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Leader (1850-1860), 14th February 1857, Edition 1 of 2, Page 151, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      ADULTERY . An action for criminal conversation -which was brought in the 'Conrt of Common Pleas last Saturday-caused considerable interest , not only on account of the main facts , bat by leason of the defence which was set up . The plaintiff toss / 'Captain . Ling-, of the 14 th Light "Dt&goons , now thirty-three years of age . In July , £ 849 , he married , at Lahore , inlndia i a daughter of Sir John littler , the distinguished Indian officer . The young lady was then only eighteen . As long as they -remained m India , the couple continued on terms of great ¦ affection ; but a change seems to have arisen on the passage home of Captain and Mrs . Ling in the course of ¦ the -summer of 1855 . One of the passengers in the

      vessel -was Captain ( afterwards Major ) Croker , a- gentleman of fifty years of age , and the defendant in the pre - sent action , and it would seem that an intimacy sprang up between him . and Mrs . Ling , though the lady was near her confinement , and was actually delivered of a child during the voyage . After their arrival in England , Captain Ling obtained a commission in tlie corps 'Of'Bashi-Bazouks , and left , in December , 1855 , for the ¦ Crimea , where he remained , till the latter part of last year . His wife and children stayed at the seat of the -wife ' s parents , Sir John and Lady Littler , at Bigadon , tMjar Totness , Devonshire . Here it was presently disco" \ nered by-Lady Littler that her daughter , Mrs . Ling ,

      carried on an active correspondence with Major Croker . Tisdy Littler then requested her daughter to leave Bigadon ., which she did , and took up her residence at Corsand , near Plymouth . Shortly after she left Bigadon , a letter for her came from Major Groker . This was opened by Lady Littler , and was found to confirm the suspicions already entertained . At Corsand , and after" wards at London , the criminal familiarity between Mrs . I / ing and Captain Croker continued , the lady sending to her mother ' s her infant child ; and , in the course of last December , the couple were discovered , after great exertions "by the friends of Captain Ling , living as man and wife , under an assumed name , at AUsopp-terrace , Newroad .

      The defence was that Captain Ling permitted , and even encouraged the intimacy of Major Croker with his "Wife on their passage to England ; that he afterwards directed his wife to keep up a correspondence with the Major ; that he corrupted her mind l > y letters full of the most lieentiotia suggestions and language ; and that finall 5 ' he offered to allow her to live with whom she it *? * ® 1 * upon condition that she and lier lover should pay him ooOL -ftome ^ the Captain ' s letters were read in court ; portions of them , however , Tfere too maeceat for publication . The reply to this defence was that the letters were forged ; but no proof with respect to them

      was offered , either to prove their authenticity or the reverse . Mr . Justice "VVilles said that , if the jury regarded them as authentic , the verdict must be for the defendant , as the letters amounted to leave and license . The jury , however , found for the plaintiff ; damages , 10007 . A question with respect to giving up the letters to the plaintiff was left for the Judge ' s ulterior decision . Sir Frederick Thesiger , counsel for the plaintiff , and Mt . Edwin James , counsel for the defendant , both alluded to the disgraceful state of the English law , Which allows of actions for money compensation for adultery to he brought .

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      oaso of robbory . jQordon . made tha boy drunk , and ondeavourod to detain him until nftor the trial ; but he escaped , gave evidence At tho trial , and procured the conviction of tho accused . Tho jury found Gordon , O . uilty , and he-was sentenced to two months' imprisonmont . —GcorgG Stoptoo , Thomas ) Banks , and Charlo 3 Goaiy , were found Guilty of stealing cows , and were condemned to four yoars penal servitude . — "William Sayer , a respectable-looking lad , lifteon years old , ploa * letl Guilty to four indictments of forgery . Ho had fallen , in with bad characters , and was induced by thorn to forgo cheques on Smith , Payno , and Co ., in the name of his employer . Tho proceed .- , ho dovotod to purehns-Ing expansive articles . lie was Hontenced to four yearn ' peaal servitude . —Jamo 3 Barber , who pleaded CJuilty to an indictment for forging a docd , and other charge * , was sentenced to four years' ponal sorvitudu . —David Angolo Linford , who wa 3 convicted of stealing a nuau-

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      a living . Three of her sons , who were in the army , were killed in India ; two more in the Crimea . In her letter she adds : ¦— " I am now a " poor , destitute widow , the granddaughter of a general , and the daughter ofa captain , all slain for England ' s glory . My husband was an officer , bat he had to sell his commission to pay his debts , which deprived him of a pension at his death . Since the death of my husband and thelossof my poor children , I never received a shilling from Government . Worthy Sir , that is the thanks I received for bringing up five beautiful young men to be slain . Indeed , Mr . Broughton , I received more relief at your hands than' I have received of any , -unless what little the workhouse allows me to pay for my lodgings . " An application for assistance which she made to Prince Albert failed of success . Mr . Broughton expressed his gTeat commiseration , and gave the poor woman seven shillings from the poorbox . Subscriptions have since been sent in for her .

      Manslaughter . —Edwin Hammond , a well-dressed man , is in custody , and under remand at Clerkenwell , on a charge of causing the death of Richard Cotterell by striking- him in the course of a drunken quarrel . Another man , who was charged with participation , has been set at liberty , there being no case against him . Cruelty to a Gikl . —A Mrs . Martin , the wife of a farmer in Lincolnshire , her man servant , and a farm lad , have been charged with gross cruelty to Eliza Tait , a female servant . On one or two occasions , she was beaten very indecently , and last Saturday week the man held her while naked , on to a grindstone , while the hoy turned the handle , so that a great deal of the skin was torn off " , Mrs . Martin was standing by at the time , and she laughed at the poor girl ' s shrieks . The latter ran home as soon as she could get away , and was immediately put under the hands of

      tity of plate belonging to his master , -was sentenced to twelve months' hard labour . Outrage by Soldiers at the Chatham Postoffice . — -A singularly audacious outrage was committed early on Saturday morning at Chatham post-office . IN " ear one o ' clock , a . m ., Mr . Dadd , the postmaster , was attending to his duties consequent on the arrival of the mail bags from Sheerness and Sittingbo-ume , when he heard a great uproar in the office lobby . Going out , he found several soldiers attacking a sailor . Mr . Dadd pulled the man into the office ; but the next moment the latter fell lifeless to the floor . The soldiers then aimed a blow with some heavy instrument at the head of Mr . Dadd ; and this , passing through the glass door leading into the lobby , inflicted serious injuries on the postmaster . The office was speedily burBt into by the soldiers , who

      prepared for a formidable attack ; but Mr . Dadd took iip a sword , and kept them at bay for some time , though lie was continually pelted with stones . The driver of the mail cart , who was outside , came up to assist Mr . Dadd , but very soon had his head cut open by a blow from the brass end of one of the soldiers'waist-belts . Some of Mr . Dadd ' s relations and other persons , on running up to the rescue , were also attacked by the military , who fought their way out of the office , and , after committing some further depredations , made off . The postmaster , although suffering severely from his wounds , went at once to the residence of Colonel Eden , the commandant of the garrison , and gave information . Active measures were immediately taken to arrest the offenders , and a court- martial has since been held , the result of which is not yet known .

      Legal Oppression at Torquay . —Great indignation is felt at Torquay at the condemnation to imprisonment for ten days of a boy , nine years old , for throwing stones in the streets . The boy ' s father , who is a working cabinet maker , could not pay the line of five shillings , and so the boy was sent to the county gaol , and the father was condemned to pay another two shillings . The Governor of the prison , touched by the hardness of the punishment ( for the boy seems to he a very inoffensive and respectable child ) , has taken peculiar care of the juvenile culprit . Further Respite of Mansell . —The Governor of Maidstone Gaol has received from the Home-office a further respite for the convict Mansell uutil the 11 th of Mav . ¦¦¦ ¦ ¦ ¦¦ ¦ ¦ . . "¦ ¦ ' ¦

      pantomime . The offer was accepted by the chairman' the Union , subject to the approval of ' the board . ' would seem that the children were sent on their way-to the theatre before that approval was obtained ; whereupon , the guardians met in hot haste , and resolved ( by a bare majority of one ) not to sanction the chairman ' s permission . A messenger was then sent after the children , and they were actually brought back when on the very threshold of fairyland . Some linesreferringto this shabby and heartless piece of tyrannv , and strongly condemning it , have since been introduced into the pantomime , and are received every night with loud applause . A Lamentable Tale . —A widow , named Allsopp , has made an application to Mr . Broughton , theMarylebone magistrate , for assistance . . She is ill and . unable tn pam

      The Case of Joikst Markiiam . —The jury who tried the poor man Markham , . who was wrongfully convicted of forgery some time since , have addressed a memorial to the presiding Judge of the next session of the Central Criminal Court , setting forth their sorrow for the mistake they committed , which , however , they think was unavoidable on the evidence adduced . ; expressing their hope that liia innocence will be proclaimed in open court ;' and begging that his Lordship will use liia influence to get him a permanent situation . —A sum of upwards of 150 / . has been collected for Markham .

      I he Alleged Poisoning- at Stamford . —The body of Mrs . Ann Bacon , mother of the man Bacon who is now in custody on a charge of killing his children , was exhumed on Friday week from the churchyard at Great Stamford , in order that the body might be examined in pursuance of the inquiry now being made into tho cause of her death . The abdomen and viscera , with their contents , having been removed , the body was again committed to the earth , and the inquest was held . Mrs . Bacon died in the May of 1855 , being seized with a mortal sickness shortly after eating of some -broth into which it is suspected Bacon , her son , put arsenic . It appeared from the evidence that Bacon had previously purchased arsenic of a druggist , saying ho wanted to kill

      rats , lie had sent a boy , a day or two before , to another chemist ' s for arsenic , on pretence of wanting it to harden iron , but it was refused ; on which Bacon said to the messenger , "Oli , never mind ! I'll get it myself . " One of tho witnesses gave the subjoined particulars of what happened on the day of the death : — " Thomas ( the prisoner ) was continually in the houso during the Tuesday , and was present when , his mollier diod . Her son William Bacon , his wife , and Mrs . Scholes , were also present . There was a little dispute between tho two brothers about deceased ' s rent-book . This took phicR while the mother was dying . Mrs . Scholes ' hushed thorn , ' and said their mother could hoar if slit ) could not spank . Thomas had taken the rent-book out of the house . 1 hoard William Bacon ' s wife tell Thomas that

      Alleged Embezzlement . —William Iloltaway , an elderly man who had boon brought up once or twice at Guildhall on a charge of embezzling 1100 / . from his employers , Messrs . Hyde and Co ., stationers in Fleetstreai , was discharged last Saturday by Alderman Cubvtt , who remarked that the accused ' s first doiiciencies had ; fceen regarded as a debt by the Messrs . Hyde , and -the same rule must be . applied to the whole affair . — David Thomas Sadler , a commercial traveller in the ¦ e mploy of Messrs . Crowder and G-arrod , has also been discharged at the same oflice from an accusation of embezzling 400 ? . belonging to his employers . Tho evidence -against him was notsulHciont to warrant his detention . Cbntkal Criminal Counr . —Joshua Gordon , a man who gets his living by singing at public-housed , has bean tried on . a charge of endeavouring to prevont a boy from giving ovidenco at the Middlesex Sessions in a ,

      Ins mother had made n will . Uhomiis told mo that hi , s brothers had hud their fortune . He did not know that his mother had made a widow ' s will , and Hcetnod quite surprised tlint she had done ho . He told me he expected he should < got the property at his mother ' s death . " Tho inquest Ava . s adjourned to next "Wednesday . KiDNAvriNfj BiiAciv Skaiuicn . —Thomutt Hudson , an unlicensed shipping master , who shipped n number of block Hftilorn on bonrd of the American ship . T . L . Bogart , for Mobile , saying that she wan the Robin Hood , for China , has been prosecuted by tlu > Liverpool solicitor for tho Board of Trade , and iinod by tho magistrates 20 / ., or in default to'bo imprisoned , with hard labour , for three months .

      PicTr-Y WoltiuioiJSK Tyranny . —The lesaeo of tlvo Bath theatre kindly offered to admit the children of the workhouse gratuitously to a day porfonnanco of tho

      a doctor . The Bench fined the woman 5 ? ., the man servant 31 . 153 . Gd ,, and the boy 11 . 5 s . 6 d ., including- costs . The indignation of the persons in and around the court was so great , that Mrs . Martin was escorted to the lock-up by the police , the people yelling and hooting after her , and threatening to duck her in the river . —Mr . John Walker , a haberdasher in Shaftesbury-street , New ltoad , is -under remand at Worshipstreet , charged , at the instance of the parish , with cruelly ill-treating his niece , an orphan child , eight years of age . According to the evidence already brought forward , the child was repeatedly and unmercifully beaten , half-starved , kept with insufficient clothing , and confined in an underground wash-house . Bail was accepted for the man's future appearance . lie has been receiving parish relief , though it appears that he is possessed of property .

      Tins Frauds ox the City Basics . —The final examination of Anderson and Saward took place on Wednesday , when the Lord Mayor committed them for trial . The convict Salt llardwicke , in giving his evidence , asserted that he was innocent of the robbery for which lie was transported . lie added : — " It was always part of my scheme to represent myself as a respectable man . I represented myself n « a colonial trader , and I was one . -I had land in Australia . I was not in En ^ Iund when Murkliain was tried . When I heard that he hud been innocently convicted , Anderson , Saward , Attwell , anmu named Thomas Smith , and myself , met and subscribed a sovereign each for his wife . The 51 . was given to Attwell to loave for her at a imblic-hoiise , the landlord of

      which has . since told me that he guvc her the- money . I reasoned with Anderson for not trying to get Markham . acquitted , upon which Saward said that ' that wouldn ' , as ho ( Anderson ) niiyht draw himself into it . ' ( tfemulioH . ) I knew Edward Agar ( the approver in the late bullion robbery case ) through Saward , with whom I first became acquainted about twenty-live or twenty-six years ago . He was always known as ' Jora , the penman . ' I do not want to make myself appear better than I am , but Saward was known , for years after I first became acquainted with him , to bo carrying skeleton keya through tho city for a gang of burglars when they wanted them fur a night . I cannot say that I corrupted Saward . " ( Laughter . ')

      MxmvLESux SitsHioNs . —Tho February goncral soso ' iona commenced on Monday , when the iir . st persons tried woro John Murphy and George Porter , two very young men , who were indicted for stealing a caah-box from tho bar of a public-house in Wnpping , in tho mi < lnt of nomo confusion caused by one of thorn pretending to bo in a lit . Thoy wero found Guilty , nnd , being known bud characters , wore acntouced oacU to four yoars' - ponal

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      r iBB-BBttAJLY 1 ft ,. 1857- ] THE IiEADEOR ,. 151

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      ou : r civilization . , - ¦ ¦ ¦ » ¦ ¦¦ ' ¦ ¦ .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 14, 1857, page 151, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2180/page/7/