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Leader (1850-1860), 10th January 1857, Edition 1 of 2, Page 32

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      tute jeraons in future from inhabiting so wretched a P 1 &IBAXPBOPB 1 ATIOH OF FUNDS BY A COUNTY MAGISTRATE . — William Hollia , Esq ., who has "been for many years a justice of the peace , -was summoned a few days ago before the Chepstow magistrates for misapplying the foods of the Shirenewton United Friendly Society , of which he -was trustee , until lately removed from office . Upon the information being formally read over , Mr . Hollis pleaded guilty to the charge contained in it , and he was ordered by the magistrates to refund the amount , 56 / . 5 s . 4 d ., together with a penalty of , 10 / ., and &B . 6 d . costs , and , in default of payment , to be committed to the House of Correction at Usfe , and there be kept to hard labour for six weeks .

      Extraokdinaut Mubdbr . —Amurdexhas been committed at Merthyr under the roof of the coroner , Mr . Overton . The name of the deceased is Gwenlliam Lewis , and circumstances point strongly to her husband , Join Lewis , as being the assassin . He has been arrested , and awaits the result of an inquest on the body of the murdered woman , lewis and his wife resided at a house in . Mertbyx in which Mr . Overton , the coroner , had liis offices . The occupancy of the premises by the Lewises was a permissive one , arising out of the circumstance of the deceased acting as housekeeper to Mr . Morgan , a solicitor , who also had offices on the premises . On the day of the murder , Mr . Morgan left Ms house at about three in the afternoon , and did not return till about eleven

      at night . On entering the house , he was called down stairs by Lewis , and found that Mrs . lewis was murdered . The husband ' s face was scratched , and his -prevaricating answers throw considerable suspicion on him . Mortauxy os Board a . Merchant Vessel- —Captain Seymour , the master of the ship Duke of Portland , appeared before Mr . Selfe , at the Thames police-office , to answer a demand made upon him by a seaman , named Smith , who claimed a balance of 4 . 02 . for his services on a voyage from Hong Kong to Santa Cruz , the Havannah and London . The man had , it appeared , shipped for 57 per month , the payment of which the captain had resisted to the amount of twenty dollars , in consequence of Smith having , by his own indiscretions , contracted a

      disease which incapacitated him from doing any work during a considerable part of his voyage . Had there been proper medicines onboard , the seaman might have recovered from his illness , and he had applied at the Havannah three times for his discharge , but was refused . Captain Seymour , in reply to this , said the yellow fever was raging at the Havannah when his ship was there , and it would have been certain death to the complainant if lie had sent him on shore . It afterwards appeared that the sickness and mortality on board the Duke of Portland were very great , as not less than one hundred and thirty-two Chinese had died either from yellow

      fever or exhaustion on the passage from Hong Kong to Havannah , and as many as two hundred had been ill at the same time . Many more of them died after their arrival at Cuba . The Spanish agents at the latter place carried on a most disgraceful slave traffic ^ by hiring Chinese Jrom their own country to -work in Cuba . As regarded Smith's case , Mr . Sclfe said he could not allow him any wages for the time he -was off duty , because he had contracted a disease at Hong Kong six weeks after lie had joined the ship , and he should only allow one-half the deductions which the captain sought to make while the man was able to do some duties . He made an owler for tie payment of 22 ? ., which was immediately paid .

      Attempted Suicides by Women . —A girl , named Harriette Jilkes , about seventeen years old , waa charged at the Worship-street police-court with attempting to commit suicide . The case exhibited one > f thos « reckless acts that girls of the prisoner ' s ago occasionally commit , -with , or without an adequate reason , and was only worth notice on account of the praiseworthy conduct of a policeman , who rescued her . The man was on duty in the Kingsland-road , about one o ' clock in the middle . of the day , when lie heard the voice of a woman exclaim , " I can bear this no longer ; " and immediately afterwards she leapt from the edgo of a stone wharf into the . Regent ' s Canal , at a point where the water is nine foot in depth . She sank at firptbut speedily rose to the

      courage and intrepidity of the officer , who had so nearly lost his life in saving that of the girl , and haaded him a sovereign from a member of the Athenaeum Club , using the initials "P . H . E ., " the gentleman expressing himself in terms of admiration © f the constables conduct . — Another young woman , named Julia Manning , was charged , at the Lambeth police-court , likewise with an attempt upon her- own life , by throwing herself from Hungerford Suspension Bridge into the river . Like the girl in . the preceding case , she was prevented from carrying out her intention by a police constable , who happened to be on duty on the spot at the time . According to the statement of the accused , a young Scotchman , who had been paying court to her ( though she was

      married ) , had gone to Edinburgh , at which she had become so distressed that she had taken to drinking , and had committed such excesses that she scarcely knew what she was about . She therefore hoped that Mr . Norton would discharge her . When , however , she was brought up on remand the following dayy her mother stated to the magistrate that her daughter was married , but had been separated from her husband en account of ill-usage . Mr . Norton thought that the prisoner ' s attachment to the Scotchman looked very strange ; however , as she expressed great regret at -what she had done , and promised not to attempt to commit suicide a second time , he consented to discbarge her . —A third case of attempted suicide by a woman came before the Thames magistrates ; but in this case

      the accused , a careworn looking woman , named Martha Duke , was also charged with administering poison to her son , a child five years old . When brought to the London Hospital , she told Mr . Burch , the resident medical officer , that she was in much distress of mind and great destitution when she took the poison and administered it to her little boy . She also said that she went down to Yorkshire a few weeks since to bury her father , and while she was away her husband committed suicide . Since that melancholy event , she had attempted to obtain a living by needlework . Owing to > the miserable remuneration given to her for needleworl , and to mental depression and physical destitution , she had no means to support herself and child , and she could find no other refuge than suicide . She was remanded .

      Forgeries ts Connexion with Publ . ic bEcpKiTiES continue to transpire . A member of the Stock Exchange has absconded , against whom a warrant has been issued for forging a power of attorney for the sale of 500 ? . Consols , and it has been ascertained that he has obtained an advance of 2000 Z . from a person with whom he had dealings upon forged certificates of four hundred shares of the Peel River Company . They are said , however , to have been so imperfectly executed that they ought not to have deceived any one . The seal of the Company was wanted , and the name of the pretended holder was fictitious . They were , therefore , detected immediately on presentation . The company were previously about to call in all their certificates for the purpose of issuing new ones under the Limited Liability Act , and in con . sequence of this event they have advertized , their intent ion to take that step immediatelv . —Times City Article .

      Hkh Majesty ' s Gracious Pardon . —The Rev . John . Davis , the Ordinary of Newgate , has just furnished us with particulars of the sad history of a certain John Ma . rkb . am , who , when walking in Oxford-street , -was mistaken for James Anderson , the man who is now under examination at the Mansion-house upon the charge of having defrauded the City banks . Ma . rkb . am and Attwell ' s brother were tried together for forgery . Markham was convicted and sentenced to four years of penal servitude , while his companion was acquitted . It was a case of mistaken identity—the lawyers and police had got hold of the wrong man . The poor creature was obliged to sell every little article of furniture he

      possessed in the world to provide for his unsuccessful defence . His wife was reduced to the deepest distress , and the man himself suffered actualjmprisonment for six months . When the matter came to bo looked into-, the detectives found that they really had made a mistake , and that John Markkam -waa not James Anderson . The result we give in Mr . Davis ' a own -words : — "By the exertions of the late Under Sheriff Kose , whom I gladly assisted , such evidence was placed before the Secretary of State that , after its careful examination by the detective police , the unhappy John JLarkham was , with Mu Mullen ' s consent , on the part of the bankers of London , pardoned by Sir George Grey , and liberated . " —Times .

      , surface , and the policeman pulled off his outer coat , and plunged into the canal after her . She immediately clutched violently hold of the constable , who could swim only very little ; nevertheless , at the imminent hazard of both his own life and the young woman ' s , he forcibly pushed hec from him , and , notwithstanding he * desperate-efforts to lay hold of him again , managed to struggle with her to the bank of the canal , where they were dragged out by some people who had by this time collected thore . The girl was immediately taken to the workhouse , but a whole week elapsed before she waa

      sufficiently recovered from tho effects of her immersion to bo able to appear in court . It then came out in evidence that tho accused hnd formed an attachment to a young man whose family had said something about tho girl which had affected her character , and had thoroforo lei to tho commission of the crime with which she was charged , hut -which she now appeared very sorry for , and promised never to attempt a second time . Ultimately , the young woma n was given up to her friends , who said that they would look after her . Tho magistrate warmly praised tho

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      A NOBLE ACT OF DARING . Mr . John I * an « contributes to tho Times the annexed thrilling and affecting incident of the great storm winch has just passed round our coasts : — " On Monday , tho 5 th instant , at 3 a . m ., an American ship , tho Northern Belle , of 1100 tons , bound from New York to London , with a general cargo , canio to an anchor off Kmgsgate , and distant from the . ahoro about throe quarters of a mile . ' .... "At 8 a . m ., it was foared that the ship would part from her anchors and come on bIioxo , and a message was despatched to Broadatairs to that effect . TheBroadstuirs boatmen , who are renowned for their alacrity , immediately barneaaod themselves to tlie truck on vhich

      the lifeboat— -the Mary White—is always ready , and proceeded to drag it from Broadstaira to Kingsgate , a distance of two miles , over a hea-vy and hilly country . .... "At 11 . 30 a . m ., the multitude assembled-were destined to witness a very painful sight . A Margate lag ger , called the Victory , was hovering about the ship in the hope of Tendering her some assistance , when a huge sea struck her and she suddenly disappeared from our sight . She and her crew ( from twelve to fifteen in , number ) went down , and were no more seen . Another lugger , tho Ocean , of Margate , had at 6 a . m . five iiands on board the Northern Belle . . .

      " Between 10 and 11 p . m ., the ship parted with her anchors and drove upon the rocks . At this hour , it would have been utterly impossible to launch the lifeboat , for the hail , sleet , and enow prevented the men from seeing any object whatever ; and the spot whence it would be necessary to put off was distant more than half a mile . When day broke , at between 6 and 7 o ' clock this morning ( Tuesday ) , an awful sight was revealed to those on the cliffs and on the beach . " With the naked eye we could discern twenty-three men laehed to the rigging of- the only mast left standing . What these poor creatures must have suffered during tie night the reader will readily imagine .

      "At half-past seven A . M ., the lifeboat , the Mary White , was manned , .... . . Tea brave men pulled through a boiling surf and raging sea , which several times hid them from our sight , and filled us with alarm for their safety . When seven out of the twenty-three men upon the wreck had been got into the lifeboat , it was found necessary to cut her adrift and disentangle her from the ship . With these seven men the boat returned to the shore amid the cheers of the many persons assembled on the beach . A second lifeboat , which had also been wheeled from Broadstairs , to be ready in the event of the first lifeboat being lost , was now launched , and went off to the wreck She succeeded in bringing away fourteen . The two remaining were the captain and the pilot , who had been taken in at Dover . The former declared that he would

      rather die than leave his vessel , and the latter expressed a desire to remain and perish in tie old man ' s company . " After an hour and a half had elap ' sed , the lifeboat for the third time left the shore in order to persuade these two men to save their lives . After much difficulty , the crew of the boat succeeded in inducing them to come off the rigging and go to the land . To describe the scene on . the beach when it was known that all hands had been saved is beyond my power . A more affecting scene was seldom witnessed . There were tears of gratitude shed by the Americans , tears of joy and © f pride by the Broadatairs boatmen . Benumbed as the shipwrecked men were , they could scarcely partake of the refreshment which was provided for them in the little warm parlour of ' The Captain Digby , ' the solitary inn which stands upon the cliff at Kiiursgate .

      * There is a little episode connected with the saving of these men ' s lives which I am tempted to chronicle : —At 3 o ' clock p . m . this day ( Tuesday ) , the Mary White wa » dragged upon her truck by three horses into Broad , stairs . In the boat sat her gallant crew . Tied to an American oar was the American standard , which was so recently hoisted as a signal of distress . The tattered flag fluttered over the broken bows of the M * ry White . It was thus that the boat passed through the streets of Broadstairs , amidst the joyous shouts of the inhabitants of the town . "

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      NAVAL , AND MILITARY . The Arctic . —Some fishermen engaged oa the western edge of the Grand Bank , about fifty miles from land , have hooked a wreck , which v supposed to be the American mail steamer Arctic , which sank in 1854 . Shipwrecks . —The New York and Liverpool packetship New York went ashore on the night of the 19 th ult , two miles from Basnegat inlet . Next morning ( aay the accounts from America ) , the second mate and six men succeeded in landing -with a rope in one of tho ship ' s loats ; the passengers were afterwards landed in safety . The captain ( M'Kinnon ) waa brutally ill-uacd and seriously injured b y seven of his crow , while endeavouring to suppreaa insubordination . He snapped a pistol at one man ; it missed fixe , and he was knocked down , and but for the mate , who stood ove * him , would have be

      en murdered . The mate also was in great danger , but one of the mutineers took 3 iia part . Next day , the man -was killed by his comrades . For four days and nigh ( a , tho emigrants , three hundred in number , remained without shelter or food of any kind on tho bleak coast . In the same * gale , tho brig Tasso , of St . John ' s , Newfoundland , was wrecked . Tour of her crow and two men who had gono off from tho beach wore drowned attempting to got ashore . The brig E . D ., bound from Pernambuco to Liverpool , was wrecked on tho 31 st of October . Some of the crow were drowned , but others escaped to an island , whore they endured dreadful agony foF some days , jind were at length rescued by the barque Molbourno . —Tho ship Climn , of London , struck on one of the Thousand Islands at tlio entrance of the Java , Straits on tho 80 th of Juno , and went down . The crevf woro saved .

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      32 THB LEADEB . Pfe'J * M ? LgjggKPAT ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 10, 1857, page 32, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2175/page/8/