The Sun.
London, England, 1845-01-17 00:00:00

ATTEMPTED MURDER OF A
• WIFE BY HER lIUSIIAND, AND HIS SUI-
CIDE.
On Wednesday, John Clements, a wool-stapler, of Little
George-street, adjacent to the Grange-road, Bermondsey
attempted to murder his wife by cutting her throat, and
afterwards destroyed himself. It appears that Clements was
in the employ of Mr. Elkerton, wool-stapler, in the Grange-
walk, Bermondsey, since June last, and that he oecupiedi,
with his family, consisting of a wife and three children, a,
ready-furnished first-floor, at No. 24, Little George-strev...
For some time past he had exhibited depression of spirits,.
He complained of being unwell on Wednesday before te
went to work, and returned bet Ore his usual time, heti'', eee,
ten and eleven, and requested his wife to make hip; some
tea. At this period their eldest son, about thirtenen years of
age, was in the room, and he was sent to tha public-house
for a pint of porter. In about a minute after the lad quitted
the house the landlady, a Mrs. Putinar, Was alarmed by
hearing a loud scream, followed by the noise of some person
falling heavily on the floor immediately over the room
in which she was sitting. There was a knock at the
street-door at this moment, and a young man named
Bond was let in ; as he entered, Mrs. Clements came
running down stairs with her throat cut, and the blood gushing from the wound. When she got into the pas-
sage, she fell from exhaustion into the arms of Bond,
ejaculating, " For God's sake, call a doctor !" Bond them
carried her into the back parlour, and hurried away to the
police-station. Two policemen were immediately sent to the
house, but, upon their entering the room, Clements was dis-
oovered lying on the floor in a pool of blood, with his throat
cut nearly from ear to ear, and a razor, with which he per-
petrated the deed, lay at his side. A medical man speedily
arrived, but the unfortunate man was quite dead. Mrs. Cle-
ments was conveyed to Guy's Hospital, and will probably
recover. Her account of the occurrence, as well as she could;
recollect from the haste in which it was carried into erect,
was, that her husband had been complaining for some daps
of his head, and being in arrear of rent to his landlord, it
seemed to weigh on his mind, and on the preceding nigtit he
awoke out of his sleep in a fright, and said to his wail that
the officers were going to apprehend him. When lie subse-
quently returned from his employer's premises, arid while she
was engaged in toasting a piece of bread at the fire, he sud-
denly turned upon her and drew the razor across her throat.
She felt the blood trickling down her neck, and with an effort
she rushed out of the room, before he had time to repeat the
act, The unfortunate deceased must have destroyed himself
immediately afterwards. It appears that the deceased came
up from the country about seven months ago with his family,
and that he was a sober and industrious man. He had no
previous quarrel with his wife.

FIRE and LOSS of LIFE at BATA.
In the course of Wednesday, accounts were received.
at the several fire-insurance offices in the City from the
agents at Bath, respecting a very destructive fire, unhappily
attended with fatal consequences, which took place in that
city on the morning of Monday last. It appears that the at-
tention of the police was drawn to a quantity of smoke issu-
ing from the crevices of the parlour-shutters of the Horse
and Jockey public-house, in the occupation of Mr. !Um],
situate in Barton-street, Queen-square. The inmates were.
promptly apprised of the danger they were in, and on the
landlord coming down stairs and opening the parlour.door,
he discovered that the whole of the interior of that apartrhent
was on fire. Owing to the sudden draft of air, the flames
quickly spread through the premises, and after it was thought
that the residents had all made their escape, it was ascer-
tained that a Mrs. Ann Cross, a bedridden old lady, 78 years
of age. was lying in a helpless state in bed in a front room
on the first floor. One of the servants made two attempts to
save the unfortunate creature, which proving unsuccessful, a
workman, by means of a ladder, entered the room by the
window. He succeeded, after much difficulty, in getting the
afflicted woman out of the bed, but owing to her great cor-
pulency he was unable to lift her from the ground, and end-
ing that the floor was giving way underneath him, he was
forced to leave her and make a hasty retreat by the window;
In a few minutes afterwards the fire gained the room, when
her cries were distinctly heard—" Oh save me, oh save me,"
which created the deepest sensation. The flames continued
to rage with unabated fury, and in less than an hour the
whole building was consumed. In the course of the day the
burnt remains of the poor sufferer were collected. An in-
quest was held, and a verdict of " Accidental death" has been
returned. The premises were insured in the Sun Fire-oflice
for 1,0001.

THE ROYAL NAVY.
ARRIVAL OF MORE CHINESE MONEY.
The Pelican sloop, 16, Commander Philip Joshes, has ar-
rived at Portsmouth, from China, with another instalment of
the Chinese indemnity.
She caused some consternation at Portsmouth on Monday
evening about eight o'clock. On coming into Spithead she
grounded on the Kicker Point, off Fort Monckton, when she
fired a number of guns and threw up several rockets. The
signal was soon answered by the Victory in the harbour, and
the Comet steam-vessel, Lieut.-Commander Prettyman, and
a number of boats, went out to her assistance, and as it was
low water when she took the ground, she was got off about
midnight, without damage.
The master was sick, and a pilot had been talon in at
Weymouth to carry the vessel into Port.
Captain Rowley, of the St. Vincent, 120, flag ship, went
on board the Pelican yesterday morning, and mustered her
crew, and at noon she was towed into harbour by the Comet,
where she remains.
The Pelican left Hong-Kong on the 3d of August, with a
freight of 1,000,000 dollars. She beat down against the
south-west monsoon, and anchored in Angier Roads on 19th
of September. She had been in company with the Harlequin,
16, Commander Hon. G. F. Hastings, and, finding the
Pelican to be in a leaky state, half her money was trans-
ferred to the Harlequin, and, while the latter sloop pro-
ceeded on her voyage to England, the Pelican went to Ba-
tavia to repair damages. Having arrived at the island of
Onrust, she was immediately taken into the dockyard at Ba-
tavia, where the ship was careened, and fifty feet of plank
perfectly rotten and worm-eaten, just below the light-load
water line on the larboard side, was replaced by sound wood.
and in ten days she was ready for sea. The Dutch Admiral,
the commandant, and other authorities at Batavia, behaved
in the most handsome manner towards the officers of the Pe-
lican, facilitating the repairs of the sloop, and showing-every
courtesy and attention to their wants. The Pelican departed
from Onrust, her ship's company much gratified with their
reception, on the sth of October, watered at Angier, and
finally left Java Head on the 9th of that month, and an-
chored at the Cape of Good Hope on the 15th of November.
A transport has just anchored in Table Bay, with the 57th
regiment on board, bound to India. She had been eleven
weeks on her voyage from England. The George the FoUrth„
tea ship, was about to leave the Cape for. England the day
after the Pelican left.
gont
vessele rim ceanl
tl
ee dl
etrhoei
sPagoda
e
by the Winchester's officers and men.
was6sth fi
tdegreet in
of atzouththe Claatriteudfoe,
r
anAexp
anchored at St. Helena on the Bth of December, whwe •sh.
found the French brig
twenty sail of war Messager, and of
The Pelican left the Cape on the 27th of November, and
merchantmen, homeward bound. There was also at the
d r Reginald Yorke, in charge of Lieutenant Elliot.
ma'PheePelican left St. Helena on the 9th, spoke the Ann ih
ebyinvalid
island a slave prize, belonging
. to the Albatross, 16, Coin.
she left
Agnes' light, Scilly, on the 12th inst., and anchored
aECr.i wasanpe Cape
commissioned(f)r of
Nader,
lat 4 27 N., and Jon. 19 52 W., on the 18th of December. She
made St.
at Spithead on the 13 t hnG,i
oh :t:)tahNe,
Hopei nsgg umaaHddroeosnhp
Hospital,
l. passage Chine
;from St.
Helena in five weeks. Shehasbrinouoghettokbeorm,
e18840"1,
Com-
mander s
severale aTmh ee nat
C.
Pelican andt
Gb marines
appointed to her in November, 1841. She has been actively
employed since that period, and at China mostly in the north.
She has lost only two men during her service at China. Lieut,
Whyte (first), the only principal officer who has been in herduring her whole term of commission, gallantly jumped over-
board on three occasions during the last twelve
mouths, and
saved two lives.
The Harlequin, 16, Commander Hon. G. Hastings, is along-
side the dockyard at Portsmouth, landing her dollars. Whect
she is hauled 011ie Pelican will be unladen.

Mr. Bailey, M.P. for Worcester, has entirely pe..
covered from the effects of his late accident. ,
A SHIP DESTROYED Br SPONTANEOUS COlillUS.
TION OF GUANO.—The steam-packet Waterwitch, arriving
at Hull, from London, on Wednesday, brought into port the
master and crew of the barque Ann, Storey, of Sun-
derland, who had been picked up by the packet in an
open boat, to which they bad taken on the destruction of
their vessel, near Hasborough Sand, on Tuesday evening.
It appears by the, statement of the shipwrecked men that
the Ann, a new barque, on the first voyage, was returning
from Ichaboe with a cargo of guano, and unfortunately
struck on the sand, and, while beating over, shipped •
quantity of salt water, which, penetrating the cargo, caused
almost instantaneous combustion. A volume of smoke
rising through the fore hatchway warned the crew of this
now danger, and, induced their taking immediately to the
boat, without saving anything but themselves ; and scarcely
had they done so, when a tremendous explosion of the gas.
engendered by the partially fired guano blew the stern oat
of the vessel, which then sankfillebiaonngdgto the
same wnv
in deep water.o Its:
is said that three vessels, in
started together on this voyage, one which was lost orA 'the
pas
uasageorotuunt,aante theAnda left the slau
thinihaidnod.,
tarrNffu-ieildpacatlkceheok .when
the

, I q. xi)