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Leader (1850-1860), 5th April 1856, Edition 1 of 2, Page 320, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      linari , and his house was searched ; but nothing of a criminatory character was found . The theft of the official papers still engrosses public attention in Prussia . The Kreuz Zeitung assures its readers that " the Minister President , Baron Manteuffel , in no way caused , or promoted , or knew of , the theft . " The public prosecutor has already commenced proceedings against Herr Seiffart for slander , in stating that Baa-on Manteuffel was privy to the theft , and that he had the man Techen in his pay . " The storm of indignation that has risen up against Seiffart , " says the Times correspondent , " has also induced his constituents to call upon -him to resign his seat in the House of Deputies . "

      ITALY . The Genoa Gazette quotes a letter from Sarzana stating that on the night of the 17 th ult . two men , who had disguised themselves with masks , assaulted a broker of Carrara , and stoned him to death . It is Relieved that they mistook him for a notorious informer . Another . person of the same place on the following day narrowly escaped falling into the hands of a similar set , but got off after receiving a severe stab in his neck . t ! S § fei * i spain . $ S 3 S ^ . } tr-wass ? In the sitting of the Cortes on Saturday , March 29 , the bill © n the receipts of the state , presented by the ^ Finance Minister , -was taken into consideration by a majority of 184 against 27 . Thus the difficult question which threatened to produce a collision between the government and the Cortes is happily solved .

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      TORTURED TO DEATH : OUR PENAL " CIVILISATION " . " ONE of the most horrible sights ever witnessed in the streets of London , took place on Monday morning , under the sanction of the law , and \ vith all the formalities , municipal and religious , of a so-called morallesson . On that day , Bousfield , the murderer of his wife and family , was executed outside Newgate , undei * circumstances of ijhe mo ' st fearful description , as will be seen in the subjoined , account . . During the whole of his imprisonment , BousfLeld has exhibited great sullenness . Mr . Davis , the Ordinary of the gaol , frequently endeavoured to make bam explain the reason for the committal of his crime ; but , though he often commenced a relation of the facts , he always broke off , sometimes observing ' Pray don ' t talk about it ; it is a horrid dream . " However , from a letter which he wrote to the father OI hlS Wlfp . if , ormeoi-o an * ,. — 1 ... . . . _ .,.. ,. _ . _ rjt—„ ., w ^<* w jowuusy was tne cause For some time , Bousaeld clung to the hope that his life would be spared , and , to facilitate this result , he simulated madness , but so clumsily , that he was at once detected , and warned not to continue such conduct . He then desisted . On Saturday . t >~ - desperate attempt at aelf-deatr ""* - ' . - ~ made a in the course of th ~ - "' uiou . He was visited After + 1 — - ' _ . „ ctioernoon by two of his sisters . _ . ^ ey nad left , he suddenl y rushed to the grate , and threw himself on the fire , with his head over the top bar . The officer who was with him at the time dragged him off ; but his clothes , and a good deal of hair which he -wore under Ms chinwere in flamesand

      both his feet were resting upon the edge of it , and thafe he was vainly endeavouring to raise his pinioned hands to the rope . One of the officers immediately rushed upon the scaffold , and pushed the wretched man ' s feet from their hold ; but in an instant , by a violent effort , he threw himself to the other side , and again succeeded in getting both his feet on the edge of the drop . Calcraft , who had left the scaffold , imagining that all was over , was called hack ; he seized the criminal , but it was with considerable difficulty that he forced him from the scaffold . The short relief which the wretched man had obtained from the

      pressure of the rope by these desperate efforts , had probably enabled him to respire , and , to the astonishment and horror of all the spectators , he succeeded a third time in placing his feet upon the platform , and again his hands vainly attempted to reach the cord . Calcraft and two or three other men then again . forced his feet from their hold , and his legs were dragged down until the final struggle -was over . It was observed that Calcraft was more than Usually nervous ( though he generally exhibits trepidation ) ; and this is accounted for by the fact of his having

      received an anonymous letter , stating that some of " the Kent-street roughs" were determined on shooting him , and advising him to get a Horse-guardsman's helmet ; buthe was received with nothing more than the yells of the mob . An extra body of police was present . The facts , as will be seen by our Parliamentary columns , were brought before the notice of Government on Tuesday , and , on the same day , Sheriffs Kennedy and Rose narrated the circumstances to the Court of Alderman ; after which , a motion directing the gaol committee to inquire into the affair , and to report upon it , was unanimously carried .

      , , he waB severely burnt about the throat , though the fire was soon put out . He then refused to take any sustenance , and , from that time to his death , only swallowed a little milk and wine , which was forcibly administered . The Rev . Mr . Davis , to the last , did hte utmost to bring the wretched criminal to a sense of his condition ; but he remained sullen and unrepentant , and even on Monday morning gave no heed to the religious exhortations which were addressed to liirn . The sheriffs arrived at six o ' clook , at whioh time the condition of the criminal was terrible . His head , which was hideously swollen and livid from the effects of the burns , was buried in his breast ; he was apparently exhausted and helpless , supported by two

      assistants , while a third constantly wiped from his mouth , a frothy fluid ; and ib was even found necessary to direct the surgeon * to ascertain if he was stall alive . On Calcraft binding him , he vomited for a considerable time . The concluding sceno may be given in the words of the daily papers : — "Eight o'clock having arrived , the prisoner was raised by four men , and in that manner convoyed to the scaffold . Ao ho appeared totally unable to stand , it was considered the best course to place him in a chair under the beam ; and ho was sustained in that

      position by one of the assistants while Calcraft fixed th , e rope in its proper position . The Rov . Mr . Davis accompanied the wretched man , but it appoarod useless to perform the usual offloos of religion . When wn ° Bl $ ? i *« « Siven , the chair on whioh the criminal woo stiu seated of courBo gave way with the drop , and consequently the fall wR 8 not nearly bo groat « s it KtfMn r T , ' oumstftncefl . The Bound of was affiLw ha i T SCW 00 ly « pawed away , when there 5 S ^ ^ » « sartti-S ;

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      A LOYING PAIR . A breach of promise of marriage case , tried at the Oxford Assizes on Thursday , exhibits a most extraordinary history of depravity . Mr . Vivian Arthur Webber , a young man of six-and-twenty , was an officer in the army . In the month of November last , he became acquainted' with a Miss Prichard , the daughter of an upholsterer at Swansea ; and to tha 3 girl , who was only seventeen years of age , Mr . Webber wrote endearing letters , swearing that , u as God is in heaven , " she . should be his wife "before three weeks were over her little head . " Under this promise , he induced her to come up to London , and to live with him in furnished' lodgings , which he took for her . It is needless to add that she fell ; but the promise ofmarriage was not redeemed . The seducer drank to excess , sometimes calling for sherrv n- * -- "

      as seven in the morning , and -was " soon prostv " - , , delirium tremens . The girl also , i *~ ' ,, "' took largely of win- . - --vould seem , par-Mrs . " SteS- ~ , „ ; - ¦ , ^ n * , ' w ^ ' v- « -, iue landlady , was called up into the tearoom , and found Mr . Webber in bed , and Miss Prichard seated in a chair . The latter said Mr . Webber was unkind to her ; and Mr . Webber exclaimed , " Put her out , Mrs . Steer . " The landlady asked who he meant . " That thing in the chair , " replied Mr . Webber . Mrs . Steer said that she would not put * ' the poor thing" out , but that she would have

      Mr . Webber put out by force if he did not go . On another occasion , she saw Mr . Webber give the girl some " slaps , " and once he injured her in the breast ( though it was not quite clear whether this was not accidental ) by the latch of the door . The pair had originally passed for man and wife ; but Mrs . Sfceera soon found out the fact . Sne also , one day , found Maria Prichai ^ dinbed with her ( Mrs . Steer ' s ) husband . The husband had since fled ; and Mrs . Steer , at the trial , paid that , if she could come at him , and at Maria Priohard , she would murder them . ( Iu giving her evidence , she frequently burst into tears , ) Finally , the girl was taken away from the lodgings by a man who seems to have been a prize-fighter .

      Mr . Webber , in his defence , pleaded that the girl had had improper intercourse with other men . After the ovidonco , a consultation took place . This at last ended in an arrangement , which was said to bo an agreement to pay £ 50 to the plaintiff ; all future proceedings to be barred .

      Untitled Article

      police , and it was discovered that the whole famihr lived by a system of thieving . The sons have been brought up as shopmen , and possess amazing tact and address . Their only remaining means were those of forging references to character for one another . Their names are Charles , Joseph , Henry , and Albert Charles has suffered one month ' s imprisonment at Stafford for presenting a forged reference at Newcastle , and Joseph has been in Wakefield gaol three months for a like offence . Two years ago , they were advertised in the Lancashire papers as dangerous characters . Charles had but left Stafford gaol a few weeks before his engagement with Mr . Thomas . It was found that numbers of parcels had been sent from , the Briefly station , addressed to "Mr . Allen Wigan station ; to be left till called for . " Upon this discovery Mr . Richards } a police of ficer , accompanied bv

      Mr . Thomas , set off for Wigan , and at the station there found a carpet bag , which Mr . Thomas identified as his . At the suggestion of Mr . Richards , a porter was sent to the Anderton Arms with the bag , and a searchwarrant having been procured , measures were taken for action . Two policemen were placed in a house opposite the Anderton Arms . The porter asked if Mr . Allen lived about there , and Joseph replied , " I ' am he . " He then signed the book as " George Alien , ' and paid 10 d . carriage . On the porter leaving , the police entered the house . The mother immediately threw several pledge tickets into the fire for goods to the value of £ 200 . They -were both apprehended , and a large quantity of goods were found concealed in different parts of the house . They were next day taken to Manchester , where the father and two other sons

      were residing . One of them , Henry , was apprehended ; but Albert , on hearing of the affair , had gone to Ashtou-under-Lyne by rail , to give instructions to a Miss Andrews , a dressmaker , to conceal the goods which had been sold to her by th « family ; and he subsequently fled . The mother and three sons have been committed for trial . Sxtspected Mukdeb , and Suicide . —A shocking affair'has just ¦ occurred at a place called "Winsham , near Chard , in Somersetshire . A rnan of fifty years

      of age , named Edward Showers , had become much depressed in spirits on account of selling some timber for less than he afterwards found out he could have received for it . One morning last week , his son , aged sixteen , got up to go to his work , and a few hours after he had left , some neighbours found tlie wife of Showers lying nearly dead in the house , with her skull frightfully beaten in . A piece of iron , with blood upon it , was found near the . poor woman . On searching fortlie hus ^"" - ' 1

      . *« , ue was found dead in a well near the ilCileS . Elaborate Detection of Thett . — Great diffi .-culfcyi s experienced in prosecuting the cominitters of theft upon railways , owing to the number of persons through whose hands the stolen property may have passed , hut who are necessary as witnesses . In a recent instance , the obstacles have lieen overcome , by means of unusual tact and energy . A porter on the Midland Railway at Gloucester -was suspected last February of having stolen a very handsome sugarbasin , the property of a lady , who sent it by the train to Worcester as far back as June , 1854 . Investigations were set on foot by Mr . Farmer , tlie superintendent of the detective police employed by the Midland line ;

      and 1 , 900 miles were travelled by him in prosecution of the inquiry , the affair being rendered still more difficult by the time whioh had elapsed since the robbery , and by the consequent necessity for searching out poraons who had left their situations . Mr . Farmer , however , succeeded in collecting all the facts and all the witnesses . The trial of Godwin took place at the Gloucester sessions on Friday week , when twentythree witnesses from various parts of the country , including poraons from Edinburgh , London , Newcaatie , Bath , Cheltenham , Worcester , Stoke-unon-Trent , &c , -were produced in court ; and , after an inquiry which lasted for several hours , the prison or was found guilty and aqntenccd to twelve months ' imprisonment with hard labour , " Justice BEPoiua Meiioy . —John MC'Brido ami

      Tho-Woman-Bea . tiito . —This offence has deolined lately , but an aggravated cobq came before the Lord Mayor on Monday . Mary Ann Brooks is a woman cohabiting with a man bearing the inappropriate name of Felix , This person oamo h ome on Saturday night , intoxicated , and , finding his supper not ready , knocked tlio woman down , and kiokod and struck her with su * ih violence that the blood pourod from her mouth , and who was nearly insensible Sho was at that time an out-patient of the London Hospital , onaooountof hor riba having boon fractured b y previous violonoo from hor partner . Ho was committed for trial by the Lord Mivy or . A Family of THimviiJa . —Mr . Thomas , xnorcor , of Briorly Hill , noar Dudley , recently took , aa asBiBtamt , a young man naraod Haigh , who applied in . answer to an advertisement . For Homo timo ho wont on very well , but suspicious circumstances than ocourred , mid ho was diflmiasod . Inquiries were instituted bx the

      maa Gnvrott , ticket-of-leave mow , and Robert Roberts , were indicted at the Liverpool Assizos for a burglary . Tho police , seeing them loitering about Warwick-atroob Liverpool , during tho night , hid themselves behind some timber , and watched thoir movements , as they wore known to be bad clxaraotors . Shortly ivftorwnrds , a cry was raised of " police \" and tho oon » tablos ascertained that an entry had boon effected into a house by means of lifting tho collarplato . Tho burglars , however , found a powerful

      rosifltanoo from tho lodgova iu tho house , and Roberts was captured , tho others escaping for a aliorfc timo . The jury found thorn all Guilty , but * wa « about to recommend thorn to moroy , whon Mr . " Bunm Martin interposed , Buying tho jury had bettor hoar him before thoy said anything moro . Then , addicting tho prisoners , ho announced that M'Brido luul boon previously convicted for various offences no Iohh than sovoutoon times , Qarrett olovon times , ami Roberts once . Hid Lordship , having dintlnguinhod tho cumo of tho latter from thoso of tho former , uontoneod M'JBrido and Gairotb to ton years and RobortH to four

      Untitled Article

      OUR CIVILISATION .

      Untitled Article

      320 THE LEADER . [ No . 315 , Satprdat .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), April 5, 1856, page 320, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2135/page/8/