The Express.
London, England, 1846-10-17 00:00:00

YORKSHIRE.

AN EXTRAORTONARY ATTEMPT To POISON A FAMILY
occurred at Wakefield on Monday. Mrs. Bramah, with of a
tailor in that town, made on that day some oatmeal porridge
for supper. Herself and infant, a daughter, a son, and an
apprentice-boy, in all five persons, partook of it, and were
almost instantly seized with sickness and pains in the sto-
mach. A surgeon was immediately sent for, who at once
perceived all the symptoms of poison. He instantly applied
the stomach pump, and administered strong emetics ; and it
appears that principally owing to the prompt exertions of
that gentleman the lives of the whole five persons are saved.
On the surgeon seing the appearance of the family, his first
inquiry was how many had partaken of the pudding. and
then Mrs. Bramah bethought herself that the apprentice had
retired to bed immediately on eating his supper. lie was
at once sent for, and was found asleep ; on being brought,
the surgeon saw the lad was ill, and found, from exa-
mination of the chamber utensils, that he had been
vomiting severely, on which the stomach-pump was also
applied to him. On Mr. Bramah coming home, Mr. Dunn,
the medical man, said some one in the house must have
mixed some deleterious substanee with the food; immediately,
on this being said, the apprentice lad, who was present, said,
" I did not do it." This aroused Mr. Dunn's suspicion, and
a strict search was made in the house, but nothing could be
found to lead to detect:on. Mr. Bramah, next morning,
ho" ever, went to the boy's parents, who reside in Stanley,
and, on getting th^re, found that they bad some arsenic to
their house, for the purpose of destroying what they called
" black clocks." On the lad's mother looking for the poison
she could not find it. Tho father accompaiked Mr. Bramah
to Wakefield, and the boy confessed that he had made an
attempt to poison the whole family ; and that he had taken
the arsenic from his father's house a month since and kept it
by him since that time at Mr. Bramah's, intending,
as he says, to poison himself. On being asked what
made him make such an attempt, his answer was,
" Why, nothing; only the devil tempted me to do it,
and I did it." Ho was asked if he had any ground of com-
plaint against his maser, and answered none. It appears
that for some time the conduct of the lad has been very
indifferent, and on more than one occasion he has been
heard to say he would destroy himself. He says he intro-
duced the poison into the pan whilst Mrs. &Amalie atten-
tion was drawn to something else. Ile is in custody.
FEMALE FACTORY OPERATIVES.—ATROCIOCS (7A,;11 OP
SEDUCTION.—At the Court-house, Bradford, on Wednesday,
a man named S. Holroyd, an overlooker in the factory of
Messrs. Bottomly and Wilkinson, was summoned by Eliza-
beth Bowles to provide for his and her child. She had
sisters in the same employment, and when she complained
Holroyd discharged the whole family on the fidlowing Satur-
day. But the circumstance (says the Bradford Obst,rrer,
which reports the case) that renders the matter still more
atrocious is, that the elder sister, Mary, had been previously
seduced by Holroyd. The bench was of opinion that the
case had been fully proved, and accordingly made an order
upon Holroyd '2s. fid. a week ; expressing their disgust
with his conduct, their sorrow that they could not inflict
a heavier punishment upon him, and that, through the
timidity of the girl, he had escaped punishment for a more
serious crime, of which he had been guilty.