The Sun. — 1864-01-15 (London, England)

WHY THE EMPRESS ASSURED HER LIFE.— It is quite true, as of late stated in the newspapers, that her Imperial Majesty has recently assured her life in five English offices for £BO,OOO, involving an annual charge in premiums of about £2,500; but the meritorious purpose of the act has yet to be stated. It is well known that the Empress was the foundress, and is, at this hour, the sole supporter of the following noble charitable institutions :—" Maison Eugenio Napoleon," "Prete de l'Enfance au Travail," (better known as " La Societe du Prince Imperial,") and the " Caisse do Secours pour l'Armee de Terre et de Mer." The Empress is very naturally apprehensive that these good works may materially suffer whenever death—that black camel, as the Arabs finely put it, call her hence, awnhdi,chthkerneefeolrse,"sheevehrays mtahnus's —may Ythrough the instrumentality of life assurance, to permanently endow them. the Empress has named the Prince Imperial as her almoner, and at her demise it would become his sacred duty to administer the large fund thus created, and to take these merciful bodies under his fostering care. It it is said that the Empress has also effected assurances for the same good end with several Belgian and German offices. On account of the greater risk to which the life of the _Empress is reckoned to be exposed as compared with with ordinary mortals—witness, for instance, the late horrible plot to assassinate the Emperor—increased rates of premium hare been charged by the contracting (dice ! The London Mirror. •  Yesterday morning a jobbing shoemaker, named James Gooding, who lived in a narrow back street, called Albert-street, in the parish of St. Clement, Ipswich—one of the poorest parts of the town— murdered one of his children and then cut his own throat. It appears that at about half-past eight in the morning Gooding's next door neighbour, named Norfolk, was alarmed by hearing Gooding's wife scream out, and on running to his door she cried out to him, "For God's sake, Mr. Norfolk, come in—my husband has killed himself and the dear child." Norfolk ran up-stairs, and found the bodies of Gooding and his little daughter Elizabeth, about six years of age, lying on the floor weltering in their blood, which flowed from wounds in the throat of each. Although scarcely more than a minute could have elapsed since the commission of the act, both father and daughter appeared dead, and Mr. W. Adam, jun., surgeon, who was almost immediately on the spot, found life to be quite extinct. At the knee of the father lay a shoemaker's knife, covered with blood, and evidently the instrument which had been used. The unhappy father appears to have first cut the throat of his child, who was completely a cripple, having the use of neither arms nor legs, and was besides imbecile and unable to speak, and then to have inflicted a frightful gash in his own, commencing under the left ear and extending across the throat, severing all the muscles down to the vertebrue, An inquest was held upon the bodies in the afternoon by Mr. S. B. Jackaman, the coroner for the borough, at which evidence was given which went to show that the deceased man had for years been in an indifferent state of health, and that since September last year, when he lost three children in one week of diphtheria, he has been in a desponding state of mind. He was a remarkably well-informed man for his position in life, and up to that time he had been a very sober man, but latterly had indulged a good deal in drink ; he always, however, spoke of the deceased child in terms of the greatest affection, and said he only lived for her. One of the witnesses said when Gooding gave way to drink he was unable to eat, and that during the last fortnight he had eaten next to nothing. The jury thought it desirable that the widow of the deceased should be examined, and the inquiry was adjourned till to-day in order that the poor woman might have time to become somewhat composed, she being at present in so distracted a state that it would be impossible to examine her.