HORRIBLE CHARGES OF BURNING INFANTS.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 6, 14 June 1864, Page 3

HORRIBLE CHARGES OF BURNING INFANTS.

A married: woman, named Devenish, tho vvifo.of a gardener, of Broomfield, ia now in the' custody ; of tho police in J her own house, ori the charge of: having murdered;, her ncwly-borm ~ child. The; Essex Herald says it was thought by the neigh-; hours that she was about to be confined, but she, had engaged Y'hoinursc or docter, .and at about; seven o'clock on Friday evening one of the neigh- ! bours suspected something might be wrong with her, and tried'the'bsick'door, but found it fastened,; aud knocked several times without receiving an answer- frorii within. -She then went away and returned with one or two women, when their attention -was attracted by a shocking stench, as of something burning,' and looking over the tbp of the kitchen shutters, they saw Mrs. Devenish stooping over a very large fire, apparently watching, something burning ; what it was they could not see. They then spoke to police constable Barker about it, who started off directly to Chelmsford, and gave information to Superintendent May and inspector Simpson, who went at once to the house, and found the back door unlocked, but latched.; They knocked at the door.' and receiving no answer they walked in, and found a large lire in kitchen, with the hearth cleanly swept, and the frying-pan on the fire containing somo large slices of fat pork. Mrs. Devenish denied to thera that she had been recently confined. Inspector Simpson found what ho describes as a quantity of fatty matter on the bars of the kitchen stoves, as though flesh of somekind had been placed on the fire by way of accounting for this appearance on the bars, should suspicion be excited. lie poked out tho fire and found at tho bottom of the grate a quantity of partially charred bones, which Mr. Wheeler, a surgeon, pronounced to be, in his opinion, those of a newly-born child, and the same medical gentleman also found, on examination, that the woman had been recently. — In October last an inquest was held on another of tliis woman's children, a boy of 13 months old. In that case Mrs. Pollard, a neighbour, on going into the kitchen, found (he child Jiead downwards, in a pan of wv.ter, and the mother apparently asleep on the sofa; and the general impression then was, that while the mother, who was in ill-health, was lying in a semi-conscious state on the sofa, the child crawled into the kitchen, and, in trying to raise itself by holding on to the top of the pan, overbalaueed itself and fell in. The coroner's jury returned an open verdict of "Died from suffocation." The husband of the woman, with whom, it is said, she lived unhappily, was in a public house at Chelmsford when his wife was taken into custody. lie was quite ignorant of the fact until an acquaintance remarked that he ought to be at home, and, on his asking why, told him that his honse was full of police officers, and liis wife accused of murder; and, on reaching home he found the report too true. The woman is' at present too weak to be removed, and the police have provided a female attendant for her. The Western Tinies reports a somewhat similar caso. . Elizabeth Hawkins, 20 years of age, was charged at the Cullompton Petty Sessions, on Monday, with having concealed the birth of her child, 'and her father, Robert Hawkins, was charged with aiding her in committing the offence. They lived in a small cottage on Whitedown, about threo miles from Cullompton. Ou being charged by tho constable, she admitted that she had been confined, and said that the child had lived but five minutes, and that her father took its body away. She had prepared no baby linen, as slie did not know she was going to be confined. When her father was charged, he said "Chcel, sir, ln-r han't had no chcel, her oidy miscarried, that's all." At the station house he said, "On Sunday week last 1 was in bed. I heard my daughter moaning in the adjoining room, though I laid on a bit longer. 1 got up and went out in the room, in her room. I asked her what was the matter, and her said her inside waa burning; though I went out and when I camo in again her had got a child. The child, was dead. Her, asked ihe to take it down. I took it down, though I put it behind fire." On the following day the constable sifted f the ashes and found some bones that a Mr. Potter, a surgeon, said were the bones of a fully developed child. Some of the bones and a great deal of the vertebras was perfect. He could not say whither the child was bom alive or not. The father maintained the child was dead, but the chairman reminded him that lus younger daughter, eight years of age, had said that she heard the child cry when he took it from its mother, and when he put it on tho fire. — The case was adjourned.

TnE State oi? Anauchy in Gukrck — The Athens journals mention a fact of extraordinary atrocity', which only too strongly points out the anarchical state of Greece. Mcuidi, a small town of Attica, got tired of its Mayor, but despaired of being able to procure his removal, as he had for his supporters a family whose name was an object of terror to the country. The principal inhabitant assembled to deliberate on what course they should pursue, and a unanimous decision was come to that before anytliing could be done with the Mayor the family 'in question must be got rid of. A vote of death was thereforo passed against them, and the sentence was carried into execution the same day, the 2Gth February, when tho father and four sons oui of five, were massacred in the street. The fifth son made his escape. The murderers also killed a young child, a son of one of the victims, alleging that, if it were allowed to grow up, he would be as bad as his relations. In order to legalise those crimes, tho Municipal Council assembled, and, with an almost incredible impudence, approved by a proces verbal of what had been done. When the examining Magistrate went to the place to investigate into the affair, the murderers triumphantly showed him that document, and he was compelled to withdraw without doing anything further. A Peestax Pabt/e. — A traveller passing through a thicket, and seeing a few sparks of a fire, which' some passengers had kindled as they went that way before, made up to it. On a sudden the sparks caught hold of a bush, in the midst of which lay an adder, and set it in flames. The adder entreated the traveller's assistance, who, tying a bag to the end of a staff reached him, and drew hhn out; he then bade him go -where he pleased, but never more be hurtful to men, since he owed his hfe to a man's compassion. The adder, however, prepared to sting him, and when he protested against the injustice of repaying good with evil, " I shall do no more," said the adder, "than what you men practice every day, whose custom it is to requite benefits with ingratitude. If you cannot perceive this truth," let us refer to the first thing we. meet." The man consented, and seeing a tree, put the question to it, ih what manner a good turn was to be recompensed P^ " If you mean according to the usage of men," replied the tree, "by its contrary. I hsve been standing here these hundred years to protect them frora the scorching sun, and in requital they have cut down my branches, and are going to saw my body into planks." Upon tins, the adder, insidtin" the man, he appealed to a second evidence, which was granted, and immediately they met a cow. The same demand was made, and much the same answer given, that among men it was certainly so. ; "*l* kriowit," said the cow, " by woeful experience ; for I have served a man tliis long -time '"With' milk, butter, and" cheese, and brought him besides, a calf every year*.;-; but now I am old he turns me into tliis pasture, with the intention of selling me to a butcher who will shortly make an end of mo." ''' Tlie traveller upon' this seemed confounded, bxit desired of courtesy one trial more, to be -finally jiidged by the next beast* they should meet. This happened to be the fox, who, upon hearing the story in all its ; circumstances, could not 'be persuaded that it was possiblefor the adder to enter into so *iiarr6w>a~bag. 'A Tlie adder to conjvinco him went iif again ; when the: fox told the man he had now his enemy in Ids power, and with that he fastened thte bag, and .crushed, him to death.