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ladder resting against the yard wall, but there were no marks on the wall, nor was there any indentation of the soil. Witness, on getting upon the ladder, found that it sank into the soil with his weight. He received the keys of the safe from Mrs. Thomson. During Friday (the 21st) two packages of silver were found under an inverted barrel in the yard, and two other packages in the water cask.

Thom

Cross-examined.-Mrs. son made a statement to him, freely and without hesitation, and showed no desire to keep any thing back. She said nothing that raised suspicion against her. Witness never heard a whisper against Mrs. Thomson's character.

James Proudfoot, police-constable at Berwick, who accompanied the last witness to the bank, confirmed his evidence as to the finding of the cash-box, &c. On the following Monday, witness, with Telford, another constable, searched the house. Under the stairs in the back-kitchen they found five small bags; one contained two sixpences, another 61 sovereigns and a half, and the remaining three each contained 1007. in sovereigns and half-sovereigns. Witness also found 4341. in Scotch notes, lying in a heap together, and a parcel of silver containing 147. 17s. In a bedroom above the ground-floor, containing three beds, he found 1007. in small notes sewed into the bolster. He ripped open the ticking of the nursery bed, and found 1,000l. in Bank of England notes, and 1007. in Scotch notes. In the wardrobe in Mrs. Thomson's room witness found a basket, containing some thread exactly corresponding with that used for sewing up the ticking where it had

been unripped. The thread used for the resewing was darker than that with which the bed had been originally sewn.

Andrew Telford, police-officer, confirmed Proudfoot's evidence, and deposed to having himself found other large sums of money concealed in the pillow of a child's crib.

After some other unimportant evidence, as to the identity of the notes, &c., had been taken, the case for the prosecution closed at half-past 11 o'clock on Monday night.

TUESDAY.-At the sitting of the Court this morning,

Mr. Grainger commenced his address to the jury on behalf of the prisoner. He urged the great improbability there was of a person in Mrs. Thomson's situation committing such an offence. The discrepancies which occurred in the evidence of the witness Lamb, who was the only material one against the prisoner, showed that her testimony was not to be relied upon. She prevaricated so much in her statement, as to render it extremely doubtful whether Mrs. Thomson was ever out of the bedroom at all that evening. It was certainly remarkable, if she had been so long away, that the witness Lamb never went to inquire about her, notwithstanding she knew her mistress was unwell. Had there been any movement about the house at this time, this witness must have heard it, but there was no evidence that she had done so. Then it was impossible for Mrs. Thomson to place the money where it was found, especially that discovered underneath the kitchen stairs, without soiling her dress, and yet there was no dirt dirt upon her dressing-gown. In

deed it was physically impossible for a woman in her weak state to carry the large parcels of silver, and deposit them where they were found. The servant girls had an equal and indeed better opportunity of putting the money into the bed and the pillows than Mrs. Thomson had; and as to the thread being similar to that found in Mrs. Thomson's basket, that was a trifling coincidence, as the servants might either have the same thread or might use a part of their mistress's for the purpose. Mrs. Thomson kept the keys, and they are not shown to have been out of her possession, and she produced them when required without the slightest hesitation. Was that the conduct of a person conscious of guilt? Isabella Lamb had an opportunity of taking the keys between the hours of 8 and 11 o'clock, and she, in conjunction with Arnott, might have admitted some one into the bank, or they might have planned and executed the robbery themselves, and been frustrated in fully carrying out their intentions. The whole conduct of Mrs. Thomson, both before and after the robbery, was calcu

lated to avert suspicion from her. After commenting at great length upon the evidence of the witnesses, Mr. Grainger said he had felt great anxiety for the fate of the unfortunate prisoner at the commencement of those proceedings, but he now was considerably relieved, as he felt assured that no jury would convict on the evidence of the witnesses Lamb and Arnott.

The learned Recorder then proceeded to sum up the evidence. He said, the case rested in a great measure on the credibility of the witnesses Lamb and Arnott, and it was for the jury to say whether they could depend upon the evidence of those persons. The learned Recorder pointed out with great minuteness the discrepancies in the evidence, and observed that, if they could be reconciled, the jury might find the prisoner guilty. He did not himself see how they could be reconciled with a presumption of the prisoner's guilt. If they took the same view they would, of course, acquit the prisoner; if not, they would find her guilty.

The jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict of "Not Guilty."

PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.

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