The Sun. — 1845-03-28 (London, England)

CLARKSON—The prisoner had had an illegitimate child before, but she bore a very good character fur humanity and kindliness of disposition. Mr. Sargeant, a surgeon, residing at Reigate, proved that when the body of the deceased child was shown to him, there was an apron round it, and the strings were drawn round its neck three times, but not sufficiently tight to prevent the child from breathing. The child was alive when he first saw it, but for the want of proper attention it had-evidently lost a great deal of-blood. It died on the Friday followiug, and he attributed the death to congestion of the brain and lungs, partly produced by loss of blood, and partly by the tightness of the ligature round the neck.  In cross-examination by Mr. CLARKS" the surgeon said that he had known the prisoner for several years, and he gave her an excellent character for humanity and kindness. When the constable brought her home after the occurrence she was in a state of total syncope. In answer to further questions he said he was not aware whether the child was carried about the streets of Reigite for some time after it was found, but he said if it had been the case it would of course be very bad for an infant to be so treated. A woman named Wilson was then called to show that the child was placed in her charge, and she said that on the Thursday morning she took the child to the Red Cross, and afterwards carried it back to the house of the prisoner's mother. She said, also, that she took the child back again on the following evening, and it died ten minutes afterwards.  The witness, being cross-examined by Mr. CLARKSON, said that she knew a woman named Beadle, and that she walked with her while she had the child, but she did not give it to her to carry. She denied also that the woman referred to told her not to say that she had had the child, for fear anything should be said about it. She went near the Blue Anchor beer-shop, but she did not show the child to any one who was there. Mr. CLARLSON pressed the witness to state whether the child was not exhibited to the people in the beershop, and she would not answer for some time, but at length said that she did not know ; she was not sure. The Learned Counsel, finding he could not obtain a direct answer, at length sat down and gave up the attempt. Mr. Baron ALDERSON addressed the witness, and told her she would have to answer for her conduct elsewhere ; she would not only have to answer for carrying that poor child about the town in the manner she had, but for not answering truly, according to the solemn oath she had taken.  This was the case for the prosecution. Mr. CLARKSON then addressed the jury for the prisoner, and after contending that the evidence was not by any means sufficient to make out the charge of murder, he was about to proceed to make some ob• servations with reference to the concealment of the birth—  Mr. Baron ALDERSON, however, interposed, and said that the Act of Parliament only alluded to the concealment of a dead body, and as the child of the prisoner had clearly been proved to be born alive, no charge of concealment of the birth could apply to the prisoner. Mr. CLARXSON thanked his Lordship for the interruption as it had saved him from addressing the jury upon that point. He then went on to allude to some stringent observations which he said had been recently made by the public press upon the conduct of judges and juries in some cases similar to the present., and he said he trusted the jury would not allow such observations to sway their judgments or their conduct, and that they would return such verdict as their consciences die tated upon the evidence laid before them. Mr. Baron ALDERSON summed up, and said that he should be ashamed of the jury if he imagined they would suffer themselves to be swayed by any observations made out of Court, and he trusted they would dismiss them entirely from their minds. The Learned