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Leader (1850-1860), 4th September 1852, Edition Town of 2, Page 844, Untitled Article

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      declaring that the child had not had anything to its lipa durinjr the wholo term , and that they were thoroughly convinced it was a genuine case . This , however , did not fully satisfy the-gentlemen alluded to . The thing was now universally talkod of in these localities , and it was determined to spare no pains to test it to the utmost . They formed themselves into a committee of eight persons , and drow up regulations for their guidance ; one was that for eig ht days and nights she should never bo left unwatclied ; nnd another was that each gentleman on guard should make a written entry of the events that occurred every hour , and that he should sign his name to it . ( This committee will not make their report until the evening of this day . The facts we subjoin , therefore , are not received

      direct from any of their number , but we think wo may guarantee their strict correctness . ) On Saturday week , August 2 l 8 t , this watch commenced , and went on without the slightest thing to excite any suspicion , excepting a little restlessness , until the evening of the following Thursday , when Messrs . Piteairn and Burton ( bookseller ) , were relieved by the Revds . Webb and Whitby . The former gentleman had long been a sceptic in the matter , and on entering the room thought he discovered an unpleasant smell . He left for an hour ' s walk , leaving Mr . Whitby in charge . The father then entered , and complained of the want of faith which the watchers in charge manifested , and then suggested that they should seek the blessing of God . He immediately knelt down and prayed with great

      apparent earnestness and solemnity , and at considerable length . Mr . Whitby was close to the bed , and during the prayer noticed some agitation of the clothes , and fancied that something was offending his olfactory senses . When Mr . Webb returned , Mr . Whitby mentioned his suspicions , and as the nose of the former gentleman again convinced him that something was wrong , he insisted that the bed should be searched . Two nurses , who were also present , proceeded to make the examination , and they reported that all was right—not a suspicious thing had been found . Mr . Webb not being satisfied , and feeling the delicacy of his position , went to the clergyman ' s house , and secured the assistance of a medical gentleman who was staying with him . The circumstances were stated to the surgeon ,

      who determined on instituting a further search m presence only of the nurses . For some time then efforts had no result , but at length a bundle was discovered between the child ' s arm and body , which one of the nurses immediately laid hold * of . The girl , as it is alleged , instantly called out , " You must not touch that . " " But I must have it , " said the woman . " But , " said the deaf child , " shan't have it . " " I will have it , " exclaimed the nurse , and away went the bundle , the child with great resignation saying , " Well , if you will , you must . " The surgeon undid the parcel , and found it to consist of about a score of napkins , bits of linen , &c , which , it is said , had been recently used . These were spread out upon the counterpane , and { he parents and the two watchers were summoned in to gaze upon the not very fragrant discovery . Of course the utmost consternation was depicted on the faces of the parents .

      The mother immediately accused the child of deceiving her , but was properly stopped by the remark that this part of the imposition could not have been carried through without her agency . The father seemed in an agony of distress , and solemnly protested that ho was entirely ignorant that the napkins were thero , and that so far as he know neither morsel nor drop had passed the child ' s" lips for svtteen weeks . Messrs . Webb and Whitby , the meuichJ gentlemen , aud the nurses , immediately left the cottage , and all , with the exception of the surgeon , walked on to Woodbridge , feeling indignant at the imposition that had been practised . It is important , however , to notice that during Saturday , Sunday , Monday , Tuesday , Wednesday , and Thursday , she had had no food or drink , neithor was any food found in the bedding . Mr . Mutcliam , a medical practitioner , makes tho following statement : —

      " To the Editor of the Ipswich Express . "Sir , —ln consequence of the statements which havo boon made relative to the above case , I took tho earliest possible opportunity of visiting tho parents lor tho purposo of hearing their version of the affair . 1 now append bnelly their statement : —l « t . Elizabeth Squirrell did not take any food during the time the gentlemen appointed to watch wore present ; nor had who taken any for fourteen wooks . 2 . No food wan found in or about tho bod when searched by tho nurses . The evidence so far is conclusive . The is the f the bed

      only suspicious circumstance searching o ami finding twenty-one-pieces of handkerchiefs , cloths , and frugini'ritH of long deserted and forgot ton drosses , containing dried forces , hard , mouldy , and swimming on tho surface of tho water when put . into it . Aftor hearing tho utatcmiont of the- parents , 1 proceeded to the clergyman oi tho parish ( the Rev . Mr . . Frances ) , and had an interview with Mr . France * , the surgoon , who made- the examination at , the request of Mr . Webb . His answers to my intorrocations were most , satisfactory . On examining tho pulse I ... C . mwl il , hontiny Hf > to tho minulo ; it subsequently

      increased to 5 ) 5 , and ultimately to 1 ' 20 . lie is of opinion that Klizaboth Nquirroll is suffering from a diHeitso of ilio heart , which of courso would readily account for tho variation of tho pulse . Mr . Frances found no fa-cos that had recently passed , nor was thoro any appearance of anno , which 1 humbly submit to the learned and roverond diyinos would have been the case had sho taken / ooil or drink during tho time they worn them or previous . I respectfully submit that there is no ovidenco to n-nnmn •«; <>» thor .. ,, , » .. .. _ I _! . ( ,... 1 .. nnVliuU it . 1 H < 111 ll I Ml 11 ; 10 1 ICfathermother laughter 1 confess it is dithcult to

      ac-, , or . . count for tho discovery of so many fragments of garmentM , & <• but tho fact itself , whim properly considered , exonerate ' * tho parents , for no ono could believe thorn so devoid ol ' cleanliness as to leavo such things in tho house to tho detriment of their own and child ' s health , il thojr know ol it . In roviow of thoso facts , I must conclude that , thoro •« no evidence at present to justify us in branding tho hqiiiin "" with iumosturo . I would invito tho public to visit to lliemHolvcs , hoar tho oountor-statoinonts , and then uecicu .. Tho inquiry lias terminated bo far in a very ungontlenianly and unscientific mantn . r , and nothing but . a second witch

      of gentlemen who have no interest but the public in view will be conclusive . Trusting to your usual willingness to give the truth so far aa you can arrive at it for the insertion of this letter , I am , sir , yours , &c ., " AtPKED B . MATCHAM , M . D . " Norwich-road , Ipswich , Monday , August 80 . " But we hasten to conclude our narrative : — On tho morning following the discovery , the father came to Ipswich with a bundle of napkins , which we believe he took to Mr . Webster to prove that they had not been recently used , but we cannot tell whether these were the identical ones that were found , whether the wife deceived the husband , or whether all have been engaged in carrying through one of the most blasphemous pieces of deception on record . After the discovery the girl folded her hands ,

      and looking to heaven ( for it is fully believed she has the use of her sight ) , said , " I commit myself to the care of my guardian angel , and know that God will take care of me . " When her father left for Ipswich , she exclaimed , " Never fear , father , I shall weather the storm— 'twill all end well . " We understand that her parents and herself still stoutly assert that she has taken no kind of nourishment for sixteen weeks , and that each of the three is most anxious for a further trial which shall extend over fourteen days . Unless there be full and unimpeachable testimony that the state of the napkins was such as to indicate without doubt that they had been recently used , the case in the eves of the public will not be deemed satisfactorily settled .

      Our duty is to state the two sides of the case , and to leave our readers to form , their own conclusions . It must not be forgotten that the whole value of the discovery rests on the testimony of the two nurses and the medical gentleman , and in the preceding letter Mr . Matcham coolly asserts that the surgeon told him the fceces had not recently passed , nor were there any appearances of urine . If this be so , what becomes of the discovery ? What becomes also of the fact that , closely as the girl was watched nothing was seen to pass her lips , and the fact also that her pulse alternated from 85 to 120 a minute ? Were the nurses , also , quite accurate in their account of what occurred when they seized the napkins ? to make further

      Probably it will be deemed necessary a examination , should not the report of the committee be perfectly conclusive . We need hardly add that it is believed the girl can see , and that her alleged ability to read writing with her fingers is disputed . It is also believed that she can hear , and if the conversation regarding the clothes be accurately narrated , there is positive proof that she has the use of this faculty . Regarding the ringing of the glass , we ought to add that she has in her room a glass harmonicon , which frequently laid on her bed , and on which she was very fond of playing , though we cannot conceive what delight she could take in music that she could not hear . The belief is , that this is the means by which the ringing i 3 occasioned ; that in Jieu of the invisible angel ' s wings , she touched it under the bedclothes while her visitors were

      absorbed in their devotions . But wo must leave the whole case to the judgments of our readers . Much more might be written . We might enlarge upon the fact that the girl is undoubtedly an extraordinary character—that at the beginning of her illness she certainly took but little to sustain life—that reports of her abstinence from food spread widely *—that the cottage was besieged—that its humblo occupant was lionizedthat the parents had their vanity flattered and their pockets replenished—and that tho thing has' gone on to tho present moment , interspersed with many extraordinary circumstances . For tho present , however , wo drop further allusion to the matter .

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      NATIONAL ORPHAN GIllLS' HOME . A xarok meeting was held ut Reigato , on Thursday week , to promote tho interests of the Orphun Girls ' Home . Mr . 'W . Paynter took the chair , and called on the Reverend Joseph Brown , rector of Christ-church , Uluckfriars , to propose tho first resolution . Mr . Brown explained the principles which govern the Orphans' Home , the particulars of its first establishment in 1849 , and the progress it had made , tho premises having been sinco purchased by Mr . J . Minter Morgan . Doing the rector of a thickly-populated parish , he was well acquainted with the necessity for Mich institutions . None but those who from duty or charitable motives hod the scenes incidental to disease which often prevailed in poor neighbourhoods brought under their notices could toll the misery occasioned by tho removal of parents . The cholera had thrown many orphans on the consideration of tho charitable , and had mainly convinced him of the necessity for establishing an Orphans' Home . More recently they had the sinking of the Amazon , and there were instances of orphanage arising from similar consequences which were unprovided for by a specific charity . There wild great difliculty in tho way of getting an orphan into the huge lisylinns without considerable interest . The Orphans ' ' Home wan intended to ho opened to all pressing cases , hut they must look to tho public to support them . AH they wanted was funds to carry on their establishment . There were at present thirty children

      provided for , and they had room for twenty more children , but their means wore not HiiOh-ient to meet the extra expense . Any ono subscribing 1 . 0 / . annually would be entitled to place a child in tho asylum . After entering into a uniinciul statement , the rov . gentleman concluded by moving the following resolution : — " That tho protection of tho orphan is so frequently promised , and iu a duty ho ofton commanded , in tho

      Scriptures , this meeting cheerfully acknowledges the priviW * . this country affords to the Christian for the exercise f benevolence through its different orphan asylu ms " ( A plause . ) ' *• P * The Reverend Harry Dupries seconded the resolution . The Reverend T . Jackson , prebendary of St . Paul ' s next addressed the meeting at considerable length , and took occasion to allude to the praiseworthy liberality of Mr . Morgan , that benevolent individual who had p urchased the ground on which the asylum was built , and invested it in trustees for the purposes of the Orphan Home . The charity was also indebted to the Reverend J . Brown ; and indeed , what he took in hand was sure

      to be well done , and worthy of notice . It had taken a century to place children iu their proper position in society , and he trusted this country would sustain the progress that had been made . It was necessary to train up children to become useful members of the society they helped to form . He was in New South Wales twelve months ago , and was strongly requested , on coming back to England , to recommend respectable females , that had received a Protestant education , to emigrate to that colony , where there was every prospect of their doing well , provided they were instructed in the means to make themselves useful before they went out . It had been his lot , only the week before , to

      address a number of young females who were about to take a passage for Australia , and , as emigration went on , there would be a great demand for female servants ' , Whom institutions , such ' as the Orphan Girls' Home , could train up to be a credit and a recommendation . " That the National Orphan . Home , from its object being to receive more especially those who find great difficulty in . obtaining admission to other institutions , and from its being located in this neighbourhood , deserves the Avann support of this meeting . " The Reverend T . G . P . Hough supported the resolution .

      The Reverend T . Pyne , in proposing the third resolution , drew attention to the large number of children that might be made useful members of society , if they could only obtain the benefit of such a charity as that before them . He earnestly pressed his hearers to increase the funds and the sphere of its operation . " That the reverend the vicar and clergy of Richmond and of the neig hbourhood , be respectfully requested to allow sermons to be . preached in their churches on behalf of the charity , and that the principal booksellers bo requested to receive " subscriptions and donations for tho Home . " The Reverend A . Wilkinson , in seconding the resolution , hoped that tho example set fey an individual would not end there , and that Mr . Morgan ' s liberality would not be allowed to remain a solitary instance .

      Tho resolutions were carried , and tho meeting se parated with the usual vote of thanks to the chairman 125 ^ were collected at tho meeting .

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      CHURCH PATRONAGE . The following letter 1 ms been printed in the Daily News this week : — " Were tho Church of England rightly extended and rightly patronized , there would bo neithor sedition nor plebeian infidelity in tho laud . "—Chalmers on Church Patronage . Sin , —Will you permit tho following , extracted from the Clergy List , to be made public , as a specimen how Tory bishops and chancellors havo exercised their solemn trusts ; mi ¥ - » /~\ rn t » . j T .. 1 / " 11 i . k « wt < tll # -tt * t \ r 1 * 111-Tho Pret is—1 Chancellor of

      Lin-Rev . G . T . yman . coln Cathedral , with the Prebend of Stoke annexed ; 2 . Canon of Winchester ; 3 . Rector of Clmlfbnt , bt . Giles , Bucks ; 4 . Rector of Wheathampatead , Hurt *; 5 . Curate of llarpenden , Herts , all in the patronage ol the Bishop ; and G . Perpetual Curate of Nettlclmiii , Lincolnshire , in his own gift . The Rev . Richard Pretyman is— 1 . Preccntor <« Lincoln Cathedral , with Prebend of Kilsby a nnexed ; 2 . Rector of Ktony-Middleton , Oxfordshire ; tt . Rector of Wulgravo , Nortlnunpt . oiiHhire ; 4 . Rector of nunnington , Northamptonshire ; 5 . Iloelor of Wrou ^ hlon , Wiltshire , all in tho Bishop's patronage . \

      Tho Rev . l \ 1 ) . Perkins in— Vicar of Stoke , Vurwickshirc patron , Lord Chancellor . Vicar of S () 1 U ^ Warwickshire--patron , Lord Chancellor . Vicur Down Hutherly , Gloucestershire—patron , Lord t ' " " " cellor . Rector of Sway field , Lincolnshire --patn "* Lord Chancellor . Your obedient servant , A OlJKATK WITH FiCl ' V VoVXUfi 1 ' ™ ANN "" " TIicho gentlemen are proper contemporaries with ' « Reverend Robert Moon ; , who enjoys a sinecure 1 MMK )/ . n-year , two livings of 1000 / . uac . li , »' il ennonry at Canterbury ! A RUSISTLKSS INQUISITOR . Knkikioiujookkic Imw told hoiiic good stories in hw «' Y hut w « do not , think he over surpassed ih « " > " <• h Hpooiinon of wlmt can bo effected by Ingoi ""^ > pudenco : —•

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      844 THE LEADE R . [ Saturday ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 4, 1852, page 844, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1950/page/8/