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ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE,HOME CIRCUIT.—Maidstonb, March 16. “Ciown 811m.—Before Mr. Justice Wightman.Murder.George Millen, 17, and Henry Sheepwash, 16, wen indicted tor the wilful murder of William Law, by beating him on the head with a crowbar.The learned counsel fox the prosecution haring briefly de tailed the principal circumstances connected with the chaxgc against the prisoners, the following evidence was adduced.Thomas Foster, a gamekeeper, in the service of the Rev. Mr. Toke, at Doddington, deposed that on Wednesday, the 7th February, he was in a wood, called the Seven Acre Wood, when he saw the prisoner, Millen, accompanied by a man, named Smith, walking in the wood, and he- beckoned them to go away, and they did so. The cottage of the deceased was a short distance off, and, in the course of the afternoon, he went there fora short time to rest himself, and while he was there he heard some one about the house. He went out ud saw the prisoner, Millen, apparently in the act of examining the house, and he again ordered him to go away and, after this, he saw him sitting on a stile in the garden.William Smith deposed that he was a labourer, and knew both the prisoners. On the morning of the 7th of February he was m company with Millen in the wood, and when they were ordered away by the keeper they separated. About four o’clock the same afternoon he attainplace to go to.” Witness said to him, “ Oh, you think old Master Laws’ would be a good place to go to, do you ?” and he replied, “ Yes, don’t you ?” and witness said, in reply, I know nothing about it.” Millen then said to Sheepwash, “ The old man is deaf, and if he does not see he won’t hear, and if he did, a lick of the head would lay him stilland he at the same time saia, that he had got a piece of iron that would do it. Sheepwash made no answer to thfa, and they both walked away together.—Cross-examined : All this conversation took place in the street. He listened to it at the time, but did not give any information to the constable, because he thought they did notmean to do what they said.Thomas Millen deposed that he resided at Bathersden, near the cottage occupied by the deceased, and that the prisoner George Millen was his cousin. Witness’s house was the nearest in the village to that of the deceased. He had been acquainted with him for six years. He was about eighty years old, but his faculties were good, and he appeared a healthy old man, and the only thing that ailed him was deafness. On the night of the 7th of February, witness and his family went to bed at eight o’clock, and about half-Witness immediately went down, and opened the door, and found the deceased nearly in a fainting state. He lifted him up in his arms and carried him in doors. Deceased had nothing on but his shirt, which was covered with blood, and there were several wounds in his head which were bleeding profusely. Witness asked the deceased if he knew who had done it, and he said he did not: ud he also said the first thing he observed was a light in his bedroom, ud when he pulled the bed-curtaios aside he was immediately struck with a bar of iron. Before the deceased said this he repeatedly ejaculated, “ I must die,” ud he appeared to feel that he could not recover from the injuries he had received. Witness subsequently repeated the question to the deceased whether he knew who had done it, ud he again said he did not. The same evening he went to the deceased’s cottage, and he observed that a pue of glass had been taken out of one of the windows on the ground floor, and this had enabled anyone to put his hud in ud open the door. The drawers and boxes appeared to have been broken open, ud a staircase-door had been forced off its hinges. In the old mu’s bedroom he observed a quantity of blood upon the bed, and also upon the floor. He likewise saw seme blood upon the window-sill, ud on the ground outside under the window. On the Friday following, witness ud some other persons dragged a pond in the neighbourhood, ud they there found the breeches of the deceased, and also a short iron bar. The deceased subsequently felt this piece of iron, ud seemed to recognise it, and asked witness what he had got.—Cross-examined: The deceased -was u old man, but he was not very infirm. He could walk about very well.William Terry said he went to the cottage of the last wit- ’---**-- aestion.in greatf—, — — V.V1IMU.UU vu JJWiU, WU dSST, 1must die!” Witness asked him who had hurt him, ud he said he did not know; but it was a couple of young chaps. He said that immediately he pulled his curtains aside, upon seeing the b’ght, he was struck; and he called out, “Don’t kill a poor old mu—spare a poor old mu’s life, ud take all I have get.”Cross-examined.—On the 9th Feb. deceased became insensible. The prisoner, Sheepwash, lived in the village, and had been employed by several farmers in the neighbourhood. His father had been dead four or five years.Mr. Robert Griffiths, a surgeon at Smerdon, proved that the cause of death was congestion ud effusion of the brain, which he ascribed to a wound in the skull. There were other wounds on the head besides the one which he considered fatal, ud the face of the deceased was bruised on both tides, and his lip was also cut. The injuries were such as were likely to have been occasioned by such a weapon as. the piece of iron that had been produced. The deceased appeared languid until Sunday, the. 11th February, when he died.—Cross-examined: Such u injury as that, which he believed to have caused the deathmighthave been occasioned by a fall from the window of the deceased’s house to the ground; but he did not think it was likely that tHa wu the case. None of the other wounds were moital.George Taunton, a carrier, at Bethexsden, and the ton of the parish constable, deposed that he took the prisoner Sheepwash, and a mu named Oliver, in acart from Bethers-den to Ashford. As they were going along Oliver told Sheepwash that he had better tell the truth, ud Sheepwash then made a statement with regard to what had taken place. —By Mr. Denmu: My father, who is the constable of tha parish, and who had the prisoner in charge, was present when this was said, and he gave the prisoner no cautien.Mr, Denmu then submitted to the court that under these circumstances the statement of the prisoner was not admissible, as it was evidently made under the impression that it would be some benefit to him.Mr. Deedes contended that although the rule of law waano doubt very strict upon this point, no decision had ever yet gone so far as to declare that a statement of this kind, made y one prisoner to uother, would render a statement subsequently made inadmissible.After some argument, Mr. Justice Wightmu retired to consult Mr. Baren Parke upon the point, ud on his return he said that they were of opinion that the promise being made in the presence of the constable, ud as he did not interfere or disabuse the mind of the prisoner of uy impression which it was calculated to convey, it must be taken as though the promise was made by himself, ud therefore he felt compiled to reject the subcequent «tate-ments made by the prisoner under such circumstances.Henry Vyle, the constable of Ashford, deposed that from information he received he went in search of the prisoners, and in the course of the afternoon he found the prisoner Millen nesr the Fluckley station. He tu away, but was pursued ud taken into custody, ud on his telling him that he was charged with a robbery at Mr. Law’s he if uy one else was taken, and whether he had not apprehended Sheepwash. Sheepwash was apprehended the same day, and he made a statement to him concerning the robbery at Mr. Law’s, which was the charge then made against him, the deceased being at that time alive.The statement in question was not permitted to be given in evidence upon the ruling of the learned judge that under the circumstances in which it was made it was not ad-The witness went on to state that in consequei
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