npedrazzini/19thc_murder_suicide_news huggingface dataset:
The Sun. — 1833-11-21 (London, England)

HORRIBLE SUICIDE.—On Wednesday last, about one o'clock, a man of the name of Robert Stephens, one of the gate-keepers at Johnstown Castle, the seat of U. K. G. Morgan, Esq., in a fit of insini y, put an end to his existence with a razor. So determined was this unfortunate man on the perpetration of this dreadful act, that be nearly severed the head from the body. He was quiet, inoffensive man, and married but a few weeks &ace. --Wexford Freeman. .  Horace Walpole informs us in his corre•pondence, that when Lord Mountford, at the heed of half White's, went to see Maclean, the highwayman, in Newgate, he found his aunt crying ever him. "My dear," said she, when they were gone, " what did those Lords say to you?—Have you been concerned with any of them ?"  A fatal accident occurred at Eaglesham on Wednesday afternoon to one of Mr. O'Boyne's children, a boy betwixt four and five years old. He had, in the absence of his parents, urged upon Paterson, the groom, to paddle the pony, and to give him a ride. Paterson yielded to his entreaties, and put him on the animal, and behind him he placed a boy of his own. He then walked the animal for a considerable time with the two boys on it, but when in the act of taking of his own boy, a lad who was standing by had incautiously flourished a stick in the animal's face, at which it took fright and ran off at full gallop with Mr. O'Boyne's child, who immediately iost his seat, but one of his feet had got entangled in the stirrup-leather, and he was dragged in that manner from one side of the village to the other, when he fell to the ground shockingly mangled. A person ran and lifted him up, but he gave only a few convulsive quivers and expired. Mr. and Mrs. O'Boyne were both absent when the fatal occurrence took place. To be near the best professional skill, they had removed to Glasgow with their other child, who was, only nine days previous to this accident, dangerously injured by the exploding of a quantity of gunpowder.— Glasgow Herald.
The Sun. — 1833-10-24 (London, England)

BOTV-STREET.  EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF ROBBERY BY A CONFIDENTIAL CLERK.—Yesterday Henry Chapman, a mere youth, of very respectable appearance, was brought up in the custody of Gardiner, charged with stealing a 501. Bank of England note, and 71. lOs., the property of John Henry Cancellor, Esq., one of the Secondaries of the Temple, in whose office he was employed. The case excited a great deal of interest, in consequence of the high respec• tability of the prisoner's connections, and the singular circumstances attending his capture by the officer. Mr. John Goody, of No. 10, Ashby-street, Nor''  lampton:square, is managing clerk to Mr. Cancel  lor, and the prisoner was a clerk in the same office. At half-past one o'clock on Friday, the 4th instant, he gave the prisoner a Bank of England vote for 501., No. 14,739, and directed him to go to Smith, Payne, and Smith, the bankers, and take up a draft lying due there, drawn upon Mr. Cancellor. He also informed him that on the following day an order would be presented for 71. 10s., and that he would find the means of payment in a certain desk which he pointed oqr, at the same time stating that he would most likely be absent the next day, as he felt unwell. He did, however, go to the office, and found the 71. 10s. gone, and he also discovered that the draft at Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smith's had not been tak,n up. Mr. Kenston, a cashier of the Bank of England, produced the bank-note in question for 501., with the name " P. Griffith, 19, Cambridge-street, RigNate-road," writteo upon it, and said he cashed it with 50 sovereigns on the 4,h instant.  Mr. Ray, from the office of Mr. Cancellor, swore that the signature and address " P. Griffith," &c., were in the handwriting, of the prisoner. This was the evidence for the proeeution as it regarded the bank-note, and the following letter was put in and read. It was addressed to Mr. CanedJur, and signed by the prisoner : " Honoured Sir,—On Friday last I went to take up a dratt drawn upon you, and I met a person of my acquaintance, and we entered a house for the purpose of drinking On coming ou! I tound I had been robbed not only of the 501. note, but the 71. 10s. which I took out of Mr. Goody's desk for safety, as there were workmen there. fhe loss maddened me, Sir, and I went home and hasti,y collected a few things to go abroad, or rather to work my way to some foreign port, but I could not do it. I was distracted to think what my loss had been, or I should have dared to have supplicated for your forgiveness. I shallno w becomefn)m a suicide; but oh ! in mercy to my father and my poor mother, oh, pray, do not let them ire discharged tooworthy for their yourson's er s slrveiteue' return you hthaarirlis for your kindness, your unparalleled kindness, to me. By the time you receive this I shall b no more.  "
The Sun. — 1833-09-06 (London, England)

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE ON WESTMINSTER BRIM E. —Yesterday afternoon, between two and three o'clock, a man, about 50 years of age, who appeared to have seen better days, was observed by several persons to be walking in a very melancholy mood on Westminsterbridge ; he appeared abstracted in thought, and frequently struck his forehood. On a sudden he climbed up the ballustrades, and jumped off the bridge into the Thames. The alarm was instantly given, and two watermen pushed off in a boat, and with some difficulty succeeded in saving him from a water) grave. He was taken in a very exhausted state to the house of Mr. Cruikshank, the landlord of the King's Arms, in Biidge-court, when every attention was paid him, and he soon recovered.  Private letters from Berlin state the probability& a change in the Prussian Cabinet ; the Minister for Foreign Affairs, it is said, is to be succeeded in his office by the Prussian Minister to the British Court ; it is cer. tain that the duration of the long penAng Oniference has delayed his Excellency's return for several months past, and as his laity and family have taken final leave of this country, the repored probable change is credited. The Clown Prince's influence in the Prussian Cabinet is said to be increasing daily. A petition has beat sent to Lord Melbourne by 122 prisoners in the King's Bench, praying that the Judges of the Court of Review might sit in this Court luring the month of October ; of these 122 persons, 77 save not yet presented any petition to this Court, 17 hay.b-en already heard, 13 have orders for the present satings, whom four have been already heard. James Mather, Esq., of South Shields, was fined at Gateshead, the other day, in the mitigated penalty ..1 101., for Isis conseieutiou-ly refusing to collect the as• sensed taxes, he having been appointed one of the collectors for the township of Westoe,.../Yeweastle Press.
The Sun. — 1833-11-19 (London, England)

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE FROM DISTRESS IN ST. JAMES'S PARK.—Julia Dellakay, a young female about 20 years of age, of very prepossessing appearance, %alas brought up in custody from the station-house of the A division in Gardener's-lane, where she had been taken the greatest care of since Sunday morning, charged with attempting to drown herself in the canal in St. James's Park.  Mr. Dixon, coachmaker, of No. 16, Cross-lane, Long Acre, on Sunday morning, about eight o'clock, was going with a friend to Pimlico. They were passing through the enclosure in St. James's Park, %%hen he observed the unfortunate defendant leaning against one of the iron hurdles near the canal. He and his friend were struck with her melancholy and disconsolate appearance, and strong suspicions arose in his mind that she intended to drown herself. Under these impressions they both determined to watch her for a short time, and retired behind one of the shrubberies. In a few minutes his friend called out to him, " She is doing it." He ran to to the spot. She had thrown her reticule and bonnet into the water, and he was just in time to catch hold of her clothes, but so sudden was the occurrence that they both fell into the canal. The sensation he felt from the shock was such that he was not ashamed to confess that he fainted away, and had not his friend come up at the moment he must have been drowned. Assistance was procured, and they took her to the nearest station-house, where he desired that every attention might be paid to het comfort.  The unfortunate young woman, in reply, had no lodging, relatives, or friends in the country. She was born in Calcutta, where all her friends resided; she had been brought to this country by a person who had deserted her, and left her destitute upon the world. A short time ago she went down to Newmarket, where she supposed her brother was residing, but found that he had gone back to India. She was weary of her life.  Mr. BuRRELL, atter putting several questions to her, desired her to be taken care of until the overseers arrived, when she was taken into the workhouse for the present, and Mr. axon very humanely gave her some pecuniary relief.
The Sun. — 1833-11-19 (London, England)

SUICIDE OF A WELL-KNOWN CHARACTER. Yesterday an Inquest was held at the London Hospital, on the body of Joseph Hill, well known at the East End of the town, as " Mad Joe." He once made a very good living when sitting under the walls of " Old Bedlam," in Moorfields ; he regaled the ears of the passengers by the music of small bells, which he had affixed to his head, elbows, wrists, knees, and toes, and in ringing changes, in which he showed great dexterity. Upon the removal of the building " Poor Joseph," as he sometimes termed himself, lost his staid, and became an itinerant bell ringer. He then had his bells hung in scientific order upon a portable rail. Poor Joseph was not only a musician but a poet, and would often give the bystanders an extempore harangue in verse; be had also published some of his humble lyrics, in which he gave a very grievous account of the manner in which he had been treated in several madhouses. The police at last took his bells Irvin him, and he became a " bone grubber." He had lived for some time with a wretched old woman, named Sarah Jennings, whom he promised be would marry at Christmas, and lie bought a ring for the purpose. On Friday last he was found hanging in his room. On a table near was a book, " Alleine's Alarm to the Unconverted," which he appeared to have been reading. Oa a blink led was written, with a pencil, the following poetical effasion, showing that even here the ruling passion was strong in death : " Now I declare to you to be your sweet bride, Then pray God protect us on every side; For say you do love me—do not tell me a lie, For if you deceive me, then I soon must dye." --Verdict, Insanity. The will of the late Joseph Gawan, of Waterloo-place, Pall-mall, who died suddenly at Brighton the Ist of last month, has been proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. The testator has bequeathed—to the Fund for the Decayed Members of the Stock Exchange, 2001. ; to the Bath General Hospital 100/. ; to the Bath United Hospital and Dispensary, 100/. ; to the Bath Penitentiary, 1001. ; to the Humane Society, in London, 1001. ; to the Marine Society in London, 1001. ; to the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, in London, IOW: ; to the Asylum for the Indigent Blind, in London, 1001. ; to the S_,ciety for the Relief of Prisoners confined for eupr the Destitute, Small Debts, 1001. ; to the theß Fund for the Dscayel f 100/.; and the further burn of 3,0001. stock, ni the Consols, 3 per Cent. Annuities, to be distrdoited, after the ,death of the widow of the deer ased, among the following six charitiea,—,nanaelY, i Members of the Stock .10.111n4e, 500/. stock ; to tha West Loudon Infirmary and Chat ing-cross Hospital, to the B,th General Hospita,, 500/. sock ; to the:Bath United Hospital and Dispensarv,ssoo/. sock-;and to ihe Bath Penitentiary, 500/. stock.. -50000/1.. snick ; to the Sussex County Hospital, at Brighton,
The Sun. — 1833-10-01 (London, England)

DETERMINED ATTEMPT AT SUICIDE.— On Friday morning last, at about two o'clock, as inspector Bicknell, of the V division, was riding over Wimbledon-common, he discovered a young gentleman named Sams, who about five minutes previously had attempted to commit a most horrible and determined act of suicide, by cutting his throat with a small piece of broken china, which was found lying by the road side near the spot on which he was found. It was subsequently discovered the unfortunate man, from finding a difficulty in effecting his purpose with so blunt an instrument, had actually thrust his fingers into the orifice produced by the wound, and endeavoured to render the attempt effectual by tearing open the wound. The inspector with the utmost promptitude took him to Tooting, where he procured a conveyance and immediately accompanied him to Guy's hospital, where he now lies in a very dangerous condition. It appears that Mr. Same is respectably connected, and will, on the decease of a very aged relative, residing in the neighbourhood, become possessed of a fortune exexceeding 30,000/. A long and recent course of dissipation, it appears had reduced Mr. S. to a very destitute condition, and his distress was augmented by the refusal of a barmaid at an inn in the neighbourhood (to whom he had recently become most ardently attached, and had paid his addresses) to marry him until he should discontinue his bad habits, or should make it appear that he was in a condition, independent of his expectancy from his uncle, to render their home comfortable. This so preyed upon his mind as to drive him to all sorts of excesses, and on Tuesday last he discovered the individual, on whom be bad placed his affections, had for a time placed herself out of his reach, by going to her relatives at a distance in the country. This operated on his mind so powerfully as to drive him to madness, and is the only reason that can be assigned for the attempt on his life.
The Sun. — 1833-08-30 (London, England)

ENORMOUS PIKE.— A few days ago, Mr. W. Dixon, turner, of Coniston, caught a fine pike, measuring iine yard in length, and IS inches in circumference, and weighing 2 lbs., supposed to he the Isrgest ever taken in Coniston lake.—Kendal Chronicle.  The following is an extract from a letter written by a young officer serving in the army of Oporto, dated Oporto, Aug. 21 We were under arms at 11 o'clock on Saturday night. At day-break we commenced operations, and drove the Miguelites from one battery to another, until they regularly took to flight, and, by pursuing them into the open fields, we completely cut them up, and did not leave them till we reached Valongo. I was at Villa Nova last night, and can compare the place to nothing but a distillery, the smell of wine is so strong. In the burnt stores are to be seen tons upon tons of old iron hoops. Our sufferings and privations have been very severe, but they are now nearly at an end, the sliguelites having abandoned all their forts; their heavy artillery being. either buried or sent up the river. They are now entrenched at Almaranti, and when we receive intelligence of Villa Flor's motions we shall attack them."  There is at this moment a lunatic at the Bicetre who fancea that, when at breakfast in a garrison town, be inadvertently swallowed a captiin of Hussars, who had falle❑ into his glass.— Galignani'.s Messenger.  A few weeks ago a loving little upholsterer, in Macclesfield, had a trivial dispute with his wif', in consequence of her suspicion of a transfer of his affection to a well known excellent brandy establishment in that neighbourhood. Unable to brook the derivation of his favourite beverage and the loss of the excellent company which at all times was ready to assist hint to dispose of it, and still less willing to live on unpleasant terms with the wife of his bosom, he determined on a plan by which he should for one evening at least have full enjoyment both of intemperate indulgence and matrimonial felicity. In the very witching time of night, therefore, hot with the Tuscan gi ape and high in blood, this queer little man staggered to and fro till he arrived in safety at the home which contained all his dearest tressure here upon earth. Instead, however, of saluting her liege lord with " a loving kiss," Catherine greeted her Petruchio with a sound box on the ear, and raised a chorus in his brain to which he had hitherto been unaccustomed. This was too much fur mortal man to bear, and seizing a whittle, with which his wife had just dissected her supper, he plunged it into his &de, and the blood gushed forth in torrents. Now Caine the trial of affection, the lady, like Niobe, all teirs, fell at his fret and besought him to live for her. For a time the suicide appeared to decline the invitation ; but, at length, he yielded to the soft request, and desired her to clear the floor and comfort herself; for, instead of penetrating his own skin, the knife had drank deeply only of a bladder of sheep's blood, with which he bad cased his inner ve:tmenct......llo/fon Chryfac/c.
The Sun. — 1833-12-06 (London, England)

FUNERAL OF CAPT. FENTON, M.P.--The funeral of this much lamented gentleman took place yesterday, and was attended by more than two hundred gentlemen, and about fifty of the Armed Association, (of which he was captain)) wearing white favours and gloves. The hearse, drawn by six horses, was followed by two mourning coaches and twelve private carriages. The chief mourner was M. S. Kenny, M.D., of Halifax, brother-inlaw of the deceased. But for the wetness of the weather, the precession would have been much larger ; and the closing of the shops, while it passed, testified how much their late representative was respected by his fellow townsmen. Captain Fenton was in his 52d year.—Huddersfield Express. DREADFUL SUICIDE AT THE DANISH MINBTER's RESlDENCE.—Yesterday an inquest was held at the Feathers' Tavern, Grosvenor-place, Pimlico, on the body of Doris Jessin, aged 29, a nurserymaid, in the establishment of Baron Biome, the Danish Minister, at No. 39, Grosvenor-place. About nine o'clock on Wednesday night, one of the footmen, named May, was passing by the dining-room door, when he observed a red stream issuing from underneath the door. The lady's maid, who was standing by, said port wine had been spilt, but, on opening the door, the deceased was found with her throat frightfully cut, lying in the midst of a pool of blood, and a razor near her. She was quite dead. The deceased, who was evidently enceinte, bad latterly been observed to be very desponding, but the cause was not known, and it did not now transpire who was the father of the child. She had had two illegitimate children in her own country. It appeared that she supped with the governess, and on leaving her she said, " I'll go and do something more." Shortly after she was found a corpse. She had frequently been discovered alone, and crying bitterly. Verdict—  Insanity.
The Sun. — 1833-09-27 (London, England)

FREE LABOUR IN JAMAICA.  An article entitled " Prospects of Jamaica" appears in the Courant of the sth ult., containing some official returns and calculations, the object of which is to show that there will be a considerable balance in favour of the colony under the free labour system. The calculations appear to be curious in themselves, and the putting them forth at this time is not a little remarkable, in showing the altered state of feeling in the island since the Government propositions have become known. The following are the tables referred to:—  Currency. 90,758 hhds. of sugar, of 15 £ s. d £ a. d. cwt. each, at 15/. each 31,969 puns. of rum, of 110 gallons each, at 71 223,783 0 0 15,000 tierces of coffee, at 201 300,000 0 0 25,000 bags of pimento, 11. Iss 43,750 0 0 6,1,00 tons of wood, at 31 lB,OOO 0 0 Ginger, and other small articles, valued at 15,000 0 0  Sterling... 1,961,903 0 oor 2,746,661 4 0 To which sum must be added sugar and rum for island consumption, and exportation to North America, stock supplied, planters, &c. &c,, valued at 450,000 0 0  Total proceeds 3,196,664 4 Deduct A decrease of 23 per cent., in production, caused by onefourth of the negro's time being taken from the cultivator, is 799,166 1 0 The expense of maintenance of '7.15,000 apprentices, estimated at 9/., currency, per head, is 2,4 75,000/., which, including all charges of cultivation, say supplies imported from Great Britain 1,000,0001. ..... Island contingencies, estimated at 1,075,000 0 0  Sterling.— 3,274,166 1 0 But as the contingencies accrued in the island are drawn for, and admitting that a premium of 17 y¢ per cent. be obtained on the said sum of 1,075,0001. is  Thus showing a balance in favour of the island, 0f.., B'',6ol 10 7 The following will be the result of the tree labour system, supposing always that an equal return will be made, say Against these proceeds the following charges must be calculated : Wages of 99,000 able labourers at 9.0/. each per annum...." 1,800,000 0 0 Ditto, 60,000 adults, at SI. each per annum Taxes, salaries, stock, implements of cultivation, lum. ber, staves, hoops,wharfage, &c., estimated at 1,575,000 0 0  Sterling... 3,855,000 0 0 Deduct Rent of negro grounds, &c.. 1 estimated at about 70,000 fami!ies, at about Si. per annum each....Z350,000 0 0 872,021 5 6 2,982,978 14 6 Premium at I'N per cent. on ,  - Valance of contingencies to be drawn tor, say 3,50,00 g currency £522,021 5 6 Baiance in favour of the island under the free labour system 213,685 9 6  SUICIDE OF AN ENGlNEER.—Yesterday an inquest was held at the Royal Fort, Grange-road, Bermondsey, on the body of James Ward, engineer. The deceased, who was in the employ of Messrs. Dunkin and Weston, the civil engineers, recently commenced a life of dissipation, and neglected his family. His mother, hearing of this, repaired to his lodgings one ❑ight, and pointed out to him the consequences of such conduct. He seemed somewhat penitent ; but the next morning he was found lying dead in bed, with a laudanum bottle near him. Verdict—Temporary Insanity.