The Express. — 1866-01-01 (London, England)

SOUTH W A RH. ROBBERY AT MESSRS. PROCTOR AND BETIEGDWB. . - . .. . _ •  Mary Bun t, a middle-aged female, was brought before Mr. Woolrych by Burch, a detective officer of the M division' charged with stealing nearly a hundred weight of size fat, the property of Messrs. Proctor and Bevington, glue and size manufacturers, Grange-road, Bermondsey. Burch said that about 6 o'clock on Sunday evening he met the prisoner coming from the direction of Messrs. Proctor's premises carrying something heavy under her shawl. He stopped her, and asked her what she had there. Sbe replied, "Oely my own work." He, however, lifted the shawl up. and found that she bad • cask of size weighing about 701 b. She begged him not to take her into custody, as she would never do such a thing again. Mr. Woolrych asked whether she said where she got it from.  Witness replied in the affirmative. She told him that it came from Messrs. Proctor and Bevington'a. Witness, however, suspected that other persons were concerned in the robbery. Mr. Joseph Proctor, the manager of the factory in the Grange-road, identified the property as belonging to the firm. He saw it safe in a large hogshead on Saturday night, and that morning he missed a large quantity of the fat. It was worth 4d. a pound, and was sold to the soap•boilers, Mr. Wooliych asked if the small cask found on the prisoner belonged to them. Witness replied that it did. It was one of those need for packing glue in. lie knew the prisoner as working for them, bat she had no right near the premises on Sunday. Tier husband bail occasionally worked for them. Burch, the officer, here informed the magistrate that the prisoner's husband was seen near the premises at the time of the robbery, and he believed be took the property and handed it to his wife.  The Coroner said after the surgical evidence it was clearly proved that the deceased bad lest her life through a felonions attempt having been made upon her body to procure abortion. Ifs very much regretted to have to state that there was no evidence to show who the party was who used the instruments upon her for that purpose. Through the police not having been acquainted with the deceased's condition before her death, the police had not been able to get evidence to show who the second person was who had, with the deceased's consent, used the instrument upon her. That fact he deeply regretted, for he was of opinion that a great deal of crime was taking place in the metropolis of the character they were investigating that day. Justice, he was afraid, would fail in this case, bat that was not their fault, for they had done everything that could be done to bring the criminal to justice. With regard to the party who had feloniously used the instruments, it would be their duty to return, as they could not find out who he was, a verdict of " Wilful murder against soma unknown person," as the evidence had clearly proved that the deceased had expired in consequence of an attempt having been made upon her person to procure, with her own consent, abortion. The law would hold it that by feloniously allowing and consenting to the perpetration of the criminal act on her person, and the said act having resulted in her death, she as well as the person who had been guilty of committing the felonious act had been guilty of the crime of murder. Although she did not desire to destroy her own life, yet she had been guilty of a serious crime which resulted in the destruction of it, and it would therefore be the duty of the jury, no matter how painful it might be to the feelings of a respectable family, to rotor° a verdict of ,felo de ae in her ease. The court was then cleared, and the jury, after one hour's deliberation in private, returned the following verdict :—"That the deceased, Harriet White, did die from the mortal effects of the insertion of a certain instrument to procure abortion, and the jurors say that the person who feloniously inserted the instrument is to the said jurors unknown, and that the said person did feloniously kill and slay the said Harriet White," The Coroner said, that after that verdict the parties who committed the felonious act would, if discovered, be prosecuted for manslaughter. The proceedings then terminated.  Mr. Woulrych said that if such should prove true the law could sot punish her ; but, uuder all the circumstances, he should remsod her for a week, to enable the police to make further incrtiric,