The Sun. — 1835-02-12 (London, England)

EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE OF A FEAIALF..-CORONER'S INQUEST.—Yesterday evening an inquest was held at the vestry hall of St. Alphage, London-wall, before Mr. Payne, the city Coroner, and a respectable Jury, on view of the body of Sarah Spalding, aged forty-two. It appeared from the evidence that the deceased resided at No. 5, Birdcourt, London-wall. On Tuesday afternoon she ' told her only child, a boy about twelve yea..s old, to go out and play; on the lad's return, in about half an hour, he found the door locked inside, and called repeatedly for his mother without reply ; at length the door was burst open, when the unfortunate woman was discovered on her knees, with the whole of her head and face in a tub of soap suds, but so determined had been her purpose of self-destruction that she had tied tightly round her head and face an apron previous to immersing it in the sods. On the arrival of a surgeon life was found to be quite extinct. Witnesses proved that the mind of the poor woman had been distracted for some time past„ owing to her being separated from her husband and great pecuniary distress, and tho jury returned a verdict of " Insanity."  Within the last three or four days the new House of Commons has had an extremely narrow escape of sharing a similar fate to the former one. Some workmen employed in the building were passing along the corridor of the Committee-rooms, when a stream of smoke was observed issuing from underneath the door of No. 12 Committee-room. The door was found to be locked, and some time elapsed before it could be opened ; but an entry having been at last effected, a vast body of smoke and flame rushed forth, and the interior of the room was then found to be completely on fire, the canvass hangings of the room being actually blazing from the flooring to the ceiling, and having already communicated to different portions of the wood work. The hangings were directly torn down, and a ready supply of buckets of water being obtained, the fire was prevented from spreading, and eventually extinguished without doing any considerable damage. It was most fortunate the discovery was made at the moment it was; or otherwise the further lapse of only a few seconds would, in all probability, have produced a complete repetition of the late catastrophe on the same spot. In what manner the fire originated remains unaccounted for, but a rumour is strongly circulated ascribing its taking place to the overheating of the flues to warm the House.  About eleven o'clock on Monday forenoon the servants of Roberts, Esq., residing at little Ealing, near Brentford, discovered that one of the hayricks in the stack-yard had been maliciously set on fire. Assistance was immediately procured, and by dint of great exertions the fire was subdued after about four loads had been destroyed. No doubts are entertained that it was a malicious act of an incendiary, as one of the servants had passed the stack not ten minutes before, at which time no symptoms of fire were perceived, and after the fire was extinguished a match and some lighted tinder were found on the spot. It is generally supposed the incendiary was a stranger, as Mr. Roberts is much beloved by the labourers in his neighbourhood, who immediately on the alarm being given rendered every assistance in:their powor, Y ,r.,. r., „  On Sunday morning last, about two o'clock, Mr. Tunnard Aspland, a respectable farmer, residing at Swineshead, was awoke by his servant girl, who told him that his cornstacks were on fire. Mr. Apsiand immediately got up, proceeded to the stack-yard, and set about removing some wheat in sacks near the stacks. He was soon joined by several persons from the neighbourhood, and shortly afterwards two men, named Joseph and Robert Taylor, came running into the yard to assist him in stopping the progress of the flames ; but, owing to the very strong breeze at the time, they failed in the attempt, and in a very short time the whole of the stacks, consisting of five joists of wheat, together with part of the premises, were consumed. The circumstance of the two men named Taylor being upon the premises so early, and stating that they observed the fire at the Fen Houses, which are about a mile and a quarter off, at twelve o'clock, and other suspicious circumstances while assisting in the yard, induced Mr. Aspland to suspect them of being concerned in setting fire to the stacks, and he accordingly had them taken into custody. They underwent an examination yesterday morning before A. Duggan, Esq., and the Rev. M. Sheath, and were committed for further examination. The damage is estimated at nearly .500/., the whole of which is insured in the Yorkshire Fire Office.— Boston Herald.