The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-02-09 00:00:00

MURDER IN AfANCHESTER.

[From the Manche:lce Afeecnry.l
On Friday last the town was thrown into a state of great agits.
tion, by the intelligence of a most dreadful and atrocious crime
having been committed at noon-day, and in the very centre of the
town—no less than the murder of a respectable manufacturer in his
own warehouse, which was afterwards set fire to, in order to con-
ceal the evidences of the crime. The following are such particulars
of this shocking 'Asir as have transpired and are proper to be laid
before the public in the present stage of the proceedings.
About twenty minutes before two o'clock on Friday. the atten.
tion of some persona passing through Marsden-square was arrested
by seeing a quantity of smoke issuing from the upper windows and
roof of the premises situated over the Savings' Bank and 31r. Gib-
son's offices, in the occupation of Mr. Thomas Price, fustian ma-
nufacturer. After watching the smoke for a short time, the per-
eons who saw it concluded that the premises must he on fire; and
an alarm was consequently given, which had the effeio of bringing
to the spot such of the persons employed in the neighbouring ware-
houses as had not then gone to their dinners, and a number of
others who happened to he near the place.
As soon as the alarm was given, the outer door of the warehouse
was opened by one of Mr. Gibson's clerks, who was dining in the
office, and several persons attempted to force their way up to the
point where the tire was burning. The staircase, however, was at
the time so full of smoke that it was impossible to reach the door of
the uppermost front room, to which it was ascertained the fire was
confined. In a short time, however, the smoke was dissipated by
opening the windows, and it was then found that the door of the
room in question was shut, and considerable difficulty wan expe-
rienced in opening it, apparently arising from a number of pieces
of fustian having fallen against it in the it.side. When the door
was opened the room was found to be full of smoke, through which
piles of burning goods could be indistinctly teen, and no person
could safely venture far into it.
Before this time, however, several engines began to play upon
the premises In front, and soon afterwards (a pipe having been
brought up stairs) the firemen were enabled to play through the
open door of the room, and very shortly succeeded in extinguishing
the flames.
A short time prior to this a report had begun to be circulated
amongst the persons who had collected around the building, that
Mr. Price himself was suffocated in the room which was on fire.
How this report originated, whether from design or misapprehen.
Ilion, it is not at present easy to say ; however it was generally die-
credited ; but when the firemen had so far subdued the flames as to
render it safe for them to enter the room, several persons went in
and began to clear out the goods which it contained. They had
proceeded to some extent In this work, when an object presented
itself which filled the bystanders with horror. The removal of a
half-consumed piece of fustian exposed to view the body of Mr.
Price ; the clothes partially consumed, and the face blackened and
scorched by the burning of the piece of fustian which had lain upon
him. He was found quite dead, with his head upon a piece of
fustian, his left arm held up as if to ward off a blow, and
his feet extended. Though quite dead, he was immediately car-
ried off to the Infirmary.
Of course the first impression of those who found him was that
he had lost his life in endeavouring to preserve his property from
destruction ; but on removing the body from the place where it
lay, certain appearances presented themselves, which tended to
render that supposition exceedingly improbable. It was found that
he had received a dreadful fracture on the left side of the head,
through which the brain had protruded, and several small portions
of brain were found near the spot where he lay, as if they had
flown from the head in consequence of the blow by which the skull
MIA fractured. On further search, the wig of the unfortunate man
was found, nearly three yards from his head ; and it exhibited no
marks of having been upon his head at the time when the fatal blow
was infLactl. The moat minute, examination, however, did n6t
lead to the discovery of any cause by which the fracture could have
been accidentally produced ; nor did it appear how the fire could
have originated.
The next supposition was that Mr. Price had destroyed himself
by blowing nut his brains with a pistol, the wadding of widen had
set fire to the goods in the room ; but the improbability of this no.
tion also soon became apparent. Ile was a man of a remarkably
cheerful temperament, and very unlikely to commit suicide ; be-
sides which no pistol ceuld be found after the most careful search ;
and, above all, the wound was such as could not have beet, in-
flicted by a pistol shot.
The only remaining solution of the mystery was of course that
the unfortunate man had been murdered by some one who had af
terwards set fire to the premises, in the hope of concealing the evi.
dences of his guilt ; and however improbable it might at first appear
that any one would venture to commit a murder in the middle of
the day, in a building is width there must have been other persons
at the time, and which was situated in one of the most crowded re-
sorts cf business--yet every fact which has since transpired tends to
render it but too certain that such was really the case.
We may here observe that a report has been circulated that Mr.
Price met his death by suffixation, as was at first supposed, and
that the wound on Ilk head was inflicted afterwards by a blow from
an axe borne by one of the firemen, who struck without seeing the
body ; and as this report has received sonic countenance from the
evidence of the house surgeon of the infirmary at the inquest on Sa.
turday evening, we think it necessary to state a few facts, which, in
our opinion, prove that it cannot be true.
In the first place, Mr. Price was never seen by any one after the
fire commenced, though there were several persons continually on
the staircase, who were well acquainted with Ida person, and who
are quite certain he did not go into the room after the firemen ar-
rived. Prior to that time the door was shut, and it is exceed.
ingly improbable that any one would go into a room for the put.
pose of extingdialting a fire, and then cut of his own retreat by
fastening the door.
Secondly, near the spot where Mr. Price's head lay was found
a quantity of blood, perfectly congealed, and adhering firmly to
the floor. Now there would not have been sufficient time for the
coagulation of the blood, between the first entrance of the firemen
and the finding of the body, an interval of a very few minutes;
and what is perhaps more conclusive than this, before the entrance
of the firemen the floor was completely flooded with water from the
engines, and pontinued so until tang after the finding of the body ;
but if the blood had flowed into water, or dropped upon a wet floor,
it would not have adhered to the boards. It must have flowed
front the head of the unfortunate man whilst the floor woe perfectly
tiry.
Lastly Besides the dreadful wound bn the left side of Mr.
Price's head, another fracture was discovered at the infirmary in
front of the right ear, sad. In size and eirpearanee not unlike what
might have been inflicted by the point of a poker, or some almi.

lar weapon. There was also an extensive contusion on the right
side of the head ; and, on a moat careful exatninaton, none of the
wounds appear to have been inflicted by a sharp instrument like ito
tinder these circumstances. we apprehend, no rational man can
entertain a doubt that Mr. Price was cruelly nit tittered ; anti 04,
only remaining consideration will be.—by whom was the ii.seete
deed perpetrated ? On this point also a great body of evidence has
been collected, arid will,' of course, be laid before the coroner's In.
quest on Thursday next : but in this instance we do not think it
would he'proper to put any eliminatory facts before the public,
until they have been verified on oath. We shall therefore merely
state that two persona are now in cuitody, viz. James Luna, who
was warehouseman to the deceased, and Mary Price. a woman en,„
ployed in the warehouse as ender and•rhender. We may add,
ever, that there is one point on which the chnin of proof is defer.
tire. It is very desirable to ascertain whether Mr. Price Irar seen
by any person after eleven o'clock on Friday forenoon. Any,
who transacted business with, or saw him, between eleven A .1 ante
o'clock on Friday, will moat materially promote roe ends of jut,
rice by communicating with the constables, or Alr. Lavender, on
the subject.
Though every search was made for the weapon whh which this
dreadful murder was committed, both upon the premiere and
in
other places where it was considered likely to have been coneeeded,
it its not yet been found. It is supposed to be a hammer, which is
known to have been kept upon the premises, but which has been
missing ever since the murder. It is cnnjectured that blr. Kee
had been struck unawares by the assassin ; that the forte of the
first blow had been broken by the wig which the deceased wore (he
being entirely bald) and that this blow caused the contusion on the
tight aide of the head, and probably knocked off the wig; mu the
murderer then repeated his. blows on the bare head of his victim,
and speedily deprived him of life.

A iarieti of ieports have been circulated of Evans having mar
a confession ; but there is no foundation for them.

THE CORONER'S INQUEST.
The inquest on the body of Mr. Price was herd on Saturday
evening, at the °erne and Dragon, Fountain..street, before Mr.
Milne and a very respectable Jury. The only witness examined
was Mr. Gresawell, house-surgeon to the infinuary, who stated
that he hod receives! the body when it was taken thither on
Friday. Ile found the face, the left arm, the legs and feet
much scorched, and the clothes nearly consumed. On examining the
herul, he found an extensive laceration of the scalp, beginning about
2 inches behind the left ear, and extending about. inches in length,
nearly to the crown of the head. Corresponding In size with this
laceration was a facture of the skull, several portions of which were
driven deep into the substance of the brain. Just at the entrance,
and in front of the right ear, was a wound about three quarters o
an inch in diameter, and a corresponding fracture of the temporal
bone. There was also an extensive contusion on the right side of'
the head, but no fracture of the skull or laceration of the scalp.
Witness wax of opinion that the fracture on the left side of the
head had been the cause of his death. The wound in front of the
right ear would not have been mortal, as it did not penetrate into
the cavity of the skull. IVben asked by the coroner what inictu.
nient he supposed the wounds to have been inflicted with, the
nee., said he thought that a blow from an axe, such as those earned
by firemen, might have caused the large fracture on the left sided
the head*. Ile had rent for one of the axes used by the Norwich
firemen, and found the blade to correspond exactly with the ler.gA
of the wound.

The inquest was then adjourned to Thursday next, at eleven
o'clock.

• It may be desirable here to observe, that the wound has since
been particularly examined by Alr. Jordan, and other surgeons,
who are all decidedly of opinion that it was caused by some blunt
instrument, and not by an axe. Probably 3lr. Chewed' did not
examine the edges of the fracture.