Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-07-16 00:00:00

A BRETON PARSONAGE

At about half-past three I arrived at the bourg or village
of Lauleff, and was disappointed-to see a staring new church
crowning the gentle eminence on which the town stands. I
enquired for the Temple, as it is called, but the peasants
could not speak French. While I was in this dilemma, my
eye fell upon a picturesque thatched cottage, covered with
vines and enclosed within a garden wall. It was the pres-
bytere, or parsonage. " Shall I knock at the gate ? No ;
the parson is probably bigoted and narrow-minded, ignorant
of everything but crabbed school divinity and casuistry.
Besides, what should I think if a Frenchman, travelling
with a knapsack at his back, were to knock at my Essex
parsonage ? lam afraid I should look rather suspiciously
at him. But it is half-past three. There is no inn, and I
have walked about 15 miles without tasting anything but
my cup of coffee at eight this morning. The parson may
possibly be a good fellow after all. I will e'en chance it."
So I knocked at the gate. It was opened for me by a hag,
who, on my asking for M. Pabbe, ushered me through a
mtgarden into the kitchen. At first I was prey,—

_,,vented
from seeing anything by the clouds of tobacco smoke which
filled the upper air. But presently, as my eyes became ac-
customed to the reeky atmosphere, I distinguished M. l'abbe
himself, seated on the table, smoking his afternoon pipe.
He was a short, stout man, of about fifty, dresses in cassocks,
bands, and cocked hat, and as I looked at his good-natured
face, I augured well for my reception. After we had taken
off our hats to each other in due form, I opened my mission.
I was a tourist, come to see the celebrated. Temple Church.,
which I had heard was in his parish, and I should feel
obliged if he would kindly give me some information re-
specting it, or any other curiosity in his neighbourhood.
He did not, naturally, seem very communicative at first, but
after talking about antiquities in general, in which he
seemed to feel some interest, and offering me a pinch of
snuff, he went up stairs to his study for a book upon the
subject ; and then I perceived, for the first time, that he
wore sabots or wooden shoes. I had heard of "a poet en pan-
toufles," but never of an " abbe en sabots." On his return
with the book, he excused himself for not offering me re-
freshments on the plea that he had dined, and that he; in
company with twenty of his parishioners, were going that
night to St. Brieux, to present an address to the Eniperor.
This was sorry news for me, but I was obliged to make the
best of it, and we walked out together to visit the Temple.
—" Jephson's Brittany."

SIR JOHN LAWRENCE ON THE COLONI-
SATION AND SETTLEMENT OF INDIA.

On Tuesday, before the parliamentary committeee on this
subject, Sir John Lawrence, G.C.8., was examined :—He
had served 27 years in India. With respect to the moral
character and habits of the native Hindoos and Mahome-
tans, and the general administration of justice, he believed
perjury to be one of the main hindrances to the due admi-
nistration of justice in that country. He did not believe
that perjury was a" universal vice of the natives, but if a
man was their enemy they would not hesitate to commit it
against him. He considered their religion to be one of the
greatest stumbling-blocks to the improvement of the popu-
lation. He did not think that caste interfered with the
administration of justice. He would not ignore castei. or
or ask a man to do a thing that was offensive to him. He
would not take a man as a recruit without any regard what-
ever to caste. He would regulate caste in a politic way, so
as not to have a regiment all Hindoos or all Mahometans.
Religious mendicancy had very much decreased of late
years. Some of the - native judges were well acquainted
with the English language, and spoke it very well. With
regard to the settling of Europeans in India, he adviied ad-
vances of capital in the production of cotton and other
articles. If -Europeons cultivated cotton or sugar they
would not be likely to have their crops injured by the na-
tives. He thought the secret of managing the natives was
to treat them kindly. He thought a wide-spread knowledge
of the English language in India would be a very great ad-
vantage, but he would not at first make it absolutely the
language of the government. He did not consider that the
success of schools, especially missionary schools, had kept
pace with what was expected from them. They were dis-
tasteful where the parents wished to have their children
employed, in labour instead of being at school. He did not
think we could get a thoroughly trust-worthy body of men
in India to conuct the administration of justice without
professors of the Christian religion, although he knew many
honourable exceptions to that as a general rule. He did
not know that the Mahometan religion forbids lying, but he
knew that a Mahometan could justify murder. If this
country were conquered by the Mahometans, he should
object to the introduction of the Koran into schools, nor
would he make it compulsory on the natives of India to

read the English Bible -or religious books, though he be-
lieved, if the Bible were introduced into missionary schools,
some of the natives would take it up of their own accord.
With respect to the Punjaub, it was not represented in the
legislative council, and the people did not desire that it
should be. He agreed that the legislative council ought to
be either abolished or considerably enlarged.

MR. COBDEN, M.P., ON THE ILLINOIS
CENTRAL RAILWAYS.

The following observations by Mr. R. Cobden, M.P., ,on
the affairs of this company, will no doubt be acceptable to
the English shareholders :—" I paid two visits to Illinois,
had free access to every department of the land-office and
the railway, travelled over every mile of the line by daylight,
and made several excursions into the interior among the
farmers. The railway appeared to me to be under the
management of competent and trustworthy persons ; but I
have had no practical experience in railroad matters, and
therefore my judgment could add little weight to what has
been said by others. I was told there is rolling stock ready
for double t,he present traffic, and Captain 31‘Clellan, the vice--
president, was looking forward to the result of the present
harvest, and to the opening of the through line of railroad
to New Orleans, for a large increase in the earnings during
the ensuing autumn. I have no doubt that in a few months
his expectatiolas will be realised, but in the meantime it
would be useless to speculate on the matter. My attention
was directed principally to the land department, which
constitutes the peculiar feature and the chief value of the
undertaking. The company had a grant of about 2,600,000
acres of land, bordering on the railroad, of which nearly
one-half has been sold on credit to immigrants; and the
most important question for the shareholders is—will this
land be paid. for ? On inquiry, I found that the settlers
amounted in number to 10,000, and that their average pur-
chases were about 120 acres each. Being the first comers'
their farms were, of course, near to the railroad and the

stations. This circumstance, together with the improve-
ments which had taken place such as the breaking up
and fencing the land, and the erection of houses or other
buildings-had certainly added 50 per cent. to their value.
There seemed, therefore, to be no reasonable motive for
quitting the land. On looking over the correspondence in
the land-office during the past year—which has been at
period of great suffering in Illinois and the whole of the

north-west of the United States and Canada, owing to 4
calamitous failure in the crops in 1858—I found that the
settlers, almost to a man, expressed anxiety to remain on
their land ; and, while asking, as they did in the great ma-
jority of cases, for an extension of credit, they iromised

-fulfil their engagements after they had gathered. in the en=
suing harvest. On inquiring from those who had the
greatest experience in selling land in Illinois, I found them
unanimously of opinion that the company's land *ould he
paid for.. Not so much importance seemed attached to the
punctual payment of promissory notes given for land as to
the regular discharge of the interest ;

iiiueresL, ,vile the most
essential condition of all was that the purchasers should
be occupying and improving the land, which, under such
circumstances, was estimated to double in value in five
years. I may add that it was the deliberate opinion
of the gentlemen at the head of the land depart-
ment in Chicago, that not three per cent.. of the
company's settlers would throw up and abandon
their purchases. The only question, then, remaining was
whether these farmers, who were generally men of small
capital, would have it in their power to pay for their
farms? The terms on which they were purchased allowed
five years for payment, in instalments of 20 per cent. I
was told that upon soil so rich as to require no manure for
many years, and where no outlay of capital or labour was
necessary for clearing the forest or removing any other
obstruction from the service, it was easy, with ordinary
seasons, for the farmer to raise enough produce to pay for
his farm in five years. The greater part of the western
lands had, I found, been purchased out of the proceeds of
the labour of the immigrants, who had. generally
.started
with very little capital. The result of my inquiries was
that I came away satisfied. Ent", with the

ability of the company's settlers to pay for ther land. It is
not easy for an Englishman to "realise excepting from the
evidence of his senses, the nature and extent of the prairie
Isoil of Illinois. For hundreds of miles you pass over a
slightly undulating surface without seeing a hill, or rock

7 VL
ravine, or an acre of barren or broken ground to obstruct
the progyess of the plough. After examining the landed
property of the company, I came to the conclusion that

although the cost of the railroad will, including loss of in!
terest, exceed the first estimate by 50 per cent, the land will
surpass the value originally put upon it to a still greater
extent, and will, if judiciously managed, ultimately defray
the whole expense of the railway."—TimEs.

HORRIBLE MURDER IN PITTSBURGH

A WOMAN KILLED BY A JEALOUS HUSBAND-HER PARAMOUR

Shortly after nine o'clock last night a murder of an
exceedingly cold-blooded and atrocious character was per-
petrated on Second-street, near the end of the new Bir-
mingham bridge, in the Eighth Ward. The victim was the
well-known Mary Delany, and her murderer Richard Jones,
Constable of the Sixth Ward, her, husband. The greater
part of the hair had been torn from the head of the unfor-
tunate woman, while her body was literally hacked to
pieces, and her entire Clothing deeply saturated with blood.
One of her fingers had been, shot off, and there was a
horrible gash on her skull under the left ear, which pene-
trated to the brain. The face and breast were covered with
clotted blood, and the whole appearance of the corpse indi-
cative of a long and determined struggle.
It appears that shortly after nine o'clock, while the
Alderman was engaged in taking bail in a larceny case
before him, Jones rushed into the house, and, approaching
the magistrate, exclaimed in a rather excited tone of voice,
" I've killed her." The Alderman astonished, inquired,
"Who ?" to which Jones replied "Mary. I killed them
both. I caught thein in the a& A the Birmingham bridge."

The Aldermuan still at a loss whether to believe the man or
not, told him to sit down and he would attend to the matter
in a moment. The latter did so, and presently a messenger
entered the office and informed e Alderman that a woman
had been murdered near the end of the Birmingham bridge,
and that from the appearance of the body it was believed
that it was that of Mary Delany. This convinced the magis-
trate that the statement of Jones was no idle story, and
he both promptly and properly committed him for
further hearing on Monday. On his way to gaol he
was about giving the Alderman a full and candid history
of the transaction, when the letter cautioned him how he
made statements which might afterwards be used in evi-
dence against him. The prisoner took the hint at once,
and has not since, as we could learn, referred to the mur-
der. His version of the affair, summed up in a few words,
is this : He states that he went home on Friday night and
found his wife absent. lie had good reason for suspecting
that 'she had returned to her old practices, and was cohabit-
ing with other men, and, believing that she was engaged in
an intrigue of this kind, he resolved to find her out and
punish her. With this view, and tilled with a thirst for
vengeance, if not for blood, he traced the deceased to the
scene of the murder, where he alleges he " caught her in
the act" with another man. He shot them both, and
afterwards attacked them with a knife. The woman was
butchered almost on the spot, but what became her para-
mour, if indeed there was a paramour, he was unable to
say, nor has he yet been discovered.

If a man sought the life of another, and had liven him
the privilege of selecting a place for the perpetration of the
crime, he could scarcely fix upon a spot better adapted for
so terrible a deed than that where Mary Delany lost her
life. There are no houses in. the immediate vicinity, and
save, the few who cross the bridge, at this late hour, the
chances. are small that a person determined to commit a
murder there would meet with anything to intercept the
execution of his designs. And the murder once committed,.
it was the easiest matter possible to dispose of the body
afterwards. The road rims along by the river, from which
it is but a few yards distant, and it would be but the
work of a moment to pitch it over the bluff into the
waters below. But as there seems to have been no
desire in the case before us either to keep the matter a
secret, or avoid the responsibility of. the act, it is un-
necessary to dwell on this part of the subject further.
Near the place where the body lay, two pistols were picked
up, a crooked comb, several bunches of hair, and an um-
brella. The latter was covered with blood stains, and
belonged either to the murdered woman or her paramour.
They were found last night. This morning a further in-
spection of the ground was made, and a hat discovered, which
bore unmistakable evidence of the narrow escape which the
head that filled it had from being a recepticle for a bullet.
This hat, it is supposed, belonged to the murdered woman's
paramour, of whom 'something further will be found in
another paragraph. It is in the hands of the police, and is
said to belong to Charles Metz, a Birmingham butcher, and
the party who, it is stated, was with the deceased when
surprised by her husband.
There are few of our citizens who have not, through the
police reports or otherwise, heard of Mary Delany. Her
father was an Irish labourer, and, having early . neglected
her moral training—an omission of which but too many
fathers are guilty—she became a prostitute at a tender age,
and one of the most notorious of her class in the city. At
one time she kept a house on Washington-street, and sub-
sequently on Prospect-street, where we believe Jones,
steeped though she was in guilt and sin, made her his wife.
Here, on the 9th of April, 1853, she murdered a man
named Jacob Shaw, by ripping his bowels out. She was
tried for the crime, and, instead of expiating her offence
on the gallows, she got off with the lenient sentence of two
years and six months imprisonment in the penitentiary.
After her "discharge she seemed to lead a better life, and
Jones, fearful of his life if he acted otherwise, took up with
her as befora. They have had two or three serious quarrels
since, in one of which she attempted to take his life.' We
have often heard it stated that he stood' in the deepest fear
of her, and that but for this he would long since have
broken off all connection with her. The parties had
one child, a boy, who is still living, and is acknowl-
edged by the prisoner as his son. The murdered woman's
mother is also alive, and residing in this city. She was a
woman of singular beauty, and even in death her face bore
unmistakable traces of what she had. once. been. She wds,
however, a perfect tigress in disposition, and possessed of
courage of the most indomitable character. This, added to
the fact that she usually went armed, led her to be feared
by many, and by none more so than her husband.

Jones, like hts victim, has been rather too often before
the public to render it necessary for us to refer at any great
length to his career.- Though belonging to a most respect-
able family, he became early asseciated with abandoned
characters,. and for years led a reckless and abandoned life,
shunned by, his friends and avoided by all but his evil asso-
ciates. In 1857, however, with an energy and resolution
rarely witnessed, he cutloose from his old companions, and•
entered on an entirely new career. He was selected Cons-
table of the Sixth Ward, and so satisfactorily did he dis-
charge the duties of the office that he was reelected in 1858
to the same position. In fact, apart from his association
with the deceased, which he declared, himself anxious but
afraid to terminate, he was altogetheva.reformed man, and
as an officer he was. among the best in the city. He is
a man of great nerve and coolness, yet under the eye of his
wife he was almost as helpless as a child. He is about-
-30 years of age, and has numerous relatives residing in and:
about, the city. He takes the matter very coolly, and does
not seem at all to regret what he has- done.
We have a card, purporting to come from Mr. Met; in
which he denounces. the report that, he has been guilty- of
adultry with Mary Delaney as false in the most positive
terms. He says that he will be forthcoming in the proper
time, but for the present he feels it sufficient to give a flat
contradiction to the reports in circulation respecting :him.

tie rurtnermore states tnat ne is uninjured, but in such
vague terms that it looks as if this latter assertion might
not be open to doubt.

. -
A HOTEL IX BRITTANY.—The village of Carlin is a
small place, but the little inn, dignified by the name of the

ommerce,

lean anc

the fare gooi

rather tired and not very well, Mad.seeing that the hostess
was a nice motherly-looking woman, I called her into my
counsels as to what I should have for supper. She im-
mediately suggested a soupe au *lait, the very thing for• a
weary traveller who feels faint ands yet cannot eat; and I
found that, as the French say, " I/appetit vient en man-
geant." I mention this as a hint, which may be useful to
travellers. But the. Widow Gildas, for such, as I afterwards.
learned, was my hostess's name,--thought that a little con-
versation might also be of use to me, after setting down; the
dessert, began to let me into some of her personal history,
partly, no dOubt, in expectation, that her confidence would
produce a similar disclosure on my part. She was tall and
well favoured, with a preCise *mouth, out of which
_issued a

sweet voice, tuned to the key of gentle and pious resignature.
The description of the Prioresse in the Canterbury Tales
might have been written for her. She "of hire smyling
was full simple and coy ; hire month was smal, and thereto
softe and reed." She was also " fill pleasant and amyable
of port, and peyned hire to counterfeite there of court, and
been estattiche of manere." Throughout the house there
reigned an air of piety. -1 • ',moments were little
11' ',tures on

altars ; beside the bed was a prie dieu ; anc ,ne
the walls were saints wita extracts from pious chansons un-
derneath. All this' was explained when Madame Gildas
told me, on my saying that I had just visited the Chartreuse,
that her father had beenamong the .unfortunate Royalists,
shot on the Champ des Martyrs, and that her grandmother
was one of the most zealous of those who, in the first Re-
volution, had harboured the persecuted clergy, and. arranged
the midnight meetings on the ocean, when the people, like
the early Christians in the Catacombs, worshipped. God with
death and torture staring them in the face. It was in these
bays and creeks, and which I had passed in the morning,
that, when the ministers of religion were hunted down, when
not even a barn was to be found in which it was safe to.
worship God, when French soldiers occupied, every village,
and no clergyman might invoke a blessing on the union of
the bride and bridegroom, or admit the newly-born infant-
into ake fellowship of Christ's religion, the zeal of the. people
and their clergy bade defiance to, the iniquitous, tn,w of the
State..,—(g jeolison's Brittany."

FATAL ORANGE RIOT IN SCOTLAND.

A Paisley correspondent furnishes us with the particulars
of a serious riot in the neighbourhood of Paisley, between
the Orangemen and the Catholics, on the 12th of July.
He says :—" As early as 6 in the morning, the lodge mus-
tered
in the High Street, to the. number of four or five
hundred, among whom were a considerable number of
women,, and headed by a band of music ; they proceeded
to parade the town. Ultimately they directed their steps
to Johnstone, and on reaching Millarston, which is close to
the parliamentary boundary of Paisley, they were attacked
by a body of miners. Some of their musical instruments
were damaged, and severe wounds on the head and other
parts of the body were given and received by both parties—
one of the miners assailing the Orangemen had his
hand severely cut with a sword. Ultimately the
miners drew off, and the Orangemen proceeded to John-
stone.. Here in the square they waited some time, and
had some refreshment, and again started on their route,
proceeding to Quarrelton, and from thence by the
.Milliken Park station, on the South Western Railway, till
they joined the Kilbarchan and Johnstone-road. Here they
turned buck, and again rested for a time in Johnstone.
Shortly after 12 o'clock, they left Johnstone and proceeded
to Linwood, by the Deafhillock Toll, reaching the latter
place shortly before 1 o'clock. Here the Linwood lodge
broke off from the procession, and the Paisley and
Johnstone Lodges proceeded on the road to Paisley,
with the intention of separating at the West Toll.
On reaching the bridge over the Block Cart, at the south
end of the village, they found their further progress opposed
by, two'or three hundred miners, who, so soon as they made
their appearance, attacked them with stones and bludgeons.
The procession was driven back into the village in disorder,
but, after a short delay, they induced four or five of the
county police to accompany them again to the bridge, which
they again essayed to cross. A desperate encounter then
ensued, in which firearms and knives were freely used, in
addition to less dangerous weapons, such as bludgeons,
paling stobs, '&e. A continued succession of shots were
fired, but apparently the greater number of them were dis-
charged at too great a distance to do much harm. As the

struggle continued, the combatants drew close to each
other, and a fearful hand-to-hand fight followed, the
weapons used being chiefly clasp knives and bludgeons.
We are assured by .a spectator that the scene was most
fearful, the combatants apparently being animated against
each other with a most savage and deadly hatred. Ulti-
mately, after the strugle had lasted for about three quarters
of an hour, the Catholic party gave way, and fled alonc, the
road leading to Inkermann. Two or three, who dropped
behind were very severely handled by the infuriated
Orangemen ; and, indeed, in one case in particular, but for
the energetic interference of the police, it is questionable
if the unfortunate man would not have been murdered. He
was pointed out as one who had taken a most prominent
part in the melee. After he was in custody, two pistol
shots were fired at him. After the affray was over the
combatants presented a horrid spectacle. On the middle of
the road, where the fight had been hottest, lay extended the
dead body of a strong muscular man, apparently about forty
years of age. His skull had been severely fractured, and he
was stabbed apparently with a clasp knife in the left breast.
The body was conveyed to the village, whither also the
more seriously wounded were taken. The procession then
re-formed, and, accompanied by all who could walk, pro-
ceeded to Paisley, which place it reached without molesta-
tion. The man killed has not been identified, but it is
supposed that he belonged to the Catholic party.

FURTHER PARTICULARS

The " North British Mail " of yesterday says :—A great
number of both sides must have sustained wounds more or
less serious in addition to those that we reported, as several
medical men were engaged in dressing the wounds. A little
girl from Paisley had a narrow escape from being trampled
to death in the melee ; as it was, she had one of her arms
broken, and was otherwise bruised. The two prisoners were
examined on Wednesday, and committed for further exa-
miation ; but no other arrests have been made.

•
THE. BUTTER-STEALER.

In the village where I was born, my grandfather kept a
provision shop. I was frequently present while he served
his customers, and one morning a tramping sort of a custo-
mer entered, and requested to be served with half an ounce
of tobacco, at the same time pulling off his hat, from which
he took an old handkerchief and wiped his face, and, in
returning the handkerchief, he very dexterously made
the acquaintance of a pound of nice fresh butter,
lying on a dish close to his elbow, and slipped it into
his hat. My grandfather was weighing flour at the
time, and this escaped his notice. However, I told him
on the sly, and he nodded his head. Although seventy
years of age, he was plucky and powerful, and I knew he
would be a match for the somewhat sturdy-looking thief ;
but, as it turned out, he was disposed to turn it into a joke,
and punish the man at the same time. The thief had now
the pound of butter between the top of his poll and the
crown of his hat, and was preparing to depart. " You
seem tired," said grandfather, " come into the house
and sit down a bit ?" " No, thank you, I must be
toddling forward," said the other. "Oh ! what's your
hurry ? come in ; we have no beer on the tap, but we
have some rare strong honey-drink," at the same time
getting between him and the door, and shoving him,
good-naturedly, to a fire big enough to roast a quarter of an
o; and fixing a capacious arm-chair in front, and pretty
near it, backing that up again with a strong table, then
drawing a green moreen curtain (which was a fixture, to
keep the draft of the door from the hearth to its full length,
and pushing him into the chair. , " Haw canna stop ! haw
canna stop !" said the thief. " Nonsense !" said my grand-
father, as with his eye glistening with roguery, he turned
towards my grandmother, and with a sly wink, said,
"Fetch this poor fellow a cup of that honey.:drink. my
wench." "Haw reeley canna stop," repeated the thief.
" Sit still man r sit still, and make yourself comfort-
able," said his tormentor, as he drew his own chair close
up to the despairing butter-stealer, so as effectually to cut
off his retreat, and keep him in front of the fire to be
roasted, and pretty we l/ basted with butter, too, for the
thick curtain behind him made a most excellent substitute
for a hastener. " r think I never felt the air so sharp in
my life, as it is this Morning," said my pandfather; as he
looked slyly at me, to stop me from tittering... " Aaw dunna
think it's nee so caud as rt war yesterdee," said the prisoner,
as he tried in vain to hitch back his chair. The brown' mug
of honey-drink was now placed before hiin, and' my
grandfather handed him a pipe and the old leaden tobacco-
box. "Have a whiff, and keep me company a bit, man,'
said he. " 'Thankee," said the thief, " I don't smoke."
"What have you bought the 'bacca for then?" inquired my
grandfather. "To chew," said he. The fine now began to
tell its tale, and the melting butter trickledi down his face
and behind his ears, and he made a desperate' effort to
back, " Sit still, and warm yourself man ; you needn't
be in a hurry," said grandfather. " Haw have to be
at Winster by 11 o'clock, and it only wants ten
minutes now,"' he replied. " You shan't go till you've
had a bit of '+h us, I tell you." "Martha," s?

nact a In. dinner mu,.
he to the servant, "bring some more coals to the fire, and
be quick." The martyr was now roasting beautifully, and
fairly browning. He wriggled about like a new-caught
snig, his face shone as if just turned out from the rubbing
of a French polisher, and in his agony he clasped the
_ _

and drank oft the last of the honey-drink. "Rave another
mug ; fetch him a drop more, wench," said grandfather.
Martha now entered, and dashed a scuttleful of coals on the
fire, which roared and crackled, as if ready to devour the
now frizzling•thief. " It's no use ; I must be off," said he,
at the same time making a disperate effort to force the bar-
ricade. "You shan't;. I can't part with you till after dinner.
Give me your hat,"' said my grandfather,, and without wait-
ing, he seized it from the man's head. " Oh, what a smell
of butter !" said Martha. " Yes," said' my grandfather,
" I'll teach him to leave my good butter alone in future.
Open that door," said he, and, introducing his shoemaker
to the thief's tailor, he sent him sharply down the door-
step, and threw his greasy old tile after him.—" The Re-
view and Country- Gentleman's Journal,"

BRADFORD,. WAKEFIELD, AND LEEDS RAILWAY BILL

me _mouse Os t,oramons' committee have struck out of this
bill the clauses for constructing a tranch line, for making
new taaffic arrangements, and for taking fresh running

powers ; Leaving the bill as passed by the committee, " con
fined to. the rising additional capital for general purposes

into stock."---" Leeds Mereur4v."4 - -
MR. H, W. WICKHAM, M.P., AND THE BRADFORD

in their annual report just issued, express their gratification
that Mr; H. W. Wickham, M.P., has, since the last election,
became w member of the association. The hon. gentleman
had, previously stood alone upon independent gFounds,

although he was returned at his first and second elections
chiefly by Conservative influence and support, united with
that of many influential Conservative Liberals. Such re-
gistration machinery as the Conservative party had em-
ployed of late years was worn out in his service, and there
being now an end of that organisation, Mr. Wickham has
thus, at length, by uniting himself with the Liberal Regis-
tvation Association, declared, in, effect, that he unites himself
again actively with the great Liberal party ; the state of
political relations in the borough, as well as the ancient
political predilections of family and his own progressive
tendencies, having all. coarilmted to this inevitable result.

Satuaday, July 16, 1859.

ATTEMPTED MURDER AND SUICIDE IN

LEEDS

On Thursday afternoon, Mrs. Watts, a widow, 75 years
of age, and who resided in Westminster Place, Castle-street,
West End, Leeds, rushed to the door of a neighbour, named
Miss Tutin, with a towel wrapped round her throat, and
told her that her throat had just been cut by one of her
lodgers, named Abraham Fawcett. As she removed the
towel, the blood started out in a stream.. Miss Tutin ,gave
the alarm, and the poor old woman was shortly attended
by Mr. Nunneley, surgeon, who sewed up the wound. Mrs-
Watts was next asked where Fawcett was, and she replied,
that he was cutting his own throat just as she rushed out';
of the house. The neighbourhood being at once alarmed
Mrs. Watts's house was examined, and Fawcett was found
on the floor of the old woman's bedroom, bathed in blood
The room had the appearance of a slaughter-house. Front
the fragmentary evidence furnished at intervals by Mrs
Watts ,and other residents in the house, it would appear
that Fawcett, a young man of 35, was employed as
cloth dresser at Mr. King's establishment, in North. Halt
Lane. He has lodged with Mrs. Watts for nearly twelve
years, and was generally supposed to cherish towards her
somewhat of the affection of a child. On Monday • last,
Mr. King entertained his " hands" to dinner, and since
then Fawcett has been drinking. He was "fresh" yester-
day noon, when he was seen at a public-house. About
half-past two o'clock he went to his lodgings, and finding
the door fast, entered by the kitchen window. Mrs. Watts
had gone to lie down on the bed. The fellow appears to
have gone upstairs, and made improper overtures to Mrs.
Watts, which she of course resisted. He then seems to
have become suddenly maddened ; for he drew his own
razor from his pocket and cut the poor old woman's throat
She managed to escape from the room, but as she was leav-
ing it she saw Faivcett attempt his own life. The house
where the horrible affair occurred, is one of a row of cottages
in the centre of a densely populated manufacturing digtnct.
Mrs. Watts was last night in a very dangerous condition.
the wound having been re-opened by a fit of coughing, and
the bleeding having continued for half an hour before medi-
cal assistance could be again procured. Fawcett has in-
flicted a desperate gash on his own throat ; but up to last
night he has been asleep, probably from the stnpifying
effects of the liquor, almost ever since the occurrence. -Mrs.
Watts could scarcely be expected to survive during the night,
if the wound again re-opened. The only motive for the
attack appears to have been the one given above.