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Leader (1850-1860), 1st March 1856, Edition 2 of 2, Page 7

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      A Burglary At A Farm House. John Just, A...

      that fever had been the result ^ Phillips , the -nurse , had seen several persons made ill by the foulness of the room , and she herself had suffered from it . The rooms were so crowded that many had no beds or even ticks to sleep on , so they had to lie on the floor , the table , or forms . The occasional ventilation in some of the wards , by opening the windows , alone prevented the inmates dying of suffocation . la the men ' s casual ward , it is reported by the surgeon that ten men had passed the night lying naked , as close as possible , on one of the planks . The stench in the night-nurses' sleeping room is described by Mrs . Gray as terrible . Testing the air , it was found to contain

      2 ' 75 per cent , of carbonic acid . The men ' s dayrooms and insane wards are mentioned as being fearfully overcrowded . One sleeping apartment is described as a cellar , where fifteen persons sleep . There was no chimney to the room and no means of ventilation , except one small window ia the door . The arrangement for the administration , of out-door relief is depicted as most defective . As many as nine hundred axe sometimes relieved in one day . The applicants are crowded into pens , the air being most offensive , frequently causing women to faint . "At half-past five o ' clock , as many as one hundred and fifty still remained unrelieved . They had no food all day , and many of them stated that they did not expect any until seven o'clock . Mr . Birchmore , the relieving

      overseer , states that his predecessor died from the effects of the foul air of this underground office , into which the directors were unwilling to come . " Dr . Jones adds—" I cannot sufficiently strongly express the opinion I have formed of the evils which result from the cold , wet , foul air , and fasting , -which the poor endure . While endeavouring to obtain out-door xelief , they are exposed to disease , and even to death . " No attempt was made at the parish , meeting to deny these assertions—indeed , they were admitted to be true j and the adoption of the report , as well as of another report by the vestry committee on the same subject , was agreed to . A committee appointed to take the report into consideration has recommended several sanitary reforms .

      M Ajkjh 1, 1856j The Leaded 199

      M ajkjh 1 , 1856 J THE LEADED 199

      A Widow Bewitched.—A Painful Case Of Wro...

      A Widow Bewitched . —A painful case of wrongful accusation came before the Lambeth magistrate on Wednesday . The names of the persons concerned have . , been suppressed in the papers , and the initials only- are given . Mrs . G . ( a widow of high respectability ) was lading in a Clapham omnibus with Mrs . H ., another widow equally well connected- The former lady accused the latter of stealing her wa ± nh .-and , though all the passengers avowed their disbelief in any such thing , she persisted in the charge . Mrs .

      H . then consented to go to the station-house ; and here the inspector suggested that Mrs . G . ' s watch , might have got concealed in her dress , and recommended a search , but was cut short by the lady emphatically saying that " perhaps he might wish to search himself . " Mrs . H . was given in charge , but was admitted to bail ; and at night , on going to bed , Mrs . G . discovered the watch concealed in her dress . She therefore offered an apology on the following morning before the magistrate ; and the accused was discharged .

      Bonded Stokes Robberies at Bristol . —A custom-house officer at Bristol has recently been convicted of participation in the robbery of Mr . Alfred Phillips , wholesale wine and spirit merchant ; and further invostipations have been made by Mr . Brown , oue of the surveyors-general , Mr . Weale , chief locker , and Mr . Beverley , solicitor to the Customs—investigations which have terminated in the suspension of thirteen Custom-house officers , and iu an examination conducted with , closed doors . A report bus boen presented to t he Board of Custo ms , and their deciaiou is in substance as follows : —" Dismissed summarily , with forfeitiu-o of all arrears of salaryH Palliu

      , enry , first-class established looker , who for tho last three or four years has been aotingasa re-dipper ; T . It . Frauds , James Oliver , and Richard Matthews , established weighers . These four officers were accused of having earned away wino and spirits from tho collar of Mr . Phillips . Tho following have been reduced , with forfeiture of all arrears of salary : — -Richard Weaver , inspector o £ patrol in tide-survoyor ' B department , to the bottom of tho list of second-class tide waiters ; Thomas Green , acting - inspector of patrol to tho bottom of tho list of second-class ticlewaitora ; . Nathaniel Bedfox-d , first-olaes established looker , Miles Spiokett , Henry William Godfrey . James Hamilton .

      AYiUaam D . Sage , and William Elbrooko , established ¦ weighers of the first and second olassos , to bo severally reduced to tho bottom of the lists , and to bo removed to other ports . Acquitted : —Poter Pop 0 ; first clorlc An tlio warehousing dopartmont . " COMMITCAL 0 * A fcuBBQYMAN 1 TOH AN ILLEGAL MAnHuaK . _ The Rev . R . M . Bonsou , M . A ., student of ChriBt Church College , Oxford , and perpetual ournto of Uowley , haR boon committed for trial on a charge of marrying a couple without duly publbhing the banns uad without any licence Tho oouplo had "boon mainod at tho oflioo of tho Buporintondont-rogiutrar . Aftor the birth of twinu , tho woman applied to bo ohurohod out Mr . Bonaon refused uuIohh who and her hutibanJ

      were remarried according to the rites of tine Church of England ; and this was subsequently done , without the publication of the banns and without licence . Mr . Benson was admitted to bail . ' The Spirit of Murder works in the very Means of Life . "—Tennyson ' s terribly true line has received many confirmations lately ; but none more full of a cold-blooded , mechanical , systematic villany than is afforded by a new trade which has sprung up between Ballydehob , in the county of Cork , and Liverpool . " It consists , " says a Cork paper , " in the exportation of large quantities of a material called barytes , which is sent to Liverpool for the purpose , it iB paid , of adulterating flour . This substance—chemically termed sulphate of barytes—is admirably

      adapted for the adulteration of flour , being an impalpable powder , of perfect whiteness , and great density , its weight being nearly equal to that of lead . It is not poisonous , but , being quite indigestible , it 3 effects on the animal economy must be prejudicial if taken in large quantities . Some of it is used for a more laudable purpose—the manufacture of earthenware , for which , in conjunction with other clays of a siliceous character , it is well adapted . Manganese is also said to be exported to England to some extent , for the purpose of adulterating black lead .

      Assize Cases . —John Kenyon ., a plasterer , has been found guilty at Lancaster of the manslaughter of his wife by continued ill-usage , while she was suffering from consumption . He was sentenced to transportation for life . —William Brown , a letter-carrier , has been convicted at the Appleby Assizes of stealing a post letter containing eight half-crowns and a half sovereign . The money had been returned by the prisoner ' s friends ' shortly after it had been stolen ; but he was sentenced to six years' penal servitude . A Spirited Thief . —Patrick Colhns { the boy who

      formerly acted as one of the agents of King , the exdeteclive policeman ) has been found guilty , together with another boy , at the Middlesex Sessions , of stealing a purse . The two were sentenced , the former to four- years' penal servitude , and the latter to four months' hard labour . The proseeutrix , in giving her evidence , addressed herself to - . thebench , when Collins said , " Look at me , ma ' am , will you , and not there . " On the Assistant-Judge remarking that he had been punished on other occasions , Collins interposed" My lord , my having been in prison before does not makerne guilty of this charge . " .

      Robbery and Attempted Murder . —^ Burglarious entrances into houses on Sunday evenings while the # » tv » jitt- ; = „*¦ a 1 ,., w . i , u _~_ v . -jf i . i . -

      *-T~^-*^±J I-Uuiv/U Iio.»O Vocu Vci^ 1uu...

      * -t ~^ - *^ ± j i-uuiv / u iio . » o vocu VCi ^ 1 UUI 1 UL lclDe j and an instance is stated to have occurred last Sunday at a house in Sutherland - square , Walworth . - road . Three men entered the house by means of skeleton keys , and commenced plundering the rooms . The servant girl , who was by herself , resisted the men with great courage ; but they knocked her down , and inlicted a severe wound in her neck . They then departed . On the return of the family , the girl was found bleeding profusely , and was taken to St . Thomas ' s Hospital . Such was the girl ' s first account ; but Bhe has since confessed that the house was entered during her absence , and that she inflicted the wound on herself to prevent suspicion falling on her .

      Responsibility of Patients . —The magistrates in petty sessions at Chester have made an order of payment of four shillings a-week upon the father of a boy who lately absconded with his clothes from a workhouse , but who is now in the reformatory at Bradwall . The parents , though in prosperous circumstances , had neglected the boy ; and the Home Secretary , in accordance with the act rendering such parents liable for the support of their criminal offspring , made a demand whiou resulted in the order just described . A " Rowdy " Magistrate , —One of the borough magistrates of Nottingham , and the ex-mayor of Unit town , has made an attempt to shoot a sheriff ' s officer , named Colton . Dr . Pigott , tho gentleman in question , has been undor considerable pecuniary difficulties , and a few days ago Ooltou and another

      pffioor went to his house to seiyse his offeots . The Doctor , prosenting a pistol and threatening to shoot them , order ed them to leavo the house ; but Colton soizod hold of the pistol , and got hia finger under the trigger . Tho other officer then seined a poker and struck at Dr . Pigott , who received a blow on his head , and was knocked down ; after which tho pistol was wreuted from him , and was found to be loaded with ball . A warrant has boon granted for his apprehension ; but his iu juries are fmoh that for tho present he lioa undor medical treatment . Tho man who struck him with a poker has boon apprehended on o , charge of attempting to murder Dr . Pigott , who ainrma that ho was struck whon ho Luul nob got tho poltcr . Tho sheriff ' s officer has becu admitted to bail .

      A Talm of a Donkijy-. —Soino daya sinoo , a voi"y anuning case , relating to the rightful ownership of ft doukoy , was heiud nt tho Bowwtrcet policeoffice . Mian Whoatloy , a young lady , whouo father keopa a farm near Rending , booanio jpoBsooHod , about fourteen yoiura ago , of a youug donkoy juwt foalod . The animul wan employed to draw her about iu a

      little chaise , and soon became a great favourite with the family . It was also a good deal noticed in the work called " Our Village , " by the celebrated authoress , Miss Mitford , who lived , in tlie neigbboxirhood , and by another literary lady who used , frequently to borrow it- This much-cherished family pet remained in the possession of Miss Wheatley -until 1851 , in the August of which year Miss Wheatley one morning discovered that it was stolen . The lady happened at that time to be living in London , and was much concerned on hearing of the loss of her favourite . She could not by any means recover it , and had long since given up all hopes of seeing it

      again , when one day , about a fortnight ago , she beheld the animal in the streets harnessed to the cart of a costermonger . A mutual recognition immediately took pla < se between the two friends . The young lady , however , although she greatly noticed and caressed the donkey , would not at that time claim him as her own property , but continued talking with the man until she saw a policeman , to whom she stated her case , and afterwards took out a summons . A solicitor in court on behalf of the

      costermonger , attempted to prove that a donkey was not , Btrictly speaking , a chattel ; he also stated , in order to show how difficult it to identify people or projjerty , that in another police-office , not long since , a woman had sworn to a wrong man as being her husband . The father and mother of Miss Wheatlej r , as well as a friend , both declared that the donkey belonged to their daughter . Mr . Jardine finally ordered the donkey to be given up to Miss Whea £ ley . Hopeful Lodgers . —At the Worship-street police court , a young man named John Crockett was charged with having committed two audacious robberies . The first was at the house of Miss Hudson , a maiden lady living at Dalston , where , about two months ago , he

      called with * an accomplice who was not then in custody , and asked to look at some apartments that were to let . Having taken a view of the rooms while he left his friend in tlte parlonn-, he promised that his " Ma " should call the next day , and then quitted the house with the other man . His "Ma , " however , did not come at all , and no sooner had the two visitors departed , than Miss Hudson missed a gold watch that had hung up in one of the rooms . Thinking it possible that she might have left it in the parlour , she went there to look for it , but then found that both , it , and another from the parlour mantelpiece were gone They were both , in their usual places befoi'e the men entered the house . Miss Hudson saw no more of •* . i ' — -n « v _ * i ' . _ . -. ; i . fn . . /• * . _ . v . ii . . 5—

      eituer oj . uae xnieves uncu arter crocKeoo was ± u custody . The other robbery took place , under similar circumstances ., at a house at Dalston , where Mrs . Mead , the wife of an engineer , lived . When Mrs . Mead left the court after these two cases had been heard , she niet in Bishopsgate-street a man whom she recognised as the associate of- Crockett . She accordingly gave him in , custody , The two prisoners , who were both identified by a constable in court as notorious and convicted thieves , were remanded for a week . Silk Robbery . —A large amount of silk velvet , Sec has been taken from the premises of Mr . Thomas Marshall in Spital-squai'e , during the absence , for

      about half an hour in the middle of the day , of that gentleman . From the account given of two men who were seen driving away from the premises iu a spring cart , they were arrested and , on being taken to the station-house , one of thera , named Stuart , asked to be shown to the watercloset . Here he was observed-to tear up sonae paper , which , however , lie could not get rid of ; and tlio fragments were found to contain the word " velvet" iu writing , and to correspond with , tho paper which wrapped round tho luissiug goods . Stuart ( who is described as a commercial traveller ) , and hia accomplice Hopkins , have been remanded at Worship-street .

      A Suttee without ; beino a Widow . —A woman , in a state of stupefaction from habitual druukonness , was brought before the Worship-street magistrate , charged with , attempting to burn herself to death . A polioeuaan stated that , on the previous night , the woman's husband ran towards him iu tho stroets , with a petticoat in flames in his hand , saying that hia wife had set fire to tho bod she was lying oh , with tho determination to burn herself to death . Going to the house ho found that such was the case , tho bod-clothes and tho woman ' s own linou being in flames . The woman iu her drunken way , swore that » ho would destroy hertiolf ; but she was " rescued from death by force . " She is a coufinnod drunkard and has made the sixmo attempt several times before . Tho magistrate romaudod her ,

      Mowicl Sisters . — Mary Ann Prior , a young woman belonging to tho eLisa Bcii ' -dcBcribod as " unfortunate , " has made a naurdorous attack ou hor aiater , who belongs to tho same order . They woro in a boor-shop -when tho ouo ulstor dotectod tho other ( who , though living an abandoned lifo , is a married , woman ) in tho aot of robbery , for whioli ftho reproved , hor , ami compelled restitution of tlio property . Prior wr « groatly enraged at thia , mid tho Bister ( Hannah Koudall ) ryturnod homo . Hero eho was followed by Prior , who boat her with her fiHtf * , aud , ( seizing a knife , ruahed at hor . Sho « d , but wuh purauod and

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 1, 1856, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_01031856/page/7/