The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-08-28 00:00:00

RE POll7.

The direetora,regret that, owingc,,tc; the severity of the win-
ter and the depremiOn of trade, the accounts .for the half-year
slum a cousidtrable reduction in, the amount of racoipt&, cow-
paTed with the zorresponding sizonenths of 18(Ks,
The receipts in the half-year
ending: 30th June, 18544
=muted to
~403,84,0 4: d, 433,585 12 7
30,582;1,0, 8. 30,297 13 1

The following were unanimously appointed directsrs in the
place of those who had retired := .Messrs. James France Ben-
nett, of Liferpool, Wm. Henry. Pettilean, John Alexander
11Ohson, Manchester; and Thomas Hunter Holderness, of
Liierpool.

Mr. Walter- ddralston was appointed secretary, vice Mr.
Gibson, resigned..
Mr. Beloe wasreappointed auditor.
On the proposition of Mr. BEIZE, seconded by Mr. Munn,
a resolution waz•unanimously adopted, expressing regret that
Mr. Gibson had-',resigned led the office of secretary, the duties of
which he had discharged with so ranch diligence and ability.
A -vote of thanks to the chairman, terminated the pro-

HORRIBLE' TRAGEDII---CILILDREIT
.6-214RrED TO' DEATH 111 LIVERPOOL.

O_* S aturday, one-of themost painful and; harrowing inquiries
er;sr held before the - Berough coroner was. investigated, dis-
clesing an-unparalleled: agree of parentri inhuinanity on be.
ha Potthe prisopers,.William and Mary Aspinol, two of whose
ehi!drirn have died frarn,-starvation, while,tiießfe of another is,
des-paired of.: The priSonera lived in Elden;pktee, Vauxhall-
roadianti en Friday- morning, after a guar:mai-which raised the
whole neighbourhood; the female prisoner balkil to a police-
-likm-i-,2lixt-vaitt that vue-mfiltrr children had died en;Wednesday.
from the, cruelly of the male prisoner. The- officer on this
ea!Zed4for•a: surgeon; and,. by his advice, he took the prisoner
to bridotvell... Information was then given to, Mr. Blake, the
coroner.te beadle, who,.on going to the house: of the prisoners
forrndseveral children; almost black with filthimul in a perfect
state. of nudity. One.about four years okl, named William
Valentine,: was buddideup on a chair, like a. dog. This poor
child mos se emaciated that,. though now welt attscaled to by
theaspensary surgeons; hie life is despaired -of.. One child,
named Emma, a little girl; about. a year and ten months old,
was: dead -in bed, a mere, dirty skeleton, most horrible to
loolt.a4andanother ehildabout four montLeold,..who died on
Frklay night while Mt.-Blake and the surgeon. were present,
from ievident starvatbm. The inquest held on Saturday was
selelY.on the body of the child Emma. The- jury. and the
ceronerbeth visited the house where these -dreadful_ scenes
oceurred,-and were quite horror-struck with, the sight, the
premiiee being dirty and,desolate to a deg,ree,scareely

The coroner informed. the lary that be had, requested a
medical man to visit the house in which the- bodies and
that he was accompanied, by Mr. Walters, of the Town-hall,
forthe purpose of having photographic representations of the
two,deceased taken.. The-;any should be told. that the man
then before them bad beetigiven into custody in consequence
of a statement made by his wife; but he din n.ot know that
ha:should be doing his-duty, after what he had seen.and been
informed of, if he didaiot.roquire that the wife..be. also appre-
hended.
Aiavoman here s;;epped, forward from the-body of the. court,
and said, in a loushaud excited tone of voize).."-I am. the wife,
sir,
~and I'll come; . I'll come." She was tben.t.aken into cus-
tody, and placed besidelw husband, who. took-not-the slight-
est notice of her. The female prisoner is apparently, aboutW.
years of age, ur,der -tho middle height, slightly formed, and:
has a rather genteel .apnearance. She was-attired in a black.
Coburg dress, blackjmniced visite, black transparent bonnet,.
and black lace veil; nevertheless her plazsiognomy was sinis--
ter, and manifeateCindications of irregularity of life. Mi.,
dressing the c•aroner, sbe said, ".When I made the eharg...a.l..,
did against my.busband,l must have been. obuotaTeentshfdteemtrrlynex-,.nosß.iesalntasticieswe4rsai-y...
I must have been .mad; and I now e-,0,-.Prate him from. all,
blame. If there-is anybiame, it is with myself—it is with me,
The first witness was John Aspinol, the- eldest son of the,
accused, a lad _about seventeen years ofaige.. He said that Ilia,
either gave to has father or his mother.
75 a-year, and that be himself rive.
ETBofather
,avaiwed:eciaskaara,.siovo.venfi.a.:tweri
heyrilee:of,
family,ealea lfnitvedero,nnofioavin4e,d
arbrothersthtlh
y
id
evening, theii bodies being quite wasted away. Thedeaoased, Emma, was not able to walk, but sometimes sat on hen 'mother's.
.
knee. He had heard his father complain that she was .not
taken proper, care of. He also deposed that bislather ancl mother, often quarrelled, generals. on:account of hia.,mother
spendiegn. poriion of the household, money inclriok,.
mother.did not generally treat the deceased kind'y, and be-had
seen it naked in a dish on the sink,. He and Ws-, father eitea
came home . and found no food, prepared for them,. and the
mother quite,drunk. The deed children oftecraved for4ood,
which was given them by his;. father and sistair,, but. be aidn't
remember his mother givirg them any. This witness's ac-
count of the state of their house was most paiufulto,&aten to.
It was.dirty and disorderl:T., and the childaen,slept sometimes
On the boards and sometiriles on the flag sues oft he,kitchen.
The windows and furniture. were .broken, and. everything in
confusion.

Mary Aspinol, daughter of the ptisoners,. about fourteen,
years_ of age, gave similar evidence to. that of the previous
wituees. She stated tzhat previous to. the laat fortnight the
deceased was health,: and.had food, but she could not tell if
she had enough. 'J deceased was frequently washed in the
sink by her sister,_ a child eight years of age. She caught
cold, and deceased; appeared to waste away about a week before
she died. When, food, was given. to the deceased, the other
children often pinched, her and took it from her. Her mother
used to drink, and she and thofather quarrelled very often in con-
sequence. Oat. Thursday last her mother drank a quart of ales,
which she purchased with money given to her by her son (the.
first witness): She often pledged things for her mother, who:
spent the money in drink.. Sometimes they were two or three
days without food, but not all day. Latterly her father and.
brother-purchased the food for the house, and they often; could
not stay while she (witness) cooked it.
iii, Geo. Kemp, surgeon, said he had made a post moPtem
examination of the botty of the deceased. He never saw such
a case of emaciation; the eyes were exceedingly sunken, and
the. arms and legs quite wasted away to a skeleton.. The heart
was healthy but empty; the lungs healthy hut of a light
grayish colour ; and the entrails totally devoid of either fluid
or food sufficient to fill a dessert spoon. He had no doubt
but that the deceased died of starvation. It was the worst
case of the sort he ever saw. The bones of the deceased pro-
truded in several places through the skin. The appearance
presented by the body of the deceased could not be produced
by disease.

Mr. Salter, cashier of the Londeu and Northwestern Rail-
way Company, said the male prisoner received £75 a-year,
paid monthly, and his km £2O a-year, paid fortnightly. The
prisoner had several -times asked for his salary in advance,
alleging domestic difficulties as the reason he did so.
John Aspinol recalled---A Mrs. Smith, he said, sometimes
visited them ; she was at their house on Thursday, but he
could not tell when .she was there before.
The male prisoner said that he and his son had frequently to
walk the streets till all hours of the night, as they could net
stop in the house, the female prisoner, when in a state of intoxi-
cation, throwing plates, dishes, &c., at them, and breaking the
windows and furniture. She never washed the children more
than once a fortnight on the average, and he was frequently
obliged to cook food for them. The children and their mother j
were generally in bed when he and his son came home.
The female prisoner said that her husband frequently got
money which he refused to give her, and that although she
and the children were very often without food, he refused to
give her money either for food or other necessaries, and he had
several times beaten her and abused her when
_she asked him
for money,

Tier husband on one occasion lately asked her to

go in a i-i'liblie house, and because she refused he beat her

so severely that she 11;c..a forced to break the windows to

The position of the company with respect to station ac,
modation in Manchester has occupied much of the attenti,
the board. An offer was received-some months since from
Bonding Warehouse Company to dispose of their propert:
Salford; but after a careful consideration by a deputatio
the board, the offer was declined. The directors will conti
to give their attention to the subject.
The expenses of Chester station still bear very heavily u
the company, but notice, under the powers obtained in the
for amalgamating the Shrewsbury and the Great Wesl
Companies, has been given for a revision of the proportions
company should contribute to that station.
The alterations in the management referred to in the rel.
to the last half-yearly meeting have been carried into effi
by the appointment of Mr. Charles Mason, as manager,
salary of £550, an increase being contingent upon increase
the dividends paid to the shareholders.
With the view of meeting this increased expenditure, 1
board recommend that the annual allowance for direction
reduced from £9OO to £6OO. Mr. Gibson, in May last, ga
in his resignation of the secretaryship; and as it has b(
considered desirable that the offices of secretary and treasu
should in future be combined in Mr. Johnston, who
hitherto been treasurer, there will thus be a saving in the
penditure, notwithstanding the appointment of Mr. Masi
who will take upon himself the out-door employment hither
managed by the secretary.
Mr. Bancroft having resigned the chair, Mr. Atkins
has been appointed to fill the vacancy.
Your directors have seen with regret the remark made
the Great Western report, that their traffic is still obstruct,
by this company; your directors are not aware that any oh
struction has been offered to the traffic of that company durir
the half year referred to.
Your directors have the satisfaction to report that arrange
meats are in progress by means of which the relations between
your company and the Great Western company, and other coin•
panies are expected to be placed on a more satisfactory am
friendly footing, it being the determination of your board
afford to all the companies in connection with this railway th
greatest possible facilities for an interchange of traffic.
Your directors feel that this policy, pursued with energe
and economy, will, at no distant period, place this undertaking
in a position more' satisfactory to' the• proprietors.
Since last half-yearly meeting, Mr. Gibb has resigned k
seat at the board, and the following directors retire by rot
tion, Mr. Bryans, Mr.-Peter Catterall, and Mr. James Brown
consequently there are four vacancies to be filled up, and Mr
C. Beloe, one of the auditors, also retires by rotation.
The directors recommend that a dividend• at the rate of
per cent. per annum be declared, and made 'payable on the stl
Sept., subject to deductionlof Income-tax.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report, en•
tered into an explanation of the causes which had led to his
appearance in the position be held on that occasion.. Referring
to the' position and prospects of the company, he deprecated
the restrictive clause in the agreement with the London and
Northwestern, which prohibited- them from carrying foreign
traffic from Chester to Lower Walton at other than local rates.
The intention- of this was, no doubt, to prevent the Great
Western and-Shrewsbury traffic from goingupon their line, to
the great annoyance of that company and loss to themselves.
The Great Western Company, he understood, had leased land
near the docks-at Birkenhead for £2;000 a-year, and had built
warehouses and-offices, with the view of carrying on a consider-
able business;: while they had purchased a number of flats for
the purpose of carrying their goods traffic over the river.
After reverting to other topics mentioned in the report, and
having announced; .as his general policy, not to allow himself
to be over-reached by any company to the detriment of the
Birkenhead Company, he concluded by moving theadoption of
the report.
Mr. EDWARD HA.411.1/1 seconded the motion.
In the course of the' discussion, Mr. Evan's, a director, exl
plained, in reply to Mi. •Milne, that the excessive charge upon
the`goocis' traffic arose m. tbe difficulties inseparable from,
a divided right of entrance into the station at Chester. Apart
from-that, the expenses-of their goods traffic were as economi-
cal arthose of any line in the kingdom.
After some observations-from Mr. EDWARD HARPER, with
reference to the claims of- the Great Western Company, and
the impolicy of offering any obstruction to their traffic coming
upon the-line,
The report was unanimously adopted, and the dividend was
declared,' subject to income 'tar, and payable on • the sth of
September.-