Star.
London, England, 1826-03-20 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

LANCASTER, MAACIII le.

John niggle, aged 26. stood indicted, charged with
the wilful murder ot B njansin and Alice Cass, at Mid-
dleton, on the night of the Ist of October last.
Sohn Ch idwiac, a to tner, living at Birtle, in the
township of Bamford, was well acquanted with the
late Benjamin Cass, anti Alice his wife; they resided in
a lone house called Nlarcrofrs, situate about 200 or
300 yards front any- other house. Cass was not en-
gaged in any bu.iness, but occupied about five acres of
land. They lived by themselves without any servant ;
the last time I saw them was in the evening of the lit
of October last. I went to their house about seven
o'clock in the evening, and remained with them till
near 10 o'clock at night ; Benjamin Cass came out with
me when I left his house, and !Varied with him- about
15 or '..30 yards from hi; own door. When I left the
how e Mrs. Cass was sitting on the couch-chair, near
the fire, and he had been sitting at the left hand of the
fire. At the time we went out together, it was
raining, and the deceased went to look after his cows.
Jo eph Ca,.s, the brother of the deceased Benjamin
CaSc remembered going to the house of the deceased
on Sunday, the 2d of October, 1825, soon after six
o'clock in the morning ; the door was shut, but not
locked. On opening the door I saw my brother
sitting in the chair by the fire, his wife sitting on the
arm of the couch chair, with her arms round his body,
and her right cheek resting on his shoulder. I called
out Hallo! are you asleep ?" and receiving no answer
went up to them, and on touching his forehead, found
it quite cold, and a great deal of blood under his chair.
I then thought they were dead, and being frightened,
went away immediately, leaving them as I found them.
I went and fetched John Chadwick. When we came
back, as far as we could judge, the appearance of the
house was the tame as when I left it. My brother was
about 63 years of age, his wife about 80.
John Chadwick. recalled,—l remember the last wit-
ness calling on me on :he morning of Sunday, the 2d
of October. Shortly after six o'clock I went with him
to the hone of Benjamin Cass, and found him and his
wife sitting as described by the last witness, and the
blood running down the outside of their clothes. Cass
appeared to have all his clothes on but Ms hat. I think
her shoes were off. I observed a poker lying on the
floor, and a stick by the side of the fire-place. The
stick I had never seen before. There was a desk on the
floor, which had been broken open. When I went away
on the night before, the desk was not in the place I
found it on the Sunday morning. Ido not know what
Cass kept in the desk. There was only one outer door
to the house, and I did not observe any footsteps about
the house. There was a candle burnt out in the socket
standing on a chest.
John Goodland, a surgeon, at Wiry, was called in
about ten o'clock on the morning of Sunday, the 2d of
October, to examine the deceased, Benjamin Cass and
his wile: their deaths were occasioned by fractures of
the skull, apparently made by a blunt instrument. The
poker would have produced suchfractures. There was
no cut on the woman's bead, but several on the man's,
but the cuts did not contribute to his death, which was,
in my opinion, occasioned by the blow.
Richard Btierly on the Ist of October saw the priso-
ner on the toad from Bury to Haslingdon about half-
past three in the afternoon : he was then going towards
Bury in company with another man, named Ralph
%Vested. I' bad not seen the prisoner before, but be
stopped while I spoke to Weston. The next time I saw I
the prisoner was at the coroner's inquest, at the Bird in
Hand. I recognized him then as the person I had seen
on Saturday, the Ist of October.
John Q tick his known the prisoner two or three
years by sight, and saw him on Saturday, the Ist of
October, between four and five o'clock in the afternoon,
a')out two miles from CASS'S house. The prisoner had
not then any thing in his hands, and was alone going
towards Bury.
Samuel Sladden lived at Littleborough, on the road
from Ro fiddle to Halifax.—l. was on the road one
Saturday night, but don't know what date, or what
month, it was last year about four or five months ago.
It mai befote I heard of the murder. I was going home
to my lodgings about twelve o'clock. was returning
from the Bull at Featherstone to Littleborough, and
overtook a chap alone, with two bundles and an um-
brella over his shoulder : that person was the prisoner
at the bar. I said to him it was a fine night, and he
asked rne if I would buy a pair of stockings. It was a
moonlight night. He pulled the bundles off the um-
brella, opened them, and showed me the stockings.
We agreed first for one pair, and then for tree more
stockings, for which I was to give him 2s. 9d. in all.
We then went to an overt, and stayed there till six
o'clock in the morning, and from thence went to Little..
borough, and had two pints of ale at the sign of the
Ship; and about half a mile farther he parted with me
about seven o'clock in the mottling on the road to
Halifax.

Evidence ties produced of the prisoner bating disposed of a
suit of clothes and-shoes to two different parties ; and the articles
thus sold by him were identified by the neighbours of the deceased.
lid the shoemaker who made the shoes, and the tailor who made
the clotbes, as being the property of Ileoiamin Cass.
Mr. Justice BAYLEY hiving summed up the evi-
dence with great perspicuity to considerable length, the
Jury. after retiring fogy upwards of three-quarters bf an
hour, returned with a verdict of Guilty. The learned
Judge, after a most impressive address to the prisoner,
pronounced on him the awful sentence of death, which
seemed not to have the slightest effect on him. During,
the whole trial he had continued in the same attitude+
razing on the bench, and he quitted the bar with the
greatest apathy.

Macs IT.

James Evans, aged twenty-seven, stood indicted,
charged with the wilful murder of Thomas Price, at
Manchester, on the 3d of February last.

It appeared from the evidence, that the prisoner was
in the employ of Mr. Price, a fustian manufacturer, at
Manchester, occupying as ware-rooms the two centre"
ti o,sifextensive premises, situate in Marsden-square,
+lalicitester. The ground-floor was employed as offices
for the Savings' Bank, and the upper fl•.wr or lofts as a
warehouse by a Mr. Grieve. Oa the 3d February last the
prisoner and Mr. Price had arrived at their office at the
usual hour, and about ten o'clock had proceeded to take
stock. From the witnesses for the prosecution it ap-
peared, that from that hour to one o'clock the prisoner
had been s.en by several persons who had been to. the
premises on business. At one o'clock, as was customary,
the prisoner and a workwoman, also employed by Mr.
Price, after locking the doors,:ieft the place to go to did.
ner. At about. twenty minutes to too o'clock the upper
rm~m in M. Price's warehouse from the street was dis-
covered to be on fire. An alarm was given, the engine