The Star
Largest Circulation of Any Evening Paper in the Kingdom.
LONDON. FRIDAY, 2 NOVEMBER, 1888.
ONE HALFPENNY.
Front Page
WHAT WE THINK.
THE flood of human refuse with which the Times has been deluging London of late seems to have boiled over at last. For the last few weeks London has been turned into a kind of Texas, and Fleet-street debating-rooms and public-houses have been infested with scoundrels carrying revolvers, and full of strange oaths and whisky. These are the witnesses for the Times. Yesterday one of these champions of law and order endeavored to murder a man. At this rate, "Walterism and Crime" will soon be a profitable subject of investigation.
WE publish in another column an admirable letter addressed to us by Lord Hobhouse on the election of the London County Council. With nine-tenths of it we agree, with the other tenth we should like to agree if we thought it possible. Can party politics be excluded? Democratic politics will not, we hope. Anyhow, Lord Hobhouse's programme is the programme of a statesmen, an administrator, a progressist. Let us see to it that the London democracy accepts nothing less as the programme of its first Parliament.
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FOR THE COUNTY COUNCIL.
Lord Hobhouse Lays Down a Programme of Municipal Reform.
TO THE EDITOR OF "THE STAR."
SIR, - It has been suggested to me that if I were to send to The Star some remarks on the coming elections for the County Council of London, they would reach the eyes and ears of many electors who will know little of last Monday's meeting at the Society of Arts.
Of course I write now in the same sense in which I spoke then; and, whether people agree with me or not, they may possibly be helped to think out some points more clearly for themselves.
I wish to say what may induce
MEN OF ABILITY AND AMBITION
to offer themselves for election; and what may induce electors to choose men of the most statesmanlike qualities, with reference only to municipal questions, and not to the side they take in national politics. London is peculiarly unfortunate in this, that most of her men of wealth and leisure, who can easily attend to public affairs, have homes elsewhere which they prefer to their London homes, and where they place their local interests to the neglect of London. I wish to point out that it is worth the while of any man, be his powers what they may, if only he feels himself strong enough, to take part in the first formation of London government.
When the School Board was created men and women of the highest abilities came forward to fashion it, and the electors had the good sense to choose them. Few of them could afford to remain many years, but they worked long enough to put in action a very powerful machinery for education, which their successors have had the easier task of keeping in action. They have reaped honor and gratitude for that statesmanlike work, and have not repented their sacrifices.
Now the work which lies before the first County Council is greater in magnitude and intricacy, and hardly, if at all, less important than the first work of the School Board.
From what I heard on Monday, and have read since, I know there are those who think that the main alteration just made is that London will now have a Board directly elected, instead of one chosen by the Vestries, to perform some executive duties running in fixed grooves. Such thinkers can hardly know much of the agitation of the last eight years, or of the reasons which have roused a large mass of Londoners out of their old apathy in local affairs, to demand local self-government. It is
A SHALLOW AND INADEQUATE CONCEPTION
of the case. Londoners have asked to be organised, in order that matters appertaining to Londoners as a whole may be properly discussed in the presence of all interests, and the prevailing currents of feeling and conviction may be ascertained. That has hitherto been impossible, but it will now be done. From the time when London outgrew the bounds of the City, till the creation of the Board of Works, there was no Local Government of London. That body and the School Board constitute the only attempts to remedy the defect. There are long arrears of neglect to make up, and to do it is a task of first-rate difficulty.
The parochial system in London is an anachronism. For ecclesiastical purposes it has been broken to pieces. But for civil purposes it still remains, and largely governs our administration and our rating. Now London is one great community. The tide of human being has submerged parish boundaries, which are only ascertainable in a legal and artificial sense. The rich have drifted into some parishes and the poor into others; but the rich are the rich of the whole of London, and the poor
THE POOR OF THE WHOLE.
Each part of the town should be treated as part of the whole, and the present anomalous areas of jurisdiction should be reformed. The Act invests the Council with powers for this purpose, and no doubt they will be used. But then the alteration of areas and jurisdictions is mixed up with the question of equalising rates. And so we have a group of knotty problems at the outset.
Another point as to local taxation.
THE COAL TAX EXPIRES
next year. Many wish it to expire; many wish to renew it. Mr. Smith has fairly said it is a question for Londoners to decide. How can they decide it except by their representative council? Is it not to be debated? Must it not be debated at once? And when it is debated, do you not infallibly bring on a debate about rates? Probably all the supporters of the tax are so because they fear an increase of the rates. The answer is, "Make the owners of property pay rates, and you will replace the coal-tax without burdening the occupiers. Let us go to Parliament for that." The two discussions are inextricably mixed up together. And so we have another group of knotty problems pressing for solution.
Why have not Londoners any
POLICE
at their command? Other towns have. The City of London has. The reason is obvious. When the police was established London, except the City, was a mere geographical expression. It was an anarchy, and could not have a police. Now it is organised, and will be able to have what it has long wanted. The question is not a simple one, because the presence of the National Government complicates it. It must be carefully adjusted. It may not be immediately pressing in its own nature, but if I have rightly gathered men's feelings on the subject, a great many members will be returned to the Council pledged to raise the question as soon as possible.
Closely connected with the police is the one of
OPEN SPACES.
It is a question of great importance, becoming more urgent every year as large public meetings grow more frequent. It is quite necessary that there should be such places available for meetings; equally necessary that they should be subject to regulation and control. The matter is essentially a local one, except where the seats of national Government are affected; and it ought to be settled with due regard to the interests of all parts and classes of London. That can only be done by the Council. And so we have a third group of knotty questions pressed on partly by external circumstances, partly by strong feeling.
It would be easy to go on and to show the direct and immediate effect of the present charge upon supplies of the necessaries of life, such as water and artificial light upon markets. Upon
THE APPLICATION OF ENDOWMENTS
we all know that in the case of London there must be a large and speedy supplement to the present Act. Is the Council to have no voice in that matter? If it has not, it will be an abortion indeed.
But I have said enough for my purpose - perhaps too much for your space and readers. In matters of pure administration clear-headed, honest, industrious men of business would suffice. I hope we shall have many such, and that we shall give them due thanks and honor for their work; but for the things I have mentioned
WE WANT SOME STATESMEN:
men of original minds, with powers of analysis and of construction, who can grapple with large affairs and can lead others in settling them. And when such a man can be found what does it matter whether he follows Lord Salisbury or Mr. Gladstone? The dividing lines are different in municipal and national politics. Some of the most trenchant reformers in municipal affairs that I know are Conservatives or neutrals in national affairs, and per contra some of my Liberal friends refuse to move an inch in municipal reform.
I will conclude as I began. To able men I say that a noble and conspicuous field of action is open which will task all their powers and satisfy any honorable ambition. To electors, I say, "When you find men who show that they have a firm grasp of municipal affairs, send them to the council, and all London will thank you for it." -
Your obedient servant,
HOBHOUSE.
15, Bruton-street, W., 31 Oct.
VIZETELLY AND ZOLA.
The Paper Which First Introduced Zola to the English Masses.
Mr. Vizetelly told a Star reporter who saw him yesterday that he is fairly well satisfied with the result of the action against him. "The reports of the case," he said, "are so different that I am in doubt whether all Zola's works are condemned or only a few of them. I wished to retain Mr. F. Lockwood for my defence, but his engagements in the Parnell case prevented his accepting the brief. Sir Henry James said the same, and Mr. Finlay's engagements, he wrote, would not admit of his undertaking a case of 'so much magnitude and importance.' Had I been able to retain Sir Henry James I think the
JUDGEMENT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT.
But these three men are M.P.'s, and I fancy they didn't care to undertake the matter for fear it would injure them with their constituents."
"What will be the cost to me of the action? Well, the defence and the fine and the loss entailed by the suppression of the books will amount altogether to nearly £1,000. The loss on the sale and suppression of the books is a large item. If I had proposed to pay the costs of the prosecution as was proposed earlier in the case the cost would have been more."
Mr. Vizetelly gave a few facts about his transactions with Zola. "A good many of his works," he said, "have been published in England from American translations. They sell largely there and in the West Indies.
I PAID ZOLA FOR ALL HIS NOVELS
of which he had secured the copyright in this country. I bought 'Germinal' from the proprietors of the Globe" - the Church and State Globe! - "who published it in the People. For this and 'L'Œuvre' £80 were paid. The latter was published in a sporting paper - the Sporting Times, I think. 'La Terre' I purchased from Zola direct, agreeing to give him 3,000f. But the work required so many modifications, and took so much time and trouble to give it an English dress, that Zola, in preference to cancelling the agreement, took 2,000f." That is the short history of Vizetelly's dealings with Zola.
THE VIZETELLY PROSECUTION.
TO THE EDITOR OF "THE STAR."
SIR, - I wish that The Star, as a Radical paper, would try to educate jurymen in the principles of liberty of speech and of the Press, instead of discussing whether M. Zola has "the charm, the humor, the style which redeem the works of Rabelais, Chaucer, and Boccaccio." I grant you it is absurd to defend what is called M. Zola's obscenity on the ground that Rabelais was obscene. A dramatist charged with drunkenness might just as reasonably plead in excuse the occasional inebriety of Shakspere. The question at issue in Mr. Vizetelly's case was not whether M. Zola may or may not do everything that can be proved to have been done by the classic French writers whose example in literature he has expressly condemned and repudiated, but whether a writer may or may not expose to society its own wickedness. Nobody has ventured to pretend that what M. Zola describes does not exist. But, its existence being admitted, two views of M. Zola's duty concerning it are put forward. First, the British Pharisee's view, which is that it is M. Zola's duty to hide the evil and pretend that there is no such thing. Second, M. Zola's own view that it is his duty to drag it into the light and have it seen to. I agree with M. Zola; and (with all due respect) I defy The Star to declare publicly that it disagrees with me; I defy the jury who found Mr. Vizetelly guilty on a false issue to justify their verdict on the true issue; and I defy Mr. Vizetelly to deny that he richly deserves the fine inflicted on him for striking his colours at the reading, in the manner of Mr. Pecksniff, of a series of inelegant extracts. In future, I presume, we must obey the precepts of Dickens's Mrs. General, and study to appear ignorant of everything that is not perfectly proper, placid, and pleasant, being kept in order by the knowledge that Sir Edward Clarke is repeating "papa, potatoes, poultry, prunes, and prism," to himself, in order to get the proper expression of countenance for an effective prosecution speech if we transgress. Whilst the poor man rots, our published descriptions of him must, according to law, be scrupulously plagiarised forom Longfellow's "Village Blacksmith," and whilst that most venomous of all social pests, the rich man's son, sows his wild oats, we are not to tell on him on pain of fine and confiscation. One can only wonder at the state of mind of the persons who believe that such conditions as these will purify and elevate literature.
Let me conclude with a piece of practical advice. If you, sir, ever find yourself on a jury to try a prisoner on an indictment for seditious libel, blasphemous libel, or obscene libel, just shut your ears tightly, and do not utter a word until, in answer to the clerk of the court, you declare the prisoner - no matter who he is, or what he has done - not guilty. - Yours, &c.,
A NOVELIST.
1 Nov., 1888
[We largely agree with our correspondent. We stated that it was not the business of the law to interfere in such cases. - ED. Star.]
Lady Cigar Makers' Pow-wow.
"What shall we do with our girls" is one of the questions of the day, and a number of parents have solved the difficulty by making their daughters cigar makers. A large contingent of these young ladies held a meeting in the St. Jude Schools, Whitechapel, last evening, to establish a trade union. The Chairman (Mr. J. Pow), a cigar maker, began the proceedings by a moderate demand for a little order. He then said male cigar makers had felt the benefit of a trade organisation for mutual protection, and cited numerous instances where they had not only helped themselves but others. - Miss Clementina Black, who lately helped the match-girls on strike, said if they wanted a union they must stick to it right through, and not merely hold up their hands to vote for it. If they wanted to prevent their wages going down they must form a union quickly. It would soon be too late, and then there would be a great crying out that something ought to have been done. Some other speakers having supported the resolution, it was put to the vote and carried unanimously. The girls, who, by the way, were remarkably good looking for their class, vented their enthusiasm in short shrill cheers for everybody connected with the meeting.
Lazarus Gets More Than Crumbs.
The feasting performances at the election of a Lord Mayor have hitherto been mainly confined to liverymen and distinguished persons. Alderman Whitehead, however, is not going to forget the poor. He has decided, subject to the permission of the Guardians of the City of London Union, to give a dinner of roast beef and plum-pudding to all the poor residing in the workhouses. All who are in receipt of outdoor relief will also get a present. The former class number between 1,100 and 1,200, and the latter between 1,000 and 1,100, making a total of about 2,200. Mr. Whitehead has also provided for the entertainment of the poor in the several unions in his native county of Westmoreland, and also of the poor in the parish of Lewisham, where he resides.
Foreigners who are farming land in Poland, says the Odessa correspondent of the Standard, have been ordered to quit the country, foreign Jews within 28 days from the date on which they receive the notice. The foreign Jews in South Russia are expecting similar treatment.
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FIFTH EDITION.
LATEST DESPATCHES.
Lord Sheffield Unnerved.
A reward of £250 has been offered by Lord Sheffield for such evidence as will lead to the conviction of the writer of a recently received anonymous letter, who threatened to assassinate his lordship.
His intention of closing Sheffield-park, Sussex, against the public has created much ill feeling.
IN THE POLICE-COURTS TO-DAY.
Paget Hard on a Pauper.
James Clark left his own boots at Kensington Workhouse, Notting-hill, where he had been an inmate, and walked out in a pair of workhouse boots. Mr. Paget gave him two months' hard labor for theft.
Poor Little Baby!
Annie Laurie, well known at the Southwark Police-court, was found in Lant-street early in the morning very drunk, with her baby, only a fortnight old, huddled under her arm, drenched with rain. The magistrate told her she was a most unnatural mother, and in the interest of the infant he sent her to prison for a month.
WALTERISM AND CRIME.
A "TIMES" CREATURE FIRES AT A COMRADE NEAR THE LAW COURTS.
A GENUINE IRISH BULL.
A Public House Brawl Ends in a Witness for "Lawndorder" Drawing a Revolver - Interesting Revelations as to How the Case Has Been Got Up.
That part of the Strand immediately opposite the Law Courts was excited last evening by the firing of a pistol shot. The affray, it appears, commenced in the George Hotel, and the parties to the quarrel were Joseph Kavanagh and Patrick Lane. They had been drinking for some time, and arguing about the Land League. Kavanagh said he was
A WITNESS ON BEHALF OF THE "TIMES,"
and showed a revolver. He asked for some more beer, which the barman refused to serve him with. He then, it is said, struck out a Lane, took the ale glass that Lane had, and threw it at him. He then knocked Lane down, and kicked him while he was on the floor. Arthur Minch, the barman, jumped over the counter and got Kavanagh to go outside. Lane was then standing in the Strand. Kavanagh drew on him and fired, but the shot passed harmlessly over Lane's shoulder. The firing of the shot brought a number of persons on the scene, as well as several constables, and Kavanagh was speedily apprehended. He was accompanied by two men who were clad in blue suits, and who wore sailors' caps of blue cloth with peaks. As soon as Kavanagh was in custody a short man came up and made some remark, inaudible to those in the immediate vicinity, whereupon one of the men near Kavanagh said,
"TAKE THAT MAN;
take that man; I will charge him." Amid a scene of great excitement Kavanagh was escorted to Bow-street. It was then found that he had in his possession a six-chambered revolver, four chambers of which were still undischarged. Kavanagh, in reply to the usual question, made a statement to the effect that he carried the revolver to protect himself, as, being a witness for the Times, he went in bodily fear, having been repeatedly threatened. He also said that he drew the weapon in self-defence after the other man had flung a glass at him.
At Bow Street.
Joseph Kavanagh, the Times' witness who appeared in a different capacity in the dock at Bow-street to-day, is a rather unkempt and cadaverous-looking individual. He is about 30, and before he received the appointment on the staff of the Times was a shoemaker. His personal appearance is not very prepossessing. A sickly crop of dry reddish hair struggles for existence on his lantern jaws, and his chin is covered with a straggling goatee of the same kind. He has high cheekbones and a low forehead. He wore an imitation blarney pair of trousers and waistcoat. He had no coat or jacket, but wore an old overcoat. He had a dirty collar, but no tie. When he entered the witness-box he looked sympathetically towards
HIS COLLEAGUE OF THE "TIMES,"
who sat at the solicitors' table, and during the hearing of the case maintained a calm and stolid attitude.
As soon as the case was called, Patrick Lane popped into the witness box. He is a dapper, active little man, and also a shoemaker by trade. He was more than usually well dressed for his class, and had a clean collar, black tie, and considerable expanse of shirt front. He is dark, with full beard, and speaks with extraordinary volubility. The magistrate was quite unable to control his impetuous loquacity. He started off at a great rate to give an account of the row in the George Hotel, and required no questions. He was hanging around the Law Courts yesterday, like Kavanagh and other witnesses for the Times, and varied this occupation with an occasional visit to the George bar. He had known Kavanagh for about five weeks, and when in the George yesterday afternoon at five saw him look in through the window. Prosecutor went out and spoke to Kavanagh, and got the offer of a drink from him. They each had half a pint of ale. Lane then met another witness, who was also hanging around the Law Courts, and he stood another liquor. The three went out, and met another man named Kavanagh.
"THIS YOUNG KAVANAGH,"
explained Lane, "being a hot Irishman, did not hold with the principles of our friend here?"
"They did not agree?" queried Mr. Bridge.
"No; they had some sharpshooting - you know what I mean, sharp hitting. This young Kavanagh, you see, is a genuine Irishman, while this other Kavanagh is on the other side - and informer."
"Not a genuine Irishman?"
"No, and young Kavanagh told this other one that he was ashamed of the name and would have nothing to do with him or any Irishman who would swear the lives of his countrymen away. This riled the prisoner, and things got rather hot."
Lane took no part in this altercation, but he had had a few words with the prisoner before in the Freemasons' Tavern, and called him a "consummate scoundrel." Young Kavanagh and the prosecutor went out for a few minutes, and when they returned the prisoner charged the prosecutor with abusing him to his namesake. Prosecutor did not retaliate then because he knew the prisoner carried a revolver, and was
UNDER POLICE PROTECTION.
"Kavanagh," resumed the prosecutor, "asked me if I would call him a consummate scoundrel again. 'Faith, and I will,' says I, and he made a hit at me. I had a glass in my hand, and made a smash at him. I knocked the glass into smithereens."
"Did you break the glass?" asked Mr. Bridge.
"Faith, and that I did, your worship," said the witness. "We closed with each other, and I thumped him as well as I could, but he being the more powerful man, got me down and kicked me. The manager, the barman, and another man interfered and got him into a corner. The manager asked me to go outside, which I did. But I was not in a hurry to go away. I had not got satisfaction of the fellow. As he saw me going he struggled and got out of the corner. I saw him open the door with his left hand and pull out his revolver with his right. I ducked at once," and witness illustrated this by disappearing under the edge of the witness-box. "When he was about three yards away I heard the shot and saw the flash. To prevent Kavanagh having another shot Lane went into the crowd.
"What did the prisoner say when taken into custody?"
"He said," replied Lane, "that he had a perfect right to shoot me, and that Mr. Soames,
THE "TIMES" SOLICITOR, WOULD BACK HIM UP
in the matter."
"Were you perfectly sober at this time?"
"Perfectly, your worship."
"It's a loi," cried a voice from the back of the court.
When asked if he had anything else to say, Lane was very anxious to show his patriotic zeal by saying something particularly good against the Times. The magistrate wished to restrain him, but Lane's volubility was uncontrollable, and he burst out, "I have been summoned by the Times solicitor for the Parnell Commission, and Kavanagh got to know from me that I was going to turn the tables on them, and instead of the statement I made to Mr. Soames I was going to manufacture into something else in favor of my own countrymen. When I got into the witness-box I was going to tell the truth." He acknowledged that the statement he made to Mr. Soames was a bogus one, as he did not consider himself bound to tell the truth except he was on oath. "Mr. Soames," he said, "is sending his agents out to obtain evidence to damn and
BLACKEN THE CHARACTER OF HONEST MEN
and my countrymen. But he won't manufacture this Paddy into an informer," and he struck a dignified attitude.
Mr. Langham, who appeared for the Times, then tackled the witness, and by certain significant nods and winks, which punctuated his questions, led the court to believe that he was going to break down Lane's story. He had been nodding and winking sufficiently all the time and making audible comments on Lane's statement. Lane told him to hold his tongue, and the magistrate also had to curb his zeal.
"This Kavanagh," said Lane, after he had answered a few questions, "has been foxing and sifting me, and I was him. I was quite as clever as him."
"We shall see," said the solicitor. "You made a judicious bob when the shot was fired."
"Yes, I was artful, for I would rather be a coward for five minutes than dead all my life." (Roars of laughter.)
Mr. Langham did not break down Lane's story, and elicited some fresh information. He knew a man named Mahoney. He was
THE PAID AGENT OF MR. SOAMES
to manufacture evidence for the Times.
"And you made a bogus statement to Mr. Soames?"
"Yes, I made a pill for him," said Lane.
"Did he swallow it?" asked Mr. Langham.
"Yes; and I will leave it to Sir Charles Russell to see that he digests it."
The manager of the George Hotel, and an electrician at the Law Courts corroborated Lane's story. Kavanagh was seen to take deliberate aim at Lane, and had not a man knocked his elbow and spoiled his aim just as he was pulling the trigger the shot would have hit.
Kavanagh was remanded.
Patrick Lane's Story.
A Star reporter found Patrick Lane late last night, and had a talk with him. In answer to inquiries Lane said : - I live at 164, Drury-lane, and am a bootmaker by trade. I first met Kavanagh accidentally about five weeks ago, in the Freemasons' Arms, Long-acre. He told me he was brought over from Ireland by the Times to give evidence before the Commission. He also said he was in some squabble in Galway, and that he was concerned in a crime, for which he said he got paid by the police.
When did you next meet him? - Every day the following week. On Saturday, 27 Sept., I met Mr. William Mahoney, in Long-acre. He hails from Tralee. He gave me 2s. 6d. and treated me. During our conversation he informed me that he was engaged by Mr. Soames, the solicitor of the Times,
TO "RAKE UP" EVIDENCE
for the Commission. He asked me to go to Mr. Soames at 68, Lincoln's-inn-fields, and spin him some yarn, which I did on the following Monday, and received 10s. from Mr. Soames's clerk."
"What story did you tell Mr. Soames?" interrupted the Star man.
"Oh, never mind that I spun him a nice yarn, anyhow. Mahoney, who was present, advised me to give up a Land League card which I had in my pocket, which I did. We left together, and I was subpoenaed by the Times on 2 Oct. I called at Mr. Soames's office on that day, and received 10s.
"How about Kavanagh?" inquired our representative.
"I am coming to that," replied Lane. "I met him two or three days after I had been to Soames's office, and, thinking he was straight, I happened to say that I was going to manufacture a pill for Soames which he would not be able to digest. I made an appointment to meet Mr. Soames at his office on the following Wednesday. When I went into the office I saw Kavanagh laying down the law to the clerk in the inner office."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Why, he was telling the clerk what I had said
ABOUT SPLITTING ON THE 'TIMES.'
After I had waited a little while the clerk came out, and said Mr. Soames did not want now to see me."
"Although he had made an appointment?"
"Yes; don't you see, Kavanagh blocked me completely."
"Well, tell me what happened to-day?"
"I was in the George public-house opposite the Law Courts about five o'clock this evening, and who should come in but Kavanagh. Some words passed between us, and I called him a consummate scoundrel. He then tried to strike me, but I dodged him. Some people in the bar tried to quiet us, and I thought it was all over. When I got outside, however, he followed me, and opening the door with his left hand, he pulled a revolver from his pocket with his right hand, and deliberately fired it at me, when I was about three yards from the door. I ducked my head, however, and he missed me. A large crowd collected, and a policeman came up and he was taken to Bow-street Police-station, where
I CHARGED HIM WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER."
"Do you know where he has been living lately?" - "Yes, he has been staying at a coffee house in Long-acre. I think it is No. 68, but I won't be sure. The landlord of the place is paid for his keep by Mr. Soames's clerk."
"Do you know how much he receives from Mr. Soames at present?"
"Yes; it is £8 a week. He had a telegram a short time ago to say his wife was confined, and he went to Soames's office and got two sovereigns on the strength of it."
A representative of The Star called upon Mr. Copplestone, the proprietor of the coffee-shop at 68, Long-acre, this morning, and was informed that Kavanagh had lodged there for some weeks.
"You know Mr. Soames, of Lincoln's-inn-fields, I believe?" said our representative.
"No, I don't know him, but I know his clerks," was the reply. "In fact it was one of them brought Kavanagh here." He also added, "I go every week to Mr. Soames for the price of his board and lodging, and as he pays me well that is all I care about."
There are no other Times witnesses staying at this coffee shop.
A MARYLEBONE TRAGEDY.
After Three Harmless Shots at His Wife a Tailor Shoots Himself Dead.
Beaumont-street, Marylebone, was last evening the scene of a shocking tragedy. About ten minutes to five Mr. Weaver, who resides at No. 39, heard four shots in the adjoining house, followed by a woman's screams. Mr. Weaver ran into the street and saw Mrs. Ivanvitch at the street door of her house, No. 38. She said her husband had made an attempt to murder her. As she was going down the kitchen stairs, she heard, she said, a sound as if a pistol had been fired at her. She looked round, and saw her husband with a pistol in his hand. Alarmed at his "ferocious" appearance, she ran into the kitchen and closed the door. Mrs. Ivanvitch then heard a second shot, and
A BULLET PASSED THROUGH THE DOOR,
striking the wall within a few inches of her head. Her husband then forced the door open, and seeing that he was again levelling the weapon at her she rushed past him, swung the door after her, and locked it. As she ran up the stairs she heard a third shot strike the door through which she had just passed. Mr. Weaver having heard this story, waited until the arrival of the police, and on the arrival of a couple of constables, entered No. 38 with them, and went down into the kitchen. There they saw Ivanvitch lying upon the floor quite dead, having apparently
FIRED INTO HIS MOUTH.
He was a tailor by trade, but for the past two years has done very little work, depending upon the lodgers who occupied the house for his maintenance. Mrs. Ivanvitch states that when he came home on Thursday evening he accused a person in the house of having gone to his drawer, and seemed greatly annoyed at some articles having been abstracted.
STRANGE DISCOVERY IN HOLBORN.
Supposed Human Remains Found - A Fact in Spite of Police Denial.
A horrible discovery was made in Holborn on Wednesday. A parcel containing what may or may not be human remains was found in a convenience at the Windsor Castle public-house, 152, High Holborn. The place in which the parcel was found is in a narrow passage which leads from the street entrance to a cosy little clubroom behind. At the time the discovery was made there were some people in the room and seven in a bar, which is just off the passage. Mrs. Paris (the wife of the landlord) and her sister were serving behind the bar at the time. A working man went into the convenience and noticed
A BROWN-PAPER PARCEL
lying there. He gave it a kick, and the contents bulged out. "What's this," he screamed, with an imprecation, and ran into the bar. There was a rush to inspect the parcel. Mr. English and Mr. Davidson, who were among the first to see it, told a Star man to-day that it seemed to contain a piece of liver which was very red, half a kidney, and some other matter. They think it would weigh about 10lb. A policeman was at once sent for. When he arrived he took the names of every one in the bar and examined their hands. One customer was very indignant at being told by the policeman
TO TAKE HIS GLOVES OFF.
The policeman took the mysterious package to Bow-street police-station. Mr. Paris, the landlord, was upstairs at the time the parcel was found. He informed a Star reporter that nothing could prevent anyone who knew the house from entering the urinal from the street without going to the bar. No one was seen about the place with a brown-paper parcel. Mr. English and Mr. Davidson thought it could not have been there more than 10 minutes. The remains did not look quite fresh, but neither did they smell.
The police state that no such parcel has come into their possession, and Dr. Mills, the police surgeon, declines to say whether he had examined anything of the sort.
Miss Lawson Married.
The marriage of Miss Lawson, only daughter of Mr. Edward Lawson, of Hall Barn, Beaconsfield, proprietor of the Daily Telegraph, to Mr. Hulse, M.P., took place yesterday at the parish church of Beaconsfield. The tenantry of Mr. Lawson's estates, those of Sir Edward Hulse, the Mayor of Salisbury, and a number of prominent citizens of Salisbury attended the ceremony. In consequence of the recent death of the grandfather of the bride no invitations were issued.
Page 4
THE PEOPLE'S POST BOX.
Mounted Police in Oxford-street.
SIR, - I am of opinion that the police-inspector who ordered his men back is deserving of great praise, and I would respectfully draw the attention of Sir C. Warren to the action of an officer who prevented a possible riot and bloodshed. - Yours, &c.,
H. VINCENT.
Forest-gate, 29 Oct.
