The Express.
London, England, 1868-01-27 00:00:00

POVIRTY AND SUICIDE.—On Saturday afternoon,

an inquiry was held at the Crown Tavern, High.street, a.
Shadwell, by Mr. John Humphreys, coroner, relative to Ere
the suicide, through poverty, of Mary Yams, aged 30 r
years. Charles Tema, 6, Plough.alley, Wapping, a gaunt g
and poverty-stricken man, deposed that he was a general ii
dealer, and that the deceased was his wife. He lest saw
her on Monday, at noon. He had gone to market at 8 2
o'clock in the morning, and he had stayed there till 12 2
o'clock in the morning, but he had so little money—la. 64d.
—and things were so dear that he could not find any
thing cheap enough to buy. He came home, and
when his wife saw he had nothing, she said, " You
have bought nothing ?" He said, "My money would I
not allow me." She cried, "Oh ! what will become
of us ?" and went away, and he never saw her I
spin. He was sure she had drowned herself through
poverty. They had gone through great dirtier. They
had four children, and for the last sir months he amid
not make more then 64. • week. Out of the 6s. they had
to pay ]s. rid. a seek rent, and Is. 3d. for the hire of a
barrow. They could not have lived only that two ladies
were very good to them. A juror said that he knew the
man Tenn and all he mid was quite tine. The family was
very hardworking and well-conducted. Mary Yems, a
little girl of great intelligence, said that her mother re-
turned to the hews at half-post 10 o'clock on Monday
night, and made the bed and suckled the baby. She
asked whether the rent and the barrow-rum were
paid. She than said she would go and get some
fancy shires and would sit up all night to make
them. She went out imil never came beak. She need
to work at making slop shirts for a Id. a shirt. For the
better sort of shirts she used to get led., lid., and even
2d. She had to find her own needles and thread. She
could make about three or four shirts in a day. Richard
Howell proved that he found the body of the deceased in
the Thames near the entrance to the London Doer on
Tuesday morning. She was drired in clothes that denoted
great destitution. The coroner, in summing up. remarked
that the story as told by the wileasess was one of the
saddest of the many sad ones he bad to beer from times to
time. The life of the poor woman, as she tried to eke
out her husband's scanty earnings by making shirts at •
palmy a piece, finding her own needles sad thread, was
such as well might upset her reason, and care her in a
moment of despair to throw herself into the river. He was
informed that the testimony of the juror as the good
character and industry of the family was bones out by that 1
of the district visitor. The ley rehired • verdict of
" Suicide while in • state of unarmed mind through dis-
tress." The man Yeats was recalled, and asked what he
had had to eat that day. He replied, "We have not had
a bit to at to-day (it was than half-past 2 o'clock). If yea
go to my pros you will Ind that we had nothing all day."
The little girl was recalled and asked the same question..
She said that she had now bean taken by a lady as • ler.
rant, and she had enough to eat, but her dater. had only
a bit of dry bread and her father had nothing. The
sore ear and the jury amide up • ems/I subemipthe foe the
I family.

ii Tu
so a
M a