The morning call., 1891-06-13
QUEER CARTRIDGES.

They Were to Blind Any Who Might
Threaten Burglar Malvern.
A mlld-looking man with short sandy
hair that curled in little rings all over his
head, and with big, innocent-looking blue
eyes, lay face down in cell in the gallery
of the Union County Jail at Elizabeth yes
terday and played checkers with colored
man who sat on the gallery floor with his
feet hanging owes the edge. The cell door
was locked, and to make his moves the mild
looking man had to reach through the
barred dsOr.
These are the two most celebrated pris-
oners in the Jail at present. The colored
man is accused OF numbering his own child.
The mild man with the innocent eyes and
the curly sandy hair was declared by Pre-
siding Judge Rice in the Court Of Sessions on
Wednesday TO be "a desperate, murderous
character, who went about TO steal with the
most infamous and diabolical contrivances
to torture and murder that were ever found
on crimnal-a man deserving no SYM
pathy and DO clemency, brutal wretch
with murder in his heart, a man who would
not hesitate to commit any deed in the pur-
suit of his unlawful calling"
The man was Joseph Malvern. He was
sentenced on Wednesday to twenty years
Imprisonment at hard labor on three in
dictments for burglary. While Judge Rice
denounced Malvern and imposed the long
sentence, he held in his hand a black tube
two inches long and half an inch in diam
eter. On one end there was q brass cap.
and In the other n gun wad. There was
seven similar tubes on the desk, besides a
murderOus looking knife, a screwdrlyer,
corset steel ground 10 fine edge, and bot
tie containing a liquid. These were the
infamous and diabolical cOntrivanceS" for
torture and murder that the Judge referred
to. Malvern looked first at the Judge and
then at the things on the desk. He couldn't
speak or understand English, and, there
fore, he did not comprehend what the Judge
was saying to him. He was then taken
back to Jail, and an interpreter told him his
late. tie simply shrugged his shoulders
and went TO his CELL In half an hour he
was playing checkers with the cOlOred man.
The weapons and s0Os that were on the
Judges desk were gathered up and put in
a bag and taken to Prosecutor Marsh's office
across the street, where they were looked
at by many EliZabethans during the day.
The tubes were gun-cartridge shells loaded
with black pepper, and with Just enough
powder in the ends to blow the pepper out
IA distance Of probably ten feet. The liquid
in the bottle was probably chlOr0f0rm.
Malvern was arrested three weeks ago in
Summit by Chief of Police Edward Il. Kelly
of that town.
Chief Kelly took Malvern to the Town
Hall and searched him. Malvern said he
mad nothing about him, but packet OF gun
cartridges, the screwdriver, the knife, the
sharpened corset steel, and The bottle of
chlorOfOTm were found IN his possession,
besides a half-burned candle and several
pounds OF silver pounded into lump.
When Malvern said the cartridges were
moi loaded with powder Chief Kelly thought
ii advisable to tud out what they were
loaded with, and he had one pulled apart.
There Was half an ounce of pepper in it.
When Malvern was asked what he did with
the cartridges he said he did not know
what they were for. There was no doubt
In the minds of Chief Kelly and the other
officials as to what the cartridges were in
tended for The gun-wads In the end fitted
loosely. A little shaking would loosen
them, and then the pepper could be thrown
into the eyes OF any one near. or if gun
was used the powder could be shot out into
mans eyes. Taken altogether, the things
found on Malvern certainly deserved the
description Judge Rice gave in court.-N.
I. sun.