Part 63

The murder, as we have stated, occurred at the beginning of the year 1831, a period when there was much discontent exhibited by the labouring population of England, engaged in agricultural and in manufacturing pursuits. At Ashton, and many other places in the neighbourhood of Manchester, which were thickly inhabited by cotton-spinners, and other persons employed in the various factories of that district, the feeling of distaste towards the masters was almost universal; and "unions" were formed amongst the men, who were bound by the terms of the compact into which they entered, to work only at certain prices for their labour, which they desired to dictate to their masters, and to hold commune with no man who presumed to labour for smaller wages than those they chose to accept. Although there can be no doubt that in this case the murder which was committed by Moseley, Garside, and their companions, arose out of the prevailing system of combination amongst the workmen, it would be hard from such a fact to draw an inference, condemnatory of the whole system, and of all parties to it. Mr. Thomas Ashton, the victim of the murder, was the younger son of a master cotton-spinner at Hyde. It is remarkable that at this place little discontent was shown by the workmen, who were employed at the usual wages; but the master-spinners of Ashton justified their refusal to raise the wages of their men, upon this circumstance; and as this was known to have excited dissatisfaction among the workmen at the latter place, little doubts were entertained that they were the persons to whom the diabolical act would be traced.

The circumstances attending the murder were these:--Mr. Ashton had taken tea at his father's house at an early hour on the evening in question, and had gone to visit a newly-erected factory, about a third of a mile distant. He quitted the factory at half-past six o'clock, and his murdered remains were found on the road leading towards his father's house at eight o'clock. He had been killed by a shot through the heart; and the appearance of the body showed that the assassin must have stood close to him at the time of the murder. On his left side in front was one large wound, evidently produced by the discharge of slugs from a pistol, which had entered his body so immediately after their quitting the muzzle of the weapon as not to have had time to separate, as would have been the case had they been discharged at him from a distance. In his back were two wounds, a small distance asunder, which showed that the slugs had diverged in the body of the murdered man, and had thus passed out at his back. This event excited universal astonishment at Hyde, as well from the amiability of character of the unfortunate deceased, as from the absence of all apparent cause for the sanguinary deed; and rewards from the friends of Mr. Ashton, and from the government, amounting to 2000_l._ were immediately offered for the apprehension of the murderers, and for the evidence of any accomplice who had not actually fired the fatal shot.

Officers were despatched in all directions to endeavour to secure the offenders, but years passed ere the real authors of the diabolical crime were discovered. William Moseley, a convict in Chester jail, in the month of April 1834, disclosed the leading circumstances of the murder; and Garside and Joseph Moseley, the brother of the prisoner, its leading perpetrators, were shortly afterwards apprehended at Oldham.

On Thursday, August the 7th 1834, the prisoners were put upon their trial at the Chester assizes. William Moseley was the principal witness, but his evidence was corroborated in many important particulars. He stated that the murder had been committed at the instance of a man named Samuel Scholfield, a unionist, who gave as a reason for it, the unjust measure of wages paid by Mr. Ashton. The subject was broached by this person to them all; and for the trifling sum of ten pounds, they undertook to carry out the diabolical plot. In pursuance of the agreement, they all met near the mill belonging to Mr. Ashton, called the Woodley Mill; and stationing themselves in a quiet position, they awaited the coming of their victim. Shortly before seven o'clock, his approach was observed; and Garside rising and advancing to him, shot him dead before he had time to utter a word, or to offer the smallest resistance to the cowardly attack made upon him. The three murderers instantly ran off, without waiting to remove the body from the middle of the road where it lay; and as we have already said, at eight o'clock it was discovered. The price of the murder was paid on the same night, the three murderers and Scholfield going on their knees, and swearing to each other, that "they wished God would strike them dead if they ever told." The oath was strictly obeyed until William Moseley, being imprisoned in Chester jail for some other crime, disclosed all he knew of the transaction. The witness was subjected to a severe cross-examination, in which he admitted that his reputation was stained by a long list of the blackest crimes. His testimony, however, received so great confirmation from the statements of other witnesses, that a verdict of "Guilty" was returned against both prisoners, and they were ordered for execution on the morning of the following Saturday.

A difficulty, however, now arose upon the subject of the proper officer, by whom this sentence was to be carried into execution. The sheriff of the County Palatine, and the sheriff of the city of Chester, each refused to perform this painful duty, upon the ground that the other was the officer to whose lot it fell. The wretched prisoners remained up to Saturday morning in suspense as to the period of their execution; and on that day Mr. Justice Parke granted a respite until the 18th of the same month, in order that the difficulty might be settled.

This delay, the cause of which was intimated to the convicts, enabled the proper officers to hold communications with them upon the subject of the offence of which they had been convicted. Both admitted their

## participation in the murder, but denied that Scholfield was at all

implicated in the affair. Garside declared that if an offer which he had made to become a witness had been accepted, the whole truth would have been arrived at; but, as it was, they had got nothing but a parcel of lies, and he should say "note" (nothing).

On the day after the trial, William Moseley was carried to Stockport, and there, upon the information which he had given, Scholfield was taken into custody. He, however, denied the truth of the assertions which had been made of his guilt, but he was detained in custody.

On Saturday the 16th of August, the prisoners were further respited until the 18th of September; and from that date they were again respited until the commencement of Michaelmas Term, in the following November, should enable the Court of King's Bench to determine the question in dispute between the sheriffs.

On Thursday the 6th of November, the Attorney-General moved for a _certiorari_, to bring the conviction into that court, and also for writs of habeas corpus, to bring up the persons of the prisoners, with a view to the question being discussed. The learned gentleman explained the objections made by the two sheriffs. Previously to the passing of the Statute 11 Geo. IV., all complaints in the County Palatine of Chester were tried by the Chief Justice of Chester, and rules of court were made for the execution of such prisoners as were condemned to death, which orders were carried into effect by the sheriff of the city of Chester. By the act in question, the court by which this authority was exercised, was abolished, and in its stead assizes, under commissions of oyer and terminer, were ordered to be held in Chester, as in other counties. By the sixteenth section, however, it was provided, "that nothing therein contained should affect the duties or obligations to be performed by the magistrates and citizens of Chester." In the present case, the sheriff of the city of Chester refused to execute the sentence on the prisoners, alleging that his jurisdiction in such respects extended only to the Palatine Court, which had been abolished, and that if there was any such obligation, it rested on the mayor and citizens, and not upon the sheriff. Under these circumstances, the learned judge had felt it to be his duty to respite the prisoners from time to time, and indictments had been preferred against both sheriffs, which, however, had been ignored. _Ex officio_ informations would be filed against them by him (the Attorney-General) for their neglect of their duty; but as much time must elapse before the questions involved in those informations could be legally discussed, he was compelled to come to the court, with a view to the carrying into effect the sentence of the law upon the prisoners, an object which was of the highest importance. It would be in the power of the court to order the prisoners to be executed by either of the disputing sheriffs; by the sheriffs of Middlesex, or Surrey; or by their own marshal. Several cases were then cited, in which the court had interfered with regard to the execution of offenders, and the writs were granted.

On Tuesday the 11th of November, and Thursday the 13th, the prisoners were brought before the Court of King's Bench. Mr. Dunn, on behalf of Garside, contended that the court could not award sentence against that prisoner, because he had made a statement to the authorities of Cheshire with regard to the circumstances of the murder, which, by the proclamation which had been issued, offering a reward of 2000_l._ and a pardon, to any accomplice of the actual murderer, entitled him to be liberated. This fact having been pleaded by the learned gentleman, on behalf of his client, in obedience to the direction of the court, the Attorney-General was heard on the other side. He contended that the jury had distinctly found that Garside had fired the fatal shot; and that even taking the statement of the prisoner to be correct, he was not therefore entitled to his pardon.

Lord Denman held this good ground of demurrer to the plea, and execution having been prayed, the court awarded that it should be done by the marshal, assisted by the sheriff of Surrey.

The prisoners were then conveyed to the King's Bench prison, to await their death. A petition was prepared by Mr. Dunn, on behalf of Garside, setting forth the same facts which were urged by the learned gentleman in court, but it was declared to be of no avail; and on Tuesday the 25th of November, the wretched convicts expiated their foul offence on the top of Horsemonger-lane jail.

Garside had, during the latter portion of his imprisonment, striven to shift the guilt of firing the pistol upon the witness, Joseph Moseley, and it was not until the very moment of his being turned off, that he retracted this allegation. His conduct, as well as that of his fellow prisoner, during the whole period of their confinement, had been remarkable for its extreme coolness; and on the morning of their execution, their demeanor was in no way altered.

At nine o'clock in the morning the prisoners mounted the scaffold, Garside being first, and they were immediately turned off; Garside's last words being, "All the statements that I have made at different times since my conviction are false."

At the Assizes for the County of Chester, held in the month of April, 1835, a bill of indictment was preferred against Scholfield, but it was ignored; and he was, in consequence, set at liberty.

EDWARD CHALKER AND JEREMY KEYS.

TRIED FOR MURDER.

At the Bury Assizes, on Thursday the 26th of March, 1835, Edward Chalker and Jeremy Keys, were indicted for the murder of Bryan Green, on the 22nd of November.--The unfortunate man, whose fatal end led to the inquiry, was one of the under-gamekeepers of Miss Lloyd, the lady of the manor of Hintlesham; and on the night of the 22nd of November, he and a fellow-servant named Masterman, were on the watch in the great wood upon the manor, which was well stocked with pheasants; and which was separated from a smaller wood by a glade. Nothing particular occurred till half-past three in the morning, when they heard the whiz of an air-gun very near the place where they had posted themselves. The sound proceeded from the little wood, to which they immediately made their way, and on crossing the glade they saw a spotted spaniel dog and a man passing from one wood to the other. The man instantly ran into the little wood, and the keepers pursued and overtook him. He suffered himself to be taken without any struggle, but he was no sooner in hold than he gave a "signal whistle," and two other men ran to his assistance, one of them having in his hand an air-gun. The three men then assailed the two keepers, who were instantly struck to the earth, and Masterman was beaten with a club as he lay on the ground, until he became quite insensible. Green had at first threatened to shoot the men, unless they let him go unharmed; but they swore he should not escape himself, nor harm them, and presently he too was left in a state of insensibility. Upon Masterman's coming to himself, he heard Green groaning most piteously, and upon his crawling to him, he found his head in a pool of blood, which was still flowing profusely. After some time Masterman contrived to get as far as the head-keeper's house, and upon their returning to the scene of the outrage, they took the wounded man on a litter to the keeper's lodge, and sent for a surgeon. It was found, upon examining his head, that there was a wound on one side, through which the brain was escaping, and the skull was extensively fractured. A portion of the bone was pressed into the brain; upon removing this, the patient experienced some relief, and in a few hours could utter a few monosyllables; but he soon afterwards relapsed, and after fluctuating between life and death for a few days, he ceased to suffer. He had, on the night in question, a pistol and a gun with him, and upon searching on the spot on the following morning, they were found lying upon the ground. The cock of the pistol was struck down, but the pan had not risen, and the pistol, consequently, had not gone off. His gun was found with the barrel broken from the stock, and on the breech a piece of skin and hair and some blood were observed, and a recently killed pheasant and a bludgeon were lying close by.

It appeared that the prisoners were in the habit of frequenting a beer-house, called the "Fox and Grapes," at Ipswich, which was six or seven miles from Hintlesham; and a day or two before the evening in question, Chalker told a Mr. Frost, who was drinking there, that he would give him a pheasant for his Sunday's dinner. In the afternoon of the 22nd, one Upson, the village smith, went to the Fox and Grapes to repair the lock of the cellar door, and whilst he was in the cellar the landlady heard the peculiar sound which is made by discharging an air-gun; and it appeared that the prisoner, Chalker, kept his in the cellar. It was further proved that the prisoners and two other men left the house on that evening, and returned early the next morning, when some mysterious conversation was heard between them, respecting Hintlesham wood. Other corroborative facts were given in evidence, which clearly proved that Chalker had been concerned in the dreadful transaction. The evidence respecting Keys was not so conclusive. Chalker was found guilty, but Keys was acquitted.

The former received sentence of death, and was executed on the following Monday, the 30th of March.

MARY ANNE BURDOCK.

EXECUTED FOR MURDER.

Great excitement and extraordinary interest was created at the Bristol Assizes, held in the month of April, 1835, before the Recorder (Sir Charles Wetherell), by the trial of a woman named Mary Anne Burdock, who stood indicted for the wilful murder of an old lady named Clara Anne Smith, who had been her lodger, and whom, it was alleged, she had poisoned with yellow arsenic, to obtain possession of her property. The trial commenced on Friday the 10th of April, and was continued through the whole of that day and Saturday, and the Recorder did not proceed to sum up till Monday, the jury having been kept under the care of the proper officers during the whole of the time.

The evidence was circumstantial, but perfectly conclusive. It appeared that the deceased, a widow aged sixty, went to lodge with the prisoner at Bristol, in the year 1833, and was known to be possessed of considerable property, in sovereigns and bank-notes. She had a brother-in-law residing at Oporto, and a nephew in this country. She died on the 23rd of October. Shortly afterwards an undertaker, named Thompson, was sent for by the prisoner, who told him she had an old lady dead in her house, who died very poor, and had no friends, and who must therefore be buried at as little expense as possible. A coffin and coffin-plate, on which were the deceased's name and age, were in consequence provided, and the lady was interred in St. Augustine's church-yard, at eight in the morning, of the 30th of October. The prisoner, previous to this, was very poor, and lived with a man named Wade. Subsequent to the funeral of the deceased, she suddenly became possessed of wealth, and said she had been left a large property by her uncle. Wade went into business, but died in the April following, and made a will, by which he settled considerable property on the prisoner, including stock in trade, valued at 700_l._ She was also proved to have 600_l._ in cash. She told one of the witnesses that a rich old lady had died in her house, and left her property to Wade.

Matters went on thus till December 1834, when the relatives of the deceased, hearing of her death, went to make further inquiries respecting her fate and property. This led to investigations which created suspicions of foul play, and it was determined that the case should undergo a searching scrutiny. Inquiries had previously been made of the prisoner, who gave up some papers of the deceased, but denied that she had left any property. The body was exhumed, the place of interment and the coffin being distinctly sworn to by the undertaker, who also swore to the shroud and other articles on the person of the deceased. The body was then opened by Dr. Riley, the physician of the Bristol infirmary, assisted by Mr. J. J. Kelson, surgeon, Dr. Symonds, and Mr. Herapath, a lecturer on chemistry, and was found in an extraordinary state of preservation, notwithstanding the time which had elapsed since its interment. There was a quantity of water in the coffin, which covered part of the body and legs. The stomach and abdomen were laid open at once, and it was discovered that the integuments had been converted into adipocire, which is a hardening of the fat, or animal soap. The stomach was carefully taken out, and found to contain a quantity of yellow arsenic. The contents of the stomach were submitted to various chemical tests, all confirming the belief that yellow arsenic had been administered, and was, in fact, the cause of death--in all other respects the subject was healthy. A beautiful preparation of the stomach was produced in court.

This fact established, other witnesses were called to bring the crime home to the prisoner. A seaman, named Evans, proved that he lodged with the prisoner when she passed as Mrs. Wade; this was in October 1833. She asked him to purchase two-pennyworth of arsenic for her about six days before Mrs. Smith died, saying there were rats in the house (this was proved not to have been the case). He accordingly purchased the arsenic from a druggist named Hobbs, in the presence of two witnesses, all of whom confirmed his statement. He gave the arsenic to the prisoner, and she put it in her pocket. He was in the house when Mrs. Smith died, and heard Wade and the prisoner laughing during the night. The prisoner said the deceased died poor, and she should sell some plate she left to pay the funeral expenses. He had seen the deceased with a gold watch and chain about a month before.

The actual administration of a yellow powder (the arsenic no doubt) was proved by a girl named Mary Ann Allen, who had been engaged to wait on the deceased, and who saw the prisoner put some yellow powder out of a paper, which she took from her pocket, into a basin of gruel, which she subsequently gave to the deceased--shortly after which the poor creature was seized with dreadful convulsions and died. After her death the prisoner opened a cupboard and drawers, and applied abusive epithets to the deceased, and conducted herself in the most unfeeling manner, exclaiming, "Only think of the drunken old b---- having this," &c. She told witness never to tell anything of Mrs. Smith, or who she was, or what she was, nor that she had ever lived with her; and, if any one asked, to say she was a stranger and a foreigner, from far away in the East Indies; "Nor don't you ever tell any one," said she, "you saw me put anything into the gruel, for people might think it was curious."

These details were confirmed by other witnesses, including the mother of the girl, and a servant who at the time lived with the prisoner. Mr. Charles Read, a wine-merchant, who knew the deceased's brother-in-law in Oporto, then proved that in November after her death, he went to the prisoner's house and saw her and Wade. He made inquiries as to Mrs. Smith's property. The prisoner said she died very poor, and that her clothes were in so bad a state that she was compelled to burn them, and that she would not produce anything belonging to her till he paid the funeral expenses, which amounted to 15_l._; he went again the next morning, when Wade said there was a box which contained some papers belonging to the deceased; she ultimately agreed that they should each get a professional man to meet. They went again the next morning, and the box was at length produced and opened, and the papers were examined, and there was an old will of Mr. Smith's in favour of his wife. There were no deeds. Mrs. Smith had dressed very respectably since the death of her husband, five years ago. He knew she had possessed property. He had paid her 700_l._ in 1829. He paid her an annuity of 15_l._

The case having been brought to a conclusion, some witnesses were examined to the character of the prisoner, who strongly protested her innocence.