The Forest of Dean Examiner : — 1875-10-08 (Blakeney, Gloucestershire, England)

IHDECENCY BY A SEDGLEY TRADESMAN. At the Sedgley Police Court, on Monday afternoon, the magistrates, Messrs. F. A. Homer and B. Whitehouse, and the Rev. L. Y. Rooker, were occupied for three hours in hearing a charge of indecency preferred by Miss Mary Elizabeth Hickman ( 13 ) against Mr. Charles Hartland, contracter and builder, Upper Gornal. Mr. Barrow, of Wolvezhampton, appeared to prosecute, and Mr. J. Underhill ( instructed by Mr. Gould) for the defence.—Prosecutrix said that on the 30th of July her mother sent her to Sedgley on an errand at five o'clock, and as she was going up Cotwall End Lane she saw defendant in front of her. She noticed that he slackened his speed, and he ultimately turned round and indecently exposed himself.—ln th'e course of the crossexamination by Mr. Underhill, witness said she was sure the defendant was the man who committed the offence, as he had been guilty of similar silences on two previous occasions.— evidence was given by three witnesses, that defendantwas in the lane on the afternoon in question, wearing a gray suit, and a straw hat with a black band.—Mr Underhill addressed the Bench at some length, contending that his client was not the man who committed the offence, and called a witness named Colbourn, who said that he was with defendant at five o'clock on the day of the alleged offence, and also that he was wearing a blue jacket and a cricket cap on the day of the alleged occurrence.—The Bench believing the offence proved, sent defendant to prison for one month.—Notice of appeal was given.  DISTRESSING SUICIDE AT TETTENHALL On Monday an inquest was held by Mr. W. H. Phillips, coroner for Wolverhampton, at the residence, Tettenball, of the Ven. Archdeacon Make, on on the body of Miss Charlotte Huntington, of Lichfield, aged eighty-four. The evidence showed that I the deceased had been visiting the archdeacon for several months past, and had throughout been nervous and infirm. She had not however been medically attended until within the past fortnight, when she :suffered from brain disturbance, threatening paralysis,: and was professionally visited by Mr. Cooke, surgeon, of Tettenhall. Of late she had been also subject to attacks of rheumatism, for which she had applied an embrocation, composed of choloroform and laudanum. The bottles containing the medicine and embrocatiom were placed side by side on the mantieshelf of deceased's room Last Saturday the maid gave her the ordinary dose of medicine, and afterwards the deceased whose memory had become sadly def active, forgetting that she had taken it, asked for the dose. She was reminded that it had been administered, and having taken lunch went into the garden towards the shrubbery, as she told the butler, for a walk. Passing out of the house she had met the head gardener, whom she usually accosted, but whom she did not notice. This awoke suspicion. Search was made for her, and she was found in the shrubbery sitting on a heap of leaves, leaning against a wall. A cork was in her hand, and near her was the embrocation bottle, partially emptied. She was carried into the house, and an emetic and the stomach-pump applied, as she was drowsy and confused, and was apparently suffering from a narcotic. A dark fluid was removed from the stomach, but deceased was then insensible, and remained so for several hours. Afterwards she partly recovered, and was able to speak. The galvanic battery was now used, but she again became feeble, and died from exhaustion on the following day ( Sunday). The symptoms convinced Mr. Cooke that ' deceased had died from the effects of taking poison, ; and most likely laudanum.—The jury recorded a verdict, " That the deceased lady had died from I taking poison whilst in an unsound state of mind."