npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1844-07-19 (London, England)

POICEMN. • On Tuesday the French Chamber of Peers adopted the Bill relating to the Extraordinary Credits of Algeria, and the Tours and Nantes Railroad Bill. In the Deputies, the Bill relative to Credits for Canals, Roads, &c., was adopted. On Monday evening the King and Queen received the Sardinian Ambassador, the Ministers of Denmark, Wirtemberg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and the Hanse Towns, the I%linister of Marine; Generals Excelmans and de Prevost, Counts McAllen and Beranger, and the Baron de Barante. Marshal ,Soult left Paris on Tuesday for his estate at St. Amans, where he will remain some weeks for the benefit of his health. During his absence, the portfolio of the war department will not be held by any other person, and all important matters will be submitted, as last year, to his decision. The dispatches from Africa will reach him direct, and, says the Moniteur Parisien, all things have been so arranged that no inconvenience will arise from his temporary absence. The grand banquet given to the Minister of Commerce by the manufacturers and artisans who exhibited their productions at the Champs Elysees, was held on Tuesday, in the orangery of the Louvre. The tables were served with great lukury, under the management of six stewards chosen from the body of exhibitors. The Dukes de Nemours and Montpensier, the Ministers of Commerce and the Interior, the :Prefects of the Seine' and Police, Duke Decazes, Count  Montalivet, Baron Thenard, and other distinguishedpersons, honoured the meeting with their presence. The number assembled was calculated at six hundred. The health of the  King was drank with.much enthusiasm. The Duke of Nemours returned thanks.  The Patrie states, on the authority of letters from Oran, that the place of rendezvous of the French squadron, under I the command of the Prince de Joinville, is to be Algesiras, and not Gibraltar, as had been reported. M. Forbin-Janson, Bishop of Nancy, who has long lived apart from his see, died a few clays ago at Guilhermy, near Marseilles, aged 58. His fortune is estimated at 3,000,000 f. The works of the Rouen and Havre railroad are proceeding with great activity. M. Jones, one of the contractors, has commenced the great tunnel, which is more than 2,000 metres in length, and has already arched and bricked a considerable portion of it. An extraordinary quantity of rain has fallen in Paris within the last few days, and we regret to learn that very serious injury has been done to the crops in some of the provinces. Much of the corn -has been laid almost beyond recovery. For the last two days the rain in Paris- as been incessant.  It will be remembered that shortly :after the murder of Mr. Ward, in the Rue de Londres, it was announced that several men, addicted to infamous practices, and with whom he was said to have had relations, were arrested. They were tried on Tuesday by the Tribunal of Correctional Police, upon charges 'of outrage upon public morals. Three were condemned to six months' imprisonment, one to eight months, and another to two years, and five years surveillance.
The Sun. — 1844-09-17 (London, England)

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.  OLD COURT.  These sessions, the eleventh and last but one of the present Mayoralty, commenced yesterday before the Recorder, Mr. Alderman Hughes, and Mr. Alderman Musgrove, the Sheriff, Under-Sheriff, &c. The calendar is extremely light, perhaps lighter than has been known on any previous occasion, there being only about 143 prisoners for trial. The grand jury having been sworn, The lipconDEß proceeded to deliver his charge to them. He should only trouble them with a few observations as the calendar was comparatively light, and not encumbered with many cases of great moment, neither were there any particular description of cases which involved matters of law requiring observations from the Court. The charges were all simple in their evidence and their facts. There were, however, three cases of rather an alarming nature. First, there was a charge of shooting at, and wounding, with attempt to murder. Another charge was administering poison in order to destroy life ; and the third charge was that of rape. He would not go into the particulars of any of these cases, because that would be anticipating the duty that would have afterwards to devolve upon the Court, as there were circumstances in those cases that induced the Court to think that the grand jury would put them in a further train for trial. The facts of the case of shooting with intent to murder were clear, and added to that there were the declarations of the party at the time. As to any question of insanity, that was not to be taken into consideration by the grand jury, but left to the Court. As to the case of administering poison, the grand jury would judge whether the facts were sufficient to put the party on his trial, and showed that he administered the poison. As to the charge of rape, be thought the grand jury would think there was sufficient evidence to enable them to place the matter in a further state of investigation. There was also a charge of manslaughter against a party who had run over another with a cart and caused his death. If that had taken place through the negligence of the party charged, it amounted to the crime of manslaughter. The Learned Judge after slightly adverting to some of the other cases in the calendar, remitted the grand jury to the performance of their duties.  The grand jury having retired, the Court proceeded to swear in the petty jury. Susan Parry, 32, described as a widow, was indicted for unlawfully concealing the birth of her illegitimate child. There were two counts in the indictment; the first charged that the infant was born dead, and the second that it was born alive.  The jury returned a verdict of Guilty upon the first count, and the Recorder having directed that the verdict should be so especially entered, sentenced the prisoner to be kept to hard labour for six months. Some other cages were disposed of, but they were of an uninteresting description, and the Court adjourned at five o'clock.
The Sun. — 1844-12-07 (London, England)

THE LATE DR. THORN.  We have received several communications from English residents at Calais, complaining bitterly of the conduct of the English authorities there in relation to the late unfortunate murder of Dr. Thorn. They consider that their interests have been neglected by the British Consul, and they attribute in a great measure the acquittal of M. Sailor to a memorial got up under his auspices, and signed by him and by twenty- two of the English xesidents in Calais. M. Martinez, the advocate of M. Sallior, in putting this memorial in evidence, said that those who signed it represented the wealth and respectability of the English residents in Calais. The grc at body of the English residents protest against:this assumption. This memorial was got up in secret—there was no public meeting called on the occasion—it was privately hawked about for signatures—and only twenty-two, out of upwards of a thousand English residents in Calais and its neighbourhood, attached their names to this certificate of itharactsr for M. Sallior. The second name attached to this memorial is that of the clergyman ; and of all the others, the only known name is that of Mr. Morton Dyer, the ex-Middlesex magistrate. The rest of the twenty-two are unknown to fame. The English resident's, however 'do full jutice to the exertions of the Procureur du Roi, whose conclusions appear to have been unanswerable. The deceased and M. Sallior were observed standing close; together in the vestibule of the Hotel de Ville. Dr. Thord was seen to fall by the sentinel, who picked him up and laid him on atable, while Sailor went into his office. The sentinel ,-vus loosening Dr. Thorn's cravat when Sallior entered the\ vestibule and said, " My dear friend is dead— send t;)1' a doctor." The defence of Sallior was that he v,,,\ aeo intoxicated, that he recollected nothing— that he ;:r.f,'w nothing of what haddccurred. " That is impossiNe," replied the Procureur du Roi, " for while the scu:inel thought he was only intoxicated. e was dead. You were the first to you said that \.-11 desire that a docl:9-7 should be sent for." The Prefect of the departmer.% .too, exerted himself to the utmost in behalf CI M. Sallior. This was but natural, for if;,--as has' been stated, M. Sallior is an agent lc:yet police, he might, had heof the been condemned,sh a-v4.' made revelations which would have been any thing b'4 agreeable to the Govnefrarmi moeunst ;spaynd a systems a proofsof carried extent to which- the in France, we may is state that the English residents ha% It deputed a member of their body to bring their comp tints personally to thi4 country, because they are convi:-wed that any letters which they, might write on the so.ttiect would be stopped at the French Post-office. The reflecting part of the French community appear to be a's dissatisfied with the verdict of the St. Omer jury 0-8 the great majority of the English residents. With ski:le feelings of the French, however, we have nothing 0,t do, but the conduct of the English Consul in this 'j affair certainly demands a searching inquiry.
The Sun. — 1844-09-14 (London, England)

WHITEHALL, SEPT. 13. The Queen has been pleased to present the " Rev. James Walker to the church and parish of Clatt, in the presbytery of Alford and county of Aberdeen, vacant by the appointment of the Rev. Robert Cook, late minister thereof, as assistant and successor to the Rev. Joseph Crichton, minister of the parish of Ceres, in the presbytery of Cupar.  I a case of cruelty towards an unfortunate and helpless child as was perhaps ever brought under public notice. The facts of the case have been recently published under the head of our Lambeth-street police report. The Deputy-Assistant JUDGE having summed up the evidence, the jury, after a few minutes' consultation, returned a verdict of Guilty. The COURT, in pronouncing sentence upon the prisoners, said they bad been convicted on the clearest evidence, which must have shocked and horrified every one who heard . it. More inhuman conduct he had never before heard described, more particularly on the part of the male prisoner towards his own offspring. It was fortunate for the prisoners that their career of cruelty had been stopped so soon, for from the nature of the medical testimony, it would appear that they had had a narrow escape from an indictment fur murder • indeed, he thought their conduct much more cruel and murderous than if they took a knife and cut the wretched infant's throat. The sentence of the Court was, that the male prisoner be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for four months, and the female for three months, with hard labour also. Francis Crocker, an elderly man, dressed in seedy black, was indicted for fraudulently obtaining from Mary Judd the sum of 15s. and a gold ring. The facts of the, case, which, having recently appeared in the police reports, may be briefly stated as follows :—The prosecutrix who was a servant in the City-road, had been courted by a tradesman named Nathan, who promised her marriage, and in consequence he bought a wedding-ring, which he presented to her, but subsequently changed his mind, and in less than a fortnight married another. She was therefore recommended by a fellow-servant to the prisoner to bring an action for breach of promise, and on applying to him he told her he was a solicitor, and required to have the wedding-ring as an essential evidence in the action, for which he gave an undertaking, stating that it would be returned to her upon payment of 15s. expenses for marking a writ against Nathan. She subsequently made several applications for the ring to the prisoner. The prisoner having been called up for judgment, The Deputy-Assistant JUDGE, after commenting strongly upon the conduct of the prisoner, said he had been convicted of a cruel and heartless fraud up,n a simple . girl, and it was his (the DeputyAssistant Judge's) intention to have sentenced him to transportation, but in accordance with the opinions of several of the gentlemen on the bench, he would give him one chance more of retrieving his character. The sentence of the Court was, that he be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for six months in Tothillfields prison, the last weeks to be solitary.
The Sun. — 1844-09-14 (London, England)

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS. (Before Mr. WALEsev.) Yesterday an ill-looking man, about 35 years of age, named Wm. Patten, and a female named "Inn Webb, were indicted for assaulting and cruelly illtreating Wm. Patten, aged seven years, the son of the former prisoner. The prosecution, which was instituted at the instance of the parish authorities, disclosed as heartless a case of cruelty towards an unfortunate and helpless child as was perhaps ever brought under public notice. The facts of the case have been recently published under the head of our Lambeth-street police report. The Deputy-Assistant JUDGE having summed up the evidence, the jury, after a few minutes' consultation, returned a verdict of Guilty. The COURT, in pronouncing sentence upon the prisoners, said they had been convicted on the clearest evidence, which must have shocked and horrified every one who heard it. More inhuman conduct he had never before heard described, more particularly on the part of the male prisoner towards his own offspring. It was fortunate for the prisoners that their career of cruelty had been stopped so soon, for from the nature of the medical testimony, it would appear that they had had a narrow escape from an indictment for murder; indeed, he thought their conduct much more cruel and murderous than if they took a knife and cut the wretched infant's throat. The sentence of the Court was, that the male prisoner be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for four months, and the female for three months, with hard labour also. Francis Crocker, an elderly man, dressed in seedy black, was indicted for fraudulently obtaining from Mary Judd the sum of 15s. and a gold ring. The facts of the case, which, having recently appeared in the police reports, may be briefly stated as follows :—The prosecutrix, who was a servant in the City-road, had been courted by a tradesman named Nathan, who promised her marriage, and in consequence he bought a wedding-ring, which he presented to her, but subsequently changed his mind, and in less than a fortnight married another. She was therefore recommended by a fellow-servant to the prisoner to bring an action for breach of promise, and on applying to him he told her he was a solicitor, and required to have the wedding-ring as an essential evidence in the action, for which he gave an undertaking, stating that it would be returned to her upon payment of 15s. expenses for marking a writ against .Nathan. She subsequently made several applications for the ring to the prisoner. The prisoner having been called up for judgment, The Deputy-Assistant JUDGE, after commenting strongly upon the conduct of the prisoner, said he had been convicted of a cruel and heartless fraud upon a simple girl, and it was his (the DeputyAssistant Judge's) intention to have sentenced him to transportation, but in accordance with the opinions of several of the gentlemen on the bench, he would give him one chance more of retrieving his character. The sentence of the Court was, that he be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for six months in Tothill• fields prison, the last weeks to be solitary.
The Sun. — 1844-03-08 (London, England)

JUDGE—After the accident she was very low spirited—very much more so than before. This I observed particularly from the time of the accident to her first confinement. They took a public-house in 1839, and stayed in it till 1841, when my brother failed, and since then he has been doing nothing. John Hills examined—l am churchwarden of the parish of Deptford. Having heard of this melancholy affair, I went to the house about six o'clock. 1 found the husband there, and what he first said to me was in the absence of his wife. When I first went down and saw three bodies lying, as I thought murdered, I thought the husband had done it. The woman was, as I thought, lying in the agonies of death, but it soon appeared that, wounded as she was, she knew all that was going on. I examined the husband's hands, when she said it was not he who had done it, but herself. She afterwards, when somewhat recovered, gave me an account of it. She said she murdered the little boy first, because he was the strongest, and the little girl afterwards. This was her own spontaneous declaration. She appeared most anxious to exculpate her husband, whom I suspected and was examining. She said that having cut the throats of her children, she had cut her own, but was afraid she had not done it effectually. In the evening she said she attempted it the day before, but her heart failed her. She appeared in the greatest agony of mind, upbraiding herself bitterly for her wickedness. The room was in a very distressed state—no bed and no bed clothes—indeed the most abject misery. I found duplicates for very many things, but the children's silk clothes were there packed In boxes very carefully; they were very clean and very nice. Cross-examined—The distress was shocking to see. I did not warn her not to tell me anything, and did not ask her to tell me. I was present at the inquest. I remember that eleven out of twelve of the jury wished Mr. Carttar to take a verdict that she was of unsound mind. He refused to do so, and they kept him for a long while. George Worman—l am relieving-officer of Deptford union. Neither prisoner nor her husband ever applied for relief. John Hewitt—l am a police-constable. I went to the house of the prisoner at the bar. I found a razor there, which I now produce. I saw the prisoner bleeding terribly, and the two children murdered. She .said, "It is I that have done the horrid deed." She also said she had attempted to do it the day before, but her heart failed her. She said she murdered the boy first, and it was two or three minutes before she could murder the little girl. She heard the chime of the clock strike a quarter past one, when she commenced the horrid deed, and she added she sat up looking at her murdered infants till a quarter past five, and then she cut her own throat. Cross-examined—When I first went into the room:the prisoner was not able to speak. Did you caution the woman not to speak. Did you not feel it your duty to do so ? Mr. Justice PArrnsoN—lt was not his duty to do so. There is a very mistaken notion on that subject. A policeman has no right to warn any person. Mr.
The Sun. — 1844-12-06 (London, England)

THE LATE DR. THORN.  We have received several communications from English residents at Calais, complaining bitterly of the conduct of the English authorities there in relation to the late unfortunate murder of Dr. Thorn. They consider that their interests have been neglected by the British Consul, and they attribute in a great measure the acquittal of M. Sallior to a memorial got up under his auspices, and signed by him and by twenty-two of the English residents in Calais. .M. Martinez, the advocate of M. Sallior, in putting this memorial in evidence, said that those who signed it represented the wealth and respectability of the English residents in Calais. The great body of the English residents protest against this assumption. This memorial was got up in secret—there was no public meeting called on the occasion—it was privately hawked about for signatures—and only twenty-two, out of upwards of a thousand English residents in Calais and its neighbourhood, attached their names to this certificate of character for M. Sallior. The second name attached to this memorial is that of the clergyman ; and of all the others, the only known name is that of Mr. Morton Dyer, the ex-Middlesex magistrate. The rest of the twenty-two are unknown to lame. The English residents, however, do fulljustice to the exertions of the Procureur du Roi,e whose conclusions appear to have been unanswerable. The deceased and M. Sallior were observed standing close together in the vestibule of the Hotel de Ville. Dr. Thorn was seen to fall by the sentinel, who picked him up and laid him on a table, while Sallior went into his office. The sentinel was loosening Dr. Thorn's cravat when Sallior entered the vestibule and said, "My dear friend is dead— send for a doctor." The defence of Sallior was that he was so intoxicated, that he recollected nothing— that he knew nothing of what had occurred. " That is impossible," replied the Procureur du Roi, " for while the sentinel thought he was only intoxicated, you said that he was dead. You were the first to desire that a doctor should be sent for." The Prefect of the department, too, exerted himself to the utmost in behalf of M. Sallior. This was but natural, for if, as has been stated, M. Sallior is an agent of the secret police, he might, had he been condemned, have made revelations which would have been anything but agreeable to the Government ; and as a proof of the extent to which the infamous spy system is carried in France, we may state that the English residents have deputed a member of their body to bring their complaints personally to this country, because they are convinced that any letters which they might write on the subject would be stopped at the French Post-office. The reflecting part of the French community appear to be as dissatisfied with the verdict of the St. Omer jury as the great majority of the English residents. With the feelings of the French, however, we have nothing to do, but the conduct of the English Consul in this affair certainly demands a searching inquiry.