The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-24 00:00:00

MARYLEBONE.

HICIWAY ROBBERY AND ATTEMPT TO MURDER MR.
E. CLARKSON, THE BARRISTER.—Tbig day Edward Bas.
ley, a tall, powerfully-made man, who described himself
to be a French polisher, and who refused to give his ad-
dress' was placed at the bar before Mr. Long, charged
with having, in conjunction with another man, not in
custody, attempted to murder Mr. Eugene Comerford
Clarkson, barrister, of No. 53, Cleveland-square, Pad-
dington, under the following circumstances of a most
daring highway robbery.
The prosecutor stated that about one o'clock that
morning be was returning home along the Bays-
water-road, having a carpet bag and an um-
brella in his hands, when he was suddenly
seized hold of by a man who came behind him, and who
afterwards grasped his throat with both his hands. The
prisoner immediately came in front of him, and made a
snatch at the Albert gold chain which was suspended
from his neck, and to which was attached a gold watch
in his waistcoat pocket. The chain broke, but he suc-
ceeded in taking possession of the watch, with a portion
of the chain. While the prisoner was doing this he
struggled with the other man, who called out to the
prisoner to take his pistol out of his pocket and shoot
him (prosecutor). He released himself from the other
man, and then attacked them both with his fists. They
both ran away. He pursued and overtook them near
Sussex-square, where one of the men called upon the other
to shoot him. He contiaued to follow them. When near
Hyde Park-gardens they took up some stones to fling at
,hisn, but did not do so. He again got up to them, and

they again went off as fast as they could, pursued by
him (prosecutor), who overtook them at a spot where
there was no thoroughfare. While he was struggling
IN Hi them a policeman came up, whom he told that be
had been robbed by them. The other man then ran
away ; prosecutor told the officer to go after him, and
vtated that he would take care of the prisoner. An-
other constable soon afterwards came up, into whose
custody he gave the prisoner. As they were going to
the station-house the prisoner made a determined resis-
tance. He was eventually thrown on the ground and
overpowered. When the prisoner got up the policeman
found on the ground a gold watch with an Albert-chain
and appendages attached, which he identified. He was
taken to the station-house. rhe other man has not been
taken.
The prisoner was remanded for a week.

EXTRAORDINARY POISONING CASES

AT MANCHESTER.

Yesterday afternoon three men were placed at the bar
of the City Court-house, before Mr. Rickards, Mr. Ross,
and Mr. J. A. Turner, magistrates, on a charge of
poisoning, which, in some of its main features, resembles
the Rugeley case. The prisoners were Thomas Bull
Holland, a surgeon, James Monaghan, and a man named
Barry. A man named Edward Dunn is implicated in
the same charge, but has been convicted for another
offence, and is serving a period of 'imprisonment.
Mr. Bradleugh, instructed by Messrs. Clay and Co.,
attorneys, London, appeared on behalf of the Diadem
Insurance Company, as prosecutor ; Mr. Fernley, bar-
rister (for Messrs. Mann, attorneys), on behalf of the
prisoner Monaghan ; and Mr. Bent, solicitor, for the
prisoner Barry. It is understood that the prisoner
Holland, who is a surgeon, has made a confession or
statement to Mr. Bradleugh, revealing the whole of his
transactions with the other prisoners, which statement is
to the effect that, being surgeon to the Diadem Insur-
ance Company for the district, the prisoners had applied
to him to pass John Monaghan (the prisoner Monaghan's
father) as a good life, and that subsequently they were
in his surgery when ho was mixing a solution of white
lead with water, and asked him if it could not be done
without assuming a milky colour. He then showed
them that it could be mixed with whisky so as to be
colourless. There was reason to believe that some of
this mixture was given to the old man Monaghan, who
died some months ago, when the prisoners and Dunn
applied for 3001., the sum for which Monaghan's life
had been insured, but were refused the money. His
disclosures had also led to the belief that two other per-
sons bad been similarly poisoned.
Mr. Bradleugh stated that the charge against the pri-
soner, along with Dunn (who was in prison for embez-
zling money belonging to an assurance company), was
for having destroyed the life of one John Monaghan, the
father of the prisoner James Monaghan, to obtain the
sum of 3001. from the Diadem Life Insurance Company.
He should, if he succeeded in establishing a sufficient
case, apply to the bench to remand them to a future
day, and in the interim make an application to the coro-
ner to exhume the body of John Monaghan, so that it
could undergo a post mortem examination, and then get
a habeas corpus, under which the body of Dunn might
be removed from prison to be placed at the bar along
with the prisoners Monaghan and Barry. His first ap-
plication would be to the bench to liberate Holland from
the dock, so that he might be examined as a witness.
There was reason to believe from the disclosures he had
made that he was willing to further the ends of justice,
and his evidence was of great importance towards esta-
blishing the charge against the other prisoners.
The magistrates having consented to the application,
Thomas Bull Holland was removed from the dock to the
witness box, and subjected to a long and painful exami-
nation of some hours. The examination was most
painful to listen to, because Holland prevaricated to an
extent which rendered it almost impossible to get half-a-
dozen consecutive sentences from him without the
grossest contradictions. Probably this was to some
extent in consequence of a warning from the bench that
he was not bound to answer any question that might
criminate himself.

The examination was likely to last until a late hour.

A case was under investigation yesterday afternoon,
at Manchester, in addition to the above, in which two
children in a burial club, and whose parents would be
entitled to 61. each on their death, are suspected to have
been poisoned.