Setalcott, on the person of an infant child of Ann Rogers, widow of the aforesaid George Wood, deceased, by which wicked and detestable arts, the said infant child, as is suspected, most dangerously and mortally sickened and languished, and not long after, by the said wicked and detestable arts (as is suspected) died: And so the said constable and overseers do present, that the said George Wood, and the said infant childe, by the ways and means aforesaid, most wickedly, and maliciously, and feloniously were (as is suspected) murdered by the said Ralph Hall, at the times and places aforesaid, and against the laws of this govt. in such cases provided.-The like indictment was read against Mary, the wife of Ralph Hall: Thereupon several depositions accusing the prisoners of the fact for which they' were indicted were read, but no witness appeared to give testimony in court vive voce; then the Clk. calling up Ralph Hall, bade him hold up his hand, and read as follows: "Ralph Hall, thou standest here indicted for, that having not the fear of God before thine eyes, thou didst, upon the 25th day of Dec. being Christmas last was 12 months, and at several other times since, (as is suspected) by some wicked and detestable arts, commonly called witchcraft and sorcery, maliciously and feloniously practise and exercise upon the bodies of George Wood, and an infant child of Ann Rogers, by which said arts the said George Wood and the infant child (as is suspected) most dangerously and mortally fell sick and languished unto death. Ralph Hall! what dost thou say for thyself-art thou guilty or not guilty? Mary, the wife of Ralph Hall, was called in the like manner. They both pleaded not guilty, and threw themselves to be tried by God and the country. Whereupon the cause was referred to the Jury, who brought into Court this following verdict, viz. : -We having severally considered the case committed to our charge against the prisoners at the bar, and having well weighed the evidence, we find that there are some suspicions by the evidence of what the woman is charged with, but nothing considerable of value to take away her life! but in reference to the man, we find nothing considerable to charge him with. The Court thereupon gave this sentence-“ That the man should-be bound, body and goods, for his wife's appearance at the next sessions, and so on from sessions to sessions, as long as they stay within this govt. In the mean time to be of good behaviour. So they were returned to the Shff's. custody, and upon entering into a recognizance, according to the sentence of the Court, they were released. They were released from the indictment and suretyship for good behaviour, and wholly discharged therefrom on the 21st day of August, 1668! LAW INTELLIGENCE. [From the same.] CRIM. CON. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. CITY AND COUNTY OF NEW-YORK. John Ferguson vs. Thomas Thompson. ONE of the first benefits arising from a permission to grant the freedom of elective franchise to people of colour, is a dash at the higher walks in life, and attempts to imitate their more fashionable neighbours. This was an action brought by Ferguson, a black gentleman of respectability, to recover damages against Thompson, a very decent coloured man and a stage driver, for seducing plaintiff's wife and destroying his comfort and peace of mind. It is true that, in this case, there were no proofs of settlements-pin money--splendid equipage-elopements-duels, and doctors' commons, and all those regular gradations, which accompany an established case of English crim. con. ; yet the plaintiff was an honest black citizen, a little "declining in the vale of years," as Othello says, who had married a young and handsome mulatto, but who, it appears, was not in court. Thompson, the defendant, was also an old beau, and had an excellent character, and was, withal, a man of property. It appeared by the testimony that Thompson brought sundry packages to plaintiff's wife, and by these little gratuitous attentions won her affections and carried her off; and it also appeared in evidence that, in the midst of these miscellaneous proceedings, a child was born, which neither party owned. Witnesses were examined to prove that Ferguson had ill-treated his wife, and frequently turned her out of doors; and the court charged the jury that exemplary damages should be awarded where the peace of mind and happiness of the husband had been injured; but if it appeared that he had used his wife ill without cause, and had turned her out of doors, he, himself, created a barrier to any compensation. The jury retired for some time, and brought in a verdict of two hundred and fifty two dollars and the costs. A number of black ladies and gentlemen attended this interesting trial; they were neatly and fashionably dressed; and the ladies blushed a little when examined. on the delicate investigation. BIGAMY. YESTERDAY, James Ewing was tried for Bigamy, he having, in September, 1819, married Mary Martin, in Bloomfield, New-Jersey, and, in January last, also mar-ried Phebe Ann Dayton, at Lansinburg. The testimony, as to both marriages, was conclusive.. Phenix and Price, for the defendant, contended that the indictment could not be sustained. because it set forth that the defendant was married in New-York to Mary Martin, whereas it was proved that he was married in NewJersey. The like objection was made to the second marriage, which took place in Lansinburg, and was set forth in the indictment to have been in New-York.. The court, after hearing arguments on the question, decided, that the only point for the jury to ascertain was, whether the defendant married Mary Martin; and whether he had also married Phebe Ann Dayton, his first wife being alive: that it was of no importance where the venu was laid, the facts of the two marriages being only required. The jury, without leaving the box, found him guilty. Mary Martin, a very pretty modest looking woman, had a conspicuous seat in front of the jury; but Phebe Ann, the Roxana of the piece, was not visible. Ewing, the prisoner, a good looking fellow, exhibited. no contrition for his abominable wickedness in taking unto. himself a plurality of wives in these moral times; but, though imminently in danger of losing both of them, and his liberty into the bargain, he maintained a composure and serenity of mind very remarkable, considering that he was not a Mussulman.. He will have to sing a stave of the old ballad "Then, ladies, pray take warning. OUR judicial annals have been happily free from those disgusting trials for crim.. con. which unfortunately prevail so much in England, and particularly in high life. There have been, however, within the last five years, more cases of this kind, and breaches of the marriage promise, than have altogether occurred since the declar ation of independence. Whether we are borrowing the vices of the old world, or our increase of population, by emigration and other causes, is swelling the list of crimes and offences, we know not; but these crimes appear to swell on our hands. In Baltimore, a verdict has been lately given of two thousand five hundred dollars damages against a tailor for seducing a poor woman, depending on him for work. This verdict is justly applauded. There can be no domestic calamity equal to the loss of that peace of mind and happiness, which the ruin of a wife occasions; it leaves a blank in life, which time never fills; it strikes at the root of morality, of fidelity, of comfort, and of hope; and, in this instance, where the plaintiff is poor, and wholly dependent on character, the damages have been justly estimated, and will have the good tendency to prevent this crime from creeping in and tainting our labouring class of the community. We must, however, in these cases, weigh every fact before heavy damages are given; and, to prevent collusion, and all those traps set by the vicious for the unwary, the most minute investigation should be pursued, and where injury has been actually sustained, accom panied with aggravating circumstances, the injurer must be made to pay for it; and, in most cases, it is safe to make him pay, for it leads to a proper caution, and is frequently a cheap lesson. While we admit that most of the troubles and misfortunes of women are brought upon them by the misconduct of men, justice requires us to say, that women create their full share of trouble, also, of which a proper estimate should be made. It is so completely in the power of a woman to check the advances of a seducer, Y to freeze his warm blood, and drive him from his designing purposes, that we are tempted frequently to doubt the truth of so many portentous stories of seduction and crim. con. Where encouragement is given, the offence loses half its force, and a woman cannot be too guarded and circumspect in her conduct generally. Still there are cases where a designing knave may steal away the affections and character of a virtuous woman, and render a whole family unhappy. For these offences heavy damages should be given; yet we should be glad if a case of crim. con., or seduction, was never tried in our courts: the example is pernicious. Let the conduct of men and women be governed by such equitable and decorous principles, as to place them "above fear and above reproach ;" let men beware how they approach a female, and women be guarded against the improper advances of men, and these disgusting details will never stain the annals of our courts of justice. ALLEGORY. [New-England Galaxy.} BIRTH, PARENTAGE, AND FATE OF A LIỀ OVID. ILL-NATURE, an ugly, mischievous, malevolent fellow, happened to meet in company with a pert, noisy, inconsiderate girl, called LOQUACITY. They were pleased with each other on the first introduction. Conversation exalted the favourable impression into delight. The pungent, sarcastic, half-uttered insinuations of ILL-NATURE furnished new topics for the expansive talents of LOQUACITY; who, by the way, constantly inverted the golden maxim, "think twice before you speak once," and always spoke twenty times to her thinking once. LOQUACITY, in her turn, by the continued torrent of words, which she poured forth, soothed, lulled, and diverted the peevish irritability of ILL-NATURE, till he, for a moment, almost forgot to be unhappy. A short acquaintance produced a mutual attachment. An amour followed, the natural consequence of which was, in due timè, |