The Sun.
London, England, 1848-04-24 00:00:00

DEMAND FOR PIKES.

A circumstance has been related to me, this
morning, well worthy of observation, as exhibiting
the peculiarities of our times—a circumstance which,
when coming before Government, will serve to indi-
cate their true position. My authority is such that I
can vouch for its accuracy. A Mr. —, a traveller
for a cutlery establishment in Sheffield, called a few
days ago on a respectable ironmonger-iti Dublin, to
solicit orders, and obtain the settlement of the firm's
running account. The account was presented, and
the Dublin gentleman stated that, although the credit
had a little time to run, he would have it arranged
during the day in the usual manner. He stated,
however, that his stock being extensive, and business
very flat, his orders would be comparatively small,
and that if Mr. would leave his list he would
mark out what he required. This was done, and
Mr. was turning from the shop, when the
man of iron inquired, " By-the-bye, could you fur-
nish me with any pikes ? They are the only things
in demand now.' Mr. —, under the impression
that his customer was jesting, laughingly replied, " Oh,
to be sure ;" and immediately left. On returning to
street, an order for a varied assortment of
goods was put into his hands, and at the foot of it was
written, " 1,800 pikes, according to sample," a model
pike .head being handed to the traveller, with direc-
tions to have them manufactured precisely after that
fashion. Mr. inquired if the customer was
serious. " Serious !" replied the ironmonger ; " I
never was more serious in my life. Didn't you tell
me that you could provide the pikes ?" "Certainly I
did," said Mr. —, " but I really thought you were
jesting at that time. I certainly will take no order
of the kind from any man." " Then," returned the
Dublin merchant, " I cancel the entire order. Do
not send me any other article I have noted. I won't
receive them if you do." Mr. was surprised,
but made up his mind on the instant, that, order or
no order, he would be content with the settlement of
-he account. The subject was accordingly mentioned;
but Dublin met Sheffield by declaring that, since the
order for the pikes was refused, he would not pay a
farthing of money until the last moment of the
general credit, no matter what discount would be
allowed. He stuck inexorably to this, and Mr.
left the metropolis minus both cash and order for
goods. I look upon this circumstance as a promoni-
tory symptom of the coming fever, and one which
tells forcibly of the present state of the national
patient. Pikes and penknives, or neither—that is
the order of the day in Dublin, so far as respects
English cutlery establishments.—/Vorth British Mail.

SUICIDE.—An inquest was held on Thursday at
St. George's Hospital, before Mr. Bedford, on the body
of Henry Vaughan, aged 21, a confectioner, who
drowned himself in the Serpentine. Josiah Vaughan, of
Vauxhall-street, Lambeth, said the deceased (his
brother) had been out of work for the last five months,
and all that time had lived in bis house, and depended
upon him for support. On Thursday morning, while
witness was from home at his work, the deceased and
his (witness's) wife ran away together to Portsmouth,
the latter taking with her the money saved to pay the
rent. The next day his wife returned, followed by the
deceased, who attempted to shoot her because she would
not go back and live with him. He levelled a loaded
pistol at her head, and pulled the trigger, but the pistol
fortunately missed fire. He heard nothing more of the
deceased until Saturday, when a messenger brought him
word that he had thrown himself into the Serpentine,
having previously left in his hat on the bridge a letter
directed to witness. In this letter he acknowledged
having seduced his sister-in-law, and stated that as she
had refused to live with him his life had become a
burthen to him. Witness believed that the deceased for
some time past had not been right in his mind. Verdict
—Temporary insanity.
A very deplorable event occurred at Easton, near
Stamford, on the lath instant. A man named Wilkin-
son, a labouring plasterer, aged about 45, in a state of
frenzy made an attempt on the lives of his two children.
fle unfortunate man had been for about eight weeks in
a desponding state, and had been regularly attended by
Mr. Charles Simpson, who finding him very docile, did
not consider any restraint necessary, beyond ordinary
,urveillance, to prevent his making an attempt on his
own life. Taking advantage of his wife's absence up
stairs, Wilkinson took up an instrument used by him in
his business (having a hammer at one end and a kind of
hatchet at the other), and began to chop at both the
children. Their screams brought their mother down
stairs, and she succeeded in wresting the weapon from
her husband, not, however, before he had inflicted five
horrible wounds on the head of the younger, as well as a
deep gash on the wrist. Wilkinson has been since con-
veyed to Camberwell Lunatic Asylum, there being no
room for him either at Northampton, or Leicester, or
Nottingham asylums.—Stanford Mercury.
SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY.—PLYMOUTH, APRIL 20.
—During the last few days the works on the line have
been greatly retarded by the state of the weather.
Nevertheless every exertion is being made to open the
line to Lairs as early as possible. The uprights for the
electric_ telegraph are erected to within one Haile of
Brent, and the attaching the wires will commence next
week.seva_ The viaducts have been tested by an engine and
several
stand the work
lies, verfyro wmell. A
heavily laden trucks, and appear, as the navvies
say, to th
the
locomotive
Totnes downo ttioveLawiirlal
pass over
(the Plymouth station), this
we, and it i 3 believed that
the line will be opened on or
is raid that the requisite notice about the
a2d of May. It
been given to the
Government inspector that the line is ready
the for inspec-
tion. There will be no goods station at
light goads will be carried over the
line at Lairs, but
such articles as will come under the on9f—all
denomination of
parcels, and also fish, which now forms a large ind im-
portant item of traffic by rail from Plymouth.
DISTRESSING SUICIDE.—PLYMOUTH, THURSDAY.
—An inquest was held this afternoon at the School-room.
Plymouth Citadel, before J. Edmonds, Esq., the coroner,'
on the body of William Robinson, a colour-sergeant in
the 35th Regiment. The deceased had risen that morn-
ing at gun-fire, and called the roll of his company. A
private soldier, about six o'clock, went to the privy at
the sergeant's mess, and there saw the deceased on his
knees. He at first thought it was a soldier, who, after
being intoxicated the .
night previous, had repaired there
for the purposes of nature! and, _
'
acting on that convic-
tion, he said ,
to the deceased, "Come, come, you
have been long enough here."
h The soldier, after re-
maining there a short time,
saw deceased's braces were
round his neck; and on a closer examination, he found
that lie was suspended from the door. He immediately
circumstance, and the deceased
gave information of the
A towel had been fastened
was afterwards cut down.
communicated from
over the door, and a pair of braces co
I, e then hung on
the towel to the deceased's nee., a h
nd
e Mauritius,
his knees. The deceased, while in th
at-
tempted suicide by cutting his throat, the
markThejury
occa-
sioned by the act being perceptible on his neck.,
returned a verdict, of " Temporary insanity.
IMPORTATIONS OF APPLES.—The importations of
apples from Belgium, as well as France, are just Clow
Particularly numerous and extensive. One vessel, just
.trrived, has brought nearly 600 cases of the fruit, form-
ing an entire cargo; ani another vessel has brought 415
cases, comprising an entire cargo of the article. The
importation of the fruit from G •rave Fries and that portion
i ,
of France, are part' ocularly large and numerous.
Information has been for dd to
ar e the metropoli-
tan police-offices of the w
following
desperate means em-
plooed by a house breaker
a police-constable:---Tho to escape from the custody of
others of his class,
had prisoner,h it appears, with two
trates of Edrington, near BiariLien°'llmittepel
Nby the mi agis•
or h,ttie,)re,kinc: and whit t tg,rnaemee, t_n Varwic.c gaol
ai 2. to the latter

,t,
4' pollee-sergeant "'Larson, ha suudunly vauited, harle-
quin like, through the window of the carriage.