The Forest of Dean Examiner : — 1875-12-10 (Blakeney, Gloucestershire, England)

STAFFORDSHIRE WINTER ASSIZES.  These Assizes were commenced at Stafford, before Baron Amphlett, at ten o'clock, on Tuesday. His Lordship, in charging the Grand Jury, mid there was on unusually large number of cases in the calendar, a great many of which were directly traceable to the beer-honsesand public-houses, which had harboured men until they were so intoxicated that they could only just walk. If he might venture to make a practical suggestion, it was that it would be well for the police to be instructed to watch cases that were tried at the Assizes and Sessions, and where there was reason to suppose that men had been allowed to stay the whole of the day drinking in public-houses, to discover, if possible, any publican who was not carrying on his business in a respectable manner, and call upon him to explain his conduct on the licensing day in due course. There were one or two eases a very serious, kind which he would call their attention to. The first case was one of wilful murder against two persons named Mussin and Hillman, the circumstances of which were of a most pitiful and painful kind. The deceased was a young girl who was put by her mother under the charge of the two prisoners, who were not man and wife, but lived as such. The father lived at Wolverhampton, and the prisoners plied about between that and other places. 'Previous to the alleged murder, the attention of some boatmen were called to the prisoner's boat on several occasions when the two prisoners were seen beating the girl in a most violent way with a whip, which was probably used to drive the horse with, and both prisoners were seen to flog the little girl with the lash doubled on the stock of the whip upon her naked person. That treatment went on up to the list of October, at which time the girl appeared to be in a very feeble state, and died on that day. When the girl was medically examined, on her loins and other parts of her person were found a mass of wounds and bruises, such so might have been caused by the whip. It woe found at the post-mortem examination that the cause of death Nati a clot of blood upon the brain, if they were satisfied that the death was either caused or accelerated by the beating that the girl received from the prisoners, or either of them, undoubtedly the beating being of a kind that nothing could justify in a girl of tender age, it would be an unlawful act on their part. The _question would then arise—had they any doubt as to whether the prisoners were guilty of manslaughter or the more serious crime of murder? There had been an immoderate and unreasonable correction, and the question was whether, having regard to the tender age of the girl and her delicate state of health at the time, the whip was not a dangerous instrument, or one calculated to lead to dangerous consequences. It was not necessary that the prisoners should have conteinplated killing the child that they should be charged with the capital offence. If they used a dangerous weapon, knowing her weak state, and in a reckless spint, the law said it was murder. His Lordship then alluded to the case of Wm. Hancock, charged with murdering by shooting•'Phomas Goodwin at Leek. This case arose out ef a quarrel between the prisoner and the deceased, who whilst in liquor fought: after which the prisoner went home and fetched a gun, and encountering the. deceased, pointed the gun at him and shot him dead. Under the circumstances a prima facie came of murder Was to be made out. The Grand Jury were then discharged to their duties.