The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-04-07 00:00:00

SMITH V. HEMINGWAY.

This was an action to recover a balance of wages.
Mr. CRESSWELL and Mr. CROMPTON for the plaintiff
Mr. MARTIN and Mr. WATSON for the defendant.

It appeared that in the year 1838, Wm. Kavanagh, an ap-
prentice to the plaintiff, Mr. Thomas Smith, a master cooper
in this town, shipped on board the ship Ann, belonging to
Messrs. Hemmingway and Agett, as cooper. The vessel was
bound to the coast of Africa. Kavanagh understood that he
was to have five guineas a month. He signed articles in the
river, before sailing. After he had gone, the plaintiff gave
notice to the defendant that he was not to pay the wages, to
which Kavanagh would become entitled, to Kavanagh him-
self, but to him (the plaintiff,) as he had a legal claim to what-
ever might be earned by his apprentice. In consequence of
that notice, the defendant refused to give Kavanagh his
monthly note. The voyage was about ten months and a half,
and his wages would amount to fifty-two guineas and a half.
The defendant had paid into court forty-two pounds, and the
dispute was only as to the remaining thirteen pounds. Two
shipping notes given to Kavanagh, although not paid, indi-
cated the wages to be £5 ss. per month, and those were put
in and proved ; but the plaintiff grounded his claim on the
general merits of Kavanagh as a workman, and the current
rate of wages paid to able coopers. Kavanagh had been in
the service of Mr. Smith about five years, and was stated by
witnesses to be equal to a journeyman to his master. The
defence was that Kavanagh proved to be an incompetent
workman, and evidence to establish this was called. The
witnesses directly contradicted each other on several points,
and differed materially in their estimate of Kavanagh's ca-
pacity.

. .
In the course of the trial, Mr. MARTIN took an objection
to the indenture of apprenticeship, on account of its not hav-
ing been stamped until more than six months after the date
borne by it.
The Judge admitted the document, giving Mr. Martin
liberty to move for a nonsuit.

CROWN COURT, SATURDAY.
Mr. Justice Coleridge took his place shortly after nine
o'clock.

SENTENCES.

Samuel Lord and Thomas Butterworth, indicted for bur-
glary, and convicted of larceny, on Thursday last, and Mar-
garet Clayton and William Potlilt, convicted, on the same
day, of having feloniously received the goods stolen by the
above, were placed at the bar, and sentenced to seven years'
transportation.

Joim Smith, for stabbing William Derbyshire, with in-
tent to do him some grievous bodily harm, was sentenced to
fifteen years' transportation.

CHARGE OF MURDER.
Joseph Knight, aged 33, was charged with having, at Man-
chester, murdered a female child, not baptized. There were
several counts in the indictment, charging the prisoner with
having deprived the child of life in several ways, by suffocat-
ing, strangling, drowning, &c.
Br. Brown and Mr. Brandt conducted the prosecution;
Mr. Venables and Mr. Wilkins defended.
The prisoner presented himself at the bar with a firm and
almost bold demeanour. As the indictment was being read,
he exclaimed, boldly and abruptly, " I cant't hear ! I can't
hear!"

Mr. WILKINs.—Your counsel can hear : don't you inter,
fere.

The prisoner was furnished with paper and pencil. He put
on an aspect of very intense and inquiring scrutiny as the
counsel for the prosecution were addressing the jury ; and,
with many occasional odd gesticulations, took notes of what
was said.

Mr. BRANDT detailed the circumstances of the case, up to
a certain point, to the jury.
It appeared, the prisoner bad formed an improper con-
nexion with the wife of his brother. The latter had been
absent abroad for some time. The result of the intercourse
was, that the prisoner's sister-in-law was pregnant by him.
They were both wishful, when the child was born, that it
should be removed, in order that the husband, when he re-
turned, should not see it, and the prisoner undertook to con-
vey it to a hired nurse. The mother believed that he had
placed it in safety. At length the neighbours began to won-
der what had become of the child, and the rumours that were
rife begot inquiry. The prisoner's statements were unsatis-
factory, and, at last, he was taken into custody and exa-
mined before a magistrate. He would not give any account
of where the child was, and, in consequence of this, he was
remanded several times. At length he stated that the child
had been very closely wrapped up to keep it from the cold,
and that, as he was going to the nurse, he stumbled over
some stones and fell to the ground. When he got up, be
uncovered the infant to see if it were hurt, and found it
dead. Upon this he took it and threw it into the river. The
river was searched, but no child was found.

Mr. BRANDT said, there was this difficulty in the case
which he did not know how to get over : the law required
either that the body of a person slain, where an indictment
for murder was preferred, should be forthcoming, or that
evidence of the death should be produced. In this case, as
the body had not been found, the only evidence of death was
the prisoner's own statement. There the difficulty was : if
they took a part of the prisoner's statement as evidence, they
ought, in justice, to take the whole, and believe all his story.
His LORDSHIP said he had noticed the difficulty, but he
waited to see how the indictment would be framed. With
such evidence, it would be impossible to find the prisoner
guilty.
A verdict of acquittal was taken.
Mr. WILKINS said, Mr. Amos has just informed him that
it is the general opinion of all the visitors of the prison that
Knight was insane.

The JUDGE.--I wish he may he.
MURDER.

George Murray, aged 25, and John Costello, 27, were
charged with having murdered Patrick Stakam, at Parr, near
St. Helens. The indictment charged Murray as the principal,
and Costello with having aided and abetted him.
Dr. Brown and Mr. Hulton conducted the prosecution.
Mr. Wilkins defended Murray, and Mr. Murphy, Costello.
In the opening statement of counsel, it was set forth, that
the quarrel which had led to the melancholy event which it
was the duty of the jury to investigate arose out of some dis-
putes between the natives of two Irish provinces, of which
they had heard so much during the present assizes.
Peter Maguire, a native of the county of Wicklow, in the
province of Leinster, stated, that he knew the deceased, Pa-
trick Stakam, who lodged at a beer-house, kept by Larry
Hall, at Smithy-brow, St. Helens. In the course of the
afternoon of Sunday, the 24th of November last, he and
Stakam had some ale together. They went to Larry Hall's
about half-past nine o'clock. The sat some time, but there
was no quarrel in the house. Stakam went out, and Maguire
followed him shortly afterwards, when he found him lying on
the ground with his head up against the door. Maguire
himself received a violent blow, but lie could not say who
from. Stakam was taken up and carried into the house.
His head was cut and bleeding. He died on the following
Friday.
Mary Club, wife of Thomas Club, who resided next door
to Larry Hall, stated, that, on the night of the 24th Novem-
ber, she heard a quarrel opposite to the house. She was in
bed, and being alarmed at the noise, she opened the window
and looked forth. She saw four men fighting. The pri-
soner, George Murray, was one of them, but she did not
know the other three. Stakam came out at the door of
Larry Hall's, she saw Murray go up to him and knock him
down with some weapon which he had in his hand. Maguire
came out and he was struck also by Murray.
Peter Smith, an Englishman, whose father keeps a beer-
shop in St. Helen's, stated, that he resided next door but
one to Larry Hall's. On the night of the 24th November,
he saw Murray and Costello in the road opposite to Larry
Hall's house. Murray had a small stick or poker in his hand,
with which he struck at Larry Hall's door, and immediately
went into the middle of the highway. There was a man
named Flynn there, and Murray struck him with the weapon
on the hat, saying, " You b-, why didn't you come out
and help me ?" He replied, " What could Ido !" Costello'
went away for a few moments. Witness saw him coming
up the street afterwards, calling to Murray in Irish. He
followed Murray, and observed that Costello had a potatoe-
fork in his band. When they got back to Larry Hall's,
Stakam came out, and they immediately changed weapons.
Stakam exclaimed, " Don't hit me !" Murray struck Sta-
kam on the head with the potatoe-fork, and repeated the
blow on his belly as he was falling, exclaiming, " I'm a Con-
nuaght man, you b-! I'll knock your brains out." Ma-
guire came out, and he also immediately struck him, speaking
aloud in Irish.

Mr. MURPHY and Mr. WILK!Ns tried to get from the wit-
ness that his father's beer-house was frequented principally by
Leinster men, and that there was another beer-house in the
vicinity to which the Connaught men usually went. The
witness, however, said that they went to both indifferently.
Maguire was recalled, and he stated that Maguire was a
Leinster man.

William Storey, a police constable of St. Helens, found
two potato-forks at Costello's house. When he apprehended
Murray, he told him what he was charged with, and Murray
replied that it was a bad job, but he had got beaten himself,
but the blows which he gave happened to be a little harder
than those he received. When told that he had inflicted the
wound with a potatoe-fork, he said some person must have
put it into his hand.
Mr. Thomas Gaskill, surgeon of St. Helens, stated that he
was called in to the deceased. He found him lying insensi-
ble with a compound fracture of the skull, which extended
from the left ear to the crown of the head. He had no hopes
of his patient's recovery from the first. He died on the
Friday following. He examined the head of the deceased
after death, and found that the brain was lacerated to the
depth of two inches. One of the potato forks found at
Costello's house was produced, and the surgeon said that
the wound might have been inflicted by such a weapon as
that. _ _ _

Mr. WILK iris, on behalf of Costello, contended, that the
crime amounted to no more than manslaughter, as it was
evident that Murray had been grossly insulted and provoked
by those men seen by Mrs. Club, and whom she afterwards
missed, they having run away. When told that he had in-
flicted the wound with a potato fork, the prisoner was un-
conscious of that fact, so blinded had he been by his fury.
It was evident, therefore, that he struck the deceased, con-
ceiving that he was one of the men who had just struck hint
and excited his anger.
Mr. MURPHY addressed the jury on behalf of Costello.
He contended generally, that there was no proof of such
premeditation and malice in this case as was required by
law to constitute the crime of murder.
Two respectable witnesses deposed to the peaceable and
general good conduct of the prisoners.
The jury retired at twenty-five minutes to one o'clock.
They returned at twenty minutes to three, and found Mur-

ray Guilty of wilful murder, and Costello of aiding and
abetting.
His Lordship did not immediately pass sentence, as another
case was in progress. When the trial was concluded, the
JUDGE ordered the prisoner to he placed at the bar. Murray
is a tall, strongly-built man ; • Costello is rather of low
stature, but broad-shouldered. They both advanced to the
bar without much appearance of trepidation, but when the
Judge put on the black cap, which be did the moment they
had come to a stand, a marked change was visible in both
their countenances and demeanour. Murray, who was in-
dicted as the principal, burst into tears, while Costello trem-
bled and turned pale, and his face was convulsed with pain-
ful emotion. As his Lordship proceeded with his address,
which at the first sentence indicated that lie was about to
doom the prisoners to the scaffold, Murray's suffering appeared
to increase considerably, till, at one point, he sunk, in a
state of momentary insensibility, into the arms of the offi-
cers. The Judge paused, and the unfortunate prisoner ral-
lied, and was more composed, or rather, he was in a state of
stupefaction during the remainder of the speech. Costello,
on the contrary, was comparatively firm during the delivery
of the first portion of the oration which preceded his doom,
but at length, he also seemed to sink beneath the agony of his
feelings. He trembled violently, hid his face iu his hands,
and sobbed convulsively. When the concluding awful words
uttered; he looked a living picture of despair. His limbs re-
f Used to support him, and he was assisted, or more properly
carried from the bar. Murray walked away slowly between
two officers, and he appeared in a state of dream-like bewil-
derment, completely unconscious of what was passing around
him.

His LORDSHIP, in passing sentence, addressing each of the
prisoners by name, said, they had now to receive the most
awful sentence which the law could pass, a jury of their coun-
try having, after long and patient deliberation, found them
guilty of the crime of wilful murder. It was a great satis-
faction to him, that both prisoners had been defended with
great zeal and ability, and that the counsel, in putting the
case to the jury, had taken care that nothing but the facts
delivered in evidence should have any weight. The jury
were the judges of those facts, and when it was considered
how reluctant they must be to entertain proofs which doomed
two of their fellow-creatures to death, it must be believed,
that they had performed a painful but conscientious duty.
He hoped the example would have a useful and salutary effect
in this county, and that men would learn from it not to give
way to their passions and array party against party and county
against county, as it appeared, by the evidence in this trial,
had been done. They (the prisoners) had sent a fellow-man,
without a moment's preparation, out of the world. (It was
at this part of his lordship's address that Murray sunk into
a state of insensibility. On his recovery; his lordship pro-
ceeded.) He would say nothing which could add to the
misery which they must at the present moment be suffering
but exhort them to employ their whole heart and soul in
preparation for their great account. He besought them to
dismiss all hope of any longer remaining in this world, and
to take no more part or interest in its concerns, but to pre-
pare for another, to which they must now be sent. They
would, in the interim, have the comfort of ghostly consola-
tion, and, he trusted, they would endeavour to bring them-
selves into a proper state of mind to meet their late, by reflec-
tion upon the awful change that must soon take place. They
were about to receive punishment for the crime which they
had cgmmitted, and he trusted, through the merits of their
Redeemer, that their sufferings would be taken into account.
It was now his duty to pass the last awful sentence of the
law. His lordship concluded by passing sentence of death
in the usual manner.