Star.
London, England, 1826-12-16 00:00:00

WINTER ASSIZES..

HOME WINTER CIRCUIT, asarmsvosa. Dec. 14.
Maly, the wife of Richard Mann, was indicted fot
the wilful murder of her new-born male child, by frac-
turing his skull, at Rochford, on the 16th Sept. last.
The prisoner being called taped for her defence, declined saying
anything.
Mr. Justice BAYLEY, after hearing the evidence, left
it to the Jury to say, whether it was not most probable
that the child's death was occasioned by the accidental
circumstance of the unhappy mother treadin; Upon its
head at the moment of parturition. If tins were a
murder, it was a murder without any motive whatever.
The wretched prisoner had borne a most irreproachable,
character for maternal tenderness towards her other
children, and therefore it was impossible to suppose that
she could, without any assignable motive, intentionally
destroy the helpless infant which she had thus brought
into the world.—Under these circumstances, he should

advise an acquittal.
The Jury immediately found the prisoner Not Gaily.
John Goodey was indicted for the wilful murder of
James Owers, by stabbing him in the left arm with a
knife, at Great Coggeshall, on the 2Lst of Oct. last.
This case excited considerable interest, and the trial of ft lasted
from eleven o'clock in the morning until ten at night.

The prisoner, who was a person near 65 years of age,
bad been forty years in the service of Osgood Hanbury,
Esq. a Gentleman of large fortune, in the neighbour•
hood of Great Coggeshall. The deceased was a In.
bouring lad, about nineteen years of age, and a na-
tio of Great Coggeshall. On Saturday evening, the
21st of October, some of Mr. Hanbury's labourers, to
the number of between thirty and forty, among
whom was the prisoner, had assembled at the Cha-
pel Inn, Great Coggeshall, for the purpose of enjoy.
ing what is called a harvest largess spending.—
They dined about four o'clock, and were peaceably re-
galing themselves, when, in the course of the evening,
an oysterman, named Evans, obtruded himself into the
room, for the purpose of selling his oysters. Some
little altercation took place between him and the pri-
soner's son, and, at length, Evans becoming very trou-
blesome he was turned out of the house. He then
challenged young Goodey to come out and fight. This
young Goodey declined to do, at the• entreaty of hir
father. gvans, however, continuing to challenge young
Goodey to go out, the latter was induced to leave the
room, whin a fight took place in the Inn-yard, and
Evans was defeated. The fight collected a crowd in
the Inn-yard, and after youog oodey had returned to
the room, a great many bf the persons so collected,
remained waiting in the yard until the Hanbury party
broke up. Between twelve and one o'clock, Mr. Han-
bury's people were about to depart, when the landlord
observing that the people in the yard exhibited some
symptoms of hostility, advised the former to quit the
house by the front instead of the back door, and so
avoid any occasion of quarrel with the townspeople.—
This suggestion was adopted, and the prisoner, who,
with the rest of the party, left the house by the front
door, and instead of going past the gateway to the
inn yard, which was his most direct toad home, he took
a route through some fields, for the purpose of avoiding
any contact with the Coggeshall party. The prisoner,
his son, and some others of Mr. Hanbury's labourers,
bad got into an inclostire, called High Field, followed
by the deceased and some others of the townspeople.
In that field, the prisoner, finding himself pursued,
pulled out a small pockephnife, turned round, and the
deceased coming up to him, received a wound in the
left arm, about a quitter of an inch in depth, and two
inches and a half in length, which divided a branch of
the brachial artery; he immediately fell, got up again,
ran a few paces, and dropped. His companions, who
saw the transaction, instead of stopping to affurd him
assistance, pursued the prisoner into a stone-yard, where
be was secured and disarmed, the knife being found in
his waistcoat pocket. The deceased was carried home,
and a surgeon sent for, but in the mean time he had
' lost so much blood as to be past all surgical aid, and he
died in about 40 minutes after the accident. The sur-
geon considered the wound to be very slight, and said,,
that if any body had bad the presence of mind to tie a
handkerchief round the arm, above the incision, life
would have been saved. A great number of witnesses
were examined on both sides, respecting the manner
and circumstances under which the wound was inflicted.
The Surgeon gave it as his opinion, that, from the
appearance of the wound, which was on the inside of
the arm, it might possibly be inflicted either by the de-
cea,ed raising his arm, and striking it against the knife,
on being ?tubed upon the prisoner whilst the latter held
the knife in his hand.

The prisoner put in a written statement, in which
he declared, that he had no intention of injuring the
deceased ; that he did not strike, or attempt to strike.
him ; and that he believed the wound to have been
given accidentally, in consequence of the deceased
being pushed upon him whilst be held the knife in his
hand.

Several witnesses gave the prisoner a asset encellent character,
and said be was a barmkss, inoffensive man.

Mr. Justice GASELU, after a patient summing up of
the whole of the evidence, left the Jury to say, first,
whether the wound was inflicted deliberately, and with-
out any pretence? for if that were so, the offence would
be murder; second, whether it was done in the heat of
blood, in consequence of the attack made upon the pri-
soner by the Coggeshall party ; in which casrthe offence
would be manslaughter only ; and third, whether the
wound was inflicted merely in self-defence, and under
a real apprehension that the prisoner's own life was in
danger?—in which case the prisoner would be entitled
to an acquittal, on the ground of justifiable homicide;
The Jury having deliberated a few minutes, the
Foreman informed the Court, that eleven of them had
made up their minds as to their verdict, but that the
twelfth took a totally different view of the case from
his brethren.
The twelfth Juror then stated to the Court, that he uw no sun-
, dent provocation made out to :educe the offence to manslaughter.

The Court of King's Bench has ruled, that, in order
to constitute a nuisance ender the statute, it is only ne-
cesstry that effluvia or smells should be proved to be
offensive' merely.
Within ten weeks 252 persons have teaounced the
Roman Catholic faith in the town of Ca•an.

SMITHIIIILD CLUB CATTLB SHOW.—Yesterday, the,
Exhibition yard seemed very well attended by Gentle.
men breeders and their friends during most of the day.
There seems to be an unusual number of new and inter-
esting Implement:exhibited, and we also noticed a great
aerie' y of seeds and roots of an amazing size in growth.
Several of the animak are gresstly admired by the elm i-
ous, and likewise by the meat eminent judges wbo have
seen them. There was a numerously attended meeting
of the Members of the Club, at which Load Althotp
presided, with his usual ability.