The Sun. — 1851-03-04 (London, England)

GROVE—Reece' the policeman, was not in the same room when the pill was given and the feather used.  ROME ClRCUlT.—Chelmsford, March 3.  The commission for the county of Essex was opened today, and the Learned Judges proceeded immediately to business.  The gaol calendar presents a fearful array of crime; there being 76 prisoners for trial, and nearly the whole of tho cases are of the most atrocious description. Lord Chief Justice CAMPBELL, who sat on the Crown side, in addressing the grand jury, said that, upon looking over the calendar, be was horror-stricken at its contents, for he found that there were no less than five charges of murder, 12 of arson, a great number of burglary, and, in fact, there were charges of almost every description of aggravated offence known to the law; anal he observed that he really felt so much weighed down by observing the extent of crime that was to be, disposed of, that he could not do more than ask them to retire at once to perform the duties that devolved upon them. illellicent Page, 42, married, an inoffensive, motherlylooking woman, attired iu deep mourning, was indicted for the wilful murder of Susan. Smith Page, her daughter, by cutting her throat. Mr. Ryland conducted the, prosecution; the 'prisoner was defended by Mr. T. Chambers. The Learned COUNSEL, instating the case for the prosecution, said that the prisoner had been arraigned upon the present charge at the Lent assizes in 1850, and was then found to be insane and unfit to plead, and since that period she bad had been confined in gaol, but, having DOW recovered, was placed upon her trielc but be apprehended the only .question the jury would have to decide was as to the state of mind of the prisoner at the time she committed the act imputed to her. Some witnesses were then examined, from whose evidence it appeared that the prisoner was the wife of a labouring man in this town, and that up to the time of tbe occurrence she had always berne the character of an ,affectionate wife and mother. Ia November, 1849, she was delivered -of -the child in qiestion, and it appeared . that shortly after she had recovered from her confinement she was observed to be in a very desponding way, and was frequently heard to exclaim that she did not know how she should be able to live, as her husband had had his wages reduced. It appeared that soon after this her husband was discharged from his employment, and this still further preyed upon her mind. On the morning of the day named in the indictment she went in her nightclothes to the house of a neighbour named Cooke, a shoemaker, in a wild and excited state, and exclaimed to him, "I have killed my poor dear babe, and have tried to kill myself, but I can't." Mr. Cooke said he hoped what she said was not true, and she said it was. She put her hand up to her throat, and ho observed the blood oozing between her fingers. He then obtained assistance, and proceeded immediately to the prisoner's house, where he found the child, with its throat cut, covered over with the bedclothes and quite dead, and a razor, with whiCh the dreadful act had been committed, lying by its side. The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE, after a portion of the evidence had been gone through, said it appeared to him to be unnecessary to proceed further with the examination .of the witnesses, as he apprehended the jury could not entertain any reasonable doubt that at the time the prisoner committed the act she was not in such a state of mind as to render her responsible for her actions. The jury coincided with the opinion expressed by his Lordship, and at once returned a verdict of Not Guilty on the ground of insanity.  attain : -Life's pilgrimage, from infancy to old age. The advent ofthe passions. Chastity an its infringements. The casualties of licentiousness and dissipation. with illustrations, graphic, narrative, and remediative. Advocacy of early marriages.