The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-12-18 00:00:00

other person the slightest suspicion at present,) you will di-
rect your attention to the statement given by Mr. Bolam,
and which will be afterwards read to you. You will con-
sider whether that statement can be true. You will examine
the evidence, and see whether that evidence contradicts dais
statement; and if it be contradicted in material points, it
will be for you to consider whether or not the act has been
done in a moment of madness and passion, caused by some-
thing which we shall never be able to find out. If Bolan).
committed the murder upon Millie, we shall probably never
be able to find out the cause, because it appears that up to
the very time it was committed, if it ever was committed,
Bolam was acting to Millie as a friend—almost as a brother.
Bolam acted towards him with unmeasured kindness. That
is a circumstance in favour of Bolam, for, generally speak-
ing, when a man commits murder, you are able to discover
some motive for the act, and there is evidence of no motive
that could have induced hint to do it. Therefore I call upon
you, and caution you, not to suffer your minds to be influ-
enced by any reports which you may have beard, because
there is no evidence upon which you can come to a conclusion
on that point. I mention this to you because it is possible
that you may have heard all kinds of reports--reports with-
out the slialitest foundation—reports which have been fully
contradicted by the evidence which has been brought before
you. Gentlemen, I have no doubt that you will calmly and
dispassionately consider the evidence. In the absence of all
motive you will be compelled to look well at the evidence
which has been produced against Mr. Bolam before you say
whether he is guilty or not; but if after considering► the evi•
dente you come to a conclusion that the statement made by
Bolam is not tree—that he has told a tissue of falsehoods—
that his statement is contradicted by the evidence—that the
appearances on his clothes and person could not possibly
have happened under the circumstances which he re-
lates, then, however painful it may be, you will consider
yourself bound to find him guilty of this murder. I would
mention one fact, in my opinion of importance. There has
been some contradiction as to the state of the door leading
into the great room, and as to the parties who first entered
it. One man had stated that he was the first perso❑ who
went in, and that be found the door locked inside. We all
know the anxiety of firemen to get into the front rank, but
after Mr. Armstrong's evidence you will, 1 think, be satisfied
that the door• was not locked when the parties first went up
to it, but that it was open. This is important, as if the door
had been locked inside it would have raised a presumption
against Bolam. Now, Gentlemen, I will go through the
evidence which has been laid before you, and make such ob-
servations as occur to me upon the subject.
After carefully reading over the whole of the evidence,
and commenting on such parts of it as appeared to bear
strongly on the case, the Coroner addressed the Jury pre-
vious to their retiring, as follows :—Now, gentlemen, 1 have
read the whole of the evidence over to you, and you will
have to retire to consider your verdict. You will have to
say whether or not the statement put forth by Bolam is alto-
gether founded in falsehood. If from a careful consideration
of the evidence before you, and from your own inspection of
the dress which was found upon Bolam, you are satisfied
that the marks upon the body were not inflicted by h sharp
instrument—if you are satisfied that he himself made those
wounds, you will have no difficulty in coining to a conclusion
upon the subject. 'There are many points to which I have
directed your attention, but from the manner in which you
have listened to the whole of this important investigation,
as well as from the attention which you have paid to the
reading of the evidence, you will, I think, be able to make
up your minds. You will be left to find a verdict, if you
think proper, against some person or persons unknown, and
if you have any doubt upon the evidence, that the statement
made by Bolan is altogether untrue, then from the situation
in which Millie was found, you will probably have no diffi-
culty in coming to a conclusion on that point. You will
now, gentlemen, retire, and make up your minds upon the
subject.

The Jury then retired, and. after having remained in de-
liberation for about half an hour, returned into court, and
delivered a verdict of " Wilful Murder against Archibald
Bonin."

When the vPrrlict was announced, signs of approbation
were manifestrd by the people assembled in Q court,
which, however, the Coroner instantly buppiesr..

PARTICULARS OF 1.13LA7!.
We have not been able togather much ;11.;rnigtion relative
to Mr. Bourn; hut we are given to undert:-:;.n.1 l_,efore he ob.
taineu his appointment in the savings' bank, he had prac-
tised some time as a teacher, in which capacity he was en-
gaged in Mr. Bruce's school, in Percy-street, and subse-
quently as master of the Royal Jubilee school, in this town.
lie has held a situation in the savings' bank upwatds of six-
teen years, and a very high opinion has been formed of him
by his employers. He appears to be about forty years of
age. He is a native of Harbothe, near Rothbury, and has
a brother residing there in good circumstances.

THE DESTITUTE CHILDREN OF POOR MILLIE.
It will be seen with much satisfaction by a❑ announcement
in another column, that the directors of the savings' bank
have, with admirable promptitude, taken upon themselves,
not only to see that immediate want shall not be added to
the sorrow and bitterness which have befallen the four
young and helpless children of the unfortunate Millie, but
to originate a subscription in their behalf, with a view to
their being brought up and placed out in the world in a cre-
ditable manner. There never was an appeal made to the
public more entirely entitled to the generous sympathy and
assistance of the public at large than the case of these poor
children. Let it then be responded to in a manner worthy
a christian people. The subscriptions necessary for accom-
plishing the desirable purpose alluded to should not be con-
fined to the locality alone where the awful tragedy occurred;
and we should hint that the public at large in all the neigh-
bouring towns would do well to aid such a benevolent object
as the provision for the care and education of these destitute,
innocent creatures. The children are four in number; a boy
14, and a girl 12, (these two have been examined on the in-
quest,) the others are a girl between 8 and 9, and a boy a
years of age. And it may be stated, to the honour and credit
of their parents, that thus far they have been brought up in
the fear and admonition of the Lord.

ARCHES' COURT, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 12.
DECISION IN THE TOMBSTONE CASE, BIIEEKS V. WOOFREY

Sir Herbert Jenner gave his judgment in this curious case
to-day. The learned judge having ~one over the whole facts,
which are already sufficiently well known, applied himself in
the most elaborate manner to the consideration of the ques-
tion, whether prayers for the dead implied a necessary con-
nection with the catholic doctrines respecting purgatory.
He referred to many authorities to show, that, long anterior
to the doctrines of purgatory being adopted, prayers for the
dead were used by the primitive Christians; and that in later
times, down to Edward IV. the same practice had been con-
sidered a good and wholesome proceeding. It was not until
the time of Edward VI. that prayers for the dead were
omitted in the forms of the established church. The com-
mentators of that period, as well, indeed, as the acts of par-
liament establishing the Book of Common Prayer, referred
to the alterations as having arisen in consequence of the
Roman Catholics promulgating the doctrine that in our own
church purgatory was assented, the prayers for the dead
being a necessary implication that such was the fact.
The learned judge went over a great number of authori-
ties, which had led him to the conviction, that although
prayers for the dead were omitted in the liturgy and other
.forms of the church, still no express prohibition had been
made to the use of such prayers. No offence, therefore, had
been committed by Mrs. Woolfrey in inscribing upon the
tombstone raised to her husband—" Pray for the soul of
Joseph Woolfrey. It is a good and wholesome thought to
pray for the dead," 2d Mac. c. 12. v. 46. Wherever this
latter passage was taken from, whether from the English
version of the Scriptures or from the Romish one, it did not
contain any violation of the doctrine of the church, nor was
it contrary to Scripture, as there was no passage in Scripture
against such a practice. The judge then proceeded to refer
to the inscription on Bishop Barrow's tomb, which contained
a prayer for his soul; and yet this prelate was well known as
no advocate for the doctrine of purgatory. lie wasbound to
say, that the articles exhibited against Mary Woolfrey were
not sustained- by the authorities cited in support thereof; and
the articles, even if admitted, could not subject the party to
ecclesiastical censure. In the 24 article it was pleaders, that
this tombstone was erected without the permission of the
vicar of the parish of Carisbrooke, and this undoubtedly
would subject the party to the admonitiou of this court ; but
the erection of the tombstone was not adequate to the cita-
tion, without the additional offence of placing thereon an
illegal inscription, and the inscription in his (Sir H. Jenner's)
opinion was not illegal, and the court was bound on this head
also to reject the latter article, and to dismiss Mrs. Woolfrey
from the suit.

Dr. Blake, on behalf of Mrs. Woolfrey, prayed for costs.
Sir H. Jenner said he had no discretion; Mrs. Woolfrey
must be dismissed, and with costs.
The judgment, which occupied Sir H. Jenner nearly two
hours in delivery, excited the most lively interest, and the
court was much crowded. A slight murmur of satisfaction
followed the close of the judgment.