father's, at Forder, and had supper; when he thought
the old man was asleep, he went to his bedroom, cut
him with a sharp instrument, beat him with the kitchen-
poker, and left him senseless. Then he went to the
housekeeper's room, saying his father was ill; as soon
as the woman opened the door, he felled her with the
poker; and proceeded to rifle the house. He was
taken at Plymouth next day, while attempting to sell
his father's watch. The mangled victims subsequently
revived a little; they were brought to the Sessions in a
spring-van, quite helpless, and presented a pitiable
spectacle. He was sentenced to transportation for life.

The Rev. Henry Meeres, successor to Mr. Whiston as
head-master of the Grammar School at Rochester, was
summoned before the magistrates, on the 20th, and fined
£3, with 25s. costs, for unmercifully Beating and
Misusing One of his Pupils.

In an action at Maidstone Assizes, on the 21st,
brought by Miss Jane Emma Adams against Mr. Richard
Gibbs, to recover damages for a Breach of Promise of
Marriage, the defendant pleaded a special plea—that
after making the promise of marriage to Miss Adams,
he learned that she was suffering from an "incurable
disease called consumption," which would render her
"unable to perform the duties of a wife." Mr. Gibbs was
a neighbour of the plaintiff's father at Wateringbury,
knew her from her infancy up, and made her a regular
offer, with a full knowledge of her circumstances, in
August, 1848, at which time she was twenty-four and
he forty-eight. The licence was bought and the day
fixed; but on the day of signing settlements the defendant
disappeared, fled to America, and never reappeared
till October, 1849, when he was found in London. It
seems that two sisters of the plaintiff died young, of
consumption, and that a brother went abroad to escape
it. The medical attendant of the plaintiff admitted his
having administered cod's-liver oil and other remedies
very suitable for consumption, but said the plaintiff had
not been ill of that disease. Several eminent London
physicians, who had attended the plaintiff, were in
court, attending the cause, but were not examined;
neither plaintiff nor defendant called for their evidence.
The jury gave a verdict of £800.

At Exeter, on the 22nd, Robert Curtis Bird and Sarah
Bird, his wife, were indicted for the Wilful Murder of
Mary Ann Parsons, a parish apprentice, by striking and
beating her to death. The particulars of this revolting
case were given in our January number. For the
defence it was urged, that the immediate cause of death
was a fall or blow—most likely the former: if a fall,
neither party was guilty; if a blow, there was nothing
at all to fix the guilt on both of the prisoners, or either
one more than the other. This view received the sanction
of Mr. Justice Talfourd in his summing-up. In
order to maintain an indictment for murder or
manslaughter, it must be made out that the unlawful act
was the cause of death. The cause of death was an
injury to the head by a fall or blow: the jury could not
leap in the dark, and in the absence of proof infer that
a blow was struck, or if struck, dealt by either one
prisoner rather than the other. If the death had been
caused by privation or want of food, the male prisoner
alone would be responsible; if a long succession of
wrongs had caused the death, there would be a case;
but the medical testimony failed to establish either such
case. The prisoners must therefore be acquitted. On
this direction the jury returned a verdict of "Not
guilty."

At Lambeth Police Office, on the 23rd, Mr. George
Waddington attended to explain continued Ill-conduct
towards his Son, the Reverend John Waddington, a
Wesleyan minister. About a month ago, Mr
Waddington was charged by his son with annoying him; and
he was held to bail. Mr. Waddington, it then appeared,
complained in his turn of the conduct of his three sons,
all ministers of religion, who would not render him that
pecuniary aid which was well in their power; in
consequence, he annoyed his son John at his chapel, and
went to his house in Surrey Square, and there wrote
defamatory sentences with chalk on the pavement. The
son stated to the magistrate, that his father had some
years ago deserted his mother, to live with another
woman; leaving his family to struggle on as they might.
He now allowed him 10s. a-month, which was as much
as he could afford. The father was in prison for some
time; but having got bail, he recommenced the annoyance.
Mr. Norton sent for him to point out again the
impropriety of his conduct, and to warn him from
continuing it. The remonstrance, however, seemed to
make no impression on Waddington, who threatened to
persist in annoying his son.

Alexander Moir, a baker, of Brydges-street, Covent-
garden, has been charged with Wilfully causing the
Death of his Wife, by most cruel beatings. It appears
that Moir and his wife have been constantly quarrelling.
Lately a lodger heard them scuffling in their bedroom,
and Mrs. Moir's voice saying, "You'll kill me, you'll
surely kill me!" Moir's voice replied, "I'll murder
you before I've done with you! " A boy's voice was
then heard—"Oh, father, don't kill mother! you'll kill
my mother!" A journeyman heard a noise in their
bedroom, which was over his bed, as of dragging about
on the floor, and he heard Moir talking "very
ferocious." When he called his master up, he saw Mrs.
Moir, and perceived that her face and neck were swelled,
and she was crying. On Saturday morning, the 23rd,
Mrs. Moir's female cousin saw her repeatedly struck
and kicked by her husband: he refused leave for her to
lie down an hour, though she had been up all night,
and was ill. In the afternoon he was offended at some
act in the business, and again boxed her ears very
heavily; in a few minutes after she swooned; he
prevented the shopman from lifting her up, saying, with
an epithet, "Let her lie—let her come to herself!" She
recovered enough to say to her cousin, "I am in a fit,
and a very bad one; pray, for God's sake, don't leave
me," and again swooned. Moir exclaimed, she should
never lie on a bed of his again; but, after some hours,
her cousin persuaded him to let her be put on a bed.
She lingered insensible till Monday, and died. Mr.
Watkins, a surgeon, has given evidence, that he was
called on Sunday, and the case was then evidently a
fatal one. On a post-mortem examination he found the
body covered with bruises and wounds. The injuries
were caused by blows, and those blows had been the
cause of death. Moir was examined at Bow-street and
remanded on the charge of murder. On the 27th, a
Coroner's jury sat, and after hearing evidence, found
a verdict of "Manslaughter against the husband." On
the 28th the inquiry at Bow-street was continued.
Some facts appeared which suggested that the assault
of Saturday was committed in a great passion, and that
Moir thought his wife was drunk. On her death he
was at first unaffected, but subsequently "much cut
up." The magistrate committed him to be tried for
murder.

At Worship Street Police Office, on the 27th, W. S.
Jenkins and Charles Pound were examined on a charge
of obtaining £800 from Mr. Newman, a colour-manufacturer
in Hoxton, by Fraudulent Pretences. A preliminary
examination had taken place before. Pound, who
falsely pretended that he was an attorney, was
introduced to Mr. Newman by that gentleman's nephew;
he represented that Jenkins, a very young man, was
about to come into £20,000 under a will,—producing
what appeared to be a legal copy of a will; and by this
and other means induced Mr. Newman to lend money
and bills to Jenkins, who was introduced to him. It
appeared subsequently, that Jenkins only had a claim
to a small property, now undergoing a process of litigation
which would most likely consume it all. The copy
of the will mentioning £20,000 was a fraud. The case
was further adjourned; the magistrate requiring heavy
bail.

At the Mansion House, on the 27th, Rose Hunt,
aged 19, was brought before Alderman Gibbs, on a
charge of having attempted to commit Suicide. The
unfortunate creature had been for four years living a
wretched life of prostitution in the eastern parts of
London. Her history presents a melancholy example
of the way in which the streets of London are replenished
with victims.—Rose Hunt is the daughter of a
person who once kept a respectable inn in a country
town, but who has become so reduced as to be now
dependent upon parochial relief. About four years ago,
when only 15 years of age, she met a young woman at a