The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — 1803-02-15 (London, England)

CRUELTY. Ann Brown was indicted for assaulting and cruelly ill-treating Ann Harris, her apprentice. Mr. KKOWLES opened the case, with his usual abilities. He stated that this indictment was brought forward by the Churchwardens .and Overseers of Bishopsgate parish; and that a more diabJlical charge had never been exhibited against any individuaL He observed, that the child, who had been the victim of the prisoner's cruelty, had died n few days after. the had been taken from her, and that; fortunately fur the prisoner, the Coroner's Jury had brought in their verdict, Died ly the visi:oreion of Gad, o'r she would certainly have been ind.cted for murder. William Brown, the husband of the prisoi24 had been included in thel indictment ; but as he had subsequently died hi prison, Mr. KNOWLLi admitted no part of the evidence which related tb him should be suffered to operate to the disadvantage of the prisoner. Mr. GueNtv, who followed Mr. K now Ltis for the prosecution, then called Rose Bedford ; she said, that on the Ist ofJuly last, she went to live in -Skinner-street, in the same house with the prisoner, and worked at the same business, Whic.h was that of a pinhead maker : that she knew the deceased Anne Harris, who was a little girl of eleven years old ; that she had often heard the cries of the child, and witnessed the cruelties of the prNoner, and had sometimes interfered, and enquired the cause of her chastisement, when she was informed by the mistress, that the deceased had not earned fourteenpence per day —a task which the witness said was imposible for a child of her age to perform, especially with such bad implements as she was obliged to use. She said that four-pence or six-pence was as much as she could have been expected to have earned. Among other acts of cruelty which she had seen, the witness declared, that the prisoner had beaten the child's head against a !arge lead weight used in the machine.  Hannah Blewitt, a girl of ten years old, deposed, that she, Ann Grace, and the deceased Ann Harris, were all apprenticed to the pt ismer on ShroveTuesday last, from the parish of St. Giles. That they were with the prisoner a few weeks before the premium given by the parish was paid ; soon after which she beean to use the deceased very cruelly ; imposing tasks.which it was utterly impossible tor her to perform, and for not performing which, she inflicted the greateet cruelties upon her ; sueh as beating her on the head with an iron file, till the blood streamed from the wound, aed sticking pins into various parts of her flesh ; that at orie time the prisoner compelled the deceased to stand on one leg, on the lic,b of dee fire-place, with her head up the chimney, ',wilding a brick in her hand, extended at arm's-length, with a log of wood suspended to her other leg by a rope, for the space of two hour Ann Grace confirmed the evidence of the last witness, and said, that since the prisoner had been in custody, she and her fellow-apprentice had been under the care of the parish-officers. Catherine Mffsaacs said, that she lodged and worked with the Prisoner, in Oaolier last ; that ci"' had frequently witnessed-her cruel treatment of the deceased ; that the had seen the Prisoner beat her on the head with a hammer, and scratch her face with pins, until the blood strentned ; and that to her knowledge, the deceiled had been deprived of food fur the space of thine' hours. This Witness further stated, that upon her tennensttnting with the Pei. sour upon her enormous cruelties, she uttered the most horrid threats against the Children, and made use of the most shocking language. Witness length gave notice of these transaßions to Mr. Barnield, who went And took the child away. Mr. Barufield said: that having information et this cruelty, he went, with one of the gentlemen now in office, to the prisoner's house, where they were shucked at the appearance of the children; the deceased, Ann Harris, seemed in a dying state, and they ordered one of their beadles to take heyto their work-house, where she died in a few days. Being carried, before her death, in a woman's arms, before the Lord Mayor, she charged the prisoner with cruelty. A school-master, from St. Giles's, said, the deceased was a fine, healthy child when bound apprentice. The prisoner, in her defence, pleaded her TO