npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Statesman. — 1823-05-28 (London, England)

BRIGHT—Was the capital charge ever substanlisted ?—Never. Was not George Graben committed first only for a misdemeanour I—He was. Was he afterwards committed for a conspiracy to murder the Lord Lieutenalitt—He was, by Mr. Gabbett. Had you any conversation wan Mr. Gabbett respecting this capital commitment ?—1 gather from his evidence that he understood the opinion of the Law Officers was to that effect. Did you, as one of those officers, give such an °pintos'/ I did, but not directly to Mr. Gabbett. Do you recollect what passed between you and Msjer Sirr on the occasion to which you allude ?—I think he came into the Secretary's room at the Castle, in which the Solicitor-General, Mr. Goulburo, and I were. This was os Saturday evening, but the commitments were not made out till the Monday following. Did yon see Mr. Sirr more than once T—Mr. Goulburn seems to think I did, but I do not myself recollect having seen aim more than once. I wish to add, that the communication of our opinions, as to the law of the case, was made to Major Sirr, because be happened to be upon the spot, for helices in the Castle. Had Major SW applied to you for information upon the subject I—l hoard that the Magistrates generally bad, but I did not hear that Major Sirr had in particular. Was the information which they had gathered laid before Government?—lt was.  Was the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crowo founded then upon that information, as well as what they had learned in the absence of the Magistrate?—Their opinion was founded upon a view of the whole cue. Did you signify to the Magistrates that von had information, of which they were ignorant?—Not in express terms ; but Major Sirr was aware that examinations had been going on in his absence, and, besides, the depositions were in the hands of the Crown Solicitor, so that be might have access to them. Major Sirr ought to have had the examinations reduced to regular informations, as Mr. Gabbett bld done before be committed upon them. Was Forbes held to bail the night of the riot?—l do not know whether bail was asked ; 1 believe he was discharged. Was he committed for conspiring to murder the Lord Lieutenant on the 231 of September ?—He was; that was his final commitment. Is the published copy of the trial authentic?—Yes. Can you state what witnesses were examined on the trial ?.;-1 cannot tax my memory.—(Hear.) Is the report acourate enough to be made use of ?—1 have no power to give it any authority. Were the prisoners tried on two informations ?—They were. In Ireland it is the practice to file ten informations for the same offence. although, in this country, the practice is different. By Mr. BENNE f—Do the Police Magistrates of Dablin hold their situations at the pleasure of the Crown ? Some of them do. Major Sirr does not. Theo his is a patent place ?-.-By the Police Act, sours of the Magistrates are removeable at the pleasure of the Crown, but there are others who are appointed by the city, sod can only be removed by it. Of this latter number is Major Sirr. . By Colonel
The Statesman. — 1823-11-11 (London, England)

THE MURDER OF MR. W. WEARE.  • . . , ,A curious scene was exhibited in Manchester Windings. on Saturday last, in consequence of Johnson; a messenger of the Commissioners of Bankrupts, breaking into the premises lately occupied there by John Thurtell,.. 200 persons were assembled, and an entrance . being obe - • tamed, there was a diligent search made for any property, which might be there deposited. There was very little ' furniture in the house, but there were several parcels of goods, glass, quart pets, &c. found, which no doubt had been obtained under false pretences, but the valise, however, was not snore than 501. Among other things found in the parlour were a pair of immense dumbbells, weighing 8 or 91b. each. These were the weapons with which John Thurtell intended to have murdered Mr. Woods, his rival in the affections of Miss Noyes. It now appeari that it is not the Miss Noyes who is in custody wail • 'the object of Thurtell's affections; but a younger sister of tier's, possessing some personal charms. The dumb hells were taken to Bow Street. Some blame has been attached to Ruthven, the Bow Street Officer, for not taking into custody the man who was in bed in the same room with J. 'f hurtell. This is certainly without foa ndstion, inasmuch as Ruthven only had a warrant to apprehend Thurtell, and therefore would not have been justified in apprehending any body else. !Lis asserted, however, that this mysterious stranger, of whom so much as been said, is actually in custody—his name was Ennison, aliss Emicrson, and he is one of those against whom a bill of indictment has been found for conspiring to defraud Mr. Utahans of four thousand pounds. it is reported that the Magistrates of Hertfordshire are in possession of evidence regarding the Thurtell's gang, which discloses acts of even more dreadful atrocity than the horrid deed which has lately so much occupied the public mind. This evidence is kept secret, but it is said to have transpired that one gentleman, who has been murdered, was cast into the Thames from Battersea Bridge; and that on the Wednesday night preceding the murder of Wrare (which took place on Friday), the party had stationed themselves close to the County Fire Office, to complete the intended assassination of Mr. Barber Beaumont, the Managing Director of that establishment. That gentleman has been in the habit of frequently sitting. in his office, or study, on the groun.l.floor, of an evening, and close to the window (which window looks into Titchborne Street), without having the shutters closed. It was planned that something should be thrown against the window, which would cause him ju remove the blind, and look out, when J. Thurtell was prepared with his air-gun to effect the murder. It fortunately happened that Mr. Beaumont did not sit in this room on that evening, or the following; and on the third the murderers were occupied in dispatching their victim Weare. The late Mr. Weare's laundress will be examined before the Magistrates at Watford this day, and the shire of that Gentleman, as well as the linen found in Hunt's lodgings, will be submitted to her inspection.
The Statesman. — 1821-10-04 (London, England)

DANK OF ENGLAND NOTES.  The point respecting Bank of England notes to which our correspondent Ilumanitas, yesterday, very forcibly called the attention of the public, is of the highest interest, not only to the feelings of humanity, but to the principles of policy. The determination of ' the Direr tors of that Institution not to prosecute the utterers of forged one pound notes, is a determination excitive of a thousand important considerations, and full of equally important consequences. How unfortunate, if such determination be right, that it had not been adopted earlier, before hundreds of wretched beings bad been*molated at the shrine of the • now abandonded system. Those who ignorantly or vainly imagine that there will no mortal retribution attach to the acts which are inherent in this system, are strangely or wilfully mistaken ; retributive justice may be long deferred, but it is certain as fate ; and as sure as the moral attributes of that Being who, who, in sonnd4 of thunder, proclaimed " thou shalt do no murder." There is also such a thing as political retribution : and that, as respects this dreadful system of fiction and fraud so long pursued, is now making itself known, as is abundantly manifested by the compunctions visitations of conscience, which can alone have dictated this measure. But, if those who have tenaciously supported the Pitt system abandon this important branch of it, what a reflection is east on the memory of its author,—Mc ,ereat Statesman no arm. more !—Me Pilot that ',withered the Storrs :??—and what a subject for practical apprehension arises out of this determination not to prosecute, as to the means of identifying forged notes, to say nothing of the difficulty of discriminating between those which are genuine and those which are forged. Of the millions of these notes pat into circulation by the Bank, many must remain out ;dhe Bank declines issuing more, and are not desirous that the public should receive them with the former credit strangely attached to them ; it is, therefore, considered safe to depreciate them ? If they are brought in, in consequence, it is what the Bank is said to desire; but who is to be the judge between the Bank and the Public as to the fact of one pound notes being forged or not ? A million of notes may be taken to the Bank, and rejected as forged ;—are the decisions of the clerks of the Bank to be final? Suppose they make mistakes in favour of their employers, who would be enormously benetitted thereby, (such mistakes as have been made,) are the holders to submit to their arbitrary decrees ? These, are, indeed, most important considerations ; yt t they are only a very few indeed of those consideratinns of enormous magnitude, which will arise out of a bane. ful system of finance.  Yesterday a Coart of Directors was held at the East India House, when the undermentioned Captains were •worn into the command of their respective ships, viz. Captain W. Hunter, Sir David Scott, for Bengal and China ; Captain W. Marjoribanks, Thomas Coatis, and Captain H. Smith, William Fairlie, for Madras and China.
The Statesman. — 1812-01-18 (London, England)

STATE OF THE METROPOLIS.  Mr. RYDER said, that in rising to move for an inquiry into the state of the nightly watch, he did not feel it necessary to enter at any great length into the reasons by which he was induced to bring forward such a motion. At the same time, he felt himself justified in stating, that if the expediency of the mea, sure rested upon the late horrible murders alone, by which two whole families were completely exterminated, the atrocity of those crimes would in themselves afford a sufficient ground. It was true that no system of police could prevent the commission of such murders, while there were persons vile and abandoned enough to commit them, under such circumstances of dexterous depravity ; but as a better regulation of the nightly watch must have a tendency to diminish the chances, it was right that it should be resorted to. Those Gentleme►► who had seen other countries, and attended to their internal situation and government, must know that even in places whore the peace was committed to the care of an armed police, a . police furnished with all those powers, with which under a despotism it was possible to furnish it, without any regard to the prejudices of the people ; they must know that even in such places, and under such II regulations, atrocities such as those were committed'. almost nightly, without exciting any of those deep impressions under which the mind of this country at present suffered ; and it might be regarded as a proof, that few acts of the kind were committed here, when they looked to the consternation excited in the present instance. It certainly was true that for the last three or four months, offences, though not altogether of so horrid a description, were multiplied beyond the experience of former years ; and though ;tinny accounts had got into the public prints which were true, many also were exaggerated, and many false. lie knew not whether the Gentlemen around him were acquainted with the law by which the nightly' watch was regulated. In former times each parish provided for itself, and it was not until 1774, that Parliament interfered, and passed an Act which applied only to 15 of the most populous parishes.— By that Act, Directors and Trustees were appointed, ender whose coutroul, the watch, the patrole, and the beadles, were all placed, and who were entrustel also with the power of assessing the rates upon each parish. It was no wonder that this Act should be found insufficient at the present nay, when they ,considered the enormous increase of the metropolis. He should not trouble the House by attempting to e?umerate the various instances in which the provisidns of this Act were evaded and 'negected : it would be sufficient to mention one. The  I. • IEI  • .1 • • • • r ttf: 4 . • j A i s • 4 • it •
The Statesman. — 1818-10-22 (London, England)

ATTOUSY. . . _GENERAL, at great length. The DEPUTY lIIGU BAILIVir, after hearing the addresses on both sides, gave it es his opinion, that the consideration of what the claimant might have suffered by the obstructions to his trade by means of the sewer, or pulling down of houses in his neighbourhood, was not included among these in. juries which had i right to be redressed according to the Act of Parliament. Ile recapitulated the evidence to the Jury, who found for the claimant 7001. The. Court adjourned to Tuesday next, on which day the affair of the Argyll Rooms wilt be investigated.  Bovec.—A smart pugilistic combat leek place yesterday on Clapham Common, between a cosiermonger known by the appellation of Dandy Jack, and Bright, a Guildford boatman. It was a hardfight of 57 minutes, for a stake of five shillings. Jerk gave 16 pounds in weight, but he made up that deficiency by going bang-up to his adversary's head, and brought him down to his own powers, but not without receiving in return. Bright fougbt manfully until the thirty-sixth round, when he received a chattering lefthanded slap on the jaw, and be felt as if to try if his head was on. All the fight was took out of himland Jack won in 42 minutes. Some days ago we stated that a daring end extensive robbery had been committed on the premises of Mr. Leftwick, at Rotherhithe. Yesterday Mr. L. received an anonymous letter, informing him that several of the larger notes which had been stolen from him having become useless to the thieves, in consequence of being stopped at the Bank, he would find them either in the pound or under the bridge at China.hall.fields, Rotherhithe. Mr. L. accompanied, by some friends, went ,to the spot described, and in the midst of some stinging nettles, he found a small parcel, covered with canvas and tied with rope-yarn, which contained 1001. in Bank-notes, and a watch, of which he was also robbed the same night. The letter further informed him, that the gang consisted of six men, and it was their intention to have murdered every person from whom they experienced resistance. Tuesday night, ate late hoerran Excise Officer,, named Foster, was alarmed by the cry of " on that part of the Thames, near the West Indhi Docks ; on proceeding to the spot, he foetid it put. ceeded from two men who were drowning. He steady went for assistance, which with much dial•, alley was procured. Several boats put Out, and one of the men. named Orossley, was taken out of the water; he proved to be one of the sentries who was on guard that night at the docks ; he was in s senseless condition, but the means recommended by the Royal Humane Society being immediately resort. ed to, be was soon recovered. It appeared they were assisting each other in putting a puncheon in a barge. and they both (Alin the water. Soon after the body of John Davis was taken out, but all efforts to save him proved useless he being quite dead. The body was taken to the Black Horse, High-streets Poplar. . . . •
The Statesman. — 1815-05-13 (London, England)

VIII., the words and c nstruction of that statute must he taken as implying, that the offender must be tried by a jury, where the offence is committed. But it also appeared from that statute, that if a murder is committed upon a British subject, it may be lawful upon information of such murder being given, for ally of his !Majesty's Counsel to brine the offender to ju tire, w' ether the offence be committed within or without the k Ingdoin, or any of his Makjesty's shires. That such offender shalt be tried under a Special Commission Of the Great Seal, either within or without the kingdom, or any of his :Majesty shires, for nch offence, the words were sufficiently clear, nod admitted of the constriction which had since the passing of the Act been put upon them. lie then cited three • c tiles where coavictions had taken place pursuant to this statute. • The firs; was the ease of one Chanthers, who had committed a triurle; in Barcelona. in the kingdom of Spain, in 1;09. wlseu this law took it. course. The neat was the case of one Erilitig, ! who was convicted of a murder committed in Sweden in 17213: nod the third was that in which Capt. Ruche was eons ivied of the murder of one Ferguson, at the Cape of Good Hope, in 1775. In all these cases, the construction of the Art quoted applied, and the law had taken its regular course. They were all eases, ton, where the offence had been committed beyond the seas, and out of the dominions of his Majesty. With regard to the second objection, the words of the statute are." that if any person shall commit _tomb offence of murder against any subject, in the peace of the King," dtc. and sufficient appeared upon the face of the indictment to show, that the subject so murdered was a British subject, and in the peace of the King. As to the last objection, stating that the indictment did not copelude, under the form of the statute," dtc., it did not appear of so much importance, being interwoven with the other arguments, and sufficient appearing on the face of the indictment to make the case clear, agreeable to the statute. The Learned Judge concluded by saying, that after the fullest consideration and argument that could be given to the ease by the Judges, they were unanimouly of opinion, that there was no ground whatever for arrest of judgment. The ka.coetoeit then proceeded to pronounce the awful sen-1 tence of the law. _ _  The Prisoner appeared deeply affected throughout; and upon hearing the awful decision and sentence, remained motionless for some time; when at length he faintly requested one of the Officers to entreat the Court to recommend him lo the Royal clemency. He ttias then taken from the dock. In the case of J. Dot, convicted of forgery last Sessions, and whose judgment was also rcspited, the opinion of the Judges was also delivered, and they were clearly of opinion, that the objection then taken was not sufficient to arrest the judgment, and the conviction was good according to law.