The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-04-26 00:00:00

DREADFUL FIRE, AND LOSS OF LIVES.

(runTitert PARTICULARS.)
About one o'cicck yesterday morning a smoke was discovered by
the watchman, issuing front • the area of a house neat door to the
Wheat Sheaf, Vere.street, Clare Market. The alarm was soon
given, and prompt essietance was rendered by all the neighbours.
The house was occupied by Mr. Cross, a broker, who had a family
of six sons and daughters, some of them grown up. These occupied
the finit floor--on the seeped floor an Italian figurcrattaker, named
Giacommeili, his wife,•anal two children.; in the ftont attic resided
a Mr. Elton, his wife and three children ; and in the back attic, a
Mr. Hawkins ; in another part of the house theta were some other
lodgers, makii.g on the whole twenty-one persons. When the in.
mates of the house were first awakened, the whole premises were
found to he filkst orith a dense smoke, which re.ticred escape from
the frost dent, as far as we have been able yet to learn, impossible.
Mr. Cross and hit family escaped (but how it dues not yet appear),
with the exception of one grown up daughter, who, id her fright,
made several attempts to get ottt of doors, but could not ; at length
she escaped out at a back window into& small yard. and from thence
on a water butt. and was dragged over a wall to the house of Mr.
Harrison. the Wheat Sheaf. The inmates upstairs, finding all at.
tempts to get out by goingdnwn stairs unavailing, proceeded tomake
efforts to get out at the top, by which means some escaped ; but we
regret nistate that one man, Mr. Hawkins, two of the children of Mr.
and Mrs. Elton (one a boy. Henry, about five years old. and Sarah,
abut two yearn old), and Sarah, the daughter of Mr. Giacommelli,
perished fauna suffocation. Hawkins was a man who sold pamphle:s
about the streets, and was well known in the neighbourhood. There
is little doubt but that lie lost his hie in attempting to save the lives
of the poor children. Ilia corpse was found stretched under the
bedstead, and near to him the sheets tied together, and also near to
him the corpses of two of the children, who blept m the front room.
His exertions mutt have been extraordinary, for in the ceiling a
hole is made, evidently with the intention of escaping that way.
Poor (liacommelli took his child up atairs, with the hope of amp-
ing by a trap door, but his attempt failed, and he has to deplore
the lase of his child, although he saved his own life and that of
Mts. Elton. by meats almost miraculous; and this was by getting
out of the front attic window, and by clinging to the parapet, a
distance from the window of about four feet, be pulled himself up,
arid then, leaning fiat on the parapet, succeeded in dragging up Mrs.
Eke.. By this time a ladder was procured, and the mimes then
remaining escaped by that means front the second floor into the
yard, and from thence over a wall to the Wheat Sheaf. An infant,
about twelve months old, of Mrs. Elton's, was thrown out at one of
the windows in the fright, sad its thigh was broken.
The body of Mr. Hawkins, and the two children of Mr. and
Mrs. Elton, now lie at the Wheat Sheaf; they are not much burnt,
but appear as if in a state of sleep. The ahild of Giacoutmelli lies
at Mr. Johnson's. the Don't' Head, near the spot t it is more burnt
than any of the others, part'cularly one of its cheeks, and the skit.
and flesh of its right foot are nearly off froth the instep to the toes.
The mute of the dreadful calamity is not ascertained, and there
certainly appear some mysterious circumstances attached to it.
Mrs. Elton is at St. Clement's workhouse, very much hurt, and
her poor child with her ; its thigh has been set, end it is doing well.
Me. Elmo is also hurt, from one of the persons, in the hurry of
escape, jumping upon him.
The inquest on the bodies ,hewed that they had all died of suf-
focation from the intensity of the smoke ; but nothing was elicited
to &hew the true origin of the tire.

HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY, PERTH, APRIL at
D. Balfour, mariner, frorn Dundee, was charged with the
murder of his wife.
The prisoner pleaded guilty. 'His Couniel, however, entreated
him to retract his plea, to which he at length reluctantly con.
sewed.
D. Anderson knows it. Clark, and also his house In the Mur-
raygate of Dundee, in which honk he was a lodger. The prisoner
occasionally resided in the house, and was the husband of Margaret
Clark. a daughter of the landlord: Recollects the circumstances
of Margaret Clark's death, in December last. The prisoner and
bis wife had only lived in the house two days previously. The
first night panel and his wife slept in the same room, but on the
second in separate rooms. Heard the deceased on the second day
express apprehensions of her husband, and that she was afraid to
sleep with him, " as he was not himself;" meaning, as witness
supposed, that her husband was not altogether sober. Saw Mrs.
Balfour at half-past eleven at night before the murder. Balfour,
the panel, was there also. About balf.past eight next morning
heard Mrs. Balfour twice shriek out " murder." He ran to her
room, where he found her on her knees, and blood gushing from
her left side. She spoke to witness, saying, " Off ! David, my
husband has murdered me." lier father was then in the room ;
in about two minutes after she expired. Witness went for
Andrew, her brother ; when he returned he saw a bloody knife in
the room, the same now shown to him in Court. The knife was
first pointed out to him by deceased's brother. Deceased had pre.
viansly expressed to witness that her apprehensions arose from her
husband showing her two balls, which he said he meant to shoot
her with.

R. Clark, father of the deceased, tecollects his daughter's death ;
heard her express no apprehension ; he proposed going for the po-
lice on the previous night, as panel's conduct was outrageous, and
as he had been using threatening language to his wife.
in g " he would choose his company before his drink."
Margaret Ireland—Knew panel and his wife. On the evening
before the murder, the former came to her house and had a glass ;
told her, in a melancholy tone, that to.morra* morning he should
be in gaol ; something seemed to weigh heavily on his spirits ; was
in panel's house, where he said Mrs. Balfour should not go out to-
morrow ; Mrs. B. was then at a little distance. Witness advised
her to leave the houhe, but she refused. saying, she had put up
with it many a night, and she hoped in God she Could put up with
it another.

Crosa.ezamined.—lt was in her mother's house that panel drank
the lass; was in panel's house before he came in that evening;
he offered to fasten-his wife's shoe-tie, using the expression, " Oh,
my dear !" but deceased desired him to be off. Panel asked wit.
ness to go out with him, which she declined. In her hearing Bal-
four said, " My wife's mad, and is fit for Bedlam ;" all this took
place on Tuesday evening ; deceased refused to allow Panel to go
to bed with her ; beard panel say, " Oh, my dear, can I not gain
your heart ?" to which deceased answered, " Not to-night ;" wit-
ness is a relation of the deceased ; thought panel much attached tet
his wife, but still there was something between them she could not
understand ; often heard the panel make use of expressions of ten-
demess to his wife, anti has also heard the latter repeatedly desire
hint to remain away from her ; knows that panel was jealous of his
wife. Mrs. Balfour bore a respectpble character, snit she never
saw anything ill of her ; she was Altent, civil, and industrious.
T. Houston--Was in company with panel on the morning the
murder took place, when he told witness that his wife was not what
she should be, and that he intended to put hands upon her. Asked
witness whether he would like to see him come to an untimely end?
Witness said " No;" but panel said a few hours would now settle
it. This was between seven and eight o'clock in the morning.
Cross-examined—Witness had sailed with panel upwards of two
years, during which he manifested the fondest attachment to his
wife ; panel was as good a man as be ever sailed with.
T. Pitcairn, surgeon, was called on the morning of the 21st De-
cember, to see a woman in the Al turaygate. Found her quite dead.
Upon removing her clothes, saw a wound in the left arm, and two
.in her left side, which passed between the ribs, through the lungs,
and penetrated the heart.

The prisoner's declaration was then read, which gave a long and
particular detail of his life and circumstances, and the train of in.
cidenta which led to serious differences between him and his jdfe,
and ultimately to the melancholy catastrophe detailed in the depo-
sitions or the witnesses.

The Counsel for the panel called the following evidence.
A. Clark, brother of the deceased, said, a boy of the name of
%l'Leod stopt in the house with them, whom his sister had brought
from Greenock. Panel objected to the boy being kept about the
house. Saw the panel on the day before the murder, at dinner
time. Panel took ho dinner with them. lie wait always appa-
rently discontented and unhappy. Heard him make complaints
the night previous of his wife's want of affectim. About twelve
at night he arose and found panel very noisy in his entreaties that
his site should go to bed with him. She refused, and said she
would neither gn to bed with him nor any other drunken man.
%Vitae"' Soared Lim to be quiet, thinking him intoxicated, end
left him.

The Jury retired, and after an intervaLof about in hour, return-
ed a verdict, unanimously finding the panel Guilty of Murder, but,
by a large majority, recommending him to mercy.
Lard Pitmilly complimented the Jury upon the judicious and
considerate manner In which they had discharged their duty ; and
assured them that lie should take the earliest opportunity of remit-
ting their recommendation to the only source from which mercy
could be obtained.
After a most impressive address from Lord Pitmilly, the prisoner
war sentenced to be executed at Dundee, on Friday, the •2d of June
next, and his body to be delivered over for public dissection. The
Prisoner left the bar apparently in that calm, resigned, yet dejected
frame of mind and manner, which marked his deportment through.
out the trial.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.
DARING ROBBERY OT THE COUNTESS Or BELTAST.--
YEsterday, John Williams, who has been repeated!), charged at
this office (on one occasion for a robbery at Lord Loraine's), was
brought up from St. George's watch-house, and charged before
,Mr. Conant, the sitting Magistrate, with having committed a rob-
bery under the thllowing circumstances, upon the Countess of
Belfast.
William Allen, coachman to the Countess, deposed, that upon
Monday afternoon he attended his mistress with the carriage to the
Park. About 3 o'clock the carriage left the Park, and in proceeding
through Dean-street, Seymour-place, the Countess pulled the check
string, and informed him that a man was behind the carriage. On
stoppiog, he saw the prisoner jump down and run away. The
nifornied ' the
• hand into
instantly
.th the as.
/here he re.
were womb
. ha was
.1 looking
his hand-,
r. The
had just
.1 took hias
secured the

Countess then informed hint that the prisoner had put his hal
the carriage, and had taken Lter reticule from her lap. lie in
pursued the prisoner, calling out " stop thief ;" and, with
tistance of Mr. Allen, secured him in Seymour-place, where
covered the reti:ule and pocket-handkerchief, which were
twenty ahillipgs.
Rabert Dunn, footman to James Bell, Esq. deposed, that
in Seymour-place, and heard the cry of " stop thief;" on I
round he observed the prisoner running with something in hi,
and instantly pursued him and caught him by the collar.
prisoner dropped the bag, and knocked him down. He hi
got away morn hint when the Lit witness came up and tot
Into custody, upon which he ran for the beadle, who sew
prisoner.
The Beadle stated that be found nothing on the prisoner.
The prisoner wu fully., aunitted to Norgate.