The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-02-11 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER

AUSTRO-GERMAN ALLIANCE.

THE SECRET TREATY.

The German official Reichsanzeiger ha published
the following :
" The Governments of Germany and the Austro-
Hungarian Monarchy have resolved to publish the
Treaty of Alliance concluded on the 7th October, 1879,
in order to put an end to the doubts as to its purely
defensive character which are entertained in various
quarters and utilised for various purposes. Both of
the allied Governments are guided in their policy by
the endeavour to maintain peace and, so far as
possible, to ward off disturbances of peace. They are
convinced that the publication of the contents
of their Treaty of Alliance will exclude all doubt
on this point, and for that reason they
have resolved to publish it. The text is:
—'Whereas, their Majesties the German Emperor,
King of Prussia, and the Emperor of Austria,
King of Hungary, must regard it as their unavoidable
duty as monarchs to take care, under all circum-
stances, of the safety of their realms and the quietude
of their peoples; whereas, further, the two monarchs
will be able, as in their former relation as members
of the German Confederation, to perform this duty
more easily and effectively by the firm co-operation
on the part of the two empires; and whereas, finally,
a cordial co-operation of Germany and Austria-
Hungary can menace no one, but is calculated, on the
contrary, to fortify that European peace created by
the Berlin stipulation, their Majesties the German
Emperor and the Emperor of Austria, King of
Hungary, solemnly promise one another that
they will never give to their purely defensive
agreement an aggressive tendency in any direc-
tion, and have resolved to conclude an alliance of
peace and of mutual defence. To this end they have
respectively appointed as their Plenipotentiaries:
His Majesty the German Emperor, his Extraordinary
Plenipotentiary, Ambassador Lieutenant General
Prince Henry VII. of Reuss; his Majesty the Emperor
of Austria, King of Hungary, his Real Privy
Counsellor, Minister of the Imperial House and of
Foreign Affairs, Lieutenant Field Marshal Julius
Count Andrassy, who have met to-day at Vienna, and,
after exchanging their credentials, which were
found good and sufficient, have agreed as follows:
"Article I. Should, contrary to the hope and
sincere wish of the two illustrious contracting
parties, one of the two Empires be attacked
by Russia, the illustrious contracting parties
are bound to assist one another with the whole
military powers of their Empires, and as a con-
sequence of this to conclude peace only in
common, and in agreement.
"Article 11. Should one of the illustrious contracting
parties be attacked by another Power, the other
august party hereby binds himself only not to assist
the aggressor against his august ally, but to observe at
least an attitude of friendly neutrality towards the
latter. If, however, in such a case the aggressor
should be supported by Russia either in the form of
active co-operation or by military measures threatening
the party attacked, the obligation stipulated in
Article I. of this treaty, to assist one another with full
military strength, at once becomes binding, and the
conduct of the war by the two august contracting
parties then becomes common till a common conclusion
of peace.
"Article 111. This Treaty shall, in accordance with
its peaceful character, and in order to exclude every
misinterpretation be kept secret by both august con-
tracting parties, and communicated to a third Power
only by the consent of both, and in the manner
agreed upon by both. The two august con-
tracting parties, in view of the sentiments expressed
by the Emperor Alexander at the meeting in Alex-
androvo, cherish the hope that the Russian military
preparations will not really prove threatening to them,
and have, therefore, no occasion at present to make
any communication on the subject, but should this
hope, contrary to expectation, prove erroneous, the
two august contracting parties would regard it as a
duty of honour to inform the Emperor Alexander, at
least confidentially, that they must regard an attack on
one of them as an attack on both. As witness thereof, the
Plenipotentiaries have signed this Treaty with their
own hands, and attached their seals.—Done at Vienna,
7th of October, 1879.

"HENRY VII., Reuss.
" ANDRASSY."

The publication of this Treaty (says the Standard
Berlin correspondent) shows most unambiguously that
the crisis has reached its culminating point, and must
now take a decisive turn in one direction or the other.
Prince Bismarck's confidential communications to the
Czar during his visit to Berlin in November last of the
fact that a Russian attack --on Austria would be re-
garded as directed against Germany also has re-
mained unheeded, and therefore the Treaty has been
published.
The publication of the Au.s,tro-German secret treaty
of alliance has given rise to much curiosity, not to
say excitement, in the various European capitals. The
St. Petersburg journals take on the whole a dispas-
sionate view of the new turn affairs have taken, and
in Berlin also the inclination is to regard the publica-
tion as being likely to have a pacific rather than a
bellicose effect. In Vienna, however, public feeling is
much more excited, and it is thought there that the
next move will be a formal demand for the with-
drawal of the Russian forces that menace the
frontier. In Paris the publication has not made so
profound an impression as might have been expected,
and the journals for the most part are not greatly
perturbed by it. Some, however, recommend a triple
alliance between England, France, and Russia. A
Rome correspondent states that the publication of the
treaty is regarded in that city as a move on the part
of Count Kalnoky to reassure those who have accused
him of Russoohile tendencies.

A. WHOLE FAMILY MURDERED.

SUICIDE OF THE FATHER.
A shocking tragedy was reported from Salford on
Friday of last week. A man named Derby, a chemist
and herbalist, lived in Salford with his wife and six
children. Not having been seen since the preceding
Sunday, his father tried to get into the house.
Climbing to the bed-room window he saw the wife
and two children lying dead in bed. Searching
further in another bed, the bodies of four other chil-
dren were found, and on the kitchen sofa the body of
the father. There was no appearance of a struggle or
of violence. The assumption is that Derby, who is
well acquainted with poison, poisoned his wife and
family and then took a dose himself. The chil-
dren vary in age from Gladys, aged three, to Ernest,
the eldest, aged 13. The father was 35. A large
number of chemical and drug bottles were found in
a cupboard.

Another account says: In a back street near the
racecourse lived a chemist and druggist, named
Samuel Hill Derby, with his wife and six children,
whose ages ranged from three to thirteen. He had
been out of work for some time because of ill-health,
and had had much anxiety in connection with a
relative's will, under which he was entitled to a con-
siderable amount of money. The two things com-
bined had unquestionably affected his head, and he
is described by the neighbours as having been "very
queer" of late. The last that was seen of the
family was on Monday of last week, when one
of the children bought some treacle at a neigh-
bouring provision shop. On the Tuesday and
Wednesday no suspicion was aroused by the
non-appearance of the family, who not unfrequently
went away for several days. On Thursday some
alarm was expressed, and the next morning the house
was broken into. In the front bed-room four children
were found lying dead on the bed. In the back bed-
room two children and the mother lay on the bed, and
the man was found on the sofa in the kitchen. All
were dead, and a cup which was found in one of the
bed-rooms led to the belief that poison was the agent
used. The police were communicated with and a
number of letters and papers were discovered which
have a bearing on the case. In one of the letters the
man stated that he had resolved to commit suicide,
and that his wife was willing to die with him. The
affair has created a tremendous sensation in the neigh-
bourhood.

Several further letters and papers have been dis-
covered in Derby's handwriting. One of the letters is
addressed to Derby's late employer, and another to
his sister-in-law, a woman named Booth, who lives at
Eccles. In the letter to Mrs. Booth reference is made
to a legal dispute in connection with some property,
and to the general disappointment of Derby and his
wife at the protracted delay of a settlement and the
transfer of the property. This seems to have troubled
the family greatly, and Derby expressed his intention
of committing suicide, and in another place the wife is
said to have expressed her intention of dying with
him. A will has also been found in the house,
duly drawn out, but not attested, leaving the whole
of the household furniture and effects to Mrs. Booth.
Several letters are addressed to relatives, and in
them Derby expresses his intention to make away
with himself on account of difficulties as to the
settlement of some property. One letter, addressed
to his sister, contains the following: "I cannot leave
my darling wife and children behind. In fact, Annie
often said she did not want to leave them after I
went, and when I told her a few days ago I could not
stand this any longer, she said she was quite ready
to go. I wish our bodies to be sent to the Owens
College for dissection, &c., or if they were buried, let
the funeral be conducted in the quietest way possible,
and at the least possible expense."
A post-mortem examination of the body of Samuel
Hill Derby, who, with his wife and six children, was
found dead in his house in Garfield-street, Salford, was
made on Saturday afternoon by Dr. Wilson, of Pendle-
ton. The body was well nourished and there were
no marks of violence. The result of the examination
was that death had been caused by prussic acid. An
external examination was next made of the other
seven bodies, and the doctor decided that as death
was evidently produced in their cases also
by prussic acid, it was not necessary to pro-
ceed with a post-mortem examination, excepting in
the case of one of the younger children. This was
made, and the previous decision as to the cause of
death was confirmed. Large numbers of people
visited the street in which the house of the deceased
is situated. The doors were guarded by police-
constables who allowed nobody to enter. The de-
ceased man and his wife were on very affectionate
terms, and the children were evidently well cared for.
In the letters which Derby wrote to several friends
he bade them all farewell, adding that he contemplated
suicide," taking his family with him." He attributes
this decision to the conduct of his relatives in
connection with the property left by his uncle in
Ireland. In the letter to his sister, Mrs. Rooth, of
Eccles, he wrote:
"My dear Sister,—l hope you will not think too
much of what must be heard more or less about me
shortly. I have made a will by which you take
nearly all I have. You have always been very kind
and affectionate with me, and I wish you every
eai thly blessing.—Your affectionate brother, SAM.
Tell father I entirely forgive him. I would like you
to give Mrs. Cooper, the sewing machine, and such
beds and bedsteads, &c., as you think proper; also
children's clothes, &c. ; to Mr. Cooper all the drugs,
chemicals, &c., at Garfield-street; to Richard Seery,
my late boy at Cross-lane, such of my clothes as may
suit him, and to Mr. Cooper, the remainder. Also to
Richard the bicycle, skates, and such other oddments
as you may think proper—any book or books which he
would like or be useful to him. Also the chemicals,
&c., at Monmouth-street, and the case containing
them. Give something to Mrs. Jones, of Leamington-
street. These are merely wishes, not commands. If
there is anything whatever that Mr. Brook would like
I beg you will let him have it.—S. H. DERBY. I could
not leave my darling wife and children behind. In
fact, Annie often said she did not want to live after I
went, and when I told her a few days ago that I could
not stand this any longer she said she was quite ready
to go. I wish our bodies to be sent to Owens College
for dissection, &c., or, if they are buried, let the funeral
be conducted in the quietest way possible and at the
least possible expense."
This letter is not dated, but there appears to be
little doubt that the murders were committed during
Monday night of last week.
Mrs. Derby was a native of Llangollen, and was
well known and esteemed. Her mother, Mrs.
Edwards, widow of Mr. Thomas Edwards, watch-
maker and jeweller, now resides in Castle-
square, Llangollen. She is about 70 years of age, and
is nearly blind. She was completely prostrated on
Saturday by the shocking tidings. Mr. and Mrs.
Derby and their family had made numerous visits to
Llangowen, and were on excellent terms with her.
In the course of a long conversation with a corres-
pondent on Saturday night Mrs. Edwards said her son-
in-law was a very strange man and had given her
much anxiety with reference to her daughter and the
children. Mr. Derby was always very kind to her
personally, and she believed he had a strong
affection for his wife and children; but
he possessed very singular views, and she had
long been afraid lest he would do something
strange. Four years ago he told her daughter
that if ever anything happened to her he would poison
himself and all the childlen, for he would • not live
after she was gone. Mrs. Edwards says she knows
that Derby was in a very singular and depressed
frame of mind. He had quite built upon receiving a
substantial legacy from his uncle, who died in Ireland
last Autumn. He had paid repeated visits to his
uncle at his seat in Ireland, and was on good terms
with him. He was mortified at not receiving the
legacy, and quarrelled with the members of his family,
who he believed had wronged him out of the money.
She believed that this weighed heavily upon his mind
latterly, and led to this distressing occurrence. Ever
since she heard of his state of mind in reference to the
Irish legacy she had been distressed about the family,
and was disturbed at night, for she knew that nothing
would move him. His wife never complained of his
conduct towards her, but he was very stern with the
children at times.