Connecticut western news., 1882-03-08
THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND.
The Attempts Made Upon her Life
 by Various Assassins.

The Attempts Made Upon her Life
 by Various Assassins.
 The attempt upon the life of Queen Victoria on Thursday, March 2d, was the fifth attempt of the same kind. The first was made on June 10, 1840, by Edward Oxford. pot-boy of seventeen, who fired two shots at the Queen as she was driving up Constitution Hill with Prince Albert. Oxford fired both shots deliberately enough, but happily missed ia each case. He proved to have been an absurd creature, half crazy, with 8 longing to consider himself 8 political prisoner and to be talked Of. When he was tried the jury pronounced him in- sane and he was ordered to be kept in lunatic asylum during Her Majesty's pleasure. The trial completely dissi- pated some wild alarms that were felt, | founded chiefly on absurd papers in Oxford's possession about tremendous secret society called Young England, having among its other objects the assassination of royal personages. It is not an unlnteresting illustration of the condition of public feeling that some of the Irish Catholic papers in seeming good faith denounced Oxford as an agent of the Duke of Cumberland and the Orangemen and declared that the object was to assassinate the Queen and put the Duke on the throne. The trial showed that Oxford was the agent of nobody and was impelled by nothing but his own crack Drained love of notoriety.
 On May 30, 1842, a man named John Francis, son of machinist in Drury Lane, fired pistol at the Queen as she was driving down Constitution Hill, on the very spot where Oxford's attempt was made. This was a somewhat seri- ous attempt, for Francis was not more than 8 few feet from the carriage, which, fortunately, was drivin, at 8 rapid rate. The Queen showed great composure. She was in some measure prepared for the attempt, for it seems certain that the same man had on the
 previous evening presented 8 pistol at the royal carriage, although he did not
 then fire 1t. Francis was arrested and
 put on trial. He was only twenty-two
 years of age, and although at first he
 endeavored to brazen it out and put on 8
 sort of melodramatic, regicide aspect,
 yet when the sentence of death for high
 treason was passed on him he fell into
 swoon and was carried insensible from
 the court. The sentence was not carried
 into effect. It was not certain whether
 the pistol was loaded at all, and whether
 the whole performance was not piece
 ing to be notorious. Her Majesty her.
 self was anxious that the death sentence
 should not be carried into effect, and il
 was finally commuted to one of trans.
 portation for life.
 The very day after this mitigation oi
 punishment became publicly known
 another attempt was made by hunch.
 back lad named Bean. As the Queen
 was passing from Buckingham palace
 to the Chapel Royal Bean presented {
 pistol at her carriage, but did not sue ceed in firing it before his hand wal seized by prompt and courageous boy who was standing near. Tho pistol wa found to be loaded with powder, pape closely rammed down and some scrap of clay pipe. A change in the lav , was effected by which 8 punishment 8 t once sharp and degrading was provides , even for mere mountebank attempt
 against the Queen-a punishment whicl
 was certain to be inflicted. A bill wa
 introduced by Sir Robert Peel maxim s such attempts punishable by transpor 8 tation for seven years or by imprison ] ment for a term not exceeding thre - years, "the culprit to be publicl j. or privately whipped as often and i d such manner as the court shall direct not exceeding thrice" Bean was COT j: victed under this act and sentenced t l. eighteen months imprisonment in Mil r bank Penitentiary.
 = This did not, however, conclude tn B attacks on the Queen. An Irish bricl
 layer, named Hamilton, fired pisto n charged only with powder, at He n Majesty, on Constitution Hill, on Ma n 19, 1S49, and was sentenced to seve d years transportation. A man name e Robert Pate, once lieutenant of hu. j. zars, struck Her Majesty on the fac @ with stick as she was leaving the Dul 1T of Cambridge's residence in her carriae e on May 27, 1850. The man was SCI y fenced to seven years transportation Is but the Judge paid so much attentio l. to the plea of insanity set up on his b le half as to omit from his punishment tl n whipping which might have been o to dered. Finally, on February 29, 187 r. lad of seventeen named Arthur O'Col le nor presented pistol to the Queen 'n she was entering Buckingham Pala' ,d after drive. The pistol, howeve
 proved to be unloaded-an antique al
 useless or harmless weapon, with a fiji
 lock which was broken, and in the ba m rel piece of greasy red rag. I'll n wretched lad held paper in one han in which was found to be some sort # petition on behalf of the Fenian priso h CTS. When he came up for trial pl n. of insanity was put in on his behal ro but he did not seem to be insa ,d in the sense of being irresponsit ,L for his actions or incable of understan = ing the penalty they involved, and he W