The Sun. — 1858-10-20 (London, England)

COMMISSIONS BY LORDS LIEUTENANT. County of Stafford—George Briscoe, Esq., to be Deputy Lieutenant. 2d Regiment of King's Own Staffordshire Militia—Ensign Frederick Clement Sneyd to be Lieutenant, vice Brindley, deceased. King's Own Light Infantry Regiment of Militia—R,obt. Augustus Warren, Esq., late Captain in the County Dublin Militia, to be Captain, vice Kitson, promoted. Ist Regiment of Royal Cheshire Militia—Lieutenant Edward Jeffcock to be Captain, vice Bromwich resigned ; Lieutenant John Colbourne to be- Captain, vice Frank Corbett, resigned. Ist Somerset Regiment of Militia—Henry Stanhope May, Gent., to be Ensign, vice Owen, promoted. Royal Glamorgan Light Infantry Militia—Ensign R. Fisher Evans to be Lieutenant; Ensign Henry Hammond Spencer to be Lieutenant.  Yesterday (Tuesday) a woman of respectable appearance, named Elizabeth Ann Keel, the wife of a working man, and respectably connected, was charged before the Bath magistrates with hayinjg, attempted to murder one of her children, a little girl fifteen months old, on the previous day. The painful circumstances were briefly deposed to as follows :—Mrs. Mary Dowse said she lived at No. 10, Galloway-buildings, and the prisoner occupied two parlours in the same house, with her husband and three children. About two o'clock on the previous afternoon witness went into the prisoner's parlour, as she was frequently in the habit of doing, when she heard a splashing of water in the bedroom adjoining. She went into the bedroom, where she saw the prisoner holding her baby in a pan of water. It was a very large pan, and the prisoner was holding the child, who was dressed, beneath the water with both her hands. The witness asked prisoner what she was doing, and she replied, " I am going to drown the little —." The witness said, " Don't do it," and the prisoner then took the child out of the water and held it in her arms. The child was quite insensible, and witness tore its clothes off, and wrapped it in a blanket, and sent for a doctor. She then held the child before the fire, but it was an hour before it revived. Two surgeons attended it, and there were now good prospects of its recovery. The witness appeared to be sober at the time, and witness was not aware that she was in the habit of drinking. She had never noticed anything strange in her manner, but she was frequently very excited.  Police-sergeant Barry deposed that about a quarter before six o'clock on Monday evening he went to 10, Galloway-buildings, and in the front parlour he saw the prisoner, her husband, and Mr. Barrett, surgeon. The prisoner was in a very excited state, and he said to her, " Mrs. Keel, what's the matter ?" She replied. " I tried to drown my little girl. So help ine God, murder my three children and myself to-night." Witness said, "Do sit down, and be quiet. You are very excited." She repeated, with an adjuration, " I have made up my mind to do it, and I'll do it?! She afterwards said, "My husband's father is the cause of all this." Witness considered that the prisoner had been drinking. The prisoner, who is a very interesting and mildlooking woman, was remanded. Upon being taken from the dock she saw her husband, on which she burst into tears, and seizing his hand shook it fervently, with an imploring look.