Star.
London, England, 1818-01-20 00:00:00

2PIeCIAL COMMISSION...-MANSLAUGHTKR.
Samuel Henry Brown was this morning put to the
bar to take his Dial upon an indictment charging
him with killing and slaying Thomas Pierce, in• an
affray near Dumpling Island, on the coast of Labra-
dor, in North America, by wounding him with a
fish knife, on the 13th of July last.
The ATTORNEY-GRNIRAL conducted the proseiu-
tion on the part of the Crown.
Henry Gillard was, on the 13th of last July, at.
Dumpling Island, off the coast of Labrador, and
was employed in splitting fish, by Mr. Beard, the
prisoner, John Brunstrad, Edward Headley, and
Thomas Pierce. Brown called Pierce a great eater,
and Pierce caught him by the collar, and gave him
a shove, saying, "'lf you do not 'ive up calling me
names, I will give you a hiding. Pierce quitted
Brown's collar, and then Brown called him a
.great
eater again. Pierce then took up a stick the size of
a man's finger, and gave Brown three or fcur blows
across his shoulders. Brown said, " If you do that
again I will run you through." Pierce took up the
stick, and struck him again, and then Brown took
the knife which he had been using in splitting fish,
and which was lying on the table, and struck it into‘
Pierce's left breast. Pierce cried out, " Cut away!
cut away !he has stabbed me!" These were the last
words he said, and he immediately fell upon his
back. In about twenty minutes he died.
Edward Headley and John Brunstrad deposed to
the same effect.
The prisoner, being called upon for his defence,
gave in a written paper, which declared the act had
been committed not without the greatest provocation
from the deceased. The latter part of the defence
related the hardships which the prisoner had suffered
since the commission of the act. The paper stated,
that he had been chained to the coffin of the deceased
for a whole day and night, and that he afterwards
was heavily ironed and taken to an uninhabited island,
and there chained to a leaky boat, which was drawn
upon the shore, having only raw beef to eat, and
that in very scuty quantities. Here he should have
starved had he not been assisted by a female negro,
who broke his chains, and enabled him to get Mod
by gathering the herbs on the island. On one occa-
sion he got some live cod-fish, which he greedily de-
voured raw. The sailors on board the ship, lying off'
the island, however, were sent on, shore, and the pri-
soner was again ironed and handcuffed by them. He
asked for food, as he should otherwise starve, but
they only laughed at him. In this state he crawled,
upon his hands and knees about the island, and ga-
thered berries for his subsiftence, until the snow co-
vered the ground: He had nothing to drink but ice
and snow. Some men were afterwards sent from the
ship tofetch him, but from weakness he was unable
to getaleng, and he fell down in the snow, and re-
mained there buried for an hour. He was, however,
carried on board the ship, and during the whole
voyage of 24 days he was allowed but a biscuit a
day. He had no clothes but a dirty shirt upon his
back, and the vermin had eaten holes in his flesh.
Mr. Justice PARK summed up the evidence, which
was conclusive Is to the crime alleged to have been
committed by the prisoner, and the Jury found him
—Guilty of Manslaughter.
The Learned Judge then addressed the prisoner,
and remarked, that from the course of proceeding in
that Court, he was precluded from passing sentence
on him immediately. He should, however, in con-
sequence of the length of time he had been already
confined, and on no other account—for as the paper
which had been read was unsupported by evidence it
could hive no weight in his mind,—recommend that
his punishment should be as mild as possible.
The Commission was then adjourned to fiveo'clock,
in order for the RECORD= to pass the eentenee.
Mr. Justice PARK requested the Attorney-General
to take the defence, in order that inquiries might be
instituted relative to the narrative of the prisoner.

At five o'clock he was brought up, and Mr. Jus-
tice PARK addressed him by observing, that as he
had been the cause of the death of a roan, it was
right he should answer for kat that bar. Whatever
sufferings he might have experienced since he had
committed the said offence, had nothing to do with
the crime itself : that would be inquired into by the
Learned Gentleman who had appeared there on the
part of the Crown. As far, however, as inquiry had
been made since the morning, it had been discovered
that some parts of his story were not true. If he
was wicked enough to tell lies upon the subject, he
would answer for it in another place. In considera-
tion, however, of his having been confined since July,
he (Mr. Justice PARK) had signified to the Learned
RECORDER the punishment that would be commen-
surate with the crime.
The RECORDER then sentenced him to one month's
imprisonment.
_ _ .

Susannah Turner and J. Davis, were capitally in-
dicted for stealing a quantity of furniture, clothes,
&c. the property of J. Carter, Esq. M.P. in his dwel-
ling-house: and in another count, Tamer was charged
with stealing the said articles, and Davis with hav-
ing received them. The prosecutor resides in Duke-
street, Westminster. On the I Sth of October, his
' house was broken into in the absence of the family,
and early the following morning, the female prisoner,
who was cook in the family, was met by a Mr. Ap-
pleby, with a bundle near Shire-lane, and it !is as
afterwards found at the house of a Mrs. Baxter in
that lane ; she, however, did not know who had left
it there, as she went out at seven ; and on her return
at nine, she found it in her room, it having been given
to a child, who did not know the nature of an oath.
About nine o'clock the female prisoner was at Mr.
Appleby's, in Westminster, and she then communi-
cated to him the circumstance of the robbery, and
attributed- it to the painter. Mr. Appleby went to
Mr. Carter's house in the evening, and the female
prisoner denied that she had a bundle when he met
her in the morning ; he, however, said he would
swear she had one, and she then pointed to a bundle
of greens, and said that was what she had. He de-
nied that it was ; and she replied, " Well, if you
swear that, I suppose I must swing for it."
Miss Gale a dress-maker, proved that some of the
articles found at Baxter's house were the property of
Mrs. Carter. The male prisoner, it appeared, had
been in the habit of sleeping with the female at Mr.
Carter's house, and upon his lodging being searched,.
three chairs, a saucepan, and other articles, were
found, which Davis said Turner had given hit"), a

Yesterday an inquest was held at the Phoenix, in
Brick-lane, St. Luke's, on the body of C. JONP.S, a
child, two years of age, who was burnt to death,
owing to bis clothes catching fire.—Accidental death.
Yesterday evening, about half-past six o'clock, the
Salisbury Post-Coach, which goes to and from the
Angel Inn, St. Clement's, arrived iir town, and the
passengers left the coach at the Golden-cross, Cha-
ring-cross, the Guard alone remained at the hack of
the coach, when the hostler left the horses' heads ;
the horses took fright, and set off along the Strand
in full gallop. Fortunately from the__Golden-cross
to Southampton-street, not a single accident oc-
curred ; at the bottom of. Southampton-street their
was'a large hole, where•thcsewer is repairing, about
eight feet square, which was gnarded round by long
poles, the horses dashed against it, threw the poles
down, and three ofthem pitched headlong, one after
the other, into it ; one of the wheelers fell just Upon
the brink, and prevented the coach following. One
of the horses was got out without much' in,jury, the
other two were killed. A pity of the Guards at-
tended, and were of the most essential serrke.

Bow-STREET.—Williane Young was charged with
imposing upon a Gentleman who resides'in Devon-
shire-street, Portland-place, and also with committing
several frauds upon him. He stated, that a short
time since, in consequence of the application of a
poor woman for an admission to a lying-in-hospital,
he called at the house in St. Giles's where she stated
herself to reside, and found it one where all descrip-
tions of persons are admitted, as low as 2d each, to
sleep on straw ; the wortian* who acted as manager
of the house informed him, that the woman he was
seeking had left the house, and that the generality of
Ai people who resorted 'there were worthless, but
that there was a man in the house who appeared to
have seen better days, and to be of a different de-
scription. The humanity of the complainant being
excited, he wished to see him, and the prisoner was
introduced, who represented himself to have been a
steward on board a ship, and from ill health, and
other afflicting circumstances was so much reduced
that he had not clothes to appear in. The complain-,
ant took him home to his house, where he had him
nursed, fed, and clothed, and had every comfort af-
forded him. The prisoner pretended to go out in
pursuit of a ship, and on his return told the com-
plainant he had procured an engagement, mentioned
the name of the ship, and other particulars, which in-
duced the complainant to advance him money to
purchase clothes. The whole of this statement turned
out a gross fabrication. He did not buy the clothes,
but merely took home a card of the shop; nor was
there a ship or captain of the name he represented.
He was committed.

HORRID Mu RDNR.-.Tantes ('hresr&oroigh, of
Grange, near Yorkshire, last week barbarously mur-
dered his mother, and broke the arm and fractured
the skull of his uncle; the horrid deeds were perpe-
trated after a.dispute originating from his mother's
refusing him some tobacco. Cheeseborough is of
weak intellect, and supposed to be deranged.
C 0 'l7 RAG 1.:01;51 FF:Nt Aa. nd ay morninF, about
one o'clock, as the housekeeper of Charles Ellis, Esq.
brewer, of Stockwell, was sitting up for her master,
whom she expected to arrive from London,. she heard
the footsteps of some one on the stairs leading to her
chamber where she was sitting, and shortly after
some one tried her door, and endeavoured to force
it open, but could not, it being locked on the inside.
She seized a loaded pistol which was on the mantle-
piece, and called out, " who's there?" no answer
was made; she said, " if yoti do not answer, I will
shoot you ;" and opening the door saw a man run-
ning as fast as he could down stairs, and through
the front door, which she found' open, although it
was double locked when she went up stairs. During
the retreat of the villain, she pulled the triner
the pistol, but it unfortunately flashed in the pan ;
she followed the thief into the road, but he escaped,
over some fields. Mr, Ellis arrived at home just as
the thief had made his escape. This is the third
time the house had been attempted to be robbed
within a short period. The thief this last time ef-
fected an entrance through the. drawing-room win-
dow, by taking Out a pane, which he reached by
standing upon the viranda over the front door.
On the same morging the house of Mr. Cooper, of,
Dulwich, was broke open, by wrenchin,', the domr
. open with a crone bar; the family were arartxted,ar.J
the thieves effected their escape without any booty.