The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-08-26 00:00:00

SRDUCTION AND SHIM&
(TROY Tilt OXFORD JOURNAL) .
On Tuesday last (19th inst.) an inquest was held at the
Pox IneXhipping-Norton, before It. D.Houtin, Esq.. one
of the Coroners for this county, on view of the body df
Martha Rose, abont 20 years of age, servant to Mr. Colo,
grove, baker, and master of the* above inn, who.ilied the'
Nanday preceding, in conserisenee of having taken poisoit.
The investigation lasted several boors, and from the
interest excited on the occasion at Chipping-Norton.
we
have given as fall an account as our limits will permit te-f,l
Mr. thyriesourgeon. of Chipping-Norton, stated that
be was called in at 11 o'clock on Tuesday morning, 'to see
Martha Rose; he found her in great pain. and vomiting
violestly; she rwitively denied having tun poison, and
at first refused to take any medicine; she continued vomit-
Tog at interval's, and was in dreadful agony;' witness at-
tended her until bee death, which took place on the Sunday
afterwards, and be has no doubt of her death having been
reused by her taking poised. The deceased Was with
child, and a miscarriage took place the day before 'bodied.
Mr. Harris, druggist. deposed, that on, Monday after-
anon, a man named Richard Willis came to his shop foe
half an ounce of White arsenic and Lillian ounce of essence
of segar•-•-the order 'was written on a bit of paper ; that
Willis told him it was for a man at the Fox ; witness asked
If the man was a shepherd, and he said he was. Witness
bad frequently sold white mercury to shepherds; he wrote
on one packet, " Oxalic Acid—Poison ;" on the . other,
" White Mercury—Poison."
Richard Willis, a labourer, was called. Ile knew the
ce iced; on Monday afternoon she asked him to go on as
errand to Mr. Harris's, and fetch what was written on the
paper she gave him; he went accordingly, and brought it to
ter; he saw Mr. Harris write " Poison" on the parcel:
Mr. Harris asked if it was for a shepherd, and be said It
was; he took it to the deceased through the back door, and
told her he had a deaT'of trouble in getting it. Witness
did not ask her what she was going to do with it, but told
her to be cavern' of it; witness believes Thomas Gorton,
baker, Mr. Colegrove's man, was within hearing at the
lime; witness heard the deceased was ill on Tuesday after-
noon; did not recollect having said it was her own fault
her being sa ill he might have said so; never told any
one he had fetched poison for her ; deceasedordered him not
t, let any one know who it was for.
Ana Thornton, servant to a neighbour, saw Martha Rose
at eight o'clock on Tuesday mauling. who said she was
poorly, and was going to take some physic which she had
'nixed up. Witness tasted it, at the request of tbe de-
ceased; it horned her tongue, and she spit it out, Wits
ness wished to throw it all away; but the deceased said if
the did, she had plenty more: deceased then drank it up;
she laughed as soon as she had swallowed it; but in shunt
five minutes after she began to cry, and said her stomach
was in great rain. Witness went away, and came back soon
after, and saw the deceased vomiting; did not tell any one
what she saw her take t deceased had told her not to tell.
Did not recollect Mr. Keynes asking Martha Rose, in wit-
ness's presence, if she had taketf any thing; the deceased
had :lever told witness she was in the family way, or that
she would destroy herself; thoughtthe deceased was alter-
ed of late—she was in a low way.
Hannah Franklin deposed, that she was called in on
• Wednesday afternoon to attend the deceased as nurse; she
found her in much pain,' and at times she talked incohe
rently; Thomas Gorton visited the room very frequently to
I nqnfre after her; and came into the room in the middle of
the night, apparently much distressed in his mind. Wit.
n;•ss questioned the deceased as to what she had taken, and
after a long time she acknowledged she had taken poison,
but that " Thomas did not know any thing about it."
Deceased told Thomas of it first, when this witness was out
of the room.
Sarah Tomkins, servant, bad seen deceased on Monday,
when she said she was poorly ; never beard her say site
was with child ; had heard her say, " if ever she was in the
family way, she would kill herself ;'' deceased said her pa-
rish was Over-Norton; she had no home to go to.
Thomas Gorton was next sworn.—lle had lived with
Dlr. Colegrove since Michaelmas last; Martha Rose (the
de.rased) came about six weeks afterwards ; witness recol-
lects her being taken ill, on Tuesday last, and he went se-
veral times to see her; she ;old him she had not taken any
thing to make her so ill; he saw her stain early on Wed-
resJav morning, when, after staying with her about three
quarters of an hour, site " pulled him by the neck on the
I.ed," and said she had taken poison—that Blue Dick
(Willis) had fetched it for her; the deceased told witness
"lie should get well, and he then promised if she did, be
would marry her; witness acknowledged an improper in-
terconrse hid taken place between him and the deceased,
Bed that she had told him she was with child by him; that
a‘out a fortnight .ago be said be should leave her, and
wrote a letter to his uncle to procure him a place; Martha
Hose stood over him whilst he was writing this letter;
iced and himself bad disagreed about her walking with
another man.
S I other witnesses were called, whose testimony
only went to prove the agony the deceased was in during
her illness. .
The Jury, which was very respectable, retired for a few
minutes to view the body, and on their return the Coroner
eta e I the law respecting suicide; lie left it to the Jury to
sty, whether, after what they bail heard, they had any
doubt of the deceased being to a sane state of miod when
she took the poison. There was nothing in the evidence
that seemed to indicate tnat Thomas Gorton was at all aware
of what she had taken, and so far be was innocent ; but the
Coroner and Jury admotislied him respecting his conduct I
to this unfortunate young woman, in first seducing her,and
then telling her be should leave her ' • and they hoped her
unhappy fate woold.be a earning to him to avoid such con-;
duct in future.
With respect to the conduct of Willis, it was so unfeeling,
and his evidence so contradictory, that the Coroner and
Jury unanimously expressed their abhorrence of it; they
bad no doubt he was aware the poison was for an impro-
per purpose when lie fetched it, though he might not sus-
pect the consequences ; but his conduct, after be heard the
deceased was ill, was marked with such inhumanity, that
the jury regretted they had not the power of punishing him.
The 'Jury, without retiring, returned a verdict of " Felo
de se;" and the Coroner issued his warrant for burying the
h.eiv in the church-yard, between the hours of nine and
to rive at night, without any funeral rites, pursuant to the
1 ite Act of Parliament respecting persons committing aid-
tide.

• .47-
lop .

A N EXTRAORE'INAILY Cass.—A few days since, within
a hondred miles of Camborne, two noted scolding women.
who kept the neighbourhood of their residence in a state
of ferment with the delightful music of their tongues, had
a complete set-to fur the championship of that unruly mem-
ber. Force of lungs alone, after a severe contest, having
decided the victory in favour of one of the parties, the de-
fc.tted Xantippe. unable from weakness longer to give vent
to her passion to words, took the matter, it is believed, so
n;,,eli to heart, that she died the next day !—(Piymooth
IVeg NWIL)
pßovoaten.—YesterJay afternoon a shocking accident
happened off the barges below Strand Lane. A number of
boys were pimping from barge to barge, looking at the
rowing match; unfortitnately from the many persons as•
set:shied in one of them, sod the continued ebbing of the
tide, the barge snapped its ropeldid shifted, ere a floe boy
named Lay, who had just sprung from another,barge,
could gain a footing; he, of course, ffll back into the
water, and instantly disaprared. Some other boys also
were immersed, but Lay did not rise again. littant and
prompt exertion was made to find the body, and the
drags were procured, but not till au hour bad elapsed could.
that object be gained, when it was at last elected by the
,means of a barge hook, and instantly carried ashore,—
tleiuts were used to reanimate, but without elect.