The Daily Times. — 1860-08-30 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

SELF-MUTILATION AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE At the Thames Police-office, on Tuesday, John Dansie, a short, broad-shouldered Klan of florid complexion, fortynine years of age, was charged with attempting to commit suicide, and mutilating himself in a very extraordinary manner. Edward Stewart, a police-constable, No. 319 K, said that on Sunday, the 29th of last month, at half-past nine o'clock at night, he saw the prisoner coming out of a field abutting on the Barking-road, opposite the north wall of the East India Dock, and asked him what he had been doing there. The prisoner said he had been sleeping in the field, and that he was drenched to the skin. There had been a violent thunderstorm, and it had rained heavily the same night. The prisoner was very wet, and the water was dripping from his clothes. He told the prisoner he must have been drinking heavily, and was very foolish to remain in the field so long. IJe also advised the prisoner to go home, change his clothes, and go to bed. The prisoner said, " Yes, J am going," and left him. About an hour afterwards he met the prisoner again near the same place, and in a worse plight than he was in before. The prisoner said, " I have thrown a stone through that light," and pointed to a broken gas-lamp on the road. ge asked the prisoner why he had done so, to which he replied, " Oh, it is a useless lamp—there are too many lights ? The prisoner as he said this staggered a good deal, and he observed to him again, " Why, you have been drinking." The prisoner said, " No, it is a loss of blood." He asked him how that was caused, and the prisoner, who stared wildly and was very weak, said, " I went mad on Friday night, and lay down in the field and cut my throat." At that time he was passing under a gas-lamp, and he observed that the prisoner's throat was cut. He asked the prisoner why he had committed such a rash and wicked act. The prisoner said, " I hardly know why I did it ; I went mad ; it was through my wife ; she promised to meet me and tell me where she had got a fresh lodging, and she did not come as promised, and I then went into the field and fell asleep, and when  I awoke I saw people staring about me, and they made me cut my throat. 4s soon as I had done that they vanished like shadows." Witness then took the prisoner to Poplar stationhouse and sent for Mr. Robinson, the divisional surgeon of police. lie then noticed that the prisoner's trousers and shoes were saturated with blood, and he asked him if he had inflicted auy other wound on himself. The prisoner said "Yes, I have," and described how he had wounded himself. The constable gave further evidence of the horrible manner in which the prisoner had mutilated himself, and the hsemorrhage which had taken place ig consequence. Ile searched the prisoner and found upon him a large clasp knife. The blade was stained with blood and much worn. The edge was dull. The prisoner said, " Yes, that's the knife ; that's it. It is not much of a thing. If I had a sharp knife I should have cut my head off." Mr. Selfe having ascertained that the prisoner was now out of danger, said that, in consideration of his severe sufferings, and in the hope that he would not act so foolishly again he would stiffer him to be dilchuyze4,