The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-04-14 00:00:00

I tHE EARL OF SHREWSBURY AT ALTON
TOWERS; YESTERDAY.

rfitzg oda 4ivg
Yesterday, the and of Ai:as:Vie; Aid 'Talbot, having
succeeded in establishing a legal blriitf, eaered into.
possession of the large and valuable estates !MAW to
the title which his lordship bears, and which he honours
in his person. The act was consummated by taking
formal possession of the magnificent estate at Alton
Towers, and the event is one that will not be easily
effaced from the memory of those who witnessed it.
The village of Alton is pleasantly situated, on some
uneven, grotindLon the banks of the river Churnet, and
has been ranch improved within the last few years. The
parts of the original striteture flow retraining, are the
tower and the-arches of the north aisle:
The iiastle is at the, east .end of the villagb,'near the
church, in a• ceminatidittg artdation; on a-Atet,Rpeecipice,
which rises perpendicularly. front the' bed of too river. It
was a airman edifice, and was probably built rhoftly
after the conquest, by, the De Verdonse who ,constantly
resided here. Renclases an area of about an acre;and'
nearly the whole of the present village was incleded
within the Vulweniril remains of which can now be
traced. Though it is stated to have been neglected by
its lords, the castle wan regularly kept and being a
fortress.of some consequence, it was garrisoned by the
Parliament daring the civil wars in the time of Charles I.
Cromwell, at the conclusion of the war directed the dis-
mantling of the tower, and the result was that only a
few rains were left. These, however, presented a
venerable appearance, particularly Preen the valley,
eroviltig. the. stow, precipiee, rising above the plants-
lions and the village fdrmiciablenutpost. A late
Earl of Shrewsbury removed a Poirtion. of the stalls
and on the very brow of a tremendous' ijetirkice
erected a pile of -buildings in the style of the castlei
'which prevailed in a former age, presenting a very
picturesque appearance from the railway station and
along the valley. Within the area a Romanpatholic
Chapel, a school room, and a lecture room were erected,
tint the present earl, being a Protestant, the fcirmer
.occiiParits have had W quit tenure of this splendid
edie.. ; „
Hagilig geld do ranch of t,lie,Billage ef4lteri, We will
proceed from the pretty little fail Way etatieno, *hich.
we had been conveyed with wonderful ptillettiality by an
excursion train organised by the indefatigable afid
courteous Mr. Marcus—and after a rather long walk
through a hilly and exceedingly dirty lane, we arrived
•at the Cheadle Drive, and soon came in view of the
celebrated Alton Towers. The day opened with a
drizzling wet, but about ter o'clock there were signs of
inipravenienti and at eleven the rain had .:ceased.
The stirs Made Very sickly attempt at beaming out
throngh the oldtirP, hitt ;etere ode Was disappointed at
the want dt. stfeeesS: The vieAcf,,• lietever, became
brighter, end the fifteen othistinel *Pie hi the
magnificent grounds of the hail looked
.happy in the
absence of the heavy, fleecing, clouds that, a few hours
before' had .threatened, them, with a deluge. For
originality of
,deeign and beauty
.nef combination, the
groUndif. Ettn nurivallecl in garde scenery, and it is
owing to the pressure Upthi 6'6 iptieet, ibat we do not
enter into a more elaborate pen and ink sketela. of What
has been aptly designated " one of the most extraordinary
combinations of garden building, with garden scenery,
anywhere existing in Europe."
being furnished with the necessary "open sesame,"
we elbowed our way through the crowds of the stout
StaterchilN Yeomanry, who thronged the pathway, and
at last succeeded in aiakilig sdme very Mite-looking county
police-officers understand eur business. iidetritgle
was the place of meeting, and having gained admissiod;
we found a temporary stage erected, leading up to ons
of the splendid terraces in front of the armoury. Here
his lordship was to receive addresses, but, as usual, on
too dimly public occasions the press were placed in
a positidnWhieh We hoe understoed as being generally
assipied to the 'mehitild of g' entlentan's household.
liappen,td kno*, however; that his lordshipand his
nobleon; Viscount likes*, wire eitieniely aniicius
that the gentlemen df the Presi should rik p'tdVicied With
that accommodation which was neeeddarjefdi Wit in
order that they might be enabled to discharge an arastfoils
ditty, and to which, apart from all other considerations,
they, as gentletenof education and position in society,
were entitled to expect. On this occasion the wishes of
the noble earl had not been attended to, and the press
were seriously inconvenienced,
fll Weisliep Alfred fteni Vander In a carriage and
fotir, at a quartet tWci.,Oielefe)re Mid Was- received
with deafening •cheers fret the asset! ied EhoriteandSoa
the grounds, on the battlements and terraces, Mid MI ilia
quadrangle. His lordship was accompanied by the
Countess of Shrewsbury and Lord and Lady Ingestre.
In other carriages were . Lord Chelmsford, Sir William
and Lady Watkin Wynne, the Earl of.Eglinton, Lord
Sandal, Lord Atherton, and Mr. Asten. The proces-
sion -was preCeded by tt• troop of yeomanry cavalry,
, fored .143 e a
.100 body tent/try, on horseback,
o (44 a ino4nted police; ..and
,two,heialds, The .tear
was brought tip by yttmlatity etid,terictilfs on
horseback. In the quadrangle were the Ist '9hifdrd-
Shire Volunteers, as a guard of honour, and their band, as
well as that of the yeomanry cavalry, imparted a amide- .
rable degree of pleasure to the proceedings by the excel-
lent music which they played. His, lordship and party_
entered -the hall through the armoury said to be-the
largest private arrtiouty in, the kingdom.. After• a lapse
cf abetli; ti ciitaitel etiflFt4 11.olltt the noble Val, the
Countess, Lord and Lady Itigeatte; and the noble' visitors
before referred to, ascended the step td the .eriiiae, in
the quadrangle, and were greeted amidst loud cheers,
the roaring- of cannon, and the clangour of bands.
Amongst others present we noticed J. A. Tobin, Esq.,
J. Bramley-Mgoee,,E.sq., James Tyrer, Esq., E. Wood-
ward, Esq., Richard Hatbord, Eeq„ Jr. 11. Lee, Mr.
Henry Danson, Mr. F. G. .ifaroord, the Rey, W. A.
Tattersall, Mr. Blissett, Mr. Russell, &c. ke.
The addresses being called for, her ladyship exclaimed,
as numerous deputations approached the foot of the
steps, " This is the proudest day of my life !" The first
address was from the inhabitants of Alton and the
neighbourhood, the second from the tenants on the
Ingestre and Ticksall estates, and then came the
address agreed to at the public meeting at Oxton, on
Wednesday evening last. Mr. F. G. liarbord,
chair-
man of the pdblic meeting, introduced the deputation,
which coraisted Of the Nev: W. A. Tattersall, irictimbent
of St. Saviour's, Oiton ; Mf. Heft& Dantoni high
constable; and ft. Blissett, chairman of the Caton
Board. The address was read by the Rev. W. A. Tat-
tersall, who presented it to his lordship, who then handed
it to the Countess of Shrewsbury. Iler ladyship very much
admired the address, and his lordship was pleased to say
that the receipt of it gave him great satisfaction. The
deputation were received with marked courtesy and
attention by the noble earl and his countess; and at.the
conclusion of the address the reader of it was loudly
Weered. The next address was presented by Mr.
illis and Mr. Ileightloy, ,on behalf of the tenants,
&c., on the Oxton estates of his lordship. The address
was beautifully executed; and was received with evi-
dent pleasure by his lordship. Mr. Russell, Breinstage
Hall, presented an address from the tenants °Latter
Beeinstage estate, and subsequently ninny other addresses
were received. His lordship, who was evidently over-
powered- by—his- emotions, expresied himself at that
moment utterly linable to thank the deputations as he
could wish to dp, but intimated that the 'addresses had
been most welcome to himself, and should not be for-
gotten by him.
About fotir thousand persons, it was stated, were then
invited to lunch with his lordship in the noble hall, but
the time for, the departure of the train having nearly
arrived, and the crowd at the'entrance to the hall being
so dense, the Oxton deputations were
_very reluctantly
compelled to leave without having partaken of his
lordship's bountiful hospitality.

• CONFESSION OF THE. LUTON
MURDERER.

By the-courtesy of the High Sheriff (C. L. Higgins,
Esq.)-we (Bedford Tinus) are enabled to publish the
confession of Joseph Castle, made on the day before his
execution, in the presence of Mr. R. E. Roberts, the
governor of the county prison, and the Rev. G. Medea;
the chaplain ; together with extracts from the diary of
the culprit, which he kept, for some time before and
after his trial.

The prisoner was visited by his aged mother and
brother a Yew minutes after 10 a.m. on Friday morning, .
30th of March, being the day previous to the execution.
Vie prisoner was frequently implored by his friends to
tell the whole truth about the matter. He said in
reply, " I can say no more that I 'have already said."
Nearly an hour having' elapsed, and the visitors being
informed their visit must be short,they again pressed
the wretched man to tell the truth, and to do justice to
his deceased wife's memory. He said, "If you will
come again in the afternoon.we shall talk it over." The
governor and chaplain informed the unfortunate man
that although painful to their own feelings, the visit
could not be renewed, and if he had anything further to
say to thein, the present opportunity was the only one
left him to do so. The governor and chaplain still
being ,present, the prisoner then said (in reply to gees.
delis from his brother) as follows :
" The murder did not take place in the dell-hole.; it
wet done on the side of the. road where the struggles
were stated to have taken place." Here he showed how
he attacked his wife ; the governor standing by .the
prisoner, he brought his right arm round the back of
the neck, and placed his right hand over the governor's
mouth, and then said, "It was in this position it was
done; I done it with my left hand. A short interval
elapsed after I gave her the first 'wound ; •it was clone
from here to beie-(at the same time passing his fingers
from his earin_llis throat). As soon as she found,,sbe
was wounded she said punish you.' She, was stand-
ing up at the—time I did it; I seized hold of her the
second tits and entered the knife under her ear,
and, thrust it in the directioß of the: windpipe. (Thi,',
no doubt, was the wound-tliit caused death.) As soon
as she received the. second wound. she said, 4 Joeorsai
have done it at last!' I_ „do .not; ILiZONV what else she
said. She walked 'towards the dell-hole, and she there

tuibled in ; she was slot ,dragged. I saw her in-the
delt-hole on. her knees:in an ettitUde'pf prayer, with hoth
hands lifted up towards -heaven. .:*hen I left her-she
was alive in the dell-hole. ,I did..not know her fingers
were cut, nor do I know ho3v my own hands got cut."
In 'answer to his mother's,pestion, "Did you bring
the.knife?" after considerable -pressing, he simply said,
,t Nee'

Shortly after the mother and brother had taken leave
of ihe prisoner, he said, "I brought the knife with me,
in ny trousers pocket. I did not intend doing anythinz
of Ihe kind. She had not a chance to get away.. If she.
hae only said have mercy upon me, T should . I *ft.,.
.afriid she would have me punished, or I Should 1 ntit:
hate done it. She 'said, ‘Jee, yon and. do
no !lore ; I'll go all the way witlf-you, and I'll not punish
She wore her shawl higher that morning round
berneck. I never saw her wear it so high before. It
wuvery high up to her neck. It was cut through.
Idd not think she WaS killed when I left, her. I did not
plage.the knife in the field. I threW it there from the
rod." At a subsequent period of the day the prisoner
Termed his allusion to the melancholy event, and the
chTlain'aeked hint if she cried out when he attacked
hei. He in reply: said, " She could net, my right arm
ww,round her neck, and my hand was on her mouth,
wheh prevented het: then I)etfen'to'enNir with my
lefthand." •

The Post . states that Ministers intend to constitute
thelßed River settleinent one of the ordinary colonies of
the'crown, and that a bill for this purpose will be intro-
ducnd immediately.
The beer retailers held a great meeting it the London
Taiern on Thursday, and protested loudly against the
hostility which had been displayed towards them by the
licensed victuallers. They passed resolutions warmly
approving of Mr. Gladstone's bill.
The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada's traffic for the
-week ending 24th tilt., as compared with that of the
Coriesionding week last year, amounts to 114,674 1,5 s 10d,
miles- open 970, as against £10,616, miles open 880.
Increase; £4,058 15s 10d, miles open 90.
The Times has another leader yesterday, enforcing the
paramount importance of 'German unity, and showing
that the. 'spirit of Austrian policy is one which brings
"Ismnires to the dust. The great German people should
`-gather under another banner, and look for their policy
to another head,,
POT-WALLOPPERS. A " pot-waller," or " pot-
, walloper," was one who had a right to boil a pot
within the borough, and if he possessed this right for
six months preceding an election, and had not been in
the receipt of parochial relief, he had a vote. Taunton
was a pure pot-walling borough, and one of the most
corrupt in the kingdom. It ia. only very recently that
the pot-wallers there have been convinced that they are
not entitled—ae of fig4t—to a sovereign a-head at every
election