The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-05 00:00:00

A 7 TEMP 7 ED WIFE MURDER AT LEEDS.

The CHAIRMAN proposed "Prosperity to the
Malden Liberal Club," observing that the real ob-
ject of a Conservative gathering, heldsome months
ago in the town, was to introduce a candidate to
contest the borough on Conservative principles, in
the person of Mr. H. J. Selwin. Mr. Selwin was a
gentleman whom he had long known, and whom
he highly esteemed ; but he trusted that the electors
of Maldon would tell him when the proper time
arrived that,however much they might respect him
personally, they strongly objected to place him in the
House of Commons, to the exclusion of their present
Liberal representative. The Conservative party
were aiming at securing the entire Parliamentary
representation of Essex ; but in this they would find
themselves mistaken,for there were symptoms abroad
that Maldon would not in future have the honour
of alone returning a Liberal member among all the
Essex constituencies. Essex, rising from her pre-
sent political depression, would, he believed, return
her fair share of Liberal members to the House of
Commons. (Cheers.)
The Rev. Sir J. P. WOOD proposed " The Liberal
Members of the House of Commons."
Mr. C. BUXTON, M.P., whose name was associated
with the toast, replied, and said the last time he had
the pleasure of speaking in that hall he gave a brief
sketch of the progress which constitutional liberty
had made throughout Europe in recent years. In
the year which had since intervened, that progress,
although chequered, had been steady, and, ip. some
parts of Europe, rapid. In Italy it Was remarkable
how quickly people had caught the spirit and
adapted themselves to the forms of constitution
government. In Austria, lately so despotic, the go-
vernment had actually reduced the army in accord-
ance with the decision of the Diet. In Prussia, al-
though for the moment despotism appeared to be
triumphant, the magnificent stand made by the na•
tion against the King—a stand so temperate, so
thoughtful, and so wisely managed—yet indicated
the ultimate victory of freedom. In Greece, above
all, which had so often been pointed at as an exam-
ple of the absurdity of giving a constitution to a
people before they were ripe for it, a revolution had
taken place which showed in a most striking man-
ner not only the determination of the people to
govern themselves, and not to allow their liberties
to be trampled on, but also their fitness to manage
their own affairs. It was painful to turn from these
cheering signs of the future in Europe to the awful
struggle which was taking place in North America;
but he thought the time had come when all ought to
be making up their minds as to what we ought to
wish for with regard to that great struggle. We
heard people saying they were on the side of the
Northerners or on the side of the South ; but he did
not think we ought to be content with a vague par-
tisanship like that. In fact, for his own part, he
their partisan
present
could
be a hardly understand how shy Englishman
could
a i
eitherm sof
Sometlic p Northarson
so rs oe
seemed
them ed
Southin
to think
that the South put itself beyond the
pale of sympathy, whatever
endure, on
nation.account of its
He had been
son of his father because the sufferings it might
being a slave-owning
told that he
his father, with all his anti -slavery
failed to regard it aswas an unworthy
he did not think so ; but
the ant -
misfortunelavery zeal, never
the fault of the slaveownersthatthe rather than
that
deplorable position. His father al,,3;:yesrereill
them as having a strong claim to consideratiognanEt
the Quarterly Review itself owned that it was en-
tirely duo to him that the proposal to compensate

On Wednesday, at the Leeds Town Hall, a young
fellow named Edward J. Wilde, a paper-stainer,
residing in St. Mary s-lane, was charged with at-
tempting to murder his wife, Anne Wilde, by
shooting her with a pistol. The prosecutrix, an
interesting girl of nineteen, and the daughter of a
joiner, living near the Marsh-lane station, appeared
to be seriously indisposed, and was accommodated
with a seat while giving her evidence. She stated
she was married on April 6 to the prisoner, with-
out the knowledge or consent of her parents. After
the marriage she took lodgings in Strode-street,
and there the prisoner used occasionally to visit
her. However, he neglected her so ranch that she
Iwas driven to the last extremity of destitution and
illness, and it was only owing to the kindly inter-
ference of a neighbour that her parents learnt of
her miserable condition, and went and took her
away home. She was then in health, in a situa-
tion in Boar-lane, Leeds, and the prisoner used to
meet her at night after her day's work was over,
and see her home. On Tuesday night week prose-
cutrix left her work in company with a Mrs.
M'Bryan, and when they arrived near the railway
bridge, in Marsh-lane, they heard a noise of some-
body running behind them, and on looking round
they saw the prisoner. Wilde, addressing the pro-
secutrix, said, " I want to speak to you ;" upon
which Mrs. M'Bryan bade them good night, and
left them. Prisoner then told his wife that he was
going to Liverpool, and that he had come to bid
her good bye. Prosecutrix said she wished him
well, and then added that, as the hour was late, she
must at once proceed home. Prisoner begged to
accompany her, but she declined on the ground
that she was afraid of provoking a quarrel between
him and her father. Prisoner then said, " I swore
on the day of our marriage, that no other man
should have you," and ho immediately drew a pistol
and presented it at her head. With great presence of
mind, she covered her face with her shawl, and
bowed down her head, and it was lucky she did so,
for Wilde at once discharged the pistol, and the
shot not only blew the crown of her bonnet into
atoms, but partially entered the scalp, and inflicted
a superficial wound. Prosecutrix fell to the ground,
and when she was picked up by a passer-by, named
Eliza Morley, she was found to be bleeding from
the wound inflicted. She was taken to the house of
Mr, James Ellison, of No. 3, Wesley-place, and the
wound was washed; and shortly after she was re-
moved to her father's house, where she has since
been attended by Mr. Cottam, surgeon.
It appears that Mts. Wilde has frequently been
threatened by her husband, and that he must have
entertained a very strong feeling of jealousy towards
her; at the same time the girl'.3 excuse would seem
to be perfectly natural, for she only refused to oo
habit with the prisoner because he neither could
nor attempted to provide a home for her.
The prisoner was committed for trial at the en-
suing York assizeo.
,al