Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 8th December 1855, Edition 2 of 2, Page 6

Page 6
Page 6
6 of 24

On this page

  • Text (2)
  • 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.

      ,170 . ^^ The L Eadeb. [No. 298, Saturda...

      , . ^^ THE L EADEB . [ No . 298 , Saturday ,

      Our Civilisation. Cbkvbax, Cbiminai, Cou...

      OUR CIVILISATION . Cbkvbax , Cbiminai , Court . —James Worthington Maude and Edwin Whitby , were tried at the Central Criminal Court on a charge of obtaining a moneyorder under false pretences , and were acquitted . The facts , as stated in evidence at the Mansion house , appeared in the Leader last week . The defence was that the prosecution had been got up in order to extract money from the ft-iends of the accused , and that Messrs . Kemp and Clay , from their knowledge of business , must have been aware that the bills were accommodation bills . —William Heath and Thomas Pope , bargemen , have been acquitted on the charge ( detailed in last week ' s Leader ) of causing the death of a woman in the Regent' s-canal ; Mr . Justice Erie having directed that they had done the best they qofuld for the woman , according to their degree of intelligence . —Emedio Andreoli has been found guilty of sending a threatening letter to a countryman , with a-view to extort money , under circumstances which were described in a former impression of this journal . Mr . Justice Erie , who believed that the secret society to which the prisoner professed to belong had no existence , sentenced him to hard labour for eighteen months . « -

      A . Double Murder by a Mother . —Mary M'NeilJ , a young woman about five-and-twenty years of age , has murdered two of her children by cutting their throats with a razor . The facts were described in evidence before the magistrate at Worship-street , when it appeared that the woman was unmarried , and lived at n ho \ ise in Murray-street , New North-road , which she let out in lodgings . One of her lodgers was a working man , named Pickering ; and this man stated that for some days jn-evious to the murder she bad been very " troublesome" to him and his wife . Her " spirits had been low ; she had fretted a good deal about not being married , and had complained that she was miserable , that the 'place was

      dirty , and that she hiid nothing to wear . She seemed , said the witness , as though she wanted , to be shut up by herself ; and ou the night previous to the murder ahe had complained of her baby being ill . On the following morning , Pickering found the woman ' s cashbox on the stairs , and went to her bedroom-door to tell her of it . On knocking , he hoard her say from within , " Oh , what have I done ! what have I done ! What have I done ! " Pickering replied , '' Done . ' why don't you know ? You have left your cash-box on the atairs . " At that instant , he pushed the door a little further open , and saw the baby lj ing on the bed with ite throat cut . Overeome with horror , he dropped the cash-box , ran into the street , and fetched a policeman . It was then found that another child was also murdered . A razor , and a towel on which bloody hands had been wiped , were likewise discovered . The surgeon who

      was called in , mentioned at the police-office a circumetanoe full of fantastical horror . He said that on the forehead of the eldest child ( who would seem to have been killed after the infant ) he perceived " the mark of a large hand in blood . '' The woman , who trembled yiplently during her examination , was remanded , and has since been committed for trial . I . A LegaIj Subtlety . —The conviction of Cosmo William Gordon , who , together with Daniel Mitchell Davidson , was found guilty of felony in the course of laat August , has been quashed on a point of law . The two bankrupts had lefttho country before their bankrwptoy , and only one notice of adjudication was served , whereas there should have been two—one for enoh bankrupt . This objection , after considerable argument before the judges , was considered fatal to the . conviction .

      Suicide and Fanaticism in the Hionr . Airi > 8 . —A private of the Argyll and I 3 uto Hifles , named James M'Gregor , rocently committed suicide by shooting himself with his musket . He was found in his room , dreeaed in fatigue olothos , with a handkerchief over his eyes , and the musket laying between his legs . Ho hftd evidently placed the muzzle of the rifle in his mouth , and drawn the trigger with the too of his right foot , whioh wns divested of the shoe and stocking . The man Iwd been observed for some timoto bo

      in desponding spirits , and thoro in no doubt that he ytea insane' when ho destroyed himself . A great disgtttte , however , rose ua to whether ho should bo buried m . consecrated ground , or moroly thrown into a doop h © 3 e in a field , with a stake through the broaat . The » aan » gerB of tho ohurohyard determined that the suicide ahould bo buried according to the usual forms ; but four privates mid a sorgeant of tho regiment got possession of the body , carriod it out one evening in a boat to tho Sound of Obnii , and flung it into the sea * uncofniiod .

      A Bojuoxaiuoub OoNSi'iKAor . —Tho polico of Bristol lately gave information to tho bankers of that city that they suspected an attack would bo inndo on their houeos by a gang of burglar * . A oluo to tho contendplotted design was obtained through a message which somo one endeavoured to pu « H to an accomplished burglar in the Bristol gaol . An investigation i » being WM « into the conduct of some of tho subordinate ) oftoewi'Of the prison . Tm » Cask ov auonan Selhy . Bankruit . —Tho

      facts of this bankruptcy were published m our last week ' s paper . The bankrupt having since applied for his certificate , Mr . Commissioner Goulburn delivered final judgment on Monday . This was that the certificate should be suspended for two years , to be dated from the day when the certificate was first applied for , and when issued to be of the third class , and the bankrupt to be unprotected for six months . "Alice Grey . "—To the surprise of all in court , the jury at the Oxford Assizes have declared " No true bill" with regard to this woman . She was therefore set at liberty ; but she has been again taken into custody on other charges of a similar nature .

      She requested to be allowed to pass the night after her acquittal in gaol , in order to avoid the observation of the crowd ; and this led to her second detention . She was examined on Wednesday before the Birmingham magistrates on a charge of perjury , and was remanded . On being told ahe was remanded , she replied , " Oh , very well . ' I think I'Jl be well tried and purified at last . " And as she was being removed , she observed ., "I don't see my friend the Rev . Mr . Morris here ; " adding " Give me anything but a divine !" During the examination , she was allowed to sit , as she said she was too unwell to be able to stand up ; but such did not appear to' be the case .

      The BuRNorprELD Mueder . —Two men are m custody under suspicion of being concerned in the death of Mr . Robert Stirling , the surgeon . A Captain Chaugkd with Embezzlement . —Captain Thomas Taylor , of the 5 th West York Militia , has been charged with embezzling the sum of £ 300 , moneys belonging to her Majesty . He was remanded , and being unable to find the required bail , which was very heavy , he was removed in custody . Fratricide . —Two brothers at Clayton West , near Barnsley , had a quarrel about something in connexion with the wife of the younger , Avhen the elder stabbed his brother in several places with a knife . Death ensued almost directly . The murderer is now in custody .

      Destitution and Crime . —Benjamin Butcher and Charles G . Wormsley , two miserable looking young men , pleaded Guilty at the Hertford Assizes to a charge of setting fire to a stack of clover hay and a stack of haulm . When before the county magistrates they had said that destitution bad forced them to the ciime , and that they had intended to burn more stacks . The Judge , in sentencing both youths to six years' penal servitude , remarked that the offence was a very shocking one , for they must be aware that destroying property could not do them any good , and was not the way to procure them relief . Now , in the first place , it is a strange definition of crime to say that it is wrong because it does

      no good to the criminal ; and secondly it is a palpable evasion of the fact to tell the wretched creatures that their offence was not the way to procure them relief . It had procured them relief , and will continue to procure it for six years to come . Truly , a mode of procuring relief which should make society ashamed of itself ; but ib is at once wrong and useless to attempt to blinlc the facts . —Another conviction for rick-buming has taken place , with fourteen years ' transportation ; and a fire , supposed to be incendiary , has occurred among the hay stacks of a farmer at West Bridgeford , near Nottingham . Somo outbuildings also were destroyed ; and one man is in custody under suspicion .

      Uobbinci the Crown . —John Moah has been found Guilty at the Chester Assizes of fraudulently applying to his own purposes a general balance of . £ 5 , 000 , the property of tho Crown . He had filled the office of Inland Revenue reoeiver for the Chester collection ; but it would seora that ho was involved in turfapeoulatiouH , and had used for his own debts the money which he ought to have transmitted to tho Government . For tho last two years he , had been permitted to hold an unsvially largo bulanco in his bands . This afc length amounted to as much as , £ 5 , 000 ; and an account

      was aakod for ty the Survoyor-Goneral . In reply , Moah handed over . £ 280 , and a post-office order for 14 s ., saying that was all he had in tho world , and that ho had spent the rest . Notwithstanding tho verdict of guilty , sentence was not pronounced , as it is understood that , the case will bo argued before the Court of Criminal Ax > ponJ , to reverse the verdict . Extensivjo Robbkuy . —William Griffiths , a warehouseman , in the employ of Messrs Davis and Co ., of rlpumlsditoh , merchants , ban boon committed for trial , on a charge of robbing the firm to a vory considerablo amount in goods .

      A THKATiuoAr . QUAimier ,. —Alexander l-prrari , an interpreter , wua charged , at Bow-street , with assaulting Mudomoisollo Julio Bouquet with a wnlking-ouno . Jnl ^ o wan engaged to bo married to a Sonor Marcos Dirk , a Spanish dancer , now performing at tho Strand Theatre ; but it appoarH thnt Madomoinollo ie . warm in her temper , and , aooording to tho statement of one or two witnesses , had Boratohod tho face of Diaz behind tho soonen , and had thrown him down a flight of stairs—emulous , as it would nooin , of the grand oxploit of Lord Ernest Vmio Tempest . However this may bo , Julie , upon her own confession , bad u quarrel

      with Diaz upon his refusing to abandon his dancing pursuits . Following hiin out of the theatre , she renewed the quarrel , with supplementary matter ; n the shape of violence ; and the devoted Ferrari , who was a servant of Diaz , struck the lady to defend his master . Before the magistrate , the dancer repudiated this assistance ; and -Ferrari was fined . £ 4 , which ae immediately paid . Wife-be atiitg . —James Elliott , labourer , was charged , at Worship-street , with an outrage on his wife . The woman had been married thirty years , but her husband during the last seven had continually ill-used her . Four times she had had him up at that office

      but had not once appeared against him ; and she had lost her sight in one eye owing to his striking her on the head with , a stick . On the present occasion , besides blows with a fist , he had struck her on the head with a knife , though without any provocation ; and , on her wishing to leave the room , he drew a line across the floor , and swore he would cut her throat from ear to ear if she stirred . Notwithstanding this violence , she tried to beg the ruffian off ; but the magistrate would not listen to it , and sent the man to hard labour for six months . —Robert Tucker , a table-knife cutler in Clerkenwell , Las been sentenced to six weeks'Lard labour for a violent assault on his wife .

      Criminal Condition of Somersetshire . —From the letter of a private correspondent , we learn that an attempt at burglary was made some few nights since at the house of Mr . Baber _ , of Claverbam , but was defeated by the ringing of an alarm bell . The condition of that part of Somersetshire is at the present time very alarming to those who have to live there . The gang of last year is still in existence , and actively employed ; and our correspondent states that he is

      acquainted , with a gentleman who has a man to sit \ ip every night to watch . f 'What we want , " adds the writer , " is a good strong rural police . Somersetshire is now becoming the receptacle for gentlemen with black crape over their faces ; and , owing to our not having any real constabulary , crimes are being constantly committed . Sheep are stolen and killed almost every night . " This is truly a savage condition of society , and demands the interference of the authorities .

      Railway Detectives . —At tlie Worship-street police-office , a genteel looking , well-dressed man , named John Curtis , was ' charged with stealing various articles from the terminus of the Eastern Counties Railway at Shoreditch . As a considerable quantity of property had for several weeks past been missed , at different times , from the first class waiting room , the station-master employed one of the women on the establishment to act as a detective , and endeavour to trace out the thief . She accordingly kept strit-. t watch for many days together , notwithstanding which , other robberies were committed at the station . At length , early on the forenoon of one day , the woman told the station-master that a gentlemanly looking man , whom she had suspected to have stolen a portmanteau from

      the station some days previously , had just gone into the waiting room . Information of this circumstance was forwarded to the chief clerk of the lost property office , who immediately disguised himself an a railway traveller , and proceeded to tho waiting-room , with a leathern bag , dressing eaeb , and other travelling articles . Here he found Curtisl y ing on a sofa ; and , having placed his luggage under the tablo , iincl caroloasly paraded the room for a fow minute . - * , lie went to tho refreshment room . Curtis followed him , and watched him out of sight ; then returned to the waiting-room , and w « h presently afterwnvdfl scon to come out again ¦ with the bag , dressing-cano , & c . in bin possession . At the end of tho platform ho was stopped by tho stationmaster and given into custody . Ho is now under

      remand . Ingenious Fraud .- —A grosn case of fraud has just boen brought to light at Southampton . Two young men , living at Southampton , named Onkoy and Fargher , had received goods from London by railway , and had pawned and redeemed a cattle of genuine polish . Having thus gained tho confidence of the pawnbroker , Mr . Emanuel , they endeavoured to pledge hovoml caHkfi , whioh they represented to contain tho name , at tho value of £ 1 u gallon , Mr . Kmanuol hhIcocI if the article was obtained honestly ; and Oakoy gavo him an apparently satisfactory annwor , by showing R card with hi » and bin partner ' * business addremi , ana also attempted to prove , by certain invoice * , that they wortoi

      had received upwards of a hundred pounds' n property . Having no reason to MUHjoot tho hononty of tho purtioa , Mr . Enmnuol advanced thorn a Hiun « money upon tho goods pawned . An Oakoy an ( ' Knrghor nitorwardH tried to 2 > ledtfO more oafkH ol polish . Mi-. Eumnuol thought it uclviHabli-, boloro ncoupting them , to have tho gonuinoncHS of th « article touted by a cliomirtt . Ho accordingly took a Hiunpl « from one of the canlcs , Und had it tried by tv « ohemista in Southampton , who both nsfiured h'rn , "i ?* tho npeoimoii ho brought to them was porfe- ' * ' ? genuine ; and that if tho reinaiudor in tho ennkf wna like it , he might safely * advance money on tho n ° ? " rity . Mr . Ernanuol , therefore , continued to roociro

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 8, 1855, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_08121855/page/6/