Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 5th January 1856, Edition 2 of 2, Page 5, A WIFE'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. The crime of wif...

Page 5
Page 5
5 of 24

On this page

  • Text (6)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Drink-Murders. This Man Corrigau, Who Ia...

      to take all care you can of my poor dear children , till I can make some arrangement with my friends . Do not pay my rent out of thai trifle I left you . Pl « ase God , they will be able to get up a benefit at the theatre or some place , and I expect there will be £ 6 for the funeral . You must get it done as cheap as possible , but do not slight the remains of my poor dear murdered wife . Oh ! Betsy , if you knew the anguish of my mind . I have no rest night or day , now that I have come to my senses . Oh ! Betsy , save iae a lock of my poor Louisa ' s hair now she is

      gone . I would give anything to uado what I Lave done . Be kind to my poor helpless children , and the Great God that I trust to for mercy for my crirn < e will reward you . When you come up with my child bring my blue waistcoat , and take the one I have . got on away with you . You must get the most you can upon it for the children . Please to bring me a collar or two , and also my black necktie . If you can carry baby with you , I shall be glad to see her . Oh ! Betsy , forgive me for what I have done , and beg of your father to do so too . None of your feelings , bad as they are , can be like mine , as I am the cause of all .

      "If you cannot come to-morrow ( Saturday ) you must come on Monday . If you can bring me a little butter , I shall be glad . "Give my love to father and my sisters , and accept the same yourself , from your heart-broken and wretched brother-in-law , " T . Cobeiga . it . " P . S . —You niust try and come at twelve o ' clock . " ¦ A verdict of " Wilful Murder" has been returned against Thomas John William Corrigau , by the coroner ' BJury .

      January 5, 1856.] The Leader. 5

      January 5 , 1856 . ] THE LEADER . 5

      The Inquest On The Body Of Mrs. Beardsmo...

      The inquest on the body of Mrs . Beardsmore , who was thrown out of window by her husband , an innkeeper at Newcastle-on-Tyne , still continues , and is further adjourned . It seems certain that man and wife were both intoxicated at the time—the former ravingly so . The testimony of Mary Williams , a niece of the man , and serving a 3 barmaid in . the house , give 3 some frightful particulars of the fierce pursuit of the woman from room to room by Beardsmore , and of the final act . This girl , who ig only sixteen years of age , vsaid : —r"I went down to the newsroom door and asked my uncle to g-o to bed . He was tipsy . He had been drinking all

      night , and was in an excited Btate . When I asked him to go to bed he said he was going to let the men out . He went down stairs to let some persons out , and I returned to my aunt ' s room .. My uncle followed me shortly afterwards , and he asked me what I wanted with nay bonnet on . I said my « unt had told me to open the bar with her , aud he said I should not , but was to go to bed . At that moment , neither made use of bad language . She again said I should , and ou that he gave my aunt a slight push . He took hold of her arm and pushed her away , and ' said I should not go . She then went to the window , broke a square of glass , and called

      ' Police , ' and ' Murder . ' He caught hold of her by the arm and gave her a sudden jerk , and she fell down on the floor . She foil on her knees . ' He did not use any threatening language to her . I don't recollect either of them saying anything . She was very nearly tipsy and was in an excited state . As she was getting up , lie sfcruck her a violent blow on the mouth -with his fist . I dou't recollect what ho said . She fell back on me when he Btruck her . The door came open , and she ran out . I don't remember that she cried out as she was running . Tho door had been opened by some one from the outside before he struck her on the mouth , and when she was on her knees , and it was pushed close by my aunt and her husband wrestling together . After ho had struck my auut

      , the door agaiu opened , aud Mary Ann Parker , a niece of Mrs . Beardsmoro , came in . At tho samo time my auufc ran out . Beardnnaoro rushed after hor and Mary Ann Parker caught hold of his collar , and said , ' Don t , uncle ! Stop here . ' I don ' t recolloot that ho Baid why he was rushing nftor her . Ho forced himself awny from her , and said , ' Loose rue ! ' He thou got away from her . I followed him out of the room , and to the top of the stairs . Ho went down stairs then but returned in a few minutes ) . Mary Ann Parker remained on tho top of the stairs with me . When ho returned , ho was very much exoitod , cvud said , ' Whore is eho V Ho had nothing in his hands . Ho was in a passion . Ho pushed mo away from him . He also pushed Mary Aun Parker . I foil down four stair , " in

      consequence of tho push ho gave mo . Ho thon wont along tho passage to No . G bedroom * Ho did mot say why ho was following Mrs . Beardnmoro about . Whop I spoko to him ho only said , ' Don ' t talk to mo ! ' or Got away ! ' Ho then soemod in a groat rago . I did not hoar any doors broken ojwn wluio ho was down Hto-irs . Tho door of No . G bedroom was unlocked . Ho just wont in there and thon oamo out . Ho then went into No . 7 . This room door was looRod , and ho burst it opou by main foroo . He ran up against it . He was not shouting at that timo . Aa ho oamo out of that room wo hoard a loud crash proceeding from Qo-wn Htairs . I said , ' Oh , doar ! ' and ho thon rushed

      past me down Btairs . I did not follow him . Mary Ana Parker was with me all this time . A servant called Jemima Dixon was also on the stairs . She cam « up stairs just before he broke the door open . She had been in bed . She remained with me until my uncle went down stairs , after we heard the crash . I remained up stairs till I heard from Mr . Lambert , butcher , that my aunt had fallen out of the window ; that was a few minutes after I heard the crash . I followed him down stairs into the passage leading from Neville-street to Westgate-street , and found my aunt lying there , having apparently fallen through the glass roof . "

      A Wife's Autobiography. The Crime Of Wif...

      A WIFE'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY . The crime of wife-beating showB no prospect of diminution with the New Year . In the courae of the last week , a wretched looking woman , dressed in rags , and with her head and arms bound up with white plaister , appeared at the Clerkenwell police office to give evidence against her husband , John Sargent , residing in Lamb-court , Clerkenwell-green . The woman thus told her own history : — " I hare been married about two years , during which period my husband ' s conduct towards me has been one of continued ill usage . Shortly after our marriage , he commenced knocking me about ; and

      when he was drunk he would often come home , pull me down on the floor , and then drag me about the room by the hair of my head . On one occasion he pulled me from the top of the stairs to the bottom by the hair of nay head . He went out on Fiiday last , leaving me without any food to eat , and no money in the house to get anything with . I saw nothing further of him until yesterday afternoon , about half-past two , when I saw him in the Lamb and Flag publichouse , kept by Mr . Collins . I then said to him , ' I thought you -were going to stop here for dinner , ' when he ordered me to leave the house . I did so , and on

      getting outside , my husband said , ' I will give you a ticket for this , and will learn you to come to a publichouse after me . ' He then went home , and kicked me in the ribs , and afterwards commenced breaking up the furniture . He afterwards said , taking up a knife , 'I will settle you shortly , and then you wont want to eat either dinner or tea . ' I went outside , and he threw the knife at me , and finding that did not . hurt me , he took up a bricsk and hurled it at my head . I then went into the house of Mrs . Dobson , a near neighbour , when my husband followed , knoeked me down , dragged me across the room by the hah- of my head , and kicked me both on the head and arm . I

      -was twenty-four years of age last . Tuesday , and when I married I had a good box of clothes ; but , owing to my husband ' s drunken and dissolute character , I am not fit to be seen . I have always endeavoured to keep myself respectable , and have tried to get my living by washing aud charing . " , The man was sentenced to four months . ' hard labour , and . the woman received a sovereign from the poorbox .

      Another case of brutality to a wife has come before the Clerkenwell magistrate , by whom William Kellard , a tailor , and an old offender , has been sentenced tu four months'hard labour for striking his wife violently ov « r the jaw with a pair , of scissors . He had been threatening ' one of the children with similiar chastisement , and the wife ' s offence consisted in interfering to protect them . Tne poof woman will be assisted during her husband ' s imprisonment with 2 s . Od . a-week from the poor-box .

      An Active Clerk. A Young Man Named Rober...

      AN ACTIVE CLERK . A young man named Robert Edwin Robinson , confidential clork to Mr . William Marshall , a sharebroker at Leeds , was tried at the Leeds Borough Sessions on three separate charges of embezzlement . The first of these indictments was for the sum of £ 60 , of which he hud defrauded his employer , who , in October last , gave him a Bank of England note for £ 100 to remit to Mr . Cawthorn , Iub London agent . This payment wiu > duly entered b y the clork ou both sides of the cash-book , sis having been received by him from Mr . Marshall , and subsequently remitted to Mr . Cawthorn . A few days aftor Mr . Marshall received a letter from that gentleman in which the receipt of the £ 100 was not acknowledged , Ho mentioned this fiu't to his

      clerk , who i > rojni 8 ed to write to Mr . Oawthorn about it . On tho ICth of the same month Mr . Marshall , junu , took from tho post two letter * from Messrs , BeardhIiuw , Htookbrokora of London , one enclosing two contracts for 100 Dovcth , and tho other a eortain number of contnvots for £ i 5000 Midland Stook . Of both those transactions Mr . Marshall was ignorant . On tho 1 SH » , Hobinnon absconded in consequence of what had previously occurred botwoon himself and his omployer , and after bin departure a letter from Mr . Cawthorn wiiB discovered in his cloak , acknowledging tho roouipt of . € 40 , which nuin wuh likowiao , on examination , found ontorocl in tho oush-book , immediately ovor tho entry of tho £ 100 remittance . Tho olork was therefore charged with having ombo / . Kloii tho roi-t of tho money . For tho dofonoo , however , it \ vi \ u nhown tlmt

      purchase 100 Dovers on account of Mr . Marshall . As the Midland Stock wa 3 continued from account to account , Robinson was obliged to pay the " differences / ' which he did , unknown to his employer , by first paying Messrs . Beardshaws' Leeds agent £ 94 . 10 s . in money , and afterwards remitting to Messrs . Beardshaw the £ 165 coupon , dividend warrants , & c . These were held by Mr . Marshall as security for money advanced . His clerk told him that the letter containing the Dover contracts was a mistake , and te would return them , but they were found in bis desk after he had absconded . He acknowledged having bought the Midland Stock , and paid the * ' differences "

      Robinson ' s payments on the 11 th on account of his master exceeded his receipts , and it was suggested that , acting as he thought best for his employer , he had paid £ 85 to a local client , and remitted £ 40 to London . The second charge against Robinson -was that of having swindled Mr . Marshall of a £ 165 coupon , together with some dividend warrants and other documents , and £ 94 10 s . in money . He had in August last commissioned Messrs . Beard shaw to purchase for his master £ 5000 Midland Stock , which , after the purchase , fell , and -was continued from account to account . He afterwards requested the same firm to

      unauthorised , but stated that he made the purchase to benefit his employer . As -in the former case , it was submitted that Robinson had derived no profit from the purchases , and had paid the money and securities he was charged with embezzling , on account of the stock , which had since been taken by Mr . Marshall . He had acted to the best of his judgment for bis master ' s interest , and the speculation had proved a failure , or the jury would never have heard anything © f the case . In the third instance , Robinson was charged with stealing from his employer the documents and money mentioned in the last case , but upon this indictment no evidence was offered .

      The young man was acquitted on the drst and third chargesj but convicted on the second , and sentenced to eight months' imprisonment in Leeds gaol .

      Frightened To Death. A Lament Able Insta...

      FRIGHTENED TO DEATH . A lament able instance of death , resulting entirely from nervous terror , occurred about a week ago at Fulford , near York . Mr . Sutton , a proctor in that town , engaged as office boy a lad of thirteen . Up to Thursday week , the boy had been in perfect health ; but , at half-past four o ' clock hi the afternoon of that day , as Mr . Sutton was about to leave for his private residence , he observed that M 3 assistant looked very pale . On asking him if he felt ill , the youth areplied that he had wounded himself with his penknife . He shortly afterwards fainted , when medical aid was called in ; and the jjropea * restoratives being applied , he partially revived . A surgeon was next sent for , who found that the boy had scratched hi 3 chest , and fetched a few drops of blood . He did not , however ,

      think that there was anything dangerous in the wound itself . The ] ad was taken horne by his master in a cab , and , a very few hours afterwards , Mr . Sutton , to his great surprise , learnt from the boy ' s father that the poor fellow was dead . An elder brother of this same boy , also "employed by Mr . Sutton , had bled to death froni the drawing of a tooth about two mouths previously . " This had alarmed the younger brother to such an extent as to make him fancy that he should himself one day meet with a Bimilar death . When he saw the blood issue from the -wound wliich he had inflicted on himself , it is conjectured that his nervous system must have received so severe a shock that recovery was impossible . An inquest was held on Friday week , when the jury returned a , verdict , " That the deceased died from fright . "

      Our Civilisation. Cruelt Y To Awimals.—S...

      OUR CIVILISATION . Cruelt y to Awimals . —Several cab and omnibus proprietors hnvo been summoned before tho Lord Mayor , at the inatanco of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals , for ill-treating and torturing horses ; and fines wore inflicted varying from 8 s . to 20 s . Wholesale Watoh-Pawuing , — James Coatos , lately a watch-maker in Eccloston-street South ,

      Pimlico , lias been convicted at the Westminster policeofflco of pawning a great many watches whioh had been loft with him for repair . As mnny as fifty-one wore recovered from different pawnbrokers . It soomed thot in sonic oases tho man obtained payment for tho work ho had done to the watohea upon making a protonco of returning them , and thou , asking for them back upon aoinoingcniousprotoxfc , pawned them . Ho wtia committed to prison for twelve months . Forty watches ntill remain unredeemed .

      DlCFiVLOATION Ob THIS POSTMASTER OIT NwWOABTLKon-Tynk . —Mr . Charles Hoadlam , tho poBtmastor of Newcastlo-oM-Tyne , has absconded with public money to tho amount of n few hundred pounds . This sum will by inaclo good by tho sureties , tho withdrawal of ono of whom , aud the appointment of another in Iuk plaoo , lod to tho diooovory of tho robberies by noceaaitatinir a squaring of tho account /? . Tuo absconding

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 5, 1856, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05011856/page/5/