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This newspaper page contains 19 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Weekly Chronicle
Location
London, Middlesex, United Kingdom
Date
Sep 19, 1841
Page
5
A report details John Mack and others charged with assault on a policeman during a crowd on London Bridge, Mack claiming self defense and biting the officer. Separate notes cover robberies tied to Saxony cloth, a bold pickpocketing and assault case, a mutilation accident aboard a ship, and a sordid public-profligacy hearing revealing disputes over a child and paternity with vivid courtroom dialogue and a harsh verdict.
A well dressed young woman near Blackfriars bridge at midnight attempted to jump into the river but was stopped by a duty officer. She gave the name Ann Rollin and said she was a servant of Mr Clarke at the Falcon public-house. She was detained for inquiries.
William Fagan, an Irish reaper, stood before Mr Hall in Bow Street charged with breaking and damaging several plants at Covent Garden market owned by Mr Goodson. The magistrate ordered payment of 6s. The prisoner claimed poverty, was told to be locked up if unpaid, and after a brief search found 2s more in one pocket. Laughter followed as the court noted his ingenuity. Once the amount was paid, he was discharged, leaving the court amused.
In Fitzroy-square Catherine Woods, a heavily pregnant married woman, testified that on Tuesday night M M'Carthy burst into her room, dragged her by the hair, and beat her while her husband tried to intervene. A constable rescued her. M'Carthy was committed for a month for assaulting the constable and fined five pounds for striking the complainant, with two months extra if unpaid. The court noted the motive related to a dispute with his mother.
In Marlborough Street two men named Thomas Thompson and James Ward faced charges of indecently assaulting several women in the Haymarket area on Monday night. Maria Bonniwell testified she was subjected to gross indecency as one defendant pulled up her garments. witnesses corroborated the incident. The pair claimed intoxication. they were fined 5s for drunkenness and £5 each for the assault, then paid. Other notices include a protection case against Mary Ward for fraudulently soliciting charitable contributions and further minor cases of theft and begging with various outcomes. Distress stories from a mother of four seeking help and other public disturbances were also recounted.
A seasoned fraudster named William Yates faced charges for attempting to extract money from the Earl of Lonsdale using false pretences. The case displayed his many aliases and a trove of letters forged to solicit charity from noblemen. He admitted guilt, claiming distress drove his schemes, and was sentenced to three months in prison.
In Whitechapel William Saunders, famed for theft, was charged with stealing a great coat from a country wagon in Wentworth Street. He was recaptured after a struggle as Solomon Bender and his daughter Esther Levy allegedly attacked to free him. Bender claimed innocence, while the court remanded Saunders for a week and ordered bail for the other two.
A husband in London attacked his wife with a knife twice, stabbing her in front of her neighbours and causing multiple wounds to her chest arm and hand while threatening to kill both her and their child. He fled through a window as blood soaked the bed. Surgeons dressed the wounds and police remanded him for trial.
Witnesses report Greenwood and Mayne assaulting coach passengers and the driver after a stop. Greenwood denied drunk involvement while Mayne claimed no assault. Judge Grove imposed fines of 40s and 30s, plus penalties for lost items, with defaults leading to further jail time.
Mary Ann Jones, dressed in mourning, was tried before Sir Richard Frederick for obtaining five sovereigns from Miss Combe by false pretences. Evidence showed she failed to read the petition alleging a distressed Cobham family and misused signatures from local tradesmen. She claimed to be paid for delivering the petition. The court committed her to the House of Correction for three months.
Michael Carron an Irishman was charged before Mr Traill with assaulting and wounding Mary Bridget and threatening her life. George Larkin testified to Bridgets injury from a brick, the brain injury feared and possible fatal erysipelas. Edward Moulder’s omnibus chase ended with a three month term for assault on a rival driver.
A Patna era officer kept a blood stone ring with his wife’s hair. The ring vanished during service but reappeared in Wardour Street after about twenty years, still containing the hair in its original labette. The owner suspects a theft by a wet-nurse connected to an earlier European family.
Fragment from a poem reflecting on sorrow outweighing joy and the muse, the fleeting nature of beauty, friendship and love, and how life ends in death. It contemplates enduring virtue as wreaths fade with life and urges resignation to death with gentle regret.
A fragment describes how birds use hollow bones and air sacs to amplify sound and light bodies. It notes air-filled lungs and quills acting as pipes, enabling birds to emit loud tones and dart from heights, suggesting a unified mechanism behind avian vocal ability.
Rolls Chapel in Chancery Lane is described as a depository for public records. The wall presses squeeze shelves around the room to hold documents, with pews split into boxes while the pulpit remains unused. The chapel still serves as a place of worship on Sundays during term time and houses monuments to various masters of the rolls and other notable figures.
A quip praises straightforward methods over convoluted revision, referencing Michael Angelo who likened artists to using pencils and brushes. The speaker notes that clever tools should be used rather than forcing complex tricks, calling excessive ingenuity a waste when simpler paths exist.
The article notes the world’s tallest chimney at the James Muspratt soda ash factory near Liverpool. It rises 406 feet high with a 45 foot diameter base and a nine foot waist, containing bricks valued around 900,000.
A traveler contrasts English and French servant tratment, noting French staff treat masters with familiarity and explain themselves, while English servants demand subordination. He argues French masters cultivate welfare and trust, reducing distance without eroding respect, whereas English systems risk cold dependency and diminished morals. He praises English warmth yet criticizes untravelled English for harsh tones, urging balanced kindness and clear authority.
A historical note traces the link between taxation and consent from William the Conqueror’s era to modern communications, praising civic participation in funding and governance. The piece also surveys varied topics from a new telephonic signal to vivid vignettes of Rome beggars, poetry on Wilkie, and reflections on art and humanity.
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