The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-27 00:00:00

TLIE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY 27, 1864.

The Murder and Suicide in Somers-town,

Yesterday afternoon inquiries were made by Mr.
Inspector Gibson, with a view, if possible, to dis-
cover the motives which prompted the murderer
James Brown, to take away the life of the deceased
Rosetta Bishop. Oa interrogating the old woman
Lodi, or Loader, who resides in the front kitchen,
she admitted that she was the medium of a clandes-
tine correspondence between the deceased Rosetta
Bishop and a man she was in the habit of occasion-
ally meeting, and she believed that Brown had
lately by some means discovered the connection.
She then produced and handed to Inspector Gibson
a letter which had been addressed to the deceased
woman under cover to herself no later than Saturday
last. The inner envelope was addressed Rosetta
Bishop, and although there was no address, and it
was simply initialed "J. W.," the writer addressed
her as " My dear Rosetta," and wished her to meet
him that night at the corner of Liverpool-street,
King's-cross, It is now believed that the knowledge
of this connection led to the frequent quarrels be-
tween the woman and her paramour, and led to the
ultimate commission by him of the double crime.

Daring the afternoon the sister of the deceased
woman and some other relatives visited the deadhouse
of St. Pancras Workhouse with a view of speaking
to her identity, and, notwithstanding the advanced
stage of decomposition, they at once recognised it.
The coalscellar or cupboard in which the body of the
murdered woman was thrust after the commission of
the murder is so small that the murderer must have
had some difficulty in getting her into it, more es-
pecially as she wore a somewhat large and stiff
crinoline, which had to be cut off before the corpse
could be got into the shell in which it was conveyed
to the dead-house. It was generally asserted in the
neighbourhood that the house in which the deed
took place, No. 15, Smith-street, as well as one or
two others adjoining, belonged to Brown, but that
is not the case, In consequence of the number of
previous engagements, Dr Lankester will be unable
to hold the inquest before to-morrow.
On searching the back kitchen the first point
that attracted attention was the evidence that the
hearth in front of the fireplace had been recently
taken up, and it was removed by the police with
the greatest care, but immediately under it ran the
drain. It is believed that but for this it was the
intention of the murderer here to have buried the
body. Having replaced the stone, Dr Sutherin,
the surgeon of the S division, next directed atten-
tion to the hearth-rug, which lay folded up in a
corner. On being opened it was found saturated
with blood, and contained a quantity of brains, and
among them a very cleanly-cut piece of the unfor-
tunate woman's skull. This clearly indicated the
fact that the murder had been perpetrated on the
hearth rug and in front of the fireplace, corrobora-
tive evidence being afforded by the fact that the
murderer must have himself collected a portion of
the brains and skull after the commission of the act
and thrown them on the flue, as a portion of brain
and clotted blood was found partly burnt adhering
to the back of the grate. From the appearance of
the piece of skull found, as well as the wound on
the right side of the deceased woman's head, it
was the opinion of Dr. Sutherin that the blows
had been inflicted by a chopper or hatchet.
Brown was known by the lodgers to possess such
an instrument, with which ho was in the habit
of chopping wood to light the fire in the morning,
but during the whole of Monday afternoon and
evening the most diligent search on the part of the
police failed in finding such a weapon. The only
other instrument calculated to have inflicted such
injuries as those found in the skull of the murdered
woman was a large iron gas key, about 18 inches in
length, and having a sort of pincers at the end, but
on being carefully examined there were no traces of
blood upon it. A chisel was, however, found, upon
which there were spots of blood. Yesterday morn-
ing about 8 o'clock, Inspector Gibson, who, with
constable Woodrow has charge of the house, dis-
covered what appeared to be spots of blood on the
waterbutt in the back yard, and the circumstance at
once suggested to him the probability that the mis-
sing weapon might have been thrown into the water.
He directed it to be drawn off, and, as he conjec-
tured, at the bottom of the waterbutt was disco-
vered a large sivd axe, such as carpenters use for
chipping wood. It was at once taken possession of,
and sent to Piatt street station, where, on being
examined by Dr. Sutherin, it was found to still
retain, notwithstanding the action of the water,
evidence of human blood and a large quantity of
woman's hair adhering to it, leaving no doubt that
it was the instrument with which the diabolical deed
was committed. The bodies of the murderer and his
victim having beon conveyed to the deadhouse of
St. Pancras WOrkhousc on Monday night, Mr Jack-
son, of Brewer-street, unthr the orders of Dr. Lan-
kester,the coroner, made a post mortem examination
, of that of the woman yesterday morning. Mr Jack-
son was the only surgeon called in after the disco-
very of the bodies on Monday, and it was he who
took the body out of the coal cellar. Yesterday he
found the who!e of the right side of the skull battered
in, and a large par tion of the brain on that side gone,
From the nature of the injuries and from the fact that
a chair was found near the fireplace in the back
kitchen broken down on the left side, it is believed
that the first and fatal blow which drove out the
skull before alluded to was given behind, while
the deceased woman was seated on it; but the
screams that were heard would make it appear that
other blows were given deceased by Brown prior to
this fatal one. It would appear that deceased Vf as
enabled to get her own living, irrespective of the
man with whom she cohabited, as there was a large
quantity of female wearing apparel found, and a
circular on which was printed, " Mrs. Bishop,
dealer in ladies and children's wardrobes, 47, Adam-
street west, Bryanston-square," and also a book of
the Mary lebene Svings-bank, with several pounds
entered in her name.

It now appears that the man Brown, although
he slept in the back parlour on the Tuesday night
after the murder, and on the night following (when
he sent Mr. Townsend's, the first fl )or lodger, little
boy for, some beer) had not been seen in the place
from that time until the Saturday,
when he came
home about 8 o'clock with hit eon,
a youth about
19, and slept with him. The son dined with him and
the Townshends on the Sunday, and, accompanied
by Mr. Townshend, they went in the evening to
his:daughter's M:s. Johns, 9, Coburg-street, Euston-
square. The son declined to return home with
Brown, and he came back to the house with Towns-
hend about half-past 12. On entering the passage
the latter spoke to Brown about the smell, and he
said it was the meat Mrs. Bishop had left locked
up, and he would
go down and remove it. Towns.
bend wished him good night, went upstairs, and
Brown unlocked the front parlour and went in. It
is believed that he had been afraid to sleep in the
house by himself,
and that finding himself alone he
then determined to commit suicide.
On opening the safe in the back kitchen there
was found a piece of cooked loin of pork and part
of a currant pie, both of which were mouldy, as
well as a quantity of hard stale bread, indicating
that no one had touched it since the date of the
murder.

The first intimation that
anything wrong had
taken place was discovered by a woman named
Margaret Murphy, who resided in the lower part of
the next house, and who knew the deceased. She
had once or twice expressed her want of belief that
Mrs Biship had gone away, and she had such a pre•
sentiment that something had befallen her that she
ones or twice went into No. 15. She at last, in conse-
quence of the smell, determined on making inquiries.

THE AMERICAN BLOCK AD ERMun AI Jane
27.—Arrived, the steamers North Heath and the Lilian
from Wilmington, North Carolina; and the brig Magnet,
from New York, 28th.—The steamer Florie, from WiI-
mington,[ApVERTISEMENT ]—Holloway's North Carolina.
s Pills.—Enjoyment of
Lite,—When the blood is pure, its circulation perfect, and
the nerves in good order, we are well. These pills possess
a marvellous power in securing these great secrets of health
by purifying, regulating, and strengthening fluids and
solids. Holloway's pills can be confidently recommended
to all persons suffaring from disordered digestion, or worried
by nervous fancies or neuralgic pains. They correct acidity
and heartburn, dispel sick headache, quicken the action of
the liver, and act as alteratives and gentle aperients. The
week and delicate may take them without fear. Holloway's
pills are eminently serviceable to invalids of irritable con-
stitution, as they raise the action of every organ to its na-
tural standard, and universally exercise a calming and
seductive influence.

The Newsvend9rs' Benevolent and Provident
Lssociatien,

Last Light the 25h anniversary festival of this
asseciatiou celebrated at the Freemasons' Ta.
yarn, Great Queen•street,Lincolia'F.J.inn-fields, The
chair was taken by Andrew Link, Esq., Alderman,
and about 120 ladles and gentlemen sat down to
dinner.

From a report which was circulated in the room,
it appears that the emonat distributed in pensions
and temporary relief hed been increased this year
to £6l 8s 4d, and the funded capital augmented to
over £2,000, and a balance in hand to be carried to
next year's account, of £2l 3s sd.
After the usturl loyal and patriotic toasts had been
duly honoured,
Mr Alderman LUSK, the chairman, gave the toast
of the evening, " Proeperity to the Nevesvendors,
Benevolent institution." He said he would not
waste their time by any remarks deprecatory of
himself. (Laughter.) He would not enter into a
long explanation of how sorry he was that the duty
had not fallen into other hands—(laughter)—be-
cause he felt proud of the duty which had been
entrusted to him, and he remembered that when a
chairman, on a similar occasion, had said how sorry
he was that the toast had not fallen into abler hands,
some ill-conditioned. person rose and said, " So we
are all." (Laughter.) He would therefore not apo-
logise, but do the best he could. (Cheers.) The
object of their assembling on that occasion was to
further the interests of a deserving institution; and
without attempting anything brilliant he would try
to bring a common•sense view of the question
before them. He admired the orator who was so
fluent and attractive that the listeners were tempted
to exclaim, "Flow on thou shining river." (Cheers
and laughter.) He admired the intellectual feats
which were performed every day by those who pro-
ducad the newspapers of this country. (Hear, hear,
and cheers.) He gazed with wonder and with ad-
miration upon the sheet of paper which to• day was
a perfect blank and to-morrow was vital with
"words that breathed and thoughts that burned."
(Cheers.) That which to-night was a blank was
to- morrow the reflex of the progress of the world at
large. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) But this mighty
engine for the promotion of progress in the world
would be shorn of half its power were it not for the
newsvendors, who distributed its wondrous in-
fluences and made them permeate the entire
social fabric. (Cheers.) He sympathised with the
newsvendora in the trials incident to their vocation.
(Cheers.) He knew practically the value of the part
which they played in the dissemination of intel-
ligenee. (Hear.) People were not apt to be over
considerate with newavendors. They were generally
cross if " the paper" was a little late—(oheers and
laughter)—and he had often wondered if newsven-
dors were as impatient with the public, as the public
often were with them ? (Cheers and laughter.) In
this, as in all other occupations, from a variety of
circumstances members of the trade fell into distress,
and it was the bounden duty of those who had been
more successful to administer to the necessities of
their suffering brethren. (Hear, hear.) He was
glad, therefore, to do all he could to promote the
prosperity of an institution such as this. If they, as
a trade, were only true to themselves, this institution
would enjoy a far higher degree of prosperity then
it had hitherto known. (Hear, hear.) No task could
be more noble than that which they had undertaken.
He was glad to see so many ladies present, for he
was sure that he should not appeal to them in vain.
(Cheers.) He concluded by proposing " Prospe-
city to the Necvsvendors' Benevolent Institution."
The toast was druuk with great enthusiasm.
Several other toasts were given, and the proceed-
ings closed in the usual way.

Mr. Toela was, as usual, an efficient toastmaster,
and the subscriptions reached to nearly £l5O.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

TIMES.—We think that we can trace in the tone
of both Houses of Parliament on the subject of the
guarantee of the Loan to New Z :eland symptoms
of a transition period—that is of a change of senti-
ment—with regard to the relations of the Mother
Country to her Colonies, which those Colonies, and
ail who concern themselves with their manage-
ment in this country, will do wall to lay to heart.
Old watchwords are losing their force, and no new
ones are found to replace them. A little while ago
such words as " our ancient and faithful ally,"
the faith of treaties," "the legitimate influence
of England in Europe," " the balance of power,'
" the encroachments cf despotism," or " the excesses
of democracy," wore quite sufficient to plunge us
into war with one half of Europe. Now we are
grown cooler and older, and require, in addition to
these time honoured incentives to slaughter, some
proof that our national faith is involved, or our ma-
terial interests directly and unequivocally compro-
mised, before we plunge the country into war. Just
so with the colonies. In former times, and the tra-
dition is not yet worn out, a colony had nothing to
do but pick a quarrel with a tribe of neighbouring
savages in order to convince us that we wereat war,
perhaps with people whose name we had never
heard of, and of whose eaistence we were not aware
till it was forcibly brought to our notice by a de-
mand for half a dozen regiments and a million of
mtney. This may still be said to be the official
faith on the subject :—We must defend our empire ;
a colony is a part of our Empire; therefore we must
still defend our colonies, without troubling ourselves
to consider whether they or we exercise the powers
of government, or are responsible for the policy
which involves us in native wars, But, though our
officials still hold this faith, proofs are not wanting
that much and gticcous experience has shaken this
belief in the mind of the couatry. We be gin to ask
whether vie do not do enough if out of the' taxation
and population of the British Islands we find the
men for our own wars and the money for our
own expenditure ; whether it is reasonable for
a country mocked with the style and title of Ina-
poriel sway to be called upon to fight the battles
of some twenty or thirty communities, having
no common link with us except allegiance to
ha same Savereiga, and ready to resent as the
direst insult any attempt on our part to interpose
any check upon their powers of legislation and self-
government, or to remonstrate against any duty
with which they may think fit to burden our com-
merce or any institution which they may establish
at variance with our notion of good government and
sound principle. Lord Granville, in moving the
second reeding of the bill for a guarantee of a loan
of a million to New Zoilend, spoke by no means as
a man satisfied of the goodness of his case. He was
very far indeed from taking high ground. He ad-
mitted himself to be opposed, as a general principle,
•1 to the guarantee of loans to Colonies, and justified
what was being done purely as an exceptional case.
It was impossible, he thinks, though we know not
why, to divest ourselves of all responsibility for the
commencement of the war, nor was there any good
reason for believing that the colonists had supplied
arms to the natives to be used against them and
against us. For our own part, we cannot conceive by
what process of reasoning this country can be held
responsible for a war which is neither commenced
in pursuance of our policy nor conducted for our in-
terest, and which, when concluded, will be so by
Ministers responsible to en Assembly over which we
have no control. No doubt the immediate occasion
of war was the attack and slaughter by the natives
of a small division of British troops; but this mas-
sacre was in retaliation for a block of land seized
from the natives, and was only a savage
way of be-
ginning a conflict long before determined on for
other and weightier reasons. As regards the sale
of arms by the colonists to the natives wo will
meet the denial by a statement a little 'more de-
tailed. In 1857 the New Zealand Ministry pressed
the governor to relax the ordinance which prohibited
the sale of ammunition and fire-arms to the abori-
gines. The Commander-in-Chief officially protested
against it, and was supported by the Bishop and at
least one friendly chief. The argument in favour
of free trade in arms was the desire to put down the
smuggling trade and the propriety Dilating the
profits of the trade come into regular hands. The
measure was eminently successful, In the nine
months immediately succeeding June, 1857, there
were sold to the natives 7,8491 b. of powder and 752
single or double-barrelled wane, The English tax-
payer will be pleased to learn that Very Marge profits
were realised by these regular traders. Orders for
the sale of ammunition were obtained in blank and
as a matter of course. The natives and colonists
were equally pleased with the traffic, and for
many years the Maories have purchased little else,
and have formed magazines with a perse-
verance and foresight which do them no little
honour. The colonists also have not only realised
large sums by the traffic, but have succeeded in
attracting a large commissariat expenditure, since
it is quite clear that Great Britain, having under-
taken to defend the Colony against the natives,
must increase her forces exactly in proportion to
the degree in which they are armed to oppose her.
The worst of it is that during all this time the
Government has had good reason to know that the

natives were meditating war—a war which they
have foreseer, prepared, and provoked, leaving to
us nothing bat the honour of carrying it on and
the glory of paying for it. Lord Maimesbury was
of opinion that the colonice ought to defend them-
selves, and ought not to rely on the mother country
to assist there. Tee colonists of New Zealand, he
thinks, ought to take care of themselves, and not to
call on this country for ten or twelve thousand men,
thus draining our small army, and staving off the
retribution for their mismanagemoat at our ex-
pense. If they had themselves to pay and bleed
for their own defence, we should have heard very
little of the present difficulties. We cannot too
soon, Lord Maimesbury thinks, persuade the people
of Canada that it is impossible for them to obtain
Imperial assistance in the way of English troops,
This is tolerably plain speaking for a Conservative
leader, and shows upon what congenial ground the
seed of truth has fallen. Lord Lyveden thinks
there is a pretty general concurrence in the prin-
ciples laid down by Lord Maiinesbury, the only
difficulty being as to their application. Guaran-
teeing the loan is guaranteeing everything that has
been done by the settlers to the natives, and, while
the saving is small, the loss in point of principle
will be great. Such is the tenour of the remarks
elicited by the discussion on the New Zealand Bill.
Many considerations combine to counsel patience
under the present infliction. In the first place, it
is quite clear that nothing would be more unfair
than to charge these events, however calami-
tous, upon the present Secretary of State for
the Colonies. He has succeeded to an evil
inheritance, and cannot be expected, by any efforts
he may make, all at once to put matters to
rights. Five-and-twenty years of gross mis-
management are not to be corrected in a week, a
month, or a year. All we have a right to expect is
that measures may be taken to put an end to the
present war and to prevent the recurrence of a new
one. This will not be effected by merely warning
the colonial public against iniquitous dealing with
the natives, either in the way of purchases of land
or sales of arms or ammunition. There is no dura-
ble chance for peace until we can contrive to im-
press upon the colonies that all future wars will be
carried on at their, and no more at our, expense.
We must disabuse them once for all of the notion
that we have any peculiar interest in their quarrels
with the natives, or that we shall be ready hence-
forth, as heretofore, to bribe them into war by the
wealth which our expenditure produces, and the
security which the presence of our troops affords.
As we cannot take from these Democratic Assem-
blies the power of virtually making war or peace at
their pleasure, we must at least endeavour to make
their interest in keeping the peace as strong as our
own. This can only be done, as Lord Malmesbury
says, by calling on them to contribute their own
blood and their own money, not as accessories and
auxiliaries, but as principals in the conflict. if the
Coloniel Parliament would not be overwhelmed by
the responsibility which it undertakes, it must find
some means of putting an end to the present
struggle, by which one country creates a war which
another carries on, and reaps the reward in a large
increase of territory for battles which it has never
fought, and expenses which others have defrayed.
HERALD.—The invasion of Maryland by a pere
tion of Gen. Lee's army, at the very moment that
he was supposed to be so hardly pressed by the
Federal forces in his front that the capture of
Petersburg and the imminent fall of Richmond
were matters of daily rumour among the gobe•
mouchee of New York, is one of the most mar-
vellous exploits of the American civil war. The
history of this wonderful raid reads to us like a
fairy tale—like one of those picturesque exploits of
knights or paladins of the elder Teutonic times,
who, aided by giants and fairies, had the power
of transporting themselves at will from place to
place, and confounded their foes by the blast of a
magic trumpet or the sight of a talisman fraught
with supernatural potency. At first laughed at in
New York as a foolish raid, which would so weaken
Lee that he was inevitably at the mercy of Grant
when he chose to advance, the expedition, as it de-
veloped into unknown and fearful proportions,
caused a panic in the North, which laid bare in a
moment the weakness of the war faction. As it
became known that, in spite of all opposition, a
large army corps of Confederates was working its
will in the midst of an unwarlike and sympathising
border population, that it had utterly routed the
two Federal armies that, on the Potomac and Mon-
cacy, had attempted to check its career, a revulsion
of feeling took place throughout the cities of the
North, the price of their currency went up, and
their spirits went down. The object of the incur-
sion into Maryland we conceive to have been three-
fold. It was intended to obtain supplies for the
Confederate army ; to create a diversion which
would have the effect of withdrawing a portion of
Grant's army from the front of Petersburg ; to re-
connoitre the defences of Baltimore and Washing-
ton, and interrupt, as far as possible, their commu-
nications with the rest of the North. All these
objects have been triumphantly attained. The Con-
federates are reported to have retired across the
Potomac " loaded with plunder." The bread, the
sheep, and the oxen, required to feed their army,
crossed the Potomac with them. The horses re-
quired for their cavalry were obtained in abun-
dance. The ammunition, for which a dozen
Northern arsenals had been ransacked, the confis-
cated wealth of thousands of Federal sympathisers,
was transferred to Virginia to aid in the patriotic
Cause. In the terror caused by this invasion the
authorities at Washington and the governors of the
border states appealed vainly to the people for im-
mediate help to save the Government of Mr Lincoln
and protect the capital. This help was not forth-
coming. No hand was stretched out to help the Pre-
sident of the North and his Cabinet. Had the Con-
federates only been sufficiently numerous to invest
places of such size the cities of Baltimore and Wash-
ington would have been at their mercy. Pennsylva-
nia and New Jersey made no response to the appeal
of their governors for troops. The people of
Pennsylvania ere accused by their governor,
Mr. Curtin, of culpable stupidity and apathy in
presence of the enemy, The mayor of New York
conceived that he required the militia for the defence
of the city in the case of an apprehended riot. The
German and Irish immigrants refused to be entolled,
their ardour in the war having been somewhat
damped since they have observed that their com-
rades who have enlisted but seldom return to their
homes. The attitude of the North is now far more
peaceful than it was; the people are beginning to
pei env° that a war of pretended subjugation, so
uniformly unsuccessful, cannot be prosecuted with
credit or advantage to the nation. The peace party
is becoming more than ever a power in the state.
It looks upon separation as inevitable, and desires
only that the best terms should be obtained. Mean-
while, Sigel having been defeated and Wallace
routed, the Preaddent had no force available for the
defence of the North but the army of Grant on the
Appomattox River. We do not yet know whether
this army has not been recalled to the neighbourhood
of the capital. It is stated, at all events, that a
whole army corps has been shipped to Baltimore.
The last great attack made by the army of Grant
was on June 22, when he fell upon the live cif the
Weldon Railroad, and was repulsed, with loss, Since
that the cavalry, under Wilson, has been engaged
in a diaastrons ezpieditinn towards the Lyncht,:rg
line of rail, from which it returned to camp,
loss now etated at 3,000 men, with a
anq minus all its
baggage, ammunition, and artilltry. The confidence
of General Lee in the strength of his position, and
his belief is toe utter impotence of the disabled
enemy, who was perishing in the swamp at his feet,
is proved by the fact that before this raid of Wilson's
he detaehcd a strong force under Generals Early
and Imboden for one of those incursions into
Maryland for which :lase is famous. One hundred
miles to the Potomac this force rode on, and
fifty .miles more to the suburbs of Baltimore.
Hunter was Jar away in Western Virginia, and
the Confederates took their course unchallenged
up the Shenandoah Valley. M Martinsburg they
net with Sigel, whom they put to the rout, and
expelled from Harper's Ferry. They then crossed
leisurely into Maryland, went north to Hagerstown
and threatened Chambersburg, went east to Fredea
rick City en the Monocacy River: Here Wallace,
with 10,000 men, attempted to withstand them,but
was engaged and driven in disorder to the shelter
of Baltimore. The invaders now destroyed the rail-
way between Frederick and Baltimore. Proceeding
to that place, they tore up the line and burned the
bridge on the road to Washington. They also suc-
ceeded in inflicting great damage on the line from
Baltimore to Philadelphia, and captured on this
railway a train of ears with their passengers, among
whom Was the Federal General Franklin and his
staff, The force which approached Washington came
as near as six miles to that city on the northside,
and amused itself
.with bombarding Vert Stephens.
The sound of taetrguns must have recalled Presi-
dent Lincoln and his Cabinet to the grim reality of
that war of independence, which they have foolishly
characterised as a petty rebellion, which is certain
to be soon suppressed, Mr. Itin_calu in Washington
is exposed to far more peril than Mr. Davies in
Ftichitondt For the moment he has escaped, and
be will act wisely in not exposing himself to so
great a risk for the future. Mr. Fessenden, his
new Finance Minister, wants a loan of fifty millions
to carry on the war for a fortnight. Mr. Fessenden
will then want three hundred millions to keep it up
till the autumn. And what next, and next

PENSION TO MR. DISRAELL—Prom a Parliamen-
tary blue book just published, it appears that in the year
ended the 31st March last Mr Disraeli received his pension
of £2,000, under the act 4th and sth Will, Iv., c, 24. There
i$ QUO Vacancy under the act.