A dreadful suicide, and more than suicide, murder, occurred at
Poplar on Monday. A shipwright, named Jonathan Judge, and who had been a long time out of employment, conspired, apparently with his wife, to put himself, her, and their two children to death, to avoid the workhouse. Judge had told his wife about a fortnight ago— which she had repeated—that he " knew a way of ending the whole thing," adding, " it is not my life or your life that I care about, but I do care about the children." " The way" was to smother the family with charcoal,—after first carefully pasting up the crevices in the windows. This he did last Monday night, leaving behind him a letter, signed, or apparently signed, also by his wife —it was not quite certain whether he had forged her signature-. directing how the furniture left in the house was to be distributed among their relatives. The coroner's jury found a verdict of suicide and murder, ender " temporary insanity," against both Judge and his wife,—a pretty clear way of expressing their dislike to the honest verdict. It is a pity the old penalties for suicide are not repealed. We doubt if they seriously deter a single suicide, and they certainly do make great havoc of the consciences of coroners' juries.
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