npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1846-09-21 (London, England)

BOW-STREET.—(THIS DAY.) John Cousins was charged before Mr. Henry with attempting to commit suicide by throwing himself into the river at Hungerford-pier. A ragged and most wretched-looking young man, who said that he had been a draper's assistant, stated that at about half past twelve o'clock this morning he was lying in one of the barges near the bridge, and saw the prisoner deliberately walk along the pier, and tumble headlong into the water. He at first sank, on rising to the surface swam towards the place where witness was. As soon as he got near enough witness gave him his hand, and helped him to swim towards a post, which he laid hold of, and so supported himself until witness went to a barge near that in which he was, and got a rope, by means of which the prisoner climbed into the barge. The prisoner said that he did not intend to drown himself. He was rather intoxicated, and did not perceive the water until he found himself in it. It was evident that he had no thought of drowning himself, or he would not have exerted himself to swim, as the witness had proved he did. Mr. HENRY said he did not suppose the prisoner intended to kill himself, but this ought to be a warning to him to keep himself sober for the future. His worship then put several que,tions to the witness, in answer to which he said, that he was now in very reduced .circumstances, but had been an assistant in a draper's shop in Vauxhall, but left the place about six months ago of his own accord. He had not been able to get another situation since. Mr. HENRY said he would discharge the prisoner, but be thought he ought to give the witness something by way of recompense for his trouble. As, however, he did not suppose he could give much, he (Mr. Henry) would give the witness 10s. out of the poor box. The witness took the money, and looked as if he could hardly persuade himself of its reality. The witness said he would give the witness " what he could," as be thought be owed his life to him.—lle was then discharged."
The Sun. — 1846-07-24 (London, England)

SUICIDE ON THE WEDDING-DAY. That " the course of true love never does run smooth," has been often, but never, we believe, more painfully verified than in the following instance : —A young man, a native of Islay, named Donald M'Millan, a joiner by trade, and employed at Port Dundas, wooed and won the heart of a buxom young dame from Edinburgh. The day singled out from time (Monday last) for the consummating of that happiness which till then they had only dreamt of, at last arrived. Friends and acquaintances from different and distant parts of the country, in holiday attire, had arrived at the house in Stirling-street, off Garscube-road, destined to be the future home of the happy pair. Everything being in readiness, the bridegroom and bride, by the aid of a highly-respectable clergyman, were, about seven o'clock, P.M., united in the bands of wedlock. Up to this period nothing remarkable had taken place, except a dogg,d, if not a stupid, indifference manifested by M'Millan during the ceremony. The clergyman had pointedly to draw his attention to the fact that his assent was required before he acquiesced. This conduct seems the more unaccountable, seeing the bridegroom had frequently of late urged upon the young woman the propriety of no longer delaying their marriage. This seemingly trifling affair, which threatened to put a stop to their joyous expectations, was, however, soon forgotten in the happy greetings that followed. when all " went merry as a marriage-bell." After supper the young gudeman, while enjoying himself with his friends, partook freely—too freely it is said—of strong drink, for which he was gently reproved by one of the company. Whether offended at what had been said, maddened with jealousy, intoxicated with drink, or temporarily deranged, we cannot tell, but true it is, that unknown to the bride and the rest of the company, he left the house about ten o'clock, for the purpose of taking a walk in the open air, the room being, as he said, oppressively hot. His brother direction,accompanied theirhim a conversation ebeing distance . n in a a n eastwardsrain the very reverse of melancholy. Upon their arriving at the Monkland Canal, Donald at once plunged into the water. His brother at once gave an instant alarm, and did everything to save the drowing man, who at no time seemed to have wavered in his determined purpose. Assistance soon arrived, and the body was recovered, after being about fifteen minutes in the water; but every means employed to restore animation were unavailing. Intelligence of this makers;" and who can describe the anguish of her who is scarcely well a wife till she is also a widow—the bitter grief of his sisters, two of whom were present—or the sorrow of the rest of the party. The body of the unfortunate deceased has since been removed to Islay for interment.—Glasgow Chronicle.
The Sun. — 1846-07-24 (London, England)

SUICIDE UN THE WEDDING-DAY. That " the course of true love never does run smooth," has been often, but never, we believe, more painfully verified than in the following instance : —A young man, a native of Islay, named Donald M'Millan, a joiner by trade, and employed at Port Dundas, wooed and won the heart of a buxom young dame from Edinburgh. The day singled out from time (Monday last) for the consummating of that happiness which till then they had only dreamt of, at last arrived. Friends and acquaintances from different and distant parts of the country, in holiday attire, had arrived at the house in Stirling-street, off Garscube.road, destined to be the future home of the happy pair. Everything being in readiness, the bridegroom and bride, by the aid of a highly-respectable clergyman, were, about seven o'clock, P.N., united in the bands of wedlock. Up tothis period nothing remarkable had taken place, except a dogged, if ftnotohree ca he stupid, teuamcp giodnu, iyet.indifferenceshcreetTdhaacquiesced. threatened nr Tcemihe ari tsrgmoryci paomanugnaitdefne.au schst:teaodidsipiebse pointedlytyoms eMstehm eMhii erni lg joyousmal seemingly 00 trdreui dfirrii draw his attention to the fact that his assent was required be. unaccountable, seeing the bridegroom had frequently, of late urged upon the young woman the propriety of no affair,long e whichdelaying expectations, was, however, soon forgotten in the happy greetings that followed. when all " went merry as a marriage-bell." After supper the young gudeman, while enjoying himself with his friends, partook freely—too freely it is said—of strong drink, for which he was gently reproved by one of the company. Whether offended at what had been said, maddened with jealousy, intoxicated with drink, or temporarily deranged, we cannot tell, but true it is, that unknown to the bride and the rest of the company, he left the house about ten o'clock, for the purpose of taking a walk in the open air, the room being, as he said, oppressively hot. His brother accompanied him a considerable distance in an eastward direction, their conversation being in a strain the very reverse of melancholy. Upon their arriving at the Monkland Canal, Donald at once plunged into the water. His brother at once gave an instant alarm, and did everything to save the drowing man, who at no time seemed to have wavered in his determined purpose. Assistance soon arrived, and the body was recovered, after being about fifteen minutes iu the water; but every means employed to restore animation were unavailing. Intelligence of this lamentable occurrence was conveyed to the "merrymakers;" and who can describe the anguish of her who is scarcely well a wife till she is also a widow—the bitter grief of his :Asters, two of whom were present—or unfortunate sorr o w o df e ct ehaes erest a so the p sf ine e beaernt );. e mTo vheed btoo of la),the for interment.—Glusgow Chronich,
The Sun. — 1846-06-25 (London, England)

MELANCHOLY SUICIDE.—A letter, of the 20th of April, from the Malabar coast, gives the following account of the suicide of Lieutenant C. G. Smith, of her Majesty's 25th regiment :—A party of officers, consisting of Lieutenants Priestley, Lea, Gough, and Smith, of the 25th Foot, had obtained leave to proceed on an elephant-shooting excursion into the Wynaad jungles. It would appear that the unfortunate deceased had been for some time in a very desponding state, which is attempted to be accounted for by the fact of his having been unsuccessful in his application made at the commencement of our differences with the Sikhs, to be allowed to join his relative, Sir H. Smith, as one of hie staff. It is said that he had written to the General, but had not received any reply. Oh the 28th of March, while at the Tiroonelly Pew plantation, Lieutenant Smith was observed by one of his friends to be in a very nervous state, and trying to load his fowling-piece. On being questioned as to what he was about, be is said to have rephed that he was determined on shooting himself. From Tiroonelly the party proceeded to Manantoddy and other parts of the jungle. Nothing further occurred on Lieutenant Smith's part tociase any uneasiness to the sportsmen, one of whom was fortunate enough to be able to kill one elephant and wound another. On the IGth of April, at a place named Coroth, Lieutenant Smith is said to have been listening to one of the party reading. He sometimes laughed at the history read, and seemed amused. He had a short while before borrowed a small sum from one of his comrades, for the purpose of paying Coolies, it having been resolved by the party to continue their journey. Lieutenant Smith suddenly left the room. Shortly afterwards the report of a gun was muchdispatched beloved andto heard. Search was made, and on entering the bath-room the body of the unfortunate man was found, quite dead, the top of his head and face being completely shattered ! Ilia esvmenitth was immediately remains were conveyed back to Cannonore, where his corps andlaeya,th qua ef or sr m. a t Lieutenant i n o f the esteemed by his brother officers as a quiet, agreeable, gentlemanly companion, and his melancholy fate has cast a gloom over them and the society of .. Times, May 2. the place..--Bombay A fine specimen of the Canadian goose was shot a few days ago by Francis Simms,of Sh eepwas h on the river Wansbeck, near the aSt k eford.—Newcastle Journal.
The Sun. — 1846-06-25 (London, England)

CHATTERTON. Had there been some rational allowance made by the State for those who are struggling in penury through the treasures of intellect, the bloody and horrible morning terminated cathetastcraorepheer wohficpoh or HAMoybondaNy might have been prevented. And surely we are not endeavouring to extort an exaggerated moral by merely playing upon the sensibilities of the people when their hearts are wrung and their imaginations inflamed by a spectacle of such ineffable desolation and despair as that of the suicide of this most remarkable man ! Surely there is a tendency to commisseration in the mere retrospect of the evil against the existence of which we are Inveighing; surely there is a mournfulness and a rationality about it, altogether irrespective of any temporary cause of incitement to those sentiments! Can any one remember the premature decay and the torments of involvement which had rendered the death of JOHN BANIM inevitable before the Government vouchsafed him the miserable pittance of 1501. a year, without feeling the horrible consequences of this legislative apathy ? Can they remember the death-bed of THOMAS Hoon, that saddest death-bed poet ever came to, without mourning that the pension to his widow was only sealed by his last breath ? When we find, indeed, that 9,6741. is all the money annually conceded to literary, scientific, and artistic eminence, and that one hereditary pension alone from the Excise revenue (and in recompense for no good service whatever), amounting to 10,5841., is paid yearly into the pocket of a Noble Duke, we cannot but revolt at such a disproportionate distribution of the national funds. In the lamentable self-destruction of LAMAN BLANCHARD, only the other year, an instance was afforded us of the fearful effects of thus contemning the unfriended worshippers of knowledge. In the recent calamity, so analagous in some particulars to the preceding, the truth is forced still more vividly upon our conviction that the contingencies of poverty to intellectual men should be foreseen and prevented. Unless some effort in behalf of our militant and suffering genius be officially made, the blood of our men of arts or letters, shed by themselves in the madness of destiturion, will continue to be an indelible stain upon the Legislature. The Premier has, in this recent case, been preserved from the possibility of having any stigma of neglect cast upon himself. by an act of genuine benevolence, which would never Nave been revealed but for the unanticipated decease if the historical painter, and which will serve to stabilitate the popularity and assure the love of the deople towards ROBERT PEEL; the more especially so sts this beautiful and affecting instance of generosity is simultaneous with the malevolent and vulgar derision with which he has been himself treated. From that unfinished painting of " King ALFRED and the First English Jury," before which eras discovered the dead body of HATDON, shall we not draw a moral ? Must genius still continue to starve, and become madmen, and commit self-murder?
The Sun. — 1846-06-22 (London, England)

WORCESTER AND WEEDON, HAMPTON AND ASHCSEURCH, HAMPTON AND BANBURY.  Mr. Wis.sTELsi, Q.C., for the opposing landowners, put in additional evidence against the Bill. Mr. Williams, brother-in-law, and land agent to Lord Willoughby de Broke, stated that the Hampton and Banbury line would pass through the Noble Lord's property, to which it would be absolutely destructive. The chief value of the property was in its ornamental character, which the proposed railway would altogether annihilate. Other valuable property, within the limits of the line, would be similarly damaged. Witness was secretary to the Warwickshire Hunt, and he knew that the sporting gentlemen of the county were greatly cpposed to the Hampton and Banbury line, and as much in favour of the Birmingham and Oxford. The general opinion wac, that the latter railway, by a short line from Fenny Compton to Wanvick, would meet all the wants of the company, without interfering injuriously with private property.  THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF Music—The students of this institution gave their fourth concert on Saturday morning, in the Hanover-square Rooms, which were very fully attended. The scheme comprised a great variety of compositions from the works of the established masters, besides three movements of a MS. symphony, by Mr. Menry Wylde, a member of the academy, and a young musician of considerable ability and promise. Of the movements performed the andante was the most attractive; the subject in B flat recalled the slow movement of Beethoven's second  symphony, but it was melodiously and cleverly treated. -A. duet of Beethoven's for piano and horn displayed much capability in the performers on each instrument, Mr. Baly and Mr. E. Harper, son of the well-known trumpet player. Mr. H. Hill, pupil of Mr. Sainton, conferred high credit both on his preceptor and himself by his excellent performance of an adagio and rondo of De Beriot. A number of vocal compositions,concerto and solo, were sustained by Misses Cheesman, Stewart, Bridle, D'Emst, Ransford, A. Romer, Salmon, Solomon, and Duval ; Messrs. Herbert, Wetterbee, and Weeks, with great credit to the method of vocal instruction exhibited in the Academy. Mr. Lucas conducted the orchestra, which was less remarkable for numbers than efficiency. Mr. Sainton was at his post as principal violin, and Mr. Hill as principal tenor.  SUICIDE OF Mn. S.
The Sun. — 1846-08-27 (London, England)

CHAIRMAN—Very well, 2s. 6d., or ss. Since that time we have been put to various heavy expenses in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, which have run up .the expenses to about 10s. per share. The remainder of the deposits will be returned to those parties that shall signify their assent to take some of the Goole and Doncaster shares at 31s. ; the South Yorkshire sham s at 30s. All those persons that wish to withdraw from the Company, and send their scrip, may have the whole of the remainder of their deposits paid at the bank.—(Hear, n( ar.) But as our position is now perhaps one of the bst in .he kingdom, I may safely say that where there were nine lines and nine capitals deposited with the Accountant-General for this very ground that we wish to occupy, it would be suicide on the part of any shareholders in these lines to take their money back. We have now almost a prospect of certainty of obtaining our lines in the next year. We have the assistance of every landowner on the line, and I believe, were it not the sake of the tolls which Parliament levies on any line of railway, those landed proprietors would make the line upon their own proFery.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. Baxter will read the report, which I hope will be satisfactory to you.  - Mr. BAXTER accordingly read the directors' report, which gave a history of their labours during the present session, and concluded by recommending the shareholders to continue the scheme, as they entertained the most sanguine hopes of obtaining the line in the ensuing session. This recommendation was received with loud applause. air CHARLES DOBSON then said—Gentlemen, it appears to Inc that the observations that have fallen from our worthy Chairman, as well as the report which has been read by , the secretary, are as satisfactory as could by possibility, under the circumstances, be anti•
The Sun. — 1846-12-24 (London, England)

WILLENHALL.—IMPORTANT TRADES' MOVEMENT —An union of the various trades has lately commenced in this place, having for its object the establishment of a fund, created by weekly contributions, by almost all the masters and workmen in the town, and which is to be available to any of the branches of trade, in the absence of a demand for their particular manufacture; and as far as possible to render assistance in such times to small manufacturers, who, for want of capital are compelled to take orders at any sacrifice. It also limits the h. ours of labour, which was very much needed. The immense number of small manufacturers acts as an incubus upon the trade of the town; many of them have been suffered to have four or five apprentices, whom they have kept at work fourteen or fifteen, and in some instances sixteen hours per day. Besides, itis well known that many of them are incapable of governing them. selves, much less to govern apprentices; and it ought to be known to those opfarwtihesomwhaor are parishaN-e the officersplacingin out of apprentices,many agricultural districts, that it is often the case that a lad is placed apprentice, say, to some particular branch of the lock trade, his master has neither ingenuity nor capital to invent or carry out any improvement in such branch of trade; consequently the apprentice is kept working at the self-same thing during the whole ten or eleven years of his apprenticeship, at the expiration of which time be finds himself incapable of working at any other kind of locks, and in many instances is next door to beggary all his days. If it had not been for the ingenuity and enterprise of a few respectable manufacturers, the track of the town would ere this have been lost.— Birmingham Journal.  We have already mentioned the failure of the house of Schiller and Co., of Breslau, for a sum of 800,000 thalers (3,200,0001.). We now learn from Dresden that M. Schiller, the chief of the house, attempted a few days days ago to commit suicide in a bath in that city, by opening the veins of his arms. He was found alive, and removed to an hospital, but in such a state cf exhaustion that little hope was entertained of his recovery. M. Schiller had a fortune of half a million thalers (two millions of francs) from his father, which by long industry he had trippled, but latterly he had speculated extensively in railway shares and other securities, and lost so much, that the amount to be divided among the creditors of the house is estimated at only 100,000 thalers (400,0001). M. Schiller is said to have lost havingthe C rfaealloewn one million of thalers (four millions of francs) by the ißnaeinlrropaodra, toiofnwhofichCrhaecowwa;s shares athlearge holder, of 30 per cent.—Galignani.
The Sun. — 1846-12-24 (London, England)

THE RECENT MURDER AND SUICIDE AT LAMBETH. CORONER'S INQUEST ON THE TWO BODIES. Yest ertlay afternoon Mr. William Carter, coroner for Surreys and a respectable jury, assembled at the Hero of WaterlooeWaterloo-road, Lambeth, for the purpose of inquiring into the circumstances connected with the respective deaths of Hannah Reed, aged 30, and of William Reed, aged eleven months, who were found drowned in such a mysterious manner on the forenoon of Monday last. The jury having been sworn, they proceeded, with the Coroner, to view the bodies, which were lying in the vaults of St. John's Church. Upon_ the return of the jury, the first witness called was—  Richard Pierse, a lad of 17, who said that on Monday forenoon; he was in company with another lad, named Thomas Martin, looking for pieces of coal at the river side. When off West's wharf they discovered the bodies under circumstances previously described in this journal.  Frederick Anderson, a son of one of the beadles of the parish, said that, in consequence of information he received., he went to the water side, and there saw the bodies. The child was tied round the woman's waist with a piece of laycord, which was passed round the two bodies twice, and finally fastened to the woman's bonnet and cap strings. The cord was also passed over the child's wins and shoulders. He had the deceased removed i.e., the vaults of St. John's Church. Ann Jones, of 39, New-street, Webber-street, Lam beth, said that she had known the deceased about fifteen months. She had been living in the same room with witness during the last three months. She had no male protector, but had been maintained by witness as well as she could afford. She had no means of supporting herself and child, but she received Is. 6d. per week from St. Dwasaan's parish. Witness saw the deceased alive for the last time on Thursday evening. She went out at seven o'clock, saying at the same time that she was going to :meet the father of her child ; and she expected her home the same night, but she did not return again. On Tuesday she heard of her death. The