Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-12 00:00:00

DOUBLE MURDER AND SUICIDE.

On Thursday morning, at an early hour, a murder and
suicide of a most tragical and distressing character teak
place at Thornton Heath, about a mile distant from the
town of Croydon. For some years past, Mrs. Mary
Smither, a lady of some property, and her two sons, one
William nelton Smither, aged 33, and the other. Gam.les
Smither, aged 18, occupied the house No. 49, Thornton
Heath, and the family were reroarkablo for the love and
affection which seemed to. subsist between them. William
Helton, the eldtr son, has been a clerk in the Bank
of England, from which establishment he received a
salary of £2OO per annum; and Charles has been
engaged in the factory of Mr. Bunnitt, engineer,
Deptford, preparatory to his entcring the Bank of
England also, which he expected to do in a few weeks.
William has been remarkable for his steadiness and general

eportment, until very recently, when, unfortunately, a
total change came over him, and kr some days preceding
the awful tragedy in which he was the principal actor, he
was known to drink a bottle of brandy. This change, there
teen be no doubt, has been occasioned by his bee eming a spe-
culator on 'Change, and the ill luck which attended these
speculations. On one bargain alone he is said to have lost
as much as £7O, and this sum he borrowed from a friend
in the beginning of the week, to pay over to his stock-
broker. His losses, it would seem, were considerable, for,
from some papers found, it appears that assignments were
prepared for the disposal of some life policies, and a bill
for £5OO for ecceptance from a geetleman in the city,
were found amongst them. It had been his, William's
custom to sleep down stairs, bat for some cause cr other,
he for some nights preceding the unfortunate 'occurrence
slept with his brothers, on the first floor, a proceeding
objected to by his mother, who insisted on his
resting in his own bed, and on Thursday night
the unfortunate lady called out to her younger sane and
asked " if William lead gone to his own loom," and the
ens wer,:though not true, was in the affirmative. Nothing,
however, occurnal on that night to excite suspicion or
alarm. The mother and brothers went to bed as usual,
and on the following morning, about seven o'clock, the
servant, Eliza Morgan, was awoke, as she thought, by a
noise in her mistress's room, and she at once got up end
commenced her domestic work. In about a quarter of an
hour afterwards she heard a knocking at the bed room of
Mr. Charles, and on going there, Mr. William asked her
for a wine glass, which she took to hire, and returned to
the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Henry having waited
some time beyond tjie usual time at which the
family came to breakfast, she went to the bed-
room of Charles and listened for a momect or so, and
hearing no noise, she pushed the door open, and the first
thing that caught her vices, was the countenance of her
young master, with a quantity of coloured foam about the
mouth and nostrils. The sight so alarmed her that she
retired from the room, and at once ran to the house next
door for assistance, and returned with the servant men.
Both persons then entered the bedroom, where they
found both the brothers perfectly lifeless, and a phial and
a win glass on the foot of the bed. The first exclamation
of the servant was, that she was sure the shock would
kill her mistress, and hesitated for a few moments as to
how she should break it to her. In a few moments, how-
ever, she summoned resolution, and proceeded to her
mistress's bedroom, on the same floor, and on entering it
shocking to relate, found the unfortunate lady numbered
amongst the dead also. She lay on the bed with
her head resting on her right hand, the bed perfectly un-
rufff ad, and it was evident the potent and deadly poison had
instaataneous effect and she died without a strug;le.
Though no human aid could have been of the slightest
avail, medical aid was sought after, but it was quite an
hour before it could be procured, and at the end of that
time Mr. Bottomley, of Croydon, made his appearance,
and pronounced all three dead. Inspector Alexander
Frezer, of the P division of pollee stationed at Croyden,
was soon on the spot, and took charge of the house at:d
the property, and on learning that Mr. Bottornley had
taken away a letter written by the deceased, and also
the phial which had contained the prussic acid, lie
expressed some astonishment and dissatisfaction, par
ticularly as he had not been able to ascertain whether
the label on the battle bore the name of any chemist.
It appears that Mrs. Smither had been ailing for some
days, and that her son Willi tm had been in the habit of
giving her the medicine prescribed for her illneas, and by
this means had been enabled to give her the fatal dose, which
must, in a moment, have terminated her existenc... It is
the opinion of these who had seen him, that the fatal drug
must have been poured into the moath of the youth Charles
while he lay on his back, and that the sudden shock to the
circulation had caused the foam about the mouth and
nostiile. It is also believed that the quantity of prussic
acid taken by the unfortunate murderer himself was so
great that his death was iastanten,ous. Information of
the tragical event has been forwarded to Mr. Crater, the
Coroner, but no time is yet mentioned for the holding of
he inquest.

" I have lived to know," says Adam Clarke. " that the
greatest secret of human happiness is this—Naer
.suff r
your energies to stagnate. The old adage of too many
irons in the fire conveys an untruth. Yon car not have
too many—pokers tongs, aad all—keep them all going."
A labourer, named Turner, standing in the street of
Bishop Auckland, on Saturday evening week, during a
disturbance between some drunken pitmen, was knocked
by a blow on the head with a coalrake, which was wielded
with frightful force by one of the rioters. Turner died
the same night. The murderer escaped.
DEPOPULATION. —WIIERE SHALL we END ?
The depopulation of a Highland glen, within the bmnds
of a neighbouring county, is surprising. Abut 50 years
ago there were in it upwards of 36 families, all of whom
were free and happy, and were then sending many men,
who, as officers and privates, shone conspicuous in the fore-
most line of battle, shedding their blood for the security of
our throne and the happiness of our land. There are now,
within the same limits, if we ale not mistaken, only six !

Elgin Courant.
SHOCKING RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—A serious railway
accident occurred ab )ut half-past six o'clock on Thursday
morning, to a young man named Joseph Flight, a breaks-
man in the employ of Mr. J. Hargreaves, coal merchant,
Preston. Fright Was in eaarge of a coal train which left
Copland, near Wigan, abaut six o'clock. On the arrival
of the train at Preston he was missed, and the engine
driver immediately proceeded with his engine down the
and Inand the poor fellow lying across the metals, a
short distance fro a the Farington station. One of his
logs was frightfully smashed. He was conveyed to Creston,
where he received prompt medical aid, but it was found
necessary to amputate the injured limb.
ANOTHER FATAL ACCIDENT ON Tem NORTH-EASTERN
RAILWAY.—An inqaest was held at Leeds, on Tuesday,
before Mr. Blackburn, deputy coroner, on the body' of
William Simpson. aged 30, who had been employed as a
labourer on the North-Eastern Railway. On Saturday he
was engeged in repairing the permanent way of the line at
Gilder Junction, when an engine, drawing several trucks of
ballast, came up. It was th deceasd'e duty to uncouple
and re-couple the waggons of such a train, and he was
thus engaged with, this particular train. After 'he ballast
had been shot out of three waggons, deceased beckoned to
the engine driver (James Butterworth) to back the train,
and he, then suddenly ran between the waggons, apparently
wieh a view of doing something to the coupling chains.
Toe waggons being jerked, deceased 'received a brow is the
abdomen from one of the buffers, and was taken tip In-
sensible. Ho wrs immediately taken to the Le ds Infirmary,
but expired just before he reached it. The jury found a
verdiet of accidental death.
BOILER EXPLOSIO', AND Loss Ow LIFE AT WEST
Bacniewien.--Ale Jut nine o'clock on Wednesday morning,
and whilst apparently all was going on as usual a'. the
Bra Lane Colliery, known also as the B allock'e Farm
Colliery, one of the two large boilers at the works exploded
with tremendous violence. Such was the force, that a
large portion of one end of the boiler was completely
torn off, whilst the mass of hriCkwork in which it was
embedded was blown up and scattered in a'l diree'ions.
The bailer which laid close to, and with which the one in
question was connected, was not at all disturbed, except as
to such connecting part. The two large stacks of chim•
neys close to, and the building (the engin -house) within a
few yards, all escaped injury ; the force of the explosion
treating itself in the direction of Semi Lane, the chim-
neys and building referred to being -in the opposite direc-
tion. The size of the boiler was 7 feet by
.28 feet, and it
has only been is work five years. Its twin, the other
boiler referred to, had been used for seven years. One of
the men at the works, James Webb, who was close against
the boiler at the time of the accident, was blown almost
to pieces, and must have died instantly. His wife, who
had brought him his breakfast, was jest leaving the boun-
dary gate the moment when the boiler burst. We have
seen and conversed with the heed engineer, John Ray, who
says that he is quite at a loss to account for the accident.
It so happened that the engine driver who has usually
the charge of the boiler, &c. is ill, and so Mr. Ray had on
Wednesday the whole management. It seems as if the
whole of the inside of the burst boiler bad been heated to
red beat. We could get no positive information as to tha
amount of damage, done%-21inningharn Daisy Test.