The Sun. — 1862-11-24 (London, England)

INSECURITY OF LIFE AND PROPERTY IN THE METROPOLIS.  On Saturday, at the sitting of the Marylebone Representative Council, held at the Court-house, Mr. P. Matthews, churchwarden, in the chair, Mr. W. E. Greenwell, the vestry clerk, read a communication from the vestry of Paddington, together with the copy of a memorial that body had adopted to the Home Secretary upon the subject of the alarm in the public mind, arising from the numerous street robbe►ies, with violence, which have recently taken place in the metropolis, and soliciting the cooperation of the authorities of Marylebone on the subject.—Mr. Hodges said he felt it his duty to move that the consideration of this memorial be postponed, because, he said, if they agreed to it at once, without mature deliberation, they might find it made an excuse for saddling them with a very large increase of the police. The police rate in Marylebone already amounted to the enormous sum of £26,000 per annum ; from £lB,OOO to £20,000 in St. Pancras ; and from £14,000 to £15,000 in Paddington ; and the sum total for the whole metropolis was somewhere about £200,000. While, however, opposed to any further increase in the policerate, he quite agreed that it was highly necessary the efficiency of the police should be increased. Mr. Grange supported the immediate adoption of such a memorial. To the disgrace of the metropolis and the whole country, they had arrived at such a state of things that there was danger in going into the publie streets after dark, of losing not only their property but their lives by the garotters. Mr. Abrahams said he was prepared to contend that, if the large bodies of police occupied at the public places of amusement were withdrawn and occupied in their legitimate duty, for which the public paid, and that if the commissionaires were sworn in as constables and appointed in their places, the public would be able to receive ample protection. Mr. Freeth considered the parish of Paddington had done themselves great honour in originating this movement, and he thought it was incu nbent on that board, as a body elected by the ratepayers, to support it as being a step for the protection of their own lives and property, as well as of those they represented. Some steps ought to be taken by the Government to stop the fearful outrages that were going on night after night in the metropolis. The other day a lady in St. John's-wood had occasion to send her servant for the police, and it took two hours and a half to find one, and•then she had to go to a police-station some distance off. It then transpired there were no policemen on day duty in St. John's-wood district. The consequence was, so bad was the state of things, that people there were much exposed to danger of being garotted in broad daylight as well as at night. A very daring attempt was made upon himse f (Mr. Freeth), as he was actually leaving a cab to enter his own house as early as six o'clock a few evenings ago. The fact was that the metropolis was infested with returned ticket-of-leave men, robbers, and garotters, and none more so Lhan St. John's-wood, and similarly situated outskirt districts. He had recently travelled through some of the principal capitals of Europe, and could safely say that in no capital was there less protection, or so little care for life and property, as in London. Sir Richard Mayne had signally failed to do his duty in this respect, and he therefore considered, as representing one of the largest and heaviest taxed districts for police, they were in duty bound to go to the Home Secretary and demand proper protection from the returned convict, the garotter, and the assassin. Mr. Overton said several applications bad been made to Government for police returns as to the number of men employed, but they refused to furnish them. Ultimately the memorial was adopted unanimously, and signed by the chairman on behalf of the board.  Another assassination has just taken place at Warsaw on the person of a Jow attached to the secret police. He was found hanged at his own residence, and shamefully mutilated.  EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE ON THE RAILWAY,— Shortly after noon on Thursday, when the third-class Liverpool train arriving at Birmingbam at 1.30 p.m. was about three-quarters of a mile from the Edgbaston station, and was proceeding at the rate of about 20 miles an hour, the engine-driver saw a man get on the line about 50 yards in front of the train, and deliberately lay his head on one of the rails. The driver at once put on his break and shouted to the guard to do the same, but the train could not be stopped until both the engine and all the carriages had passed over tne unfortunate man. As soon as the train could be stopped the guard jumped down from the van and found the man lying with his body between the rails, and v ith the head, which had been laid on the left-hand rail, literally crushed to atoms. The brains and portions of the skull were scattered about the line and on the engine. Although all the train had passed over it, the body, which lay between the rails, showed no marks ofinWjuhreyr.eli The guard called some platelayers to his assistance, and placing the plc body and such fragments of the head as they could now lie se up, rltihes waitingbor e wi the toar nea public hniqsu painfulo st . houseu Under oca rut arrbridgeeu Springhill,ce crossings took place, were found spot parsons." This an overcoat, a walking-stick, a pair of gloves, coaiOJ. Pn of the deceased, and a hat. ilVtrhi tot oennliynsoildueo tfhoeunhdat twoatshteh ei identification f t who was respectably dressed, at the time of writing. About half an hour before the train Caine up the foreman of some some distance below, saw th walkingonl natli' platelayers at work on the line, line ' and up warned theend d ewalkedcease ca to thewah seen wallk ie, side, where he stood for a short time, and just before the train came hre wasd him o ing towards the liao,