Star.
London, England, 1828-08-09 00:00:00

I

containing the advertisenteut alluded to by the prisoner in his ad.
&co; to the Jury, in which he sitiere4l, in his real name, his house
for sale.
John ltugg, formerly the prisoner's mother's' William
itykr. a tamer, who went to school with the prisoner—Mrs.
nary Kerrey, of Bury. who had known the prisoner from hi 4 in.
paw, amt was related rii his tannly--Jeremiah 'Borum, a miller-
spr„ghcon—William ifiaalham, son of the constable of Pol,
were called, and spoke of the prisoner as a kind, good tent.
Feted, humane young man.
he LOUD CH BARON commenced his i
summing
CHIME
op. The prisoner stood charged with the murder of
tlaria Marten; and as the law required the mode in
which the murder had been committed to be described,
:.e indictment stated the manner of the deceased's
ceat'i in a variety of ways. It stated that the deceased
cgs murdered by the prisoner stabbing her with a sharp
instrument ; also by shooting her with a pistol—by
strangling her with a handkerchief—and also by bury-
ing her alive in the earth. And if the Jury should
I,e satisfied that her death was caused by any one, or by
s;1, of the modes described in the indictment, and
that the prisi.ner so caused her deatn, they worild
,ay be was guilty of the crime impu:ed to him.—
h...to•e his Lordship proceeded to read the evidence,
• e felt it to be his duty to make some observations
to the Jury upon that part of the prisoner's defence
.3 which he had justly complained of the very ins-
wiper means that had been adopted to excite an
sleet mischievous to the accused. He had complahied
yr ex pane statements which had been published in the
Sew,papers, calculated to make an unfavourable im-
riession against him before he took his trial. It was in
the highest degree unjust and mischievous for any
persons, for the sake of a temporary profit, to actin a
way so likely to excite a strong prejudice against a man
charged with an offence c f so serious a natures; and he
could not sufficiently reprobate such a practice. He
bad also heard that hand-bills had been circulated,
.aod
shows exhibited. which tended to create a prejudice
against the accused: but what had most excited -his
indignati in was a circumstance, the truth of which
Se could scarcely credit till it was proved in evi-
dence, that a person professing to be a Minister of the
Gospel, had erected a pulpit near the barn. where it was
sated the catastrophe in question took place, and had
(reached to an ignorant mob on the subject of the
nutder. His Lordship said, he could not imagine any
:hing more contrary to the spirit of the religion the
preacher professed—he did not know who he was—than
the plan adoited by him to create a prejudice against
a man who was soon to take his trial for an offence
4Tecting his lite. He hoped there was some misrepte-
sentati, n as to the conduct of this preacher; but all acts
calculated to excite popular feeling against an accused
person before his trial, could not be too strongly con-
demned, and he WA)• confident the Jury would banish
from their bosoms every impression that had been
made therein by any thing which they had seen or heard
htfoie they came into the Jury box, whether in a news-
paper, or by a sermon, or by shows, and that they would
—as they were by a solemn duty bound—confine them-
selves solely to the evidence which had been given on,
the trial, and give that due weight to the evidence fur
the prosecution, as well as that for the defence, that
justice to the public as well as to the prisoner demanded.
Had the prisoner, who had been ably defended, adopted
a different line of defence, it reacitild have been his (his
L rahip'ldirtY' tehave 'first addressed the Jury upon
two particular poitits,. and to have' read the' evidence
leering upon them. The. first was, 'at to the iden-
:ty of the la,cly, and whether the. evidence proved
their satisfaction that' the body found -in the Red
lain was that of Maria Marten? Secondly, Was
Ser.deato produced by the act of the prisoner? The
dervity of the body • hid become unnecessary, be-
honsc the prisoner in his defence bad confessed it was the
iejy of Maria Marten. That fact was admitted by him,.
and by the advice of persons who, no doubt, irierica-
pable of giving to the prisoner the best possible advice
In the subject. The prisoner had admitted that he had
buried her in that place ; but he asserted that he was in-
bocent of her death, and that she had committed `sui-
cide, It became important that he should read to the
Jury that part of the evidence by which it appeared
the prisoner had given dfferent accounts respecting
Maria Marten, to various persons after her disap-
pearance, as it had a strong bearing on his" de-
fence. He felt it to be his duty to offer some ob-
servations on these different contradictory statements
of the prisoner, •because the impressive and positive
mariner in which tire prisoner had declared, tp the
Jury that the young' u ornan's death was the effect
of suicide, might have a considerable effect in in•
fl ie:icing their deciaion on this important case.—
as Lordship react the evidence of Mrs. Mauen and
the other witnesses, to • whr the prisoner had stated
Maria Marten was alive after the, 18th,of May ; and,
also, the evidence of the witness to whoorthe prisoner
said, " he could see her any day and any hour he liked."
Ills Lordship lead. the eroduice of Mt. Mathews, and
called tie attention of the Jury to the letters written by
the poisoner to that Gentleman and to Marten; and to
the evidence of Lea also, to whom the prisoner, on being
apprehended, denied that he ever knew Maria Marten.
His Lordship said it wr.uld be for the Jury to consider
the credit that was due to that part of the evidence
cf•the surgeons which described the death -of the
deceased to have been clawed by stabbing, and shoot-
ing, and strangling ; and they would consider also the
probability ref the prisoner's statement, that she had
caused tier own death. It was somewhat unusual in

cases of suicide, for the parties to shoot and to stab them-
selves in various places; but it was to be considered, if
_ .

the evidence of the surgeons was conclusive as to the.
stabbing, whether the Jury could place full reliance on
that evidence; and if so, whether that 'evidence was
consistent with the statement made by the prisoner in
his defence—viz. that the young woman had done all
this herself His Lordship, after reading through
vie remainder of the evidence, again called the at-
tention of the Jury to the prisoner's defence. ,He
had said that he left the cottage with Mafia Mar-
ten—that he intended to marry her; drat they went
to the 11.-d Barn together, and. quarrelled; that he
declared to her that he would not marry her, arid
she, with a loaded pistol which she had. in her
pos,essi,in without his knowledge, shot herself and
caused her own death. The Jury would consider
wr.lether there was or was • not material evidence
throwing discredit upon the statement „made , by the
prisnrer a, to the cause of the death of the deceased.
efts Lard .hip proceeded to read the evidence which
Fes been given on the part of the defence, to facts and
also to character. His Lordship said, with respect to
the subject of character, in opposition to conclu.ive
facts, cnaracter could golor nothing; If there Was I
dtillbt etis:ing, character should be placed in the scale;
but it the Jul y were satisfied as to the tact c.f the "pri-
'"ner consantr.ing the murder, the eriaracter he had
received ought not to affect their minds :in the pri•
soner's lavour. His Lordship said, that the complaint
agorist tare Coroher appeared to be unfounded, be-
cause the evidence was read over to the prisoner in the
presence of his legal adviser, and the prisoner could not
have been injured by his not being present during the
Itate tie wituesses wtte bring asAmiaed. His. Lordship

continued—The prisoner had admitted, that the young
woman shot lerselt with his pistols; but no evidence
had been given that the young w.)man .had the exclu-
sive possession of the pistols, nor had a single clue's-
tion been put to Mrs. Marten or her daughter,' as to
whether Maria' Marten had the pistols in her posses-
sion at the time she left the cottage with the prisoner.
The most serious question for their consideration was
the facts proved by the surgeons, that they found on
the body a number of wounds, on the face and eye,
and between the fifth and sixth ribs. It did not ap-
pear very probable a female could have inflicted such
a number of wounds on her own person; it was, how-
ever, for the Jury to consider the facts. Part of the
charge in the indictment was, that the prisoner had
caused her death by strangulation. They would not
come to their conclusion till after the most grave deli-
beration upon the probability of the deceased inflicting
all these injuries upon herself ; and if they should be of
opinion that she had herself inflicted the various inju-
ries, they would acquit the prisoner ; but if they should
believe that her death was produced in any of the va-
rious ways laid in the indictment, by the act of the
prisoner, their duty to their country, and to society.
bound as they were by the solemn oaths which they had
taken, called upon them manfully t' pronounce a ver-
dict of Guilty. •
Dining his Lordship's' address to the Jury the coun-
tenance of the prisoner repeatedly changed colour, from
a deep flush to a pallid hue; he betrayed a very feverish
anxiety as to the result of the trial ; he manilested great
uneas;ness, and appeared to be suffering considerable
mental torture. Occasionally there was an apparent
convulsive motion of the lower part of his face; his lips
were parched, and he sighed deeply. Towards the con•
clusiono: the trial, fiftested his head against a pillar in
the felons' dock, and dosed his eyes.
The Jury, after a short consultation, asked leave to
retire. On their return their names were called over.

Mr. EDGELL, Clerk of the ArraigrisGentlemen of
the Jury, are you all agreed—how say you ? is the pri-
soner at the bar, William Cgrdtr, guilty of the murder
with which he stands charged, or not guilty ?
Foreman—Guilty.
The prisoner hem, for
.the first time, put a handker-
chief to his eyes.
• The prisoner was then asked in the usual form, whe-
ther he had to say any thing why he should not die
according to law ? On his saying, nothing,
The LORD CHIEF BA wiN placed the black lip on his
head. and addressed him in the fillowing terms:—
" William Corder, it is now my painful duty to announce
to you the near approach of the close' of your mortal
career. You have been accused of murder, which is
Almost the highest offence t sat can be frond in the
whole t f the long catalogue of crime. You denied
your guilt,' and put yourself on your deliverance
to the country. • After a long; a patient, and an im-
partial trial, the country has decided against you,
and most jolly. You stand convicted.of an aggravated
breach of the prohibition of the Nisticirry CREATOR
of niankind, Thou shalt do no murder. The law of
this country, in concurrence with the law of all civilised
countries, enforces this prohibition of GOD, by exacting
from the criminal who has violated it the forfeiture of
his own life. And as'this offence indicates the highest
degree of cruelty to it's unfortunate victim, and as it is
dangerous to tie peace, the order, and the security of
society, justice assumes upon it her severest aspect, and
allows no emotion of pity to shield the criminal
from the punishmept awarded to it both by the laws of
Gon and by the laws of man. I advise you not to
flatter yourself with any hopes of mercy upon earth.
You sent-this unfortunate woman to her account without
giving her any time for preparation. She had no time
td turn her eyes to the Throne of Grace for mercy and
fdrgiveness. She had no time given her to repent of her
many:transgressions: she had no time to throw herself
on her- kr.ers and to implore to pardon- at the Eternal
Tutone." The same measure is not meted out to you;
'a small interval ally.yed you for preparation. Use
it welll for the new Of this world closes upon you ;
but another, and, I hope, a better world is opening for
you.* Remember the lessons of• religion which you
received in the early years' Of your childhood : con-
sider the effects that may 6e produced by a sincere re-
pentance—listn to the advice of the Ministers of your
.Who will, I trust, console and advise you how
hist to meet the sharp ordeal which you must presently
undergo, • Notbin.g
.remaini f,r me row to do, but to
pass upon you the awful sentence of the law. • That
sentence is, that you be' ialfin, -back to the prison from
wbich'yon came, and that you be taken thence, on MOn-
diy next to the place of execution,,and there be hanged
by the neck till you are dead,. and that your body shall
afterwards be di•sected and anatomized, and the LIRD
GOD ALMIGHTY have mercy on your soul !" •
The 1..nn0 CHIEF BARON, who was evidently much
affected, then retired from the Court.
DeMEANDErit dr THE PRISONIJI DURING THE
SUA:IMING UP OF THE LE:O.MM JUDGE AND
SENTENCE.
.• . . ,
The prisoner paid the most eager attention to the
earlier part-of the summing up, its which' his Lordship
stated the indictment apd the necessity the law has
•
imposed; of proving,.to the satisfaction of the Jury,
that the death of the person has been occasioned by one
of the means laid in the indictment ; but when the Chef
Baron told the Jury that if they were satisfied that the
death arose fiom any one, two, or mote of the wounds
inflicted on the body, and that those wounds were in
flicted by the prisoner, they should find him guilty, his
countenance fell, and he was apparently for some time in
a state of stupor, He repeatedly bowed during the time
the Judge besought the Jury to forget all the rumours
and reports they had heard, and not to allow themselves
to be influenced by the atrocious fact, if true, of a
Clergyman having preached to 5,000 persons, in the
im-
mediate neighbourhood.of the scene, a sermon, in which
the prisoner was. treated as the murdeier. The Chief
Baton's observations respecting the probable Motive'ol
ttie prisoner in enacing the deceased from her mother's
heuie under the false statement that theconstable had a
warrant against her for a bastard child, made the strong-
est impre.sion on the prisdn*r,- whose countenance un-
derwent several Changes during the time. At one period,
during the statement of the extraordinary conversation
of Corder with Mr s.Stowe, as to the number of children
Maria bad, •her 'haying brought forth her fated num-
ber, and his Bbiervation that " she was where he could
go any day or hour he pleased, and that when he was
not present with her nobody else was," the prisoner ap-
peared almost in a fainting state, a transient paleness
was visible inlitcounteuance, his eyes rolled rapidly
in their sockets, he heaved very deep sighs, and laid
his- head on the bar against which he had been pre-
viously leaning. la a few minutes, however, he re-
covered his serf possession, and resumed his former
position; which was, leaning' against the upright post,
placing both hands on* the spiked boarding before
him, and fixing his eyes on the ground, raising them
only when the Judge made remarks on the evi-
dence. The mention of the letters seemed to agitate
him considerably, and, he sighed heavily ; but the
.feeling quickly passed• away, and he seemed to be

relieved greatly by the Learned Judge not reading them.
He was also Fritsch agitated whep the evidence of Lea
was read as to his denying knOwledge of
.such person
Maria Marten; and the remarks of the Chief Baron
that he did not at once, on being told that her body w"'
found in his barn, acknowledge that he knew her and
that she had destroyed herself, and been buried there,
instead of denying any knowledge of her, caused a ms-
mentary faintness and swimming of his eyes. He again
recovered himself, but almost immediately on the allu-
sion to his getting the sword sharpened, he was near fall
ing, but was upheld by the gaoler. He, however, from
this time, evidently grew pradually
.weaker and less
composed. During the reading the important evidence
of the surgeons, he moved uneasily from side to side;,
seemingly unable to maintain his self-possession with-
out continual change of position. He more than once
drank some cold water, which was given to him by the
gaoler. He evidently felt that the whole of his defence
was ,overturned by the evidence of the surgeons of the
various wounds found on the person f the deceased,
and large drops of perspiration started from his fore,
head. The next remaskable change the prisoner under
went was, to a state of stupor, which continued f r some
length of time, his eyes remaining perfectly fixed and.
immovable, and his arms crossed. Aftei remaining'
some time in this state, he again laid his left cheek
on the post, and appeared to be fainting. Reco-
vering from this syncope, he laid his head upon
his hands, and seemed dreadfully agitated for some
minutes; but from the beginning of the last sur-
geon's evidence to its conclusion he scarcely continued a
minute in any one position, perpr tually shifting from side
to side, his head generally lying either very much on one
side, or on his breast. From first to last, however, it was
observed that he never shed a tear ; but this may of course
be attributed to his anxious attention to the investigation.
Onecf the witnesses called by the prisoner,' Mrs. Avers,
a very pretty young woman, was frequently in tears
during the detail' of the evidence. He seemed to think the
Learned Judge would dwell at length upon his defence,
and prepared himself, by a vigorous effort, to attend to
the remarks he expected to hear on the subject. Wl:en,
however, the Chief Baron passed over his story, by a
bare statement of its principal. points, and made not a
single remark on it, but proceeded to read the evidence
of his own witnesses, he relapsed into his former state ce
stupor and faintness, and so continued till the end of
the charge. On the Jury retiring to consider of his fate, he
sat down on the bar in the dock, and leant his head against
the beam on which he had previously rested his back.
As each of the Jurymen passed him, he cast upon them a
piercing glance of the most intense interest. During the
time of their absence, nothing could be more discon-
solate and desponding than his appearance. Oa the
Jury returning irta Court, he o.ice more resumed his
standing position. On hearing the Foreman pronounce
the fatal word " guilty," Ile raised his hand slowly.to his
forehead, pressed it for a moment, and then dropped it
most dejectedly. His head immediately afterwards fell
drooping upon his bosom. During the passing of the
sentence, his firmness continued in some. degree, but at
the close if it he would have sunk to the ground, had he
not been prevented by the compassionate attention of the
governor of the gaol. He then sobbed loudly and con-
vulsively f n some moments, and was almost carried
out ol.Coort by Mr. Orridge, and one of his attendants.
Indeed, it was evident to all that at this moment his
faculties, b, th mental and bodily, were completely para-
lysed. It was said that immedistessafter he quitted the
dock he fainted away, but we were given to understand
That this was not the case. Shortly afterwards he was•
seen in the lock-up near to the Court with his head
buried in his hands, which rested on his knees, and la-
bouring acutely under severe mental emotions. After the
Court was cleared, he was removed to the county gaol.
The culprit, on his removal from Court, made a great
afoot to tally, even after the palpable extinction of his
ielt;oroiessiOn at the breaking up of the Court—so much
so, indeed, that even some of those about his person
imagined his emoticei had been assumed, fir the pur-
pose of exciting a sympathy from sup( rficial observers,
which even he, degraded as he was, must have known
would be denied to high by every Well constituted mind.
It is even said that some unfortunate females of his fa.
mily had been so deluded by repiesentations similar. to
the pitiful fiction of this defence, that they were pre-
paring for his return to that decent condition t f society,
which he had 'with such unparalleled atrocity disgraced
and dishonoured by the flagrant violation of all those
household duties which reflect a pelculiar character upon
the middle classes of society in this country. But the at-
tempts to sustain this mere physical insensibility, evi-
dently required a forced excitement—he jumbled him
self into the cart one his return from the Court to the
prison, which is pall' a mile distant more like a man
who wanted to e.capefrom the public gaze, thin to in-
vitt. its attention by any assumption of bravado. The
crowd,who in their eagerness to catch a glimpse at ever y
character, notorious for good or bad, oppose every
obstacle which impedes the gratification of this cut iosity,
had broken the steps-of the cart, in their efforts to get
a close peep at the criminal; so that who n he got t r the
gaol, he had either 'to jump to the grotind or be as-
sisted in his destent. He preferred the former, an]
alighted upon his legs on the threshold of the prison,
with some appearance at least of renewed alacrity, lie
had returned however to the gaol in a different character
from that in which he had left it. All the presumptions
and reservations which the humane policy of our la w•
sometimes throw around a prisoner whose life is at stake
'were removed, and he had yesterday evening to re
enter the wall of his prison, for the few hours which
were counted to him in this world, as a person who
was no longer to be mentioned among his species, and
whose annihilation was doomed bythecemmOn injunction
of every civilized community: This lets ibutive change of
circumstances removed him fi om a convenient apartment
in the front of the prison, to a cell in the rear,44;FAs
changed a dress of fashionable attire, for theceettssan.
gaol apparel. The Guyer nor of the prison (whin gesir
sensed to be a humane and considerate man) lov ? •
upon his return as a condemned criminal, into his iiiri4iC)
apartment, where he (probably flesh with the recollection
of the suicide of a recent convict) plainly, but mildly, in•
formed the prisoner, he must forthwith exchange the
whole of his apparel,because his (the Governor's) situation
with reference to him, had now become one of great re-
sponsibility. and be had a serious duty to discharge,which
he was however ready to perform with every attention to
the rational wants of a prisoner in his artful situation.
Corder immediately exchanged his clothes for those
which were supplied to him from the prison-stock, hav-
ing previously given to his solicitor from,his p.oCket his
written defence, and some other papers. His Penknife the
Governor took charge of; and a Gentleman present re-
marked to Corder, that the evidence against him was too
conclusive to be parried by any.external appearances 0.,1
evasion, and that it was due to his family and society to
deliver his mind of the facts. To this providentsUgges-
tion the criminal gave no reply, and the only' desire
he expressed was to be allowed the society of his wife,
who has been for a short time in lodgings in the town.
The Governor repeated to him that he should have
.
every consolation which his situation and the rutei.cf

ion.

the prison permitted ; but that henceforth he could Fee
nobody except in his pre•ence or that of one of his
officers, and that his own clothes should be at his dis-
posal in exchange for (host which,fio4433..at pment
under the neces,ity of übstituting for them, on, the day
when he was to be brought out to die. At four o'clock Cor-
der received some dinner from the Governor's table,

ani a Clergyman WAS sent for to aff,‘rd him the solace
(,hould he prove susceptible of it) of spiritual consola-

His mmher and sister were said to be in the imme-
diat! neighbourhood of the town, anxious to wait the
result of the trial, and his wife was, as we have already
s rid, on the spot, under the expectation, as it waiwuh-
licly said, of his deliverance, to which, in pity the
feelings of others, it is no longer seasonable more par-
ticularly to alluie.
When some :din:inn was made to the impropriety of
allowing him to retain hi; pen.knife (which, however,
the Governor took from him yesterday), he said there

WAS no danger to he apprehended in that respect, for he
had no desire to add one sin to another. This was the

only tendency towards any thing lilte a confession which
the prisoner disclosed yesterday everting. T-vo inmates
f the prison, who are epresent-A as being of serious and
prudent characters, ate to remain in Cordet's cell until
the time of his execution. A passage is preparing through

the wall immediat•ly adjo•ning the cell to the open
paddock behind the gaol, where execution will he done
upon the prisoner at tw.lve o'clock on Monday.
It is a singular feature in the origin of this inquiry,
that Mrs. Marten, the step-mother of the deceased, per-
sisted bane the Grand Jury, in the story of the dream
which had two or three time: haunted her, that Maria's
body would be found buried in Corder's barn. The
natural solution of this impressu•n on the mind of the
poor woman, may be traced to her anxi,ty about her
daughter's mysterious and unaccountable disa ppeartncr,
coupled with the conduct of the prisoner !timber f, which
preying neon the mind of a person in her situation, was
calculated to inspire such apprehensions as are some-
times (beneficently in this insta•rce) evoked through the
medium of dreams of this kind. The Counsel at neither
side alluded to the evidence of this singular operation
of mind of the poor woman, iv t wishing to encourage'
what are commonly considered superstitious allusions,
in a case too pregnant with strong facts and circum-
stance: to admit of any doubt in ;striving at a just and
sale conclusion.

GENERAL REMARKS.—The Jury returned their vet:
dict in twenty minutes, and the trial closed at ten'
minutes past two. Corder has undergone a great change,
as has been stat d, since the previous day.
The feeling of every one that had seen him the first
day seemed considerably changed on his second ap-
pearance. This is not to be wondered at; as the evidence
drew towards a close, it left not a doubt that he had
been guilty of the most hot rid and unprovoked cruelty
towards a feniale with whom he had been on habits
of the utmost intimacy—who had put herself
under his protection—and put to death, in all pro-
bability, in the most violent and stnguine manner.
—She was decoyed from her father's house under
pretence of marriage; and, after assenting to assume
male attire, put to death, for no possible reason that has
yet been assigned. It is thought that he shot At her first, .
and, on finding that was' not effectual, had sta'obed' her
repeatedly, and afterwards consummated the murder by
strangling her with the handkerchief about the neck.
The character given.,of him at Bury. St. Edmund's is
not good. Even when a borof ten years of age, he
was in the habii of pilfering from his school-felloes;
and at an academy had obtained false keys, with which
he could open every box belonging to his cmnrades.
Observations having been made on the refusal of
the Coroner to permit t'le prisoner to be present duting
the esaminat;on of the witnesses on the Inquest, it
seems but justice to state, that on an application for that
purpose by .Ur. Humphreys, the prisoner's attorney,
the Coroner int/tired if there were any precedent
or authority existing for •such a course_ of proceeding ?
None being produced, and the Coroner stol doubting,
Mr. Humphreys said .he would not press the applica-
tion, provided the depositions should after wards
read over in the presence of himself and the prisoner.
To this the Coroner assented; and the aenositions were
accordingly read over in the .piesence of the prisoner
and his solicitor, Mr. Humphreys expressing himseif
perfectly satisfied with the line of conduct pursued by
the Coroner, and thanking him for his attention and in:-
partiality.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—HERgFORD, AccusT 7.
The Assizes commenced here yesterday, when the
Learned Judges. after opening the Commission, at-
tended Divine Worship at the Cathedral and then pro-
ceeded to business. Mr. Baron VA UGH A N presided On the
Crown side, and Mr. Justice GASELEE on the Civil side.