The Manchester Examiner. — 1848-07-25 (Manchester, Greater Manchester, England)

YOUNG POISONER.—At the Lincoln assizes, on Friday, Elizabeth Garner, a little girl of pleasing appearance, only 13 years old, was capitally indicted for administering to Mary Smith, her mistress, a certain deadly poison, to wit, arsenic, with intent to kill and murder her. It appeared that the girl had left her parental home for the first time, and entered into the service of the prosecutrix, a bedridden old woman, residing at Calceby, in this county. She became uneasy in her place, not because she was ill-used at all, but simply because she was unhappy at leaving and being away from her home, and one day finding some fagwater (a mixture containing arsenic, soft soap, and water, and used to destroy vermin on sheep) in a jar in a cupboard, she took half a cup full, and poured it into a jug of milk she had just fetched from a farmhouse close by for her mistress, who drank some of it from the jug. The mistress soon vomited a good deal, and Mr. Kilby, the surgeon, was sent for. The mistress gave him the remainder of the milk in the jug, and he analysed it, and found it to contain arsenic. He analysed the vomit also without detecting any, but it was not the first. The vomiting and timely remedies used, probably saved the poor woman's life, and the surgeon stated that she was now out of danger, though still suffering from the effect. The only evidence to prove that she knew that she had administered poison, was her own confession to the surgeon, made in the presence of the prosecutrix and of Mrs. Brunton, a neighbour. The surgeon having first stated that lie held out to her no inducement to confess, the confession was admitted as follows :—" I knew it was poison; I believed it would kill the woman; I gave it to her to be set free from my place:' Mrs. Brunton, the neighbour, being called to corroborate, stated that the surgeon did say, "it would be better for her if she would confess." The counsel for the prisoner objected to the confession being received as evidence, but the learned judge, after conferring with the lord chief justice, determined to keep the surgeon's evidence before the jury, and reserve the point, if necessary. Mr. Flowers having addressed thejury for the defence, his lordship summed up the case to the jury, observing that between the age of seven and fourteen years an in. flint was presumed to be irresponsible criminally; but then malice will supply the deficiency of age, and it was a question for the jury whether there was here sufficient evidence of malice to supply it, and to satisfy them that there existed a mischievous discretion, and a consciousness of the nature of the act done. They must take into consideration what she had said to the surgeon, and if that had been improperly received, she would have the benefit of it. He certainly should not have received the evidence if what the surgeon had in the first instance said to her had been previously disclosed.—The jury almost immediately returned a verdict of guilty.—llis loroship then feelingly addressed the prisoner, and concluded thus:—" Sentence of death will be recorded only against you, and I shall recommend her majesty, who I have no doubt will attend to it, that your life be spared, though upon what terms I cannot say."