York, Saturday, April 3.
The Times, 1824-04-06T00:00:00

eJwYVy, ageL 24, Was charged on a Coroner's inquisition with the wilful murder of her ille-gitinmate child, at AVakefield, on the 5th of December. She pleaded "1not guilty." hMr. JON ES submitted an objection tn'the inquisition, and on-which he begged to have the opinion of his Lordship. The inquisition states, that it is taken before 23 person~s therein named, and purports to be the act and finding of all the jurors, and is tested by the Co- roner, who states that the parties aftoresaid have set tbeir hands nd seal to it. OR examiaation it appears. to have onlv 13 siena- tures and seals; and although 13 might be a, sufficient number for a fidi ng, yet it should bc correctly stated in the inquisition. Ar. Justice HoL yn,tY 4-n the case of ". King V. Maynavd," tried in thc Surnmer.assizes at GuiMdford, 1812, which is precisely si- nsilar to this,where. the bill was throwfn out by the grand jury, and the prisOzler was stubsequently put on- her trial -on theinqauisition, at simi- lar objection was raised, the trial proceeded, and the pointwas saved. On the 14th of Noavember. 1812, the twelve Judges met, and withi one exception, they decided that ttierules of evidence prescribed by 43d of George. 1Il., sec, 4, applied Cn the same w-ay to all charges bY inquisition, as well as by indictmehit; atid that if twelve (a niajority On an inquest) stign theq iniquisition, it ig a good finding. In " the King v.w or ary Cole," busenclyt ried at Carlisle, a sirsalar objec- tion was'oyerruifcd wM.Jsit aly Mllarv Anne .WVall;er stated.4 was- servart to Airs. Wcbster, in Wakcie dd,al~on, vnth the. prisoner5 ghe appeared to be unwell oa the th f Deembr, ad cmplrnedon oingto ed.She slept wit e;ad tupaboutb 2o'lnock,and wengt dofnsstairs, where she remained nbout one quarter of an hour; she then' came back again to beDan a second time got u, ulabout half-pact 3 o'clock, and srent (owvn taiFrs, where she remaiae'd till pAast 6 o'clock. My mis- tds h earig her get up, ranlg her bell, which I answvered, and vas esred by her togo dov;n to the, kitchen and know the cause: *hen Vwent there, the prisoner was not in it (having gone back to bed in the mean time.) I was surprised to see the floor partly wvasled, as if recentlv done; and on examining it, i fiound it had the appear- ance of blood, the sanme Appearances of!lood were in a back kitchen, and which I knew could not have been there over night. In looking for a pail, I laid my hand on a knife, which was all over blood in the sink,aidamat near it wpsalso loody. Ivwentupstairsandfband the prisoner in bed; she complainea vdery much of illness, and I did not wish to speak to her. She said, "she e had suared as mhani as if she had been in labour." Before this. I had often taxed her hwith being pe twhich she alway9s denied; but I observed after thisnai t avisible alteration in her ~hape-, My mother hsviiig cme to the ouse, I toldher what Ihadobserved. She told my mis- tress, and a physician was sent for. Mlrs. Walk-er miother to the prft-cedlng witness, stated-that when she sawv the prisoner she told I'er wihat her daughiter said of her, and hdesra chiirto spealt the trut',5-, as it 'w'as quite plain she mut have hd child (re swch wnat 'sure to be found, and which might be laid toher (wtsnes sa) d '*ghter s charge, or some other innocent person. The rtsoner tnet'actnowledged that she had had a delivery,but said she *danotkno',iwhthether it was alive, or had cried, she'had not heard it, and i.hat she had placed it in the ash-hiole. A wIts5 was then examined who stated, that on searching the hi' - site had dug into it witi' a shovel, auid turned up the foot of ; soon afterwards the remains of a tfemale infant, not bill- 9"0'-. There-was some hair on its head, and the nailswere alittle F'O.wn; there were not any marks of violence on its body, bitt the I neck was cut across, which witness, on &ross-examlnatioo, admitted hmighlt have been done by herself with the shovel, when she placed her obot on it to force itirto thneash-heap. John llsfall, surgeon and accoascheur,thouighst the child had not come to maturity: on examining it, he thought, from appearances of hee,chied's neck, the cut 'might have bean produced as the last wit. Alr. Justice {OLR.YD. -t appears to me the grand jury were perfectly warrantcd in slot finaing the bill, the evidence not being sullicient to establish the capital charge, the only thing that can now be laid to thc prisoner is having concealed the birth of the child: and his lordship called on the prisoner's counsel if they had any evidence tooffer against it. The prisoner's mother stated she had Fxeanined her box after this transaction had occurred, and she found in It everal artcles requisite for a new-born child, some finished, and othets not. M7z. itrsfall was re-examined by his lordship, and he stated the achald had not the appearance of being more than seven mnonths old: the srioner was in a diseased state at present; her stomach was srmpathetically affected by the organic disease of the ovarium, and sue cotuld not live if subjected to long' confinerment. Witness con. aidered her disease to have been brought on bv her confinement. Several vitnesses were called, who severalUy stated the prisoner was of a tender and humane disposition. Iilr. Justite RIoLRoyD, in sUmnming up the evidence, explained the provisions of the act which left it in the power of the jury, in cassa of this kind where proof could not be given of the existence of the child at the time of its birth (and without which no indictment for a capital charge could be sustained), to 5nd a verdictfor conceal- ing thebitrthof the child. a ne jury, under his lordship's directions, found a verdict to that eilect, uMd recommended the prisoner strongly to mercy on account of her youth and excellent character. ?'orge Tho7im, aged 32, was indicted for the wilful murder of WiLliam Thomnas, his child, under 7 months of age. The prisoner was a shears-maker, in Leeds, and had been in the employment of a Mr. Brown, a cloth-manufacturer theze, until Christrmas at which time his employer had erected machinery for the purpose of cutting the cloth of his establishment, and had not any further occasion for the services of the prisoner or other trades- rnen for thac work. A change in the prisoner's disposition was re- marked from this period: he became dejected, and several times attempted to take away his life. It appeared in evidence, that on the 6th of March, his wife went to thie market to dispose of some shoes and other small articles she had commenced trafficlking in to support her family. The prisoner was remarkably fond of this child, and brought it to the house of 3farv Morris, where he left it about 10 o'clok in the morning; and. from her evidence it appeared he came back for it a little past four o'clock. 'I'he child was tlen asleep on a little bed, made for the occasion on a table. The prisoner looked at it most anxiously; told iMrs. illorris he had been at the market where ' illary, his wife, had sold nothing." He, howevet, would not disturb the child, and went away apparently in the greatest dejection. About five o'dok, the child baving awoke, and begun to crXy, Alrs. LMlorris brought itto the house of the prisoner, -whom she saw in a half.dressedstate; she left it with him, desiring him to bring it again to her in the evening. Some time after, the prisoner was observed to leave his house, and left the key in the door. Ars. Morris went into it, and conceived it rather extraordi- nary the child was not in its cradle ; she searched for it without effect; and when Mrs. Thomas (tine mother) came from market, she ran into a cellar, looking for the child.and immediately screamed andfel into a fir. She had found the child drowned in a washing tub. Ther.e could be no doubt that the prisoner had, in a moment of temporary insanity, placed the ,child in the tub, and was utterly unconscious of whathfe had done. The Jury found a verdict of Guiltly; and that at the time of t omtmitting the mnurder the pritoner was i tsane. - , , VOR8, SATURDAY. APRtI :t