The Express. — 1853-08-12 (London, England)

WIGII MAN. Jane biases. aged 19, was charged with having, at Finsthwaite, wilfully murdered her infant male child. Mr. Blair appeared for the proescution, and Mt. Overend defended the prisoner. It appeared that the prisoner bad been in the service of Mrs. Burns, of Back Barrow, since Whitsuntide, I&i2, and remained till Feb. 18.53. For some time previous to that her mistress had socosed her of being in the family way many times, which she always denied moat positively, but said that she had previously been ill but had got better. On the evening of Feb. 12 Mrs. Burn's suspicions were most strongly seated, and on stating them to the prisoner, she said that she bad better go home. This she did not do, and the neat morning she found her very unwell in the kitchen, leaning against the boiler. She then ordered the prisoner to go to bed, and repeated her suspicions as to her condition, which the prisoner still denied. Mrs. Burns then sent fur a Mrs. Newby, who sometimes acted as a ired site ; and on her arrival .8 asked the prisoner, who was in bed, how she was. She replied that she was poorly. Mrs. Newby then said, " Yon have done as many foolish girls have done before." This the prisoner denied, and witness replied, " You can't deceive nie." Mrs. Newby then examined her, and found that she had been delivered; and then a policeman was sent for, who searched the house, and in the privy under the soil he found the body of • fullgrown male child. The of then went to the prisoner, who said that the child had been born the night before in her flannel petticoat on the chamber floor, and that she did not know whether it was alive or not, sash, did not feel it then, and there was no light, and she could not see. Her room was then searched, end in it were found two little shirt bodies and a cap Mr. Henry Settle, a surgeon at Newenton, examined the body with Mr. Gibson. At first they did not perceive any marks of violence. It weighed 6:b , and measured 20 inches. The umbilical cord had been torn, the lungs were very buoyant, the pulmonary vessels were full of blood, and circulation had been perfectly established. On removing the scalp them was a commove on the head and extravasation of blond, and fhe external tassels of the brain were congested. The contusion bad been caused by • blow.  _ . On cross-examination, the surgeon stated that the oon. cu,sion would have stopped the action of the heart, which would have created less effusion of blood. The coutution on the head might have been produced by the child falling on the floor at its birth. The external congestion might have arisen from protracted labour. Mr. 0 d addressed the jury for the prisoner, and at the outset confessed that so far as regarded the concealment of the birth of the child, the prisoner must be found guilty, but contended that there was no evidence whatever upon which they could fled her guilty of wilful murder of her child. None of the evidence proved that the child was alive when it was put into the privy; the little clothes ha I been found, showing that she had a mother's feelings. It was clear that the child might have died in the act of parturition by falling on the floor. The jury returned a verdict of Guilty of concealing the birth.  1114 lordship sentenced her to be imprisoned for six calendar months.