The Sun. — 1849-03-10 (London, England)

PARKE.) Hannah Southgate, 29, a married woman, was indicted for the wilful murder of Thomas Ham, at the parish of Wix, by feloniously administering to him a large quantity of a certain deadly poison called white arsenic. Mr. Ryland and Mr. I„ dwell conducted the prosecution; and Mr. Ballantine and Mr. T. Chambers defended the prisoner. The Counsi 1 for the prosecution having opened the case, explained to the jury that the prisoner was charged with the murder of her former husband, Thomas Liam. The principal evidence was that of a woman named Phcebe Reid, who had lived as servant with the deceased and the prisoner, and who deposed (as well as other witnesses) to frequent threats made use of by the prisoner to take the life of her husband, and at his death to gratify her preference for another. This witness gave some vague and obscure accounts of tea and sago, or arrowroot, having been prepared by the prisoner for her husband, into which she infused some powder, and added that after taking it the deceased became very sick and complained of violent pains in the throat. She also deposed to habits of inemperance and infidelity on the part of the prisoner, during the lifetime of the deceased, and said that her mistress had been on terms of intimacy with a woman named Mary May, who had been convicted at the last assizes of murder by poison, and executed, and that the two women had mutually rejoiced over the death of the deceased. In her cross-examination the woman Reid made admissions which showed that her own habits were far from pure, and that she bad been charged with theft. She also acknowledged that poison was kept in the house (and, as it appeared, in a very careless manner, so that any one might have access to it), for the destruction of rats, and that she did not believe, when her mistress made use of the threats, that she really intended to kill her husband. Professor Taylor, lecturer of chemistry at Guy's Hospital, deposed that on examination of the stomach of the deceased he detected a large quantity of arsenic, and that death was caused thereby. Mr. BALLANTINE addressed the jury on behalf of the prisoner, and in the course of his speech he urged upon the jury that the evidence of the principal witness ought to have very little weight upon them, and that her own account of what occurred was highly improbable and inconsistent. He then commented upon all the other facts of the case, and submitted that it was very possible the deceased might have taken the poison by accident, and that at all events in such a serious charge as this, and one which upon conviction would undoubtedly entail such dreadful consequences, that the evidence was not so conclusive of the prisoner's guilt as to compel them, upon their consciences and the oath they had taken, to return a verdict of guilty. Mr. Baron PARKE then summed up, and the jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict of—Not Guilty. 7:h or whinli the ahoy., summary conva.ia'all the important points, occupied more than twelve hours.  ORFOLK ClRCUlT.—Bedford, March 9.  The Learned Judges of assize arrived here yesterday, at two o'clock, having travelled together with the bar by a special train from Aylesbury, and the courts were both opened this morning, ut 10 o'clock. The cause list contains two causes; and the calendar 39 prisoners, most of whom are charged with petty offences, the only exceptions being one case of child murder, one of manslaughter, one of house-breaking, three others in which parties are respectively charged with maliciously stabbing and wounding a constable in the exercise of his duty; ono in which the party is charged with cutting and stubbing, with intent to do some grievous bodily harm, and one with night poaching.