Maryleborn Police Court - A woman named Anne Davis, who cohabited with a stone-mason at 6, Molyneux Street, Lisson Grove, was charged at this Court with cruel treatment of one of her children, a little girl, eight years and a half old, by burning her with a red-hot poker.
The defendant, who carried in her arms an infant, seemed to be about 40 years of age; she was very respectably attired, and her countenance certainly did not be token a cruel disposition.
The sufferer, a sickly-looking child, was led in by a young woman who had humanely interfered.
Mr. Long read the warrant to defendant, which set forth the nature of the charge of cruelty against her, when Defendant eagerly and imploringly said, "I did it in the heat of passion."
The poor child deposed:- I am eight years and a half old. The defendant is my mother. Yesterday fortnight my sister gave me some cocoa to drink, and because I took it at her bidding my mother scolded me and burnt me on my bottom with a red-hot poker; after that she made me take off and wash my clothes; before I did so, and while I was quite naked, she beat me with a cane and whealed me, and also kept pinching me.
Mr. Long. - At what hour was it she burnt you with the poker?
Child. - At 6 in the evening, and at about 7 she tied me tightly to the bedpost with a rope round my waist. When my father (the man living with defendant) came home she loosed me for a time, and then tied me up again, so that I was obliged to lie upon the floor under the bed all night. My legs were tied together in the first instance, and so were my hands, but my hands were loosed when my father returned. I was secured tightly to the bedpost the whole of the next day by cords, my legs, but not my arms, being then confined.
Mr. Fell (the Chief Clerk). - Were you supplied with any food during the time you were tied up as you have stated ?
Child Yes, sir, a little. On Tuesday morning my mother gave me some milk and water and a little dry bread for my breakfast. I had the same for dinner.
Mr. Long. - When were you untied? On Wednesday morning.
Mr. Long. - Who then untied you? My mother.
Mr. Long. - When did you first tell anybody about what had happened to you? - On the next Friday, when I left the house and went to Kew to my grandfather and aunt, who live there. [The parties alluded to were not relations.]
Mr. Long (to defendant). - Do you wish to ask this child any questions?
Defendant (to her daughter). - How many times have you run away? Child - Several times, mother.
Defendant. - And why have you done so? Child - Because you threatened to give me a good hiding.
Prisoner. - I have always treated you as well as I have the rest of my children.
Mr. Long. - Then if you have done so, you must, according to what has appeared before me, have used all your children most cruelly.
Mr. Fell. - You don't beat them all with a red-hot poker, do you?
Defendant made no answer to this question.
Emma Gibson. - I live at 4, Bryanstone Place. On Saturday morning last, in consequence of something which I had heard from my brother, I went to the defendant, and asked her if she had heard anything of her child; when she said she had not, and that she should not trouble herself to look after her any more. I told her I thought she had better go to the workhouse to see if she was there, as it was such a wet night; she said she would not do anything of the sort, and she should be glad if the child was out in the wet and lying under a hedge. She told me she had given her a good beating with a stick and burnt her bottom with a poker, which she had taken red-hot from the fire. She did not consider it would have been any sin to have "put away with it" if nothing had been found out respecting it. On Sunday I went to Kew and examined the child's person, when I found upon the right side of her posteriors the marks of a burn, as if caused by a red-hot poker as described; it was as broad as three of my fingers and as long as my hand; it was very sore and inflamed, and is so at the present time. The poor child cannot yet sit without experiencing much pain.
The prisoner was brought up again on a subsequent day. She now appeared to feel acutely the position in which she was placed, and shed tears plentifully. She was committed for trial. She pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labour.
Thursday 10 October 2019
Wednesday 9 October 2019
Location, location, location
A frightful accident occurred at Ballyclare, a thriving little town in Antrim. Mr. Thornley, a resident Excise-officer, had proposed a lecture on the new and marvellous science of electro-biology, the proceeds to be devoted to the repair of the National School-house. The place selected for the exhibition was an upper room in an old unused paper-mill. It is a rambling structure, consisting of two wings joining in a right angle, and surrounded by a number of ruinous outbuildings, through which to the loft above both access and egress is exceedingly difficult. A couple of steep ladders, very hard to climb, formed the means of communication to the loft from the lower chamber, which had been used as a store, and in which old cog-wheels and other pieces of disjointed machinery were lying. The flooring rested on a single beam running longitudinally along the room, the ends of the rafters being let into the opposite wall.
A lecture upon so unknown and so mysterious sounding a subject as electro-biology naturally attracted a great audience, and near 500 persons are said to have been collected. The lecture commenced at 8 o'clock in the evening, and occupied an hour and a half, after which the lecturer proceeded to mesmerize, or entrance, some seven or eight young persons, who, at his request, came forward for the purpose.
He succeeded with a few of these, and was about to exhibit his influence over them, having removed them towards the back part of the loft, when the curiosity of the spectators in the more distant parts of the room became so much excited that they rushed from all sides in a body to the central space to obtain a better view. The greatly increased weight on the middle of the flooring proved too much for its supports, and it gave way beneath their feet, opening downwards in a fearful chasm, into which upwards of 300 persons, men, women, and children, were precipitated.
The scene which ensued may be more easily imagined than described. Those who had occupied seats on the back portion of the loft, of which the flooring had not given way, were uninjured; but nearly all who stood, at the moment of the accident, on that portion which occupied the angle between the two wings, a square of 30 feet, were thrown, with the planks of the flooring, and the dislodged stonework of the dilapidated walls, into the area beneath, among the pieces of machinery which were stored there.
The shrieks of the suffering multitude, the noise of the falling timbers, the clouds of choking dust, which instantly arose, the rush and frantic struggle for escape, formed a dreadful scene.
The accident was occasioned by the breaking of the beam exactly in the centre, so that when it gave way, the flooring shelved downwards from both sides, sliding, as it were, those who stood upon it into the store below. In some places the planks prized up the brickwork into which they were inserted, and in one spot a considerable mass of stone and brick work was detached, which, falling upon the living heap below, caused the most fatal of the injuries which were received.
When the unfortunates who had suffered from the accident were extricated from the ruins, it was found that three were dead; 20 persons had their limbs fractured more or less seriously, of whom three died in a few days, and about 40 others were severely injured.
A lecture upon so unknown and so mysterious sounding a subject as electro-biology naturally attracted a great audience, and near 500 persons are said to have been collected. The lecture commenced at 8 o'clock in the evening, and occupied an hour and a half, after which the lecturer proceeded to mesmerize, or entrance, some seven or eight young persons, who, at his request, came forward for the purpose.
He succeeded with a few of these, and was about to exhibit his influence over them, having removed them towards the back part of the loft, when the curiosity of the spectators in the more distant parts of the room became so much excited that they rushed from all sides in a body to the central space to obtain a better view. The greatly increased weight on the middle of the flooring proved too much for its supports, and it gave way beneath their feet, opening downwards in a fearful chasm, into which upwards of 300 persons, men, women, and children, were precipitated.
The scene which ensued may be more easily imagined than described. Those who had occupied seats on the back portion of the loft, of which the flooring had not given way, were uninjured; but nearly all who stood, at the moment of the accident, on that portion which occupied the angle between the two wings, a square of 30 feet, were thrown, with the planks of the flooring, and the dislodged stonework of the dilapidated walls, into the area beneath, among the pieces of machinery which were stored there.
The shrieks of the suffering multitude, the noise of the falling timbers, the clouds of choking dust, which instantly arose, the rush and frantic struggle for escape, formed a dreadful scene.
The accident was occasioned by the breaking of the beam exactly in the centre, so that when it gave way, the flooring shelved downwards from both sides, sliding, as it were, those who stood upon it into the store below. In some places the planks prized up the brickwork into which they were inserted, and in one spot a considerable mass of stone and brick work was detached, which, falling upon the living heap below, caused the most fatal of the injuries which were received.
When the unfortunates who had suffered from the accident were extricated from the ruins, it was found that three were dead; 20 persons had their limbs fractured more or less seriously, of whom three died in a few days, and about 40 others were severely injured.
Monday 7 October 2019
Extraordinary case of cruelty to a servant
A case of alleged cruelty to a servant girl, which excited as general and as great indignation as the celebrated case of Mrs. Brownrigg came before the sitting alderman at Guildhall, and was resumed at repeated examinations.
Mr. George Sloane, an eminent special-pleader, residing with his wife at chambers in Pump Court, Temple, was charged with starving and cruelly beating Jane Wilbred, a girl in his service as maid of all work.
Underneath Mr. Sloane's chambers are those of Mr. Phillimore and Mr. Fry. The laundress and clerk of Mr. Phillimore had for some months noticed that the girl Wilbred was becoming miserably emaciated, and that she bore the marks of violence on her person; they had questioned her, and she had unwillingly confessed that she was nearly dead from starvation and ill usage. On their information, Mr. Phillimore and Mr. Fry sought an interview with Mr. Sloane, and insisted on obtaining the custody of the girl; and after some demur he yielded her up (Tuesday). She ate some food ravenously, and was made ill by it; she was then taken home by the laundress, and a doctor was called in, and on his report of her dangerous condition she was sent to the Royal Free Hospital. It was not until the following Saturday that she had so far rallied that she could be safely removed to the Guildhall for examination.
Mrs. Bell stated that she remembered the appearance of Jane Wilbred to have been healthy and plump eighteen months since; she was a comely girl, with some colour.
Mr. Marsden, surgeon of the Royal Free Hospital, described her appearance on Monday week. The pulse was scarcely perceptible, the extremities very cold and livid, the respiration feeble, and she was almost unable to speak. There was no disease; the appearances resulted entirely from want of food, and this must have been the case for many months. There were marks of violence about her neck and shoulders; but they had not been inflicted by anything hard, such as a stick, for if that had been used the bones must have been broken, as there was nothing to interpose between the skin and bone. He was quite satisfied that but for the interference of Mr. Fry and Mr. Phillimore she must have died: she could not have existed in that state many days longer. "I have been," he said, "in the constant habit, during the last twenty years, of seeing cases of extreme distress, in many of which the persons have died in a few hours after their admission into the hospital; but I never saw a case at all approaching the appearance presented by that girl. I could not have believed a person could be so reduced and live. She was certainly the most perfect living skeleton I had ever seen in the course of my life." Under treatment, she was slowly rallying.
The girl was now carried into the court in an easy chair. Her appearance excited a horror that found vent in groans and involuntary exclamations. As far as it was possible to judge, in her wasted and famished condition, she was a mild and good-looking girl. She was placed on an easy chair, and supported by pillows; but it was almost impossible to perceive that she was living, save by the motion of her eyes and lips. Placed beside the Alderman, her voice was inaudible to any person but himself: he questioned her aloud, held his ear close to her mouth, and catching her replies repeated them aloud. She said :- "I am going on for eighteen. I recollect being in the West London Union. On the 19th of July, going on for two years ago, I left it to go to Mr. Sloane's. I never received any wages. I did all the work. I had none of the cooking to do. I had to clean the offices, make the beds, run of errands, and also to wash the clothes belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Sloane, and those of a young lady living with Mr. Sloane, as well as my own. I had only one bed to make, for the young lady used to take a sofa into one of the sitting-rooms, and sleep there. I had my bedroom. It was a little room between the young lady's and that of Mr. Sloane. I had to sleep on a mattress placed on a bedstead. There were clothes upon it. At first they treated me pretty well, but after three months they took away the pillow, and I had to use my own clothes instead. At first I had a blanket, counterpane, and sheet; but they took away the blanket, and I had only the sheet and counterpane. It was Mrs. Sloane did this. I used to get bread and dripping and coffee for breakfast, and meat and potatoes for dinner, and also tea and bread and butter in the evening. That was only at first. A few months afterwards they gave me only a little bit of bread and mustard for breakfast, with coffee and caraway seeds. It was often 11, 12, and sometimes 1 o'clock in the day before I got even that. I had for my dinner only a little bread and broth, with a quantity of mustard in it. When there was not mustard, they gave pepper in such quantities that it used to burn my mouth. The last time I had meat was about a month before Mr. Phillimore saw me. It was generally 6 or 7 o'clock in the evening before ever I got any dinner. I used then to have for tea a little bread and pepper or mustard, but they would not allow me anything to drink with it. I was not even allowed to take any water. I could not get at it without Mrs. Sloane seeing me, and she would beat me if I attempted it. Mrs. Sloane used often to beat me. I was beaten besides that, because, when Mrs. Sloane had gone out and boiled some meat for her cat, when the meat was boiled and the cat had the meat, the water it was boiled in was put in a basin, and she accused me of drinking a little of the water. I said I had not, but she beat me very much for it. Mr. Sloane was often present when I was beaten. My mistress (Mrs. Sloane) said once to me that I must eat some of my own dirt (excrement). I said I would not, and was determined not to do so. She called Mr. Sloane, and he came and held me while she forced some of the dirt down my throat. (The whole of the persons assembled in court here burst into a loud and long-continued yell of indignation against the defendant.)
The witness continued :- Mr. Sloane beat me the first thing in the morning. I did not complain, because I thought I could not get any more from them than what they gave me. The young lady used to cook for Mr. and Mrs. Sloane. They used to have sometimes roast, and at other times boiled beef. I used to wait at table, though they did not give me anything to eat then.
Mr. Clarkson, who appeared for Mr. Sloane, put a question by way of cross-examination, but the poor girl was so utterly exhausted that she appeared to fall asleep, and become perfectly unconscious; and Dr. Marsden rose and said, "The cross-examination must be instantly discontinued, as in the present condition of the girl she cannot possibly sustain it any longer." Mr. Clarkson, therefore, forebore; and Mr. Sloane was bound over to appear.
In consequence of these revelations a warrant was issued for the apprehension of Mrs. Sloane, who, however, evaded capture by flight, her friends asserting that it was merely to avoid confinement, and that she would reappear to take her trial.
On the re-examination, on the 20th instant, Jane Wilbred was again brought forward. She had now overpassed the danger of her extreme weakness, and had gained 7lbs. in weight. Her evidence gave further details of the cruel and disgusting treatment she had received. She said - Mr. Sloane often beat me; sometimes in the morning early and sometimes in the daytime. Mrs. Sloane used to beat me because I wore my shift sleeves over my arms and shoulders in the morning; and when I cried, Mr. Sloane used to beat me for crying. My mistress would not let me wear my shift on my shoulders and neck in the morning, and because I wore it to keep me warm, she used to beat me on my back with a shoe. She would not let me wear anything on my neck, or any part of my body above the waist; so that, from the waist upwards, I was obliged to go about the house exposed, in the presence of Mr. Sloane and the young lady. Her name is Louisa Devaux. My mistress wanted me to do the work of a morning in that naked state, but I could not bear the cold, as it was in the winter time. I never went to church on Sundays, nor any place of worship. My master and mistress, and Miss Devaux, never went to church. There was always meat cooked on Sundays for Mr. and Mrs. Sloane, but I had none of it. It was several months after I first went in July that I was treated badly. At first I was allowed to wear all my clothes; but, as the winter came on, my mistress compelled me to go about the house with only my shift and gown tied round my waist by a petticoat. Mr. Sloane often beat me on the hands, arms, and back with a shoe, sometimes while I was having breakfast and some times after. At that time I had not as much as I could eat. I had meat sometimes three times a week. When my mistress could not make me eat my own dirt, my master beat me until he made me do it. (Great sensation, and long- continued hisses were levelled at the defendant, who sat immoveable in his chair, as if he was not at all concerned.) There was no water closet of any kind in the chambers belonging to Mr. Sloane. There was only one chamber utensil for the use of Mrs. Sloane, Miss Devaux, and myself, which was kept in a pan under the kitchen table. I was only allowed to use it once a day. I sometimes used it at night, and when she found it out in the morning she told me she would make me eat the contents. I was generally locked in my bedroom all night, so that I should not use the chamber utensil. When she told me she would make me eat the contents she used to try and do so. (The witness here added a statement so disgusting, that it is proper to omit it.) He beat me on that occasion with a shoe, because I refused to do as my mistress wanted, and he beat me again after it. This only happened once in Mr. Sloane's presence, and that was about a fortnight before I was taken from his house. Miss Devaux was present when they made me eat my own dirt.
At the conclusion of the examination Mr. Sloane was liberated on increased bail. When he left the court he was recognised. It was soon passed from one to another until a mob collected round him so dense that he was quite unable to escape. Mud was heaped upon him from all sides, and his ears were greeted with indignant yells. One of the mob knocked his hat over his eyes, and it was not until he was dragged and pulled about in a very rough manner that he was able to get away from them, when he ran towards the Post Office, with the mob in full chase after him, yelling and hooting at his heels at every step, until he met a policeman, who took him under his protection, and put him into a cab; but at the Temple he found a mob awaiting his arrival, and he did not get clear of his pursuers, who continued howling and yelling, until the cab had passed over Waterloo Bridge.
Mr. Sloane was again brought up for re-examination on the 27th instant. The indignation of the mob had now been raised to the highest pitch. A dense crowd awaited his approach, around the doors of the police-court, and saluted with yells every vehicle which approached - the cab which contained Jane Wil bred herself was thus greeted by the indiscriminating populace, but when it was discovered who was within she was greeted with "loud cheers." The learned counsel for Mr. Sloane was so roughly received that he was glad to escape to the magistrate's private room. When the accused entered the court he was loudly hissed; he took his seat with his back to the people, and hung his head, maintaining throughout a sullen demeanour, and appeared for the first time to feel the position in which he was placed.
The evidence was chiefly confirmatory of the emaciated and dirty condition in which the poor girl was found to be when removed to the hospital. She was weighed on the 12th (i.e. after nine days of careful attention and diet), and then weighed no more than 59 1/2 lbs.; on the 19th her weight had increased 7 1/4 lbs., and on the 26th 6 3/4 lbs. more. Her face had lost the sickly and cadaverous hue, which gave her the appearance of a woman of 30 years, bordering on death, and she seemed a nice- looking girl of fifteen. She related further instances of ill treatment.
Mr. Sloane was now committed to the Compter; but his conveyance thither was attended with no small difficulty and danger. A cab was drawn up close to the door, but as he rushed to enter it the cordon of police officers was broken through, and the offender was well nigh torn to pieces by the exasperated mob. On the road the windows of the cab were smashed in, and mud, spittle, and all kinds of filth were showered upon him through both windows. The gaoler, who sat inside, and the police officers, who rode on the box and steps, by way of screen, received more than a share of these favours; the cab, also, was much injured by the weightier missiles.
Mr. Sloane was finally committed for trial on the 30th; and admitted to bail in two sureties of 250l. each, and his own recognizance of 500l.
Mrs. Sloane, who had taken refuge at Boulogne under a feigned name, was driven thence by the French police for that infringement of the police law, and was arrested on her landing at Folkestone.
The accused were put on their trial at the Central Criminal Court, on the 5th February, 1851. The indictment consisted of a great number of counts, of which the two first were founded on the common law, which imposes on the masters of servants of tender years the duty of providing them with proper sustenance and nourishment; and charged that the prisoners, in breach of that duty, had omitted and refused to provide Jane Wilbred, being their servant and of tender years, with such proper sustenance and nourishment, and also that they had prevented her from obtaining such food and nourishment: the six following counts charged several assaults committed on Jane Wilbred; the ninth, tenth and eleventh counts were framed to meet the possible case that Mrs. Sloane was not in fact the wife of the male prisoner. As to these last, there was no doubt that the parties were married, and they were withdrawn. As to the counts charging assaults, the prisoners pleaded guilty; as to the two first, not guilty.
It was objected, on behalf of the prisoners, that these counts were not legally sustainable, and after argument, it was held by Mr. Justice Coleridge that the objection was well-founded - that a female of 16 years of age could not be held to be of tender years in the sense that she was unable to protect herself, in respect of obtaining protection and relief, from the treatment which was complained of at the hands of the defendants. The arguments of the counsel for the Crown would apply equally to a person of 30 years of age.
The jury therefore gave a verdict of "Not Guilty" as to these counts.
The prisoners were then brought up for judgment, and the learned Judge, commenting in severe terms on the heinousness of the offence, aggravated by the position in life of the offenders, sentenced them to be severally imprisoned for two years.
Mr. George Sloane, an eminent special-pleader, residing with his wife at chambers in Pump Court, Temple, was charged with starving and cruelly beating Jane Wilbred, a girl in his service as maid of all work.
Underneath Mr. Sloane's chambers are those of Mr. Phillimore and Mr. Fry. The laundress and clerk of Mr. Phillimore had for some months noticed that the girl Wilbred was becoming miserably emaciated, and that she bore the marks of violence on her person; they had questioned her, and she had unwillingly confessed that she was nearly dead from starvation and ill usage. On their information, Mr. Phillimore and Mr. Fry sought an interview with Mr. Sloane, and insisted on obtaining the custody of the girl; and after some demur he yielded her up (Tuesday). She ate some food ravenously, and was made ill by it; she was then taken home by the laundress, and a doctor was called in, and on his report of her dangerous condition she was sent to the Royal Free Hospital. It was not until the following Saturday that she had so far rallied that she could be safely removed to the Guildhall for examination.
Mrs. Bell stated that she remembered the appearance of Jane Wilbred to have been healthy and plump eighteen months since; she was a comely girl, with some colour.
Mr. Marsden, surgeon of the Royal Free Hospital, described her appearance on Monday week. The pulse was scarcely perceptible, the extremities very cold and livid, the respiration feeble, and she was almost unable to speak. There was no disease; the appearances resulted entirely from want of food, and this must have been the case for many months. There were marks of violence about her neck and shoulders; but they had not been inflicted by anything hard, such as a stick, for if that had been used the bones must have been broken, as there was nothing to interpose between the skin and bone. He was quite satisfied that but for the interference of Mr. Fry and Mr. Phillimore she must have died: she could not have existed in that state many days longer. "I have been," he said, "in the constant habit, during the last twenty years, of seeing cases of extreme distress, in many of which the persons have died in a few hours after their admission into the hospital; but I never saw a case at all approaching the appearance presented by that girl. I could not have believed a person could be so reduced and live. She was certainly the most perfect living skeleton I had ever seen in the course of my life." Under treatment, she was slowly rallying.
The girl was now carried into the court in an easy chair. Her appearance excited a horror that found vent in groans and involuntary exclamations. As far as it was possible to judge, in her wasted and famished condition, she was a mild and good-looking girl. She was placed on an easy chair, and supported by pillows; but it was almost impossible to perceive that she was living, save by the motion of her eyes and lips. Placed beside the Alderman, her voice was inaudible to any person but himself: he questioned her aloud, held his ear close to her mouth, and catching her replies repeated them aloud. She said :- "I am going on for eighteen. I recollect being in the West London Union. On the 19th of July, going on for two years ago, I left it to go to Mr. Sloane's. I never received any wages. I did all the work. I had none of the cooking to do. I had to clean the offices, make the beds, run of errands, and also to wash the clothes belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Sloane, and those of a young lady living with Mr. Sloane, as well as my own. I had only one bed to make, for the young lady used to take a sofa into one of the sitting-rooms, and sleep there. I had my bedroom. It was a little room between the young lady's and that of Mr. Sloane. I had to sleep on a mattress placed on a bedstead. There were clothes upon it. At first they treated me pretty well, but after three months they took away the pillow, and I had to use my own clothes instead. At first I had a blanket, counterpane, and sheet; but they took away the blanket, and I had only the sheet and counterpane. It was Mrs. Sloane did this. I used to get bread and dripping and coffee for breakfast, and meat and potatoes for dinner, and also tea and bread and butter in the evening. That was only at first. A few months afterwards they gave me only a little bit of bread and mustard for breakfast, with coffee and caraway seeds. It was often 11, 12, and sometimes 1 o'clock in the day before I got even that. I had for my dinner only a little bread and broth, with a quantity of mustard in it. When there was not mustard, they gave pepper in such quantities that it used to burn my mouth. The last time I had meat was about a month before Mr. Phillimore saw me. It was generally 6 or 7 o'clock in the evening before ever I got any dinner. I used then to have for tea a little bread and pepper or mustard, but they would not allow me anything to drink with it. I was not even allowed to take any water. I could not get at it without Mrs. Sloane seeing me, and she would beat me if I attempted it. Mrs. Sloane used often to beat me. I was beaten besides that, because, when Mrs. Sloane had gone out and boiled some meat for her cat, when the meat was boiled and the cat had the meat, the water it was boiled in was put in a basin, and she accused me of drinking a little of the water. I said I had not, but she beat me very much for it. Mr. Sloane was often present when I was beaten. My mistress (Mrs. Sloane) said once to me that I must eat some of my own dirt (excrement). I said I would not, and was determined not to do so. She called Mr. Sloane, and he came and held me while she forced some of the dirt down my throat. (The whole of the persons assembled in court here burst into a loud and long-continued yell of indignation against the defendant.)
The witness continued :- Mr. Sloane beat me the first thing in the morning. I did not complain, because I thought I could not get any more from them than what they gave me. The young lady used to cook for Mr. and Mrs. Sloane. They used to have sometimes roast, and at other times boiled beef. I used to wait at table, though they did not give me anything to eat then.
Mr. Clarkson, who appeared for Mr. Sloane, put a question by way of cross-examination, but the poor girl was so utterly exhausted that she appeared to fall asleep, and become perfectly unconscious; and Dr. Marsden rose and said, "The cross-examination must be instantly discontinued, as in the present condition of the girl she cannot possibly sustain it any longer." Mr. Clarkson, therefore, forebore; and Mr. Sloane was bound over to appear.
In consequence of these revelations a warrant was issued for the apprehension of Mrs. Sloane, who, however, evaded capture by flight, her friends asserting that it was merely to avoid confinement, and that she would reappear to take her trial.
On the re-examination, on the 20th instant, Jane Wilbred was again brought forward. She had now overpassed the danger of her extreme weakness, and had gained 7lbs. in weight. Her evidence gave further details of the cruel and disgusting treatment she had received. She said - Mr. Sloane often beat me; sometimes in the morning early and sometimes in the daytime. Mrs. Sloane used to beat me because I wore my shift sleeves over my arms and shoulders in the morning; and when I cried, Mr. Sloane used to beat me for crying. My mistress would not let me wear my shift on my shoulders and neck in the morning, and because I wore it to keep me warm, she used to beat me on my back with a shoe. She would not let me wear anything on my neck, or any part of my body above the waist; so that, from the waist upwards, I was obliged to go about the house exposed, in the presence of Mr. Sloane and the young lady. Her name is Louisa Devaux. My mistress wanted me to do the work of a morning in that naked state, but I could not bear the cold, as it was in the winter time. I never went to church on Sundays, nor any place of worship. My master and mistress, and Miss Devaux, never went to church. There was always meat cooked on Sundays for Mr. and Mrs. Sloane, but I had none of it. It was several months after I first went in July that I was treated badly. At first I was allowed to wear all my clothes; but, as the winter came on, my mistress compelled me to go about the house with only my shift and gown tied round my waist by a petticoat. Mr. Sloane often beat me on the hands, arms, and back with a shoe, sometimes while I was having breakfast and some times after. At that time I had not as much as I could eat. I had meat sometimes three times a week. When my mistress could not make me eat my own dirt, my master beat me until he made me do it. (Great sensation, and long- continued hisses were levelled at the defendant, who sat immoveable in his chair, as if he was not at all concerned.) There was no water closet of any kind in the chambers belonging to Mr. Sloane. There was only one chamber utensil for the use of Mrs. Sloane, Miss Devaux, and myself, which was kept in a pan under the kitchen table. I was only allowed to use it once a day. I sometimes used it at night, and when she found it out in the morning she told me she would make me eat the contents. I was generally locked in my bedroom all night, so that I should not use the chamber utensil. When she told me she would make me eat the contents she used to try and do so. (The witness here added a statement so disgusting, that it is proper to omit it.) He beat me on that occasion with a shoe, because I refused to do as my mistress wanted, and he beat me again after it. This only happened once in Mr. Sloane's presence, and that was about a fortnight before I was taken from his house. Miss Devaux was present when they made me eat my own dirt.
At the conclusion of the examination Mr. Sloane was liberated on increased bail. When he left the court he was recognised. It was soon passed from one to another until a mob collected round him so dense that he was quite unable to escape. Mud was heaped upon him from all sides, and his ears were greeted with indignant yells. One of the mob knocked his hat over his eyes, and it was not until he was dragged and pulled about in a very rough manner that he was able to get away from them, when he ran towards the Post Office, with the mob in full chase after him, yelling and hooting at his heels at every step, until he met a policeman, who took him under his protection, and put him into a cab; but at the Temple he found a mob awaiting his arrival, and he did not get clear of his pursuers, who continued howling and yelling, until the cab had passed over Waterloo Bridge.
Mr. Sloane was again brought up for re-examination on the 27th instant. The indignation of the mob had now been raised to the highest pitch. A dense crowd awaited his approach, around the doors of the police-court, and saluted with yells every vehicle which approached - the cab which contained Jane Wil bred herself was thus greeted by the indiscriminating populace, but when it was discovered who was within she was greeted with "loud cheers." The learned counsel for Mr. Sloane was so roughly received that he was glad to escape to the magistrate's private room. When the accused entered the court he was loudly hissed; he took his seat with his back to the people, and hung his head, maintaining throughout a sullen demeanour, and appeared for the first time to feel the position in which he was placed.
The evidence was chiefly confirmatory of the emaciated and dirty condition in which the poor girl was found to be when removed to the hospital. She was weighed on the 12th (i.e. after nine days of careful attention and diet), and then weighed no more than 59 1/2 lbs.; on the 19th her weight had increased 7 1/4 lbs., and on the 26th 6 3/4 lbs. more. Her face had lost the sickly and cadaverous hue, which gave her the appearance of a woman of 30 years, bordering on death, and she seemed a nice- looking girl of fifteen. She related further instances of ill treatment.
Mr. Sloane was now committed to the Compter; but his conveyance thither was attended with no small difficulty and danger. A cab was drawn up close to the door, but as he rushed to enter it the cordon of police officers was broken through, and the offender was well nigh torn to pieces by the exasperated mob. On the road the windows of the cab were smashed in, and mud, spittle, and all kinds of filth were showered upon him through both windows. The gaoler, who sat inside, and the police officers, who rode on the box and steps, by way of screen, received more than a share of these favours; the cab, also, was much injured by the weightier missiles.
Mr. Sloane was finally committed for trial on the 30th; and admitted to bail in two sureties of 250l. each, and his own recognizance of 500l.
Mrs. Sloane, who had taken refuge at Boulogne under a feigned name, was driven thence by the French police for that infringement of the police law, and was arrested on her landing at Folkestone.
The accused were put on their trial at the Central Criminal Court, on the 5th February, 1851. The indictment consisted of a great number of counts, of which the two first were founded on the common law, which imposes on the masters of servants of tender years the duty of providing them with proper sustenance and nourishment; and charged that the prisoners, in breach of that duty, had omitted and refused to provide Jane Wilbred, being their servant and of tender years, with such proper sustenance and nourishment, and also that they had prevented her from obtaining such food and nourishment: the six following counts charged several assaults committed on Jane Wilbred; the ninth, tenth and eleventh counts were framed to meet the possible case that Mrs. Sloane was not in fact the wife of the male prisoner. As to these last, there was no doubt that the parties were married, and they were withdrawn. As to the counts charging assaults, the prisoners pleaded guilty; as to the two first, not guilty.
It was objected, on behalf of the prisoners, that these counts were not legally sustainable, and after argument, it was held by Mr. Justice Coleridge that the objection was well-founded - that a female of 16 years of age could not be held to be of tender years in the sense that she was unable to protect herself, in respect of obtaining protection and relief, from the treatment which was complained of at the hands of the defendants. The arguments of the counsel for the Crown would apply equally to a person of 30 years of age.
The jury therefore gave a verdict of "Not Guilty" as to these counts.
The prisoners were then brought up for judgment, and the learned Judge, commenting in severe terms on the heinousness of the offence, aggravated by the position in life of the offenders, sentenced them to be severally imprisoned for two years.
Friday 4 October 2019
Never assume
A fatal accident occurred to Mr. Lowndes, Judge of the Liverpool County Court. As the Seacombe steamer neared the landing-stage, at 10 o'clock at night, for the purpose of landing her passengers, a gentleman was observed to step towards the gangway, imagining, apparently, that the usual bar was stretched across the gap in the bulwark. He fell into the water and was carried away by the tide, which here runs with great rapidity. Observing the danger of his father, Mr Lowndes, jun., instantly plunged into the river in a brave but unhappily futile attempt to save his father's life. Intense anxiety prevailed on board amidst the darkness, but boats immediately put off from the landing-stage, and, after some time, succeeded in picking up the son; but Mr. Lowndes, sen., was lost.
Wednesday 2 October 2019
An act of ignorance
An inquest was held at the Globe Tavern, London Street, Tottenham Court Road, on the body of Ann Pullen, aged 14 years, alleged to have been murdered by her mother, Jane Pullen, a widow, with whom she resided, at No. 3, Princes Street, Fitzroy Square. Jane Pullen, the accused, was brought into court, and, in answer to the coroner, said - “My name is Jane Pullen. I live in the second floor back-room of No. 3, Princes Street, and am a widow. My husband was a sailor. The deceased was my daughter. I saw her last alive about half-past 11 on Friday morning. I left her in the room, and locked her in. I did not return home till half-past 10 the same night. I had fastened her with a cord to the bed-post in the morning. When I returned home I found the door still locked. On opening it, all was dark and quiet. I called to my daughter, but she made no answer. I then went to where I had fastened her. I found her dead, and I cut her down.”
Coroner(interrupting). - “Don't say anything further about it. It now becomes my duty to inform you that you are to consider yourself in custody. You can make any statement you please after the evidence, but it will be taken down against you.”
Mr. Joseph Layman examined. - “I am landlord of the house, No. 3, Princes Street, Fitzroy Square. The accused and her daughter occupied the second floor back room, and they had had for about three weeks a young woman, a servant out of place, staying with them. She went out on Thursday morning, and did not return till Saturday night. About 11 o'clock, on Friday night last, I had retired to rest, when the accused knocked at my room door and said, “Get up," and on my doing so she said, “Ann is dead, what shall I do - what shall I do?" - She had then a light, and having put on my clothes, I went upstairs with her to her room. I saw the deceased lying on the floor quite dead, and a rope lying on the bed. I said, “We had better send for a doctor:' to which she replied, “What is the use of a doctor, as she is dead?' I then felt for the pulse, but it had ceased to beat, and the body was cold. I, however, thought it right to go for a surgeon.”
The Coroner. - “Now state to the jury all that transpired between you and the woman Pullen."
Witness. "I said to her,’ ‘This is a very serious case, and there must be an inquest.' She replied, “Something must be done, for I did it.' She then said, “I left her in the morning with directions to mend some of her things, and she had been kept at home that day for the purpose from her work. I went out early in the morning, and when I returned at 11 o'clock she had done nothing. I told her she should have nothing but dry bread, and, in order to prevent her sitting down, I put the rope round her neck, and made it fast to the bedpost to prevent her sitting down,”
The Coroner. - “Now be particular, and state if she told you how she tied deceased.”
Witness. - “She said she tied her neck, and then passed the rope round the headpost of the bedstead (a French one), and then passed the ends of it round the foot, in order to prevent her untying it, so that the end of the rope was out of her reach. She said she put the rope round and round the deceased's neck, and then coiled it under the knob of the bedpost. The accused then went on to say to witness, that when she found deceased she was leaning forward in a bending position, close to the bed, but a little on one side. She said she tied the rope slack, but not slack enough for the deceased to get the rope over her chin. On the following day, I said to her that I could not understand how she had tied the rope, and she again said she had made both ends fast at the foot of the bedpost."
The rope, which is such as is used for a thick clothes-line, was here produced, and the witness expressed his belief that it was the same he saw on the bed, and which had been used.
The jury returned a verdict of “Manslaughter" against the mother.
The prisoner was tried for manslaughter on the 20th of December, and found guilty; the learned judge commented in suitable terms on the barbarity of her conduct; but thinking it more an act of ignorance than of wilful cruelty, sentenced her to imprisonment and hard labour for a year.
Coroner(interrupting). - “Don't say anything further about it. It now becomes my duty to inform you that you are to consider yourself in custody. You can make any statement you please after the evidence, but it will be taken down against you.”
Mr. Joseph Layman examined. - “I am landlord of the house, No. 3, Princes Street, Fitzroy Square. The accused and her daughter occupied the second floor back room, and they had had for about three weeks a young woman, a servant out of place, staying with them. She went out on Thursday morning, and did not return till Saturday night. About 11 o'clock, on Friday night last, I had retired to rest, when the accused knocked at my room door and said, “Get up," and on my doing so she said, “Ann is dead, what shall I do - what shall I do?" - She had then a light, and having put on my clothes, I went upstairs with her to her room. I saw the deceased lying on the floor quite dead, and a rope lying on the bed. I said, “We had better send for a doctor:' to which she replied, “What is the use of a doctor, as she is dead?' I then felt for the pulse, but it had ceased to beat, and the body was cold. I, however, thought it right to go for a surgeon.”
The Coroner. - “Now state to the jury all that transpired between you and the woman Pullen."
Witness. "I said to her,’ ‘This is a very serious case, and there must be an inquest.' She replied, “Something must be done, for I did it.' She then said, “I left her in the morning with directions to mend some of her things, and she had been kept at home that day for the purpose from her work. I went out early in the morning, and when I returned at 11 o'clock she had done nothing. I told her she should have nothing but dry bread, and, in order to prevent her sitting down, I put the rope round her neck, and made it fast to the bedpost to prevent her sitting down,”
The Coroner. - “Now be particular, and state if she told you how she tied deceased.”
Witness. - “She said she tied her neck, and then passed the rope round the headpost of the bedstead (a French one), and then passed the ends of it round the foot, in order to prevent her untying it, so that the end of the rope was out of her reach. She said she put the rope round and round the deceased's neck, and then coiled it under the knob of the bedpost. The accused then went on to say to witness, that when she found deceased she was leaning forward in a bending position, close to the bed, but a little on one side. She said she tied the rope slack, but not slack enough for the deceased to get the rope over her chin. On the following day, I said to her that I could not understand how she had tied the rope, and she again said she had made both ends fast at the foot of the bedpost."
The rope, which is such as is used for a thick clothes-line, was here produced, and the witness expressed his belief that it was the same he saw on the bed, and which had been used.
The jury returned a verdict of “Manslaughter" against the mother.
The prisoner was tried for manslaughter on the 20th of December, and found guilty; the learned judge commented in suitable terms on the barbarity of her conduct; but thinking it more an act of ignorance than of wilful cruelty, sentenced her to imprisonment and hard labour for a year.
Clear cut?
A very terrible murder was committed at St. Leonard's, Hastings, at the residence of Miss M. A. C. Moore, Catharine Villa. Miss Moore, Dr. Moore, her brother, and all the servants, except the cook, left the villa in their carriage, as was usual, for the purpose of attending Divine service at Hastings.
The cook, Mary Ann Newman, who was 50 years of age, and had been a servant in the family 27 years, was the only person connected with the establishment who was left in the house. On returning from church, Dr. Moore, his sister, and the servants were unable to obtain admission; and on the footman entering through a window, and opening the front door, the house was found to have been ransacked; property, consisting of jewellery, watches, &c., of the value of 150l., was missed; and the cook was found in a passage weltering in her blood, her skull having been driven in by repeated blows of a spade standing near. Life was not quite extinct, and the unfortunate woman lingered till Tuesday, when she died.
Inquiries were immediately instituted by the police for the discovery of the murderer, but nothing was found to point out the perpetrator; after the lapse of some days it was ascertained that a man named Pierson, who had formerly been coachman in the family had, at about half-past 12 o'clock on the morning of the murder, called at a public-house, known as the Victoria, at Hollington, about two miles off, on the road to Battle Abbey. He here asked for a drink of water, stating that he was “hard up." This was given to him, and he then went towards Hastings, and asked for more water at the turn pike-gate, a quarter of a mile nearer Hastings.
This led to a minute search in the neighbourhood, and some foot-tracks were discovered exactly corresponding with his shoes. One of his shoes had on the toe an iron “tip,” broken in a peculiar manner, and a corresponding peculiarity was found in the foot-tracks. Pursuing these tracks, the searchers came to the leaves of a “shaw," a provincial expression denoting a narrow slip of coppice running like a hedge-row from the road between two fields, about 40 yards from the Victoria public house.
Here the tracks were lost; but in this shaw, on Friday morning, James Ashdown, a farm labourer, observed an ash “teller," from which the bark had been gnawed by teeth in a place nearly as large as the palm of the hand; and, conjecturing that the mark had been made as a guide to the place where plunder had been deposited, he pulled away the leaves and rubbish, and discovered just beneath the surface the whole of the property known to have been stolen, and likewise various articles, the property of Miss Moore, but which had not been missed. The whole of this property was tied in a handkerchief, which was identified as the property of the prisoner. Pierson was immediately apprehended.
He was tried at the spring assizes and acquitted.
The cook, Mary Ann Newman, who was 50 years of age, and had been a servant in the family 27 years, was the only person connected with the establishment who was left in the house. On returning from church, Dr. Moore, his sister, and the servants were unable to obtain admission; and on the footman entering through a window, and opening the front door, the house was found to have been ransacked; property, consisting of jewellery, watches, &c., of the value of 150l., was missed; and the cook was found in a passage weltering in her blood, her skull having been driven in by repeated blows of a spade standing near. Life was not quite extinct, and the unfortunate woman lingered till Tuesday, when she died.
Inquiries were immediately instituted by the police for the discovery of the murderer, but nothing was found to point out the perpetrator; after the lapse of some days it was ascertained that a man named Pierson, who had formerly been coachman in the family had, at about half-past 12 o'clock on the morning of the murder, called at a public-house, known as the Victoria, at Hollington, about two miles off, on the road to Battle Abbey. He here asked for a drink of water, stating that he was “hard up." This was given to him, and he then went towards Hastings, and asked for more water at the turn pike-gate, a quarter of a mile nearer Hastings.
This led to a minute search in the neighbourhood, and some foot-tracks were discovered exactly corresponding with his shoes. One of his shoes had on the toe an iron “tip,” broken in a peculiar manner, and a corresponding peculiarity was found in the foot-tracks. Pursuing these tracks, the searchers came to the leaves of a “shaw," a provincial expression denoting a narrow slip of coppice running like a hedge-row from the road between two fields, about 40 yards from the Victoria public house.
Here the tracks were lost; but in this shaw, on Friday morning, James Ashdown, a farm labourer, observed an ash “teller," from which the bark had been gnawed by teeth in a place nearly as large as the palm of the hand; and, conjecturing that the mark had been made as a guide to the place where plunder had been deposited, he pulled away the leaves and rubbish, and discovered just beneath the surface the whole of the property known to have been stolen, and likewise various articles, the property of Miss Moore, but which had not been missed. The whole of this property was tied in a handkerchief, which was identified as the property of the prisoner. Pierson was immediately apprehended.
He was tried at the spring assizes and acquitted.
A fall from a cliff
A young lady, from Bristol, has been killed by a fall from a cliff near Dover.
She hired a donkey at St. Margaret's, and rode along the top of the cliffs towards Dover: alighting at the Cornhill Coast Guard station, she asked one of the guard if she might safely descend to the beach, and the man told her she might by a zigzag path which he pointed out. Near this zigzag was an almost perpendicular slip used for drawing up manure. Some time after, another Coast Guard man found the young lady's corpse on the beach, immediately under the slip: it is supposed that she had mistaken the slip for the path mentioned by the guard, and had attempted to descend by it. The cliff at this spot is two hundred feet high.
She hired a donkey at St. Margaret's, and rode along the top of the cliffs towards Dover: alighting at the Cornhill Coast Guard station, she asked one of the guard if she might safely descend to the beach, and the man told her she might by a zigzag path which he pointed out. Near this zigzag was an almost perpendicular slip used for drawing up manure. Some time after, another Coast Guard man found the young lady's corpse on the beach, immediately under the slip: it is supposed that she had mistaken the slip for the path mentioned by the guard, and had attempted to descend by it. The cliff at this spot is two hundred feet high.
An Explosion of a remarkeable kind
An explosion of a remarkable kind, attended by serious and fatal consequences, occurred in Albany Street, Regent's Park, about 10 o'clock at night. Soon after the shop of Mr. Loten, a dealer in Berlin wool, had been closed, a violent concussion tore the house to pieces; the ruins dashing in the windows of the shops opposite, and damaging the buildings in other directions: the remains of the house then burst into flames, and the fire raged for three hours. A servant girl was blown to the opposite side of the street; where she was found mangled and burnt, and quite dead. The only other persons in the house - Captain Loten, the brother of Mr. Loten, and Miss Burgh, the sister of Mrs. Loten - were dashed through the back part of the building; and it was found necessary to convey them to the hospital of University College. Mr. Loten's house was completely cleared away by the explosion; the houses on each side were shattered to their foundation; about a hundred more on all sides, but chiefly on the opposite side of the street, were more or less damaged, and some two thousand panes of glass broken.
The parties conveyed to the hospital having sufficiently recovered, an inquest was held on the body of the servant girl. Little could be ascertained from their evidence as to the cause of the explosion, further than that a strong smell of gas having been experienced, Captain Loten took a candle to ascertain whether there was any escape, and that upon entering the shop the explosion took place.
Dr. Arnott, having been requested by the Coroner to attend and state his opinion as to the cause of the explosion, was then sworn and said - “I am a doctor of medicine, and am author of the work entitled "The Elements of Physics", which treats upon subjects connected with the explosion of gases, to which I have directed my attention. I inspected the premises and neighbourhood of Albany Street a few hours after the occurrence, and having heard the evidence, I say that I believe an admixture of coal gas and common air capable of producing such an explosion. One measure of ordinary coal gas requires 10 measures of atmospheric air to render it in the highest degree explosive. The greatest explosion that can be attained will be effected from one part coal gas and 10 of common air. The result of such a mixture would in my opinion be to increase the volume about 15 times; that is to say, that one room containing one part of coal gas and 10 of common air would expand sufficiently to fill 15 rooms with the same mixture, and the explosion of the whole would be instantaneous. I see no reason to doubt that this catastrophe has been occasioned by an explosion of gas. Gas being much lighter than air, it ascends rapidly to the highest part of the room, and remains usually at the top of the air as oil does upon water, and the more it is mixed with atmospheric air the more explosive it becomes; and the probability is, in this instance, had Captain Loten held the candle lower there would have been no explosion. The surest remedy is to have a ventilator at the top of each room, in the chimney.”
The Coroner believed, that if the explosion had been caused by gunpowder it could not have been more terrific than in this case. Dr. Arnott said, gunpowder was nothing more than gas very much condensed; a cubic foot of the united gases, coal gas and atmospheric air, was equal to half an ounce of gunpowder. The doctor said he would not pledge himself as to the amount of expansion, as he had understood other scientific gentlemen differed with him, one declaring that it would only increase six times. The result, however, would be the same as regards explosive power.
Further evidence was then given, which showed it to be probable that, after the gas had been carefully turned off, the cock had been accidentally struck by the corner of a shutter and thus again turned on.
The jury returned a verdict amounting to “Accidental Death.”
The parties conveyed to the hospital having sufficiently recovered, an inquest was held on the body of the servant girl. Little could be ascertained from their evidence as to the cause of the explosion, further than that a strong smell of gas having been experienced, Captain Loten took a candle to ascertain whether there was any escape, and that upon entering the shop the explosion took place.
Dr. Arnott, having been requested by the Coroner to attend and state his opinion as to the cause of the explosion, was then sworn and said - “I am a doctor of medicine, and am author of the work entitled "The Elements of Physics", which treats upon subjects connected with the explosion of gases, to which I have directed my attention. I inspected the premises and neighbourhood of Albany Street a few hours after the occurrence, and having heard the evidence, I say that I believe an admixture of coal gas and common air capable of producing such an explosion. One measure of ordinary coal gas requires 10 measures of atmospheric air to render it in the highest degree explosive. The greatest explosion that can be attained will be effected from one part coal gas and 10 of common air. The result of such a mixture would in my opinion be to increase the volume about 15 times; that is to say, that one room containing one part of coal gas and 10 of common air would expand sufficiently to fill 15 rooms with the same mixture, and the explosion of the whole would be instantaneous. I see no reason to doubt that this catastrophe has been occasioned by an explosion of gas. Gas being much lighter than air, it ascends rapidly to the highest part of the room, and remains usually at the top of the air as oil does upon water, and the more it is mixed with atmospheric air the more explosive it becomes; and the probability is, in this instance, had Captain Loten held the candle lower there would have been no explosion. The surest remedy is to have a ventilator at the top of each room, in the chimney.”
The Coroner believed, that if the explosion had been caused by gunpowder it could not have been more terrific than in this case. Dr. Arnott said, gunpowder was nothing more than gas very much condensed; a cubic foot of the united gases, coal gas and atmospheric air, was equal to half an ounce of gunpowder. The doctor said he would not pledge himself as to the amount of expansion, as he had understood other scientific gentlemen differed with him, one declaring that it would only increase six times. The result, however, would be the same as regards explosive power.
Further evidence was then given, which showed it to be probable that, after the gas had been carefully turned off, the cock had been accidentally struck by the corner of a shutter and thus again turned on.
The jury returned a verdict amounting to “Accidental Death.”
Friday 27 September 2019
Poisoning of a Grandfather
William Newton Allnutt, a boy 12 years of age, was charged, at the Worship Street Police Office, with having stolen a gold watch and appendages, a gold eye-glass, and other articles of jewellery, of the value of 70 guineas, the property of his grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Nelme, widow of the late Mr. Nelme, of Grove-place, Hackney. This, however, was the least charge against the prisoner; for an inquiry before a coroner's jury into the mysterious circumstances attending the death of Mr. Nelme resulted in the committal of this depraved youth for the murder of his unfortunate grandfather.
Mr. Nelme was a retired City merchant, in his seventy-fourth year; with him and his wife resided Mrs. Allnutt, who was a daughter by a former wife, and the boy, Mrs. Allnutt's other children being at school or in the country. This lady is a widow. Some time since, ten sovereigns were missed; inquiry was made, and eventually William Allnutt confessed that he had taken them, to buy a watch; but he said that they had been stolen from him. This offence was overlooked. More recently, while the old gentleman and his grandson were walking in the gardon, a pistol was fired close to Mr. Nelme's head. The boy called out that he saw a man, who had fired it, escaping over the wall; but for some days the affair was a mystery. A pistol was found, however, in the next garden; and this weapon has been traced to the grandson, who had bought it in the Minories. Shortly after this, Mr. Nelme was taken ill, and soon died in great agony. Mrs. Nelme and Mrs. Allnutt were also attacked by sickness. Suspicion was excited; and it was found that a large quantity of arsenic had been mixed with some pounded sugar that was kept in a vase. It was surmised that William Allnutt had placed the poison there; having obtained it from a bureau in which his grandfather kept it for the purpose of poisoning rats. In consequence of these suspicious circumstances, a coroner's inquest was held on the body. A post mortem examination showed the organs in a state denoting the presence of poison; and Dr. Letheby found by chemical analysis that the poison was arsenic: there were traces of the poison in the brain, which led the doctor to believe that the victim had been swallowing it for a week or longer; while its presence in the intestines showed that a dose had been taken recently. A key of the bureau was found in a hiding-place, and the boy confessed that he had hidden it. It appears that Mr. Nelme used to eat the pounded sugar with baked apples. Mrs. Nelme stated that William was hardly twelve years old; he is a clever boy, but mischievously inclined. On the last occasion, he pounded the sugar and placed it in the vase; but the old lady stood by. He had ample opportunities of being alone in the dining-room, where the vase was kept. Mrs. Nelme's suspicion rested entirely on the boy.
Mrs. Allnutt said that when her son was very young he had fallen on a ploughshare and cut his nose severely, so that his recovery was deemed hopeless, and his health had been delicate since. She thought the boy was aware of the deadly properties of arsenic: he had asked her about it. The day before her father died, she had sweetened his gruel with sugar from the vase. She herself had some of the gruel, and was very sick in consequence. Mrs. Nelme was ill after taking arrowroot sweetened with the sugar. Her son was subject to walking and talking in his sleep; and he had complained of “hearing voices in his head.” Her husband was decidedly insane when he died, two years since. Superintendent Waller stated, that when the boy was taken into custody for theft, he said that he had been tempted to do it - a voice had said to him, “Do it, do it! you will never be found out." The Jury returned a verdict of “Wilful murder" against William Newton Allmutt, and he was committed for trial.
While in prison, the boy confessed his guilt, and was found guilty on his trial. The learned Judge said he would make a representation which would have the effect of sparing the prisoner's life; but it would only be that he might pass the rest of his days in ignominy.
Old Bailey Online.
Mr. Nelme was a retired City merchant, in his seventy-fourth year; with him and his wife resided Mrs. Allnutt, who was a daughter by a former wife, and the boy, Mrs. Allnutt's other children being at school or in the country. This lady is a widow. Some time since, ten sovereigns were missed; inquiry was made, and eventually William Allnutt confessed that he had taken them, to buy a watch; but he said that they had been stolen from him. This offence was overlooked. More recently, while the old gentleman and his grandson were walking in the gardon, a pistol was fired close to Mr. Nelme's head. The boy called out that he saw a man, who had fired it, escaping over the wall; but for some days the affair was a mystery. A pistol was found, however, in the next garden; and this weapon has been traced to the grandson, who had bought it in the Minories. Shortly after this, Mr. Nelme was taken ill, and soon died in great agony. Mrs. Nelme and Mrs. Allnutt were also attacked by sickness. Suspicion was excited; and it was found that a large quantity of arsenic had been mixed with some pounded sugar that was kept in a vase. It was surmised that William Allnutt had placed the poison there; having obtained it from a bureau in which his grandfather kept it for the purpose of poisoning rats. In consequence of these suspicious circumstances, a coroner's inquest was held on the body. A post mortem examination showed the organs in a state denoting the presence of poison; and Dr. Letheby found by chemical analysis that the poison was arsenic: there were traces of the poison in the brain, which led the doctor to believe that the victim had been swallowing it for a week or longer; while its presence in the intestines showed that a dose had been taken recently. A key of the bureau was found in a hiding-place, and the boy confessed that he had hidden it. It appears that Mr. Nelme used to eat the pounded sugar with baked apples. Mrs. Nelme stated that William was hardly twelve years old; he is a clever boy, but mischievously inclined. On the last occasion, he pounded the sugar and placed it in the vase; but the old lady stood by. He had ample opportunities of being alone in the dining-room, where the vase was kept. Mrs. Nelme's suspicion rested entirely on the boy.
Mrs. Allnutt said that when her son was very young he had fallen on a ploughshare and cut his nose severely, so that his recovery was deemed hopeless, and his health had been delicate since. She thought the boy was aware of the deadly properties of arsenic: he had asked her about it. The day before her father died, she had sweetened his gruel with sugar from the vase. She herself had some of the gruel, and was very sick in consequence. Mrs. Nelme was ill after taking arrowroot sweetened with the sugar. Her son was subject to walking and talking in his sleep; and he had complained of “hearing voices in his head.” Her husband was decidedly insane when he died, two years since. Superintendent Waller stated, that when the boy was taken into custody for theft, he said that he had been tempted to do it - a voice had said to him, “Do it, do it! you will never be found out." The Jury returned a verdict of “Wilful murder" against William Newton Allmutt, and he was committed for trial.
While in prison, the boy confessed his guilt, and was found guilty on his trial. The learned Judge said he would make a representation which would have the effect of sparing the prisoner's life; but it would only be that he might pass the rest of his days in ignominy.
Old Bailey Online.
Thursday 26 September 2019
A cautionary tale about gunpowder
An awful and almost unprecedented occurrence took place at Lissanoure Castle, near Ballymoney, county of Antrim. Mr. George Macartney, the proprietor of Lissanoure, previous to the reduction of the yeomanry force, was captain in that body, and was in the habit of storing large quantities of gunpowder in the castle, for the use of the small staff when called out to practice. Several barrels of gunpowder had been lying in the manse being most out of the way of danger, in a dark and narrow passage, leading from one wing of the castle to the other. In this passage (very little traversed at any time) some of the gunpowder had become damp, and was ordered by Mr. Macartney to be laid out to dry. Mr. Macartney, his child, and servant had quitted the room, leaving Mrs. Macartney alone therein. They had been absent but a few minutes, when they heard a dreadful explosion, -the powder had ignited, and had thrown down that portion of the building exposed to its destructive effects, burying Mrs. Macartney in the ruins. When she was extricated, life was found to be extinct. It is impossible to say how the accident originated; but it is supposed that the unfortunate lady had been sweeping about the fire, and that a spark from it had communicated with the powder. The ceilings of the rooms above, and the corresponding part of the roof, were up raised by the explosion, and the fragments scattered to a considerable distance. The walls of the old building have also been shaken, and the glass of almost every window was shattered to pieces by the violence of the concussion. Even the windows of the stables and offices, which are some perches distant from the castle, suffered equally from the effects of the explosion.
Accident at Cliffton
A dreadful accident happened at Clifton, a young lady having fallen over St. Vincent's Rocks, at the highest part. The consequence was instant death, and her body was dreadfully mangled. The young lady, Miss Martha Welsh, was, it appears, on a visit to a lady who resides at Cotham Hill Villa, West Park, and was in the habit of resorting to the Downs for air and exercise. Yesterday morning she strolled to Clifton Down, and was observed by several persons who were walking in the same direction sitting on a dangerous projection of the rocks at a short distance from the cavern known as the Giant's Cave.
An officer, named Black, was so struck with the danger of her position, that he approached her, and remonstrated with her on the subject. She thanked him, but seemed not to participate in his apprehensions, and contented her self by sitting back a little without moving from the spot. After this she was seen standing at a greater distance from the edge of the precipice, to which, however, she must have speedily returned. The mode in which the accident occurred must remain matter of conjecture, but it is probable, the grass being short, and in dry weather very slippery, that in walking she missed her footing, and slipped over from an altitude of more than 300 feet. Some men who were at work at the bottom of the rocks saw her in the act of falling, and a youth, who was playing in the Zigzag, a serpentine walk, leading from the Hotwells to the Down, states, that as she fell she stretched out her hands, and tried to grasp some ivy bushes which grow from the cliff. The effort was, however, a futile one; in another moment she struck against the rock, and in a few more she lay at the bottom of the precipice a shapeless and inanimate mass. Her remains presented a truly fearful spectacle, her skull being driven in from the front to the base, and there was scarcely a bone in her body that was not fractured. An inquest was held on the body, and an inquiry instituted as to whether there was any reason for believing that she had purposely destroyed herself. The evidence, however, negatived such a supposition, and a verdict of "Accidental Death" was returned.
An officer, named Black, was so struck with the danger of her position, that he approached her, and remonstrated with her on the subject. She thanked him, but seemed not to participate in his apprehensions, and contented her self by sitting back a little without moving from the spot. After this she was seen standing at a greater distance from the edge of the precipice, to which, however, she must have speedily returned. The mode in which the accident occurred must remain matter of conjecture, but it is probable, the grass being short, and in dry weather very slippery, that in walking she missed her footing, and slipped over from an altitude of more than 300 feet. Some men who were at work at the bottom of the rocks saw her in the act of falling, and a youth, who was playing in the Zigzag, a serpentine walk, leading from the Hotwells to the Down, states, that as she fell she stretched out her hands, and tried to grasp some ivy bushes which grow from the cliff. The effort was, however, a futile one; in another moment she struck against the rock, and in a few more she lay at the bottom of the precipice a shapeless and inanimate mass. Her remains presented a truly fearful spectacle, her skull being driven in from the front to the base, and there was scarcely a bone in her body that was not fractured. An inquest was held on the body, and an inquiry instituted as to whether there was any reason for believing that she had purposely destroyed herself. The evidence, however, negatived such a supposition, and a verdict of "Accidental Death" was returned.
Railway accidents
A return of the number and nature of the accidents, and of the injuries to life and limb, which occurred on the various railways in the United Kingdom from the first of January to the 30th of June, 1847, has been presented to the new Parliament by Her Majesty's command. It shows, in brief, that of a grand total number of 23,119,412 passengers conveyed during the said half-year on railroads in England, Scotland, and Ireland, 101 were killed and 100 more or less injured, . . Moreover, it appears, from a careful analysis of the returns, that of the 101 persons killed and 100 injured, there were 14 passengers killed and 48 wounded from causes beyond their own control; 8 killed and 3 injured owing to their own folly or incautiousness; 8 servants of companies killed and 17 injured from causes beyond their own control; 51 servants killed and 24 injured owing to want of caution or recklessness (such as leaping from engines or carriages in rapid motion, and other similar acts of temerity); 19 trespassers killed and 7 injured; and 1 person killed and another injured while crossing the railways at level crossings.
Poisionings in the Isle of Ely
Ann Barnes, an elderly woman, recently residing with her married son at Purl's Bridge, a village near Ely, has been arrested on suspicion of a wholesale poisoning of children. Barnes had been in the habit of nursing infants while their parents were engaged in field-labour. A number of these children were taken ill while in the woman's charge, and four died after great suffering.
The parents of the children exhibited the most brutal indifference, and attended the inquest in a state of intoxication.
The bodies were disinterred, and, upon examination, the fact of their deaths having been caused by arsenic was placed beyond doubt.
The parents of the children exhibited the most brutal indifference, and attended the inquest in a state of intoxication.
The bodies were disinterred, and, upon examination, the fact of their deaths having been caused by arsenic was placed beyond doubt.
Frozen to death
Two GENTI.EMEN FROZEN TO DEATH.- Two gentlemen on a pedestrian excursion in Scotland were found frozen to death on the road leading from Fort William to Kinlochbeg. Mr. Milner, of the 69th regiment, made the following statement to the sheriff. substitute :-
“About eight o'clock this morning (the 2nd of September) one of the servants told me that a drover said he had seen a dead man by the road side about two miles from Kinlochbeg. I immediately walked to the spot, and found two men lying close to one another, about three yards from the road on the low side, quite dead. There was not the slightest sign of struggling or of violence, and their appearance gave me the impression that, having sat down to rest, they became benumbed with the cold and expired. Both were dressed as if travellers, each with a small knap sack on his back. There was a small whisky pocket-flask, quite empty, lying near them. A water proof cape was lying about 400 yards from them, as if the wind had blown it from them. Last night was very stormy, very much so - wind and rain in great abundance, probably the most stormy night we have had this year.”
It appears that the two gentlemen, Mr. William Stericker, of 49, Fenchurch Street, and Mr. W. H. Whitburn, of Esher, Surrey, were strangers to each other, and had journeyed together accidentally. Each had left his home for the purpose of enjoying a pleasure excursion through the romantic scenery of Scotland, and they had been seen on the preceding night laughing with a milk girl, at no great distance from the spot at which their corpses were found. Mr. Stericker had written home on the 31st of August, to inform his friends that he felt perfect happiness in the enjoyment of the most romantic country in the world.
“About eight o'clock this morning (the 2nd of September) one of the servants told me that a drover said he had seen a dead man by the road side about two miles from Kinlochbeg. I immediately walked to the spot, and found two men lying close to one another, about three yards from the road on the low side, quite dead. There was not the slightest sign of struggling or of violence, and their appearance gave me the impression that, having sat down to rest, they became benumbed with the cold and expired. Both were dressed as if travellers, each with a small knap sack on his back. There was a small whisky pocket-flask, quite empty, lying near them. A water proof cape was lying about 400 yards from them, as if the wind had blown it from them. Last night was very stormy, very much so - wind and rain in great abundance, probably the most stormy night we have had this year.”
It appears that the two gentlemen, Mr. William Stericker, of 49, Fenchurch Street, and Mr. W. H. Whitburn, of Esher, Surrey, were strangers to each other, and had journeyed together accidentally. Each had left his home for the purpose of enjoying a pleasure excursion through the romantic scenery of Scotland, and they had been seen on the preceding night laughing with a milk girl, at no great distance from the spot at which their corpses were found. Mr. Stericker had written home on the 31st of August, to inform his friends that he felt perfect happiness in the enjoyment of the most romantic country in the world.
Dreadful Incident
DREADFUL INCIDENT.-A very painful circumstance is said to have occurred at Glasgow. On Saturday afternoon three boys - two sons of Mr. James Wilson, a builder, in Gallowgate Street, and a nephew - were missed. The family being at Helensburgh, the boys were supposed to have gone off to see them; but, not being found there, search was made without effect. On Tuesday morning a carter, who takes charge of a horse belonging to Mr. Wilson, went to the stable, attached to the wood-yard, to get some food for his horse. The provender was kept in a corn chest - a box six feet long and about three deep, with three separate compartments, and secured on the outside with an iron hasp, which fits into a staple in the side of the chest. On opening the lid, the man was horror-stricken at finding the three young boys lying motionless at the bottom of the chest, each occupying one of the compartments. He immediately summoned assistance, and they were taken out; but it was found two of them were quite dead, and had been so apparently for a considerable length of time. The youngest, a boy between seven and eight years old, son of Mr. J. Wilson, showed some signs of life, and gradually revived, so as to be able, during the day, to state in a coherent manner what had led to the melancholy catastrophe. The brothers and cousin had gone into the chest in search of beans, and while so engaged the lid closed on them. In falling, the hasp fixed into the staple, and all the united strength of the poor captives was insufficient to enable them to burst the bands. On the side at which the youngest boy was found, the lid did not fit so close as the other parts; and from the limited supply of air which had been admitted through this crevice is to be attributed his preservation.
They had endeavoured to support each other's courage as well as they could in their dismal dungeon; and, before giving up hope, one of them broke the blade of a pen knife in the attempt to make an incision through the side of the chest. After they had exhausted themselves by unavailing shouts and cries, which were not heard on earth, they all joined in prayer. This is the last circumstance which the surviving sufferer recollects, as he soon after became insensible. The wood-yard in which the stable is situate is locked up early on the Saturday afternoon, and is not again entered till Monday morning.
They had endeavoured to support each other's courage as well as they could in their dismal dungeon; and, before giving up hope, one of them broke the blade of a pen knife in the attempt to make an incision through the side of the chest. After they had exhausted themselves by unavailing shouts and cries, which were not heard on earth, they all joined in prayer. This is the last circumstance which the surviving sufferer recollects, as he soon after became insensible. The wood-yard in which the stable is situate is locked up early on the Saturday afternoon, and is not again entered till Monday morning.
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