The Express.
London, England, 1851-05-15 00:00:00

THE TWO CHILDREN POISONED AT
MOTTRAM.

In the Express of yesterday we gave an ac-
count of the proceedings at the adjourned inquest held on
Tuesday at Mottram on the bodies of Sarah Ann Bareroft
and Ellen Mills up to one o'clock, when our report left.
The following is the substance of the evidence afterwards
adduced:— _ _ _

Mr. Ralph Sidcbottam, surgeon, of Mottram, said—Ou
the 3rd of May, in conjunction with Mr. Alcoek, I made
post-mortem examinations of the bodies of Sarah Ann Bar.
croft and Ellen Mills. We removed the stomach from the
body of Sarah Ann Bareroft. I subsequently took home a
jar containing the stomach and contents. The stomach, a
portion of the intestines, and some of their contents, were
taken from the body of Ellen Mills, put into two jars,
and were subsequently taken home by me. On the sth
inst. I made an analysis of what wax taken from Sarah
Ann Barcroft's body, but was unable to find any arsenic.
On Tuesday morning I threw the stomach and liquid away.
The adjourned inquest was held on the Tuesday afternoon and
I received instructions to attend the disinterment of Sarah
Ann Barcroft's body. I accordingly attended at Charles-
worth next day. The body disinterred was the one from
which I had taken the stomach on the 3rd inst. On the
sth inst. I sent the other two jars, containing the portions
which had been taken from Ellen MilLs's body, to Dlr. Al-
cock, by his servant.
Sarah Cheetham, Mr. Aleock's servant, proved the re-
ceipt from Mr. Sidebuttam, and the delivery to Mr. Alcock
of two jars, tied up, on the .sth May.
Mr. Thos. Alcock, surgeon, at Hyde, confirmed Mr.
Sidebottam's evidence with respect to the post morteno ex-
amination of the bodies, and the removal and custody of
the stomach of Ellen Mills. lie then continued—l mule an
analysis of the stomach of Ellen Mills on the sth May, and
of the intestines on the lOth. The results in each case
showed the presence of arsenic. The quantity of solid ar-
senic found in the stomach of Ellen .Mills would nut be
more than the bulk of a pin's head altogether; and that
extracted from the intestines might possibly weigh two or
three grains. I attended the disinterment of Sarah Ann
Barcroft. The body disinterred WWI the same which I had
examined on the 3rd inst. I and Mr. Sidebottam, in the
presence of Mr. Little, Look out all the contents of the body
except the stomach, previously removed. The whole was
put into a clean jar, covered and tied, and handed to me.
I took it home, submitted it to tests on the sth instant,
and discovered the presence of arsenic. I have no doubt
whatever that the tests I applied prove the presence of
arsenic in both bodies. In the case of Sarah Ann Barcroft
have net found evidence of a large quantity of arsenic
ing in the body. I have no doubt, from the result of the
analyses and examinations I have made, that Ellen Mills
and Sarah Ann Bareroft died from the effects of arsenic. I
have tested some flour given to me last Wednesday by Mr.
Little, and found no traces of arsenic in it.
IL
_.. .

By Mr. Ellison: I cannot account for Mr. Sidebottain
not finding arsenic in Barcroft's stomach, except that from
the bursting of the stomach the whole of the poison was
emptied from it. There must have been more arsenic than
I afterwards found in order to produce the symptoms I
saw.

Mr. Daniel Stone, professor of chemistry. at Manchester,
said: I received from Mr. Little, on Thursday night last, a jar
covered with leather, and tied up, and containing a portion of
lung, intestine, liver, and kidney. On applying tests the
following day I discovered arsenic in the substance of the
liver, and also in the intestines, blood, and tluithi. I ex-
amined for other metals but found none. _

Mary Cooper, who lives next door to Bancroft, and wu
present at the child's death, said—Ruth Bareroft asked me
to go for Btu Mills, and I went and fetched her. She
afterwards brought her husband, Ellen Mills, and two of
her lodgers' children. Ruth asked Bess to go for her
mother, and she immediately went. John Mills went to
his work, and the three children were left in the house. I
took the lodger's youngest child on my knee, but it began
to scream. Ituth then took it front me, and gave it some
porridge out of a cup which she took from the top of the
oven. The child did not have much of the porridge before
its mcther came in. I did not see any of the other children
have porridge. In the afternoon, about three o'clock, Ruth
came iu to my house with some porridge in a pint pot. It
was nearly full, and 'herald she had brought it for my hens.
She always brought me the otfal meat Inc the hens. The
hens eat It, and are all bring.
Several other witnesses whose evidence was not of
striking importance having been examined, the inquest was
adjourned.

ALLEGED MURDER NEAR MANCIIESTER.—A man
named Joseph Allison was brought up at the New Bailey,
Manchester, on Monday last, having been apprehended by
Mr. Chief Superintendent Beswick, on suspicion of being
Iconcerned in the murder of a man named John Hunt. The
deceased and the prisoner were carters in the employment
of a cooper named Goodwin. On Wednesday, the 311th ult.,
they were commissioned by their employer to go to Ashton-
under-Lyne, with their carts, to purchase some tubs. He
had sent them on the same errand before, and gave deceased
71. to pay for the tubs. The prisoner and the de-
ceased called at the Snipe Inn, Openshaw, on the
road from Ashton to Manchester, between seven and
eight o'clock the same evening, and had two pints of beer.
They then appeared to be on very good terms, and drank
out of the same cup. They had their carts with them,
loaded with tubs. Whilst they were at this public-house
the two men began to talk of the respective merits of each
other's horses. Deceased offered to bet the prisoner It. to
Is. that his horse was the' best. The men were rather ad-
I vaned in liquor. Allison begged the deceased not to leave
him, as he said his (the prisoner's) horse was bent upon
mischief, and he was afraid he should have some trouble
with It. The men left the public•house about half-past 8,
and went towards Manchester. A short time afterwards
the two men were seen walking together with their carts at
Fairfield, a little further on the road, by a boy returning from
!school, who noticed that they were quarrelling and abusing
one another. The boy remained playing with some school
fellows for above an hour afterwards, and soon lost sight
of the men. The prisoner was seen some time the same
evening at a public-house in Ardwick. Deceased's wife
was there also, and upbraided the prisoner, who was in-
toxicated, with haying left her husband on the road.
Allison replied that he did not care if Hunt broke his
neck. It appears that deceased's wife had had a strong
presentiment on her mind that her husband would not
return safe, and had act out to meet him. She went
about two miles further along the road, and met the horse
and cart returning unattended. Hunt's body was found
early the next morning by a carter named James Had-
' field, lying on his side against the footpath. There
were no marks of injury about him, except a wound
in the nose, from which blood was issuing. An inquest was
held on the body on Friday week, but very little evi-
dence could then be obtained, and a surgeon who gave evi-
deuce stating that the deceased was an apoplectic subject,
the jury returned a verdict of " Found dead." It had
since been ascertained that an apron belonging to a man in
' the same employment with the prisoner, which had been
missing since the day the men went to Ashton, was acci-
eternally found in a cask in Mr. O,,odwin's yard with marks
of blood upon it. A number of biUs were found upon him,
bring receipts for the casks which he had bought at Ashton.
They amounted to 41. 125., which, with 3s. Bd. allowed for
expenses, left a balance due to Mr. Goodwin of 2/. 4s. 4d.
Only a shilling and a halfpenny, however, were found upon
deceased. The prisoner was then remanded till Friday. A
pale modem examination of the body was made on Monday
evening by Mr. Brown, surgeon, of Gorton, and Dr. J. G.
Harrison, of Manchester, who found that death had been
caused by the fracture of four ribs, and the consequent
rupture er one lung and the WileT.
let ROTAI: BiLtsoous.—Thttregiment, which was
to have been quartered at Hampstead and Highgate, re-
ceived counter orders, and is now statiqped at Barnet (head-
quarters) and at Enfield. Several trAps are still en routs
from Nottingham, but are expected daily.