Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 5th November 1853, Edition Country of 2, Page 8, • MISGELLANEOUS. TfiE Belgian visitors a...

Page 8
Page 8
8 of 24

On this page

  • Text (5)
  • 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.

      Boiler Explosion". Tirkitu Ban Been A Te...

      cottage , were also exposed by the falling of the party wall at that end , all the way from the roof to the ground , and the floor between them , was partly destroyed also . On this side of Starkie-street there is a space of about thirty yards square laid open , one corner of which is occupied by the ruins of the , weaving-room , and the remainder'is a mere mass of bricks , fallen timber , broken looms , and other machinery , the engine being completely destroyed . On the other side of the street , besides the low boundary wall , the greater part of the outer wall of the dining-room of the Fleece Inn was thrown down . Five persons were tilled and several injured .

      1064 The Leader. [Saturi^Ay,

      1064 THE LEADER . [ Saturi ^ ay ,

      Criminal Record. A Hobbibxe Murder Has B...

      CRIMINAL RECORD . A Hobbibxe murder has been committed at Burnham Abbey Farm . The details came out before an inquest opened on Wednesday . The victim is a woman named Mary Ann Sturgeon , housekeeper to Mr . Willis Goodwin , a gentleman farmer occupying Barnham Farm . According to the testimony already taken , it appears that Mr . Goodwin is unmarried , and that his household consisted of Sturgeon and a groom named Moses Attow . In the farmyard there is a cottage occupied by John Bunce , the groundkeeper , who lodges in his house several labourers employed on the farm . In the -evening of Tuesday Mr . Goodwin left his home soon after six o ' clock , on a visit to a neig hbour , and returned about half-past eleven . During Mr . Goodwin ' s absence , Sturgeon called at the cottage of Bunce , where she remained until about nine o ' clock , when she returned to the house , for the purpose , as she said , of preparing the supper for the groom . The groom states that he was served with his supper by Sturgeon , and that he soon afterwards went to bed .- The farmhouse is a modem and convenient dwelling . The kitchen in which the groom had his supper is separated from the other part of the house , at night , by a door , which he says was locked on Tuesday night by Sturgeon , Attow himself sleeping in a small chamber approached by a ladder from the kitchen . He further says that when he had been in bed some time he was aroused by a noise as of some one falling down , and he thereupon got up , and proceeded to the cottage of Bunce , who was partly dressed , with the intention of looking round the yard , as he feared

      something was the matter with one of the colts . This proved to be the case , and , after the animal had been attended to , Bunco and Attow went round the yard , but could observe nothing wrong . At half-past eleven Mr . Groodwin came home , and Attow took his horse as usuaL Letting himself into the house by a latch-key , Mr . Goodwin ¦ was surprised not to find his candle burning , as was customary , and on walking along the passage upstairs , after he had provided himself with a light , he discovered on the floor a human tooth and a hairpin . He also perceived a dense mass of smoke and a strong smell of burning , both of which appeared to proceed from the bedroom of tho deceased , ' at the further end of the passage . Calling Bunco and Attow to his assistance , he went to the

      housekeeper ' s room . The bedroom is provided with a fireplace , and , in contemplation of a visit from some relatives , Mr . Goodwin had ordered fires to be lighted in that and the other chamber . When the door was opened and objects could bo distinguished through the smoke , the body ot the unfortunate woman was found lying with her head near the mantelpiece , her legs on the hearthrug , in the direction of ( ho bedstead ; and on her legs and tho lower part of her body was a mass of fire still burning furiously , and confiuniing her flesh ! A dressing-table and a quantity of linen had been used as fuel . The iire had burnt through the floor of the chamber , and was already consuming tho joists . Had Mr . Goodwin ' s return been delayed one '

      halfhour , tho house would have been on ( ire , past redemption . On examining tho body of the deceased , it was found that both lo # s hud been burnt off nearly close to the trunk , from which ¦ they woro completely separated . Tho head and upper part of the b ;> dy wore not . injured by the fire , but , exhibited marks of great , violence . One of tho tooth was missing—the tooth found by Mr . Goodwin in tho passage . Tho head was injured iih if by som « blunt instrument . Near the head of deceased was a largo pool of blood , and on tho door of her apartment and on tho handrail of the staircase there woro marks of blood . Some jewellery was also minsiiig . Suspicion routed on Attow , but do is beiiovod to bo innocent .

      Tho Central Criminal Court , concluded its sittings on Saturday . Tho . Reverend Wade . Martin Meara , acniHod of publishing scandalous libels of and concerning Mr . Craven l $ erkoley und others , pleaded guilty , and put in a full and abject apology , confessing that , all ho had written won fulso . Jle was liberated on his own recognizances to uppoar and receive judgment when called on . Mr . Abraham , tho mirvoyor , at . whoso door ( ho coroner ' s jury lay llio responsibility of tho catastrophe attending tho fa 11 ' of the Iiouho in the Strand , baa taken his trtol anil Juih been acquitted . 'Oho grand jury did not ; find a truo bill a-niinst him ; and ho wan arraigned on Who depositions takon ^ before Uio coroner . Mr . Abraham wan attended by troops of friends in tlio court . Mr . . Justice Cresswell did not Iind MuHieuMit evidence in tho depositions to warrant , of iniiiin ht

      tho fuiding Mr . Abraham guilty . taug . or . In tho first place , ho said , thoro appeared to be n very groat , contrariety of opinion among tho witnesses whether anything Imd boon loft , uikJoho which ought to Iinvo boon done to prevent tho accident ; and , in tho next , place , all thoHivwho Boomed to tliiiik | thiil . something oIno might ; liavo boon dono differed among themselves us to what that , Homothing should havo boon , it , was provo « l , also , that tho defendant was absent at ( ho Inno tho accident occurred , and Iliero was nothing to show that thoro wiw any nogli-Ktmeo on hict part in being id » wnl . It appeared to him that , a physician might jiihI ; as well be indicted ior tho inanHkurhtor of a patient whore throe or lour others woro called in who thought that something else might have boon dono which might , possibly havo savod the patient ' s lil ' o but none of them atfrooiug what , ohould hnvo boon

      done , and an apothecary in the meantime making up a prescription and administering it to the patient , of the contents of which the physician was ignorant . Mr . Abraham was acquitted , and left the court felicitated by his friends . The trial of Pardington and Woods , the engine-driver and stoker of the express train , which was upset recently at Hornsey , afforded another instance of the peculiar state of the law respecting " accidents . " The charge in this case was that the prisoners did not regard a red dangersignal—a flag waved before them— -nor the ordinary danger signal . Our readers will remember that on the 31 st August the tender of a coal train , while being shunted at Hornsey , got off the rails . The express was due , and Tan into the tender—iniuring the Lord Mayor , the Bishop

      of Lincoln , Mr . J . A . Roebuck , Sir James Duke , and others . The question at issue was , whether the offence with which Woods and Pardington were charged came within the meaning of the act — whether not seeing a danger signal was equivalent to wilfully doing something tending to endanger the safety of the passengers ? Mr . Chambers , the prosecuting counsel , was bound to admit that , supposing there had been no obstruction , the defendants were driving the train at a rate quite in accordance with their duty . Mr . Justice Cress well said , — " Then , supposing no signal had been up , the defendants would only have been acting in the proper performance of their duty ?" Mr . Chambers . —" Undoubtedly that would be the fact . " Mr . Justice Cresswell . — " Then the real offence with

      which they are charged is not seeing the signal . Can you say that this amounts to wilfully doing an act tending to endanger the safety of the passengers ? It is quite clear to me that it is not . " Mr . Chambers . —" It was an act of omission and not of commission , certainly . " Mr . Justice Cresswell . —Yes , but not of wilful omission . Serjeant Wilkins , —Unless they intended to destroy their own lives .

      Mr . Chambers called the attention of the Court to the fact that the defendants would be proved to have been talking together at the time , instead of keeping a look-out , and that it was their undoubted duty to keep such a lookout as to see any signals that might be presented . There could be no doubt that it was negligence on their part not to have seen the signal ; but , ot course , he was aware that the question here was whether the act imputed to the defendants amounted to a misdemeanour under the act of Parliament .

      A verdict of not guilty was returned , by the direction of the judge . Mr . Justice Cresswell , although he Avas of opinion that the mere fact of omitting to see a signal would not amount , according to the words of the statute , to wilfully doing an act to endanger the safety of tho passengers , " could not help remarking that it appeared to be cutting it very fine to have the coal train shunted across the lino so near to the period when the express train was due . Patrick Connor , a journeyman boot and shoemaker , and Hannah , his wife , wove charged with neglecting their children . Tho pair were taken drunk at a public-house . From the evidence , it appeared that the prisoners , who could with . the greatest ease earn , two pounds or guineas a week , were out on " . strike , " and spent tho most of their timo in tho public-houses and coifee-shops , and quite

      neglected their children . On tho morning erf Monday week the prisoners wont to tho public-house , and remaining there all day , returned home quito drunk . On Tuesday , Wednesday , and Thursday they did the same , and on Friday morning , they again went to tho public-house . On tho afternoon of that day , a poor , wretched child , Ellen , two years , was left ulono in their room , lying on a few filthy rags , and having no food from the Tuesday preceding . She crawled from her rosting-place to the landing , and tumbled down a ilight of stairs . Her faint cries brought omo females in the house to her assistance , and they found her with nothing on but a small piece of filthy flannel , through which two holes wore made to admit her arms to pass . Tho ease of gross neglect was clearl y established , and both the prisoners were fully committed for trial .

      Ono of the policemen of the Hammersmith division hung himself last week . Ho was most probably insane , as he had , in early life , when in tho army , attempted nuicido . Pecuniary embarrassment brought on a return of the madness . Another " cavalier" has been pursuing his porilous calling in tho neighbourhood of * Brookley ; for , on Saturday evening week , as Mrs . Ford , of Nailscaj was returning with some other women from market in her cart , when on this side of Brook ley Combe , a fellow rode up and stopped the vehicle , by calling out to tlio women , and , as a means of enforcing his mandate , tiring a ball into tho tilt of tho earl . Me then demanded their money , but tho women began shouting , so the follow , scared by the noise , took to Iuh scrapers . It is conjectured to bo tho uamu follow who robbed Mr . Ilamlin .

      I lie electric telegraph is the great , detective of our days . One M'Urave absconded from Dublin with money ; the police sent , a message to Manchester that probably M' ( irave would cull them ; the chief of the MnnohostoY police sent two men immediately to the railway station ; M' ( iravo eiinio and was captured " with tho money . Great , cleverness goes ( , <> make a rogue in these days ; or owe well-to-do gentlemen are easily takon in . A gang of swindlers have been preying upon tho human kindness of Devonshire lately , and one of them has boon urretited . Mo was in Uio babit of calling at . gentlemen ' s houses , and representin g himself to bo a young clergyman , whomi " papa was m the Kxmiiinlor asylum , having been driven thoro by Iohmoh over which lie had no control . " In thin way ho got 1 O « . out of tho R ,, . Mr . Belfiold , and U fi « . out of the Rev . Mr . Buckling , besides smaller sums from other gentlemen . I lohad loft , ( he town of Paington and gone to Totiioss , whither bo was pursued . Parnull , polieo-oflioor of Puington , caught tho " clerical gentleman" in a

      boorhouse , transformed into a "jolly tar , " and engaged in dancing the sailor ' s hornpipe . He was at once | ppre « hended , and has been since committed for trial . He is the same fellow who , a short time ago , was sent to Bride well for swindling the Duke of Bedford out of 20 ?

      • Misgellaneous. Tfie Belgian Visitors A...

      • MISGELLANEOUS . TfiE Belgian visitors are still residing with the Queen at Windsor Castle ; and various Ministers , Lord Elgin Lord Hardinge , and other guests , Lave dined there this week . The Queen took her Royal friends to see the wonders of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham on Tuesday . They went over the building and the grounds , and lunched in the Palace . Much has been done ; the Queen sawmany wonders , and could form some idea of the astonishing' beauty of the place when finished . The Royal party stayed nearly five hours ; and it is said thai th » visit has given great pleasure to her Majesty .

      We Have Heard, With Most Sincere Regret,...

      We have heard , with most sincere regret , that Mr BickJham Escott is lying dangerously ill at his seat , " Hartrow , Somersetshire . The Persian Ambassador has been recalled by his court He left London on Thursday . The Grand Duke of Tuscany and his heir have gone to Borne . - ' The Belgian Princes went over the military wonders at Woolwich , and reviewed the troops on the common , on Monday . The Grand Duchess Maria . of Russia has returned to St . Petersburg .

      The Duchess of Gloucester , who has attained to the ripe old a * e of seventy-seven , is now seriously ill . The will of the late Sir Charles Napier has been proved , and the amount of his property sworn under 20 , 000 ? . Lord Cloncurry , so well known as an Irish patriot , and having some pretensions to literature , died on Friday week . He was a most benevolent man ; and his death ia a severe loss to his country . Ministers have another bishop to appoint . ^ Dr . Ponsonby , Bishop of Derry and Baphoe , died < m Friday week . He was eighty-three years of age . He was one of the Commissioners of the National Education Board .

      Lord Londonderry , while walking from the Dublin Exhibition last week , walked into one of those holes in the pavement made for shooting Coals into the cellars . Tho hole had been carelessly left open . He was much hurt but his leg was not broken . He left Dublin on Tuesday . It is stated that Mr . Leeman , of York , has purchased Newby-park from Mr . Hudson for 190 , 000 ? . The purchase is made on behalf of Viscount Downe , already a large landed proprietor in Yorkshire . —Evening JPaper . The Wellington Statue Committee of the City have selected the models sent in b y Adams , Behnes , Bell , Foley , Smith , and Thomas , as entitled to the premium of 100 guineas each . The number of models before the committeo was thirty .

      More Money Is Still Roquired For Tho Law...

      More money is still roquired for tho Lawson Observatory-Fund . Last week tho committeo worked hard , and collected 300 ? . Those who have any money to spare for this beneficent project can help to make up the 1000 ? . still needed . Wiltshire has an Archaeological Society , which completed its first year last week . The Marquis of Lansdowne took the chair on the occasion ; and Mr . Poulett Scropo , elected president for tho year , made a long speech of great local interest . The Ragged-school in Blandford Mows , Marylebone , which has been closed somo months for want of funds , is about to be re-opencd . Lord Shaftesbury is the chief donor of tho needful money .

      A " Bagged Church" has been projected for Spitnlfiolds . It seems the poorest people in that region toll their pastors that their want of decent clothes prevents them from going to tho regular churches ! So a special church for low , riiggcd Christians is to bo built . Somo 6 O 0 Z . has been subscribed ; 1500 / ,. are required . Twenty-six reformed delinquents aro about to bo sont to America by the London Keformatory Institute . These men have been under treatment for years , and havo sedulously conformed to tho rules of tho institute .

      It is stated that there exists an intention on the part of the ecclesiastical commissioners to remove tho college of , St .. David , at Lumpetor , from that , town to Christ Church College , at Brecon , and likewise that tho portion of tho diocese of Hi . David in which tho latter is situated , is to bo severed from that boo and annexed to tho diocese of Llandaff . The London and North-Western Kailwivy Company , anxious to promote tho mental improvement of their men , havo organised examinations and offered prizes for progress in tho usual literary studies among tlio young men at Crowe . Tho first annual oxarnhrfition will ' bo hold in the month of October , 1 H 54 , when tho candidates for the prizes will bo examined by her Majesty ' s I uspeetor of oohools ior tho dist 1

      rict in a eourso of studios embracing British history , mechanics , geography . Tim day oi examination will be announced ono ' month provwm thereto , whon every candidate will be required to send in to tho Kev . Mr . Butler his ago , tho prize for which ho intends to compote , and a eortiiieuto of good conduct for tho previous twelve mouths . Every young man in tlio works under 18 years of ago is eligible to become a eandidato . Tho highest prize will bo ( H ., tho second 4 ? ., tho ( bird ' M-, and 7 ? . will bo divided among thosowho shall prove themselves to havo boon diligent and studious in tlio course marked out . Sir Culling Eardloy called together a numbor of gentlemen interested in tho draining of tho marnhen on tlio right and loft banks of tho Thames , oast of London . They mof , at Belvedere , tlio neat , of Hir Culling , on Tuesday . ' ><» Hhaftesbury and Mr . Edwin Chad wick attended . It wna clearly naado out that tho Kont and Jffisuox marahofl not

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 5, 1853, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05111853/page/8/