The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1835-03-31 00:00:00

MURDERS BY POISONING.

The town of Burnham Market, in Norfolk, and the ,vicinity, _
for some•miles round,. have for the last week been in the most
-dreadful state of excitement, caused by the discovery of three
diabolical murders which have already been committed, and a
plan laid for taking away the lives of several others. The. cir-,
cumstance that led to the discovery was as follows:—A woman
named Mary Taylor the wife of P. Taylor, a journeyman
shoemaker, was taken with a violent retching after dinner dn
Thursday the 12th instant, and though medical assistance was
procured, she died at five the same afternoon. Mr. Cremer,
the surgeon, as soon as -he saw her, pronounced her to have
been poisoned. An inquest was held on the body on the .fol-
lowing Saturday, when the jury, after sitting till eleven at night,
adjourned the inquest ti II Monday, and ilea having .no evidence
as ti) how the deceased came by the arsenic which had been
found in the stomach, returned a verdict to the effect that she
died by taking arsenic, hut that it was unknown by what means
it was administered. There were certain rumours that the
husband of the deceased had been connected with a married
woman named Fanny Billing, who lived at the next dour, and
this connection seemed to have been a great cause of uneasi-
ness between Taylor and hiS wife and a weak or two beforelhe'
deceased had, it seems, taxed Billing with it. and they had had
a quarrel. It was also discevered-that Billing had a short time
before bought three pennyworth of arsenic of a druggist. Some
flour that was in Taylor's house was also fouud to contain a
quantity of arsenic, and from this theileceased had made
,some
dumplings on the day she died. These facts coming out, the
Magistrates thought proper- to hold a special meeting on the
Wednesday, for the further investigation of the matter' and
Taylor and Billing were brought before them, examined, and
remanded for further examination. As Billing, however, was
going away, a woman living next door, named Frary, who was
frequently in and out of Mrs. Taylor's, was beard to say to her,
"Maw, hold your own, and thoy can't hurt us." This led to
further suspicion, and Frary was apprehended. It was then
recollected that Frary's husband, and a child they keut, died
about a fortnight before very suddenly Orders were then given
to have them disinterred; their stomachs were sent to Norwich
to be analysed, and they also were found to contain arsenic.
On Tues. ay Billing was fully committed to take her trial for
the murder at the forthcoming assizes. She is nearly 50 years
old, has had fourteen children, and nine are alive. She has
confessed the whole, but says that Frary gave the poison to
Mrs. Taylor. She has also confessed to other acts of the same
kind with Frary, and that there were several other persons that
they bad marked out as their victims. She had made an attempt
to poison her husband about the same time, but he did not take
suflicent quantity, and recovered. Taylor is still remanded,
and Frary has been taken speechless since Tuesday, and can-
not be recovered. Tne wife of her brother, who lived at Burn-
ham Overy, died about the same time suddenly, but has not yet
.been up. Taylor says he was taken sick on the Thursday with
his wife, but that he threw up and got better. Mrs. Frary was
sent for to attend on Mrs. Taylor, and a witness by the name of
Rowley says, when he Vk as in at Taylor's to be shaved, he saw,
Frary, in making her sonic gruel, put something into it from a
paper on the point of a knife, white, almost like flower, so that
in all probability, to make assurance doubly sure,. she poir.
soned also her gruel. It was too the merest wonder in the world
the poisoned flour (forit had not then been found to be poisoned)
was not taken to provide for the funeral—indeed this seems to
have been anticipated by the wretches, and then the whole family
would have been their victims; but the management was fortu-
nately taken out of Frary's hands, and the flour providentially
unused. Taylor has borne a good character for many years
until he got connected with this woman. His wife was a very--
industrious person, and although they hal no family they had
lived very comfortably together. She was .17 of age, and he is
about the same. , •

THE EXTENSIVE FORGERY IN THE CITY.
The name of the principal engaged in the late ektensive. for-
gery in the city is Christopher Charles Foster, and the extent
to which he has succeeded in defrauding his friends, and,those
who Odd reposed confidence in his integrity, is, it is said, far,
beyond that at which it had been stated—namely, £20,0011 His
uncle, whose business, as well as the greater portion of his pro-
perty, he would, in all human probability, in a few years have
succeeded to, and a distinguished capitalist in the city, will be
the principal sufferers ; but there are others to whom he (Foster)
was personally known, from whom he had borrowed various
sums of money, and who will, in the event of his nut being taken
into custody, be the losers.
Lea, the officer employed.by the sufferers, has been most in-
defatigable in his exertions to trace out some clue to the retreat
of the delinquent, his brother, and a third person (a lawyer's
clerk) who went with him; but as yet he has not been able to
ascertain much, beyond his lea.ving his residence at Woodford-
bridge, in Essex, on the morning of Sunday'week, taking with
him a quantity of luggage; since-.which time be has not been
seen there, or at any of his usual haunts in town. A few .drays
afterwards, a young female, with whom he lived fur upwards
,of
two years past, though he had a wife and four children, moved
away the furniture, &c. to a house in Islington, and claims 'it,
as well as a quantity of plate, &c. as her own. This property,
it is said, as well as a large sum of money, he settled on herand
her child, though he has left his wife and children destitute.
• A report was current yesterday, that be had been apprehended
in Ireland; but this appears extremely doubtful, as it is ge,ner-
ellv believed that his object was to get to America, and that he
hail sailed by the Ontario packet, which left the Loudon Dock,
oil Saturday week, and sailed from Portsmouth about the Middle
of last week.

On the night of Saturday week he placed £13,000 in cash and
bank notes in the hands of a respectahl; publican in the city,
to keep for hint until the following morning, when he called for
it, and took the whole away.
In the printed hand-bills which are circulated, and in which
a reward of £250 is offered for the apprehension of the parties,
it is stated thdt a man named Iludsoi, who was groom to Foster,
had absconded with his master. Tins, however, is not the case,
nor does he appear to have the slightest participation in the
guilt of his employer.

THE RICHES OF THE!.ESTABLISHED • CHURCH.

1. Only about two-thirds of the laud in England and Wales
are titbeable.-2. Laymen have one-third of the whole of the
tithes.-3. The .whole tithe paid to the clergy when wheat was
£3.185. 2d. per quarter—(far higher than it is now)—amounted
to £1.426,7r:7 18s., or less than a miliiod and a half.-4. If the
tithes were.equally,divi4ed, each.parish clergyman would have;
according to the present price of wheat, £l5O a-year.-5. There
are in. England and Wales 176 living under' £3O a-year, 736
under £5O a-year, 1315 under £BO a-year, 1963 undii £lOO
a-year—i. e., 4190 under £lOO a-year; and not 30 Worili £2000"
a-Vear.-6. There are 4809 where there is no house for the
clergyman, and of these 3080 are under.£lso a-year. Can the
:clergyman build a house when he does nut receive £l5O a-year
froni the living? All.the houses are kept in repair by the cler-
•gy.nen. At this very time £220,000 have been burrowed by,
clergymen to build or rebuild parsonage-houses.-7: l'he fees
to the clergy in country parishes vary from. £3 to £7 ;on• every
1000 persons of populatiod.—Most of the fees do not .o to the
clergy, but are given to clerks and other officers.-8. Only 11
bishoprics pay their expenses ! and from three of these the sub-
scriptions they are obliged to pay are £3OOO a-year each.-9. If
the income of the parochial clergy, and of the bishops, and the
cathedral property were .equally :divided among the parochial
clergy, it would barely give £2OO to each, and nut of this they
would have to pay curates in large parishes.
These facts, it should be remembered, are taken from docu-
ments laid before parliament by the enemies, by those who
complain of being heavily. taxed to support a rich 'and idle
church. The money annually paid into the exchequer on account
of the snuff and tobacco duties exceeds the WHOLE ItLYUNUE of
the church establishment !—Front a few Facts addressed to all
honest returners.

• FlRE.—Last night, about eleven o'clock, a fire bisoke out on
the premises of a furniture-dealer, in Park-lane. A Smoke. was
seen issuing from the premises by a watchtuau, who immediately
gave the alarm, and the Fire 'Police and West 9f England
engines were speedily on the spot with the respective forces, and
by their endeavours aided by the effective direction of Messrs.
Whiny, Leyland, and Davis, the flames, which threatened
destruction to the adjoining premises of Messrs. Murray and
Callender, the ship store dealers, were soon got under. The
damage it inconsiderable. . _

Dr. I:LITCHIS: A PL.AY:ACT.OIO—On Monday last, Dr. John
Ritchie of Edinburgh, delivered a lecture on the Voluntary
principles, gainished with more than his usual buffoonery and
low humour. About the beginning of the lecture, an oldlady,
came in and seated herself in serious mood, to hear what in a
chapel had been wont to sound in her ears. After listening for
sonic time, she rose in au indignant and dignified style, and
exclaimed, "[ came here to hear a minister, but that's a play-
*actor," and pushed herself out of the pert where she was seated.
•Whisht, whisht,"says the beadle, "that's Dr. Ritchie frae
Edinburgh." "A weel, hc'l no doctor me--the luau's n3ad,"' So
so.) iug lie wallecl mkt ,—/,:.diabaruir Vost, '

IiESC RIPTION. I IRE- COAST- PO-: BR !TM!
TOTAL.
,
, LAND. WISE. ‘REIGN AM ER.
--.---.
.-.----- ....----- .
Wheat
-Barley Qrs 3044 12 3036
Oats
Flour . . Sacks 354'8 44' 3593
Ditto Barrels 640 840
Bran. Cwt
Oatmeal Loads 3170 30 3200
Malt. Qrs 110 3278 33813
Beans ... .... ....gra .468 31 , 499
Peas Qrs 29 8 31
Rye Qrs
Shelled Barley .. . . Cwt 9 9 •
Rapeseed Barrels
Indian Corn Qrs!

COTTON MARKET.—Two O'CLOCK.
There is very little doing in Cotton to-day, and the
sales will not amount to 1,000 bags.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

ARRIVALS.

Barton, Armstrong: and Litherland, Hawl' ins, from Barbados,
London Packet, -, from Antwerp.
Wilhelinina, -, from llamburgh.
Union, Den Dwyts, from Ostend.
Honp. Guyts, from Rotterdam.
Peirse, from Dordt.
Oporto, Martin, from Optwto.
Letitia, Fisher, from Charente. . .
One Snow off at .i-past twelve.

'Off Great Orrnshead, inward hound—No. 397. William, B Bk, at
11 a.m, from Charleston—No.ll2l6, Betsey; B Schooner, at 12 noon—
Wind N.E.