The Express.
London, England, 1861-09-21 00:00:00

THE ATTEMPTED DOUBLE MURDER AHD
SUICIDE AT GOOLE.

At an early hour ou Wmluesday morning Goole
was thrown into a state of intense excitement by a tinalotr
that a woman lout been administering large doses of opium
to her children as well as to herself, and on inquiry the **-
port turned out too :true, for one child was already dead,
and the other in such a drowsy state that it was almost lin-
poesible to keep it awake, awl, but for the untiring efforts
of Sergeant Greenwood, the child could not have recovered.
The prisoner, Mrs. Torkingtoo, is the wife of a police-officer
residing at Stockport, but was on a visit to her mother, Mn.
Scholar, Lower Bridgeetreet, Goole, where she has been
living since the 14th of July last. At the inquest, which
was holden on Thursday afternoon, at the Sydney Hotel,
Guile, before J. H. Simpson, Pp., M.D., the coroner for
Pontefract, the following particular, were elicited :
Mr. R. P. Sell said I am in practice as a surgeon
in Goole. About 2 o'clock on Wednesday morning Mrs.
Scholes called me up to attend her daughter. 1 went
at once, and found a young child apparently in a profound
sleep. The mother was sitting in a chair in the salmi room,
talking in a wild and wanderiug way, and was making efforts
to vomit. I examined the child and found its pulse
feeble and intermittent, and its skin cold and clammy,
with the eyelids abut and the pupils contracted.
I asked the grandmother what they had been
giving to the child, and she replied, "My daughter
says she has given them a pennyworth of opium." lat
once gave an emetic, but this had no effect. I gave a
second with the like result. 1 then used the stomach
pump, but I was still unable to give relief. In passing the
tube the child vomited a small quantity of mucus. The
child died about 7 sm. When I was first called in the
child was in a very dangerous state, and there was no
possible chance of saving its life. I applied every remedy
I knew without effect. I have performed a post-mortem
examination on the body. I produce the contents of the
stomach, and on examining it l found a strong smell of
opium. I fount a brown
_powder secreted among the mucus
Lilco from the stomach. I am sure that powder was poison,
and that the child came to its death from as overdose
of opium or some other narcotic poison such as opium or
laudanum. I have tested the contents of the stomach by
test paper, and hod au acid reaction. I heard that the
prisoner had soother child, and when I inquired for it she
said it was upstairs all right. 1 mot her to fetch it down-
stairs, and then sew that it was suffering from the effects
of opium. It was then staggering, and in a very nervous
state. I gave him an emetic, and one to his mother, and
afterwards repeated them, which caused free voruiti4. I
ordered them some strong coffee, and had them walitiag
about for some time. The boy was kept in motion from my
tint visit until 5 or 6 o'clock in the evening. He ss
now better, and the mother has also hoovered from the
effects of the opium, but she is in a very unsettled state of
mind. The prisoner told me that she had bought a drachm
of opium, which cost her 34d., and that they had all
taken it.

Mrs. Mary Scholeu, the prisoner's mother, said—Mary
Torkington, the deceased, is my grandchild, and was a year
and seven months old. My daughter came to me cm July
Ili last. I warn over at Stockport on July 8, and told her
husband to bring her, as I thought she was "silly mad."
and the change might do her good. Os the 18th instant
my son-in-law mane home about 2 o'clock a.m. and I got
up to let him in. At that time I heard the child moaning.
I was in the min, bed with it and its mother. I took hold
°tithe child, and thought it was ill, and went at once for
Dr. Bell. He pee it medicine, and used the stomach
pump, but it died about 7 o'clock the same morning. I
asked my daughter what she had twee doing to the child,
and at first she said, " Nothing." I said, " If thou doesn't
tell me I will knock thee down." She then said, "We
have all had a peanyworth of opium, and shall be deed
directly." She seamed quite in high spirits over it. I
sent for Sergeant I;reeevrood, and, in company with my
daughter, we went to the shop where she mid she had
puiehmed the opium. I did not know of her buying any,
and believe she was not in the habit of taking it. She was
very fond of her cbildreu, and always afraid thyme should
injure them. My daughter was in the Stockport Infirmiu7
in June last. She had then been attempting to hang her.
self. I have often taken her children away from her, but
she has found and brought them back. II she went up.
stairs I was forced to follow her, for fear she should do her-
self an injury.
Mr. William Steele, assistant to Mr. th druggist,
proved that the primes? applied to him s of opium,
and that his cantioned bar several times asked if the
koew that it was a dewily poison. She said she did, and
from her appearance ho thought, she was in the habit of
taking it.
The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict
of "Wilful murder" against the prisoner. She had been re-
manded by the magistrates, sad will be brought before
them in a day or two.

THE LArs CONVICT ESCAPE PROM PORTLAND.

CURIOUS RLOLPTURY.

Our Portland correspondent gives the following
strange recital :—What as szeitenwet was created moss
the afters of the said prison establishment on Monday last,
when Thomas Murphy made his amps! Early that mom
ins private information was received by the authorities
that • prisoner was to make an attempt to escape ; no
erne could guess from what patty, or from what plies, bat
all the principal officers got antic to look oat. The weed
was scarcely given before the usual signal was paned frees
guard to guard that a prisoner was off ; then all were ma the
qui vire ; messages flew in all directions, panting warders
hurried toand fro, the prisoners whisperand inquired "what's
up?" and the news passes on "Chums, hark ye ! a lag hes
'd his panty and hook'd it," which beiog interpreted MOMS
Canppnion■,listen! a prisoner has ta ken *run sod
Au officer wee despatched to inform the polioeirk.l,7
mouth, another was pasted at the kadirrg pieria Portland
to intercept all passengers from the is • third
took horse and galloped off to the -house at
the ferry bridge. The soldiers were turned out of
lanaclot, a chain of sentries encircled the island,
sad spouts in blue coats and mute in red were search-
ing into every nook, under every dons, sad examining
every projection, corner, sad /edge that it was pee-
eible for human foot to reach; so relief was given
to the guards, they had to eland to their pain all day,
and the excitement was kept tip until the evening, when
sundry reports came in from venous quarters sonousieing
that the markt wee seen by several persons on the
route from Portland to Weymouth. Tuesday morning
tame, and with it the general opinion that Thomas
Murphy was a clever fellow, and that by that time he
was receiving the congratulations of his friends in London
or liverpooL Towards the end of the day, a prisoner in
the party from which the man was missing intimated that
be wanted to spcik to one of the chief woolen ; as this is •
common occurrence no notice was taken of the fact ; the pri-
soner, however, committed some petty offence, for which he
was at once removed to the prison. On arriving there
he explelned that his object was to inform where the
runaway was, and he asserted that he could point out his
hiding place. goon after six o'clock, when the whole o( the
convicts were removed to the prison for the night, the
informer was led out to fulfil his promise. He walked
straight for the spot where the party was working, and,
putting his hand on • great heap of shingle and rubbish,
he laconically rid " Here." Some half-dozen men at
once proceeded to remove the rubbish, and contiened so
employed foetidly half an hour before the hollow sound of •
man's voice was heard from below. It appears that the con-
whim were employed forming the glade in front of the Vera*
citadel, and it wee necessary to fill up a great hollow in order
to bring the surface to a uniform plain. In the hollow ones
stood • workshop belonging to Mr. Leather, attached to whisk
wall a small arched room fur keeping powder. As the Mac
*matched this spot the earth was " tipped " over the re-
mains of the building, and the small room offered an excellent
hiding place, which the primmer saw sad availed himself
having taken up his quarters here, the filling proceeded, sod
covered over the room for several feet ; indeed, ne perms
present at the capture would believe that the prisoner could
possibly release himself, and it is now supposed that has
companion, seeing his danger, and the probability of his
being smothered, was led to give the information which
renalted in his capture. The only dims he had on were
his fiennela and boots ; but hs had concealed in his hiding
place • ptir of trousers. hal moo* some esellas sad thread,
sad four loam of bread. —Dared Country °kraut:is

Tam Max sumo AuTe.—Yeetertiny after-
:woe. Mr. Cartier concluded as adjourned inquiry into the
death of William Nicol, who lost his life from the giving
way of • partition of a coal bunker at the wharf of Messrs.
Doendl end Co., Deptforttereek, oo the 3rd test. It will
be remembered that the doomed sued two other men,
rased Baker sod Smith, were at work in as edjoiniug
booker, when an immense weight of coal broke in upon sod
buried them. The two injured men were now era-
aud swore that on the morning of the day in
question they were about putting two shores up as a
protection spinet accident, whoa Mr. Dowell endowed
them not to do co, and that bad they been aware
coals were being discharged into the bunker thus
temporarily separated, they would not have continued at
work. Mr. Dowell contradicted this statement, raid said
Ms orders hail been mistaken for he bad told the rues that
they were to let alone what they were about, and to speak
to Scott, the foreman, when he came, which they failed to
do, and hence the occurrence. The jury, attar a lengthened
deliberation, returned the following verdict:—" That the
deceased departed this life from injuries received from
being crushed by the partition dividing two bunkers having
given way, which partition had notbeen properly constructed
as a workmanlike or safe manage ; and the jury are of
opinion that great antigen*, but not amounting to sauna.
Deity, is attributable to Scott for his want of due precau-
tion in not seeing the partition properly constructed and
shored up, and also to Mr. Dowell for allowing the adjoin
in hunker to be filled with coals before it was clearly new-
imbed that the partition had been properly shored up sad
obis to beer Use weight."
SINOCLitt Aectrittrr.--On Wolnesday evening
the Bev. F. P. Finch, of 25, Kimaintoo.park -terraoe north,
and Mr. laloweele, of 7, Sussex ..treat, Werwick4quare,
were riding ea the top of an 011111illq; The vehicle s
and thee west suddenly on again with a jerk, which=tat
effect of shaking Mr. Finch from his seat. In falling he
=lit hold of Mr. Inkenoleand drew hen off with him.
giudlemen where eenveyed to the Middlesex Hospital;
bat Mr. Inkersole was enabled after some tame to to Liken
home. Mr. Fifth, who sustained a fracture of his toiler-
bens, mashie at the hospital wider the care of Use house
eargooor Mr. Willis.

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