The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-09-01 00:00:00

A SINGULAR AFFAIR

Cn Tuesday Mr. Inspector Thornton, senior inspector
of the detective police, accompanied by Frederick

Damson, a sergeant of detectives, asked Mr. Paynter, of
the Westminster Police Court, to grant them a warrant
under the following circumstances :—They stated that
they had been directed by Sir Richard Mayne to ask for
, a warrant to apprehend a person who had for a length
of time past been annoying the Princess Mary and other
members of the Royal family, believing himself to be
"the Lord Jesus Christ and God Almighty," and signing
himself as such. Of course he was mad, and had been
warned several times, but did not cease to annoy the
Princess Mary and others, and they did not consider it
safe for him to be at large, and Mr. Dayman, upon
hearing this, thought no warrant necessary, and said
they might apprehend him themselves and bring him
before any magistrate sitting there.
On Thursday the person indicated was brought in,
and his name placed on the sheet as George Alexander
Nicholls, of 47, Sutherland-street, Warwick-square.
He is a very tine, intelligent-looking man, nearly six
feet in height, and was accompanied by his brother,
who bore a great resemblance to him.
From the evidence it appeared that the unfortunate
man is extremely well educated, was at first a clerk, and
then a shipowner ; but that misfortunes attended him
which had reduced him to a state of poverty, and had
shattered his intellect, one of his delusions being that
his ships and property 'pia a illegally detained by
some one. About two year. since he had been writing
letters to her Majesty, the Princess Mary of Cambridge,
the Duke of cambridge, and other members of
the Royal Family; to the Admiralty, the Bishop
of London, and others, all of which were written
in a most incoherent manner, and the greater part con-
taining quotations from the Scriptures, by which the
unfortunate man had endeavoured to show that he was
the Deity, was horn in Noah's Ark, &c. ; but his atten-
tion had been particularly directed to the Princess
Mary, who he conceived entertained a violent passion
for him, and to whom he had sent many letters besides
presents in the shape of baskets of flowers, workbags,
and other articles. This conduct had brought him under
the notice of the police, and he had promised them not
to write any more letters to the Princess, which promise
he had kept, but persisted in continually hanging about
her carriage, and a few days ago he had sent a letter to
her Majesty, the commencement and termination of
whii.h will be sufficient to show his state of mind. The
superscription ran thus :

"To her Majesty Victoria Alexandrina Guelph, Queen of
Great Britain, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and other
colonies and dependencies, by the grace of Gad, only defender
of the faith according to the coronation oath and the will of
the people, now holding court at Ealmcral Castle."

The letter began " The Lord Jesus Christ," and
proceeded in that strain, the unfortunate writer endea-
vouring to show by Pceyelations, and by other signs and
prophecies, that he had been sent to redeem the world;
and, after s;griii,ig himself "The Lord Jesus Christ," it
finished thus :

" Written with our hand from the Lord's City of London
and Westminster, the New Jerusalem, this 21st day of August,
in the year of the Lord, 18E0." _

The police authorities, on the reception of this letter,
and finding their previous warnings unheeded, had,
after consulting Mr. Dayman, taken him into custody
as a lunatic wandering at large not under proper control.
Mr. Paynter asked if there was no one who would
take charge of hitu
Inspector Thornton replied, the unfortunate man's
brother has just returned from sea, and while he was
absent he had been staying with his sister, but of course
she had no control over him, neither had his brother, as
he himself could say.

➢lr. Nicholls.—Of course, my brother has, no, control
over me; why should Iv,/ hay! at ? I'm not insane
but an injured man. I've been much wronged,
I'Te ',teen robbed of all that I possess, and now they
want to call me insane. I've written to Lord Shaftes-
bury, I've written to the Queen, asking for a fair trial.
I want an open court. I don't want to be shut out from
everybody, and left alone with those who will say any-
thing against me. I don't admit the power cf ►his
Court to try me. I dont admit that I'm insane. I'm
43 sane as anyone here ; for there is no subject—religion
philosophy, history, geography, or what not—that I
cannot discourse upon in a rational manner, and yet I'm
called insane.

Mr. Paynter observed there was no doubt about the
state of the unfortunate gentleman's mind, but before
he could do anything the man mast be examined by a
medical gentleman.