npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1841-06-19 (London, England)

SOUTU AUSTRALIA.  (From the Port Phillip Gazette of the 22d of Nov.) A letter appears in the Gazette of the 22d of October. rrom Dr. Harvey, of Port Lincoln, containing rareco: ars of the murder by the natives of the son of Mr. Hawson, who has a station a short distance from the settle. went. We quote the particulars given : " Yesterday morning, I was called about two o'clock. to attend Mr. Hawson's son, who had just arrived front the bush, where Mr. H. has a sheep station, having beer speared by the natives. I found him with two spears in the chest, both of which he said were barbed, and one of which had passed through to the back. lof course saw that death would immediately follow the withdraw& If them. I therefore thought it better to request the attendance of the surgeon of the ship L'Aglae who gave the same opinion ; we were under th oainful necessity of permitting him to die a lingerin., not a painful death, in preference to a hasty bit violent one. I have remained with him until now and I am writing this in Mr. Hawson's hoirse, th, boy (ten years old) not yet having breathed his last He lies without pain, mortification hing4aken plack several hours, and he will soon react the period o dissolution. The poor boy has borne this heay.) affliction with the greatest fortitude, assuring us " the• he is not afraid to die." He says that on Monday (sth) he was left in the station but whilst his brothers came into town, and that about ten of eleven natives surrounded his hut, and wished for something to eat. He gave them bread and rice— all that he had • and as they endeavoured to for2A themselves into his hut, he went out and fastenel the door, standing on the outside with his gun by his side, and a sword in his hand, which he held for the purpose of fighting them. He did not make any signs of using them. One of the, children gave him a spear to throw, and while in the act of throwing it, he received the two spears in the chest—he did- not fall. He took up his gun and shot one of the natives, who fell, but got up again and ran away ; they all fled, but returned and showed signs of throwing another spear, when he lifted the gun a second time, von which they all made off. He remained with the two spears, seven feet long, sticking in his breast • he tried to cut and saw these without effect ; he also tried to walk home, but could not. He then sat upon the ground and put the ends of the spears in the fire to try to burn them off, and in this position he was found at ten o'clock at night, upon the return of his brother Edward (having been speared eleven hours). He immediately sawed the ends of the spears off, placed him on horseback, and brought him into town, when I saw him. Mr. Smith (with the police force) has gone in search of the natives, one of whom can be identified as having thrown a spear at the boy, he having a piece of red flannel tied round his head.'
The Sun. — 1841-06-19 (London, England)

MORNING PID/TION.  SOUTH AUSTRALIA. (From the Port. Fl illip Gazette of the 22d of Nov.) A letter appears in the Gazette of the h2d of October, froin Pr. Harvey, of Tort Lineoln, containing particulars of the murder by the natives of the son of Mr. Ilawson, who has ft station a short distance from the settlement. We quote the particulars given : " Yesterday morning, I`was called about two o'clock, to attend Mr. Hawson's son, who had just arrived from the bush, where Mr. 11. has a sheep station, having been speared by the natives. I found hint .with two spears in the chest, both of which he said were barbed, and one of which had passed through to the back. lof course saw that death would immediately fbllow the withdrawal of them. I therefore thought it better to request the attendance of the ~surgeon of the ship L'Aglae, who gave the same opinion' ; we were under the painful necessity of permitting him to die a lingering but not a painful death, in preference to a hasty but violent one. I have remained with .him until now, and I am writing this in Mr. Haw2on's house, the boy (ton years old) not yet having breathed his last. He lies without pain, mortification haying taken place several hours, and he will soon reach the pericd of dissolution. The poor boy has borne this heavy affliction with the greatest fortitude, assuring us " that he is not afraid to die." He says that on Monday (sth) he was left in the station but whilst his brothers came into town, and that about ten or eleven natives surrounded his hut, and wished for something to eat. He gave them bread and rice— all that he had ; and as they endeavoured to force themselves into his hut, he went out -and fastened the door, standing on Vie outside with his gun by his side, and a sword in his hand, which he held for the purpose of fighting them. He did not make any signs of using them. One of the children gave him a spear to throw, and while in the act of throwing it, he received the two spears in the chest—he did not fall. He took up his gun and shot one of the natives, who fell, but got up again and ran away ; they all tied, but returned and showed signs of throwing another spear, when he lifted the gun a second time, upon which they all made off. He remained with the two spears, seven feet long, sticking in his breast ; he tried to cut and saw these without effect ; he also tried to walk home, but could not. He then sat upon the ground and put the ends of the spears in the fire to try to burn them off, and in this position he was found at ten o'clock at night, upon the return of his brother Edward (having been speared eleven hours). He immediately sawed the ends of the spears off, placed him on horseback, and brought him into town, when I saw him. Mr. Smith (with the police force) has gone in search of the natives, one of whom can be identified as having thrown a spear at the boy, he having a piece of red flannel tied round his head."
The Sun. — 1841-02-09 (London, England)

ANTROBUS.  Copies of treaties between her Majesty's Government and the Argentine Confederation and the Republic of Hayti, for the suppression of the Slave Trade have been presented to both Houses of Parliament. The zeal with which the Government labours to unite the civilized world against this infamous and inhuman traffic is deserving of the highest praise; but we have doubts whether it ever can be suppressed while domestic slavery exists. When France, Spain, and Portugal have abolished slavery in their colonies, and when domestic slavery is abolished in . the United States, then, indeed, we may hope to realize the objects of the great and good men who devoted their lives to the enfranchisement of the coloured race. To prevent entirely the exportation of slaves from Africa, there must be no soil to receive a human being in a state of bondage. We can only utterly root out the traffic in slaves by the abolition of domestic slavery, and this will only be accomplished by it being proved to the satisfaction of slave-holding States that free labour s cheaper, and consequently productive of more profit, than slave labour. This proof— better than a thousand abstract arguments on the injustice of depriving men of their liberty by brute force—England, we trust, will, be soon in condition to supply from the example of her own colonies.  The Paris Journals of Saturday and Sunday have been received. On Friday the Chamber of Deputies was engaged with the Customs' Bill. In the course of the debate M. VICTOR GRANDIN had the peculiar French !mob patriotism, and the French mob refinement of taste to oppose all commercial intercourse with England, alleging that if a treaty was concluded with us, a repetition might be expected of our conduct towards China, to whom we say, " Receive our opium or we will murder you. Take your choice ; the poniard or the poison." The Constitutionnel and the Journal des Debuts do not report these expressions, which we regret to add called forth no manifestation of disgust in the Chamber, but they figure very distinctly in the report of the debate which appears in the National of Saturday. The man who could utter them after the perusal of the first night's debate in the British Parliament, mustbe too contemptible for serious notice on this side of the Channel. We leave this man and his. speech to the chastisement of the Journal des Debuts, and the reflections which every honourable mind in France must make upon an outrage of all decency, truth, and international good feeling. The Journal des Debats of Sunday publishes the following letter, addressed by Admiral STOPFORD to the Governor• of Malta dated the 14th of January : " Sir,-1 have the honour to make known to you that Mehemet Ali, having restored the Ottoman fleet, recalled his army from Syria, and accepted all the conditions which the Sultan had: offered him ; the port of Alexandria and the coast of Syria are no longer exposed to any hostility on the part of the Sultan or his Allies.  (Signed) "
The Sun. — 1841-02-15 (London, England)

TRIAL OF PEERS. —Bentham observes— That when a Peer commits a crime, more mischief is done by his trial than by his clime. The time of the Legislature, that time which is the property of the nation, and which ought to be employed on great plans of ns tionul reform, of which there is such abundant need—that time of which there never can be found enough, even for the routine of twaveidals!e affairs—is wasted upon this and a thousand other petty businesses, which could be a thousand times better transacted elsewhere. To the nation, the life of an idle Peer is worth as much as that of an idle porter, but not so much as that of an industrious one. To the Peers, their right of being tried by their own body in capital cases was of use when Peers were in a stile of perpetual hostility with the Crown, and juries were at its devotion. It is now a burthen to the nation, and of use to nobody, unless it be to-the Lord Chamberlain, and to make a rarer-show."—Judicial.Estal_ilishment, page 321.  SICILIAN ATROCITIES UPON BRITISH SUBJEcTs.—On the 15th of December, as Mr. James Hopp, a wine merchant at Mazzara, was returning home with his two eldest sos.s, at about two hours after sunset, they were murderously assaulted and wounded, all more or less dangerously, by six assassin:, who lay in ambush near the road ywhere they were obliged to pass to their residence, which is only four minutes' walk from the town. Mr. Hopps was shot in the back and shoulder, and wounded very severely ; the youngest of his sons was most brutally beaten, and scceived a dangerous wound close to his heart; the eldest was only slightly wounded, the assassins having missed their aim. The three defended themselves, however, moi t bravely against their six assailants, until one or twe people came to their succour, when the villains made their escape. But for the resistance made and the timely assistance which was rendered, no doubt the dwelling of Mr. Hoppa would have been cleared out, end all the inmates murdaed. We arc happy to announce that the wounded hare been declared out of danger, though such is the state of the coup. try that they are obliged to bolt and bar themselves in their dwellings at sunset, as neither life nor properly can be con. sidered safe. We trust that the Sicilian authorities will see the necessity of leaving no means untried fur detectieg and bringing the delinquents to justice ; and it is roue 'a to be regretted that an English man-of-war or steamer is not occasionally sent to visit the ports ofSicily, ?h where British subjects have such a considerable interest at stake, and so s many difficulties to encounter in getting' their grievances redressed, redressed, from the circumstance of wes, of the British V.ce-Consuls along the coast king S.cili • • ara, —Malta Chronicle. It is whispered at the liaise Guards that on the first vacancy in the command of eitb regiments of guards, or of the Household'er of the three Highness Prince Albert will be Brigade, his Royal in that ise Prince George of Cambridgeappointed Colonel, and unquestio: ably succeed Prince Albert would in the command of the 11th H Assars.—Court Journal,
The Sun. — 1841-07-30 (London, England)

THE M'LEOD CASE. We received yesterday morning (we understood by Government Express), the Oneida Whig Extra, containing the opinion of the Supreme Court, as delivered by Mr. Justice Cowen in the matter of Alexander APLeod, which cc-includes with a refusal to grant his discharge. The perusal of this document by no means changes the opinion we expressed yesterday. We understand that the Counsel of li`Leod will sue out a writ of error, and that the case will come before the Court for the Correction of Errors, and if that should confirm the present decision, au appeal lies to the Supreme Court.—New York Inquirer.  Judge Cowen concludes his opinion in APLeod's case as follows:—" Suppose a prisoner of war to escape, and that on his way home, and before he crosses the line, he should set fire to a farm house in the night and kill the inmates—is there a doubt that he might properly be convicted either of arson or murder ? When a grand jury have charged that a man has committed murder in Cais State, I can imagine no case, whether the charge relate to the time of open public war or peace, in which he can claim exemption from trial. If he show that he was in truth acting as a soldier in time of public war, the Jury will acquit him. The Judge will direct them to obey the law of nations, which is undoubtedly a part of the common law. So if the accused were acting in defence against an individual invader of his country. But above all things it is important in the latter case for the Jury to inquire whether his allegation of defence be nut false or colourable.  " They cannot allow, as an act of defence, the wilful pursuing even such an enemy, though dictated by Sovereign authority, into a country at peace with the Sovereign' of the accused, seeking out that enemy and taking his life. Such a deed can be nothing but an • act of vengeance. It can be nothing but a violatiOn of territory, a violatiov,iof the municipal law, the faith of treaties, and the law of nations. The Government of the accused may approve, diplomacy may gloze, but a Jury can only inquire whether he was a party to the deed, or to any act of illegal violence which he knew would probably endanger human life. If satisfied that he was not, as I sincerely hope they may be, upon the evidence in the case before us, they will then have the pleasant duty to perform of pronoun-. cing him not guilty. But whatever may be their conclusion, we feel the utmost confidence that the prisoner, though a foreigner, will have no just cause to complain that he has suffered wrong at the hands of an American Jury.  "-At our hands the prisoner had a right to require an answer upon the facts presented by his papers, whether in law he can properly be holden to a trial. We have had no choice but to examine and pronounce upon the legal character of those facts, in order to satisfy ourselves of the bearing they might have on the novel and important question submitted. That examination has led to the conclusion that we have no power to discharge the prisoner. " He must, therefore, be remanded, to take his trial in the ordinary forms of law,"
The Sun. — 1841-07-02 (London, England)

ATTEMPT AT ASSASSINATION IN FRANCE. (From the Journal des Debats.) An attempt at assassination has lately taken place in France on the person of a sexagenarian named Tetu, the circumstances of which smack of the romantic. Tetu, some years ago, had held an intimacy with a woman who has since married, but who, nevertheless, retained as a lover a fellow named Bechard, aged 23. Bechard, drawn as a recruit, had entered service in the 28th Regiment of the Line, and had even advanced a rank, when he was suddenly cashiered for violence and disorderly behaviour. Some time after, he enlisted in the 2d Battalion of Lancers, a Vincennes regiment, which for three months was temporarily barracked in the environs of Paris. So soon as garrisoned here, he renewed his acquaintance with thewomanll—, and the terror with which lie filled her husband by his menaces, were such as compelled the latter finally to consent to an undisguised e 1 di oadulteryn withow re ee i rv. e d orders to and unconstrained put itself in marching array for Africa resolved not to quit Paris, deserted,; Bechard, himself, took asylum in the house disguising man named - Sarrazin (living of a gentleRoquette), who had formerly in the Rue la whom, as the price of his known him, and rascal enough to .rob of the sum of 300 francs, hospitality, he was with which he disappeared, himself up to and with it delivered uncontrolled auc -d b I e wry and pleasure. But the 300 franc. s were soon squandered, and Bechard, findinfr himself without resources or asylum, presented himself at the door of M. Tetu's house, which is situated at the end of a long and obscure alley. At mid-day, Tetu was out; at two o'clock— at four—he had not retu • tiled, and it was not till half-past eight, when Bechard called for the fourth time, that his ring r, was answered. Tetu came down stairs, leaving for a while his supper on the table, and required of Bechard the purport of his visit. "I come from Madame H—," said Bechard, affecting a German accent; " she must without delay speak with you, and has despatched me to bring you to her this instant. She waits for you near at hand, in St. Pierre's-court." " I will comply with pleasure," answered M. Tetu, " with Mad. H--'s invitation. Just permit me to finish my sup, and d I am at your service." So saying, he againm seate himself at table, endeavouring to discover a reason for so pressing an invitation from Mad. H— at such an hour, with a message sent through a perfect stranger; for though he had frequently I seen Becliard, he did not recognise him, having always met him in uniform, whereas he was now dressed like a citizen. " You will teach me, Sir," said Bechard, after a short silence, affecting his German jargon, " you will teach me to speak French as well as yourself." " I am not learned enough for that," replied M. Tetu, " but there are plenty of professors." During this dialogue, M. Tetu had ate his supper, and lie was engaged in putting on his boots again, when Bechard, throwing himself upon him with a razor, gashed his neck, Mouth, and face most murderously. A terrible wrestle ensued. M. Tetu, aged as he was, and stabled
The Sun. — 1841-06-02 (London, England)

STANDARD.—The pressure of political affairs upon our attention, and the difficulty in the present excited state of the public mind, of drawing attention to any but the one absorbing topic,. have hitherto prevented us from noticing, with the reprobation it deserves, the wholesale murder of no fewer than sixteen British subjects by a portion of the crew of the American emigrant ship William Brown. A case of more frightful atrocity has rarely, if ever, come to our knowledge. From the details which have already been published in our columns, it appears that the above-named vessel, freighted with British emigrants, and bound from Liverpool to Philadelphia, encountered an iceberg on the 19th of April last, in 43 degrees 39 minutes latitude N., and 49 degrees 39 minutes longitude W., from the effects of her collision with which she sank two hours afterwards. Before she went down, the captain, mate, a lady, and five sailors, had contived to get afloat in the jolly-boat ; and the second mate, eight of the crew, and thirty-three of the passengers had embarked in the long-boat. Threeand-twenty souls perished with the ship. The fate of the selfish and dastardly captain, who would only receive as many hands into the jolly-boat as were necessary to man her, is not known. He bore off for Newfoundland, and is supposed to have perished with all on board. The long-boat still remained ; but the ruffians who had the management of her, finding that she made her way very slowly through the water, "consulted together," and came to the resolution of murdering no fewer than sixteen of their passengers for the purpose of relieving her; so that, as the leading miscreant coolly says, "on counting our "passengers sixteen were found missing," that number, chiefly helpless women and children, having been thrown overboard ! These diabolical wretches have since attempted to justify their conduct by affirming that most of the passengers were nearly dead from cold and exhaustion ; but if such had been the case, it would only have aggravated their crime. One little child, we are told, begged of its murderers to be permitted to say his prayers before he was consigned to the deep, but was savagely refused, and was one of their earliest victims. The survivors, consisting of a few women and the assassins, were relieved the next morning by the Crescent packet-ship, from Havre de Grace ; to which port they were subsequently conveyed. Instead, however, of detaining these villains, to take their trial for murder, the American and English Consuls, after having examined them privately, are said to have discharged them without even a reprimand. The name of the English Consul is Gordon ; that of the American Beasley. Nay, so tender-hearted were these philanthropic gentlemen towards these merciless miscreants, that they actually sent them away with written certificates that they had not been guilty of any act " deserving of censure." We have not words at our command wherewith to characterise such conduct.  MONEY MARKET and