The Sun. — 1847-07-01 (London, England)

POLICE INTELLIGENCE. WORSHIP-STREET. A lady named Nowlan, the proprietress of an educational and boarding establishment at Upper Clapton, made application to Mr. Broughton for his advice under the following circumsnces. The applicant stated, that in the early part of this year a man, of very respectable appearance, called at her establishment, accompanied by a little boy, and, representing himself as a merchant in the City, handed her his card, and requested to be made acquainted with her terms for the board and education of a child of the age of the one he had with him. She laid before him one of her prospectuses, and having drawn his attention to a note there, specifically mentioning that the money would be payable quarterly, the terms, about thirty guineas per annum, were acceded to, and the child received. On the first quarter expiring the account was sent in to the residence the parent had given, but no notice was taken of it, and, all subsequent applications having met a similar result, She made a personal application at the house specified on the father's card, in Fenchurch-street, and found that no such person lived there. By means of an acquaintance of the parent, however, she had succeeded in again communicating with him, but had been unable to find out his real address, which he carefully concealed, and although she had written occasionally to him, desiring that he would fetch his son away, or she must herself adopt measures to get rid of him, be had made nothing but paltry excuses, evidently with the intention of leaving the child upon her hands until the vacation expired, when she felt satisfied he would place it in some, other establishment and defraud the proprietor in the same manner, and she therefore wished the magistrate's advice how to act, as she did not like to turn the poor child into the street, even if she were justified in so doing, and it was evident the father did not care what became of him. Upon hearing this statement Mr. BRJUGHTON directed Holland, the warrant officer, to make inquiries into it with a view to induce the parent to come to terms, and prevent a further exposure, and Holland now stated, that he had called at the residence the father had given, which he found to be a most respectable mercantile house, and on obtaining an interview with one of the partners was informed by that gentleman that the person complained of had certainly had chambers there formerly, but that he had vacated them a long time since, and was wholly unjustified in giving a reference there, as he was certainly a person not to be trusted even to the extent of 101.; and, from what he had heard of him, he was convinced that he was in the habit of practising similar impositions. He (the officer) had also used his endeavours to ascertain the man's residence, but had not succeedectin-doing sn, and he felt assured that he was keeping out of the way intentionally: Mr. BROUGHTON told the applicant that she should have made proper inquiries as to the father's respectability before she received the child into her house, and as it was now quite manifest that she had not the re motest prospect of obtaining her money, he would advise her to apply to the parish officers of Stoke Newington, and, upon laying a statement of the circumstances before them, it would be their duty to receive the child into their workhouse. The applicant thanked the magistrate and quitted the court, and Holland yesterday announced that Mr. Dossett, the overseer of the parish, had given directions for the child to be placed in their union on the preceding night. The magistrate requests us to acknowledge his receipt of 1/. Os. Gd. from " X. Y. Z." for the poor-box, which the donor desired might he noticed in this paper. TH A M E S. Caroline Mitchell, a young woman who has given much trouble to the magistracy, tise police, and the surgeons of the London Hospital, by her repeated attempts to commit self-destruction, was brought before Mr. Yardley, charged with making another attempt of the same kind, in which she had very nearly succeeded. A respectable woman named Clark stated, that on Monday night, at half-past eight o'clock, she saw the prisoner running towards the swivel bridge, over the London-dock entrance in Old Gravel-lane, exclaiming, " I will—l will do it." In a moment the prisoner slipped under the chains on to the pier head, and plunged into the water, which is there more than twenty-four feet in depth. Witness was thunderstruck, but as soon as she recovered from her surprise she screamed aloud for help, and the servants of the dock company and others procured the drags, and threw ropes towards the prisoner, who sank twice, and came up again, when the prisoner caught hold of one rope, and a young sailor was lowered down by the side of the perpendicular wall, and, while she faintly held on, he seized her round the waist, and saved her. The prisoner was taken to a public-house near, and after some time had elapsed she was restored. When the prisoner came to her senses, she raved and said, " Why did you not let me go to the bottom ? I will destroy myself." John Putt, a police-constable, 177 K, said the prisoner once threw herself into the Thames, and after a great deal of trouble was resuscitated, and since then had made other attempts on her life. On Monday night he met the prisoner in Old Gravel-lane. She was then drunk, and said " I intend to do it, I will ;" and ran away from him. The prisoner was a woman of the town, and had just come out of prison, after being confined in default of finding sureties to keep the peace, in consequence of her having attempted to commit suicide. He knew that she had made, similar attempts repeatedly. James Wittleton, a police-.constable, No. 173 K, stated, that the prisoner was charged with attempting to drown herself about three months ago. She then selected the same place as she had done on Monday night, and was with difficulty saved by the medical attendants and others. After she was locked up in the station-house, he heard a rattling in the throat during the night, and upon opening the door of the cell in which she was confined, he found a lump of oxalic acid in her mouth, which he took from her, and he had got it now. She was taken to the London Hospital, where she remained for several weeks before she was cured. The prisoner, who treated the affair with much unconcern, said she had nothing at all to say. Mr. YARDLEY doubted whether the prisoner was a fit person to be at large at all, and said, that the public ought not to be shocked by these repeated attempts on the part of a woman to commit suicide without taking some measures to restrain her. He should commit the prisoner for trial for the misdemeanour in attempting to commit self murder.