The Express.
London, England, 1862-06-11 00:00:00

ANOTHER DOMESTIC TRAGEDY.

MURDER OF TWO CHILDREN BY THEIR FA.THHL
SUICIDE OF THE MURDERER..

Another of those fearful tragedies, which have
lately shocked the public feeling by their frequency, as well
as by the horrible nature of their details, was brought to
light this morring, and was the means of converting the
Blackfriars-road and the adjoining streets into a scene of
intense excitement, causing thousands of people to
assemble around the house in which it had occurred, and
forming the universal topic of conversation.
The details of this sad event will beet be gathered from the
following authentic nairative, which is thoroughly reliable
in every particular.
For the last four years, or nearly so, a married man,
named Joseph Mockford, has occupied apartments in the
house, 189, 13/ackfriars-road, the other portions of which
were and are in the occupation of a gentleman named
Pearce, who shrive entertained the highest respect
for his lodger, and who now speaks of him in
the highest terms of praise as a steady and
respectable man, a loving husband, and a doating
father. He filled a confidential situation in the service of
Mr. Meredith, of the saw mills, Bankside, with wages and
perquisites avenging about V. ss. per week. He had three
children, two girls and a boy, an infant ; and he lived •
happy life enough until the end of April last, white his wife
died after a very brief Ulnae, and he at once became an
altered man, moody, mlierable, and gloomy And frequently,
in vague terms, expressing an intention of making away with 1
himself. To these threats, however, his friends attached
no very serious importatoe, supposing that time would re-
concile him to the loss of his wife, and that he would gra-
dually resume his former habits. Unfortunately there now
appears to have been but too much meaning in these an-
nouncements of his intentions ; and it is to be regretted that
they did not command the serious attention of his relatives.
Upon the death of his wife, his sister resigned a situa-
tion in the City, and at hie desire went to keep
house for Mockford, and take care of his two elder
children. The youngest, an infant, about six weeks old, he
committed to the charge of its grandmother by the father's
side. This arrangement appears to have worked to his
entire satisfaction, and on Sunday last it was agreed
that Mockford, with his two eldest children, should
take tea with the mother of his late wife, that he
should sleep at her house that night, and that
the children should be left there for a day or two.
while his sister was to go to her mother's, and stay there
for a similar period. The sister accordingly went on her
visit, and it was supposed that Mockford and his children had
gone on theirs, as it is to be wished they had done. Mock-
ford, according to this arrangement, should have returned
home to sleep on Monday, but did not do so, and as, when
Tuesday, came he still remained absent, Mr. Peens thought
it only prudent to send to his sister to ascertain when
he would be likely to return. The reply was
that the sister had not seen him since she left home
on Sunday, but that she would immediately go to his
father-in-law's, to inquire there. She went herself, and
found, to her great surprise, that Mockford bad not been
there at a". Upon this, the whole family became greatly
alarmed, and making their way to the Blackfriars-road, the
father and mother, sister and sister-in-law, roused up Mr.
Pearce, who had gone to bed, and obtained admission to the
house. After some deliberation a policeman was called in,
and the whole party proceeding upstairs broke open the door
of the second Boor front, which was Moekford's sitting room,
and the fret flash of the light they carried revealed the
sickening details of a revolting tragedy. For there upon •
chair close to the window sat the Velem and pirtially
clothed body of Moekford himself, and upon the hearth.
rug lay the bodies, stiff and ghastly, of his two little girls.
The policeman at once sent to the nearest station, and a
very few senates brought an inspector sod other officers, as
well as Mr. Henderson, the divisional police surgeon. This
latter gentleman at a glance decided that the children bad
died from the effects of poison, and a minute more !sufficed
to show that the death of the father was the result of
several stabs in the abdomen, the weapon trod being a
carving knife which, covered with blood, was lying on a
chair close by.

Upon a more minute inspection of the apartment it be-
eameapparent that Mockford had acted with full deliberation
in taking the lives of his children and himself. The children,
it is known, were rather partial to castor oil as a medicine,
and on the chair before referred to as having a carving
knife upon it (there was also a fork) was a teacup, contain-
ing a little castor oil, with some sediment at the bottom, the
remains, it is presumed, of poison, which bad been adminis.
tered in the oil. There was also a phial lying undor the
table, which it is presumed had contained that poison be-
fore it was mixed with the oil, although the exact nature
of it has not yet been discovered.
The two poor children were named respectively Cathe-
rine and Emily—the former being seven and the latter
four years old. When their bodies were discovered one was
lying on her face and the other on her left ans.
The action of the poison seems to have been rapid,
and so great was the change from their natural appearance,
that Mr. Henderson at first imagined them to have been
dead for three or four days, and he could hardly believe
that they had been seen alive on Sunday. By the side of
their bodies two pillows were found lying—one with sod the
other without a case, the latter being completely Wa-
nted with blood ; and this, together with the general
appearance of the room, leeds to the supposition that Moak-
ford was kneeling on the pillows, looking at his children,
when he inflicted the stabs which brought about his own
death, and that afterwards he dragged himself to
the chair by the window, and sat there till
he bled to death. The stab must have been in-
flicted with the utmost coolness and determination.

He had 00 only his trowsers, shirt, and flannel st;ict7The
first were loose about him, and the shirts—which have no
perforation over the stabs—malt have been lifted and held
up with one hand, while he struck the knife into his
abdomen five or six times with the other ; so that every
appearance warrants the conclusion that he bad long
contemplated the terrible deed. It should be added that
under the table was found a chamber-utensil containing
apparently some vomit matter, and it is thought probable
that he in the first instanco attempted to poison him-
self, but that, throwing up the poison, he then bad recourse
to the carving knife. The vomit matter was at once sealed
up by the direction of Mr. Henderson. who, while we *cite,
ia engaged with another medical man in making a post
reorient examination of the babes.

Mockford was 35 years old, and up to the death of his
wife, on the 27th of April lut, a strong and healthy man.

THE FLOOD IN THE PENS.

(FROM OCR SPECIAL RIPORTER4

LYNN, TUESDAY NIGHT.

Considerable alarm has been caused by the dis-
covery that the hole which has been found to be scoured
near the Wash-bridge (opposite the first breach which was
stopped up by Mr. E. Holmes, of the Norfolk Estuary), is
considerably larger and more serious than was at first
thought. Yesterday the result of dipping pve some inti-
mation of the fact, bat the full realisation was not made
till a diver went down. It appean that the hole which was
scoured is five or six chains long, and about five or six feet
lower than the bottom of the drain, penetrating the side of
the drain to an extent of from fifteen to twenty feet. It
ear thought th►t this bole was scoured by the water which
gained admission into the cut through the bunting
of a culvert, but the examination by the diver at once
upset that hypothesis, and the culvert beyond poesible
leakage was found to be all right. The water moat
thLrefore enter the drain through the lower part of the
breach. which was supposed to be well stopped up. The
culvert consists of a pipe about two feet six in diameter,
and it has been found that the centre of it rests upon the
bed of the cut, whilst the sides have been undermined.
Loose earth and earth in bags are being thrown into the
bole. and every effort that can possibly be put forth is
being made to prevent its extension, and fill it up. This
hole is considerably larger than the first one discovered.
Ye.terilay on the part of the Marshland commissioners,
31r. Page, C.E., made a thorough examination of the hanks
of the dr.ian in which those commissioners were intended,
with what results we have not been informed. It is posi-
tively asserted that all the loose earth which has been de-
posited in the inside of the dam has bees washed away by the
scours, and the practice of dropping sacks of earth in has not
been adopted, so far as the inside of the dam is concerned.
Rumour is current that the principal piles are giving way in
the centre of the dam, but every means which can be ago- .
plied are being adopted to make the work substantial, so far
as an unprofessional man can judge.

CZYSTAL PALM& —BLONDDVS MILD Aileron,
OV FOCITADMIL-00 situung DAT. —ww.rozaDAT,
Joni 10.—Aesisime POPSOOt. 17,314; b 7 SONO.
tiCketa, 1.1101 MME Aiken, 1a5,640.