The Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser. — 1873-03-15 (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England)

ASSAULT ON A WIFE.  George Blackledge, 35, a factory band, of Blackburn, was charged with attempting to murder his wife at Livesey, near Blackburn, on the 2nd January. Mr. Campbell Forster prosecuted, and Mr. Addison defended the prisoner. The prisoner in this case was a factory hand, and had been married to his wife about eight or nine years. Just before -New Year's Day, he had been drinking very hard, and his wife was afraid to sleep with him. On the let January he appeared to be better, and his wife warmed him four pints of beer, and he did not leave the house. He was sober, and they both went to bed. The wife was awakened about four o'clock in the morning by her husband, who asked what he was to do. She said he was to go to work. He asked her for the matches, and she leaned over the bed to find them. While searching for them she felt her husband seizing her by the neck and stabbing her. It was afterwards found that she had  received nine stabs in different parts of the body. She seized the knife and he drew it through her fingers. t•i-he screamed to alarm the neighbours and crept tinder the children's lied in another room- A neighbour Dallied Hall came in, and after a severe struggle, the priEttner Was disarmed. The woman then crept from under the bed, and her injuttes were ascertained. A ptirtion of her bowels protruded. Her life was ie very great datit:,,ir. The defence was that the ,prisoner was searing 'item tr Hoom, and the prosecuttix admiti, that when the prisoner was under the influ cc of drink he. had strange fnuciee am] delusions and looked strange about the eyes. It was slio proved by a stcychild of the prisoner that nu this occasion he fancied there was a Man robbing the house who had stolen his clothes.. The prisoner, in the strutglie Ifell, attempted to stab himself, and p-istially siteeeeded..lle then sitl that his wife had debited herself, and that he had taken 'the knife from her. The e'idenee if the police showed that the prisoner hid been sullen and eccentric in his conduct whilst in citstody, and that on this account he wee MA; charged with ti e offence for 2 t days nft er the occurrence. Alr. iarkhiuud, surgeon, of Bleckburn, said the moseentrix had been in gret.t danger for some time- Ho had attended the prisoner, and considered he was perfectly sane at the time of the assault and responsible for his actions. Tho Judge : Have you known cases of th-lirillmtrenaota come on without an interval of drinking? Witness : Yes, but there mus` have 'been sleeplessness. The attack generally comes on three or four days after a man has ceased drink -Pot. the defence, Mr. E. Moore. surgeon of the Preston Ilquse Gf Correction, said the prisoner was suffering from functional derangement of the brain, produced by excessive drinking. It WN4 possible for a man under such circumstances to answer questions about his health quite correctly and yet he extremely incorrect about other matters. He had had great experience in shamming case-!, and was quite convinced the prisoner was not shamming. He believed that at the time be committed the act he was not responsible for his acts. Peter Parker, a fellow-prisoner who hal charge of Blackledge, said that he never slept for weeks, and he used to jump out of bed and fancy some one was coming. - .  The Judge dd the chief question for the jury to consider was, whether they were convinced the prisoner knew he was d. ing wrong. If so it was their duty to convict him. The jury returned a verdict of guilty with intent to do grievious bodily harm. The prisoner was sentenced to penal servitude for five. years.