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APPRENTICE 6 - tke.Nximmmmm.xJL ¦ tmmmm-...
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eB? -metropolis
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• Health of Lohuos mmisG the Week.—The B...
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** Another Savings Bank-Robbest:—The Hul...
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Scotiiinu,
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Execution of Margabet HAMiLTON.-r-The un...
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SteunB.
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Destitution in Clark.— We extract from a...
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Destruction of Books. —- The destruction...
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! SIURDEROF, A PARISH APPRENTICE. n& Nor...
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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.
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Apprentice 6 - Tke.Nximmmmm.Xjl ¦ Tmmmm-...
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• Health Of Lohuos Mmisg The Week.—The B...
• Health of _Lohuos mmisG the Week . —The Begistrar-General ' s weekly return- states that , in 'ths week ending last Saturday , the deaths registered ¦ in the metropolitan districts were 1 , 094 , and exhibit " an increase of 60 on those of the previous week , -and likewise an increase of almost the same amount oa the average of the corresponding weeks of the 10 previous years ( 1840-9 ) , the mortality of these -weeSs having ranged Trom 7 S 0 deaths in 184 _" > , to % 4 * fS in 184 S . But , if a correction is made for increase of population , the estimated average becomes 1 , 126 , and tbe deaths now returned are less than this number by 32 . The causes of death _prevailing at the present time are found , in by far the _"fergest proportion , in that class of diseases which
affect the oigans of respiration . In this class , of -which the most important are phthisis ( or consumption ) , bronchitis , pneumonia ( or inflammation of tte lungs ) , and asthma , there are now enumerated the deaths of 384 persons , or more than one-third of all who died in the week . The corrected average often corresponding weeks is 376 . On the other hand , the deaths from the zymotic or ep idemic classes of diseases were only 168 , the corrected aTerage being 216 . A girl of 5 years died of "Asiatic cholera , " after 14 hours * illness , in Portman-place ! , near thc Edgeware-road ; and in Fenchurch-street , a boy of 9 months died of " cholera , hooping-cough , teething , and convulsions , " after a month ' s illness . Diarrhoea is the only epidemic -which exceeds the average ; it was fatal to 11 children and 10 adults ; the average of this period is not more than 9 ; the fatality of measles is ofthe usual amount ; and small-pox , scarlatina ,
hoopingcough , and typhus continue to show a decrease , winch , however , is most considerable as regards the first two of these epidemics . Four children and a mandied of smallpox : 13 children of scarlatina . Consumption was fatal to 137 persons , about the average ; bronchitis and asthma to 159 , « r more by 52 than the averagei ; and pneumonia to 75 , or 30 less than the average . Two persons died of privation . The mean daily reading of the barometer at the "Royal Observatory , Greenwich _^ was above 30 inches on Sunday and "Wednesday . The mean temperature rose from 33 deg . on Sunday to 44 deg . on Tuesday , declining to about 36 deg . on Wednesday and Thursday , and rose above SO deg . on Friday and Saturday . On Sunday and Wednesday it was lower than the average of the same days in seven years ; and on Friday and Saturday it was more than 15 deg . above it . The mean temperature ofthe week was 41 deg . 8 min ., which is 6 deg . above the average .
Extraordinary Robbkbt is the City . —Late oa Saturday evening last , considerable alarm was caused in the helghbonrhood of Bishopsgate-street "Without , owing to tiie following daring robbery . A respectably-dressed young man entered the shop of 3 fr . Hyho , a silversmith and watchmaker , and asked to be shown a silver watch . One was produced ( a _Balf-plate lever ) , which the fellow examined very minutely , and having inquired the price , he put his hand into his pocket , as it was _supposed , to take oat the money to pay for the article . Instead , however . of so doing , he seemed to hesitate a little , and asked to be shown another , somewhat lighter . Mr . Hyho
Bavins turned round to reach another , the fellow threw the contents of his" bands , which , instead of "being money , were either gunpowder or some other combustible , upon tbe gaslight . Sereral persons passing by the shop thinking the p lace had taken fee immediately started to White Gross-street brigade station for the engine . The thief rushed out ofthe shop , carrying with him the watch . The mostent JAr . Hyho recovered himself he ran out of the shop , and followed the man for some distance shoutsi * - 'Stop thief , " bnt the fellow succeeded in getting dear off . The only damage done to the premises was tiie breaking of the gas-lamp and blackeniug some of tite windows .
SmciDK it _BE-flioxosHr . —On Saturday last , Mr . _barter went into an inquiry at the Simon the Tanner , j " uong-lane , Bermondsey , respecting the death of Samuel Smith , aged thirty-two years . —Robert Burrows , the engine-keeper of St . Mary Magdalen , B ? _rjaoDdsey . stated tbat on Wednesday evening last he was called to the deceased' s residence by a policeman f the M division . "Witness proceeded to No . 163 , Long-lane , where , npon going to the second floor "back , witness found the room door closed . He ( witness ) forced an entrance , and then discovered the deceased lying on the floor apparently lifeless . His clothes were partially destroyed , and in the same apartment was a charcoal fire , between two fenders , which were placed about two feet from the crate .
The _flior and _joists had become ignited , and were then on fire . Witness _extinguished tbe flames , and had to make a precipitate retreat as the fumes of the ehareoal were so powerful . Upon making an examination witness found that the variou * crevices round tie window and door had been carefully covered over with pap ** , which had been firmly p tsted down , and must have taken two or three hours to accomplish . Witness was of opinion that the deceased died from the effects ofthe fumes ofthe charcoal , and had committed the act himself , producing his own death . — Other evidence having been offered , ths jury _unaninrasly agreed to a verdict to the effect " That the deceased destroyed his own life , being at the time in a state of insanity . "
Shocking Accident . — On Saturday last an inquest was taken by Mr . Payne , the City coroner , at St . Bartholomew ' s Hospital , as to the death of Edward Hedger _, Esq ., aged- 71 . The deceased resided at Brunswick-terrace , Hackney-road . On "Wednesday morning he went into tbe City on business , and about eleven o'clock wm crossing from Princes-street , opposite the Mansion-house , to "Lombard street , and had reached the obelisk in tbe centre of the road , where he waited for aa omnibus to pas 3 from King Wiliian-strcet to Princes-street . One of Hansom's cabs proceeding from the Poultry
to Lombard-street , came np , and before the cabman eould pull up bis horse the shaft had struck the - unfortunate gentleman ' s head , and it then caught the collar of his coat , turned Urn round will * , great violence and threw him on the ground . The horse was pulled on his haunches , but he first trod oi the deceased ' s stomach , aud afterwards on his legs . Upon being got up by the policeman on duty , is was p _laced iu a cab and conveyed to St . Bartholomew ' s Hospital , where he died from the effect of st concussion on the brain . The jury returned a ¦ verdictof •* Accidental death . ''
_Melakcholt Death . —On Monday afternoin an inquest was taken before Mr . II . M . Wakley , at the Bed Lion public-house , Brompton-road , respecting the death of Miss Jane Tucker , aged seventy years , fiie well-known originator of the Governess Institu-*& niu Bedford-square . The deceased , for the last ax months , had resided at No . 19 , Queen-street , Brompton , and daring that time hai enjoyed a tolerably good state of health . About a fortnight since she went down to Tentern , in Devonshire , to tee her sister , who was dangerously ill . She returned
to her lodgings ou Thursday night last , apparently ¦ well , with the exception that she complained of being fatigued with her journey . She partook of some tea , and shortly afterwards retired to rest . On the following morning she did not make her appearance at the _naoal hour , at which the landlord of the house became alarmed , and her bed-room door was eventually broken open . The decease ! was found lying in her Bed quite dead and cold . Mr . Anderson , a surgeon , was called in . and ascribed death to an affection of fiie heart . - The / jury immediately returned a verdict in accordance with the medical testimony .
Suspicious Gass . — A protracted inquiry was held by adjournment , before Mr . W . Baker , the coroner , on the 1 st inst ., at the Fountain Tavern , Upper Clapton , Hackney , concerning the death of James Merritt , aged 34 years , a turncock in the employ bf the East London Water Company , who died from the effects of arsenic under the following Tery suspicious circumstances : — -The deceased resided with his wife in Pear Tree-court , Upper Clapton . He had enjoyed a good state of health until within the last fortnight , and on Thursday morning , the 24 th nit , he complained of a violent sickness , aud brought up a large quantity of bile . He said _hebad'On the previous evening partaken of some stew , and some tea immediately afterwards ,
-which he thought had not agreed with bun . On thesame day he complained of intense thirst , and he j had some gruel ; which was prepared by his wife . Soon afterwards he appeared much worse , and was compelled to go to bed and leave his work unfinished . "While in bed he complained of violent pains in his stomach and had cramps in his feet . The deceased gradually became worse , and . Mr .. Toulmin , a surgeon , was called in , who prescribed for . him , but lie expired in about half an hour afterwards . Immediately the deceased had breathed his tat his wife made application _ to a _iienefit society whieh the deceased . belonged , to for the burial money . —Mr . Toulmin said he bad made a post mortem examination of the body of the deceased . —Br . Henry _Latheby , lecturer on chemistry at the London Hospital , deposed that he had submitted the contents of the deceased ' s stomach to an analysis , and found it to contain _eiffht erains and a half bf white arsenic .
"Wi tness had-not the slightest doubt that the deceased had died from the . effects of white arsenic . The stomach contained about a pint of fluid which had a red appearance , in which witness detected the presence of arsenic , and which he had no doubt was the gruel & 3 deceased had swallowed . The coroner remarked that , there was so much suspicion in the case that _itireqwerl a m 03 t rigid and search-Ing Investigation , and he therefore could not think of closing the inquiry at that sitting . After some farther _eonyemjaontheinquirywagadjourned . —On Tuesday mopiing . -ai twelve o ' clock , the adjournedinqniry . _*^ _. _resuinr _f , _farjhe third time , at the . Fountain _Tavern _. _^ _ypw _^ ClapfoD , relative to . the death of : Jaine 3 : Mer _** _at , aEed . Ape ¦ em loj _& Q _* . _EasnVLoridori Water Company ; _i ? -rfM ; died _^ _Tlmis _^ y , ths _-ftth ult , from the effects i _« _fM _% \* _5 _"E-S _?* . * _2- _!» ye Been administered to him _miUln e _^ . wee _^ _*^^ ,. with kving cauied her _faaban-T" death .: _J-he Coronet said , befor e he pro-
• Health Of Lohuos Mmisg The Week.—The B...
_ceeded in examining the numerous witnesses' he would inform the jury that since the last meeting he had received a communication from Mr . " Andrew ** , the summoning officer , that the deceased ' s father had died suddenly under precisely similar circumstances , and that considerable suspicion-attached to the accused that she had poisoned ber father-in-law as well as her husband . He had , therefore , deemed it necessary to order the disinterment of the body , a post mortem examination , and also an analysis of the contents of the stomach , to ascertain , if _possible , if there . was any foundation for the rumour- ' He did not intend to call witnesses in that _cise at the present inquiry , but shoidd impanel a fresh jury at a future time . The following additional evidence was then
adduced : —Mary Gillett , the wife of a labouring man residing in the adjoining house to the deceased , said that on Thursday last , after the adjournment ot the inquest , Mrs . Merritt entered the house and asked her if she had heard that poison had been found in the deceased's stomach . Witness replied in the affirmative , when Mrs . Merritt exclaimed , ' _* . I am . innocent ; he waa a dear good husband , and it is not likely I should do such a thing . " She then added , " Dear creature , if tliat is the case , he has done it by his own hand . " Witness remarked at the same time that that was net very likely , a * , he had purchased a new pair of boots the night previous to his death . Witness also knew the deceased ' s father , and saw h _? m alive on Saturday , the 29 th September last . He died on the following day ; and for the last few hours
I previous to his death ho was suffering from pains , aad under similar circumstances as the deceased . — By the Coroner : The deceased belonged to a benefit society , and early on the morning of his death Mrs . Merritt applied to the society fur the burial money , and received £ 3 Ids ., a portion of the sum she was entitled to on the death of her husband . —By the Jury : Witness could not undertake to say that the deceased ' s father belonged to the _society . —Other _witnesses were examined , but their evidence was of no public importance . —The Coroner said some further time was necessary to enable the police to make further inquiries , and it would , therefore , be necessary to adjourn again . In the interim the body of deceased ' s father would be thoroughly examined , and the results laid before another jury . The inquiry was according adjourned until Monday next .
AccinEXT from Gunpowder . — On Tuesday morning a boy about eight years of age was taken to King ' s College Hospital , so injured as to be without hope of recovery . The child had been amusing bin > self by playing with gunpowder . The neighbours , on hearing the boy scream , went to the room , which was filled with smoke , in one corner of which lay the little sufferer on . the ground , burnt most frightfully about the face , hands , - and arms . His clothes were nearly all destroyed . The parents were absent from home at the time .
Fibe at St . George ' s Workhouse . —On Saturday last shortly after noon , a lire broke out in the workhouse of St . George ' s the Martyr , Southwark , which was promptly subdued by the inmates and the brigade firemen . It was ascertained that the fire originated in a quantity of straw used for casual paupers' bedding . Very little damage was done . Alarm of Finn at St . Thomas's Hospital . — Great alarm was caused in the Borough on Monday night owing to flames being seen issuing apparently through the roof of St . Thomas ' s Hospital . Messengers immediately started in all directions for the engines , and in the course of a few minutes a strong body of the London brigade with several engines reached the hospital , when the firemen happily found
that the cause of so much alarm was owing to one of the chimneys taking fire , the flames from which , as they rushed through the pot , being supposed by the crowd to issue through the roof . - Aubming Fire in John-sirebt _, _Clkukenweu . —On Tuesday night , about ten o ' clock , a fire broke out ia the premises belonging to Mr . IJavid Tatton , umbrella and parasol manufacturer , No . 20 , Albemarle-street , St . John ' s-street , Clerkenweli . The flames were first discovered by one of the lodgers who , on returning home , found the front shop on fire . He instantly caused an alarm , and several engines promptly attended ; but the fire was not put out until the whole of the valuable stock-in-trade was reduced to ashes , and the premises much damaged . The origin of the fire is unknown . .- ¦ »
Firs is Watlino-Street "—On Tuesday afternoon a fire broke out in the large range of premises belonging to Messrs . Smith and Sons , the wholesale fruiterers , No . 10 , "Watling-street , City . For nearly a month , workmen have been employed in the basement , putting down asphalte pavement , to protect tbe place from the ravages of rats and damp . During the whole of this period , firemen belonging to the chief brigade station have been in attendance both night and day to protect the premises from fire . On Tuesday afternoon , however , the heat from three furnaces used for melting tiie asphalte set some wooden bricks in the chimney on fire , and in a very brief spsce of time the flames were working into the ground floor warehouse , where property of many thousand pounds' value was deposited . The engines from the station inthe same street promptly attended and by setting the small portable one to work , the fire was extinguished speedily , the damage done being very trifling .
Destructive _CosflAgratiox in Lambeth . — On Thursday morning , shortly before one o ' clock , a fire broke out in the extensive timber-yard belonging to Mr . George Myers , of the Ordnance-Wharf , _Belvidere-road , which , in the extent of its ravages , has very far exceeded any c-itastrophe of the kind with which the metropolis has been visited for many years past . In less than half an hour from the period of the outbreak , the premises on the west side of Guildford-street , formerly occupied by Messrs Grit-sell ( now in the tenancy of Messrs . Christopher Nickels and Co ., _^ india-rubber web manufactures , ) became _igni'ed , and a'l efforts to stay the ravages ofthe flames proved utterly futile . In a very short period the window frame- at the back of the houses in the York-road , caught fire , and before any effective means could be adopted to prevent it , the whole range numbered 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , and 12 , were one mass of
flame . The awful _progress of the fire for some few minutes previously had forewarned the inhabitants of the danger to which tbey were exposed , and a very large quantity of furniture was hastily thrown out of the houses into the . centre of the York-road , as the only chance of saving it from being reduced to ashes . The firemen worked bravely , but the extent of the catastrophe was so great that their energies appeared _paralyzed—? o to speak—and it soon became evident that the fire must exhaust itself . Itis quite impossible , owing to the confusion that prevailed , to give anything approaching an estimate of the damage that must accrue from this frightful disaster . The great quantity of furniture strewd about all the thoroughfares ia the district gives too much reason to fear that the poorer classes will suffer very severely . On the question of insurance also no certain information could be obtained .
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** Another Savings Bank-Robbest:—The Hul...
** Another Savings _Bank-Robbest : —The Hull Savings Bank appears to have been in the hands of a dishonest _ncutuary , and the accounts are now in course of examination . So far , a * that examination has been conducted from the present time , to the year 1839 , the inquiry has revealed fraudulent entries amounting , we are informed , to - £ 2 , 580 . This is the whole extent of fraudulent entries yet , ascertained , but it appears from the published accounts , that the claims of the _depositors amount to £ 351 , 56616 s . lid . The Bank ' s investment in government securities is
£ 316 , 166 3 s . 10 d ., and the cash in its treasurer ' s hands -61 , 780 . making a total of £ 347 , 946 3 s . lOd . The actual deficiency therefore appears to be £ 3 , 620 ISs . Id . very fortunately the bank has a surplus fund of £ 3 , 450 , and holds security from the late actuary for-62 , 000 , and therefore the funds of the bank are more than sufficient to cover the liabilities-, But nevertheless it does appear extraordinary that defalcations to these large amounts can have been going on year after year without detection . To say the least , there must have , been great laxity iu the management . —Yorkshire Gazette . : _¦¦¦' /
Send them to the Ragged School . —Last week J . Gilmore and M . Mattimore _, ' two ragged-boys , we * e charged hefore the magistrates , at Sunderland ; with having been found begging . Ordered to be sent to the Ragged School . Mr . Candisb , secretary to the Ragged School , who was present , addressed the bench to the effect that the committee , being of opinion that juvenile mendicancy was productive of great moral evil , would be glad to receive all the children found begging in town into the Ragged School . The magistrates concurred- in the opinion , and the police were ordered to send all children found begging for the future to the Ragged School . - Cholera , still continues to infest some of the colliery villages in South Durham . Seven deaths occurred in South Church last week from this disease , and three or four in Bishop Auckland .
Supposed Incbkdiakx Fire ; nkab _Roystoit . — A dreadful fire occurred on Saturday last at Ashwell , near Baldock , supposed to be the act of an incendiary . Several farms were burnt down and a number of cottages ; and damage-down to the amount of £ 10 , 000 and upwards . A high wind added much to the conflagation , which it was painful in the extreme to behold . People seem ata loss to accountfor the act ofthe villain , as there is not a single able-bodied man in the union , nor has there been during the winter , all the labourers having been well employed . Game Law Vengeance . —At the _Asheiidbri petty
sessionsonthe 1 st . instantj Jesse Ahdrews , ' alaboarer of _WeBtcott , " who was brought up by warrant / was charged , - by George Griffin ; , gamekeeper for the Rev . George Chetwode , ; pf Chilton-house , before Messrs : Bernard and _Martynj _-withnavihg on the morning of the 22 nd ult . " been armed and in pursuit of game , in Grove ; wood , " vy ' ottoh , the property ; of the Marquis of Chandos . The prisoner was defended bV'Mr ' Jones . * solicitor ; _j _& _lesbUrj _*;' . ' "Joseph 'King ' and " Robert and Thomas " Bine ;' , watchers ' . for the * aUdve ;* reverend gentleman , ' _proved the " c _% cused was found with a gun and : a pheasant on him . The magistrates _wmn _* dttfid him Wl / tylrabury -Gaol
** Another Savings Bank-Robbest:—The Hul...
for three mo _nthfiJ--imprisonment in the ' -House- '' of Correction , and _required him at the " expiration of that time to enterinto his own surety in -610 , and to find two sureties in £ 10 each , or one' in _-S 20 _Jbr his good c 6 nduct _> for-twelve months , and in default of his so doing ,-to be imprisoned for a further ' term of six months . i _Ato _esbory Savings Bank Robber *** . —The defalcations of the savings bank may now . ibe said to have reached a sum approaching to * S 1 , 000 . ¦ " ¦ The examination of the books exhibited an utter want of care on- the ' part of those who it ia supposed would have paid greater attention- to their own business . Tn some instances blank cheques must have been si gned by parties withdrawing a part of their
deposits ; and some who supposed their amount at the bank to have been reduced by withdrawing a sum of £ 5 ., find , to their _disapuointn . ent , that the cheques they have signed have been filled up for £ 45 , the _la-ger amount having been withheld' arad _appropriated by Stratton , who on many occasions must have had narrow escapes of detection , as the purloining of bank deposits by him may be traced as far back _asthe ' year 1845 . ¦ "' ¦ . '¦¦'¦ Murder of Two Chtxdrkn by their Mother —Exeter , Monday . —Yesterday morning , public attention and horror was excited by the rumour tliat a woman had murdered two of her children by throwing them into the canal , and had attempted the life of a third in thesame way . From inquiries instituted this momingthe following information relative
to the sad affair has been obtained : —The prisoner , Elizabeth Bradford , is the wife of a carpenter and joiner , living in Wood ' s-court , Summerland-street . On Saturday afternoon , Mrs . Curry , a friend of the family , which consisted of the prisoner , her husband , and three children , called and took tlie children with her to her apartments in Castle-street . They were aged respectively abont eight , six , and four years , the youngest being a boy , called James , and the two elder ones the deceased , named Elizabeth and Harriett . Between six and seven in the evening the prisoner came and took them away . She did not remain more than a minute or two , but Mrs . Curry observed that she looked very , much agitated , and therefore _--ffered to accompany her home , Mrs .
Bradford refused , saying , * 'I know you are very poorly and you shan't come with me . " A few minutes before eight a person named Edmund Palmer , an assistant to Mr . George Cooper , Fore-street , who lives on the Haven Banks , was returning home from his work , and when he had arrived at the first drawbridge on the canal , he heard a' _splashinthe water . Ue proceeded onto the drawbridge and thenhetrd the cry of a child . He called out for assistance , and a woman came up , apparently from the bank , whicli is lower than the bridge , and said , ' _* . that is my dear child—ray poor Jemmy . " Palmer-obtained . _a'light , from a neighbouring house , and returned to the spot . The child was still floating ] Ho held nut his umbrella , and told the child to catch- hold bf . it , ' which
the little fellow did , and was thereby saved . Mr . Lyddon , a surgeon , attended upon him , and he soon recovered . The mother was taken into custody on the spot ; but , upon the recommendation of Mr . Lyddon , she was taken home . It was not then knownlhatshehad three children with her ; but as _soin as the police ascertained that . the two girls were missing , they proceeded early yesterday morning to drag the river and caual . Inspector StuckeB discovered the body of the youngest girl , floating very near the drawbridge , on the canal side , and the body ofthe other was found in the basin , or wet dock ; so that it seems probable the eldest girl was pushed or fell into the water at a different spot . It is said that the poor woman had been in a great deal of trouble . The house , in Wood's-court , had been left to her by her father , and she came with ¦ her- husband' from London a short time ago ; but since their residence
in Exeter he had little or nowork , in consequence of which they had suffered great privations . The house was agreed to be sold to her brother , whose name is Gandy , a letter carrier in the Exeter Post-office . After the deeds were drawn some dispute had arisen , and proceedings were threatened . On the Way to the station house , the prisoner frequently exclaimed against her brother , ¦ * ' Oh , my treacherous brother , and that wretch" ( meaning her brother ' s ' _. wife . ) Yesterday she said the bailiffs were coming to take all her things , and it was owing to distress that she did it . There seems little doubt of her being quite insane , and the precaution of keeping a female turnkey always with her has been very properly adopted . At eleven o ' clock this morning this case was brought before tbe Exeter magistrates by Mr . Steele , the superintendent of police , and it was decided to hand it over to the magistrates of the county , as the bodies were found in the county .
Proposed Third Trial on one Charge . —The Shropshire Conservative says : — " Mercy Newton still continues an inmate of our county gaol , under the charge of having murdered her mother , at Bridgnorth , in 1848 . A memorial has , however , been presented to the Secretary of State for the Home Department , praying that the prisoner who has been twice tried at our assizes for the supposed offence , should not again be put upon her trial , the coroner ' s juries and two crown juries having been discharged without finding her guilty . The memorial has been signed by no less than 220 of the most respectable residents in , and near , Bridgnorth . It is signed hy the mayor , and the whole of the council ( with the exception of Mr . Newall , the ex-mayor , and one
other ;) by two , out of three , of the committing magistrates , and many others of the magistracy ; , by the whole ; of the medical profession ( except those who were witnesses for the prosecution ;) by the whole legal profession ( except the solicitor for the prosecution and magistrates clerk ;) and Indeed by almost every person of note and standing in the town . The result of this application is not yet known , but we do hope this poor creature will not be suffered to undergo a third trial , she has already been tortured _enousb , and her long 'imprisonment has been sufficient punishment for any unfilial acts of her past life . We do not see why Mercy Newton should be written to the scaffold when such an eminent work as Taylor's Medical Jurisprudence is opposed to the judgment of Dr . Wright and
anotheri who never _Baw the body of the deceased , and when not one of the medical witnesses had ever seen a body burnt' after death . As doctors differ , it would be rather a stretch of fancy to strangle a woman on the scaffold merely to give a triumph to the medical men on one side or the other . With the fact on record of the coroner's jury and two crown juries not having convicted , we think it very unlikely that a third or fourth jury can be found to consign a woman to death on such verj weak circumstantial evidence as was produced by the prosecution at both trials . If there is a grain of suspicion as to her guilt , there is a mountain of circumstances to proclaim her innocence . God and the prisoner only know the truth ; there is no evidence on which it would be safe to convict . "
Destruction of the Tillage of Ashwell bt Fire . —A correspondent ofthe Standard writes : — A circumstance more direful in its results than any which has transpired in this locality during my recollection occurred about midnight on Saturday last . About one-third of the neighbouring village ( Ashwell , Herts , ) is reduced to ashes ( supposed to be the work of an incendiary ) , and hundreds of its rural inhabitants are rendered houseless , and turned adrift upon tho world . The fire commenced upon the premises of Mr . Thomas Chapman , a highly respectable farmer : but owinir to the wind blowinsr
strongly , it spread with astonishing rapidity fov more than a quarter of a mile , until there was nothing more in that direction to feed it . A few houses only are left standing on the south side of the main street , and from thence to the back street nothing appears but a mass of ruins . Six or seven farm premises are burnt , as also the Independent meeting and the minister ' s residence . Wo are happy to find' that the school , in the erection of which the vicar and his amiable daughters took such an interest , was preserved . The damage is estimated , at the very lowest , at £ 40 , 000 .
Suicide akd Infanticide . —Groat excitement has been created at Bath by the death of a man named Edmund Francis Hunt , who destroyed his own life and that of his child , a littlo girl two years and a half old . The unfortunate , man was a plasterer , about thirty-seven years of age , living in Cornwallterrace , "Walcot-atreet , and his house abuts upon the river Avon . He was a steady , _industrious _. man , and had been in the service of his master upwards of twenty years . His wife , however , had several times been convicted of shoplifting , and tho poor fellow in consequence has undergone much mental suffering . Upon the last occasion of . his wife ' s delinquency becoming known , three or four months- ago , he declared that if ever she so disgraced . him again he should be induced to destroy himself . On' Saturday
night last , as the deceased was returning home he was informed by a neighbour that his wife was again apprehended for shoplifting . Ho hastened home , took his favourite child out of bed , and was seen no more alive . On the Sunday morning the river was dragged , and the body of the unfortunate man was pulled up about fifty yards below his own house . Ills arms were foldod over his chest as if embracing something . The water was very flush at the time , and the child must have been swilled out of her father ' s arms , the body being on Monday discovered in . the river eighteen miles below the spot where the sad catastrophe happened . The jury returned a verdict "That the deceased drowned himself whilst labouring under temporary insanity . " The wife , has been committed , on the charge of shoplifting , ; ; : . ¦' . ¦ •*" . ' . i
• •• ¦ Murder of a Gamekeeper . ai Horncasm . e ;—In the nei g hbourhood of Roughton , a short ; distance from this place ' , Richard Tasker , agamewatcher _. in the service of of the Rev . J .-Dymoke _,: Was murdered by a gang of poachers early on the morning of ! Saturday i last . -Neither , the deceased , ' nor- _liia ' two companions who were _^ with him ,-were able to recognis 6 any of the party . ; The police _; however , are on the alert j-and itisibelieved they have obtained some * ¦ trace of them .= ' .- _-.: ¦• ¦> u ,: & ¦ : ¦ _- . ; _.-. .,, ; . }) _- /' •*' _pHb-OTBNiiAi , - E 8 _CAPE : _~ On Tuesday morning ; aboufc ' _sii ' o'elock / the inmates of the CraveirA ' rms Hotel , Coventry , werealarmedby _tho- ' cryof '•• _Firei _*'
** Another Savings Bank-Robbest:—The Hul...
which ; upon inquiry , : was found tb proceed from the room occupied by Mr . George Thompson ; -M . F . for the Tower Hamlets , ; who had - been" lecturing t he previous evening upon financial reform at . St _^ Mary : s Hall . ' It appears thatthe bdn ; gentleman , _onRetiring to his apartment . for the night , 'lad probably put the candle by his bedside 'for the purpose of reading , whon he unintentionally fell- asleep , and did not awake until ho •¦ found himself . enveloped in flames ., Sir _Josliua Walmsley ,, M . P .. for Bolton , who slept inthe adjoining room , hearing a disturbance , hastily rushed out on ' . ' the landing , and , to' his hovfoi , discovered flames ' issuing from' tho room occupied by Mr .-Thompson . We are happy to state , however , that the hon . gentleman escaped without injury , and also that the . house and furniture are fully insured in the West , of England Insurance Company . The loss is estimated at £ 100 ,
Railway Accident and Loss of LiFB . —On Saturday afternoon , between four and five o ' clock , an accident occurred to a coal train on the line of the Great NorthofEngland Railway , about two miles south of Darlington , by which the stoker , John Tinkler , was killed , and the engine driver and guard severely hurt . Fortunatel y assistance was _. speedily procured , and the line—which had been blocked up by the tender being thrown on the down line—was cleared so as to be passable in the course _, of a few hours . On Monday , the 4 th ult ., an inquest was held at Darlington on the body of the deceased , before- Mr . Trotter , one : of the coroners for . the county of Durham , when it appoared that the accident had been caused by the explosion ofthe boiler , owing to their having too little water in it , and thc cold water having been let in when it was hi ' a heated state . The engine was proved to be of : excellent construction , and to have been in good
working order-when ' taken charge of by the engine driver . After some consideration the inquiry , was adjourned until the 12 th inst ., to enable the jury to hear the evidence of the engine driver and ' guard , who were so severely injured that they could not at present be examined . ¦ . Accident on the Lancashire and Yorkshire . _Railway . —On Tuesday evening the . passenger train which left the Salford station , at six , for Bolton , having arrived at tho Clifton junction , being a distance of about three miles from Manchester , came in contact with a lug-gage train ,: which the immense hurricane of wind had driven down the line to a considerable distance .. Three carriages were smashed to pieces in the passenger train , and a . lady in a first-class carriage broke her leg ' , and a few others were severely _bruisbd . Fortunately , no other injury was inflicted .
Scotiiinu,
_Scotiiinu ,
Execution Of Margabet Hamilton.-R-The Un...
Execution of Margabet HAMiLTON _.-r-The unhappy woman was hanged on Thursday week in front ofthe Court-house , Glasgow , for , the . crimes of forgery and murder . By eight o ' clock there were fully 20 , 000 persons present , a much smaller number than have been in the habit of attending similar spectacles in former times . About nine o ' clock on Wednesday _nii-lit she requestedMr . Reid , the chaplain ,, to sing a certain paraphrase , in which she audibly joined . She then wrote a letter to her husband ; but towards midnight she berame faint , and wholly unconscious , She revived a little through the attentions of Dr . Gibson , the surgeon of the prison , but never regained
her firmness . Still , at the . moment of her utmost weakness , she . whispered the . word " innocent" in the ear of the matron . About four in the morning her dress had to be put on , and while she lay on a couch this , was done by the attendants , without the slightest help from the unhappy ! woman . So much had her appearance changed within a few hours that recognition became uncertain . When the executioner appeared to pinion her she quietly submitted , saying , " Don ' t make it tight to hurt me ; " but during the operation the unluppy being seemed almost to be in a comatose state . At five minutes past ; eight a low moaning -was heard from the narrow underground passage leading from the prison to the Court-heu . se , and immediately the unhappy culprit was borne into
the hall , supported in the arms of two of the prison officers , by whose assistance she slowly ; walked into the portico before which the scaffold . stood , and ascended the gallows . While the executioner put the rope round her neck , and pulled the cap over her eyes , she whispered to him , " Do it with as little pain as you can , sir . " The officers then left the platform leaving the criminal standing alone on the drop .. The chaplain was praying earnestly on the step behind her , and the executioner endeavouring once or twice to make her accept the signal handkerchief , but she either did not understand what the ; man meant , or
would not take it . As she stood on the drop her body was observed to sway backwards and forwards , and finally she fell back altogether , having evidently gone off in a swoon . Shetlius swayed into a recumbent position , supported by the rope , while' her feet partially rested on the drop . . A momentary thrill of horror ensued - the chaplin hastily descended , with the prayer unfinished—but the executioner in the next moment pulled the bolt , and the drop fell . The unhappy woman died almost instantly , _havingievidently departed while in a state of insensibility . A slight motion of the limbs and hands was perceptible —and all was over . At five minutes before nine
the body wai cut down , after hanging about forty mintes , and in the afternoon it was interred within the precincts of the prison , Thbft at toe Gailows Foot . —Although , when compared with the metropolitan gatherings at a pub-He execution , that of the immense concourse who on Thursday surrounded the _Bcaffild , and feasted themselves with the contemplation of a fellow creature ' s agonies , must be pronounced orderly and decorous , the character of those composing it was not above the average of that class from which such assemblies are usually drawn . A number of professed thieves mixed with the crowd , and no doubt found many opportunities for the pursuit of tbeir calling . One little fellow , young in years , but an old offender was
caught in the act of picking a person ' s pocket of his handkerchief at the very time when the drop was about to fall , and the attention of those who , could 6 tand the sight was engrossed by the doings on the scaffold . He was secured and conveyed to the police office instanter , In an hour aftewards he was brought before the sitting magistrate , and sentenced by him to the usual sixty days of imprisonment . Lord Jeffrby was buried on the 31 st ult ., and according to the desire of his relatives and the wish of deceased , the funeral was strictly of a private nature , as far as the public character of the deceased judge would allow . Notwithstanding this , however , a large assemblage collected in the neighbourhood of
Morayplace , and numerous groups were formed along the line which the mournful procession was expected to take , all evincing . by their demeanour profound regret at the loss whicli the public have sustained . Death op Mb . W . Lockhart . —Drowned in the Wannan , district of Port Philip , New South Wales , on the 3 rd of September last , William Mercer Lockhart , Esq ., fourth son of Robert Lvckhart , Esq ., of Castlehill , Lanarkshire . This humane and generous hearted young gentleman gallantly : plunged into the river—then in flood—on his horse , for the praiseworthy purpose of saving an individual from drowning , but was unsuccessful , and unfortunately perished in his laudable attempt .
Steunb.
_SteunB .
Destitution In Clark.— We Extract From A...
Destitution in Clark . — We extract from a letter in tho Limerick and Clare Examiner the following harrowing picture of the present condition of the Kilrush union , as drawn by Mr . Major , the assistant-barrister , in the Court-house , on the 26 th ult ., during the hearing of some appeal cases . The remarks ofthe learned chairman , who is remarkable for the moderation and prudence of his conduct and opinions , are thus reported ' in that journal : — " There must be something radically wrong in the Kilrush union , for in every part of the country with which he Was acquainted there were evident signs of _returning prosperity , even in the worst parts of thoso
_districts ; but in this union their fellow-creatures were reduced to a condition unexampled in any time or country . The poor presented a spectacle of wretchedness that would be insupportable'to the feelings of men , if they were not , as appeared ; to him , beginning to forget that these poor people were their fellow-creatures . In the whole course of my lite ( said Mr . Major ) I never witnessed such patient agony . I protest that I thought the sufferings of the poor of this union beyond human endurance . " The Clare Examiner remarks that whilst the Assistant-Barrister thus spoke iii the Court-house , in presence of several of the landlords and poor-law guardians , the coroner was holding an inquest in tho Market-house on the body of a person named
Bryan M'Mahon ( the son of an evicted tenant ) , who , it is stated , had lain for four days _unburied Within three hundred yards of the workhouse . That paper adds : — ' * Evictions , destitution , and all -will be cured by tho summary process- now going oh . The mortality in the workhouse there amounts to one hundred and twenty per month . " Even in'some parts of Clare , according to the testimony of Mr . Major , a most competent authority , there are manifest symptoms of impnovement , whilst Kilrush , so notorious for thoso wholesale _eviotions described by Sir Robert Peel , in his memorable speeoh last session , is sinking deeper and deeper in destitution and bankruptcy . : _'"' ¦
Another Dkbadful Catastrophe in a Workhous ** . —Twenty-seven Lives Lost . —The Limerick Chronicle , oi Thursday week contains an account of a dreadful loss of life in the workhouse in Clarestreet , ih the city ,: on the night before ' : — " -Shortly after - 'the inmates , ' 600 females , had retired to rest a ' false alarm 0 f 'fire w . _as " given- by- oiie « f jthe women , whether , "with ' an _^ idle intention * of ' oauBinc ' annoyance , ' or by design _^ is uiikno ' wh ; but ' so elec J trio . Was tho panic created , " that almo _3 t instantaneously the females oh the first loft leaped _ft-oiil their " beds , ' and , in the darkness , _ruslied ' in ' a _bodFfo the _siairc ' a # ' or' ladder , leading : _-fronr that portiom of thebiiildihgto the _^ grbUh'd-fltforV UltimatelyTthe paupers on-the other "lbfts _^ congtegated" in the nar-
Destitution In Clark.— We Extract From A...
row-passage , ' when the la'dder broke , and numbers -were precipitatedto the ground , from ; a heig ht of notmore ; than ten feet ' ., The scene ., that , ensued i 8 almost _indigcribable—theBhrieksfrombelowinduced those above to . press more eagerly . towards tKe staircase ; and as . theycame ; tothe verge of the passage ,-down they fell-in ; crowds , over eaoh' other . . For some time , all remonstrance was unavailing to dissuade tho paupers from rushing headlong to . ruin , and before ; the surprising nerve and exertion of the
matron , Mra _., Sleemab _,, and . assistant-master , Mr . O'Sha ' _ughnessy , ; had effect , twenty _i severi females were Killed or rather suffocated , froni falling on the top of each other / The _^ number received into , the hospital seriously injured , was twenty-eight , and of these there are three , not expected to recover . No blame is attached to the officers of the institution , as the melancholy occurrence originated with the paupers themselves . " The funeral of the twentyseven unfortunate workhouse victims took place at Limerick on the evening ; of the 31 st ult . '
Extraordinary Scene in thb Corporation . — The quarter assembly of tho Corporation of Dublin , held last week at the Royal Exchange , presented a remar kable scene of excitement and tumult , on account of tho opposition ' given ; by the Conservative party to Mr . Reynolds taking his seat as Lord Mayor . They contend that he Has become disqualified by the decision ofthe Court of Queen ' s Bench , that ho has lost his qualification as a burgess , and that his name in consequence has been erased from the burgess-roll . The Lord Mayor came in state , presided as usual , and attached his name to the minutes , declaring that ho has the advice of eminent counsel to sustain " him . He read the opinion of the Attorney-General on a case submitted to that-right
hon . gentleman , tO'the effect that no election for a new LordiMayor could take place until Mr , Reynolds was removed by quo warranto ; that meantime he might discharge the duties , * and . that if he were to appoint a deputy , or locum tenens ,. such deputy would not incur any penalty . ' The Lord Mayor , however , admitted that any informer might proceed by action in the superior courts for , penalties , against , him , and he was ready to . test the legality , of his conduct by meeting such actions . After ari angry and boisterous discussion , in which the Lord Mayor was warmly supported by the majority of the council , a resolution was proposed by Sir Timothy O'Brien / that the solicitors of the corporation should : prepare _^ ' case for , counsel ,, in order that a legal opinion should be at once obtained with respect to the present position of the Town
Council , ' consequent upon the decision of the Queen ' s Bench . After another scene of confusion and . wrangling , the corporation adjourned . ¦¦' _¦ _-. State of ; _TippEnART . —The Tipperary Vindicator states that : _—'"; In one ofthe unions a vice-guardian has been arrested and lodged in Nenagh county prison for alleged debt ; whilst one ofthe collectors appointed by the vice-guardians was likewise arrested on the ¦ day of his appointment for the same alleged-reason . In the greater : part of the hitherto r'ch and prosperous , union of Thurles the misery of the poor is heartrending in the extreme .: In the Bomsoleigh electoral division the poor are in a lamentable state * , out-dobr relief has ceased ; _-with some few-unimportant exceptions . Within the last four months rates amounting to 8 s ; lid , in the pound have been made on tho Borrisoleigh electoral division . "
The Political _CoNSicis . _^ -T he Nation states that a letter has been received in Dublin announcing the safe arrival in S ydney Bay of Mr . John Martin , of . _Loughdrne _. andMr Kevin O'Doherty , ex-editor of the Tribune newspaper . The voyage occupied but . three months , and during that , time both " exiles " enjoyed excellent health and unimpaired spirits . - ¦ _.-.. ¦ - ¦ - . Incendiarism in Ulster . —There are some further , incendiary fires in the counties of Armagh and Down . One of these occurred near Lurgan , and a letter . from that town states that _. the peasantry refused to give assistance in . extinguishing the fire , on the ground that the tenant had been dispossessed
under circumstances of great hardship . There are complaints that some landlords are " invading tlie tenant-right , " long established by custom in the northern province , and the most vehement denunciations against a class of landlords have been uttered at some of the meetings of the tenantry . State of the Country . ~ We regret extremely / ' says a Drogheda journal , "that destitution is on the increase , and in Drogheda apparently to an alarming , degree . . The number of pauper applicants , however , are not natives of the . town , not even residents of the union , but heart-stricken wretches driven out of the lands from which they drew their bread , in Gavan , Monaghan , Meath , and Louth . " ¦
The Derry Standard says : — " The office houses belonging to . a farm in the townland of Silverwood _, lately in the occupation of Mr . John Girdwood , of Lurgan , were last week set fire to , and completely destroyed . An attempt was also made to burn the dwelling-house , in which was placed a care-taker ; but it failed , as . is supposed , from the calmness of the morning . Mr . Girdwood had lately given up the premises and farm in consequence of the landlord , aiajor Fulton , having raised the rent on the expiration , of the lease , and possession had been given to a tenant on the day before , who , however , did not intend to remove to it for a few days . He has now expressed his determination not to take the place at all . Such was the feeling of the neighbouring tenants on the subject , that they refused to give the least assistance in suhduing the flames , and would not even lend a tin can for that purpose .
The Banner of Ulster , in mentioning some of the most pressing wants of the country , says : — " Lei us have a thorough system of industrial security established in Ireland , and a moderate poor law taxation wUl be sufficient , as agricultural employment will be universally created in exact proportion to the amount of security guaranteed by the protecting statute . A really good system of poor laws might itself be made a tolerably efficient instrument of agricultural ¦ protection , " if our rulers and our legislators had public honesty sufficient to prompt its adoption . For this purpose , it would be necessary only to establish the English law of settlement—to re-enact the former clause , imposing a check upon rack-renting as compared with a standard valuation based upon equitable principles , and then to make every landlord ' s separate estate chargeable with the maintenance of its own local
poor . Were these simple provisions adopted , really good landlords would enjoy the advantages of their own generosity , while men of another stamp would be , forced to the practice of virtue in Belf-defence , or else—just to take , the consequences . All accounts concur in _ stating that the Protectionist agitation has , been productive of ; the worst state of feeling amongst the tenantry in various parts of the country , especially iri the northern province ; and incendiary outrages afford lamentable evidence of the commencement , in that hitherto tranquil province , of that alienation between the owners and occupiers ot the land which led to such a deplorable _system of crime , in the southern counties . As yet , fortunately , this pernicious spirit has made little perceptible progress in Ulster ; and there is no likelihood that it can spread to any serious extent , unless rhrough the meat gross mismanagement and infatuation on the part of the landlords themselves .
The ; Lord . Mator ' s Case _.-t-A meeting of the friends of the Lord Mayor was held at the Mansion House , on Monday , for the purpose of considering what course should be adopted by hislordship'in consequence of the recent decision-of the ' Court of Queen ' s Bench . ' Resolutions were" passed ; to the effect that the proceedingi whicli have resulted in the removal of his lordship ' s tiame from the burgess-roll "had their origin in' private pique and enmity , and in that fell spirit of bigotry and sectarian partisanship which , from time to time , has entailed bo many miseries on this country , "' and that they were determined to . aid his lordship by every ligitimate means to . overcome the / ' unprecedented and malevolent
attempt" now making to oppress and embarrass him , Upwards of £ 250 were collected at the meeting . Repeal Association . — -The usually weekly meeting of the association was held at _Conciliation Hall on Monday , ¦ Mr ; S . < Law _^ presided . Mr . John _O'Connellriaddressed the meeting at great length upon , a . varletyof topics . In allusion to . the _Queen ' s Speech , he _sai pV . '' not a word occurs in it , or , in the speeches of Ministers , from which'We * can augur good for this country . " In announcing the rent forthe week , which was £ 7 . 10 s . Sd _.-Mr . O'Conneil said"It is very low , and I confess : I am rather glad that it should , at this early . period of the year , be low , in order-that it may catch the attention of the people , and rouse them to the necessity of exertion .
Destruction Of Books. —- The Destruction...
Destruction of Books . — - The destruction of books at various times exceeds all calculation . The earliest fact of record is related by Berosus : Nabbnassa ** , who became king of BabylonW years before the Christian era- caused all the histories of the lungs ; , his predecessors , to be destroyed five hundred . years later , Chioang Ti , Emperor of China , ordered , all the . books in the empire , to be burnt ; _?*™ . _P- * _g-9 n _! y those which treated of the history ofhis family , ' of astrology and of medicine . " uVthe infancy of Christianity many- libraries were annihilated mvarious parts of the Roman empire ; , Pa-§ ans and , Christians heing equally unscrupulous in _estroying , _thehv .. respective books ' In 390 the
magnificent library contained in the temple of Seiapio _^ waa pillaged' arid entirely _disperaedY Myriads of books'have been burnt in ' tho frequent conflagrations . of , Constantinople ;• and when the Turkish ; troops ' . took :- possession / of ; Cairo " , in ¦ the eleventh _centuiy , " -tne . books in the library of . the Caliphs V '( l' ; 6 ' 00 ; 000 _^' _, vo . lumos ) ; were . / 'distributed among'tho ' sbldiers . iiistoii ' l of pay , - ¦« At a price , " ' says' _tTie'hiatoriari ' i ¦• far b ' eliJw their yaluei " - , Thou-: sands . of the -volumes '< were torn tb' j ) ieces ; and' aban- » do ' ned on ; th ' e ' i outskirts ; _qf ; the _uoity , . _Spiled-inilavge heaps ; The _^ gand of ; . the rDesort _..-hav . i % jbeeh drifted ' on these _' -heaps , ¦ _^ they retained their position for' many 'years , !' ahd '' were . known as' the hills o pooka .-. . ¦¦ *>¦ •¦ ' ¦ ' ¦ < " ¦ _* . " " _- - ; _- - "' - ¦ .. ¦ I . . -I- . - .--.- ;¦/¦ _¦"
! Siurderof, A Parish Apprentice. N& Nor...
! _SIURDEROF _, A PARISH APPRENTICE . n _& Northern Star ofthe IWh ult . gave a brief ac . count ofthe _ill-treatment suffered by a parish apprenticeat a village near Bideford ,: in Devonshire , which ended in her death , and the committal of her master and mistress bn a charge of wilful murder . The Wetum Times furnishes tho following startling details ofthe cruelty inflicted on this poor girl :-About three or four miles to the « outh of Bide _, ford is situatethe littlesecluded parish of Buckland Brewer , and about two miles and a half from the Village is a lonely _farmf caUed Gawiand—the scene of the horrible tragedy we are about to relate . Gawland is the property-of . one Robert Curtis Bird , who prior to Michaelmas last , lived with his wife „„ _„„ _> , _-oV-o > T ) I > T _* . «
1 IUV !*• « v » w- _* —— . - _,, ,. - • ¦ * 1 . 1 . * and their four children at Burrington , in this county . About this period he appears to hlive removed with _, his wife and family to Gawland j and on the 20 th of September last Mrs . Bird applied to Mr . Thomas Sermon , the master of the Bideford union , for . a servant , and-selected Mary Ann Pa ' rson 3 , aged , 15 , an inmate in the union . This , girls mother was also in the union , but her father for some years past has been in the West Indies . ¦ With the consent of tlie guardians she was permitted _toieavefor Gawland , receiving two suits of clotbes , and a promise ofa p air of shoes in a month . She was then , according to'tho testimony of tho master , " strong and healthy , although not particularly bright , and had never been ill whilst in the union . " About a
month afterwards her mistress called at the workhouse for the shoes , when she told the master that her servant " was an "honest , good , industrious girl . " On Christmas-eve Mr . Sermon again saw the mistress , and on this occasion she said her servant began to steal , tell falsehoods , and be idle ; " and this Mr . Sermon ( who has been a soldier , and appears to have great faith in the efficacy of the lash , even , when applied to young women fifteen years of age , ) replied , " Have you properly chastised her ?" And in reply to some remark by Mrs . Bird , which he says he did not exactly recollect , he added , " You ought properly to _chaBtise her , and if she continues to behave badly , return her to the house . " Whether the brutal treatment which caused the poor girl '
death , had commenced before this recommendation ' of proper chastisement , or whether it was a consequence of that advice , ' does not appear ; but the master says he heard nothing more of the girl until Friday , the 5 th of January , when Bird came to the union and astonished him by reporting that she had died that morning ,-and that "he had sat up with her ' ' until two o ' clock / when , as she seemed quite quiet and inclined to sleep , he left her , and in themorning when we got up sho was' dead . " About one o ' clock the same day Sermon ( as wo find in his evidence given before the magistrates ) went to Gowland and saw . the deceased . He says , "The corpse , was in . the coffin , and , ; on removing it , and _rinpintr off the petticoat ,, chemise , . he , I
saw , that the legs had" been lashed with a small birch , or something of that kind , more especially below the knees . -The flesh of both legs was torn . 1 have been in the army , and have frequently seen ! sentences , of whipping executed under orders of courts martial . We used to say it was not " fair thrashing" if ' the flesh was cut with the end of the instrument in a similar manner to the legs of deceased . The flesh was cut as though with the point of something . I should say there were forty or fifty cuts on the calves and front of the legs , and the marks were as if produced by a pin or knitting needle . " I mean to say the flesh was lacerated in forty or fifty places . I have punished children in the workhouse , but never served
a child anything like that . On the right pin bone I observed something I had never seen in a human being before—it . was exactly like the ' _setfast , * which I have seen on horses' backs , caused by the saddle not fitting properly ; it was the size ofthe palm of my hand . The - inflammation' arising from it extended from loin to loin , and to the points of the shoulders .: There were wounds on the knees , which were , in my opinion , caused hy exposure . Some portions of the back were black , and some portions covered with small bladders ., From the seatto the' point of the hips was bladdered , and from the hip to the shoulder bone was black and discoloured . On the top part of the back of the ; head was a ; wound , but it must have been of some standing , for it was partially closed .
The extent of it was an inch to an inch and a half , jagged forwards . Enough of the hair was cut from the head to seo the wound plainly . The impression on my mind was that it was done by a fall . If it had been caused by any blow from an instrument , it must have inflicted serious injuries . The left side of the face was . bruised . The second and third finger-nails , with portions of the flesh of the . left hand , were gone . There was something the matter with the feet , but the injuries proceeded , J should say , from cold . ' Setfasts * are also caused by blows , pinches , he , and are pieces of flesh which rise from the body , the edges become jagged , and the wounds forms sloughs , but this had not done so . Having been a cavalry officer for some years I have seen them in horses . "
Rumours of ill-treatment wero whispered abroad , and a jury was summoned , who , under the direction of the coroner , found an open verdict , * ' That death occurred from congestion of the brain , induced by external injuries , but how or by what means such injuries ' were caused there was no evidence to show . " This verdict did not satisfy public opinion , nor silence the general belief that the girl had been cruelly treated by her master and mistress , and that her death was the consequence of such treatment . Application was accordingly made to the Rev . J . ' T . Pine Coffin , the nearest magistrate , who on the Monday following went out to Gawland and reduced to writing the depositions of the witnesses who had been examined at the inquest , and also
examined some other parties , the result of which was , that he directed Bird and his wife to be taken into custody to undergo a ' more formal examination . At the consequent examination before the magistrates , Richard Hoofer , of Buckland Brewer , spoke to various acts of brutality which he had seen perpetrated on the unfortunate deceased . About a month or five Weeks ago she appeared in good health . The day after Christmas Day she appeared to be very ill ; she could not stand upright . I saw blood drop from her as she was walking , as if coming from her hinder part . I also observed a cut in the back part of her head , but it did not , appear very fresh . There was no blood about it . Mrs , Bird ordered her to go in and go up stairs , which she
did , but could not get up very fast . There were marks or stripes on her shoulders , and , bruises on her arms . I _sawMrs . Bird flog deceased once with a hazel rod across the shoulders .. The , rod was not very big . I did not hear what Mrs . Bird said to her at the time . I saw Mr . Bird flog her one morning , about a week before Christmas . He flogged her with a " furze stub . " He struck , her twice across the shoulders two heavy blows , in such a way as I should not like , to be struck myself . When Bird struck her , ho said , " What have yeu been about that you ha v _' en ' t lit the fire . " . The spectators _wereihorrified at this stage of the
proceedings by the production of the instrument of punishment ; it was a strong stick of about a foot m length , to which were fastened eighteen stout , sharp leather thongs , about , two feet Ion **; . This formidable cat was capable of " inflicting the most cruel laceration , as bad " as the army whip , and worse than the cowhide of the American slave owiter , and would not be used on a . girl- by any person possessed of tho common feelings of humauity . Mart Branch , wbo went to Gawland to lay but the deceased , described the horrible appearance of the corpse . From the anklo to the middle she was cut as if with a knife—somo of the cuts large enough to lay her finger . in . In the centre of the back and across the shoulders there were pieces of flesh cub
out . Mr . C . Turner , surgeon , gave the following evidence : —Robert Bird came to me on Friday morning last to request that I would go to his house to see a girl who had been living with him , and whom he had just taken from the union workhouse . I asked hini what was tho matter ? and . he said the girl was dead . I . then asked him if any medical man had seen her ,. and he replied ,. "No . " I , said , "It is useless my going to seeker ; you had better g ive notice of it to the constable and coroner , and , in all probability , an ; inquest will be held . " , ' I didn't inquire into , the particulars . In the evening the constable called to require my attendance at Gawland the next day to meet the coroner . I went
there , nnd , on viewing a body in an upstair room , found it to be that of a ' girl of about fifteen'years of age , whose name , I have since ascertained to be Mary Ann Parsons . The coroner , was present when I viewed . the body , but not at first . The female prisoner- and the witness Branch were tho only parties then present . ' The body having heen stripped ofthe clothes in which it was enveloped , I imme » diately discovered ; several marks of violence- _^ viz ., an exterior bruise onthe anterior . and superior left part of the head to the cheek , _aftruise . with a slighb abrasion on the cheek , but I cannot give _nn'bpjnion as to how it occurred . It . was sufficient to have caused the death-of . deceased , or rather the blow that caused . it , which was a recent one . _^ herewas a bruise . o ' n the chest just below ., the collar ., bone , and
on the anterior parts . ot the'legs ' and . thighs there were wounds apparently inflicted by a birch . ' That was'tho impression madd'on my mind immediately I saw them . There was a'large slough on the ri <* ht hip , and four small wounds , apparentl y of old date varying in aize from half-a-crown to _asMUm- * on the . posterior part of the hip . ' The ' wounds on the back had been inflicfrd at a different time from the others ; some of them ' were : covered i with piaster and I cannot sari by . what means- . they were ' occasioned . Thevpwere twebruises _i not very extensive , between tb' _shouldei-s ; and there were ! abscesses on _theivperandi ; fore part of th ' 61 left _'" arm , hut I cannomy ho _* _£ they . _wei ' e produced . '; -Oii tho upper _parWSthe . right _^ rm : thore . was an \ abse « ss . The-£ ? _iSS ? J _^• 1 M B © ' ?( _hW .,-b _'( _» n _•^• tl 3 tten . _" : th » n 1 0 f ! t _]* c first and 'fourth'fi ' ngefs had been-gone about _a-fortnighti'hsnew'brie ' swerecbmmgrthose
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 9, 1850, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns3_09021850/page/6/
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