The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-08-19 00:00:00

been committed before you find a verdict. Mere suspicion
or conjecture is not enough. Lastly, if you should be satisfied
that there is no evidence before you as to how the antimony
came into the body of the deceased, you will find accordingly.
It will be your duty to endeavour to bring your whole minds
to bear on the facts which have been brought before you, to
say whether there Is any positive evidence of any act done by
any person or person! in regard to this death. You have,
rektae otheihalet the poor man said himself as to
wleit he had taken, and I must ask you to weigh all these
facts. You—both the foreman and the gentlemen of the
jury—have taken so many notes, that you will, be ahle, I ..„,
think, very shortly to come to a decision. You must, there-. `"`•
fore, retire to some private room, and consider among your oth
-
selves as to what your verdiet shall be.
Before the jury retired, referring to the question which in
had been asked by the Crown counsel of Mrs. Bravo whether, all
on going to Brighton immediately after the funeral of her late
husband she had not made a "grave charge ' against his afte.
character, Mr. Hunt, one of the jury, said to the Coroner.—
You have directed us to inqaire Into the character and habits !"--
of this unfortunate young man, but I wish to refer you to
the evidence of Dr. Paine, of the post-mortem examination.
I believe he there said the -e was no appearance of disease in
the b ,dy, except what had been induced by the pet.on, and
that it was in all other respects a perfectl9 healthy body. I
take it, then, that remark was exceedingly comprehensive,
and that there :vas no trace of disease whatever. I made
that re mark in consequence of the question asked about
Dr. DID, and the juror indented that he wished that no
false impression should arise on this point.
Sir Henry James said,—The jury will forgive me, but as a
consequence of the remark Just made by this gentleman, Mr.
Hunt, I hope there will be no conjecture. With reference to
this question, it was the duty of the Crown counsel to bring
to your knowledge what they wished to convey. As they
have not done so, it is no part of your duty to consider that
point at all, and I believe, moreover, that this conjecture
would prove tG oe erroneous.
The jury then retired, and sere locked up in a club room
for two hours and a half. A message then came that they
wanted writing materials. They shortly afterwards returned
to the Court, and the Coroner called the names over to see
that all were present. All having answered,
The Coroner sail,—Have you agreed upon a verdict, gentle-
men?

The Foreman replied,—We have, and have it in writing.
The Foreman then haneed a sheet of paper to the Coroner,
all the jary then standing, and the crowd in the court
watching the proceeding with an interest which was intense.
The Coroner read the paper to himself, and then turning
sharply to the j my said,— Are you unanimous in delivering
this verdict? tiave you 12 jurors agreed with it?

The Fkfteman replied,—We have more than 12 (there were
16 on the jury).
The Coroner replied,—Then I will take the verdict of the
majority.

The Coroner then read the verdict, In the following
words:—

We find that Mr. Charles DePinney Turner Bravo did not
commit suicide; that he did not meet his death by mind
venture ; that he was wilfully murdered by the administra-
tion of tartar emetic; but there is not sufficient evidence to
fix the guilt upon any person or persons."
Tnere was at once a strong manifestatton of feeling shown
by the persons in the audience part of the Court, but silence
was restored when the C.)rouer threatened to have the Court
cleared.
The Foreman then said: I have been requested by sorre
of my brother jurors to bring under your notice the fact—
which they hope you will bring before the Treatury—that
they have attended here for a long time at great personal
Inconvenience and great personal loss; I have been asked to
say that they hope you will represent the fact to the Treasury
for their favourable consideration. There is a precedent in
the Tichborne trial for some remuneration being given to the
jury, and I trust you wil see your way to act as I have
indicated.
The Coroner: It shall be done gentlemen, most assuredly;
but: am only empowered to give you 12s. (the whole sum
allowed tor the 23 sittings among all the jury).

The Court was then a,lj ,urued to permit of the inquisition
paper teing drawn out in due form. On the reassembling of
the Court, the formal verdict, pat in the Coroner's form of
words, was read, to the effect " that the said jurors on their
oath say that some person or persons unknown did wilfully
and with malice aforethought kill and murder the said
Charles Delauney Turner Bravo."
A Juror remarked to the Coroner that the Jury In the
verdict given had not used the words "person or persons
unknown."

The Coroner explained that this was the form of words
used when no name was returned by the jury as charged with
the commission of the act.
The I ettnn to the inquisition paper was then signed by the
thirteen jurors.
The Coroner, in discharging the jury, thanked them or
the great care and attention Chey had given. He acknow-
ledged that the case had been a psln fill one to him, but said
his labours had been greatly spared by the watchful atten-
tion they had all given.
The Foreman said that in the arduous and important duty
the jury had to discharge they had been most ably assisted '
by Mr. Burleigh Die jars, begged to thank the pro-
prietor of the " Bedford" Hotel, Mr. C. Willis, for placing
his house unreservedly at the disposal of the authorities, and
it was to be hoped that the Treasury would compensate Mr.
Willis for all the material damage he had sustained in turn-
ing his pace into a Cdurt of Justice, for the stairs, II iota, and
furniture had been greatly injured (and all the allowance
made by the county was the BUIII of three halfcrowns) The
Foreman alga spoke of the excellent arrangements of the
police under the constant attendance of Inspector Perry, and
trusted that the discretion shown by the officer and by In-
spector Clarke in the discharge of their weighty duties would
be noticed to the authorities.
The Coroner promised that representations should be made
In the proper quarters on these several inattera in accordance
with the wishes of the jury.
The jury were then discharged, end the proceedings ternils
nated.

The police authoriti.s, acting upon the verdict of
the Coroner's jury, at Balham, on Friday, have issued
a placard in the following terms :
" Murder ; £250 Reward. Whereas, on the 21st of April,
1878, Cuarles Delauney Turner Bravo, of the Priory, Balbsrn,
died from the effects of tartar emetic, and a Corouer'd jury
has returned a verdict that the deceased was wiltully
rnarderf d, the above reward will be paid by her Majesty's
Government to any person who shall give such infor-
mation and evidence as shall lead to the discovery and
conviction of the murderer or murderers in this case, and
ti.e Secretary of State for the Home Department will advise
6h. Errant of Her M3jesty's gracious pardon to any accord-
puce, not being the person who actually committed the
murder, who shall give such evidence as shall lead to a like
result. Information to be given to Superintendent Willism-
son, Detective Department, Groat Scotland-yard, London.—
E Y. W. HENDERSON, Commissioner of Folic') of the
Metropolis."

THE ATROCITIES IN BULGARIA.
Tire Times, on Tuesday, published the following letter :
Sir,—lt may be that, in the course of time, we shall
arrive at sound and accurate knowledge of whatever
attempts at insurrection were made by the BulL
garians ; we may also ascertain how far ' they were
incited, persuaded, betrayed by foreign neighbours
with interested motives; more accurate know-
ledge may be obtained as to the number of lives lost,
brutalities committed, and property destroyed. But;
in the meantime, ought not something to be done
better than making excuses for the Turk and the
Bulgarian,—better than scolding our Ambassador,
and flinging hard words from side to side in our HOMO
of Commons? Even to those who received the ac-
counts transmitted by irresponsible agents with some.
thing more than caution, the despatches of Sir H.
Eliot and the Report made by the Commissioner, so
tardily sent, must be sufficient to excite, not only the
pity and sympathy, but also the generous benevolence,
of the whole British nation.
Having been, through my husband, the late Lord
Strangford, for many years a friend of the Bulgarians,
and having myself received much kindness from their
grateful hands in remembrance of his labours for them,
I venture, though with diffidence, to come forward in
their behalf and to offer to take charge of money
subscribed for their relief. It is in no spirit of
hostility to the Turkish Government that I do so,
but rather in a spirit of kindness. I know
the members of the present Government too well
not to believe them to be humanely sorry for the
unrestrained ferocity with which their troops, most
of them foreign irregulars, carried out and far
exceeded the orders given to them. The
Ottoman Government, however, is at this moment in
the lowest straits; they have no money, and they are
hampered by justifiable and quite unjustifiable rebel-
lions, so that it is really imporeible for them to make
restitution or to give compensation. Meantime many
thousands of people are in the deepest, bitterest dis-
tress, and in need of what the generous hands that gave
so lavishly to the sufferers from famine in India, from
Inundations in France, and many such calamities in
oth.r lands than ours, will, it is hoped, now supply to
the Bulgarians. There are whole villages to be
rebuilt, lands to be retitled and stocked, and, above
all, cattle to be replaced; for the Circassians, who
never plough, are famous at cattle-lifting.
I believe I can promise that not a shilling shall be
wasted, hut that all shall be carefully expended for the
benefit of the poorest and most unfortunate of the
Bulgarian nation. I need scarcely add that a very
large sum will be necessary, and should be provided
without delay, so that houses may be rebuilt before
winter sets in. Any money sent to me shall be grate-
fully acknowledged, or it may be paid, as I have the
kind permission of the Manager to say, into the London
and Westminster Bank, 1, St. James's-square.
I venture to add a letter that I have just received
from the Right Hon. W. E. Forster, M.P., and
I have the honour to be, Sir, yours truly,
. _ .
E. STRANGFORD;
10, Chapel-street, Park-lane, Aug. 14

, -T-F4lff'r 41 •
80, Eccleaton-square, Aug. 14.
"Dear Lady Strangford,—Will you let me, before
leaving London, write you a few lines about the poor
Bulgarians, in whose sad fate you are, I know, deeply
interested?
"Whatever the differences of opinion with regard to
the rights and wrongs of the Eastern Question, no one
will dispute the intense misery of the peasants whose
homes and crops have been destroyed, and of the
families whose breadwinners have been murdered;
and there are many Englishmen, I feel sure, who would
be glad to help them if they could tell how to do it
with effect.
"You well know their country and many of their
leading men and therefore it strikes me that you might
organize a subscription on their behalf, and your known
sympathy with the Turkish cause would make it easier
for you to obtain facilities for the distribution of the
money. Should you feel that you are able to act in
the matter, I shall be obliged if you will put my name
down for £lOO.

"There is only one possible objection which occurs
to me—many persons would feel as I do, that the
Turkish Government ought to do what can be done by
money, and help the sufferers from the devastations
committed by their troops, and the surviving relations
of the victims who have been murdered. No English
subscription ought to relieve the Turkish Government
from this responsibility, or our Government from the
duty of enforcing its claim; but, whatever may be
done officially, there will, I fear, he much left for
private aid.—l am, dear Lady Strangford, yours
sincerely, W. E. FORSTER."

A E tattle of the late Dr. Livingstone, cast in bronze,
was unveiled on Tuesday afternoon in tne East Prince,.
street Gardens, E iinburgh. The ceremony was erformed
by the Lord Provost of the city, in the presence of a large
a.sembly.
- •

Alfred Johnson, who startAd from America on the
15th of June in a small boat, landed at Abercastle, Pembroke-
shire, on Friday, having been fitly-seven days at sea. The
boat in which Johnson accomplished his remarkable voyage
is called the Centennial, of Gloucester, Massachusetts. It is
only 2011. over all.
The Mahometan inhabitants of Bosnia have ad-
drcszed a petition to the Porte, representing that ail the
Turkish troops having now been withdrawn from that pro-
vince, the insurgents have taken the opportunity of plunder-
leg the Turkish villages. The petitioners, therefore, request
the Government to send troops for their protection, adding
that, if this is not done, they will be obliged to lan the Insnr.
gents in order to save their llyes and properties. •
_ . ,

t141.0“k.) 03t : TCYII.4 401