Northampton, Tuesday, Jul...
The Times, 1824-07-30T00:00:00

.IobCrt ioJohnson, aged 17, was -inrlict2d- tbr an assalult unon itaLry Srvms, 6pinster, at.Clav Cottoiij ib tbie county, oti the 15th of April lbat, with ititent to cc,nmit a grtaieroffince-' - - The prosecution was tonducted by Mr. N. 0. CLTAtXER-' 'rlry Srivins, a coarse countly wench, of aboui 19 s;id that sbe li'ved with her inether at Clay Cotton, who tiianted'a sm,lllcotstge. On the morning of the day in questior, which;waa' the day -before Good Friday, shc as erployed itn a close, gathcrcltr some-w ool which had remtainsed after the sheaters. The dose in, which she -15, Was separated bv another from the village. Sher perceived tlle prisoner, t7bom she bad known before, and who wsa- a na- 'tive of an adjoining village, and out vf 'employment atthe time, loitering about thl fields. He soon oppyoachedlner,-ad recoiummended *o her to search fir some wool in a pen whichI he pointed out. The wivness vwasabout to proceed in that direction, but on turaing round, Ahc perceived she wa, closely followeAl by the- prisoner, He soon caine up withi he, and affected to quarrel *itb. tter on actoutt of so;ne reporta prejudicia1 to his character, which he charged-her withl circulatlng. Witness denied thisg:and the prisoner the- ss3aulted her and threw her down. She then apprehended no danger. 'Witness resisted to the utmost of her power, screamging out fo anssistance as. loudly -as vhc could. The struggle- was con. tinued for upwa-ds- of twenty minutes, when the prisoner sud. denly exclaimed that somebody wart approaching, on whi h he let -oahushold,anti released witness'iom herprostratesituati~o- Wit- nttes could -tot persreive any one; but she took -the first opportunity o rf r rz g lier <s-tae trorn the prisoner, who threatened i. sho did sot go, that lie wou d repeat his attacks. - Immediately upon eet. tirg homne witness informed her mother 'of what had happene -to lzar, and ui consequence tre prisoner-was shortly after taken before a Magistrate, who committed him upon thin charge.' Cros8.e!tunlned by Air. Gotr. m6tir.-Witiuess made all the re. s stane~ in'her powrer. The place wvas aear - the village, but it benig a windy day, hter screams could stot reech there. - There were no other persons in 'the cose at the time. There -was a public path throughu the elose-'-te villagc, tmd'tbe high road-was at the top of the cloo. The tisse wals about twro o'ioet, and the place was no snore than 29 or 3i) Yards fronm the high road. Witness has known theprioner z many years; he was e6teemed-an idiot. Hetvas sh mis- chievous, thbt people were unwilling to give him employment. The 119-gistrate to wharn she applied was a clergyman, who refired to interfere becusie the day was Good Fridxv. The risonzer wais not taken into cusordv till thte Wledneslday followinlug. Witness ad- mitted that she told Alice lathlers that the prisoner had not med. -dled with her; -buc she now explained that she meant thrit be bad 21ot abused her. 81te first stated the story to a girl na2ued Rebecca Arthur, who had refused to conme forwan at the trial. lIaxy Sivins, tht mother of the last witness, rorroborated irer witir reaeet to the f.. t af the outrage offered her. This witness rtated thiat lher daughter -atde te relatlion With great reluctafler, and it was only in consenueOice of bein? pressed as to the vause of the de- pressian of spints and agitation of mind in which she appeared to be. Joel Townsend, constsble, spoke to arresting the prisoner at Wat- ford. The prisoner confessed that he hanl assaulted the girl, but 4bserved, that th-y could not hang him for it. Witness gave bis oirilnion, that the pirisoner was &ufficiently sound ef uind, and capable of distinp iahitng rght fomn wrong. This was the cwre for the' prosecution. 3r. GouarJLavt addressed the jury for the prisoner, contending that the story told by the prosecutrix was undesentng of credit Fromn the nature oif the place, and the timne of day at which the as- aault was said to hrwve been niacle, it was impossible that the prisoner could have contemplated the commi3sion of a serious offence. ,MIr. Justice Ho-r.BoyD observed to the jury, that i' they assum. ed the prisoner's intention to have been to commit the higher crime, the cireutnstances of publicity alhided to by the learned counsel ne- gatived the idea of .he prosecutrix being a consenting party. Under ill tire circumstanccs, he was of opinion that the prisoner, when he commnitted the assarlt, was not guiltv of an intention to carry his purp,%ose to n crimninatl extent. Thre jury accordingly found him guilty of a common assAiult only. He wus centenced to one year's irnprisonment, and to be privately ti/mrks Citttoa, aged 25, and rharhes Paul, aged 17, beth privates iay the dtl regiment, were capitally indicted for an assault committed in tVie common barrack.room of 'a detrrchment of the regiment, at Wleedon, about eight miles front this town, on a certain night in 1.1-ay luct. Patsi, the yornger criminal, and who seemed to have been betrayed to infutmy by the solicitations of Clutton, was admitted as an ap- prover by the Crown, and Iiis sta-ement, corroborated in many parts by tine evinlencre-f 'bur soldiers, placed the prisoner Glutton's guilt bevont all doubt. Ttre Ju-y found Clutton guzilty of the capital felony. MUr. Justice 14OItOYD trlen passed upon bhin thc awful sentence of the law, giving him to uimderstand that he must Pot expmet any merry in this worit, and conjuring himn to profit of the sbor- time which yet remained to him, in prepatiog himself to appear before Ih et Peing hose nmery, ho wever bountiful it might be, wastequalled by hiajusuice. e pIsoner, sch-i is a cad avereus, fi tbv-lookine wreteli, betrayed tIhe' rnost obdurate insensibili' y to his situation throughout tihe trial, uind was unmnoved even whilsi the J,rdge w announcing to him that liis ho.rible c-imnes had rendered hia unfit to live amongst ren, aid that thetermn olhis sojourn here was limited toafewhours. * NORTHAAMPTON. TuIsIAY. JuLr 27. CtlOWN COURT.