Star. — 1822-10-09 (London, England)

AMERICAN CRUELTY.—C. Stephens was arraigned before Joshua T. Chase and Isaac Lyman, Esqrs. at Kittery Point, charged with the murder of his son, C. Henry Copely Stephens, aged nine years. It appeared in evicence before the Magistrates, that Sitphens, recently an intelligent ship-master, was in the frequent habit of abusing his wife and children. On Sunday morning, the 21st of July, he was heard by a neighbour, at the distance of sixty rods, to whip his wife severely ; her shrieks were very loud ; and his son Charles was heard to say," I shall die ! I shall die r On Sunday, the 11th of August, the same person heard him beat his son severely, who, after beseeching his father in vain for mercy, said, he wished GOD would take him out of the world that moment. On Tuesday, the 6th inst. Stephens and his wife returned from Boston; at tea-table a quarrel :nose between them, and he beat her severely. She disappeared soon after, and had not been found at the period of the examination.—Eft has since been ascertained that she effected her escape to this town, dreadfully. mangled, and now lies secreted in the house of one of her triends.]-0n Wednesday, the 13th inst. he gave his son several severe whippings with a rope. In the evening of that day a lad called on Stephens, on an errand ; his son went to the door, and appeared to be much exhausted from the severe chastisement he had received. He has not since been seen.—  The day following the dwelling•house of Stephen's was closed, the windows and doors la,,tened, and all attempts to gain admittance were ineffectual, though his little daughters were heard to cry, and beg for the admission of their aunt, who was knocking at the aeor. On Friday four persons only gained admittance, but they saw nothing of the missing child.— From the circumstance of the mysterious absence of Mrs. Stephens, and Charles not having been seen since Wednesday, a suspicion :nose that the latter had been murdered. Several persims accordingly watched ,near the house on Friday evening. Between eight and nine o'clock a man was seen in a boat, making from a neighbouring wharf to the cove in front of Stephenes house: having gained the shore, he went up to the house, and soon returned, bearing in his arms a burden, which he deposited in the boat, and sculled round the point out to sea, at first moderately, but afterwards very fast. The boat was on Saturday taken up, eight miles horn land, and the painter, which was a chain, gone. On Friday morning, Stephens sent his little girl to the house of Mrs. Jane Seavey, the distance of a mile and a half, to inquire if she knew where Charles was. Mrs. Seavey observing that the child looked ill, asked what ailed her? The child was unable to tell, and Mrs. Seavey examined her body. Language is inadequate to describe the shocking:spectacle which presented itself: the little victim was so discoloured from her neck to her heels, that the stoutest heart could not look upon her unappalled. On her back and arms were several wounds, and on the abdomen a contusion, which it was then feired would prove mortal. She was so much swol:en and bruised, that Mrs. Seavey wasobliged to cut the linen from her back. The child is an unusually delicate girl of about seven years. She testified that her father whipped her on Wednesday with a rope, at tl e s to e time he whipped Charles, whom he also beat with the tongs, saying, "he would fix him." The little girl was immediately put under the Cale of two respectable Physicians, and is likely to recover. On Sunday evening Stephens came to this town, and entered a fictitious name on the stage-book for Boston, but was apprehended next morning. He has been committed. to York jail, to take his trial at the term of the Supreme Court to be holden at Alfred on Tuesday uext.—New York Paper, Sept. 1.