The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-03-05 00:00:00

March 5, 1844.

DOMESTIC.

FIRE. AND Loss Or LTYEs.— About half-pas't two
_
o'ci,,ek On Tuesday morning lost, a tire i.rnix out 0n.t.17
p•ernises oecapied as a shop and dwelling-hencesl.l.*
Aaron Jacobs, in St. Ebhe-street, ()stout. Mr. Jacobs
was a gentleman of the Hebrew persuasion, a rabbi, ,
!'f tiai
believed to be very wealthy, His tanilv cmisiz•tti
wife, a son, and three daughters, and two ledgers in
_t_u_c
house. Of these, s,s escaped in a state of nudity. Mr'
Jacobs assisted in letting his wife, son, and tuo daughter
down by the window ; but nothing was seen of the eldest
daughter, Rebecca, aged 15, who must have perished, to-
gether with her father. It is supposed that the latter,
after the escape of his wife and other children,
went tow
small closet, at the top of the house, to save some pro-
perty, and was suffocated before he could make his escape;
His body was found with the feet and head burnt off, 81:1'
a quantity of gold, silver, and other valuables beneath It.
The house was completed gutted.
FEVER FROM DESTITUTION.—Dr. Southwood Smith
has just given his annual report upon the state of !hi!
London Fever Hospital during the past year, from wino.
it appears that the admissions during the period were 1462.
being an excess of 418 above that of any preceding Year'
A large proportion of the inmates were agricultural Iv
bourers or provincial mechanics, who had come to London
in search of employment, and who were seized with. the
malady either on the road or soon after their arrival,
evincing the close connexion between fever and destitution.
These poor creatures ascribed their illness, some of theta,
to sleeping by the sides of hedges, and others to a want of
clothing, many being without stockings, shirts, shoes, or
any apparel capable of defending them from the incle-
mency of the weather ; while the larger number attributed
it to want of food, being driven by hunger to eat raw
vegetables, turnips, and rotten apples. The gross mor-
tality was 151 per cent. An unprecedented number of
nurses and other servants of the hospital were attacked
with fever, namely, 29, of whom six died.—Globe.
MATERNAL CRUELTY.—on Monday last, an inquest
was held at Longborough, on the body of an infant child,
by John Gregory, Esq., when the followiny particulars
were given in evidence :—The mother, Mary Garner, Was
the wife of George Garner, of Sheepshead, from whom she
separated about a year ago, having formed a connection
with a man named Higgs. The deceased child she took
with her, which was then about twelve months old. At
that time it was a fine healthy child. For some 15 week!
she hired lodgings, where she and the child lived, and it
andw water was deposed
ateer
and
she was
givingi
n t he
the habit
mixture
xotfu boilingre twice
a d
op ival
to the child, to quiet it, while she would leave it for hours
to associate with Higgs. The guilty pair then went to
housekeeping, from which time the child altered veil'
much for the worse. Sarah Flinders, mother of Mary
Garner, having her suspicions awakened, she and a
neighbour (Mary Allwood) demanded to see the child,
when permission was refused until she threatened to send
for a constable. On going into the room the child was
found lying on the floor covered with a few rags, saturated
with water, its lower extremities paralysed, the_ whole
body emaciated to the last degree, and deaf and blind.
The child was then taken from the inhuman mother and
her brutal paramour, when it lingered till Saturday last,
and then died. A post mortem examination was made,
when the corpse was found to be totally destitute of mus-
cular substance; but the immediate cause of death was an
effusion of water on the brain, which was probably pro-
duced by the treatment it had undergone from its unna-
tural parent. A verdict of manslaughter was finally
returned against Garner and Higgs.—Leicestershire
Mercury.

THE LATE ABDUCTION OF A YOUNG LADY.—There
appeared last week a paragraph respecting the extraordi-
nary abduction of a young lady named Jane Page, only
13 years of age, by a young farmer of the name of George
Gardner, from a seminary in High-street, Warwick.
£5O reward was immediately offered for their apprehen-
sion ; but the police were unable to trace them out until
last Saturday night, when they were discovered quartered
at an inn in Douglas, in the Isle of Man, having been
away just a week, and captured full 250 miles from their
native place. Gardner was instantly taken into custody
by the police, and having been conveyed to Stretton, near
Warwick, he on Wednesday last underwent an examina-
tion at the public-office before Mr. J. Fullerton, a county
magistrate, the following being the substance of the evi-
dence, which will be found to be of a very remarkable
character :—The young lady is the daughter of a wealthy
farmer at Stretton, and, upon her attaining her 18th, comes
into possession of a large estate. The prisoner is also
very respectable and wealthy, and being desirous of be-
coming a farmer, he was apprenticed to the young lady's
pa:ent, so as to be instructed in the several branches of
agriculture. He was considered as one of the family, and
freq ently had an opportunity of visiting the young lady
whilst at school, but, owing to her very tender age, no ides
was entertained by their friends of an intimacy existing.
On last Saturday week the prisoner went to the seminary,
and informed the Miss Kimberley, the proprietors, that
he was instructed to convey Miss Page to her parent's
residence, as she was going to stay there a short time with
a few friends ; and, under such circumstances, she was
easily parted with.—The magistrate, in reviewing the case,
remarked that if the prisoner's defence should be that the
young lady was a willing party, it would not alter the
offence, as he had absconded with her at such a tender age
that she was considered not to know right from wrong-
He was then fully committed to take his trial at the next
assizes at Warwick, being liberated on two sureties of
£3OO, and himself in a like sum.—Times.

LAMENTABLE SUICIDE.—On Sunday morning week,
about eight o'clock, the inhabitants of Caistor were
thrown into the greatest consternation by the discover!
that the Rev. George Watson, the respected vicar of that
parish, and rector of the adjoining village of Rothwedf
had committed suicide under peculiarly distressing cif'
umanea t tivne .
arar. we; itss.neorian of avery:p.
pearance mina,
or disrespect, as to exhibit, when under
excitement or trouble, strong marks of mental aberration.
Some months ago Mr. Watson's morbid sensibilities led
him to write a letter, in consequence of some fancied
slight, to the wife of one of his parishioners at Rothe', Ili
which letter was made the subject of complaint to the
Bishop, and led to the issuing of a commission of inquiry
under the Church Discipline Act. On Friday week that
commission was executed, and the commissioners report-
ed—not on the innocence or culpability of Mr. Watson,
for of that they were not the judges—but merely that
there was a prisaa facie case for further investigation ;
adding, however, to their return the fact, that Mr. Wat-
son appeared to be labouring under great eccentricities
and infirmity of mind. This cloud, over a reputation
_which had hitherto been unsullied, was too much for Mr.
Watson's sensitive mind to bear. On the Saturday his
previous distress had settled into despondency, and be
expressed fears that the affair would, to use his own ex-
pression, " get the better of him." These fears were •
soon to be realized. The unfortunate gentleman, about
seven o'clock on Sunday morning, rose from his bed,
and, in his dressing gown and slippers, went into his
sitting-room, where he appears to have loaded a gun and,
discharged its contents into his month. His skull was
dreadfully shattered, and he was found, as before stated;
about eight o'clock, of course quite dead. The coroner's
jury came to a unanimous verdict—" That the deceased
had destroyed himself while labouring under mental de-
rangement." Mr. Watson was 44 years of age. He was
presented to the vicarage of Caistor, by the Rev. W. F.
(now Dr.) Hook, Prebendary of Caistor, in 1833, and to
the rectory of Bothwell, by Lord Yarborough, in 1835.
CURIOUS CASE OF SWINDLING.—A stranger, in the
garb of a female, about three weeks ago walked into the
bar of the Dog and Gun Inn, Coventry. Her cheerful
conversation, and insinuating manner, so won upon the-
landlady, (26. Hales,) that imtead of! proceeding by the;
Banbury coach, which she particularly wished, she was ,
induced to stay all night, being unprepared with clothing
to encounter the inclemency of the season. The worthy.,
hostess becoming more arid more charmed with the in-
teresting stranger, several days elapsed in the muturl in-
terchanges of affection and confidence, when her friend
remarked that it might appear strange to Mrs. Hales that
e etsrhwdd
there
aauhveevn:
cardinetenesgai
atrntiofferedtkeioennityhmoi
sewht tasur
Birminghamyn.
strangeronc Bank,
tio. e
roewflWould
, money.
xs
o 61we0
complied,do d
tI:o'oe
kuxTnaphhnoeeav
rdc
have
eaiwt crot thtxrnei
inquiry
andu
r.hiyen
was
following
di
omtwoai
made
make
for
nakm eickt'eri' yilinnevosi
f
Bir-
mingham Branch of England Bank ; but how to get
t
company me in your gig ? I have always consulted you
her friend pro-
dentamt
manager,
my
ns tsays hogh
teeeconr, B:aa‘ i
A‘
ocrrl:-.
receive
had been paid
to the account of Miss Watts, to which a negative was
given. Great surprise was manifested by Miss W., and
the manager was requested to fill up a cheque for Mrs-
Hales to receive the amount, provided she did not pre-
sent it herself. On their way home, Miss W. appeared
concerned at her disappointment, and suggested to Mrs., .
H. that, as her present exigences required a little ready
money, she would place the check in Mrs. Hales' hands
for a loan of £6O, and would give her £4O for the ae:
commodation. The bait was swallowed by Mrs. H., wit°
forthwith produced fifty-five sovereigns and a £5 note.
Mrs. H. proud in the company of Miss W., and Miss
W. highly delightedwith Mrs. H., spent several agreeable
days. during which she once paid a visit to the seat of
Lord Craven, at COOmbe Abbey, with Mr. Hales' horse
and gig. On , being informed by the housekeeper, Mrs.
Robinson, that her ladyship was not at home, Miss W-
refused to leave her card or name, saying she was well
known to her ladyship, and expected soon to be Lady
Montague. On Monday, the stb, a request was again
made for the horse and gig to convey her to Market Har-
borough, where Miss W. had an aunt, who she had
learnt, was not likely to live. No objection was offered.
and Mr. W. anticipating the use of mourning, borrowed
the habiliments of Mrs. Hales, very generously offered
for her convenience, together with a valuable watch"
Thus equipped, she arrived at Harborough, and alighted
opposite Mrs. Saunt's, observing she was afraid her &sat
was dead, as the blinds were down. The man Was de-
sired to go to Swan's hotel and wait for her. Miss
walked forward to the Union inn, where she took sonic
brandy and water, with a biscuit ; and after staying about
two hours, went to the Swans to inform John that herauDt
was very ill, and wished her to stay a few days at Her;.'
borough ; he must, therefore, return without her, an
bring the gig for her on Tuesday. the 13th, discharging
the expenses of John and the horse, with a promise also
of 10s. for his journeys, and 4s for what he paid on the
road. On the return of John, Mr. and Mrs. Hales hi:
came somewhat concerned respecting their fair friend
and on the following morning dispatched John with o
policeman to Market Harborough, to take proper care of
Miss W. This, however, was found to be unnecessalt
as the clever and interesting visitor had taken care
int'
herself, by procuring a seat in the omnibus for Londoni
on the previous evening. We might add, the dress o_4
under garments obtained of Mrs. H., with the watch, .eft
considered worth from £l5 to £2O; while those o`,,
behind are estimated t 2s 6d. Miss W. has not: Sigit"
been heard of,— Oxford Herald,