The Warwickshire Herald. — 1895-07-25 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

REVOLTING CRUELTY OF TWO BROTHERS. A BOY THROWN DOWN A PIT.  FALSE PRETENCES BY A JOURNALIST. On Tuesday, at the Central Criminal Court, before the Common Serjeant, Alfred Braithwaite Emmanuel, 44, described as a journalist, pleaded guilty to obtaining goods by false pretences. Mr. IV. R. Turner prosecuted.—On July 6th the prisoner entered the shop of Messrs. Leucharsand, dressing-case manufacturers, of 38 and 39, Piccadilly, and asked to be shewn a pencil-case, worth about £5. He selected one, and also a dressing-bag, worth £5 10s., and produced at the same time a visiting card, purporting to bear the signature of Lord Balfour of Burleigh. He said that he had done work for Lord Balfour, who desired to make him a present, and that the goods which he had selected were to be ordered in his name. The prisoner went away, and subsequently it transpired that the signature on the card was a forgery, and that Lord Balfour had n.t given any authority for the order for the goo s. Prisoner was arrested by Sergeant Cole in the Tottenham Court-road, on July 6th. He made a statement to the effect that he received the card of Lord Balfour from a "gentlemanly-looking man " whose acquaintance he made in a public-house in the West End. —Lord Balfour of tiurleigh was called, and he said that he did not know anything about the prisoner, and could not trace how the card got into his possession.—Warder Cook proved previous convictions against the prisoner for fraud.—The prisoner made an appeal to his lordship, which he ended by saying: "If your lordship deals too leniently *ith me to-day, remember that there is another judgment day to come, and when I appear before my heavenly Father on that great day, if you have not punished me enough for this crime, He will deal more severely with me." (Laughter. )—lt was stated that the prisoner had been convicted and sent to prison for libel.—The Common Serjeant sentenced the prisoner to 18 months' hard labour.  A story of almost unexampled cruelty on the part of two boys towards a younger brother is reported by Dalziel from Tunis. At a place called Sohnian three brothers, aged from 12 to 15, were engaged as shepherds, and had two herds of cattle to look after. About a month ago the two eldest boys quarrelled violently with the youngest, arid beat him so unmercifully that he fell to the ground, and, as they thought, expired. Frightened at the result of their cruelty, the boys decided to throw the body down a disused pit close by. The resolution was carried into effect, and the body fell with a dull thud upon the bottom of the pit 30ft. below. Returning the next day to learn what had become of their victim, they 'found that he was still alive. Furious at this discovery, they pelted him with stones, very few of which reached the mark, however,as the poor lad was protected by the overhanging sides of the pit. At last the would-be murderers gave up the attempt, and left their brother to his fate. They came back every day to see if life still existed, and lent a deaf ear to the boy's entreaties for mercy. In this manner 26 days passed by, the boy just managing to keep body and soul together by eating the grass which grew at the bottom of the pit, and quenching his thirst from a brackish pool. At last his strength gave way completely, and he could only lie on his back and await the end. At last a party of Arabs passed by, and hearing his cries, sent one of their number to inquire. The man was at first afraid to venture near the pit, for he thought the sounds proceeded from an evil spirit; but, his fears set at rest, he was lowered into the pit and found the boy little more than a skeleton. The poor lad was at once hauled to the surface and taken home, to find that his persecutors had taken flight and only his father remained. The latter has been arrested on a charge of neglecting to help his son.