Denton Examiner, Audenshaw, Hooley Hill and Dukinfield Advertiser. — 1877-08-04 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

CHARGE OF MURDER AGAINST A  BOY.  On Tueseay, at the Leeds Assizes, before Mr Justice Manisty, a little boy, aged 11 y-ars, named James Henry Stephenson, was indicted for the wilful murder of Marsh Roebuck, at Holmfirth, near Eludderefield, on the 4th June, 1877. Mr E. Tindal Atkinson and Mr Armitage were for the prosecution; and the prisoner was defended by Mr Lockwood. In opening the caso, Mr Atkinson explained the law relating to the inquiry, from which it appeared that, as far as the legal aspect was coucerued, the youth of the prisoner had an important bearing. The law presumed a child under the age of seven years to be incapable of committing crime. That presumption was absolute and irrebutable. Between the ages of seven and fourteen years the , presumption was the same—that a child was capable of knowing the wrongfulness of any act he had done—but that presumption was liable to be repudiated by evidence; and the two questions that would be left to the jury were whether the deceased was killed by the prisoner and, secondly, whether the prisoner knew the , difference between right and wrong at the time lie committed the offence. The prisoner is , between the age of 11 and 12 years, and the deceased was a little boy two and a half years of age. On the morning in question the prisoner, who lived at Thurstonland, on the summit of a hill near Holmfirth, was sent down into the valI ley to New Mill to fetch some medicine for a neighbour On the way he had to pass Kirkbridge, where the deceased lived with his parents, and several witnesses would be called who saw the two children together after the prisoner had obtained his medicine. Prisoner was ' seen leading the deceased in the direction of a wood on the Iludderefield-road. A little later on a man named Whitehead, whilst lighting his pipe at a corner of the road, saw the prisoner standing in front of the deceased child in the wood, a little way up the inside of the wall. Prisoner was shaking a bottle, containing, as Whitehead thought, some licorice juice, in the child's face, and the witness ,thought they were bird-nesting. Prisoner then returned home, after having been absent on hia errand nearly two hours longer than he should have been. The deceased was missed, and a search being made his body was discovered in the wood, at the place where the children were seen by Whitehead. There was is hole in his thrust iin. long and liin deep, and the child appeared to have been dead about ten hours, Search was made for the weapon with which the wound had been inflicted, and, after a considerable lapse of time, a brass-hafted one.blade knife, bearing on the haft the letters "Tyne," was found in a crevice in a wall near the prisoner's house. The knife would be identified by two children as one bought by the pri•mner at Thurstonland feset, two days before the commission of the crime. Prisoner being the last person seen with the deceased was susmicied,and having made several suspicious statements, he was taken into custody A "smock" he was wearing at the time of the murder was sent to Dr. Scattergood, of Leeds, to be examined, and several stains of blood were found upon it, and upon other clothes he was wearing at the time. In defence, it was contended that there was no evidence to show that the blow which had resulted in death ha I been struck by the prisoner; secondly, that if the jury answered that question in the affirmative there was not sufficient evidence to show Via, the boy was conscious of what the result of that act would be; and thirdly, that that malice which was requisite in order to constitute the crime of murder had not been shown to have existed in the mind of the prisoner at the time when lie committed this crime.  After a short absence, the jury found the prisoner guilty of 0 Manslaughter," but his Lordship deferred passiug sentence.  Clerks and others who are constantly engaged in writing, would do well to try Idacniven and Cammoron's celebrated pens, as we are convinced that tnere are none better, one trial is sufficient to prove their mice lence. A sample box may be had at the office of thilpaper.