The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-10-08 00:00:00

SHOCKING MURDER AT 111U3TON.

A murder was committed on Saturday morning at
Billiton, in Staffordshire. A tradesman in Church-
street was deliberately murdered in Ibis own house, arei
big premises were plundered and fired. The victim
was a Mr. John Ilagott, who carried on busineu as a
tailor and clothier at the corner of Stafford-street. At
about ,4 o'clock in the morning the family of Ur.
Beard, of that street, was disturbed by hearing voices
in the aide passage of their house, and thinking it was
her brother returning Lome' Miss Beard went down
with a light. In the pusagethe stumbled upon aome
bundles of cloth and men new garments. Her brother
happened to be coining down the street at the salllB
time, and be AIM three men carrying a bundle. Informa-
tion wee at once conveyed to the polio* station and it
was soon discovered that Mr. Bagott's house, situate
opposite to that of Mr. Beard, had been entered. The
officers found a little gas burning in the small
sitting-room on the ground floor, numerous bottles and
drinking-glasses on the table, and the body of a man
lying with his head on the fender, in front of the fire,
with a poker acrosshis throat. His face WAS covered
with soot, and the policeman at first thought that the
body was that of • 'burglar, but on turning on the light
it was found that it was the proprietor of the house.
He had been dragged to the ground and held down in
the position in which he was found till life was extinct.
Mr. Itagott was a bachelor, 45 years of age, end though
poesessed of considerable property, lived alone. Hie
habit, wore somewhat ecoentno. lie always carried
the keys of his upper rooms and the day's receipts of his
shop about with him, lie had • banking account both
at Dudley and Bilaton, and the promisee in which he
lived and thew* adjoi ll il ig belonged to him. He had
been known to produce as large a sum £lOO. which
there was reason to believe hail been secreted in out,
of-the-way pram., like the seeking of • bed, or beneath
a "quarry"- or steno of the floor. Of all this the
murderers men to have been aware, for the pockets of
the dead man's trousers had been torn open with much
violence. His keys were all laid upon the table, but
the motley was taken away. The burglars had forced
open the doors of the upstair roontil with a heavy coal
hammer. In a similar manner aceesa had been had
to the drawer* and the 01.111 box, and the bed had
been tossed over. There is no means of ascertaining
the amount of booty that the villains had found. A
fire of paper and linen had been made in the grate, and
the embers had fallen out upon the carpet, which bad
ignited. An inquest was afterwards held on the body
of the murdered man, awl the evidence of the surgeon,
who made the post morfcm examination, went to show
that death I.lllllt have resulted from the pressure of the
poker on the throat. The deceased was of very in-
temperate habits, and on the evening preceding the
murder west home very final, and to this Mecum
stance is attributed the feet that be had not gone
to bed at the time the hoe.e was broken luta.
The "wanted" man is now in custody. lie was
arrested on Wednesday forenoon, and his name is
David linurdrick. TI,. police seem to have been so
, close upon his track that lie "ran to earth," put himself
In communication with his friends, and afterwanls with
a solicitor. The result wee that the solicitor informed
the police of the willingness of limadrick to sunender
This he did on Wethresday morning, and after a brief
examination before the magistrates, he was remanded
to Stafford Gaol.

•
IIORRIBLE MURDER ON BOARD AN
AMERICAN SHIP.
On Thursday William Henry Hawkins, • man of
colour, about 34 years of age, was brought before Mr.
Stile, at the Thames Police-court, charged with the
wilful murder of Captain William Henry Adams, into
master of the American ship Leunuargier. The circum-
stance* of this case weie of a very extraordinary
nature. The Liumiergier sailed from the pint of
London on Saturday, September 21. She was bound to
Callao, and was manned by • mixed crew of English-
men., Americans, Italians, Spaniards, Danes, and Nor-
wegnum. The prisoner Hawkins shipped as steward.
He was ill-used by the captain, end revenged !limed
by murdering the deceased in a savage and cool-blooded
manner. The deceased was a tyrannical moan, of hasty
Muller, and isle alleged kept up that sort of harsh disci-
pline so prevalent on board American slops, and which
him been the muse of much bloodshed. On the 14th
ult. the deceased was tined £3 by Mr. Sells for *smutt-
ing and wounding a Chinaman, who was then acting as
his steward, and be treated the matter with the greatest
indifference. The murder of the unfortunate captain
took place on Sunday morning in the English Chanel.
TUs &lonisation of tin chip was immediately onasseth

and AO put beck to London. The prisoner was arrested
at an early hour on Wednesday morning. Mr. John
Brown Ross, a surgeon, of lliglestreet, Shadwell, made
a ix. ortorkm examination of the body of the deceased
en Wedin whey afternoon in the Victoria Ibmk. The
,leccased was a large and powerfal man. There was an
extensive wound over the right frontal bone, which was
battered in, and a wound over the right parietal and
right temple bones, which were also crushed. Thu
brains were pndruding. The fractures of tho skull
I communicated with each other. The attention of Mr.
it"6B was called to a aew thorper, with which It la
believed the murder was cointnitted. The chopper, or
adze had been embed, but Mr. Rims, notwithstanding,
, •
discovered hair and blood upon it. Mr. R.. also
OX•111i1114 the prisoner, and saw traces of blood on three
shirts he was wearing on Sunday morning, on Lis trou-
era, mill also on lil3 boots. The body was removed on
Thnrsday fnmi the ship to the Bell and Anchor public
house, in the Victoria-road, Plaistow. Moon after the
elan sailed, the captain, in a moment of passion, said,
" I'll send you all to hell,' to which the prisoner re-
plied, "Mind )ou don't go there youraelf before the
voyage is.over." After the examination of the second
officer of the ship a discussion ensued, and at the clew :
the inspector was ordered to take charge of the pci.
soner and bring him before the magistrate again when
the Secretary of State's warrant was obtained.