The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-02 00:00:00

SHOCKING CATASTROPHE AT BOTV.

ATTEMPTED MURDER AND SUICIDE.

Dosing the last few days a painful sensation has
pervaded the vicinity of Bow on account of a most
determined attempt having been made to murder
his wife by a person who has hitherto o'icupied a I
very respectable position, and who afterwards at •
aeetemptedused sto
Rti
ea
kk
ee t t hiss
boew n
is life
ab. rtr 114 e 5 name of the
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age,
awnidfeisanean gfaagineidlyiniothae
ecootatlatgreadine,
canobdolrinv-erdoa dwithhis
a-
‘,-) the Bow Cricket Ground. Of late had
e has
cent L- • intemperate in his habits, and when in
been
xceedingl with quarrelsome • his
that state he .
was y ' .
wife. He appears to Live spentiaedpiaotretliyonfaoefinTouhesis-
day evening in the bowlin;igreen attached to the
Morgan Arms public-house, n
residence. He left there about ten cr,,'?ock and went
home. Soon after this the neighbours we,Te alarmed
by screams, some of the family at the same time
rushing out into the road calling murder. Several
of the inhabitants went into the parlour or sitting
room, and saw that Ricketts had got his wife down
on the floor, her face was covered with blood, and
he was apparently "jobbing" her in the throat with
a sharp-pointed knife. He was instantly dragged
away from her, and the poor woman was carried in
a shocking condition into an adjoining house, when
medical men were sent for. Amidst the confusion
Ricketts was observed to dart down stairs into the
kitchen, probably alarmed at the cry which some
one raised for the police. On a constable arriving
at the house Ricketts was called by name to come
up. At first the officer declined to go down, fear-
ing perhaps that the assassin was armed and would
make a murderous resistance. At length the
kitchen was reached by the constable and some of
the neighbours, and Ricketts was found standing
in the centre of the room and blood spurting from
gashes in his throat. Some one exclaimed, " Good
God! what is the meaning of all this ? " when
Ricketts, with a kind of triumphant grin, said,
"Ain't I a pluck'd un ? didn't I say I'd do it ?
alluding to some threat which it was supposed he
had made in the early part of the evening. Towels
having been rolled round his throat, so as to check
the flow of blood, Mr. Garman and Mr. Gill, sur-
geons, in the Bow-road, were sent for, and the
wounds were dressed.
The last accounts speak of Mrs. Ricketts and her
wretched husband being still alive, the condition of
the latter being the most serious. The wife has sus-
tained a deep wound in her cheek. It is stated that
the quarrel which terminated with such dreadful
consequences arose over the supper table. The
police have charge of Ricketts, who remains at his
house in the Coborn-road.

DIABOLICAL ATTEMPT AT MURDER AT
_MERTHYR TYDVIL BY TWO POLICE-
MEN.

A diabolical attempt at murder, the character of
which is greatly aggravated by the fact that its
perpetrators are both constables in the Glamorgan-
shire county constabulary, was committed on
Thursday, in the immediate neighbourhood of
Merthyr Tydvil.
It would seem that there is a dangerous part of
Merthyr on which the active superintendent, Mr.
Wrenn, deems it his duty to double the beat, and
consequently Police-constables Stuent and William
Rowland were placed upon it. Upon going
.his
first round of inspection Police-sergeant William
Thomas discovered Rowland partaking of liquors
in a beer-house. He reprimanded him, and made
a report of his misconduct to the superintendent.
This matter, it would seem, gave great umbrage to
Rowland, who must have contrived to excite an
equal amount of anger in the breast of his com-
rade Stuent ; for upon the sergeant making his
second round of inspection a very desperate and
unmistakeable attempt to murder him was made
by the two men.
In the course of the beat there is a canal which
is crossed by a bridge, and on nearing it the ser-
geant observed that both constables were standing
at the bridge waiting, as he supposed for his visi-
tation. As he approached them Rowland stepped
towards him as if to make some report, but was
no sooner within reach than he aimed a heavy
blow at the sergeant which at once felled him
to the earth. Stuent then came up, and
both men commenced beating and kicking him
until he was completely prostrate and reduced,
as they doubtless supposed, to a state of
insensibility. They then took him up and threw
him over the bridge into the canal, the fall to the
water being fully ten feet. The effect of the im-
mersion revived the sergeant a little, and there
being a current passing through the bridge he was
carried by its force across to the opposite side of the
bridge. This was observed by the villains, who
rushed to the spot towards which he was drifting
and attacked him with stones. one of which stunned
him for a time. The poor fellow's groans and cries,
coupled with the noise of the struggle, caused some
of the canal boatmen to hasten to the place, and by
their assistance he was got out, but in a state of
great exhaustion and suffering. The ruffianly
Policemen, upon finding assistance at hand, imme-
diately decamped. On the outrage being reported
to Superintendent Wrenn he at once sent consta-
bles in pursuit, and one of them, Constable Wright,
succeeded in arresting Stuent at a distance of 13
miles from Merthyr. Rowland could not be found,
but there is every reason to hope that he will not
escape the officers of justice.

THE ADVENTURES OF A NEW YORK

ZOUAVE.

Yesterday afternoon Acting Inspector Davis, of
the M division, attended before Mr. Burcham, at
the Southwark Police-office, with a smart-looking
Frenchman, dressed in the United States Zouave
uniform, to ask his worship's advice and assistance
under the following singular circumstances.
The Inspector said that the applicant came to
him at the station-house that morning and told him
his wife had robbed him of all his clothes and pro-
perty, and that he wanted the police to assist him
in the recovery. Not being able to understand his
complaint, he thought it better to introduce him to
the magistrate.
The applicant then stated that he was a French-
man by birth, but a citizen of New York, where he
had resided and carried on the business of a basket-
maker for 13 years. He had for some years be-
longed to the New York Volunteers, and rather
more than a year ago he joined a French regiment
of New York Zouaves. He about that time married an
Englishwoman at New York, about ten days ago
they came to England for the purpose of seeing
their relatives in London and afterwards in France.
Applicant brought with him boxes containing
clothing and other property, which he deposited
at a lodging in Bermondsey, but while he was gone
to see a countryman of his in the vicinity of Leices-
ter-square his wife decamped with all his property.
He had found out his wife's sister's residence in
Long-lane, and firmly believed not only that his
wife was there but all his property. He was rather
in a critical position, as he was possessed of no
other clothing but the uniform he had on, and he
did not much like walking about the streets in
that, as he caused people to laugh at him and re-
mind him of" Bull's Run." (Laughter.)
The Chief Clerk asked him if he had been con-
nected with any portion of the army contending
against the Confederates.
The applicant replied that the New York French
Zouaves were almostthe first that crossed Harper's
Ferry to oppose the Confederates at York-
town. He was at that furious and destructive
battle, but fortunately for him, at the rear ; and he
was also one of those who escaped at Bull's Run.
Some of their battalion, however, fought bravely,
and were much cut to pieces. le, however, was
tired of the work, got away as soon as he could, and
came to England.
Davis informed his worship that the applicant had
all his appointments, including his mueket. He told
him that he ran away—in fact, that he deserted.

Applicant did not deny coming away clandestinely,
but he considered that he had done enough for the
Yankees. They (the Frenchmen) were not so very
well treated by them ; in fact, he had had fighting
enough, and there were thousands like him leaving
the army daily. Many thousands more would be
glad to be where he was ; but still he wanted his
property.
The Chief Clerk told him that he did not know
how the Court could help him, as a wife could not rob
her husband. It was her property as well as his.
Applicant could not comprehend that sort of
logic, as he said he purchased all the property in
New York. He believed he knew where it was, and
all he wanted was the assistance of the police to get
itiback.
d found out
since he had been in England be had found
Davis here said that applicant had told
_ him that
tshaebout
appli-
cant, his protperty Was, to
that his wife had a husband in London when she
left three or four years ago.
to proceed with him to
An officer was directed
the house where he suspected
ascertain the facts.
close, the constable (30
bad ascertained.
that his wife's
and said that hethe
mother and sister resided in Grange road, but
Just
M) asreturned the
cou
court
with wa
they denied all knowledge of the Wife and the pro-
perty.
Mr. Burchan3 told the applicant that he could not
he could find his •
assist him- If Property. he could
seize it
wherever it was, but if he ascertained that
his wife had another husband living,he could give
his
her ill charge for bigamy.
Applicant, who seemed much disappointed at his
worship's recommendation, then left the court, ex-
pressing his aversion at the American uniform
which he Was compelled unwillingly to Wear 1