The Express.
London, England, 1864-09-01 00:00:00

OPENING OP A ROMAN CATHOLIC CONGRESS

-if ii , i zall i§:

The second amnion of the Catholic Congress of
Belgium was opened at Hallam on Monday, when about
4,000 persons were present, including the notabilities of the
Belgian catholic party, with distinguished persons from
various countries in Barone. At 10 in the morning the
members of the congress assembled in the Cathedral of St.
Bombed, where a mass was celebrated by the Archbishop of
Hanes. The members thee proceeded to the Dims=
College, where the sittings are held. The proceedings
commenced by a speech by the archbishop, after which the
bureau was formed, Baron de Gerlach being appointed pre-
sident, se on the former occasion. The president then de-
livered a long address on the subject of the general situation
of catholicism in Europe, and particularly in Belgium ; and
the first day's sitting was brought to • conclusion by a rote
of devotedness to the Pope, which was immediately for-
warded to Cardinal Antonelli, to be presented to hie
Holiness.

We observe that amongst the subjects which are to be
considered and dimmed by the various sections ale the
following :—Religioaa works ; charitable works ; Christian
instruction and education ; literature and fine arts from •
Christian point of view ; religions music ; religious liberty ;
publications, and associations. A fund has been established
far the benefit of the clerical journals, and • sum of money
is, 11 seems, to be set apart for the organisation of • " cleri-
c•l telegraphic service." The Bishop of Orleans, Mons.
Dupanloup, met with an enthusiastic reception.

WEATHER REPORT.-(THIS DAY.)

TIMILIDAY, SZPITIEBIER 1, 8 L.

F. is D. L 1 B. 8.:

SHOCKING DEATH OF A LADY PROM
DESTITUTION.

THE SUFFEBINOS OF A FAMILY.

An inquiry was held by Mr. Humphreys, Mid.
dices:coroner, at the Furl Vincent Tavern, Philpotatreet
Commercial-road, last night, respecting the death, unite;
vary painful circumstances, of Miu Lucretia Jeffreys, a, td
24 years, the daughter of a well-known paper manu`..c.
. . . .

The jury proceeded to No. 5, Stonoratreet, Haricot.
Area, to view the body of the deceased. The family ou.nr.
pised a small shop (not used as • shop) and • room behind it.
Upon entering the shop the sister of the deosessed was seen
lying on a parish bed on the floor. She was in a stets (,:
great exhaustless, and looked as if else was dying. She said
to the coroner, "It is overwork has reduced me t..
this state." The sole furniture in the room consisted of
box and • broken chair, which had been lent by a c•:•ic.:.
boar. As the jury paused through into the back room whet-
the dead body of her sister lay, she raised herself add
looked after them with an expression of agony painful
witness. The back room contained • parish coffin, in whirl.
lay the emaciated body of the deceased. The place
otherwise empty. It was stated that when Mr. Badenhum.
the relieving officer, entered the place on Sunday la,;•
deceased was lying on the floor in the corner of the ha. •
room dead, and her sister was dying to all appearance, 0:.
piece of oil-cloth in the shop.
The first witness called was—
Mr. Henry Jeffreys, who said—l now reside at No
Eitonorstreet. I was a bleacher and paper manufacturer
a large way of business. We came from Misidstr z.e •
London. The family 000sisted of my wife, two daugub.r,
and two sons. I had studied chemistry in France as •
to the arts, eciencsa, and manufactures. Since the cir,
stances of the family became altered I contributed to tir•-r
support by selling chemical bottles, but it wee necessary f,t
my daughters to assist. They worked for • alopselle ii
Bedford-square, whose name I have forgotten. They rr• r..
paid 2s. • dozen for making flannel shirts, and for Ida.) .1
white ones they got 2a. fid. • dozen. Lucrethr
made four shirts in one day. By working very Lid•l sL
made two dozen in • week. My eldest daughter, who it
ill, could only earn one-third as much, as she could
work so quick. Oct. of my sons got ill, and 1 tried to .!••
his share (in selling bottles) as well as my own, and c. •
ill. My other son, who had to take a situation at a wool.
stapler's, met with an accident—a bale of wool fell on ha:.,
and we lost his guinea • week. Both my daughters then 1,.
came ill from overwork and anxiety. The altered position
the family preyed upon their minds. The earnings of ti. •
family for the last eight weeks were nil. We peeped I
sold everything to keep body and soul together. Tl:7.
claw/man of the parish gave us rls., and I borrowed
which was all we did borrow. We determined to apply
no one but to draggle through anything, and pass throne.
the storm rather than trouble anyone. We felt ctn.',
that within • few weeks we should receive • sum of iuJur,
sufficient to .apply all our wants.
Coroner—Did the deceased die from want of food :

Witness—No, I think it was her mind that did it. IV,
sold everything to get food.
Coroner—But bed she sufficient of a proper kind of fo,l
Witness—No, she had not. She refused on W
last to allow a doctor to be brought in, saying that al.te
not want to be practised no by doctors; but I think her r,:,!
reason was that she was afraid to let any gentleman Sty 7..
in the awful state in which we were. She said, "
if you bring one, I will make away with myself." I
afraid she might do so. as an aunt of hers had, three yea's
while ill,secreted a silver spoon in the bed, end choked here...
with it in the absence of her friends. I removed all the p.ee a
and chemicals out of my daughter's reach. On sunder I
saw she was dying, and I went for a pariah doctor. I thoar.t
I bad only to go for one and be would come, as the
was dying, but I had to go to three places before I could
get an order. As it became so late—l was out for several
hours—l went back to see how she was getting on. I loud
her dead. Since her death the neighbours and the relies-T.. 1
officer have been very kind. We only came into that kase
on Friday last. The rent is ta. 64., but I do not
know where it is to come from. Before tl.st
we were in Pbllpot-street, and the rows sod
threats of the landlord about a month's rent that we owed,
and his continually saying he would bring in the linters
and take all we had got (we bad in fact nothing, for we recta
obliged to sell everything for food), had a dreadful elect
upon my daughter.
Mn. Jaoe Clarke said that the family were in a drewlf al
I state of privation. They slept on the bare boards at eight.
they bad no bed. Witeess gave them a chair and a bit at
oil cloth. Witness lent them 2s. on Friday night.
Mr. Stephens said that the condition of the ureic*
sister was very serious, but nothing could induce her to go
into the workhouse infirmary.
Dr. Robinson, parish surgeon, said that he was called to
the deuased, and found her dead. The body was much
emaciated. Theport mortem examination showc.d that there
was effusion into the ventricles of the brain and into the
chest. There was only a little &rid in the stomach. She
would have required nourishing food, bedding, clothing, aid
warmth ; and the want of these necessaries was the accele-
rating cause of death. Witness was now attending the other
daughter, and he could not get her to go into the workhouse.
The Coroner, in summing up, said that the cane was the
moat distressing one that had ever come before him. It war
no doubt to be regretted that Mr. Jeffreys had not earlier
applied for medical and other aid . • but the omission t 3 do
so was the result of an error of judgment on the part of a
gentleman naturally unwilling to succumb to a reverse of
fortune.

The jury returned the following verdict : " That Lueretia
Jeffrey, was found dead on the floor of a certain room from
the effects of effusion of serum into the brain and chest,
and that her said death was accelerated by fatigue from
over work, by absence of stimulant., nourishment, and of
clothing, and other neomearies, and the jury expreued their
regret that through an error of judgment the father of the
deceased should have 'Moved his daughter to be so long
without the requisite medical and other assistance, and their
hope that hersurviving sister might be induced to eater the
Mi .end infirmary with the view of saving her life."
The proosedings then terminated.

The murder of the solicitor, Mr. BlTrossau, Ly
created a most painful sensation in Omagh, when be was
highly esteemed. All the shops in the town had then
shutters up on Tuesday, and many were entirely closed, to
mark their owners' respect and sympathy. Mr. M'Croatati
was only 45 yews of age. He leaves a widow and levee
children—four boys and three girls—the eldest of whom id
only 13 years old. The prisoner M'Lougblin has behaved
with stolid indiffeninoe sines the cocurreDoe, even when in.
formed of his victim's death. He is a married may, &boat
50 years old. and has hitherto borne a good character.

N miaow ESC•PL—An up express train leaving
Dudley at 6.10 a.m., met with a rather alarming
accident yesterday morning • few miles from Kidder
minter. The train paesed through Churchill statist'
at the rate of about 35 miles an hour, when suddenly
the tire of one of the wheels on the engine broke.
Some 300 or 400 yards in front was a wooden viaduct at
a considerable height ►bove the raid. and had the broken
tire thrown the carriages off the rails, as is generally the
see with such the consequences most have
been terrible. But ha y the train pawed in safety, and a
few hundred yards further was brought to • stand, after •
not very severe lurch. The p•scagen were not at all hart,
bat owing to the blocking up of the line their transit was
much delayed. Ultimately soother train wee obtained, to
which p•asgers and luggage were transferred, and the
journey was then rswusd. A similar accident befell the
same train at Polishero not very long ago, and on that ooze-
sion with more wines restate, _

MF.I.•24CROLY CASE OF DROWNING.—On Tuesday
morning Master J. B. Semen, a lad between 16 and 17 years
of age, and the only mon of the 11ev. James Samson, minister
of the Congregational Chapel, Alma-road, Sheerness, and
another lad weed Bassett Jones, about the same age, went
to a place tailed Cheney Rock for the purpose of bathing.
Having undressed themselves, Sammie threw his stick into
the sea for his dog, which cwompanied them, to fetch.
The dog brought it to the shore, and the youth threw it
in again. Tins time the dog refused to fetch it. and as the
stick was floating away, the deceased, who could swim •
little, plunged in to get it himself. Having caught it. he
placed it in his mouth, and was returning again to the
shore, when he suddenly stopped and called out " Help!"
His companion was on the shore, but wee unable to owen.
and there wee no other panto'', near. The lad made one or
two faint efforts, and then sank about 40 feet from the
shore. It appeared from the *widgeon take° at the (wooer's
inquest, held at the Napier Tavern yesterday afternoon, that
a strong braes. was blowing from the land at the time, tad
It is probable that deceased had miscalculated his strength,
and, having exhausted himself, was unable to reran the
shore. The body was recovered about ea hour and a bait
alterwards„yrbeu the tide bad gone down. The jury re.
turned • vet dict of " Accidentally drowned."
GORED BY • BELL.—OD Saturday last a very
serious accident happeoed to a farmer named Britten.
residing in Thocabeesh, Nortbamptoushire, and one
his farm labourers, the letter being gored almost to
death, from the attack of an loft:Mated bull. A cow had
been brought to the bull in a field, when from some cause
other the huge brat became madly iafuriated and o
manageable. It broke from the farming-man who had
charge of it, rushed at him, knocked him down, and gored
him in • dreadful mauler. Mr. Britten, seeing the (liege
hie labourer was in, rushed towards him, and endeavoured
to drive the animal off. He succeeded in doing so, hut.
unhappily, only to divert the fury of the bout towards
himself, for it dashed at him with great violeece
knocked him down, fractured one or two of his rite, sod
otherwise severely injured him. After having inflicted she
frightful injwies on the two unfortunate men the mime'
appeared to become completely mad. It tore up the ground
with its feet, making • hole large enough to bury itself in,
and thee rushed off at • furious pros across the Sell!,
breaking setae sad throwing down renege in its end worse.
The sufferers were taken up and conveyed to their homes,
and medical aid sent for. It wee at first feared that the
farming man would not 'arrive the injuries he bed receive&
but he has sham rallied, and is now likely to recover. yr.
Britten i. also progreselog favourably. Information of
what had taken place was at once despatched to the neigh'
bowing village to warn the inhabitants, and search era
made for the hull, with the intention of shooting it. After
some time it was disnovered in a field among some mom
beast', baring quieted down.
Despatches were received yesterday at the Colo'
Wel-atop from the Gov/rear el Chards.