Star.
London, England, 1827-04-12 00:00:00

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ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

Y.,
YORK, Aran. e.
John Litiletvoed was charged with the wilful murder
of Edward Smith, on the 31st of December last.
Mr. 31wunz briefly stated the case for the prosecu-
tion. The deceased had been the head gamekeeper oil
Philip Cooke, Esq. of Owston, and had, on the day
mentioned in the indictment; met with his death id cow
sequence of is shot fired from the gun of a person of the
name of Rushy. The prisoner t.-ad been in company
with Rusby at the time, under circumstances of a sus.
picious character. Rushy had made his escape, but tit,
prisoner had been apprehended. •
Thomas Gleddell examiner .—I am under gamekeeper
to W. Cooke, of Ow ston ; and have been twenty years
in his service.. I went out on Saturday evening, the
30th of December, about six o'clock, in company with
the deceased, and a person of the name of Howe, to
watch the game coverts of Mr. Cooke. Deceased was
bead keeper. Deceased carried a double barrelled gun.
Howe and I had each a walking stick. We remained
ova all night. About halfspast six o'clock on Sunday
morning l heard a gun fired at the distance of about
three hundred yards from us. I awoke deceased, who
was at that time asleep, and we all three went in
the direction in which the shot was fired. When
we got into the plantation we heard a rustling
noise in the wood. We concealed ourselves, crouch-
ing down under a tree, the deceased standing is
front, and Howe and I behind him, so that only de.'
ceased could be seen. When the noise came heater we
all rose, and just as Smith was getting up, I heard Iv
shot goof, and he fell back in my arms, saying," Lona,
I have mercy." The moment Smith tell 1 saw a rasa at
the distance of a few yards; he pointed a gun at me
and snapped it, but it missed fire. I closed with the)
man who had the gun, and called to Howe to come for-
ward. Howe came forward, and after a severe struggle
we thr. w the man down, and secured him by tying his
hands and legs with handkerchiefs. That man was the
prisoner. I said to him," You intended to shoot me r,
He answered, " No, it snapped when we were scuffling."
On examining the gun 1 found that it WAS loaded. The
prisoner refused to give his name, and said," Lortahave
mercy upon my poor lather and mother, they have
trouble enough with my brother James." I then knew
that he was John Little wood.
Cross-ex im ned by Mr. Juries —When the gun went
off, deceased was close before witness, and Howe close
behind him. He supposed th a the shot was fired at,
the distance of three yards from Smith. When the pri-
soner snapped the gun at witness, the muzzle was with-I
in a foot of witnessla body. lle would not swear that
the next day lie did not tell Mr. Workman- that the
gun was unloaded.
William Howe stated, that on the night of the 30th of Dec. he
bad gone out with the &Allied and last witness to watch' the game
coverts. Witness give the same detail of the manner in which cue
deceased met his death as last witness. Witness did nut see the
prisoner point his gun at theldell.
Cross-examined—Witness remained' in company with Gleddell
until eight o'clock, and heard hint say nothing about the gun being
snapped at him. If the gun had been snapped, witness thought he
must have heard it.

William \Vorkman.—l reside at Alwick.le-street, and am a
high constable and clerk to the magistrates. In consequence of
information which I received, I went on Sunday, December ZOth,
to the public-house where the prisoner Littkwood was. I asked
him what had induced him to commit so rash an act ? and he said it
was not he who had done it. I said "Ifit Is not you, it Is your
gun." Ile repled, " No, find my gun loaded." The pri•
sorter was then taken to Doncaster Gaol. !went with bins put of
the way, and before I left I searched hint. I found on his person
a copper powder•flask partly filled with gunpowder, and some shot.
I then vet nt to the house where the body of the deceased was
lying, and there found a loaded guts. the pan was down and the
lock at half cock.. I then went to the :pot where Smith had been
shot. I found the marks of footsteps which 1 traced horn the
spot to the house of John Husby. In that house I found two
guns, one of which was loaded. and had apparently been so for
some time. The other gust bad the appearance of having been re-
cently discharged, and had fresh marks of blood upon the muzzle,
and stock, and ramrod. I then searched the house, and found a
pair of shoes with large nails in the soles, and covered with dirt.—
The shoes cotrespantled exacay with the footmarks leading front
the spot where Smith bad been shot. On the Thursday following
the prisoner sent fur me, and said that he was very sorry that be
had not told the truth at once. lie said that he was very sorry for
what had occurred, but that it had been Rushy who bad shot the
deceased.

Cross-examined—l saw Gleddell In the course of the Sunday.—
Gird&ll did tint say that the pismire had snapped bis gun at him.
On the conteary, lie insinuated that it was the prisoner's gun which
had shot the deceased. ft was nut until we had found Mit that pri-
soner's £llll was haaded that Gleddell said anything about its being
snapped at him. I think the prisoner's gun was not in such." state
that it could have been fired. I have known the prisoner 14 or 15
years, aud as far as 1 know, be is a quiet, good tenapered man. I
never heard any complaint against hint until the present.

The gun which had been taken from the prisoner was produced.
It had been cleaned, and the trigger was drawn in Court, in order
to ascertain whether it made much noise. it very distinct sound,
which might have been beard at a distance of 20 yarns, followed the
experiment. •

Witham Mason stated, that he had accompanied Mr. Workman
to the home of John Rushy. Witness remained outside to hold
Mr. Workman's horse, and while there he saw John Rusby, the
younger, running away. Witness followed Rusby for some distance,
bet at length lost sight of him.

Mr. William Ilulbrey, of Doncaster, surgeon, deposed, that he
had examined the body of the deceased Edward Smith. lie found
a mortal gun-shot wound which bad entered the left breast, and
taken the direction of the heart. From the direction, witness
thought the shot must Is ice been fired from some one taller than
the deceased, or that deceased had been kneeling when he received
thewound. That wound had been the cause of the deceased's death,
The confession which the prisoner hail made before the Coroner
was then put in and read. In it, the prisoner stated that he had
gone out with John Rushy to Mr. Cooke's plantation to shoot
pheasants. Rushy shot one, and soon after prisoner saw the
flash of a gun, and perceived two men come towards him. He at
first thought that they had shot Rushy, and suffereil himself to be
quietly taken.
- - - -

The prisoner, when called upon for his defence,
simply asserted that he had known nothing about the
death of Smith until that event had taken place.
Mr. Baron Htn.Locx stated to the Jury, that before
they could convict the prisoner of the crime of murder,
they must feel convinced that he had gone out with
Busby with an understanding that they were to oppose
to the last extremity any one who might resist therr.—
In such a case the act of one would be the act of all.
But if they thought that the prisoner and Busby had
gone out meiely for the purpose of killing game, with-

out any concerted d. sign of resistance, then the act of
Rushy could not be eisite.fon she prisdni.r.
The Joey. witboot hesitation, returned a verdict of
Not Guilt,.
The.prisorisr was then put to the .bar on an indictr
went, charging him with being out. armed with a guai,
on the, might of the 80th 4.f December,..with intent to
kill game.
On this charge also the prisoner was found Aot
MONMOUTH, Aram 9.
Mt:mom—Sarah Jones, aged 26, was indicted for
ihe wilful murder of her nee' born female child, at Bas-
salleg. Mary Jones was also indicted .fur aiding and
as si tt My. A bill of indictment had also been jreferref
against Thomas Jones and John Flock, for being eon.
cerned in the murder, but the Grand Jure hid ignored
the bill. The two prisoners, with Thomas Jones, the
elder priscuter'slrusband, lived in a cottage at Bassalleg,
sear Sir Chortles Morgan's seat. The appearance of
the younger poisoner Arad attracted the notice of several
of her neighbours, who communicated .to. her their sus
picions thai she was in the family way; but theini-
denier denied it, and said she had the dropsy. Flock,
the rrfan before mentioned, had often been seen in her
company. On Monday, the 23r1 October, she was taken
ill, and her appearance indicated tt at slit had been re-
cently delivered of a child. On the following Wedne,..
day, when some of the female witnesses saw her, her
shape was greatly altered, and she was much thinner
than at the time' she was ch.rged with being pregnant.
On the2Bth October, Peter Potter, a gamekeeper to Sir
C. Morgan, found a bundle tied up in a pocket handker-
chief, in the cart house. In the handkerchief bas a piece
of sacking sewed upon three sides,withlong stitches ;Ite
undid part of it, and saw the flesh of an infant; he tied it
up, put it in .the same place, and went tik:Floole, who is
a labourer udder him in Sir C. Morgaa's employ, and
brought him to The cart; he took up the parcel, and
they went together to the psisoner's house,,ani found
the father and the two prisoners in the• room down
suits; Flook laid it down on a chair, and Potter said
to the mother, "Do you take it, and' let it be buried
like a Christian. and not like a dog she took up the
parcel, but seemed not to know what he meant; he
said, "Take it out, and you'll know what I mean r
she felt it round before opening it, and said, raising hei
hands, " I newer knew. nothing of it before;" Potter
said, 4, If she did not, her daughter 'did," and then left
the room. The daughter all this time was silent. in
the course of the evening the child was placed in a box,
and carried by the father and brother of the younger
prisoner to the churchyard, and there buried. The
circumstances, however, got to the ears of the Coroner,
ho had the body taken up. and the parbes taken into'
custody. Mr. Brewer, a surgeon of Nevrpdrt, who ex-
amined the body of the child, said he found two cuts in
its throat; one about three inches in length, and one
Inch in depth. The jugular vein and ',amid artery
were nearly divided. The wounds were quite sufficient
to cause death. The child had come to maturity. and

thete was every appearance Uf .its having been born
alive. He had examined the younger prisoner, and
thought she had been lately delivered. Shortly befcire
the Inquest was held, two females, named Sarah Jones
and Maigniet Kenvin, visited the prisoner, and to them
the ptisoner confessed she had cut the child's throat, and
that tin one but herself and John Flook knew anything
about i,.—Flook and Thomas Jones, the younger, had
been bound over to give evidence, but IN hen called, did
not appear.—The ptisoners, in their defence, said they
were innocent, and called a witness to character.
Mr. Sergeant BOSANQUST summed up the case. and
the Jury found Sarah Guilty, and acquitted Mary
Jones.—Sentence of Death was then passed upon Sarah
Jones, and she was ordered for etecution on Wednesday.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

-.00.--
BO w.s.rit EET.

Yesterday, 41 IMU NigitTiogn the than charged on suspicion of
being contented in robbing the Dover Mail of the Italian
was brought up foe an examination, and fully committed tor trial.
Janes &Winn, a letter-carrier, at the General Post Office, was
remanded on a charge of stealing a letter containing a A'S Bank of
England note and an Oxford Xi note, the property of Mrs. Anne
Herbert, a Lady residing In Jesus College-lane, Oxford.