The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-14 00:00:00

MAR YLEB ONE.

DIABOLICAL AND BRUTAL ASSAULT.—MichaeI Hamel,
Patrick 'Yaffe, and William Curtain, three athletic fero-
cious-looking Irishmen, were placed at the.bar before the
sitting magistrate, Mr. RAWLINSON, charged with the fol-
lowing unprovoked and brutal attack :
Robert Tower, drayman, in the employ of Elliot and Co.,
the extensive brewers at Pimlico (who appeared with his
head and face bandaged up, having bad his left eye com-
pletely knocked from the socket, and the cartilage of his
nose broken), deposed that on the evening of Saturday last
he, accompanied by two of his fellow labourers, went to de-
liver three butts of porter at the Three Compasses, in
Portman-mews, Orchard-street, kept by Mr. Bennett.
Having lowered the beer into the cellar they went into the
taproom where the landlord sent them in a pet of porter
and some bread and cheese, which they were enjoying,
when two men, whom witness could not identify, asked one
of his (witness's) companions, a man named Elms (who
was then in St. George's Hospital from the injuries re-
ceived), to give him some bread and cheese. Elms replied
it was not his, but belonged to the landlord. Just then a
party of Irishmen, about twenty in number, entered the
room, and, after some conversation between them, the pri-
soner Wolfe jumped on the table, and, before witness was
at all aware of his intention, lifted up his foot and kicked
him with tremendous force on the eye and nose, which laid
him senseless. On recovering he found that Elms had gone
to the hospital. His other companion, who was not much
hurt, then led him to a surgeon's, where his wounds were
dressed, but he was afraid his sight was gone for ever.
Thomas Geary, mate to the last witness, said that the
prisoner Harnet was one of the men who asked for the
bread and cheese, and on the last witness being kicked he
then got up to resent it, when they were immediately sur-
rounded and overpowered. Witness was struck and kicked
about the body in a most desperate manner, and Elms was
knocked down, and while in that state kicked about his
head and face with such dreadful force that scarcely a fea-
ture was visible. The police having arrived at the spot,
the whole of the party, with the exception of the prisoners,
effected their escape. The man Elms was conveyed in a
state of insensibility to St. George's Hospital.
Mr. Edward Weedon, clerk at the brewhouse of Mr.
Elliott, here produced a certificate from the house-surgeon
of the hospital, stating that the man " Elms had received
such severe injuries, both internal and external, that his
life was in groat danger."
Mr. RAWLINSON having asked the prisoners if they had
any thing to say, and received an answer in the negative,
ordered them to be remanded till Wednesday, by which

time he hoped that Elms would be sufficiently recovered to
come forward and give evidence againSt them.
UNSTAMPED PUBLICATIONS.—John Harmefield, a youth
of respectable appearance, was charged with selling an un-
stamped newspaper, called the Weekly Police Gazette, and
assaulting Josiah Dean, of No. 4, Union-terrace, Spa-fields,
an officer employed by the Stamp-office to apprehend such

cffenders. -
Witness, about a quarter past eleven o'clock on Sunday
morning, was passing down Tottenham-court-road, when he
saw the prisoner sell the publication in question to several
persons, and afterwards purchased one himself, for which
he paid twopence. He then called a policeman and gave
him in charge. On their way to the station-house the pri-
soner struck and kicked him in a violent manner, and a mob
of upwards of 400 persons having assembled be was assailed
by them with stones, rotten eggs, and other missiles, and
narrowly escaped with his life.
Police constable S 174, corroborated the latter part of
this statement.

Mr. Edmonds (who attended for the prisoner)here asked
the witness if there was any one present to corroborate his
statement as to the vending of the publication, and was an-

swered in the negative.
Witness then went on to state that he had a very unplea-
sant duty to perform, to which Mr.Edmonds replied that he
supposed the most pleasant part of it was the receiving a
moiety of the penalties.
Mr. I.l.AwLiNscx said that it was to be regretted that
persons like the prisoner were thus proceeded against, and
be Lad hoped that the Government would have deemed it
proper to have proceeded against the printers instead.
Mr. Edmonds contended that the publication handed in
was not provdd to contain any article of " news," accord-
ing-to the strict meaning cf the word.
Mr. RAVr'LINSON had carefully looked over and was of
a different opinion.
The prisoner was then committed for one month.

ATTEIIIPT TO POISON TWO CHILDREN,

AND SUICIDE OF THE MOTHER.

Considerable excitement was produced in the town of
St. Alban's on Sunday, by the report that Mrs. James
Smailes, residing in Chequers-street, had administered
arsenic to two of her children, one a girl about seven years
old, and the other 14 months, and had also taken a quan-
tity of the deleterious poison herself. The rumour was
unhappily too true ; and it appears that she bad effected
her purpose in the absence of her husband and son at morn-
ing chapel. Medical assistance was subsequently called in,
and the usual antidotes administered. These were suc-
cessful as regarded the children, but failed in removing the
deadly effects cf the poison from the mother, who expired
in great agony at halt:past seven o'clock. An inquest was
held the following mornir°r at the New Court House, be-
fore T. W. Blagg, Esq., Coroner for the Borough, and a
respectable Jury. The evidence of Mr. J. Coales and Mr.
P. Kingston, surgeons, was to the same effect ; viz., that
at half-past one o'clock the preceding day they had been
called in, and found deceased in great excitement from pain ;
that after same time she admitted having given arsenic to
the children, and bad also taken some herself ; that she at
first refused to have any thing done for her, but after-
wards consented, and then willingly took an emetic, which
produced much vomiting, but she said it was too late to
do her good ; and that she died between seven and eight
o'clock ; she said she had committed the act from -poverty
1 and distress, and thought it best not to leave the children
behind her : she had written a letter to her husband, and
had given him a reason : she was perfectly collected, and
there was not the least symptom of insanity about her.
Mr. G. Bates, who was well acquainted with the family,
said the deceased generally appeared cheerful, and never
complained of distress.—Mr. T. Bradshaw lodged in the
house, and had observed the deceased to be very dejected
during the past week.—Mr. J. Smailes, the husband sworn :
He first discovered that the deceased was unwell at dinner
time (soon after he and his son Henry returned from
chapel), as she could not cat anything ; the baby was sick,
and on examining the ejected matter, he found a white
powder ; he also saw two sea-spoons on the mantel-piece
with some white powder, and tins excited his suspicion ;
on questioning her, she refused to answer, but the little
girl, who was continually squeezing her throat, said " mo-
ther had given her some sugared bread and butter :" he
immediately sent for the medical gentlemen : to all his in-
quiries she only said, " Oh Smailes !" but afterwards
gave him a paper, and said lie might thank Mrs. Brad-
shaw for what she had done. He could assign no cause
for her dejection, except that he had not been so successful
in his trade the preceding week as in same others :
Mrs. Bradshaw and deceased frequently quarrelled :
three months since his bed bad been seized for rent,

which had much influence on her spirits at the time,
and she cried frequently, but he did not perceive any
despondency lately. They always lived on the best terms.
He here produced the paper given him by deceased, of
which the following is a copy ;—" You have no one to
thank but Mrs. Bradshaw ; she told Henry that I went

to London, and slept with Mr. ---, the officer, but you
know better than that ; but I wish you would see him and
her face to face ; and she wrote to her son George, and

said that he had been great with me. Take care of my
dear son, and do not listen to what any of the Bradsliaws
say about him, for they hate him, for I have heard them
say so. Let him go to Mrs. Wood's as often as you can.—
For Mr. Smailes." On his further examination, he said
he never suspected the deceased of any impropriety of con-
duct. John Lewis, apprentice to Mr. Attwood, chemist,
said the deceased on Saturday night, called and asked for a
pennyworth more of the same stuff to poison rats, which he
had sold her some time since ; that he gave her a quarter
of an ounce of arsenic, andwrote on the envelope " Poison."
(Here it should be observed, that about a fortnight ago,
her husband had found a paper of arsenic under her bed,
and said it was very shocking for her to purchase such stuff:
she cried, but said nothing. This occurred in the presence
of Mr. Bates, who testified to its truth, and she had pur-
chased it at Mr. Attwood's.) The Jury, after considerable
deliberation, returned a verdict of Felo de se, and the body,
on the Coroner's warrant, was buried without funeral rites,
at eleven o'clock at night, in the Abbey church-yard, in the
presence of an immense concourse of spectators. The two
children are still living, though the infant continues in such
a weakly state, that doubts are entertained whether its life
can be saved.--Essex County Herald.