The Sun. — 1842-05-20 (London, England)

BRITISH AND FOREIGN SOCIETY FOR THE SLIP, PRESSION OF INTEMPERANCE.—Wednesday morning the Annual Meeting of the above Society was held atExeterhall. Earl Stanhope in the chair. On the platform were a great number of gentlemen, amongst whom were the Bishop, of Norwich, J. S. Buckingham, Esq., Dr. Oxley, Rev. C. Stovel, and several delegates from America, &c. The Report, which was very lengthy, was read by Mr Green, the Secretary : it stated that the Society had greatly increased in numbers during the past year, both in the metropolis and the country. A number of excellent speeches in behalf of the Society were delivered by the Bishop of Norwich, Mr. Buckingham, and other gentlemen, one of whom, named Peck, narrated the following interesting incident .—" In the month of June, 1837, a woman named Wright, a very dissolute character, while drinking. at the bar of a gin-shop in Drury-lane, offered to sell her child, a little boy, about two years old, which she then-held in her arms, for a quartern of gin. A man named Myers, who is a Waterman, then and now residing in Feather's-court, Drurylane, took the wretched mother at her word, paid for the gin, and received the child from her arms. Since that  period up to the present time, Aiyers, who is a-very dustrior.s man, although he has at times experienced great privations, has wholly nraintained the child, to whom he is greatly attached ; he has had the child christened in the names of its mother and himself. Since  the day the purchase and exchange were made the unnatural mother had never ex pressed any solicitude about it, and had latterly been lost sight of altogether." Mr. Peck stated that he had made effiirts to get the boy into the Blue Coat School, but without success. The thanks of  the meeting were voted to the Noble Chairman, and separated.  The General Steam Navigation Company's splen. did steam-yacht, Menia, from Ostend, landed her pas• sengers at 10 o'clock yesterday morning at London, bridge Wharf.  Wednesday an inquest was held at the Royal Oak Inn, Lewisham-road, before Mr. Carttar, on the body of Miss Jane Sophia Mortlock, aged 19, a beautiful and accomplished young lady, who committed suicide by drowning herself. Edward Miles, butler to Mr. Moor, of Talav era Cottage, Lewisham-road, deposed that the deceased young lady was his master's netee. She had resided with her uncle since her father and mother had left England for India. Iler father was an officer in the East India Company's service. On Monday afternoon witness saw the deceased walking in the flower-garden ; she had a book in her hand ; at dinner-hour, which was  five o'clock, the young lady was missing. Inquiries were made as to her absence, but nothing satisfactory took place to account for her absence. About seven &clock the same evening the body of the unfortunate young lady was discovered in a pond ill one of the meadows adjacent to the premises. Mr: Nicholson, a surgeon; was called in, but all human aid was unavailing. Other evidence was heard, after which the Jury returned a verdict of " Temporary insanity."  Fourteen houses, twenty-one barns, and a great quantity of farming stock and household furniture, were destroyed by fire, three days ego, at Martinpeuch, near Arras, causing a loss estimated at 120,000 f. '