner to sent
up a cop to her mistress. The prisoner pouied out a
cup, an.l gave it to the eldest of Mr. Hurrelrs children,
a girl of seven years old, to take to her mother. Tht
child took it up to her mother, who took two mouth-
fuls of it; but almost immediately perceived svmptoms
which gave her alarm ; she sent her cup cl4;ww, and
desired her husband-to be lent up. The child, from
curiosity, drank about a table-spoonful of the tea after
she quitted her mother's room. Mr. Hurrell, upon
being informed of the Mattel% went intuitively to hi•
bureau; and frond the paper of -arsenic was gore.
Alarmed at the. discovery, he sent to the neighbouring
I village of BO;ehaal, and ytocuted a large dose of

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• • . . •
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heitilin6istered to wire
and stilt off the contents eilthe-tealsat.tofdrgessford.
to have them examined. bi- a tisemisc. Mr's. Hui-411
and her child became extremely sick in a quarter of at%
hour, and hid ail the symlitoms of persons who had
taken poison; but, fortunately, ti.ey. icon Vecovered;
after the most violent sensationl. Mr. brother,

who had gone with the cisittients of-the-teillot to
Chelmsford, after 'coosulting Mr- Baker, a chemist of
that. town, brought back avoid. that in theoipirtion.. of
The latter, there were no dangerous i-arse.tients:sio the
conients of the lea-pot. The op.inion.was founded open
a very cursory eiaminatioto but upon applying che-
mical tests afterwards, it was disc .ve: that th'ete had
been arsenic infused In the tea. It was-proved that the
prisoner, before she hid sent up the clip Of tea to
her mistress, had told the child that there was some
nasty white stuff in tie tea-pot. After the tea thinzs
were brought into the kitchen, she also observed to a
fellow-servant. a lad of 16', :that there was something
white in the tea-pot, and Was going to the .kitchen:
door for the purpose of emptying the pot, but seeing
he master tome in, she. came back and plated it °a
the table. Suspicion falling on the prisoner, her mis-
tress taxed her with having possessed herself of the
arsenic, and demanded to know where she had it? but
she solemnly denied. any knowledge of it, and offered
to take an oath before a Magistrate that she knew no-
thing of it. The' nest day she was agan toted
on the subject, and; her mistress told her, if she
confessed the truth, she should be forgiven. The
prisoner then closed. the, clOor and made a state-
ment,*- which, as was induced by ..a pramise of
forgiveness. could not be received in evidence. Tile pri-
soner wax next day sent home to her parents'under the
,care of a maroservant, to whom she made a similar
statement; bdt the Learned Judge would ncit receive
it in evidence, after the promise proved to have been
made by her mistress. All the witnesses Concurred in
stating that the• prisoner was much -attached .td her
master and mistress, and their five children. and- that
she-was a girl of an inoffensive and harmless disposition,
although remark-ibly intelligent and acute in her spiel-
lects. Mr. Huirell could give no account los& the
prisoner had obtained access to 'he bureau. supposing
she was the person who bad infused the Poison in the
tea, but by taking the key of it out of his small-clothes
Pocket on the morning of the 3d of October, when she
had occasion to come into the bed room with his
youngest child, and replacing it without his knowladge,
for he never missed it frosn his pocket. • No adequate
mmivecould be assigned for the conduct attributed to
the prisoner.
The prisoner slid nothing in her defence.
Mr. Baron Huttoex summed up the case for the Jury as one of
strong suspicion, but told them that they must be governed by We
evidence legally admissible in support of the case, which he thought
was extremely doubtful as to the fact that the prisoner bad ad-
ministered the poison.
The Jury, aher deliberating a few minutes, found the primer
Not Guilty, and she was delivered aver to her parents.
William Owen and Pickett *etc i dieted on
the 57th Geo. 111. for eine ing an tnclosed pa k, caged
Old Walk, in the parish of Navestock, in the • ccopa-
bon of John James. Earl of Waldegrave. in the.- 4ot
of the 28th of November, armed, with intent-ro' kill
game. Another count described that the prisohei..4a3
entered "•an enclosed ground in the occup,oioo
Fothergill, Esq."
It appeased in evidence, that on the night of the 281 h
November; Lord Waldegrave'sgamekeeper and Al bsist-
ants, to the Number °Hive, armed with tive-gottoand
&pistol, entered a part of Navestock Park (whit:hail
the witnesses called Long Walk, in the sole 0: ci.p_ittion
of Lord Waldegravej, in consequence of belying-4w°
eathree shots- iiied. As soon as they entered, they'satv
a till dark man, with a gen in his hand, lo ltisig:uP
the-trees, as if he war on the watch for pleas. tv,Astith
L which the park. aboundaq. Las aj Jew •minutes'afterwerds
they observed a gang. of oseelee:ipr !oarteeil other torn.
the keeper and his part fbeilig discovered., the poachers
called to the man who hak 0;0 t'o' file -arthe
lot mer, using a horrible expression. The man vrititthe
gun, however, retreated with his party to a more :open
part of the wood, followed by the keeper and his son.
who conimandei the poachers to surrender, whole tiler
refused to do. An attempt was made to seize some of
them, when a tremendous battle ensued, which -lii>ted
for some minutes,. and in the result the fo •clien • left
the ground, leaving the prisoners and another Trims
named Balls (who had since died of his wounds in the
gaol) toion the field, overcome with the bl iws they had
received. The gamekeeper's party had also received
several &sir rate blows from the bludgeons of the
poachers, who appeared, however, to have had only
,one gun among them.—These were the material acts
roved in evidence. The Coroner's Jury, who sat upon
the body I f Balls, brought in a verdict of D,ed from
a blow received in a wood."
All the witnesses identilled the two prisoners as being two of the
party found in the wood.
Mr. DowI,.LNO submitted, that the indictment was
not supported by the evidence, o i two groan --fix st,
because tour of the counts de•ciitsed the i.eiosure in
'question as " Old Walk." svheteai It appeo•ed in Firi.
,Hence that the name of it was " Long WA. k;" and,
seeonds that sup,posing the geoeral description of '• an
inclo-ed ground," in I,lte,reinaiari cotants, to bee, sof&
cleat, still it appeared that it ;v ass rtl the occupation of
Lord Waldegrave, and not of Mr. Fothergili, asalfeged.
Mr. Baron Huoiocit said beihotild'oot stop the case
Err these objections, %sot sisoeld receive 'ihent•iiir the
consideration of the Judges, if, upon reflection,' he
thought them tenable. - • • ••
An address was then made to the Jury upon the merits of the
ease.—The Learned Judge losioned tip the evidence and after a
short deliberntloo. tit Mod, bush Owner's Gary.

•.
The Dublin Evening Alit of Tuesday. says. "In the
Hall of the Four Courts this day, we understaq•Assy • • .
warm altercation took place bet ween Mr. J. CiasrAHß •
Mahon, the friend of the Messrs. O'Connell, and
Payne) the Barricter, the frieni of Mr. Leyne. It• it, •
supposed a meeting will take place between these Gen-
tlemen.. Up to the present time (Tuesday evening),
no further hostile proceeding has taken place, nor has
Mr. Maurice O'Connell been fund."
•
CORN EXCHAiGE, MARK-LANTC. Musician 9.
• The arrtvas of invt stride of fir . tr there is a
large quantity both of Batley .11.1 Wheat co tinues in the
same dull state as bit rsyotte .. Bail tii ..ry dots . not rather
cheaper. Beans and anat.*, d Oats -ill but slowly at the
ternti of last Monday.—Arrivals: rtt,a.h Wheat, 4,300 qrs. Bar-
ley, 7,650 qrs. Oats 5.650 tr. Flour, 8,530 *ackt. Furagn Wheat,
406 qrs. Barley, 2,460 qrs. Oats, 1,700 qrs.
SMITHFIELD MARKRT, D eaves% 9.
There is no alteration in •the prices of Heel sea Mutts* tits
-rn6inins, but trade is rather flat. Veal t ale Melte spa** Iv.
the best youag Calves being worth Is. to Os ed. per stone; and tite
larger as. to Ss. 10d. per stone. • In Pork there is no alutratbsi.--
Beaks, 456; Sheep, 5,450; Pigs, 60 ; Calves, IBS.
Beef, Is. Od. to per stone • Mutton, 18 ltld. to ss. 14. Val,- •
is. 4d. to 68.14. Pork, ss. to 4.--Ha7 per load, .d 3 10s. to it 79.
64. Clover, £4 st. to ,85 10s. Stra-v, /Ft Ifs. to La.

LAW REPORT.

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, WESTMINSTER, Dsc. &