Bristol Mercury - 11 May 1889

Uriah Maggs, a middle-aged man, a collier living at Brittons, Paulton, was charged on remand with maliciously wounding his son, William James Maggs, a miner, aged 22 years. The prosecutor stated that he lived with his father, and on Saturday afternoon, the 27th ult., he had been with him in a publichouse at Paulton. The mother of the witness came in and asked her husband for some money, but he refused to give her any, and used bad language. When prisoner left the inn he was in liquor, and he quarrelled with his wife on the way home. While outside the publichouse witness heard him tell some men who were standing by to kill him, and they attacked him soon afterwards at the instigation of the prisoner. They all reached home about eight o’clock, and the men who had assaulted him waited outside. His father went to speak to them, and when he came in took up a candlestick used in the colliery and said he would put it into witness, who went up him in order to take it away, but he could not. Prisoner then stabbed him in the right shoulder, and he fainted. A doctor was summoned, and witness had been under his care ever since. He identified the candlestick produced as the one that he had been stabbed with by the prisoner—He did not strike his father while on his way home, nor while they were in the house. Anne Maggs, sister of the last witness, said that her father and brother always lived on good terms, unless they were in liquor, and then they were quarrelsome. She corroborated the statement of her brother as regards the stabbing. At the conclusion of her evidence she fainted, and had to be removed from the box. George Butcher, who was in the house at the time of the wounding, gave confirmatory evidence. George Simmons, landlord of the Dove inn, Paulton, said that on the afternoon in question he turned the prisoner out of the house because of his behaviour. Previous to that he had used bad language to his wife, and the prosecutor struck him on the face and said he was not to insult his mother. The prisoner said, "All right, young man ; I will mark you for that.” Mr Frank Woods, surgeon, Paulton, stated that he was called to see the prosecutor, and he found two punctured wounds over the right shoulderblade, about two inches apart, one of which was half an inch deep. The wounds witness did not consider serious. He also found that one of the ribs was broken, and had slightly penetrated the right lung. The wounds could not have been inflicted with any amount of force. Witness told the prisoner that it was a very serious matter and he confessed that he had done it. The complainant would have been aware of the existence of the broken rib soon after it was done, as he would not have been able to walk very far. The latter was recalled, and said that he did not feel any pain when he was assaulted by the men, and he was able walk home. He first felt the pain of the broken rib when his father struck him with the candlestick. He had been stabbed twice. Mr Woods informed the bench that very probably the rib had been injured in the row and then the sudden stab had broken the bone right off and sent it into the lung. P.CMoore, 72 S, who arrested the prisoner, produced the coat, in which there was a cut, and the accused was committed for trial.