The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-23 00:00:00

SHOCKING CASE OF STARVATION.

Yesterday Mr. William Carter, coroner for Surrey,
held a long inquiry at the Duke of Suffolk, Brandon_
street, Wal worth, on the body of an infant named Eliza-
beth Ann Holwell, who died from starvation in conse-
quence of being neglected by its mother, who was
remanded from Lambeth Police court on Thursday last
for threatening to destroy het own life by poison. Mr.
Thomas Cooke, the coroner's officer, deposed, that on
Wednesday last he proceeded to No. 11, Thomas-street,
Lock's-fields. On entering the front room below he
found four children and a woman lying on the bare
boards asleep. He was unable to awaken the woman
at all. Two of the children were sitting on a board sup-
ported by blocks of wood, another walking about the
room, and the fourth lying by the side of the woman.
On a further examination he saw the dead body of a
fifth child lying on some cut straw, enclosed in a piece
of old sacking, which was intended for a bed. There were
no bedclothes, and all the room contained was an old
chair. The body was cold about the feet, and in a very
emaciated condition. The room was in an extremely
filthy state from the accumulation of dirt, but the body
of the infant was clean. He then searched the room,
but discovered no food with the exception of some stale
sop, which smelt offensively. On the top of a cupboard
were some bottles, and one was labelled "Lotion—
poison." Witness took charge of the body of deceased
and removed it from the house. On the mantelpiece
was a br,,wii jug, which contained some kind of sedi-
merit. After removing the body he returned to the
house, and the mother of the deceased had then dis-
appeared, but soon afterwards she came back. She said
she had last seen the deceased alive about 2 o'clock in
the morning, and also that itdied at that hour. She re-
marked that she was quite sober at the time, and asked
for the bottle marked " Poison," as she wanted to take it,
being determined to destroy herself. Mr. E. D. Howell,
surgeon, deposed that, by the order of the coroner, he
had made a post mortem examination of the body of the
deceased. It was totally free from disease of any kind.
He was positively of opinion that the child had died from
starvation alone. The body was nothing but skin and
bone, Martha Parcy, a married woman, said she was the
sister of the mother of the children. She (the mother)
was parted from her husband in consequence of her in-
temperate habits. The father of, the children allowed
14s. per week for their maintenance, which sum witness
bad pail her sister two weeks running, but she spent
the money in drink instead of buying food. On Satur-
day night last she was much intoxicated, and witness
only gave her is., but on Sunday morning she sent her
lle. lucre. Mr. Cooke, the officer, here brought in
another child, a girl about seven years of age. It pre-
sented a most dreadful appearance, the features being
sharpened by want, the bones of the chest almo-t pre•
truding through the skin, and the arms and legs show-
ing the formation of the bone through the skin. Cooke
stated that there was another child even in a worse con-
dition than the one before the jury. This being the
whole of the evidence, the court was cleared of strangers,
and on their being re-admitted, the jury returned a ver-
dict of " Manslaughter against Elizabeth Ann Holwell,
for feloniously killing and slaying Elizabeth Ann Hol-
well, her daughter." The witnesses were then bound
over to prosecute.

GREECE MERCANTILE NAVT.—According to the
Annales da Oommerce Exterieur, the mercantile marine
of Greece amounted on the Ist January, 1856, to 5,052
vessels, measuring together 295,001 tons. Of this ton-
nage, 121,352 belonged to Syra alone, which is the
principal port for shipbuilding in the kingdom. Next
to Syra comes Spezzia, Galaxidi, Hydra, the Piraeus,
and Santorin.
THE INKERMAN MONUMENT TO OFFICERS OP THE
COLDSTREAM GUARDS.—A cenotaph has just been erect-
ed in St. Paul's (in the aisle on the right hand of the
great western entrance) to the memory of the following
eight officers of the Coldstream Guards who fell at the
battle of Inkerman :—Lieut.-Col. the Hon. Vesey Daw-
son, Lieut.-Col. J. C. Murray Cowell, Captain L. D.
Mackinnon, Captain the Hon. G. C. C. Elliott, Captain
H. M. Bouverie, Captain F. H. Ramsden, Lieutenant
E. Adisbrowe, and Lieutenant C. H. Greville. The
monument consists of an entablature on which the
names are inscribed, and above it a small representation
of the tomb, with its simple tablet, which covers the
bodies on Cathcart's-bill, in the Crimea. On each side
of these is the effigy of a soldier of the regiment, leaning
mournfully over them ; above are the words " and the
victory that day was turned into mourning." The in-
scription is from the pen of the Dean of St. Paul's.
PERAMBULATORS.—ConsiderabIe excitement and even
consternation amongst a few in the town has been ooca-
sioned by a recent resolution passed by the town council.
The causeways in some parts of Grantham are unusually
narrow ; the lounging of idle men on them is a continual
complaint ; and since the introduction of perambulators
grumblers say that additional inconvenience bag been
experienced. A bye-law of the borough forbids trucks,
barrows, and carriages on wheels to run on the pave-
and
ment, and the town council (that is to say the so ur
choleric majority) have altered the bye-law so.a_s.to make
it apply to perambulators. There is extreme selfishness in SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH TO AMERICA.—PLYICOUTH,
this movement against perambulators. To people with Alugust 22 —The Propontis, Captain Goodwin, belong-
young families they have been found exceedingly useful, ing to the General Screw Steam Company, put in here
and no doubt have proved a great relief to nursemaids • this morning, from Newfoundland, having succesfully
bud a
a few crusty old maids and cross-grained old laid submarine cables between Cape Breton and New-
bachelors (who have no sympathy with children) have foundland, and between New Brunswick and Prince
been occasionally made to turn aside in their walks to Edward's Island. The steamerfrom Ir will beeland immedacross the
iately em-
let the perambulators pass, they are all at once to be put Ployed in laying a
down as a nuisance,—.Lincoln Mowry. `Atlantic.

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