The Express.
London, England, 1867-08-03 00:00:00

TDB TRAGEDY AT LIMEHOENE.

In the course of yesterday the prisoner Wiggins
was brought before Mr. Paget at the Thames police-court,
charged with the wilful murder of Agnes Oakes. He
appeared perfectly recovered, and was quite collected,
spoke is an audible vow, and frequently addressed the
magistrate.
Sarah Mertini, wife of Alfred Martini, of No. 3, Rhode..
well•road. no the banks of the Regent's Canal, and the
hack of whose dwelling is facing the front of the prisoner's
cottage, said that at ten minutes to two o'clock on the
morning of the 24th of J sly she was awoke by screams of
milder proceedhig from the direction of the priaui.er's
ilwelline.. The 'creams were repeated. She looked through
Le r window, but could see nothing. She Leril some words.
and n fruiale enioe exclaim, "You old —, you ar-i
murdering me." She put the blind down, and want to bed
again. and withort disturbing her husband. She was sure
it was ten minutes to two, because she looked at her own
watch when she got out of bed. Directly after she returned
to her bed the church clock struck two.

Mr. Junes Horton. surgeon, of 12. High.street, Stepney,
said—i on the morning of the 24th of July, about bah-past
r• o'clock. I was called to the prisoner's house, at the bot-
tom of North-street. I saw him seated on • chair on the
left side of the street, and with a wound on the left side
of the throat. I did not particularly examine him then,
hut hastened on to Temperance Cottage, where he and his
wife lived. I went up stairs, and in a room on the right
band I saw the deceased lying on her back ou the floor,
quite dead. Her head was under a chair, and her head
wanslightly raised, and resting on a rail of the chair.
There wan a considerable quantity of blood round the
chair, a pool of blood on the seat of the chair, end • black
handkerchief or apron covering it. There was a sheet
over the body. which only partially covered it. He first
examined a wound on the throat of the deceased,
eatentling below the left ear, of a mud-circular
shape, an inch be the centre of the throat.
It was • i wound, between four and
tire inches in length, arid two other incisions
in the akin on the left side, one above and toe cedar haow
Tae main cut, running into it. The wound was deep, and
I penetrated as far as the spine on the left side, dividing
the muscles, the large vessels extending across the throat,
dividing the windpipe nearly an inch beyond it, mid also
dividing the kit carotid artery and the jugular vein.
There was an old bruise on the left arm. The trunk was
net quite cold, and the body was partially covered with •
sheet, and was becoming rigid, bet not thoroughly so.
The blood was dark in colour, leaving him to suppose
death had taken place two hours before, or it might Le
111.1fe• Arterial blood, when first drawn, was very florid.
Is soon lost its bright ooleur. Death might have taken
plane two or three hours when he first saw the body. He
did nut think it could be so recent as three-quarters of au
Lour when he saw the body. That was an opinion
he formed by the symptoms be observed. There was a red
neckcloth round the neck of the prisoner. His throat was
bleeding profusely.
In answer to a question by the magistrate, the witness
said— tl7 opinion of that wound is that there is no doubt
it was the cause of the woman's death, and it might have
been indicted by herself under very powerful excitement
and determination. It is possible for a person to indict '
such a wound on herself if in a state almost amounting to
frenzy.
The prisoner, on being asked if he had any questions to
put to Mr. Horton, entered into • very long statement.
lie said he lived on very bad terms with his late wife
owing to her dissipated and drinking habits. She was
continually pawning his clothes and things. On the Sun-
day previous to her death she was drinking all day long.
He frequently gave her a sovereign or a halfasoveiiign to
procure food and other things for the house, hut she spent
the money in drink. On the morning in ii.ue.tion he
monks at twenty minutes to four o'clock, and went
down stairs and ascertained what the time was.
He returned to his room and lay down again, and his wife
asked him to forgive her. He was dozing off to sleep and
she began cutting his throat. He raised Ins hand Red hie
thumb was out. He never laid • hand on her. She cut
her own throat. The prisoner then made the most solemn
protestations of innocence, and concluded :—" Before God
and man, lan innocent. I hope I may be struck dead this
very instant if I am not as innocent as the unborn baby."
Mr. Bathurst Dove, surgeon, said he was house-sturgeon
at the London Hospital when the prisoner was brought
there on the morning of the 24th ult. The wound on the
throat might have been indicted by the patient himself,
Of by another person. The direction of the wound was
front left to right.
The prisoner's clothes were then brought into court.
They were stained with blood. A red neckerchief which
the prisoner was wearing when he was first seen with his
throat cut ou the morning of the 24th July was 'reduced.
It had been cut through many folds, but there was no
corresponding wound on the neck, and no blood on
the cuts in the neckerchief. There was one small stain of
blood on another cut. The prisoner changed colour when
the neckerchief was produced.
Some other evidence was then given, and the prisoner
denied having mid to the policeman who accompanied him
to the London Hospital that he saw his wife with the point
of the knife in her throat, and turning it round. He asked
to be allowed to attend the coroner's inquest to hear what
was said against him.

Mr. Paget thought that was a very reassemble request.
Inspector Brady said the inquest was adjourned until
Thursday next, and the Coroner had written to the Howe
fleortitary to allow the prisoner to attend.

The prisoner then asked that bail might be taken for
hiw, and said that be was employed by the most respect-
aide firms on the river, and could procure bail to any
amount; but this request Mr. Paget refused to comply
with, and remanded him until Friday neat.

THE HYDE-PARK MEETING ON MONDAY NEXT.—
Last night the council of the Reform League met at their
otiose us Adelphi-terrace, under the presidency of Mr.
Reales, for the purpose of perfecting the arrangements for
the intended reform demonstration in Hyde-park on Mon-
day next. After come discussien the system of organisa-
tion adopted at the meeting in May last with regard to
platforms and other mutters of detail was resolved upon.
The council announce d their intention to provide four
bands, and from the statements made by representatives of
branches of the League it appears that no less than eight
or ten bends will accompany the different divisions of
reformers to their destination. With the view of pre-
venting ontraps or disorder the various breaches who will
take part in the demonstration will .elect persons from
their number to act us temporary policemen. The resole-
tieux will be put from the various platforms at the sound
of a bugle from No. 1 platform, at which Mr. Reales is to
preside.
EAST LONDON RAILWAYCOMPANY.—ThedireCtOTI
of this company have to report that so far as the works
have ails Raced they have been satisfactorily executed, but
the rate of regress during the past half-year has not been
so rapid as they could have desired. The embankment for '
the line ha been carried within a few yards of the Mouth
London Railway, which, when completed, will provide a
direct communication between the East London Railway
and the South Loudon districts, as well as with the South
Western, and London, Chatham, and Dover Railways.
The construction of that portion of the line which is to
join the Brighton Railway at New-cross has been delayed
by difficulties which have arisen in obteinine possession of
the land, and also from the unsatisfactory relations
which have recently existed with the Brighton Company.
The directors have reason to believe that these difficulties
will shortly be removed, and that the friendly feeling be-
i tweet' the two companies which had previously subsisted
I will speedily be restored. The works leading to the tunnel
are progressing, 111111 every exertion will be made to com-
plete and open the first section of the line to Wapping at
the earliest possible (lute. The directors believe that when
i the junctions with the South London line and the Brigh-
ton line at New-cross are completed the importance of a
direct communication between the north and south of the
Thames will be folly established, although any traffic
upon this section will be small as compared with that
which will follow the completion of the entire line through
Bethnal-green and Whitechapel to Broad-street. As the
Great Eastern Company has n t yet given this company
possession of the land upon which that portion of the
line intended to be used in common between
the two companies I. to be constructed, no fur-
thee progress has been made in that direction.
The position of the Great Eastern Company precludes any
positive action with regard to the ariangeurents with that
' company. In probability new parliamentary powers
will be required in the next session, and the directors will
not fail to submit to the shareholders any proceedings they
may propose to take before the company t. in any way
committed. A first portion of the surplus property has
been sold, and more is being prepared for sale. The
directors have thought it better to realise this property at
once than to raise money upon it on mortgage, with all the
attendant expenses.
QPRENSTOWN, Aram 2.—The National Steam
I Navigation Company's steam ship Pennsylvania, from New
York, arrived here at 3 p.m. to-day. After landing her
passengers she proceeded. for Liverpool. All well.