The Sun. — 1848-02-17 (London, England)

SOU7'HIVARK.  Julia Hayne, a good-looking girl, 15 years of age, the daughter of a compositor, was brought before Mr. Cottingham, charged with attempting to purchase poison for the purpose of destroying herself. Inspector Carter, of the L division, said that between five and six o'clock on the preceding evening the prisoner was brought in custody to the station-house in Tower-street, by policeman 106 L, who stated that she was given in charge to him at a chemist's shop, where she went to purchase arsenic, which she afterwards confessed she intended to have taken to destroy herself. The inspector added, that instead of locking the girl up, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, he sent her to the workhouse, where she was kept all night; and that her father and also the chemist from whom she wanted to purchase the poison were now in attendance— the former to relate the particulars with regard to his daughter, so young a girl, contemplating suicide, and the latter to describe the circumstances that took place when she entered his shop. Mr. Jones was then called forward, and stated that he was a chemist and druggist in Blackfriars-road. That on the previous evening about the time above mentioned the prisoner, in a hurried manner, entered his shop without a bonnet, or any covering on her head, and asked to be served with a pennyworth of arsenic. Witness hap. pened to be in an inner room at the time, and on hearing what passed he went into the shop, and addressing the prisoner asked her what she wanted wi;h the arsenic. Her reply at first was that it was wanted to kill rats, but when he pressed her closely and inquired where she came from, she burst into tears and acknowledged that she wanted the arsenic to poison herself, owing to the cruel treatment she experienced at the hands of her mother. lie then questioned her further on the subject, and in reply she told fern that she became aware of the nature of arsenic, and its deadly effect, by reading accounts of different suicides in the newspapers, and added, that her life was made so truly wretched at home that she had made up her mind to destroy herself. Finding the girl was in such a condition of mind, ho considered it his duty, instead of allowing her to depart, and probably succeed in her application for a deleterious drug elsewhere, to call in a constable, to whom he related some of the above facts, and gave her into his custody, in order that her family might be apprized of what had taken place. The Magistrate, addressing the prisoner, who stood sobbing bitterly, asked her if she heard what Mr. Jones said, and whether it was true? She replied in the affirmative. She said that her mother was in the habit of drinking to great excess when her father was engaged at his business. On those occasions she ill-treated her, and in order to avoid such treatment, she (the daughter) left home and got a situation, where she was living in comparative comfort. Her mother came there about three months before last Christmas, drunk, abused her employer, and made her leave her place. Since then her mother continued her ill-treatment; was in the habit of tearing up her clothes; and on the previous day, when she expressed her intention of leaving home and getting another situation, and put on her bonnet arid shawl for the purpose, her mother flew at her, tore the bonnet to pieces, struck her, and vowed vengeance against her; and it was owing entirely to her mother's harshness of conduct towards her that induced her to go the chemist's shop to purchase arsenic ' to poison herself. The accused's father next stood forward, and complained of the dissipated habits of his wife, who for the last five years had indulged in liquor to such an excess as to make his home a perfect misery to them. The present was not the first occasion on which she had acted with cruelty towards the girl, for which she (the mother) had been given into custody and taken to a Police-court, where she was held to bail, arid in default of finding the required securities, was committed for three months. While she lay in gaol he paid 12s. a week for her board, instead of permitting her to live upon the prison allowance; but he found when she was liberated and returned to her home she broke out as bad as ever—cornmeaced drinking afresh, and treated his daughter in the way represented. Mr. COTTINGHAN, having pointed out to the girl the sin and wickedness of such an attempt as that she was about to make upon her own life, attributable in a great measure to her mother's vile conduct towards her, then addressed the father, and said, that if he had a spark of affection for the children, he would not permit them to remain an hour longer with a mother who set them such a dreadful example; but if he thought proper to live longer with such a wife that was no reason he should suffer his children to be where she was, and if i he promised to comply with the advice, his child, instead of being sent to prison, should be forthwith discharged, and given up to him. The father intimated that he should certainly adopt the magistrate's kind suggestions, and his clughter was accordingly discharged, and they left the Court together.