Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1870-09-03 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

MERCHANT SEAMEN'S ORPHAN ASYLUM.—The halfyearly general court and election of the above institution was held at the London Tavern on Monday; Mr G. Ward in the chair. The chairman, in opening the proceedings, said that, although this was not the court at which the report and accounts were presented, a few words as to the present condition of the asylum would be desirable. The receipts from annual subscriptions were increased, as was also the amount received from shop- ' coliectious the receipts last year from the former source having been £2,570, and from the latter £1,413, while from the legacies and miscellaneous receipts the committee had last year been enabled to add £3,000 to the funded property of the institution, which now stood at about £20,000. The number of orphans now in the asylum was 216, and 20 additional, viz., 12 boys and 8 girls, would be admitted at the present election, from a list of 55 candidates, all most deserving cases. As soon as possible the asylum would be enlarged to hold the full number of 300 children as originally intended. He was also happy to inform the meeting that the health and educational progress of the children in the asylum was in every way satisfactory. The routine business having been transacted, scrutineers were appointed, and the election was proceeded with. ATTEMPTED MURDER OF A Boy—The people residing in the neighbourhood of Long Moss, near Macclesfield, were thrown into a state of consternation on Friday morning by the report that a shocking attempt to murder had been made in their immediate vicinity. The circumstances of the affair were as follows :—A boy named Frederick Hammond, about twelve years of age, resided with his uncle and grandparents in a small cottage in the village. The boy slept with his uncle, a young man named Daniel Oldhany, in the back bedroom, and the other inmates of the house occupied the bedroom adjoining. Soon after five o'clock the lad was awakened from his sleep by feeling a knife drawn across his throat, and on opening his eyes he beheld his uncle bending over him with a large clasp knife. He screamed, when his grandfather came to the door, and his uncle jumped through the chamber window. The grandfather gave chase to his son, but did not succeed fn catching him, and eventually went to fetch a surgeon. It appears that the unhappy man went immediately to the police-station and gave himself up, stating to the officer by whom he was taken into custody that he had been cutting a little lad's head. The prisoner was brought up at the Macclesfield police-court the same day, when, after evidence id support of the above facts had been given, Mr J. R. Hughes, surgeon, said on examining the lad, he found him to be suffering from a wound on the left side of the neck, about two inches and a half in length, Just above the artery. The knife with which the wound had been inflicted had evidently been a blunt one; had it been sharp, it must have penetrated the artery and caused the lad's death. The prisoner, who was evidently in an unsound state of mind, was 00111• mittod for trial.  OhIALINL lit.S tuithat  IS