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 &arm in the public mind, arising from the numerous street robberies, with violence, which have recently taken place in the metropolis, and soliciting the co, operation of the anthorities 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 £16,000 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 public 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said he was prepared to contend that, if the large bodies of police occupied at the public places of amusement were withdrawn and occupied in their legitimate duty, for which the public paid, and that if the commissionaires were sworn in as constables and appointed in their places,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 inculabent 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 Than 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 had 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 Jew 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 bo stopped until both the engine and all the carriages had passed over the 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 with 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 of injury, The guard called somo platelayers to his assistance, and placing the body and such fragments of the head as they could pick up' bore it to a public house at Springhill, where it now lies waiting an inquest. Under a bridge crossing a line near the spot where this painful occurrence took place, were found overcoat, gloves, an a walking-stick, a pair of and a hat. iNsVtrhi toteonnliynosilduee tfhoeunhdat twoatshe theidneanmtifiecoaf identification Pofat;hsoendse.'c'eaTsdheis, who was respectably dressed, at the time of writing. About half an hour before the train came up the foreman of some platelayers at work on the line, some distance below, saw the deceased walking on the line, and warned him off. He then walked to the canal side, where he stood for a short time, and just before the train came up he was Been walking towards the line.