The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-08-25 00:00:00

defence

On Saturday, the 25th of May, shortly after midnight, the
deceased, Wall, was passing, in company with a man named
James Leach and two young women, Ann Fox and her sister,
from Salford, by the New Bailey Bridge, into Manchester.
As they approached the bridge they saw the prisoner standing
with a woman. The deceased, with Ann Fox, was walking
first, and Leach and the other young woman were walking
behind, and as they came up to the prisoner he violently
struck the woman to whom he was talking ; Wall said, "If
you were a man you would not strike a female in that
manner." The prisoner cursed him, and asked him what
it was to him. Wall said, "it is something—and if I had
been up at the time I would have struck you." The prisoner
upon this struck Wall, and an exchange of blows ensued.
The young women pulled Wall away, Leach interfered, and
he also interchanged some blows with the prisoner, after
which Wall, Leach, and his party made off over the bridge.
The prisoner followed, passed Leach and the young woman
who was with him, and placed himself face to face with Wall,
and struck him in the belly. A scuffle ensued, and Wall
fell, but soon got up again, and threw the prisoner against
some shutters. They again struggled for a short time, when
Wall ran away, crying murder ! Leach thought at this mo-
ment that he saw a knife in Montgomery's hand, but he was
not certain. Wall went into a house, complaining that he
was cut in the belly. This was found to be the case, and
he was taken to the Infirmary.
John Bamber, one of the witnesses for the prosecution;
who had witnessed the affray from his shop door, stated, on
cross-examination, that the prisoner was very much ill used
by the deceased and Leach. He never in his life saw a mart
so much ill-used. The prisoner on being charged by the
police-officer, with having stabbed Wall, tacitly admitted the
offence, but said he had done it in self-defence. A clasp
knife was found in possession of the prisoner. The officer
remarked, " I doubt this is the knife you stabbed him with."
The prisoner replied, •` It is the only one I have." When
the deceased was taken into the Infirmary, he was found to
have two wounds just below the navel, penetrating into the
cavity of the belly. Through the right wound, a portion of
the intestine protruded, and ou after examination, it was
found that a portion of the intestine was cut. A portion of
the contents of the intestine had escaped into the cavity of
the belly, and the inflammation produced by this was the
cause of death. The deceased died on the fourth day. The
trousers which the deceased wore were produced. There
were several cuts on the front of them. Two cuts on the
outside had been torn into one, but inside one of the cuts
correanondpd with the size of the clasp blade, as did, accord-
ing to the surgeon, the wounas in nit
Mr. WILKINS pleaded the gross provocation which the
prisoner had received, a❑d contended generally that he had
acted, if lie really used the knife, entirely in self defence,
and that all the testimony, except that of Bamber, was
necessarily highly coloured, from the prejudice of the
witnesses.

The jury found the prisoner guilty.
A witness was called, who gave the, prisoner a good cha-
racter, as a peaceable well disposed man.
Mr. WILKINS hoped his lordship would bear in mind the
strong provocation which the prisoner had received.

Hi;.' LORDSHIP said the case was a very had one indeed.
The prisoner had made a terrible use of the knife. The pri-
soner might be put down, and he would consider of the sen-

MANSLAUGHTER

James Horrop, aged 28, George Wroe, 18, and Alice
Wroe, 39, were charged with having, at Manchester, in
April last, killed Isaac Higham.
Dr. BROWNE conducted the prosecution.—lt appeared
that Higham, the deceased, lived with the prisoner-Alice
Wroe as her husband, though they were not married. He
went home on the night of the 24th April last, in a state of
intoxication, and said he would go to bed. Alice Wroe told
him that he should not have any bed there that night, and
she accused him of having taken her money and spent it.
George Wroe, who-was son to Alice, lived with them' and
he also said Higham should not sleep there, as he would be
master. Higham replied that he was master there, and one
master was enough at a time. Wroe struck Higham one or
two blows, and a short fight ensued. They soon gave over,
however, and sat down before the tire. Shortly after Har-
rop entered, and became urgent for the parties to fight it out.
Higham immediately struck Harrop, upon which the latter
said he would not tight him in his own house, but if he would
go out, he would see it out with him. The moment they
reached the street, Harrop struck Higham two blows, which
knocked him down, and while he was on the ground, George
Wroe went up, and with his
sheavy boot knocked his teeth
out. Higham got up, and went over and stood "leaning
against a window, when George Wroe went over to him, and
kicked him in the left side.
A witness who saw the transaction from a house on
the opposite side of the street, stated that Higham offered to
tight Harrop " for ten bob, up or down," and that when
Higham was knocked down, Wroe went to him and kicked
him several times, " as quickly as his foot could go." About
the third kick, Higham uttered an exclamation of pain.
When he arose, according to this witness, Wroe continued
to strike at the deceased till he knocked him down into a
cellar. Mrs. Wroe, it appeared, said to her son, when he
was kicking the deceased, '• Lay into him," but afterwards
she behaved with great attention to him, and applied leeches
to him. A witness, named Hazlehurst, said that- Harrop
had admitted to him that he kicked the deceased in the
mouth. Harrop denied this.
Mr. 011ier, surgeon to the police at Manchester, stated
that the deceased was greatly bruised all over his body, and
had lost three teeth. He had died from rupture of the intes-
tines, which had caused inflammation. There was an exter-
nal injury corresponding to the rupture.
The jury, after a few minutes consultation, acquitted Her-
rop, and found George Wroe guilty, but recommended him
to mercy, on account of the provocation. They found Alice
Wroe guilty, of aiding and abetting.
George Wroe was sentenced to six months' imprisonment
and hard labour ; and Alice Wroe to two months imprison-
ment and hard labour.