The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-07-09 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDG-E OBSERVER.

Our Yonon Corrtspoubut.

(we deem it right to state that we do not at el tim.7.
identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinion.

The Commons of England, in Parliament assembled,
are engaged in very dull work ju-it now, and according
to a well-calculatel estimate, are likely to be so
engaged until about the 20th of the present month.
Five days in the week the first order upon the notice-
paper is "Land Law (Ireland) Lill—Committee."

Every day of the Parliamentary week, Monday to
Friday inclusive, is devoted to this gigantic measure.

The principal shale of the work devolves upon the
Prime Miniter, who is assisted by the Attorney-

General for Ireland. Meeting at four o'clock on Mon-
day Dtternniti the Hous.e.iidte...for .ahout ten hours on
the stretch, and adionins not much before two
in tht morning. It reassembles at two o'clock
on Tuesday afternoon, goei on until seven,
.adjourns until nine and then -goes on until between
one and two. On Wednesday at noon it is again in
Session, rising at six in the evening. Thursday is a
repetition of Nlonday, and Friday is the counterpart
of Tuesday. The respite of Saturday apd the rest of
Sunday Must be grateful enough to all who are en-
gaged in such protracted and monotonous labours.

But inasmuch as there is an end to all things
terrestrial, members of the House of Commons may
console themselves that Committee on the Irish
Land Bill will terminate at last. Mr. Gladstone has
promised an early prorogation, and has actually men-
tioned the first week in August as a possible date
After the exacting work of the long Session, wel-
some enough will be the cry, "Away to the
woods, away ! " Since the 6th of January, six months
ago, has the legislative machine been in operation. It
has gone on through a winter of Siberian severity,
when the snow was piled mountains high in the streets,
and when the river, upon one of whose banks the
Houses of Parliament stand, was as firmly locked in
the ice as though it had been the Neva. It has pur-
sued its labours through the abnormally cold spring,
and now is patiently plodding its way amid the torrid
heats of July. The sun is so many hours above the
horizon that there is but little real night. The
twilight in the western sky has scarcely had time to
fade away before the dim grey tinge of dawn is ob-
servable in the east, telling of the approach of the
rising sun and of the beginning of another day of life
and labour for the millions of London. • The short
night leaves the air but little time to cool; and not-
ithstanding all the appliances of science to the tem-
perature of the House of Commons, the work must
often be necessarily carried on in an enervating and
exhausting atmosphere.
The New York Press has been eoretparing the
system of railway travelling adopted in the United
States with the European plan, greatly to the ad-
vantage of the former. They tell us that our mode
of carriage building is antiquated, and that the idea of
the first constructor appears simply to have been to
imitate as closely as possible the old stage coaches that
were s;•1 erseded. The American carriages are all of
one class, and are in the shape of a long carriage with a
series of open compartments on either side of a wooden
roadway running the entire length of the train.
In Europe, on. the other hand, travellers are boxed up
in carriages divided off into compartments; and
although tragedies are not of frequent occurrence,
those which have been perpetrated show that the
plan . feisolation is easily conducive to villany. In
Amet itit the whole of the passengers in a train please
themselves whether they saunter about it from end to
end or 101 l upon the leunges ; but there they are, all
together, under the eyes of the guards and conductors
—and it is impossible for a single traveller to be
locked in fifty miles with a madman or a murderer.
Nor are the trains detained in America at wayside
stations for the examination or collection of tickets ;
all this is done during the progress of the journey.
A remarkable feature of the Money Market of late
has been the way in which Consols have gone above
par. This is taken as an additional proof that money
is going to be very cheap for some time to come, but
it is regarded by many as having other meanings.
The Consol market in which a rise has been noted,
would probably be as lifeless as any other part of the
Stock Excharge were it not that the time for the pay-
ment of the dividends is at hand. Dividend period
always brings with a reinvestment demand, and the
market has been preparing to meet that by buying in
anticipation. This is the actual and immediate cause
of the advance in Consols, and the rise is helped by
the extreme scarcity in stock. The price of ConsoL3 is
primarily the estimate formei by the investing public
of the national credit, and that estiinate just now
seenis to be a high one. .

. i
Inn quiet room, n a quiet street off the busy
thoroughfare of the ...itrand, is located the Society of
Arts, which has just presented its one hundred and
twenty-seventh annual report to this members. In
this document a subject of very considerable import-
ance is alluded to, which from the pressure of other
matters in the London daily papers, has had but
little notice. There has long been a standing Com-
mittee of the Council for the purpose of treating
topics relating to the food supply of the country.
The Committee was formed in 1867, and for some
years published the results of a number of elaborate
inquiries and examinations made by its members.
The Committee also took a large amount of evidence
on the subject of food supplies and distributiun, which
was also published in the Society's journal. They
have also had at their disposal now for many years a
prize of £lOO, presented to the Society by the late Sir
Walter Trevelyan for the best method of preserving
fresh meat. Though numerous plans, more or less
successful for treating meat have been before the Com-
mittee, they have never felt themselves able to select
any one as being so far superior to the others as to
deserve the award of the prize; nor have they had
from any of those who are now engaged in the im-
portation of meat preserved by means of cold from
America or Australia any such tirecise claim to the
credit of dna invention as would warrant thpm in timi
awarding the prize. It therefore still remains in the
charge of the Society, and the Council would gladly
welc,me the advent of any process which would
justify them in presenting it.

The Eton and Harrow Cricket- Match on Lord's
Ground speedily follows that between Oxford and
Cambridge Universities, and on either occasion, or in-
deed at any time when there is an important contest
on, a visit to Lord's is well worth paying by any one
who has a few hours of leisure, and wishes to see
London life under a fashionable and aristocratic
aspect. The lines of carriages three or four deep,
and the manner of their appointments, silently
tell an eloquent story of wealth and luxury.
This year, as originally fixed, the second day of the
Eton and Harrow match fell on the date subsequently
selected for the Windsor Review, and as at the last
spectacle of this kind in the royal demesne, the boys
of these two public schools occupied reserved seats,
the time of the cricket competition was altered so as
to enable them to be at Windsor on a day when more
than fifty thousand Volunteers were announced to
pass before their Sovereign. Such a vast gathering of
citizen soldiers has never before been brought together
in the history of our eountry, and the arrangements
for an annual fixture like a cricket match might well
therefore be open to revision in the face of an event
of such wide interest and importance.
Meanwhile the Wimbledon meeting has again come
round, and Volunteers are speculating on their fate
upon the Common so far as the elements are concerned.
After the camp is opened—on the very day of the
Windsor review—will they be roasted under the rays
of an Indian sun, as in 1868, or run the risk of being
drowned, as in 1875 and 1879? The experiences of
the marksmen who have regularly gone to Wim-
bledon illustrate in a remarkable way the uncertain-
ties of the English climate in a month when
it is not unreasonable to expect something like
settled weather. The July of 1868 brought them
face to face with a sweltering heat which was not,
much exceeded at the equator, when the dried
grass in the fields was set on fire by the
sparks from passing railway engines, and when the
scarlet shafts of sunlight struck people dead in the
streets of London. That was one kind of July; in
1875, and again two years ago, there was one of a
very different deicription. Hill-side rivulets were
converted intomountain torrents; meadows were turned
into turbid lakes; the surface of which was swept by
a chilling wind; valleys presented the appearance of
inland seas. At 'Wimbledon by day the Volunteers
who prefer to take a prcstrate aim did so at a cost of
being saturated- through and through; at night they
were frequently awakened by the water pouring into
their tents, and bidding them arise from their peace-
ful slumbers if. they would escape drowning. Thus
far the present year has presented no such extremes,
and it is to be hoped that, when the prizes are distri-
buted to the succes,ful competitors at the close of the
meeting, the committee in charge of the arrangements
may be congratulated on having 'carried through the
Annual Rifle Competition to a successful issue.
While the Law Courts in the Strand are progressing
at a rate which enables the First Commissioner of
Works to promise their completion by next Easter, a
Parliamentary Committee has been inquiring into the
practicability of removing the Mint from its present
site to one upon the Thames Embankment, where, as
it will he remembered, it was at one time proposed to
place the Law Courts. Now that the plane trees on
either side of the. Embankment are beginning to
show some results for their- ten years' growth, that
splendid thoresiglrfare. fits...l.)e:einhtp7one. of the hand-
somest boulevartls in Europe. A new Mint would,
doubtless, have added to the architectural beauties
of the thoroughfare; but upon the other hand the
mephitis; vapours from the chemicals employed in the

establishment would not have terded to improve the
atmosphere. At all events, the House of Commons'
Committee unanimously decided against the project
of removal. As illustrating the enormous value of
land in London, it may be mentioned that the site
alone would have cost a quarter of million sterling.
The construction of the new building would have been
carried out at an estimated expense of £150,000, with
an additional £40,600 for machinery. The Committee
have, however, decided that the existing Mint can be
enlarged for all practical purposes at a moderate
expenditure.

The first quarter of the financial year showed an in-
orease of nearly k. 1.40,000 in the national revenue as
compared with the corresponding period of 1880.
There were expectations of a somewhat better return,
looking at the fact that the trade of the country is
ield to have considerably. improved. Time was when
the present Prime Minister, as Chancellor of the
Exchequer, declared that the prosperity of the nation
was increasing "by leaps and bounds," but it appears
that it must now be content with a more moderate
scale of progrecs. Another indication of the com-
mercial condition of Great Britain will shortly be
furnished by the announcements of the railway
dividends. The half-yearly accounts are made
up to the 30th June; and although the second six
months are always the best for railway companies, the
results of the first half will be vested with considerable
interest, as showing the advance which has been made
upon the opening six months of 1880. It will, of course,
be borne in mind that this year the companies had to
contend with the great snow storm of last January;
and this would, to a considerable extent, account for
a diminution in the amount of their receipts.
THE

Hon of blood in the course of the fracture. This injury. I
think, happened after death, or at the moment of death.
There was no indication in the brain by which I could form
an opinion as to whether it had been injured during life.
On examining ,he wound made by Mr. Hall on lois removal
of the Skin tefore described, I found a probe passed deeply
behind the ratios of tite low t r jaw. Thetissues were jtiil

trated with blood. On making a trariveise section through
the base of the skull, aml eximi,iier the fiord, 01 the spinal
column, I found a fracture of the b;dy of the second vertel ira.
of the neck. Upon t,iis the end of the probe hail int-
poiged. There was a good deal of ffiision of blood around
',lds fracture. Th 3 fracture extuided downwards through
the body of the vertebix to its articulation with the third
chippimt of the loWer limf of the anterior iiart of the %Tete-
m. On further examination, just in front of this it; j ties',
and little tied in the nitiscle of the gullet, I fist id a bullet.
which I produce This gunshot wound was evidently made
during life. The bullet had passed in an inch below the
right ear, heldnii the upper part of the Taunts of the lower
jaw, close behind the it.ternal carotid ariery, striking the
vert,lnte, and there was extravasation of Mood into the
skin tissue. On °penile.: the body I found the right lung
healthy. The left lung was collapsed, and adherent to the
chest wall. Thus heart was large and flabby, hut none of
the cavities contained any blood beyond a small clot of
tibrine. the valves were all healthy, but there was a
little degeneration of the aorta just above the valves.
The stomach was empty. As regards my opinion of the
cause of death, I think .the gunshot woundc. must have
caused temporary insensibility, but in all probability re-
covery would soon take pla..te. I think the wounds on the
face must have been inflicted by an assailant attaching
from the front, I say this because the wounds appear to have
been made with a knife or sharp-cutting instrument, drawn
from right to left. The cuts showed, in toy opinion, evidence
of being aimed at the throat. I judge of this by their
direction. They were not at all like a suicidally-inflicted
wound, and the wounds on the hands, coupled with those on
the face and the head, I believe to be absolutely incompatible
with a suicidal attempt. They all have the appearance of
having been made during life with the exceptions I have
noted. The injury on the left knee, on the back of the head,
and the fracture of the skull were, in my opinion, caused by
the falling out of the carriage, either after death or at the
time of death. The immediate cause of death I believe to
have been syncope.

The Coroner: You think it was syncope from the state of
the heart?

Mr. Bond : Yes, to the empty condition of the heart. I
might make this addition, that syncope would be caused
partly by the shock of the gui,shot wound and partly by
loss of blood, and it was probably accelerated by disease
of the heart, but, apart from the disease of the heart,
death would have taken place at some time or other from
the injuries.

Mr. Goodman: Death would result, I suppose, from the
gunshot wound alone ?—Yes, in a man of that age; not
immediately, perhaps, but it would ultimately have proved
fatal.

Mr. Hall, acting house-surgeon at the Sussex County
Hospital, was again called. He said: On June 20 I took a
piece of skin from the body of Mr. Gold, and have since care-
fully examined it. In the centre of the piece of skin I re-
moved there was a small hole with inverted edges. Sur-
rounding this there were several black specks imbedded in
the outer skin beneath the cuticle. A microscopic examina-
tion showed them to be amorphous grains of a light colour,
of a gritty nature, and minute size. The tissue surrounding
these particles was congested. The result of this examina-
tion was to confirm me in the opinion I have already ex-
pressed (at the inquiry on Wednesday) that the wound was
caused by a bullet.
By the Coroner : The pistol must have been pretty close
to the head when it was tired. It must have been a metallic
cartridge, and must have been fitted to the pistol. The
bullet found was similar to the one I was shown on June 29.
The semicircular wounds on Lefroy's head might have been
produced by the metallic case of a bullet, but not by the
keys found on deceased. There are no wounds on Lefroy's
face, so that if he had his hat on no one could tell he had
been wounded. I do not think the photograph or the pen-
and ink sketch produced represents the man Lefroy. I
should not recognize him from the photograph.
By a juror: The shot wound would not prevent deceased
from using his voice.
By Mr. Brewer: I should think that it is more probable
that the semicircular wounds were produced by the muzzle-
end of a pistol than by the bullet case.
Mrs. Gold, recalled, said that when her husband left home
on Monday he had en umbrella with him. It was a cloth
one with a hooked handle. She identified the hat produced
as belonging to her husband, and also a bloodstained collar
mid the boot found in Balcombe tunnel.

Rhoda Lucas Brown, residing at Morley, corroborated the
evidence given by her mother, to the effect that two men
were standing up in a carriage, apparently fighting or play-
ing when the train passed her mother's cottage near Morley
on Monday afternoon a little before three o'clock
Thomas Watson, the guard in charge of tke 2 o'clock
express from London-bridge to Brighton, said the train
was a very light one, and he did not think there were more
than 20 vissengers. The train started front Croydon at 23
minutes past 2. It passed Morley about 2 41, and entered
Balcombe tunnel about 2 52. The train nearly stopped at
. . . .

Hassock's-gate, but he did not think any one could have
left the train without his seeing. They did not go less
than four miles an hour at any time. At that speed a
person could not leave the train without injury, the steps
being so high. With that exception, the train travelled
the whole distance at express speed, varying from 30 to

60 miles an hour. I know Mr. "Gold, and isie him on the
platform at London-bridge that day. .At Croydon I went
from the front brake to the hind brake. I noticed Mr.
Geld sitting in the off side of the carriage facing the
engine. He sppeared to me to be asleep, with a white
pocket-handkerchief thrown lightly over his head. If
there had beet( two other persons in the carriage besides
Mr. Gold I dela think I should have noticed it. I only
noticed two ladies get into the train at Croydon, and did
not notice any one get into Mr. Gold's carriage. I did not
hear any gunshets or fog signals. The electric communi-
cator was in perfect order; I tested it at London-bridge
for all the train. I saw Lefroy at Preston Station. lie
was talking to Gibson, the collector, at the time. Ite
said, " I have been cruelly treated on the way by tWo
other passengers who were in the compartment, and who
left the train on the way down." He asked whether he
could get any medical attendance there, and I told him he
had better go into Brighton. He seemed willing to go into
Brighton. I examined the compartment and found a lot
of blood. Lefroy got into the carriage again, and then I
noticed a piece of a watch-chain hanging from the side of
one of his shoes. I said to hint, "What have you got
there?" And at the RIM° time I took hold of it and pulled
out a gold watch. I said, " How does this get here? " Re
said, "I know nothing about it. They have been trsing
to murder me and rob me on the way." I thought it was
his own watch. I put the wach on the seat and told him
to take care of it. At the same; time the stationmaster,
Mr. Hall, and the ticket-collector Gibson were standing,
close to me, so that they could hear. Mr. Hall ordered Gib-
son to get into the carriage and accompany Lefroy to
Brighton. On arrival there Lefroy alighted directly the
train stopped, and Gibson took him to the station superin-
tendent's office. I got into the compartment Lefroy -had
left, and at once noticed two Hanoverian coins lying on the
floor, along with a white pockethandkerchief and some
large pieces of newspaper. I closed the door and took
the articles I found to Mr. Anscombe, the station superin-
tendent's office. I asked Lefroy whether he knew aey-
thing about these coins, and he said that he knew nothing
about them. He said, " You had better keep these," and
I remarked, "They were found in the carriage you left.',
I banded them over to Mr. Anscoinbe's clerk. I asked
Lefroy whether he was hurt much, and he said he was hurt
all over. I saw a large quantity of blood in the carriage,
but I was not surprised at it, because I have had some
experience of people killed, and know that a very large
quantity will run from anything like a serious wound in a
man in full health. Lefroy kept putting his hands to his
head and said he was wounded, but I did not think he was
hurt seriously. His hands and face and all his clothes were
smothered with blood. After his statement that two other
persons-had ridden in the carriage with him from London-
bridge, that they left the train, and taking into consider-
ation his condition, I believed that he was a lunatic and
that he had attempted to commit suicide. I left him in the
superintendent's office, and made inquiries before I left
Brighton as to what had become of him. I thought his
watch had fallen into his shoes while he was knocking him-
self about. Lefroy was wearing low shoes. Ile had the
appearance of a lunatic. I did not find a piece of gold chain
in the carriage, but there was a piece attached to the watch
in his shoe.
By Mr. Brewer : At Croydon I looked at the carriage
and saw Mr. Gold, who was sitting on the off side corner
seat teeing the engine, but I could not say whether there
was anyone in the
.compartment wttn tam. At aeeemeee-
gate the signal was against it, but the train • did not stop a
second at the pece ot tour miles an hour. The brakes were
taken off, and we were at good speed again in leas than
half a minute. I was sitting in the observatory, and
could see all up the train. No one even looked out.
Lefroy seemed to treat it as a matter of indifference
whether he stayed at Preston or went into Brighton. I
tested the communicator after we left Croydon, in accord-
ance with may instructions, and got a reply from the rear-
guard. The piece of chain produced is of exactly the same
pattern as I saw attached to the watch in Lefroy's possession.
Lefroy said he could not account for his injuries, as he had
been insensible all the way. He did not say anything about
being shot or how his injuries were received.
By Mr. Goodman : Anyone might have got out at Prestou.
park without my noticing him. I knew Mr. Gold had got
into the train at London, but I did not think about him
when the train reached Preston. I noticed the blood on the
step of the carriage directly I got out at Preston-park. I
(lid not see the superintendent at Brighton, and, therefore,
did not tell him about the watch. I saw the watch at
Preston, and told the ticket-collector and station-master
about it. I asked Lefroy where the man got out, and he
said on the *ay. I told him that was a matter of impossi-
bility, as the train had not stopped after leaving Croydon.
He said he knew they got out. Lefroy's hair stood straight
upright, and he looked wild when he told nie there were two
other passengers beside himself. That made me think he
was a lunatic.
By the jury: He had not got the gray coat on at Preston.
By the Coroner: I spoke to the passengers adjoining
Lefroy's compartment in the second class colepartment,
and asked them whether they had heard anything on the way.
Mr. W. H. Gipiou. lie other passenger, said he had heard
four fog-signals go off in cne of the first long tunnels I
asked him whether he had heard anything knocking about
in the compartment. Ile said, "No, nothing whatever."
Thomas Graham Clayton said: I live at 4, Cathcast-road,
Wallington, and am a check. Percy Lefroy Mapleton,
lodged with me. He is my wife's second cousin.
On Monday I left him in the house. Ile had no settled
employment. I saw him again at home about a quarter
past nine in the evening, after he had been in some minutes.
Mrs. Clayton's nurse told me he had come in with his head
bandaged. I went into the drawing-room, and there saw
him sitting with Sergeant Holmes of the Brighton
Railway. He told me he had been assaulted in a railway
carriage. He said he had been struck on the head with
what he thought was a gauge. I fancy Lefroy said he had
been shot, but I cannot swear that he did. Ile said he
had been knocked on the head, and pointed to his trousers to
show the blood on them. I remained in the room while
he gave Sergeant Holmes an account of how the matter hap-
pened. I did not hear the whole of the statement, but I saw
Holmes writing it down. After he had finished his state-
ment, Lefroy walked to the door of the house with Holmes
and showed the Sergeant out. I heard Lefroy say "Good
night" to the Sergeant, and heard him thank him for his
attendance. After Lefroy returned I made the remark
to him, "It se ems a strange affair; I hope they will be
caught," and Lefroy went to Dr. Cressy. I left the house
immediately afterwards. Lefroy had gone upstairs
thee. I have not seen him since. I returned about
a quarter-past ten and asked about Lefroy, and
was told that he had not returned. About half-past
ten Sergeant Holmes returned and asked for Lefroy. I said
he had gone to the doctor's and had not returned. lie
went away, and about the same time Inspector Turpin
and a sergeant of the Sussex Police came to the house and
said they tkought he was in the house. I said I was quite
certain he was bet. There is a small piece of garaen at the
back of my house; and the only nseans of exit is by getting
over a eft. gate. The house is semi-detached. I lie.re is a
separate gent( it to each house; the gardens are separated by
wooden paling about 51ft. high. At the end of the garden
there is a piling, and immediately behind this is a stable,
which has a back entrance to the house. If a person
clinched over the back paling he could easily get into a road.
There is a side entrance to each garden coming out into the
front of the house. Lefroy has not paid any rent for the past
month or so. We never made any fixed charge, but when he
was eareing anythieg he used to pay rent. During the last
month he has borrowed several shillings of me. My wife is
too ill to attend.
The Coroner: I want to ask you a question, and I must
warn you not to answer it if it crimina.tes you in any way.
Did you send a telegram to Lefroy's sister ou Tuesday
morning, saying, "If sercy calls tell him the police are after
him?"
Witness: I wish to answer the question and make an ex-
planation. The telegram was to the effect that his address
was known by the bergeant who rettn•ned home with him the
nisht before. I sent that telegram, as I believed his own
story, and did not think matters were so serious as they have
turned out I thought he had gone away lie a fit of eccen-
tricity. I also intended to tell him in the teleeram to return
at once, and 1 should have added words to that effect, but I
found th&t the addition would make the telegram over
twenty words, amid, therefore, very foolishly left it out.
By the Coroner: I consider he was very eccentric, and.
more especially withiu the last week. He had a sunstroke
about a year ago Oil the Epsom Downs on the Derby Day.
lie had been abroad to Australia, and had returned about
18 months. I 'lever saw him with a pistol. I did not
know he was going to Brighton on Monday last. He had
not paid us any money for Ids board for several weeks.
What he gave us he gave us voluntarily.
By the Coroner: I do not think he was in a position to
travel first-claw

By Mr. Brewer: I never saw any Hanoverian coins in
his possession.- No one had ever had a pistol in my house.
I sent a telegram to Lefroy's sister's address at half-past
nine the next-morning. There was no attempt at conceal-
ment on my part. I knew he went to Brighton on more
than one occasion ; once he went to write a criticism of a
theatrical psrformance fur the Era I never heard the
!Janie uf Mr. Gold before this occurrence. Leftoy has hail
severat watches, and I have seen him with an open faced
iid one, but I never knew him wk at' a 1(41'4- chain round
Ii is tuck. Ever since I have known Li froy he has always
been of wry even temper, and has always been weak and
delicate in health. The billyeock hat produced is like the
one Lefroy used to wear, but I elo not think it was his.
Lefroy told me recently that he bail got a 400 d appointment
idi the Eat. Ile said he should not get his money till the
end of the month, and borrowed a few shillings of me to go
on with.
By the Corner: He always accounted for these watehes to
me by saying he exchatn4ed them or hought them second-
hand. as very reserved in informing us o. his business
ettgagements, or of his habits generally.
Johannah Chamberlain, servant, in the employ of Mr.
Clay tint, said she did not take it note to Mr. Ellis. One of
the ehil iren did Mr. Ellis called in consequence, and wit-
ness went and till Mr. Leroy he was wanted in the psrlour,
but she did not know whethsr he saw Mr. Els. She liii
limit see either of their] leave the house. She sissy Lefroy
about a quarter to ten in the evening in the kitchen. Ile
hail then changed his clothes. He came into the kitchen for
some toast and water, and said he was going to Dr. C_Tssy's
to have his head seen to. lie went out by the bsck door, as
he generally did. It was the ordinary way into the road,
which would be the nearest way to Dr. Cressy's. She had
never seen him with a pistol, nor with a watch. She had
never notice-1 anything strange in his msnner; hut he had
rather a wild look when he came into the kitchen.

Mr. Albert George Ellis said he lived at 5, Railway-terrace,
allington, and kept a bookstall. He had known Lefroy
from 18 months to two years. He had an account with witness.
On Monday morning last witness received a letter at ten
minutes to ten o'clock exactly. It purported to come from
Mrs. Clayton. It was brought by one of the children.
The letter was in Lefroy's handwriting. It asked wit-
ness to step up to 4, Cathcart-road, as early as possible
before 10.30 to see Mrs. Clayton respecting a stationery
order, fie went up and went into the drawiinz room.
Ile sat there for live minutes, and then Mrs. Clayton's
little girl came and asked him to wait another five.
At the same time he looked out of the window and
saw the top of Lefroy's head. He was going towards
witness's place of business. Witness waited live minutes,
and then the order produced was given him by the little
girl. The order was for some books, and was in Lefroy's
handwriting. The little girl told him that Mrs. Clayton was
too ill to see him. Witness then returned to his shop, and
the lad he left In/charge said, " Mr. Lefroy has just brought
your account." 'Witness remarked, " How strange. I have
only just left his house." On opening the letter he found it
contained two Hanoverian sovereigns and is. (one of the
"sovereigns" was produced Lefroy owed £1 Is. 2d. The
lad said he had given him 13s. 6d. change.
By Mr. Brewer: Lefroy was very agreeable in his manner
and was by no means an eccentric man.
Frede, ick ,Bincks, in the service of Mr. Ellis, said Leroy
called on Monday morning at five minutes past 10. Ile
brought an envelope addressed to Mr. Ellis, which he said
contained two sovereigns and a shilling. Ile asked for 19s.
change, and said, "Please be quick, as I want to catch the
next train." Witness told him there was only 13s. 6d. in
the till, and he said that would do. Witness gave him
that. Witness did not know how much he owed, and took
his word that 19s. was the correct change.

Francis William. Stuart Seale said he resided with his
brother-in-law, Mr. Clayton. He had been there two years.
He was confidential clerk to a solicitor in the City. He had
been sleeping in the same room with Lefroy since his return
from Australia. Lefroy and himself had collars in common.
The clean collar produced was one of their stock. He could
not say whether the blood-stained collar produced belonged
to Lefroy or himself. He thought it would be too small
for himself. Sometimes witness used collars of 14i size, and
sometimes in hot weather collars as large as 16.
Mr. Brewer You mean to say Lefroy's neck is not smaller
than yours ?—I have never measured it, and therefore how
am I to arrive at that conclusion
The Coroner : Do you know you are on your oath 7-1
believe so.
Have you properly kissed the book I—l belieYe so.
Have you done sol—Well, I believe so.
The Coroner: We will have it over again.
The Coroner administered the oath to witness a second
time, and addressing him said,—Now, do you repeat what
you have previously said 7—Yes, if you wish it.
The Coroner: Do you swear that what you have said is
true 7—Yes, I do.
going to Brighton.
Examination continued: Lefroy slept with him on Mon-
day;a
ovc gciti
aee
Witness
,rgc.
returned
eh
atyt
tahobte, did iotdl
police
hloqi
cuuesal artlyth:aarlditte
nfhtf Tuesdaytedhm e met
awnimorn
aa an
o waso: :trno
searched the house. Witness was electrified. He had
never seen a pistol in the house. . He thought Lefroy was
peculiar.
By Mr. Goodman: He was very affectionate to witness.
They kissed each other on Monday morning. They had
been in the habit of doing so night and morning. Witness
had seen him with a watch and chain, the last time might
be about three months ago.
The Coroner: Mr. Seale, you must he perfectly aware of
the character of this case, and you must also be aware of the
grayest responsibility resting upon you as a person who
slept in the same room with Lefroy, and had been on most
extraordinarily affectionate terms with him. and I should
advise you to be very cautious in what answers you give to
the questions.
By Mr. Goodman: The watch I saw him with last looked
like a gold watch.
- - • •- •

Mr. Alfred Gilbert said he was cashier at the Eastern
branch of the London and Westminster Bank. Mr. Gold
had an account there. lie paid in £3B in gold on Monday
last, and did not take.any money out.
- - - •••

Yr. Seale, recalled, said, in reply to Mr. Goodman: I will
not swear Lefroy had a watch on +londay. I have never
seen him wear a long chain like that produced. When I
left Lefroy on Monday he did not say where he was going
that day. I think he said he might be in the Strand about
8.30.
By Mr. Brewer: Lefroy had no profession at all. He earned
some money. I believe he was engaged on the Wallington
Herald He told me he was on that paper.
By Mr. Brewer: I have never to my knowledge seen a
black bag like the one produced.
By Mr. Goodman : I once saw a photograph of Lefroy in
Mrs. Clayton's album. I looked for it on Tuesday, but it
was gone, as well as several others.
Mr. Brewer mentioned that Mr. J. P. Knight had received
a large number of letters containing suggestions in reference
to the murder, and that every attention possible had been
paid to them.
The inquiry was adjourned until nine o'clock on
Monday morning. The Court had sat for ten hours
and a half.

that I had found similar flash sovereigns in Lefroy's over-
coat.
Kate Greenfield : I live at Balcombe, and am staying in
the neighbourhood of hassock's-gate. I went yesterday
morning on a visit ; I found the purse produced while out
for a walk in a field on the west side of the lime. It was
this side. of Hassock's•gate Station. The nurse might.have
been thrown from a irmn to the place where I found it.
there was nothing in it ;it was torn. -
J.,seph •!,.tatlcs : I live at Preston, and am a ticket col-
le..;tor at Preston-park Station. On Monday last I was on
the platf..rm when the two o'clock express train from
London arrived 1 proceeded to collect .tickets and saw a
gentleman sitting in a first-class smoking compartment
with his face and •neck covered with blood. I said,
"Ticket. please." The man said, " Look Ii re, can I see
a policeman, and can I get a wash ?" liven that, I
called Gibson to the carriage and asked bins what I had
better do. Gib ,on advised is to eail the statim.master
had opened the door to Wk.- the ticket, and the than got out
su.d walked towards the steps. I did not ask the man how
he got hurt, and he did not tell inc. Mr. ~old generally re-
turned hy the two o'clock express. I did not see any pas-
sel.ffer leave the train it Preston.
By Mr. Brewer : I went to other compartments before I
went to that in question.
By NIL Goodman : I did not go to the compartment
because anyone beckooed. Th-re was a round pool of blood
on the tl.or, just inside the door. The man was sitting over
the blood. I did not ask him how. he accounted for the
blood. The overcoat had marks of blood upon it, and it
seemed as if he had smeared his face in endeavouring to
Wipe the blood off. The man did not say anything by way of
explaining how he had got into such a condition.
By Mr. Dutton: The carriage-door was unlocked.

Robert Peel, an engine-driver fcr the railway company:
was the driver of tha two o'clock express train from Lon-
don•bridge on Monday last. I did not hear shots fired, nor
did I notice anyone get cut of the train, except at the sta-
tions I have known yr. Gold for ten years. When I backed
my engine on to the carriages at London-bridge, I saw him
on the platform. He was then wearing a high hat, the same
as produced.
by Mr. Brewer: I did not see anyone else get into the
compartment with Mr. Gold. We drew up on the journey,
but never slackened to a pace less than 30 miles an hour.
From Croyden to Hassock's-gate we went at the rate of from
40 to 45 wiles an hour.

_
By Mr. Goodman :—I did not go as slow, as ten miles an
hour. I did not look out for Mr. Gold at Preston.
Alfred A)lmer, stoker on the engine, gave similar evi-
dence.
Robert Peel, recalled, in answer to Mr. Brewer, said : 1
heard DO fog signals go off at Merstharn tunnel or elsewhere.
I must have heard them had there been any.
By Mr. Goodman : If there is anything serious on the line
or repairs going on in a tunnel the platelayers will put a fog
signal on the line.
Henry Nye: I was rear-guard of the two o'clock express
train on Monday last. My attention was not drawn to any-
thing unusual. A person might have.le.ft the train when we
checked speed without my seeing.
By Mr. Brewer: I should think the train slackened to
about four miles (for just a second or two near Hassock's.
gate. The Westinghouse brake was certainly used at that
time. There would be a noise made when the brake was
applied, but I cannot remember hearing it on that occasion.
I tested the electric communicator at London-bridge and
found it in proper working order.
John Blunden White, carriage inspector at Brighton
Station, said he inspected the carriage in question soon after
it came im. He handed in a written statement with respect
to the condition of the compartment, confirming the descrip-
tion already published. The electric communication was in
proper working order, and had not been used.
Alfred Joseph hall: I am stationmaster at Preston
park. I was. on the platform when the express came up.
1 gentleman said, "Are you the stationmaster ? " I
replied, "I am." He said, "Could yau send for a medical
man, as I have been murderously assaulted and shot
at by a fellow passenger." Collector Gibson called to me
to proceed further down the platform opposite to a first-
class compartment. When I arrived there I found the
compartment covered with blood, and presenting evidence
of a struggle. I turned to Lefroy, who was By my side, and
said, "Where is the passenger by whom you have been
assaulted?" He replied, "He got out at a station further
up." I said, "That could not be, as the train does not
stop after it leaves Croydon." He made no reply to this,
but again asked me whether I could not procure a medical
man. I told him there was not one in the neighbourhood
nearer than half a mile. I said you had better go on to
Brighton, where you will be able to procure medical
advice and any assistanee you may require. He then got
Into the compartment. and when he lifted up his leg I
observed a watch and a small portion of a chain in his shoe.
The chain was like the one produced, and was about four
inches long. Pointing to it, I said, "That is a singular
place to carry a watch?" He said, "I did not know it was
there." I told Gibson, the collector, to get into the same
compartment, go with Win to Brighton, and take him to Mr.
Ansconabe. . .

The Coroner: What was the impression on your mind in
reference to the maul—l thought he was a lunatic. He
looked very wild, and I thought he had attempted to com-
mit suicide. He did not say he was assaulted by a country-
man. He said nothing about a tunnel.
Mr. James Terry : I am Chief Constable of the Brighton
Police. On Monday last, about four o'clock, I was sum-
moned to the Police•office, Town-hall, where a leport of
Lefroy's statement was shown me. In it he said that he had
been shot at by a fellow passenger after leaving Croydon
and before entering the tunnel. There were two p&sseng,rs
with him, and he believed it was a countryman who shot
him, lie could give no description of him, except that he
was about 50 years of age. lie became insensible directly
he was shot, regaining consciousness only just before the
train reached Preston-park. Lein)), having been brought
om the hospital, I asked him whether the report was correct.
He said, "Yes.' I read some portion of it over to him. I
said, "I am very sorry : I will give instructions to the police
to find out the parties." There were two Hanoverian
coins left in the office. I said, "Do you know anything
about these coins?" He said, "No : they must have
belonged to the party who attacked me, and left on the
floor of the carriage." I then asked him why he came to
Brighton. Ile said, came to see Mrs. Nye-Chart at
the theatre." I said, "Won't you go and see her now?"
"Oh, no," he said, "not in this state. I wish to get away
back again as soon as possible." I asked Martin whether
he had got anything to say or any charge to make. He said,
"Oh, dear, no, I only accompanied this gentleman down to
make this report and see a doctor." They all left the office.
At night I was informed that a gentleman had been found in
Balcombe Tunnel.
Tlie Coroner : When 3 on saw IA fray, what lii you think of
him 1-1 thought he had attempted to commit suicide ; but
he answered my questions so coherently that'my opinion was
altered. When a charge is brought by the railway police, we
do not take it out of their hands. They are entirely separate
from Us. They bring a charge, I lock up, and they take the
responsibility. Had I not believed his story, I should have
advised the constable very differently.
Mr. Brewer: I think I should have locked hint up myself.
Witness : In reference to what?
Mr. Brewer did not make any reply. •
Examination continued: I did net know what occurred on
the line beyond what was stated in the report. I know
nothing about the shots being fired or the bullets in the car-
riage. I did not know anything about the. watch. Gibson
did not tell me about any coin. I allowed the officer who
brought Lefroy to the station to take him away again. No
charge was made.
The inquiry was adjourned until Tuesday.

The report made by Lefroy at the Brighton Police-office,
and put in by Mr. Terry, was as follows:

"Town-hall, June 27, 1881.
"Arthur Lefroy, 4, Cathcart-road, Wallington, came to
the hall at 3.45 p.m. with Richard Gibson, ticket collector,
Preston-park railway station, and railway Police-constable
Martin, and reported that he had been assaulted when
travelling in a first-class carriage of the express train
leaving London at two p.m. Mr. Lefroy states an old gentle-
man was sitting opposite to hilt and a man having the ap-
pearance of a countryman, and they were the only persons
in the carriage with him. After passing Croydon and
before entering a tunnel a shot was fired, and he felt a blow
on his head, and he has no further recollection until the
train arrived at Preston. Mr. Lefroy cannot describe the
countryman further than that he was about 50 years if
age He believes he had whisktrs on the side of the face.
Mr. Lefroy says he is an author and joutnalist. Re says
he does not know who assaulted him, but he does not think
it was the old gentleman. Richard Gibson, ticket-collector,
says Mr. Lefroy was looking out of the window when the
train arrived at Preston. He stated that he had been fired
at and knocked about. The carriage was uninjured, except
that there was a quantity of blood about it. The train had
not stopped after leaving Croydon till it arrived at Preston.
Mr. Lefroy was the only person in it. Two Hanoverian
pocket pieces were found on the floor of the carriage by the
guard of the train, named Watson" .