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Northern Star (1837-1852), 21st August 1852, Edition 2 of 2, Page 6, HORRIBLE DEATH AND MUTILATION AT LEEDS. ...

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      22 The Star Of ' Freedom. August 21, 385...

      22 THE STAR OF FREEDOM . August 21 , 3852 .

      Murder Of A Child, And Attempted Murder ...

      MURDER OF A CHILD , AND ATTEMPTED MURDER OF TWO WOMEN . Sheffield , Thursday . Sheffield is again the scene of one of these horrifying murdeis which startle a whole country . An illegitimate child , nearly two years old , hrd its head cut off by its father , who also attempted to murder its mothe rand another young woman The man ' s name is Alfred Waddington , a grinder , residing in Lord-street , Park , Sheffield . He is about twenty years of age ,

      the associate of notoriously bad characters , and he has been tried for highway robbery . The murdered child was called Elizabeth Slater , tlie daughter of Sarah Slater , of Brown-street , Park and was about a year aud nine months old . On Monday , the mother took out a summons—which was to have been heard to day—against Waddington , for neglecting to maintain the chili . He saw her in the street on Wednesday , and swore he would never pay another farthing towards the child . On Wednesday evening , it w as left in the care of a little girl called

      Barlow while the mother went to attend the females' evening class at the Mechanic ' s Institution . About half-past eight Waddington appeared at the door of the class-room , and called out , * " Sarah Slater , you ' re wanted ! " She went out to him , and ne asked , " What have you done with the child ? " She told him , and he then said , " You miist go with me ; it has fallen off a wall , and broken its neck . " she immediately ran out of the room with him . On arriving at Sylvester-lane , he said she need not trouble herself , for he had murdered the child . He

      pulled out a large clasp-knife , and he said , " Here ' s some of its Mood . " The monster then fiercely attacked her , and atteput to cut her throat . She guarded her neck with hea hands , which were shockingly lacerated , and a little boy who saw the senile called out " Murder . " Waddington then ran up Erie-street , and the poor woman was taken home . He was shortly afterwards met hy a young woman , called Sarah Dobson , wdio resides in Dyke-Lane , Sheffield-moor , a companion of the young woman Slater . Having heard rumours of the murder , and the attack upon Slater , the young woman asked him what he had done with her and his child . He at once , without answering

      the interrogatory fiercely attacked her with his knife , and wounded her severely about the face . Her violent screams caused him to run away . About two o ' clock this morning , however , he gave himself up to a night watchman , and at the Town-hall he described the exact place where the murdered child might be found . He said he took it from the little girl Barlow , carried it into Cutter ' s-wood , Heeley , near Sheffield , and there cut its head off . At daylight this morning two policemen went to the place mentioned , and there found the body of the child . Its head was lying several feet from its body . The prisoner was brought up at the Town-hall to-day

      at noon . The prisoner , who was in his shirt sleeves , on being placed in the dock looked round on the spectators with great unconcern . When Mr . Eaynor mentioned the charge his firmness for a moment forsook him , and he coverec his face with his hands .

      Horrible Death And Mutilation At Leeds. ...

      HORRIBLE DEATH AND MUTILATION AT LEEDS . - A dreadful death has occurred in Leeds , of which the followincr are the facts : —The deceased was named Thomas Nicholson , aged 48 , who was employed as engineman at the brewery of Messrs . Spong , Hunslet-lane . On Saturday last he was employed in tending the malt-grinding machine * and whilst alone in the room met with a frightful death . He had not been seen for two hours , and no idea was entertained of anything being

      wrong untila person enteredthe grinding-room , and was horrorstruck at seing a portion of the poor fellow ' s body whirling round with the shaft , and the place like a slaughter-house . The machine was stopped , and then it was discovered that Nicholson was quite dead and cold . Both his feet had been cut off , his left arm was torn from the body by the shoulder-joint , and his right arm , leg , and body , were frightfully torn and man

      gled . How he became entangled -with the shaft is unknown ; hut there is reason to believe that the mangled remains of the unhappy man had been whirling round upon the shaft for two hours , unseen and unknown . The supposition is , that he had been engaged at the shaft , which caught his jacket , and carried him ronnd . A verdict of " Accidental death" was returned by the coroner ' s jury at the inquest on Monday last .

      Guide To The Lecture Room.. Literary Ins...

      GUIDE TO THE LECTURE ROOM . . Literary Institution , John Street , Fitzvoy Square . Aug . 22 ncl [ 7 £ ] , Rober , Cooper 'Resurrection of Jesus Christ . ' Hall of Science , City Road—August 22 nd [ 7 § J , Henry Tyrrell , ' The Wisdom and Morality of Shakspere . " National Hall , 242 , High Holbora . —Aug . 22 nd , [ 7 * 3 , P . W . Perfitt , < War in the West of England . ' South London Hall , Wehher Street , Blackfriars Road . —Aug . 22 nd , [ 7 |] Charles Southwell will Lecture . Sadler ' s Wells Discussion Society , three doors from the Hugh Myddelton . —Aug . 19 th [ 8 |] , Discussion . Social Institution , Charles Street , Old Garrait , Manchester . —Aug . 22 nd , [ 11 a . mj Discussion . [ 7 p . m . a Lecture . East London Literary Institution , Bethnal Green . —August 24 th , [ 8 ] , Mr . CorzoB , ' Shakspere ' s Female Characters . ' ' Areopagus Coffee and Reading Room , 59 , Church Lane , Whitedhapel . — Every Sunday , Monday , and Wednesday ( 8 ) , a Lecture or Discussion .

      . Hoxtott Mutual Instruction Society , 4 , Gloucester Terrace . —Aug . 23 . rsfl Mr . C F- NichoUs , ' Dickens ' s « Martin Chuzzlewit . "' L iJ 'Coianiwcial Hall , Phil ^ ot . Street , Commercial Road , East . —August 22 ad [ 11 a . ta . j , Charles S 6 uthwell will lecture . —Theological Discussions every Sunday evening ft } Tuesday [ 81 , Thursday [ 8 ] , and Saturday [ 8 ] . Progressionist Hall , Cheapside , Leeds . —Aug . 22 nd [ 6 * 1 . a Lecture .

      ' State Op The Money Market.—The English...

      ' State op the Money Market . —The English funds have agaia been , firm , and on Thursday closed at a further advance of three-eighths per cent . The market for foreign securities has teen steady , and prices have shown a tendency to advance . The latest commercial intelligence from the United States is unimtjgjgk Patent- The markets are firm .

      Riot At Wymondley. The Magistrates Of He...

      RIOT AT WYMONDLEY . The magistrates of Hertford have been engaged during the past week in investigating a singular case of riot which occurred on Sunday and Monday week in the parish of Wymondley . At Titmur-green , in a dwelling suitable for the residence of a gentleman of moderate means , lives , and has lived for some years past , Mr . James Lucas , the possessor of a small independence . For many years Mr . Lucas has lived in a state of seclusion , more or less absolute . Prom his domicile have at times been excluded

      not only friends , relatives , and guests , but also those domestics which are essential to the comfort and convenience of a gentleman . His apparel appears . also to be of an exceedingly simple character , consisting merely of a blanket or horsecloth , which he wraps about his otherwise nude figure , and the barber is not a frequent visitor to an establishment so exceedingly primitive in all its arrangements , and thus the solitary of Titmur-green has a long beard and locks in profusion . Not long back he was wont to

      follow the har » iers with naked feet , torn and bleeding from the briary path along which he went . These and other peculiarities have made him an object of curiosity in the neighbourhood . His relatives , also , with whom he had had disputes about , property , set him down as insane , aud a lew years ago a commission de lunatico inquirendo investigated his ease . The inquiry resulted in tlie full vindication of his sanity , on the basis of those tests which the commission applies in such cases . The decision seems to have been justified by the facts , for the hermit of Titmur-green keeps a banking account at I-litcliin , and manages his balances wish more prudence than many gentlemen whom the world would not suspect of insanity ; and , although reserved and solitary , he is benevolent and kind .

      The riot , indeed , seems to have been occasioned by this perhaps mistaken philanthropy . His charity is general ; but it appears that he gives most to persons of the Irish nation . The labouring classes of the neighbourhood put their own interpretation on his conduct . The Irish are Roman Catholics , and Mr . Lucas is indulgent to them . Therefore the rude peasantry oi

      Ippollitts , Wymondley , and the adjacent places , conclude that he is a Roman Catholic also . Upon tins belief the wondering rustics have erected a superstructure of romance ; and , from being a Roman Catholic and a recluse , Mr . Lucas has in their eyes become a Romish penitent , practising self-imposed austerities in atonement for some unknown offence . Hence lie has become the object of ignorant persecution , which has been kept up for some

      years . About twelve months ago a mob , composed of tho labouring classes of the neighbourhood , assembled round his house and broke all the windows , which , since then , have been protected by iron bars . These unjustifiable assaults have been repeated on recent occasions , notwithstanding the attempts of the police to prevent them . Astaffof constables cannot of course be always kept at Titmur-green , and Mr . Lucas has consequently retained the services of an Irishman named Perry , who resides in the house , to protect him . During the first week in August the popular antipathy was , however , aroused to such an extent , by a

      circumstance which certainly did not justify it , that the presence of the burly Celt was insufficient to restrain it . An Irishwoman applied at Mr . Lucas ' s for aid and lodging , being ill , and the recluse ordered a bed to be made up for her in the stable , it being found impossible to remove her to the workhouse . In this place she was confined with a child , which had been dead for six weeks . A report was immediately circulated that the woman had been neglected and improperly treated , and that tho child died in consequence . There appears to be little doubt that this report was the immediate cause of attacks made on the house of Mr . Lucas on Sunday aud Monday se ' nnight .

      The man Perry gave before the magistrate the following outline of the disturbance . He said that on Monday , the 2 nd of August , about five o ' clock in the afternoon , four men came to Mr . Lucas ' s at Elm Wood , and asked for some beer , and afterwards for some gin . He said they had had plenty , refused to give them any more , and told them to go away . They remained abusing him for about half an hour , calling him a hairy old thief , and an old Papist , and other offensive names . They also threatened to break into the house and pull him out . He then put a shutter to the window , and they broke some panes of glass with stones which they pelted at it . Some of the stones came into the room . Thev declared

      they had come to break the house down , and would either break it down , or have Mr . Lucas out that night ; that they came on purpose , and would not go away without . Another man came up and told witness to hold his jaw , at the same time throwing a brickbat at him . Witness pulled out of his pocket a pistol , loaded only with powder , and fired it at him to frighten him . The men then ran to the front of the house , where more were assembled , and they all began throwing stones us hard as they could at the front of the house . Several of the stones came in at

      the windows . After this Mr . Lucas and witness went up stairs , and told the men that , if they did not stop throwing stones , they would fire upon them . One of them said " he came to be shot , and that lie would not go till we fired at him . " A shower of stones then came into the room , several of which fell very near Mr . Lucas . The witness and his master began putting the shutters to , and one of the men , named George Barker , threw another stone , which hit Perry in the mouth , and broke two of his teeth , who then went and loaded a blunderbuss with powder only , and fired at the man , who , when he found that it did no harm ,

      laughed , and said he would have Lucas out . Perry then loaded the blunderbuss again , and put some small shot in it . Stones were being thrown all the while , and the people were using dreadful oaths ; Perry went to the window and saw Barker with a stone in his hand , and two or three others with stones in their hands , which they were in the act of throwing ; and so he fired the blunderbuss at them , and then Barker said he was shot , and began swearing and blaspheming in a dreadful manner , threatening that he would come again before morning and break the house down , or else have Mr . Lucas and witness . Another volley of stories was thrown and the people went away .

      The chairman stated that the bench had determined on convicting the prisoners , who had been guilty of a disgraceful riot , which it was the duty of the magistrates to punish and repress . It was of little consequence who actually threw the stones , for all of them were concerned , and in the eye of the law the / were equally guilty . The prisoners had nothing to do with the course of life Mr . Lucas pleased to lead—it was not for them to teach

      him how to live . Ihey might have their opinion , as many others had , that he was acting very wrongly , but they had no right to interfere with him . The bench had decided on fining the prisoners 20 s . each , including costs , or in default one month ' s imprisonment . At the same time , he felt it necessary to caution Perry against using such weapons as pistols and bl under busses . They were always dangerous weapons , but especially in the hands of an Irishman .

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      This Aciiili Trial.—A Meeting Of Dr Newm...

      This Aciiili Trial . —A meeting of Dr Newman's friends was held on the 13 th inst ., for the purpose of taking steps to raise subscription , to be styled " Ireland ' s quota of the Kewman Indemnity Fund . " Subsequently to the dissolution of the meeting , a letter was received in Dublin from a professional gentleman in London , in which he stated that the costs of th 0 trial would for exceed 8 , OO 0 Z . He believed that 10 , OOOZ . won ];] be nearer the real amount .

      The Potato Chop . —The Northern Whig in its weekl y summary says -. —The alarm which , by our reports of this day week appeared to pervade nearly every district of the province r J garding the potato crop , would seem , by those of this morning to have subsided considerably . Cereals of all kinds look well and are either at , or rapidly approaching maturity . The ( J

      crop is particularly fine , and promises to be above an avcra ^; . We cannot yet speak with certainty relative to the yield of in--flax : what has been brought to market was prepared hurriedly and does not afford a fair sample , but the general impression h that the crop will be excellent , both as regards yield aiu quality .

      Emigration fbom Ulster . -The Banner of Ulster has thu subjoined statement : —For some time jiast emigration from this port has not been apparently carried on so extensively as during the earlier months of the year , as few vessels have sailed direct from Belfast . Crowds , however , still repair to Glasgow and Liverpool per steamer , there to take berths . Dreadful Calamity . —The following appeared in Saunders ' News Letter on Tuesday :--Yesterday morning a most

      calamitous circumstance occurred in one of the islands of Arran , by which fifteen unfortunate men have been swept from time into eternity in a single moment . All of them were fishing with lines on a cliff , when , notwithstanding that the weather was calm , a sudden wave broke over the cliff on which they were standing , and washed them out into the deep . Only four of

      the bodies have been found up io inst night . Many of these poor fellows have left large families to mourn over their irreparable loss . A subscription has been already set on foot , and it is hoped that a large sum will be raised for them , now that Galway is crowded with the nobility and gentry of the United Kingdom .

      Singular Accident.—An Accident Of A Sing...

      Singular Accident . —An accident of a singular character occurred at Chatham' on Monday last to a postman named Bridge , while engaged in his duties as letter-carrier . It . appears that Bridge left the Post-office , Chatham , and was in the act oi ' delivering a letter at a house on the Luton-road , when on reaching across the iron palisades to deliver the letter his loot slipped , and he fell on the spikes , two of which entered his bowels to a serious depth . Medical aid was instantly procured , hut the unfortunate sufferer now lies in a precarious state .

      Thunder and Oysters ! the Pope on the Spree !• - At Marl borough-street Charles Swanblklt , an Irish Roman Catholic priest , was charged with being drunk and disorderly in Dean-street . The constable found the defendant in Dean-street about nine o ' clock on the previous night , surrounded by several hundreds of person ? , who were hooting and hustling hhn , hi return for which the defendant was lustily asserting he was tlie

      Pope , and anathematizing them all in the plainest language . To the policeman the defendant accounted for his condition by saying that the thunder disagreed with some oysters he bad eaten . To the magistrate the defendant ( in the morning ) said he was habitually a water-drinker , but having incautiously drunk some brandy he became totally oblivious of all that afterwards occurred . " His Holiness" was discharged .

      An Inveterate Criminal . —A good deal of intercut lias been excited in Paris by the trial of the assassin Pradeaux . This miscreant , in the space of a single month , last May , assassinated three persons , two of whom were old women , and attempted a fourth murder . The resistance which he encountered in his last crime happily prevented its completion , and led to his apprehension . The prisoner is 32 years of age . Mis parents wore connected with the manufacture of artificial flowers . Pradeaux , before he took to assassination , had been three times imprisoned for robbery and swindling . As soon as he had obtained 2 ^ 01 . or

      303 t . by some criminal means , he spent the money in a few day .- ' , and then had recourse to a fresh crime for a new supply . H * first victim was a cotton-manufacturer , whom he murdered in ^ bed on the night of the 5 th of April , to rob his chest , which contained some 700 f . About the same time he contracted an engagement to marry a girl named Dardard . To defray the expenses of the nuptial least he committed a fresh murder . Thi * time his victim was a woman of 60 , the widow Chateaux , of whom he pretended that he wanted to hire a lodging . He paid a visit at midnight , knocked down the old woman with a violent blow on

      the head , and strangled her with a haukerchief . He then rifled her effects , among which he found a bag of savings amounting to 300 f . Henceforth this became the pattern for Pradeaux ' s assassinations . He sought out the weakest victims , stunned them by a sudden blow , and then strangled them . Having murdered the widow Chateaux on the 25 th , he proceeded to assassinate , precisely the same way , four days after , a woman of the gam " age , Suan , engaged in the artificial-flower trade . But ho ran- [ sacked in vain the drawers of this poor creature , who , notsviuV j standing her industrious habits , was obliged to eke out her sub- I

      sistence by the charity of the Bureau de Bienfaisance . ' * " '' next day Pradeaux led his bride to the altar , decorated , perhaps \ with some of Mademoiselle Suan ' s artificial orange-flowers . }] c f passed the night wandering about the orchards , the walls of wb' « J j he had scaled to murder the cotton-manufacturer , and at riaybrflj entered the cabaret of an old woman named Naudin . He ^ , j for a glass of brandy , and , while she was getting it , he struck W j on the head with a bottle , and knocked her down . He tl ^ attempted to strangle her with a handkerchief , as usual ; but t- | old woman bit him severeland her brought the co »'* | « vUv uiiunit oevci ituu —¦ - i

      y , screams v .. ..... u ; ei ^ , uer acremijo uivuq "" -a cierge to her assistance . The assassin fled , was pursued , » " ¦ f caught . The jury found a verdict of guilty upon all the chavg • | and the prisoner was condemned to death . The appearance < " ; Pradeaux is insignificant ; his feat uvea are small , his eyes su » j * his complexion pale . His whole life seems to have been j ^^ , tissue of crimes . As soon as he had strength enough , he kiioc ^ down his mother and trampled upon her , and nearly assassin" his father with one of the tools used in their trade .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Aug. 21, 1852, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_21081852/page/6/