The Sun. — 1870-04-01 (London, England)

CONFESSION OF MURDER.  A confession of murder has been made by a man at Sutton Bridge, named Trueffit, in which himself and a woman are implicated. It appears that a woman named Maria Burridge, who has been a widow for eight years, and is in the prime of life, had been on terms of intimacy with the self-accused murderer, who has been a singer in the Wesleyan Chapel, where Mrs. Burridge played the harmonium. There had been hints of undue familiarity existing between them, but it was set down generally as mere village scandal. It now appears from the statement of Truefitt that for the past seven years he has been in the habit of visiting Mrs. Burridge late at night, but that recently a carter named Richardson had been the favoured visitor in his stead, and to him, it was said, she was shortly to be married. On Thursday night, about eleven o'clock, Truefitt went to the house, but could get no recognition of his knock, from which he imagined that Richardson was in the house. He then entered but found no one there but Mrs. Burridge, and for this act she summoned him before the magistrates, who fined him for the offence. This he resented, and at once stated that Burridge had had three children, which had been murdered and buried. Burridge, on hearing this disclosure, coolly replied, " How can you say so? You know it's false." Trueffit asserted that his statement was true, and that he himself had buried the first of the babies in his father's garden about four or five years ago, and offered, if the police would go with them, to shew them the exact spot. On going to the garden and digging, a child's skull and other remains were taken up. Trueffett states that the woman gave him this child over the fence, and promised, if he would bury it, she would never have any other man but him. He also admitted that the child was alive when she gave it to him, and that when he was burying it it began to cry, when he stamped upon it. The other two children, he states, Burridge put away himself, but he does not know where. A strict search for these bodies is now being made. The woman is the widow of a man named Wil• ham Burridge, who committed suicide by hanging himself with his waist strap about eight years ago.  ACTION FOR TnEsrAss.=A curious action for trespas; has been tried at the Kingston Assizes. The plaintiff took a lease of a house belonging to the defendant, on the condition that certain repairs were made. • The plaintiff took possession, but declined to complete the lease until the repairs were completed. At the end of the first quarter a distress warrant was issued, which the County Court judge decided was illegaL The question now raised was whether the plaintiff was a tenant of the defendant's or not. The plaintiff contended that as the as for a lease was conditional, and the defendant had not fulfilled the conditions, no tenancy had licen created, and the defendant had committed a trespass by putting in the distress. Mr. Justice Keating thought that there had been quite enough litigation, and should try to prevent more. He therefore told the jury that if they considered a tenancy did exist the action could not be supported ; if they did not the distress was illegal, and they must give damages for trespass. The jury were of opinion that the plaintiff was tenant to the defendant. With regard to the other nuestion, they assessed the damages at 4:10, if a superior court should decide that the evidence did not establish a legal tenancy.  A