The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-02-05 00:00:00

Encumbered Estates Court to the Court of Chancery would be
found impracticable.
Mr. GEORGE and Mr. V. SCILLY generally approved of
're of the Solicitor-General for Ireland.
and subsequently the bill was

the mea,
.Leave

BANKS

A. PELLATT brollg

o banker's cheques,

t may not be imperative up

cross-written, though payable to bearer

SCOTCH LAW BILLS,

nend the law relating
bill is to provide that

o pay a cheque when

The LORD ADVOCATE brought in the following bills
bill to consolidate and amend the law relating to bankruptcy
in Scotland. A bill to make further provision for the removal
^nd the prevention of diseases, in Scotland.
1 e the procedure in actions, causes, and
proceedir , which are at present competent before the

Also a bill

bnurt of

Was n nninated

reZulat

n of Mr. WILSON',

djourned

,e printing committee

a quarter to eleven o'elock,

MURD ER OF

A WHOLE

FAMILY.

On Sunday morning, a man described by the police
as being about 34 years of age, and of repulsive 'aspect'
presented himself at Bow street station, with a recoest
that he might see the inspector on duty, and was at once
.tor Dodd, to whom he stated,

introduced to Mr. In9pe

with the most perfect calmness

and composure, that h®

had murdered his w

self-accused murderer
stated that his name was William Bousfield, and that he

resided at No. 4, Portland-street, Soho-square, and that
he was by trade a neusvender and tobacconist. He said
that he had that morning killed his wife by stabbing her
in the neck with a chisel, and that in consequence of
that act he was desirous of delivering himself into the
hands of justice. This statement having been duly
entered, 'lnspector Dodd immediately proceeded to Port•
land-street for the purpose of instituting further inquiries.
The inspector learned that Bousfield occupied the shop
and parlours of the house, and be accordingly tried the
parlour door. Finding it locked he.burst it open and
entered, when, to his horror, he found not only the body
of the nierde.red wife, but the dead bodies of three
young children lying on their beds, all the bodies being
cold and rigid. His first business was to send for a
surgeon, and Mr. J. Hadaway, an able practitioner
residing in the neighbourhood, was called in. This
gentleman was informed that the murier of the Wife,
ccording to the murderer's own confession, had been
ed with a chisel, and an instrument of that
hat is commonly called a t chisel—was found
Mr. Hadaway glanced at the wound
in the woman's throat, and then at the chisel, and
at once remarked upon the probability that the
murder was committed with some other weapon. The
chisel, although a sharp instrument, would, he thought,
have left a jagged wound, whereas on the right
side of the poor woman's neck there was a transverse
incision four inches long, two incisions on the right arm,
and two on the left. The wounds on the arm might, he
thought, have been inflicted by a sharp chisel, as
it appeared to him that there had been an evident inten-
tion to bleed the woman to death before the larger and
More serious wound was inflicted. On the neck of the
eldest child, Anne Bousfield, aged six years, he found
two incisions on the right side, and one on the other
side, either of which would have been sufficient to cause
death. On the neck of the second child, Eliza Bous-
field, aged four years, he found a deep incision, and
another a little beneath the collar bone, between an inch
and an inch and a half deep. On the neck of the
infant, John Bousfield, aged eight months, he found
a deep incision, and be thinks there was a slight one
on the other side, but there was so much blood
that he was unable to ascertain the fact in
the hasty examination he made. On removing the
bodies, the surmises of Mr. Hadaway received
a remarkable confirmation. Under the body of Mrs.
Bousfield was half the handle of a razor, and under the
body of one of the children the blade. The remaining part
of the handle was not found. The Surgeon's opinion
(subject to a further examination which he intends to
make), is that the great wound in Mrs. Boustleld's neck
was inflicted by a razor, after an ineffectual attempt to
bleed her to death, and that the wounds in the necks and
on the arms of the children were inflicted with the chisel,
which was found in the room. It is evident, from the
state ot:t he bodies, that the murders were committed about
five or six o'clock in the morning, and that soon after his
wife and children were dead, Bousfield went to Bow-street
station and gave Limself up to the police. At that time
his hand was cut, and appeared to have been bleeding
considerably.
When Inspecto
tered the

in the loom

)odd returned to Bow-street he ell,

large against the prisoner. When the charge
was read over to the prisoner, he said !somevi hat gloomily,
"I hope the children are not all dead," but added nothing
more. He was examined by Dr. Snitch, the :medical
officer at the police court, who at once pronounced that
he had not been drinking, and that he had no reason to
suppose that he was of unsound mind.

The house, No. 4, Portland-street, in which this 'hor-
rible murder was committed, was the property and in the
occupation of Mr. J. Jones, a carpenter and joiner, and
the owner of several houses in the neighbourhood.
Seven or eight. years ago, Bousfield married Mr.
Jones's only child, the poor woman now lying dead,
and since that time has carried on the joint business
of tobacconist and newsvendor. lie seems to have
borne but an indifferent character, and to have left
the whole of the business to his wife, who was a
most industrious and persevering woman. and a most
careful and affectionate mother. On Saturday night,
between eleven and twelve o'clock, Bousfield returned
home, and shut up his shop according to his usual cus-
tom, but there was nothing in his manner that called for
remark. As far as the inmates of the house are acquaint-
ed, he retired to rest. with his family almost immediately
afterwards, and nothing more was heard of them until the
arrival of Inspector Dodd in the morning.
Mr. Jones, the father, always showed the most marked
kindness towards his daughter, and supplied her and her
family with everything they required. Every one who is
acquainted with the family is at a loss to account for the
motive which prompted the brutal murder, as there was no
poverty, and the murderer never evinced the slightest
indications of mental aberration. It appears that after
committing the murders, he locked the parlour door and
put the key in his pocker, where it was found on his
arrival at the station.

From a conversation the reporter had with the father
of the unfortunate woman, he ascertained that the mur-
derer was not a drunkard, but, on the contrary, drank
very little. He had, however, been exceedingly indolent
ever since he had been married, and made no attempt to
support his family beyond what the business of the shop,
usually carried on by his unfortunate wife, produced.
Before his marriage it is stated that he used to work
hard, and earn considerable wages. The wretched man
does not seem to feel much his awful position, and since
his incarceration in the station-house has said very little
concerning the awful sacrifice of life he has caused.

EXAMINATION or THE PRISONER.

Shortly before one o'clock yesterday the prisoner was
brought up in custody of Inspector Dodd, and was at once
placed in the dock, at the Marlborough-street police court,
before Mr. Bingham, the presiding magistrate. The pri-
soner is about six feet high, and was in such a state of
nervous depression, that he was obliged to be supported
into the dock by Bendall, the deputy gaoler, and police
constable Silverton. The prisoner at first refused to give
his name, and struggled so violently that he was obliged
to be handcuffed. The evidence of the witnesses, as far
as examined, was only a repetition of the several facts as
given in the foregoing statement, and eventually the pri-
soner was remanded for further examination.

The Indus 'arrived at Marseilles yesterday morning
with advices from Constantinople of the 24th, and from
the Crimea of the 22nd ult.

The Queen has been pleased tl grant an annual
pension of £5O to Mr. John D'Alton, the author of
several works on Irish history.

The Northern Bee, of Jan. 5, published at St. Peters-
burg, states that the demand for tallow and meat, for
some days had been enormous. Engagements had been
entered into for 4,000 tons yellow tallow, for delivery in
August, at prices varying from 1.3.5 to 1.40 paper roubles
per pond. A great business had also been done in flax,
wheat, rye, and other products, for delivery in May and.
June.

THE APPROACHING ELECTIONS.--MiEtUrSt : Mr. Samuel
Warren's canvass at Midhurst has been thoroughly suc-
cessful, and places him beyond the reach of opposition.
The writ, we understand, reached Midhurst on Friday. It
is considered a singular incident in the history of what Mr.
Disraeli would term " literary statesmanship," that on
the same day—the 19th of January—Mr. Macaulay
announced that he had taken leave of political life, and Mr
Samuel 'Warren, claiming the suffrages of the electors of
Midhurst, stated his intention to commence his political
existence. Rochester : The mayor has appointed Thursday
next for the nomination, and the polling will take place on
the following day. Mr. Bodkin (Conservative), and Mr.
Martin (Liberal), are the candidates. Leeds: The election
will take place on Thursday next. Mr. Baines, it is expected,
will he elected without opposition.
for
COLONIAL EXPENDITURE.—A return move_ri by Lord
Seymour, M.P., shows that the grand total expenditure
incurred by Great Britain for the year 1853-54 for the
colonies amounted to the sum of 3,288,:i3t'1., whereof
2,941,6871. (gross) was devoted to mllitary charges, the
net total: amount having beet... 1012. ,687,0701. ; 590,0401. to
civil charges (gross), and 90 to naval expenditure,
civil, military, and naval
The Yost-office collections
establishments making
exceeding the civil expenditure amounted to 3,3251. Of
a net total oot af 13, a2m9176u6i
3t fo r
the above amounts for civil and military expenses 238,9811.
was appropriated to Gibraltar, 295,740/. to Malta, 513,9691.
e
Bermuda, rGmouodda .. 6511. to St. Helena,
149,376/. to
Hope, 104,5741. to the Isle of France,
to the
01. to
the lonian Islands, 72,4661. to Hong Kong, 152,536/. to
Jamaica, 283,613/. to Canada, 120.9431. to Nova Scotia,
94,7651. to Ceylon, 87,3261. to New Zealand, 71,3131.. to New
South Wales, 264,2871. to Van Diemen's Land, and 133,8351.
to Western Australia.