The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-05-21 00:00:00

THE STRANGE OCCURRENCE AT DENTON

We stated on Saturday last that Mr. Samuel Lees, deputy-
constable
of Denton, had written to Dr. Bright, of London,
on the subject of the man calling himself John Edwards,
who was brought to the Manchester Infirinary from Denton,
both of his jaws broken by a pistol shot. pr. Bright, we
learn, handed the letter to his servant, Samuel Fisher, who,
from the description, recognised his brother, whose name is
not John Edwards, but James Fisher. The brother came
off immediately, and reached this town on Saturday night
last. On Sunday morning he had an interview with his
brother at the Infirmary ; and then the patient confessed,
that the injury he had sustained had been self-inflicted, in
an attempt to destroy himself. It will be recollected that we
suggested this as a probable solution of the mystery, when
first noticing the man's own account, of having been sud-
denly attacked by villains. We believe he not only acknow-
ledged to his brother, but also on Wednesday last to Mr.
Lees, that he had received his severe injuries in a suicidal
attempt •, and the account of the motives width led him to
this rash attempt are stated by him to have been the follow-
ing :—lt appears that he was in the service of a gentleman in
London as coachman, and that having had some quarrel
with his father, who is said to be a man of intemperate habits
and strong passions, the father went to his master, and made
such- statements respecting him, as induced his master to
believe that his character was so bad, that he ought not to
retain him in his service, and he was accordingly discharged.
The loss of his situation, and the disgrace under which the
malicious imputations of his parent had placed him, with the
consequent difficulty of obtaining another situation, seemed
to have preyed very strongly on his spirits. At length, he
says, not caring what became of him, he distributed articles
of clothing amongst his fellow-servants, to the value of about
£l5, and then roamed off; and at Birmingham he formed a
determination to destroy himself, and charged the pistol,
which has been in his possession some years, and which his
brother immediately recognised on its being shown to him.
He had charged it with shot ; and when he reached Denton,
he retired down the lane, got into the field, and placed the
pistol to his mouth, about seven o'clock, an hour before he
made his appearance at the Sunfield House. On Sunday
the brother saw Mr. Lees at Denton, and he returned to
London the same night. He told Mr. Lees that James was
a very sober, steady young man, but that their father was
addicted to liquor. Ile (Samuel) had not seen his brother
for a fortnight or three weeks. He said that James was only
21 years of age, and unmarried. We understand that Mr.
Henry Cooke, of the Sunfield House, still refuses to give up
the money of Fisher, though Mr. Lees has repeatedly applied
for it. A summons has been granted by Capt. Clarke, re-
quiring him to attend the petit sessions at Hyde, on Monday
next, and Mr. Lees has seen Fisher, and obtained from him
a written authority to the following effect :—" This is to cer-
tify that I, James Fisher, desire that what belongs to me may
be given to Samuel Lees, as he has my consent to mind it
till I am able myself."—We believe that Fisher continues
recovering.—Moichester Guardian.