npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1852-10-04 (London, England)

GERMANY.  The following passage from the memoirs of the Mat„ General Von Muffling, written by himself, under the title of " Ana meinem Leben," will perhaps at this moment be read with some interest. .aliiffling was the agent of all communications between the head-quarters of Blucher and the Duke of Wellington during the march of the allies on Paris, after the return ofiNapoleon from Elba : "During the march (after the battle of Waterloo) Blucher had once a chance of taking Napoleon prisoner, which he was very anxious to do; from the French Commissioners who were sent to him to propose an armistice, ho demanded the delivery of Napoleon to him as the first condition of the negotiations. I was charged by Marshal Blucher to represent to the Duke of Wellington that the Congress of Vienna had declared Napoleon °Clawed, and that he was determined to have him shot the moment he fell into his hands. Yet he wished to know from the Duke what he thought of the matter; for if lie (the Duke) had the same intentions, the Marshal was willing to act with him in carrying them into effect. _ _  " The Duke looked at me rather astonished, and began to dispute the correctness of the Marshal's interpretstipn of the proclamation of Vienna, which was not at all intended to authorize or incite to the murder of Napoleon; he believed, therefore, that no right to shoot him in case he should be made prisoner of war coald 'oe founded on this document, and he thought the poJition both of himself and the Marshal towards Napo', o.a, since the victory had been won, was too high to permit such an act to be committed. I had felt all the force of the Duke's arguments before I delivered the ntesqr,-,re I had very unwillingly undertaken, and was, therefore, not inclined to oppose them. I therefore,' contented the Duke, wish my friend and colleague to see this matter in the light I du; such an act would give our times to history stained by a crime, and posterity mail say of ni, they were not worth,; to be his conquei ors; the more so, as such a deed is useless, and can ta,7 a nr) object.' Of these expressions I ouly used enough to dissuade Blucher from his intention."  There are three dispatches given by Miiffling. in 'the appendix to his memoirs, in which the execution of Napoleon is urged on the Duke of Wellington by Blucher ; they are signed by Gneisenau, and leave no doubt of the determination to revenge the bloodshed of the war on the cause of it, bad he fallen into the bands of the Prussian Commander. Blucher's fixed idea vkfas that the Emperor should be executed on the very vot where the Due d'Engbien was put to death. The last dispatch yields an unwilling assent to the Duke • t Wellington's remonstrances, and calls his interference "dramatic magnanimity," which the Prussian head-quarters did not at all comprehend. Probably ,74t few Frenchmen are aware of the existence of this correspondence, or that it is an historical fact Napoleon's life was saved by his rival, whom it cost no small exertion to save it.
The Sun. — 1870-07-28 (London, England)

THE BRIXTON BABY-FARMING CASE. The two women, Margaret Waters and Sarah Rees, concerned iu the Brixton baby-farming case, were brought up at Lambeth Police-court, on remand, yesterday morning. The Treasury prosecuted. Mr. Henry Harris, surgeon, residing at 2, Northamptonterrace, Denmark-hill, said he knew the prisoners. On the 9th of May he was called to see a child suffering from cerebral irritation, and afterwards saw it several times. He saw other children there and was called to prescribe for one three weeks old. On the 11th June the officers came to him and told him about the number of children that were in the house. He afterwards went to the prisoners' house, and they said Cowen's child had been taken by the officer. The child, he saw, looked pinched and careworn. He had no conception that there were eleven children in the house when he visited there. _ _ _  Sergeant Reif said he had made out a list of the 79 pawn tickets found in prisoners' possession. They nearly all related to infant's clothing. The principal part was pawned in 1870. Some in 1869. The tickets relating to infants' clothes had realised £lB odd.  Mr. Poland said this was all the evidence he proposed to offer to-day. It was satisfactory to have to close this long-standing inquiry which it was felt from the importance of the case to be necessary to fully go into. It would remembered that in the case of Miss Cowen's. child a verdict of manslaughter had been returned against Waters. Now the question was with respect to the others, whether his Worship would commit for manslaughter, or the more serious charge of wilful murder. The question was, did these persons, when they took charge of the children, intend, by neglecting to proN4de them with proper food, that death should take place; if they did, that would be to all intents and purposes wilful murder. If, on the other hand, they merely stupidly neglected to give them food, it would of course only amount to manslaughter. He would ask his worship to say whether he would not commit them on the more serious charge, leaving the jury to say whether the death of the children was not caused by the prisoners, and whether their neglect was with the intention that the children should die, so that they might be relieved front the expense of maintaining them. It was also a question whether the prisoners should not be committed for neglecting the children, and causing them permanent injury. A question might arise as to Ellis's responsibility, but he submitted there was sufficient prima facie evidence for her committal, although Waters, who traded under so many different names, seemed to have been the chief. Mr. Mayo urged that the evidence produced was insufficient to induce the magistrates to commit for wilful murder. London was the emporium of baby farming. and frequently persons who were childless came to these places, and paid large sums for a child, which they Ldopted and passed off as Elliott)heir own. The magistrati3 (Mr. E committed the prisoners fOr trial at the next Central Criminal Court on the charge of wilful murder.
The Sun. — 1870-05-19 (London, England)

LIFE.—A. sloop ran ashore on Tuesday on Skinburness Point, during a heavy gale, when her mast went over the side and she filled with water. The lifeboat Angela and Hannah, belonging to the National Lifeboat Institution, and stationed at Silloth, near Carlisle, was launched, and through a fearful sea followed the sloop, which had floated and drifted round Grune Point:pnd up the river Wampool. On arriving alongtlide, however, they found the vessel abandoned, and it of wards appeared that the crew of two men were drowned before the sloop could be reached.  There is a pressure upon the great Powers of Europe to urge them to compel, on the part of Greece, the extirpation of the brigands, so that such outrages as the recent murders of Englishinen- may not occur again. From the practical travellers' point of_view this is a good idea. It is. no doubt, when one goes on his travels, a great deal better to go with the certainty that he may come home with his head ail right so far as the brigands otherwise might damage it. But then imagine the historical respectability, of the class it proposed to destroy. How can Conservative John Bull think of the thing ? Why, there are the real ancient Greeks. Achilles himself was one of those fellows, Witness his carrying away the fair Briseis, whose father followed to ransom his daughter with the richest ransoms." Thereus also, who was of the same kidney in his hot youth, gained some good fame in later life by making the roads safe by the example he gave in the punishment of Sinius, the pine bender. Sinius used to catch unwary wanderers just as the brigands recently caught the pleasuring Englishmen. Then he used to bend down the main stems of the young pine trees and tie them to the earth. Next, he used to tie the limbs of his prisoners ingeniously between the trees, one limb to one tree, another to another. So long as Sinus kept the trees tied to the earth the prisoner was comfortable enough, and while he was thus comfortable his friends might come with a ransom. If they did not come promptly Sinius gave himself no further trouble. Why should he bother? He merely, cut the cords that held the young trees to the earth, and the trees, with the splendid elasticity of their young stems, returned to their places. It was difficult to say which tree held most of the traveller in such a case. Theseus tied Sinius to a few of his finest young pine sprouts, and hence originated the phrase of " putting a person through a course of sprouts." Since then the brigands have cut their prisoners' throats, and now it is thought they will be annihilated. So antiquity passes away. But while the pressure is up to compel Greece to clean out her brigands, why not put a little of it on the good old Pope, who keeps a preserve of these precious rascals in his dominions for special uses, and is not able always to control them ? Why not clear the throat-cutting vermin of all the classical countries at once ?—New York Herald.
The Sun. — 1870-06-21 (London, England)

THE BABY FARMING CASE.  At the Lambeth Police-court, Margaret Watson, 35, having also the aliases of Willis, Hurley, Walters, Ellis, Oliver, Blackburn, Fort, J. W., and M. T., and described as a nurse, was again placed in the dock on Monday before Mr. Elliott, charged with neglecting to provide proper food and nourishment for the illegitimate male child of Jeannette Tassy Cowan, whereby its life was in danger. She was further charged, with Mary Ellis, 29, her sister, with having in their possession four other infants, names unknown, and not providing proper food and nourishment for them, whereby their lives were endangered. The facts in connection with the tracing out this extraordinary case by Sergeant Pelf, of the W, and Policeconstable Tyers, P division, have already appeared. It may as well, however, be mentioned that since the remand, these officers, under the direction of Captain Baines and Superintendent Gernon, have still further obtained such evidence as will, it is fully believed, place the prisoners, or one at all events, upon her trial for a much more serious offence—the murder of several infants whose bodies have within the past few months been picked up not a very great distance from the house where Watson has resided. The house, it should be known, is situate nearly at the bottom of a somewhat secluded spot, called Frederick-terrace, Gordon Grove, leading out of Loughborough-road, Brixton. Within a few yards of the house is a partly completedthoroughfare called Foreign-road, andby passing down this, or under the viaduct of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, access is obtained to what remains of Myatt's fields, by the side of which runs a path to the Camberwell New-road railway station. It was about here that several dead infants have at different times been found. The house has been thoroughly searched, and several letters found which relate to the farming of infants. Amongst the bottles found were several labelled "Paregoric Elixer, Poison," and some packets of poison. The back and front gardens have been dug to some depth, but nothing has been traced there, although some private information was forwarded that a few feet below the surface something woull be disclosed. The officers have in their possession the names of parties involved in this affair, but at present it would be unwise to disclose them, Observation has been kept upon the post-office at Brixton, and the following letters, showing the system adopted, came into the officer's possession :  " Madam,—l shall be at theLoughborough-road Station on the London, Chatham, and Dover line on Saturday, June 11th, 1870, at four o'clock in the afternoon. Please wait in the first-class waiting-room, and wear a white kerchief round your neck in a conspicuous manner. I shall wear a blue-striped shirt and frock coat, and I shall arrive from Ludgate-hill.—Yours obediently, " H. W. H., Post Office, Upper Holloway."  "34, Hunter-street, Brunswick-square, June 13th, 1870. " Madam,—A friend of mine wishes to know whether you have already adopted a child. If not and you will write me, I will sec you on the subject.—l am, yours faithfully, "
The Sun. — 1870-07-22 (London, England)

CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAM.)  The man Jones, charged with the murders at Uxbridge, was addressed by the judge at Aylesbury Assizes at 12 o'clock yesterday. The judge -said, "John Jones, a verdict of wilful murder has been returned against you on the coroner's bill, and ' the grand jury are now considering your case. I have called you to ascertain if you have any counsel to conduct your case. Have you anyone ?—Prisoner : No, sir.—Judge I wish to know whether you desire any professional gentleman to act for you, as, if so, I will endeavour to procure you one?—Prisoner : I do, sir.—Judge : Is there anyone you would like to have called? Prisoner : " No, sir." Then you leave it to the court to exercise their discretion. Your case is fixed for to-morrow, and as it will not do to leave it till the last moment, I will ask some gentleman to act for you at once. You may stand down now. Doctor Addy, Recorder of Bedforshire, subsequently undertook to conduct the prisoner's defence.  RETURN OF THE EARL OF DERBY WITH  HIS BilTlSEfoii‘TO  On Wednesday the Earl of Derby returned to his patrimonial estate at Knowsley with his bride, and the auspicious event was made the occasion of great rejoicing by his tenants and the inhabitants in the neighbourhood of the Knowsley estate. The distinguished pair arrived from London at the Edge-hill Station, Liverpool, at half-past three o'clock in the afternoon, where they entered their carriage, in waiting for them, and drove to Knowsley, Soon after they entered the .park the horses were removed from the vehicle, which was then drawn by a number of stalwart labourers on the estate to the hall. The principal carriage-way along which they drove was spanned in several places by floral arches, bearing mottoes expressive of welcome. On arriv. ing at the hall the noble earl acknowledged the cordial greetings which he and the countess had received in the following terms :—" Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbours all,—l did not come here with any intention of making you a speech, nor do I now mean to do so ; but I cannot leave you, I cannot cross the door of that old hall, which I am about to enter under a new and changed condition, without saying one word to express to you each and all, in my wife's name as well as my own—(three cheers for Lady Derby)—our thanks for a reception so kindly, so cordial, and one shewing so eminently your attachment to us and to the family of which we are the representatives. (Loud cheers.) This reception has gone to our hearts ; to the last day of our lives we shall not forget it, and it will be to us a recollection full of pride and pleasure. (Renewed cheers.) Nov, my friends, I won't detain you, and the best return I can make for your kindness. and the best wish I can express for you, is that each and all of you may have as happy a home as mine is this day." (Loud cheering). The noble lord then, amidst loud cheering, entered the hall. Afterwards the large assemblage circulated about the park, which had been thrown open, and a number of old English sports were indulged in.
The Sun. — 1870-01-17 (London, England)

OPEN COMPETITION IN TIIE CIVIL SERVICE.  The Economist believes it to be quite true that a proposal to throw the Civil Service open to competition is before the Government, but its form has not been exactly comprehended by the public. The project, or rather the idea, for it is scarcely a project, now under consideration, is nothing less than a reform in the whole Civil Service—a reform'which would materially affect its entire organisation. The Treasury has for some time past been much impressed with the embarrassment which the existing arrangement of that service entails upon the State—embarrassment that constantly impedes its action. Every department requires, in order to its perfect efficiency, three classes of employes—one or at most two parliamentary officers who act as links between it and the representatives of the country, who direct its general policy, and who are changed with every change of Ministry; a certain number of capable men able to comprehend the Parliamentary chiefs, and carry out their wishes in all details; and a much greater number of subordinates to get through the enormous mass of desk work. Under the present system both these latter classes, different as their work is and their responsibilities are, are selected by the same means, are paid on the same principles, and are invested with a kind of freehold in their offices which makes reductions very difficult and additions very burdensome to the Exchequer. Young men of good education and fair position are tempted by a few prizes to enter a service where for years they are employed as mere clerks, where their attainments are thrown away, and where they become infected with a spirit at once of routine and of discontent. At the same time their claims aro so great that it is next to impossible to reduce their numbers or to introduce outsiders into special appointments, or to pay the competent members salaries adequate to the work they were called upon to perform, salaries which in private occupation they would obtain. It has occurred therefore, it is said, to Mr. Lowe to ask whether it might not be possible to introduce a system more or less resembling the remarkable one which has grown up in India—to divide the Civil service into two parts. One, which would be the Civil Service, would be filled with men selected by open competition of the severest kind, would perform brain work only—would commence in posts of between £3OO and £5OO a year—and would be entitled, as in Prussia and India, to compensation whenever removed without specific charge. The other would consist of clerks only, who would be employed when wanted at the rates current in open market—who would be as liable to dismissal as if employed in merchants' offices without either pension or compensation—and who might therefore be accepted without examination. If they could not do the work they would go, as they do in all private offices.  The case of ill-treating pauper lunatics at Lan caster, the particulars of which we gave some time ago, has been dealt with by the magistrates, and one of the prisoners, the man Wood, is committed for trial for  murder.
The Sun. — 1870-08-17 (London, England)

MURDER IN WEST BROMPTON.  A shocking murder was brought to light on Tuesday afternoon in West Brompton. A man named Samuel Lee, a potman at the Drayton Arms, Richmond-road, had been missing since Saturday last. Immediately fronting the Drayton Arms is a large plot of building ground, known as the Gunter estate, which is being rapidly covered with middle-class houses, the building operations giving employment to a large number of working men. Lee, the man who was missing, had a good many dealings with these men. Besides the weekly beer score which many of them ran up at the Drayton Arms, a consider. able number of men had their dinners every day provided by Lee, and it was their custom to pay him these accounts weekly. On Saturday afternoon, about halfpast twelve to one o'clock, the potman left the public-house to collect from the men the amounts due to him. He never returned. His absence at first created no uneasiness, Mr. Harrison, of the Drayton Arms, having perfect confidence in his integrity, merely noticed his absence, but made no special inquiries to ascertain the cause. After, however, closing on Saturday night, Lee's wife came to make inquiries about her husband, and then some alarm was excited. During Sunday and Monday the estate was searched, except the empty finished houses, which, being supposed to be locked, were not explored, but no trace was discovered of the missing man. On Tuesday afternoon, about four o'clock, a carpenter named White had occasion to go into one of a row of these houses, No. 3, Cledhowrow, and he was horrified by finding the body of Lee in circumstances which showed at a glance that he had been murdered. He was lying on his back on the floor of a back parlour. There was a deep wound in the middle of the forehead, which had evidently been produced by a hammer, or some similar weapon ; and three or four other wounds of a like character on the other parts of the head, and one very large fracture on the top of the skull. The blood was sprinkled about the floor, and the brain matter protruded from the skull. Close beside the body lay the open account- book which the deceased was accustomed to carry with him when collecting his money. The carpenter at once gave an alarm at the Drayton Arms, and the landlord and another man accompanied him to examine the place. There was nothing to indicate a struggle, or to show that the body had been dragged thither ; on the contrary, the appearances pointed to the supposition that Lee, after collecting his accounts, had retired into the corner of the room, as he usually did to check the items, and had been then felled with one blow. He was a cripple and quite unable to render any resistance. No motive has been suggested for the crime but greed. Lee was known to have money, and £lO to £l2, which it is certain he must have had on Saturday afternoon, had been taken from him. He was a quiet, good-natured, and kindly man, and often, it seems, lent small sums to workmen whom he knew when they ran short. He was about 40 years of age, and leaves a widow and three children.  GARROTTING IN Plt