The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-04 00:00:00

Desperate Attempt to Murder.

On Saturday evening last, at about five o'clock,
a most determined attempt was made to murder
Mr. Henry Hus, a moderator lamp manufacturer,
carrying on business at 40, Princes-street, Stam-
ford-street, by William Shirley, a young man who
had been in his employment.
Shirley appears to be of a roving disposition, and
had left Mr. Ilus's employ to go to sea. Returned
from seeing foreign countries, he called at his
former master's workshops in Roupell-street,
Lambeth, and asked for a character, as he was
about to obtain a situation as guard on a railway.
Mr. Hus agreed to fill up the usual paper, but this
did not satisfy the man, who flew into a passion,
and suddenly fired one of the barrels of a re-
volver at the left side of his former master's
head. The ball entered the throat under the eai.
The shock shook him much, but observing Shirley
about to shoot at his head a second time, he put up
his left hand to save his face, and a second ball
passed through the palm of his hand. Mr. Hus then
grappled with his assailant, and, being a powerful
man, he managed to force him on one knee and dis-
armed him of the revolver. Determined to preserve
his own life, he discharged one of the loaded barrels
at Shirley's throat ; but, his aim being rather high,
the ball merely entered the fleshy part of the neck on
the left side and passed out obliquely on the right.
The calls of Mr. Hus of "Murder," and the report of
the three pistol shots, here brought assistance, and a
man named German, when going into.the place, met
Shirley in the passage bleeding profusely from the
wound in the neck. When asked by German what
was the matter, he said his former master,
Mr. Hus, had shot him. Both were then re-
moved in cabs to the Tower-street Station-
house, Waterloo-road, and were promptly attended
to there by Mr. Blades, the divisional surgeon.
He ultimately extracted a ball from the throat of
Mr. Hus, and, singular to say, it was as flat as a
sixpence. The doctor next attended to and dressed
the wound on the left hand, akiWell as that on
the throat, and ultimately examined the wound on
Shirley, which he found not to be of a dangerous
character, the ball, as before stated, merely passing
through the fleshy part of the neck.
Mr. Hus was subsequently removed to the house
of a friend. He is going on favourably. Shirley
remained at the Tower-street Station, and he is
going on well. He will be taken this morning to
Southwark Police-court to be examined before the
magistrate.

EXAMINATION OP THE PRISONER-THIS DAY

This morning the prisoner Shirley was placed
before Mr. Woolrych, at the Southwark Police-
court, charged with shooting with intent to murder.
He is a strong and active young man, about 28
years of age, and from appearance had been fol-
lowed a sea-faring life. The rough blue coat which
he wore was in parts clotted with blood and bore
evidence of a very violent struggle.
The pistol with which the wounds were inflicted
was one of the old-fashioned five-barrel revolver,
about five or six incheslong, of the cheap Birming-
ham manufacture.

Witnesses were examined, whose evidence was
merely a repetition of the above facts.
Dr. Corbett Blades, of 171, Kennington Park-
road, said he was called to attend Mr. Hus and
the prisoner. He found both suffering from wounds,
but those of Mr. Hus were very alarming. The
principal wound on Mr. Hus was one near the left
jaw. He was for some time unable to discover the
exact position of it from the excessive hemorrage
that had taken place. On removing the blood, he
found that the injury was just under the left jaw,
and on probing it he found it to be a very deep one.
He was successful in extracting the bullet, which
he now produced, four inches from the orifice of the
wound. The bullet had struck against the jaw,
and became flattened by the contact. He also found
a ragged wound at the back of Mr. Hus's hand,
which had also been produced by a pistol shot. Mr.
Hus was unable to attend that day.
Mr. Woolrych—Do you consider him to be in a
dangerous state ?

Mr. Blades—The wound in the throat is a very
dangerous one, though not necessarily mortal. The
great fear now arises from inflammation ensuing.
Mr. Woolrych—He is wounded then in a very
dangerous part.

Mr. Blades—The wound is an inch and a quarter
beyond the carotid artery on the left side, which, if
it had been injured, death must have instantly en-
sued, as he must have bled to death. Mr. Hus is,
however, now going on favourably, but he is quite
unable to attend to-day. He is a foreigner, and
when he is spoken to on the subject he becomes
very excited, and thus the muscles become agitated
and the wound reopens.
Mr. Woolrych—You examined the prisoners
wound, did you not ?

Witness—Yes, but it was merely a skin wound
on the back of the neck ; it had, however, arisen
from a gun or pistol shot.
Mr. Woolrych—The wound is in a very dan-
gerous part, is it not? You don't think that a
person would chose such a part to inflict only
a trifling injury to himself.

Witness—Decidedly not. He would choose the
fleshy part of the arm in preference.
Mr. Woolrych (to prisoner)—Do you wish to
ask the witness any questions?
Prisoner—No, sir, I've nothing to ask.
Mr. Woolrych—As the.prosecutor cannot attend
the court and give evidence, I shall remand this
case for a week. I suppose the prosecutor will be
able to attend that day. If not, we can remand
the prisoner again for a short time, in order to send
him for trial at the next sessions of the Criminal
Court, which commence on the 18th inst.
The prisoner was then removed by the gaoler.
He walked from the court with the utmost uncon-
cern.

Alarming Fire.

Late last night (Sunday) a very alarming and
destructive fire, nearly attended with fatal conse-
quences to a woman and four children, took place
on the premises belonging to Mr. Barnes, a blind-
maker, situate at No. 5, Belvidere-place, Cam-
bridge-road, Bethnal-green. The discovery was
made by a female living in the house, by finding
flames rushing up the staircase with such fury that
neither she nor her four children could make their
escape by the regular means. The whole of
the endangered persons made their appearance
at one of the front windows, and some of the
neighbours having procured a table they got
upon the top of it, and pulled the woman and chil-
dren out, and they thereby escaped a horrible
death. Conductor Edinburgh arrived with the
Royal Society's escape, and he entered the front
and back rooms in search of other parties missing,
but fortunately the whole had effected their escape.
The engines of the parish and London brigade
quickly attended, as well as Shand and Mason's
land steamers, and plenty of the East London
Company's water having been procured, the fire-
men went to work under the directions of Mr.
Gatehouse, the foreman of the district, and they
happily succeeded in confining the flames to the
building in which it originated, but the fire could
not be extinguished until the house and contents
were nearly destroyed. The origin of the fire is
unknown.