Hertfordshire Sessions, A...
The Times, 1824-04-29T00:00:00

fOr. .5E55OPstated thecsse. AMary 'Fowkes, the piosecutrixc (who appeared to be sabout 60 years ofsage, and is blind of'one eye, and used crutches, 'was tissistee inta the witniess-box, wberc sthe sat while giving.her evidence, beinig quite unable to Stand), examnined by Mlr. Jxssor.-On thte 29th of Mfarcb, 1823. 1 passed through Harrow, from a plate where I have long been resident, butt stopped n6where; I had a fancy pincushion for Pale; I called at Bushy aboaut four o'clock, where Air. Thomas Clutterbuck had lived, and where I had beeni kindly and cordially reeeiveafor 20 years. lbad drunk nothing but,tes that day: whien I went to B4shy I was told Mr. Olutterbuck had left the new house. and baa gone back to the' old one, and the gate being. 4open,- I went to the back door, wvhere a voung voiCe said to 'me, " There is nothing. wanted.-.go your way."1 I then went round to d# front door, and pulled the bell, but did not hear it ring. a person came from a quick hedlge at somie distance, I can't say how far, as I am almost blind; as he approached towards me, I stepped frorm the door to receive him.- As he drew near, I was con- vinced it was a face I did niot know; he muttered somethinig which I did not understanid I turned roundl, and Saw a bright instrument undler his arm ; I bad dreamed thc night before of being murdered by a cleaver. I turned to-go awvay not liking hiA appearance, and instantly received a blow from a sisarp instrument on mny leg, snd fell; I exclaimed, "L rord have mercyup'in me;` I lostmy breath, but did not then faint; I could not stand; I sat and tuirnedtdown my stocking, atnd looked at my leg, the person who gave the wound went away; I thought my foot was severed from my leg, anid faint.. ed. In about twvo hours Mr. Morgan, the parish-officer, chinae to me; he was the- first person I s;aw after the blow. M1r. Lawfoxd and the defendanit then came; I told M%r. Langford the defendantt had cut my leg; the defendant said nothing; I was taken to the Bell inn ; I have been ever s%nce confined to my -room, and the greater part of the time to my bed. Cross-examined by Air. itoriEntcg.-The story I hiave now told is the same in efibet I have always- told ; I stated to the magistrattes that I thought it was a sithe I saw under thie de- fendant's arm;- I never said - r was mowed dawrn like grass by a sithe; I did not say I was desi'red by the defendant to xo away; I said he muuttered somfething which mnight mnean to away. Did you ever performa at a theatre ?-I have performes on the amphiftheatre of life, and am now performing the pawrt of. Timothy Rag in niy own clothes. MNr. JE-sso' s dmoMilhed the witness to answer simply. hi r. BRODEXnCKc objected to any admonition which tended to prevent the witness giving her evidence in her own mnanner. The witness deni-ed having used any. bad language to any per.. son in the bouse thnere was a person. inside a window ; she miet hare been Va,hii dse;witness did not speak -to her. I knef Mir. Clatterbuck's family many years5 aLnd wtas in the habit of calling at the, houste about once in tix mouths; - I never neted bad language in myv life; it is a provinice that' does not belong to me. I camte from Balingthat day; Ipassed lover Bushy- heath, but was perfectly quet. I did tnot ;ay "1I'll be cursed if I don't." I arn quite Sure T did nnt s;peak to a lady a-nd, gentlemant in a tanderi, nor had any thiing to say to poist.boys, to mny recollec- tion; I never kept such society. I never said to any person-that I could not tell how the accident happened. I had seen Mr. Clutter- buck's family in the new house,in the month of January before, but had heard that he liad gone hack to the old house, when I went to Mir. Wylde's hioise. I do not k-now whether my stocking was cut; I could not examine it at the time, and never Saw it since. There were two wounds in the front of the smallof myleg. I have always given the Same account, as. fatr as I know;- but you should recollect the state L was in when my depositions were taken. John Francis, ex-amnelneby 11lr. Jsssos'.-..I am a carpenter, and was at work for ilir. Clutterbuck, setting hurdles near Air. WVylde's garden, on the day the accident happened. iMr. WVylde was clip. ping a hedge; a servant-womani came and spoke to him; he ran away with the shears in his hanDd. I did not see the shears after. Soon after I saw Mlary Powkes lying on the ground; I asked Air. wylda whether he wanted a,sistance; I was going to him, wheni hiti dog bit me ; he took away tile dog, and I did not se him after; I went to the woman and she told me hier leg was brokcen ; I thought Mtr. Wvylde wZane assistance to take away the womnan; 'whea I spoke to3 him, he said he would be glad of my assistance. Joseph Mforgan, examined.-I amn a constable. On the 29th of Mvarch, 1823, I was sent for by Mlr. Wylde; I wenttohbim ; esaid there was a woman in the yard very troublesome; he-wishied mne to tak-e her away. I went to her ; she was lyingr on the ground, and said her leg evas bro'ken ; that the gentlemnan of the house had struck her with an instrument like a garden.sithe, and broke her leg. I exaine hr lg, ndsawit asblody ndbroke. 3Mr. Wylde said "O no,it an' he rok; yo hal b tteAie her out, anLd givehera nghts ldgig i th cae."I said, I can do nothing in it;youhadbetersen fo M. Lw~od,the overseer. Air. Wylde dnoe ht r ehu trc hrkTewoa appeared in agony, but Joseph Lawford, examined.-..[ was overseer of the parish of Busthy in M%arch, 182'3. I went to MIr. Wylde's, in consequence of being isent for, on the 29th of March. in the evening. I saw the prosec-utrix lying on the ground. I said to Mtr. Wylde"1 This is a bad lob;" bie said, "1It is. I was in the garden, clipping the .hedge; my s-ervant came to me, and said there wvas a poor woman in mhe yard very aburive. I 'went to turn her out. and she fell down and broke her leg." The woman eaid he had broke it with a aithe; he said it was false. I had a good deal of conversation with the womani. She'appeared sober, she was taken to. the Bell Inn. The -parish have been paid 301. by the pariah of St. Andrew, Holborn, for the expenses incurred by the accident. Air. Wylde paid no part of it. HIe is' orgoist of WatOfordl church. Mir. G. Shute exam-ined.-! am a surgeon, and was called to at- tead the prosecutrix on the night of the 29th of Mlarch, 1823. 1 removed her stocking, which was bloody; there were two woundsi on the front of the leg-one on the instep, the other three inches hihr;tey 'were angular wounds; the larger bled freely; they mst hav been produced by external violence; whatever instru- ment caused the wounds, they could not have fractured the leg. Very probably such wounds might be given by a sthears; there was an oblique fracture of both bones of the leg; the bones hadl not pierced the stkin. r attended the woman eight or nine weeks; part of the time she had symptonis of lock-jaw, certainly pro-duced by the wounds. One single blow could anot have produced the wounds and fracture If a person fell down and fractured a leg, in 19 cases Out Of 20) the fracture would br transverse, not oblique, as was the cae in the present instance. Cross-examnined by Mir. -BR0DnxarCx... met iMr. Wylde in Ja- nuarylast, and told him he had better settle this matter : he said I was the cause of all the trouble he was pot to albout it : I was asto. nished, and certainly told him I was willing to give him any satis- faction he pleased : I had said before, in conversation to other per- sons, that if he had spoken to me, I would have softened the matter down. In astate of intoxication or irritation an accident of the kind is likely to be more injurious than under other circumstances. The witness was proceeding to excplain what he rmeant by saying he would often down the matter, but was prevented by an assurance from Air. Broderick thatbeliad not meant the sLght- )t imputation. Mfr. BRODm1IICX addressed the Jury at considerable length, and called the fol1lowing witnesses:- Oharlotte Bent.-I wax servant to Mir. Wylde at Easter, last year; the family were Air. and Mrs. WVylde, and Mlr. WVyide's mother, a nuraery..maia, two chlildren, and myself. Ilam not now in his service; about three o'clock on the Saturday before Easter I was in the scullery ; Mlary Fowkces came in ; I told her I had no. thing for her, she miight go awayv; she called mne an infernal- She aidit as ardClarendorn' house; that she knew him btfore 1 di. Se cotinedto abuse me for ten minutes;, I thea pushed her ut nd hutthedoor; she went to the front door, and rang the bel viletly threwas no one in the house but myself, the nurse. ry-mid,andchilren I entinto the garden to call mv master to sendheraway hewas lipinga hedge with a shears ;' I returned Intothehoue; y mste wet to the front of the house; I soonafte sawhimtrYing - to lift the woman, whio was lying on the ground b e hadl nothing in his hand ; MY mistress was standing at the corner of thebhouse, with the slears in herbhand: I saw the6nr. sery-maid looking towards the place where the woman lay through a window ; I went for a constable to put the woman olut ; I did not kniow that her leg was brokcen ; I afterwards went for the overseer; the woman, as she lay on the ground, continued to use bad language, ,4nd a mob collected before the house. Gordon H{orwood. .... was ntursery-maid at Mlr. IVylde's when the accident happened to M1ary Fowkes ; I have been servant in Mfajor PhiPpp's famifly the last six months; on the day of the accident I wasI io the nursery, and saLw Mlay Fowkea comne roundi the house and look into the dining-rom window, which was open. I desired herto go away, as she woiuld get nothing there. She said it was Lord Clarenfion's houe,, and sihe must see hirA or the lady. M1r. WVylde cae up -and put hs hand on her shoulder, ina manner that would nnt brush a fly off had one'been thiere. She looked up to mue iL the window ; sthe was standing cross.legged at the time, and fell on her baek. Mfymaster had no shears iii his hand. The woman appear.. edl very Intoxicate. I went from the wvindow for a few moments, and returned toit again, when I saw hier iitting on the ground pulingoffhe stckig.Shie did not say her leg was broke; she sai itwasa ood.fo~nehig pppyof18 that had done her the in. jury Shctalkd vrylodsmeis prayed to God to forgive her,andat ohertime swarin. Terewere flint stones where she fell Sh sad se sppsdheadbn struk with aL sithe ; she had tmetobecom soer befr s'he was taken away. Willam Hmble.-I. am a labourer, and was at work on Bushy.. heat esateon astr Sturay,and heard a noise as if two persona were quiarrelling; I okdoehe hedge and saw the prosecistrix; she was Staggeringonteas and Baid], " I'll be cursed if I don'L' erewas aetlm and a lady in a tandem, to whom she talked. C-ross-examin6d......y fellow-servant, who was with sme at the time, said he did not think the woman was drunk. John Dumbleton was" crossing Blushy.heatb gquarter before three o'clock on Easter Saturday, 1823, and saw the prosecutrix, and thought f'rom her appearance she was~ drunk. ElizaLbeth Dumblleton saw the prosec,.trix talkng to twp post. boys in Bushy, sbout three o'clock- on the day in. question, and thought her very miuch intoxicated. hlsry Alltn exaniined.-...1am Charlotte Bent's mother. I saw the prosecutrix a little before the accident, anLd she appeared to me toabs very muuch intoxicated. I went with Charlotte Bent to se MVary Fowkes thirc days after die accident; she then said shec did notknow how it happened. onMrs. *~yld~e exmine4....I am th defendat's.~ e n a a vist athis huse he t eaiet. cam wt in n isiswifein te grdenwhenChalott BeWicae tohI ewn awaywit theshers ahishan, adhi wie ant q nhsam her legs about and used such language that I dared nat go near her. [ went out twice to her with water, but a mob colletet before the house, and were so violent thatIwas afraidtogonearher. 1-pickedup two flint.stones with blood on trem where she lay the next rnorrnng. Cross.examined..Before I came up from the garden, there was time for my daughtermin-law to put the shears where I saw it. AMr. Clutterbuck examined..I am a magistrate* I saw the prose. cutrix on thet3d of April, and examined her leg and herstocking ; there were two small wounds on her leg, but no hole in her stocking; I have known the defendant nine years, and alwvas considered him a huane ind-eared man; mny brother --forrierly lived- in the house thedefenndarntoew occu iesa LordClarendon-neverdid. Dr. Monroe examined.-.I have known llr. Wylde9 years. He h b . r . V i v a n , k r . W i g g i n s , M r . M o i ea x a n d s e v e r a l vears, gave hm the hgethrce o ideso ipsto n ;eral humane conduct. f Mr.Colby cstated, tiabo h had 29 ynears' practicedas a surgeon, sndfom is eperencewas-of pinon,that a Ifracure oftbe leg pro.. Llued y afal, wul, m yongsbjet.probably be transverse, but hi aersoof he dfenant' ag, wola ore probably be oblique. TheJuconsltedboutaquareroan boar, and-7eturnod a au..I ~HBRTPORDSTh~I SRSSUY$ .~fWL27. Tl= KlNG, AT .TE PBROSECUTION OF XARY rOWKES, V - zNRV WYT.DFrL