The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-02-25 00:00:00

THE MIMING NM SPEXL

sarynscelmpkto.reeylan has
bindi.ppi.ent.ay.piesd peeAs
wewsnd that e se
immon
keigeholinthssim4eausenso".sl4.
police possess DO ieformadoe en the subjest; but Wm.
is is becoming extremely doubtful how far the whole of
the fasts have been made knows in fiestlendiard. It
I, now some days .Ins.. 11001 statemmit
appeared in our columns guaranteed by t. eems of
Mr. day Thomas. Until • reseal day, *sal& the
police had not been informed that Kr. Seeks's het wss
discovered close to the gate bodies into hie deter's
*me, and when, tabs on his seessetten, they
investigated the troth at die story. the Malawi* Kr.
Spoke evinced an tiasseentable retest** he *mit •
well-known fut. To this staissesel Kr. Yard** has
mad* DO MAY and nese the imbibed* et tit• lades
he has abstained from seeding any fertile issm-
mislead* to the poldie minis. It la, of ammo,
possible that the suddeo slimes may he due simply to
the uneasiness causal by *mei ,• bat
we are compelled to =dlrileitska's friends
that their apparent desire out to mem the Inquiry
farther is misdated to strengthea die pep** hells(
that the mystery is muneptiele el se sew *pleeeden.—
Tarr's/A

In reply to the au% Ur. Clarke T. Merdoeh
writes :—There is not the efighlsot feudalism for the
imrrassioa that the Rev. Mr. Spekee fandly are
possemed of inform/Mee other than what barn been
ma& paha. ; and, as my MMus hue been seat be the
daily p.pasv In order that the futa might be knew.. I
ii&VO from uswertne letters wIIU might have
predesed costroverrt, by the advise of the pollee
authorities. I bus the authority of On beads of the
polies for station that they are perfectly satieded that
Yr. Spoke's tamily haws feiroithekt then with every
parnealar, and that the wane now adopted of refrain-
ing from further advertisements and sommuuleations
with the public prints hu been adopted by their
unmet.

A correspondent of the Telegraph advances the fol-
lowing &terming theory in reward to Mr. Speke'e ells.
appearanes :—Ammining the miss to have been one of
murder, and Wang the facts already known sa • bads
for further opinion, the following mama to me the most
probable interpretation of the mystery. The known
facts ore as follow: let. Mr. Speke wlmo lima seen was
on his way to Weaminster. 2n4. He had searoely
sufficient time to go there on foot. and keep his appoint-
ment at 6.30 in Soolegtoopuare. 3rd. His hat was
staked up in Birdaige.walk, near to the residence of his
sister. What. then is the inference to be drawn from these
feels? The hat being footed near to the residence of
Mr. Spoke's sister may be taken as evidence of the
, direction in which be was going. At any rate, it disposes
of the supposition that it was designedly plaited there "so
a blind," for anima the miming sectleman had placed it
there himself with this object, it is highly improbable
that any other prison would amidentally have produced
this singular oolnaidenoe. Thus I think we may fmrly
infer that, notwithstanding Mr. Spike's knowledge GI his
sister's absence, he was no his way to her bones. Now
we come to the next point. We have evideest that
he was pressed for time, and the usual eoures with
gentlemen in such owe is to hail the Aria hansom.
'Whether Mr. Spoke did this non, of Perm, only
be surmised, but certainly it is highly probable, and,
seeing whet hae happened, it is equally improbable
that he took • "four-wheeler," for, in the letter
saes the driver must have had • sonfederate inside,
on arrangement which no gentleman taking
a gab wo old submit to. Upon the ire ppm,
lion, therefore, that Mr. Spoke took a hansom, It
us consider what may possible have otioarred. Hi
would desire the driver to put him down at the nearest
point to Queen-square, which from Pimlico would be
ix Birdcage-walk. Now the evening was foggy, and it
was getting dark. Upon reaching the point wher, the
hat was found circumstances mar have been favourable
to crime, mid it may have been Mr. Spoke's miefortane
to have fallen in with a driver not only contemplating
such, but prepared to take Peseta", of the opportunity.
This being the supposed position of Mr. Spoke, we come
now to the question—Could • murder be committed
, under them conditions? Now it occurs to me that the
trap-door on the roof of • hansom might sesist such evil
purpose, the head of the vietini being immediately
, beneath it. The actual instrument or method employed,
whether • life-preserver, air-gun, pistol, or other
weapon, can only be guessed neither is it very
, material to the inquiry but, it is highly probable that a
I short struggle would enswe—the hat of the sufferer
I would be knocked off, mud roll out of a hansom- All
I this may appear to you very visionary, but I
! submit that It is not or impossible moans of events It
expiates the finding of the bath and it essounte
for the satire disappeanume of the body. a erseree,
It it eau be shown that by no mama
could murder, or even stupefastion, be thus
produced, that part of my theory falls to
the ground; but let it be remembered that the oily
pert of the deed attended with chance of failure, and
eossequeet risk of detection, would be the work of.

minsti. The

-
would present my little
• • • •

difficulty. For hasimes, timVanurderie woeld lei down
the glass front al his cab, take up a confederate upon
the 'top behind, sad proseed. unsuspected and un.
ehallenged, to the nearest and matt favourable suburb
of London, there eouipletiag hie diabohcal deed, plun-
dering bia victim, and dispodog of the body.

The Lanai, in reference to the suggestion that Mr.
Spoke may have been under the influence of chloroform,
says it is a difileult thing at soy time to bring an
Individual under the influence of chloroform against his
yOl. and particularly an athletic person such as Yr.
Svelte 1. described to be. It is exceedingly improbable
that one for criminal purposes would use an agent like
chloroform, which would infalliby imam considerable
struggling, and consume • good deal of time before it
induced insensibility. It is simply • delusion to suppose
that this agent sun be employed for the purpowas of
robbery, kn. it. administration under each crown-
steness would be attended with infinitely greater
dilbsultiee than the brute-foros expedients whit* would
be used by powerfal and determined ruillans.

The following letter, appeared In Illoaday's Deily
Telegraph :

Sir—Mr. Murdosh's letter in your journal of today is
not the least extraordinery fain in the mysterious
history of Mr. Spoke's disoppesrause. As the
tative of the Seeks family, . Mordent inseeesMiTa.
self
for not answering the st•tements in my letter no tie
ground that hims acting "by the advise of the polio"
authorities." But be must have forgotten that it is
polies themselves wko are responsible for Me Merge of
eenerlinent of import.ot information. It is the chief
Inspirer of detectives—whose department ham this
ere in head -who is my authority far the Gamer
incredible &mediae that for an entire month after Mr.
Spoke's disappearance try were kept In imamate of
the fact that lb. mio.oingPgootloosso, who, when UM
heard of. and he was ' going to Westminster," had •
sister, whoa town house is not only in Westminster,
but within. 'tepee throw of the spot where his hat was
discovered. It was ea the sarne unimpeachel &alba ity
that I stated that, ern when dually crenated cm
this point, Mr. Speke'a relatives declared that be had
no sister living there but only "a distant relation." If
theme statements were false it would indeed be eery to
understand the desire of the polies that they SWUM 150 i
be answered, though it meld be ler easy to imagine bp
what means the polies are able to induce Mr. Seekers
friends to admit to them in silents. Mr. Mardook
tells us, it is tree, that the heads of the polio* "ire
petf Getty Waded that Mr. Spoke's family have furnished
them with every partieular ;" but this is a question of
dates. That they had no groands for Ming se sotialial
up to a fortnight ago, I have shown by timir own state-
ments made at different them int my Weems and in
the presence of two gentlemen, who" harm I have
given and who are well-koown ty the plane. I shall
be merry if my letter came pan to so, obosobor of Mr.
Bpske's family, bet this is a public matter, and I nova.
date the shallow veil promulgated in some clusters that
It tom:erns oily Mr. Spoke's Mends and the polka The
unanimous testimony% the high charainerof the/ale:lag
gentleire • the rider bra fides of an his
hom the time ef Ids leaving Maid mail he PZ.=
the feet that no preparation" foe tight, stab as Arising
property, or at leer drawing • cheque for an imporret
amount on beakers. have been diseovered and, above
all. tato time which has elapsed without bringing tidings
of him, render this, I eonteed. • rhea has case of
Moires. It is absurd to say that the park have no
ZOOM to do with this than with the ease of a gentleman
who has mislaid "his keys in • dims eraisteent." Beery
am at bast, who rides or walks in the streets of the
metropolis of as riveting, has • pelsonal interest in the
portion, sad he may well be excused, under the itir-
ommelmees, if wither the sestarames of the polies Dor
of Mr. Spoke's relatives entirely satiaty him; for It
cannot be denied that there hes Men at the or herd
considerable amikentes, anal, on the Miter a dere' of
commitment wida is inexpiloeble, and which there has
not even his. say attempt to explain. —I rem.* Sir,
your obedient servant, MOT TRONAL
Sir—Mr. Manisa is still silent on the subjoin of the
econeerment from the palm of a meet important fain
amnestied with the gleappmerame of Mr. Brie, and the
reurecy of Ilfr. May Themes statement is, therefore,
tacitly admitted. Are there no other retiseness is the
metier? Wm Herpdagy well karts to Mr. Spoke's
friends that his dstfaetloe In "Wine," was Me
hors in Qssimearre I in the ere of a peers %Meg
known sad intimate Manor with one Mete cry Is
as we are reared was the are MO Mr.
Spoke, the mmstna of the wards "to go to West.
mineres is • The aim is In heerlyUi, snd
.sciz'inetaddasunesa.nuangeo:to.m.h...6.thilywe:hCiwi:titgrdoubthd.inatesitestofreakbeLtothlylapia.to:u:emassehhothewzassaor.wiessidastuseasheare_owiei...sad:ohcrume.goweretooe
the police, Mr. Murder's Went* will aet fail to home a
doubtful immerse no the rabbi Sir,
yours, its., UMIAK&
The reesseirs, of cores Mr. ifardoch ham •
perfes424resoaductrtehe lirricel In may fashion be
rtz., t, Mir the about and
earased.....t the diormarars orZ:
SPA% her no arm to somplata ll the
Ills desires. t7710e sanded with an intimation that
Mho shatter I. DO omen of theirs.