The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-06-03 00:00:00

ing the cost of the last life-boat, she stated that she
would be amply repaid if ever she had the happiness
to hear that one of her life-boats bad been the
means, under God, of saving a single life. Her
wishes in that respect bad been realized in a re-
markable manner. Lest winter a fearful wreck,
that of the schooner Bellona, of Red Bay—touk
place in Dundruin Bay, where one of her life-boats
is stationed. During that dreadful night, three out
of four of the unfortunate crew had sunk to rise no
more, but with the dawn of the day one poor fellow
was observed lashed to the wreck. The Tyrella
lifeboat proceeded at once through the surf to his
rescue, %hen he was found perfectly benumbed and
rapidly sinking as the tremendous waves were sweep-
ing over him. He was brought ashore, and some
days afterwards was perfectly restored. He proved
to be the master of the vessel. Again, the Seaton
Carew life-boat, on the Durham coast, which was
presented, in 1859, by William Mlierrell, Esq.,
has, since she has beeuati her station, saved the
following shipwrecked crews :—Brig Eliza, of
Middlesborough, 7; brig Maytlower, of Newcastle,
8; brig Providence, of Shields, 8; barque Robert
Watson, of Sunderland, 5 ; total, 28. When we
hear of such deeds as these performed by life-boats,
it cannot be • matter of surprise that the National
Life boat institution has taken such a hold on the
sympathies of the community at large. With its
122 life-boats, it needs every help the public can
render it by their benefactions. We may add that
contributions in aid of the funds of this truly
national and important institution are received by
the bankers in this town, and by its Secretary,
Richard Lewis, Esq., 14, John-street, Adelphi,
London.

WINCANTON.-THE MANCHESTER MURDER.

The following particulars, which will be read with
interest by many of our subscribers, have been collected
respecting the antecedents of Taylor and his wife who
are charged with the late murders in Manchester.
Martha Ann Taylor is the daughter of a well-to-do
dairy farmer named Giles, residing at Hatherleigh Farm,
about two miles from Wincantom which farm be has
occupied for the last fourteen ears. He has • family
of nine children, four boys a iris, of whom two
sons and a daughter are oP he rest younger,
than the prisoner. She her twenty-third
year in January last.
According to a statement made by her brother-in-law,
Mr. Martin, farmer, of Burton's Mill, near Wincauton,
the female yi-isoner first met with Taylor in September,
IMO, he having made her acquaintance as she was on
the road from her father's house to Wineanton, and
taken her up in his dog-cart and driven her into that
town. In December of that year Taylor visited old
Giles, at Hatherleigh, and at the latter end of the
following February, or the beginning of March, a run-
away match took place, respecting which some further
particulars are subjoined, and after an absence of sonic
days Taylor and Gilea's daughter returned to listlierleigh
as man and wife. Taylor announced that they had
been married at Taunton ; but he declined, or was not
in a position, to comply with the request of the girl's
parents (who naturally wished to be tiatisified on the
point as to whether a marriage had really taken place)
to produce a certificate of the marriage. On leaving
Hatherleigh, however, the scruples of the parents on this
point must be presumed to have been satisfied, as
the female prisoner's father gave them • hundred pounds.
The prisoners seem afterwards to have taken up their
residence at Bideford, which place they left about twelve
months ago, and, after paying • visit to Hatherleigh, are
supposed to have gone to Manchester. Very little has
been heard of them by any member of the family since
this time. The news of the murder only reached Mr.
Martin on Monday, and he was then as uncertain as to
whether the Taylors referred to were his own brother
and nester-in-law that lie took little notice of the matter,
and it was not till the following day that a member of
Mr. Giles'a family caine river to Hatherleigh from Shepton
' Mallet and produced to him a morning paper of that
! day, which conveyed to him the first intelligence that
his daughter was in custody on a charge of murder. Mr.
,1 and Mrs. Giles are flint cousins. There has been no in'
I dication of insanity in any members of the family.
Detective Bateman, of the Manchester police force,
has been in the town for a few days, making inquiries
for the purpose of identifying the hand writing of the
labels found attached to the bodies of the murdered
children with that of the female prisoner. With that
view he paid a visit to her sister (Mrs. Martin), but she
she was unable to furnish the desired information.
He also had an interview with Miss Mon., at whose
school at Wincanton the female prisoner was a
pupil for about two years and a quarter, with
sonic other members of her family. She left Miss
Mogg'a establishment eight years ago last March 2 when
she was about 15 years of age, and having remained at
home at work during the Bummer months abs returned
to Miss Megg with the other children for the winter
months, and finally loft sehool in the following spring,
having then completed her education. The book found
at the prisoner's house and the labels taken from the
bodies of the children were produced by Bateman to
Miss Mogg, but she was unable to speak positively to
the handwriting ; but she was asked if she thought it
probable it WWI that of the female prisoner, as it bore
some resemblance to her own, and she stated that there
was some likeness in the writing in the book, but her
first linpre,sion on seeing the labels was that they were
not in the same handwriting as that in the book. It
did not strike her at the time that these were the labels
attached to the bodies of the poor children. Miss Mogg
told the officer that this writing was not like that in
the book, and that she onuld not identify it. With
regard to the character of the female prisoner Miss Mogg
describes her as having 'peen a bold, open, good-
tempered, but iincouth girl. She did not display any
proficiency in learning, but was of • free and volatile
disposition, and if anything could be done in a rough
way she would do it. In short to use a familiar ex-
pression, she WWI a blunt girl, but, up to the present
time, nothing prejndical to her moral character had been
known.

After making the acquaintance of Miss Giles in the
manner already described Taylor appears to have driven
her to the Bear Inn, Wincanton, a house at which he
was in the habit of stopping, and to which he supplied
wines and spirits, from Ur. Hadley, of Exeter, of whose
house he was at that thne the representative. The
girl was also known to the landlady and landlord of the
Bear. After their first visit in company to the town
a growing intimacy was found to be goring' ng up between
Taylor and Min Giles, letters being directed to her,
at the Bear, by Taylor, from different places on his
journey. Un returning to Wincanton Taylor was
cautioned by the landlady against deceiving
the girl, as ahe believed him to be married. He,
however, assured her that he was a widower, with four
children, and, so far, appears to have acted honourably.
Taylor and his intended wife paid a visit to her sister,
Mrs. Martin, of Burton Mill, early in spring of 1861,
and one morning about that time Miss Giles announced
that she was going away to be married to Mr. Taylor.
The landlady of the Bear asked Taylor privately if this
was trim, and he said that Miss Odes was only going as
far as Temple Coombe with him. At the beginning of
the following week the female prisoner returned to the
Bear, and proposed to remain there and board with
the eamily, but the landlady declined, and recommended
her to go home. She is believed to have taken this
aivice, and to have been joined by Taylor before she
went to Hatherleigh.
The residence of the parents of the female at Rather.
leigh is a farmhouse, situated in a lonely spot, being at
least a mile from any other dwelling. Three sons and
three daughters are still at home, one son, George,
being married, a daughter alao =tarried to Martin, and
the other absent member ef the family being the female
_ _

The father appears never to have been reconciled to
Taylor, or to have approved of the match with his
daughter. On their return after the alleged marriage
Taylor pressed him for FAO; but Mr. Giles declined,
on the ground that he had other children to provide for,
and he gave the £lOO whicr formed the dower of his
daughter to her just before she left, and without
apprising Taylor of what he had done. While Taylor
was in business at Bideford he put the name of Mn
Giles as the acceptor to a bill of exchange at 14 days,
for £2O, which was given to the landlord for rent.
Inquiries were made before the bill Came due of
Mr. Giles as to whether the acceptance was his,
and on his stating that it was not, Taylor was
apprehended on a charge of forgery. Mr. Giles, how-
ever, declined to appear as a witness against his son-in-
law, and the charge was consequently dismissed, and we
understand that the bill on arriving at maturity was
met. The exposure' however, wasthe means of causing
Taylor's departure irons Bideford. On quitting that
place, with his wife and four children, he proceeded te
Hatherleigh, where, however, he was not cordially
received by Mr. Giles, and they parted on unfriendly
terms, Odes reproaching Taylor with having forged his
name, and Taylor justified his conduct. After quitting
Hatherleigh, about June, 1861, the Giles family beard
but little from the Taylors, having only received three
or four letters from them. In none of them did they
communicate their address, but in the Brat (written by
Taylor) an envelope was indorsed for a reply, bearing
the direction, "Mr. Meller, Post Office, Manchester.
To be kit till called for." In January last Mrs. Giles
received • letter from her daughter describing the boiler
explosion and death of one of Tayler'sehildren
"January 24, 1862."
My dear Mother,—l hope you are all well. lam
awry to tell you that our troubles are very, very heavy;
indeed, we are almost frantic, both of us. We have a
bath on the top floor, and it is supplied with hot
water from a boiler behind the kitchen fire, so we
always had hot water all day long. The pipes
became leaky, and Mentor went to the land-
lord, and he sent a man to repair them ' • but in two
days they became leaky again, and Mentor went and
complained again, and it was not repaired, and the
kitchen was in such a mess all day. Mentor told the
landlord more than six times,and he told him to turn off
the taps that was the only way to prevent it.
After tea, Mentor, and dear little Bob was in the
parlour by the fire Polly was it the kitchen, to wash
the tea things, Hasty and Hannah was there to their
own choice, Harty sitting on one side of the fire, and
Hannah the other. Polly was standing before the
fire. One minute before Polly went in the closet
close by. She was standing direct oppo-
site the front of the lire, all three of them round
the fire but Polly went to the closet, and while she was
there das
re this boiler bursted with an awful explosion. We
thought the house was blown up, and we did not hear a
sound of the dear children. All was in darkness. At
last we succeeded in getting into the ruinous kitchen
with a light, and found it a total wreck of ever) thing in
it. Hannah was in one corner as black as a sweep,
bleeding from a severe cut in the head, and a few burns
about the body, nut sensible, but she is getting on well
—she is able to be about. But, oh, dear, Harriet Jane
was in another corner, with all the fire end the heavy
irons of the grate on her; she was cut, burnt, and
scalded awful; no one could know her. She lived only
20 hours to suffer. Polly is all right; else was in the
closet. All this happened last Sunday night, about
half-past seven o'clock. 1 must leave you to think what
our feelings is. I cannot tell you; you can see how I
ass by my writing. Wears almost frightened to death.
It is dreadful. I will write to you again soon. I must
close with our love to you AIL
"From your affectionate daughter,-.-" M. A. TAYLOR.'
In February the male prisoner wrote a letter, referring
to his quarrel with Mr. Mellor, and to the treatment he
received from Mr. Giles on his vitiate Liatherleigh.