The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-06 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

moted to be first-class assist-engincer--W. G. F. Colley,
scoond-class assist-engineer to the Sharpshooter—and W.
Savage, second-class assist engineer to the Assurance.

The Shocking Tragedy at Old Windsor.

Yesterday Mr Rupert Clark, one of the coroners for Berks
opened an inquiry at the board room of the workhouse, Old
Windsor, into the circumstances touching the deaths of
John Richard Cook, aged about 42, Mary Ann Cook, aged
5, Eugenie Cook, aged 4, and Louisa E. Cook, aged 2.

The coroner and jury assembled at Cook's cottage and
viewed the bodies of the deceased, after which they ad-
journed to the board-room of the Windsor Union Work-
house, where the following evidence was taken :
Joseph Brant, gardener, brother-in-law to Cook, said—
Cook was a hairdresser, and lived at a cottage at Old Wind-
sor-green. I eaw Cook and his family occasionally ; some-
times three or four times a week. Cook was a widower,
and lost his wife about threo months ago. I saw him on
Monday week, when I gave him something to drink at the
Wheatsheaf. I saw his eldest daughter on Friday evening,
but had no conversation with her. I had not had any con-
versation with Cook since his wife's death. He seemed to
have very little to say to me. I had not noticed any altera•

tion in him since the death of his wife. I never saw him
intoxicated. I think he has had but little employment eince
his wife's death. While living at Slough Cook was bank-
rupt. He was supported by his wifa for some time, up to
the date of her death. He has lived at Old Windsor for
about two years. His wife was a laundress.
A juryman said he believed deceased received a small
allowance from Eton College.
The witness said he could give no information as to the
cause of this occurrence. Cook was a high-spirited man,
and reserved in his manner. He had not seemed a different
man since the death of his wife.

Caroline Amelia Brant, wife of the last witness, said—
The late ➢lrs Cook was my sister. I lived about a quarter
of a mile from Cook's cottage. I did not see Cook's family
very often. I was very seldom out, and Cook did not come
to our house. I think Cook and bis family were dependent
a good deal since his wife's death on the kindness of the
neighbouring gentry. I had not had a conversation with
Cook for three weeks or a month prior to his death. I last
met him at Windsor, when he told me the children were well.
I saw the eldest girl more frequently than the rest. I saw
her on Friday evening at about half-past 6. She said her
father had sent her to borrow two candles, and I lent her
one. She said her sisters were not very well. I did not
notice anything particular in her manner or appearance.
The next time I saw her was on Sunday afternoon about a
quarter past 4. She was upstairs in a back bedroom. 1 had
no conversation with her then. She seemed too ill to speak.
I do not know any relative who could give any information
about Cook's proceedings during the last week. The girl
said nothing to me on Friday evening about her father
being unkind to her. I have not noticed any change in his
habits since his wife died.

By the Vicar—The girl had not a black eye when ehe
came to me en Friday.

A juryman said that he recently saw the girl with a
black eye. _ _

The Vicar (the Rev. J. N. John Blunt, vicar of Old
Windsor), who was present, here made a statement, from
which it appeared that Cook applied to him in September
to write out a petition for assistance fir him, which he de-
clined to do. Ho wrote a letter, however, which Cook took
to gentlemen in the neighbourhood, and he obtained seve-
ral :pounds by that means—£2 5s were received by the
clergy in addition to what had been given to Cook himself
From that money Cook had received weekly supplies of
grpcery and other necessaries, and those supplies were
going on up to the time of his death.
Mrs Arnold, who lived close to Cook's cottage, said—l
saw Cook on Saturday about 1 o'clock. I had not spoken to
him for two months. We exchanged very few words. I
spoke to the eldest girl, Mary Ann, about a week ago. I
saw Adelaide (who is now in the infirmary) on Saturday,
between 11 and 12 o'clock, and Cook was playing with her
and Mary Ann in the garden. That was the last time I
saw her. I last saw the others on Thursday.

By the Jury—Cook was a disagreeable neighbour—he
disliked people to look at the children Ns hen he was at home.
He did not appear to wish any one to go into his house.
He seemed kind to his children. I have never seen him
drink. lie generally went to Eton College to his work on
Saturday. A few persons used to coma to him to have
their hair cut. He has told me he received 8s a week from
the college. He also had bread from Eton College every
Saturday. It consisted of four 21b loaves. On Saturday,
between 1 and 2 o'clock, Cook was walking up and down
his garden with his arms folded, and he had a very wild
look, If he had anything in his hand I should have been
afraid that he would kill me. lie walked towards me as

if he was going to say something to me, but I went into the
house for I was frightened at him. le was paid at the col -
lege quarterly. The children did not complain to me of

want of food. Ido not know whether there was any per-
son who attended to the children. I did not hear the chil-
dren make any noise on Friday or Saturday. I saw nothing
of them or Cook after Saturday night.
A juryman said that about a month ago he met Cook
with a 41b loaf under his arm, and he said it was allowed
him from the college.

Henry Pope, gardener, living about a quarter of a mile
from Cook's cottage, said—l am brother-in-law to Cook. I

have seen Cook in liquor, but only occasionally. He always

seemed remarkably kind to his children. Mary Ann came
to me at 1 o'clock on Friday to borrow 2s, and I asked her
to have a little beer, as I was at dinner. She replied "No,
thank you; I had a glass of ale at home this n.orning and
it made me quite sick." I did not notice any difference in
the appeatanc3. She went and played with some
other children afterwards. I saw her and Adelaide playing
with their father at 7 o'clock on Friday evening, and Cook
wanted to borrow Gd of me.
By the Jury—Cook appeared wry strange at the time of
his wife's death, and did not appear willing to have a woman
to sit up with her.
Brant said Cook was a desperate kind of man, and when

his wife died there were strange reports tending to the de•
famation of his character; but he could not tell whether
those reports were true. .

George Lovell, No. 26, Berks Constabulary, stationed at
Old Windsor, said—l knew Cook and his family by seeing
them. In consequence of something that was said by a
neighbour of Cook's in my presence on Saturday I looked
through the parlour window at Cook's house at about a
quarter past 2 o'clock. As I could not get an answer when
I knocked at the back and front door, and as I thought I
saw a child lying on a bed upon the floor of the parlour, I
opened the back window and got in. The first thing I saw
was a pail with about half a gallon of blood in it. I cast my
eye round, and saw on the mantel the razor produced, with
b ood and hairs upon it. The hairs were black. I then went
into the front room and saw three dead bodies on a bed placed
on the floor. I then called into the house a man named
Temple, and we went into the back room upstairs, and saw
Mary Ann, who had something black about her mouth, and
in the next room we found Cook and saw he had his throat cut
We also saw another girl with a bandage round her neck,
and we concluded her throat was also cut. I sent for Dr.
Pearl immediately, I found three bottles which I thought
had contained poison. When Cook saw me ho said, " For
God's sake, give me some water, Lovell; I am famishing
with thirst I" He appeared in great agony and pain. I
sent for Inspector Reece and Dr Pearl, surgeon, and ho ar•
rived about the same time. Cook kept calling out for cold
water before Dr Pearl arrived, but I did not know what to
do until Dr Pearl came, Ho died about a quarter-past 7.
Mary Ann died this morning at half-past 12. Cook was in
such agony that he did not inquire for the children.
Inspector Reece said—l arrived at Cook's cottage at about
4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon. Lovell was at the house. I
went upstairs into the front room, and saw Cook lying in
bed. He was vomiting a black fluid. I said. Have you
been taking poison ?" and he said " Yes." Dr Pearl came
into the room and inquired if he had not been taking vitriol,
and I understood him to say ho had. On a chest of
drawers in the room I found the pint bottle produced, about
half full of vitriol. In the adjoining room I found the
bottles produced, and Drs Pearl and Goosh said they thought
they contained laudanum. In a basin at the foot of the bed
on which the child Mary Ann was lying
was a quantity of
tea containing vitriol. I asked the eldest girl if that was
the tea her father gave to her, and she said it was. I asked
her when her father gave it to her, and she said "on Fri-
day." I asked her at what hour, and she said "Dinner
time." She answered me in a very low voice, but she was
quite conscious. I searched a cupboard in the room where
Cook was lying and found a quantity of children's clothes,
saturated with blood. Downstairs in the front room I found
two memorials or petitions addressed to the nobility and
gentry of Old 'Windsor, in which Cook appealed to them for
assistance. I afterwards took the girl whose throat was cut
to the ieflrmary. I also found a letter written by the Vicar,
stating he would receive subscriptions for Coo,r, and I also
found an agreement between Mr Clarke, the lessee of 'Wind-
sor Theatre, and Cook—Cook having agreed to pay £lO for
the proceeds ora night's performance ; a summons for £3
18s 6d, disposed of at the April court, and two bills from
Mr Tussell, a tradesman at Slough, and also an order of
bankruptcy made in 1862.
Police-constable Halley, Berke constabulary, stationed at
Clewer, said--I found some letters under Cook's pillow just
after his death. One was addressed to the vicar, another
to Cook's brother. There were several other papers with
pencil-writing on each.
The Vicar reed the letter which was addressed to him.
It stated that his poor wife visited him nightly, and told
him to come to her and bring the children with him; and
that Mr Blunt, the vicar, would allow him and his chil-
dren to be buried by her side. The other papers read by
Inspector Reece, contained Cook's request that his brother
would see to the funeral of himself and the children, and
that Mr Pearl would not cut and hack their bodies about
after death, as he could see the cause. In one ho states that
he had almost lost his senses; that this would nevar have
happened if hie wife had been alive for he loved her dearly ;
that they loved the children, and that ho had prayed to God
• . to forgive him his :sins. The vicar identified the hand
writing of the letters as being that of Cook.
Mr Pearl,
surgeon, of 'Windsor, deposed,--I know the
I deceased, and attended his wife about four months ago. I
saw him last about 4 o'clock on Sunday afternoon, when he
was lying in bed. looking very pale, His beard was clotted
with blood, and his right shoulder and arm wore covered
with blood, I saw his throat was cut,but the blood was con,

gealed, and the beard partly covered it, so that I could not
see the extent of the wound. Ho wee constantly vomiting
dark brown acid matter, and complaining of great pain. He
said, " For God's sake give mesomething to drink." I asked
him if ho had taken vitriol, and he said, " Yes." I then
administered some remedies I thought proper. I went to the
infirmary with the eldest girl, and when I returned to the
cottage, about half-past 5, I found him worse, and asked
him when he cut his throat and the throat of his daughter
Agnes. He said ho did it the night before below stairs, and
that they had heen bleeding and in pain all night. I then
asked him when ho gave the children poison ? Ho said " I
never gave them any poison at all," He said it was the eldest
child gave it to them. I said I supposed it was by his direc-
tion, and he made no reply. He said that when he cut the
second child's throat he thought he had worked himself up to
a pitch of madness. Ile gradually became worse, and died
about 7 o'clock. He appeared perfectly calm, and answered
every question in a rational manner. I made a post mortem
examination of the body of Cook, and found he died from
the effect of some corrosive poison. Vitriol would exactly
produce the appearances that were found. The poison did
not interfe-e with his intellect even at the last moments of
his life. I have made a post mortem examination of the
body of Agnes Josephine Cook, I examined the body ex-
ternally first, and found no stains on the skin or marks of
violence. The front of the body was quite green and be-
ginning to decompose rapidly. There were livid marks over
the rest of the body, which were post mortem changes. I
examined all the organs of both cavities separately, and
found no morbid appearance in any one of therm. I after-
wards opened the head; the vessels of the membranes of the
brain were very full of dark fluid blood. The brain itself
was in a healthy state, not congested, and there was no
effusion in any of the cavities. The stomach contained
some undigested food. There was no odour of poison of
any kind in the stomach, and therefore the poison which
the father took was not administered to the child. There
was no odour of opium ; the opium might have evaporated.
There was no natural cause to account for death, and from
all the attendant circumstances I am of opinion the child
died from the effects of poison. The bottles produced by
Inspector Reece smelt of opium. I should think the youngest
children were dead previous to Friday, The bodies were
well nourished. There was an abundance of fat in each body.
I have no doubt as to the cause of death of the eldest girl,
Mary Ann, from the external appearance of her body.
Lovell was recalled, and said he found two loaves and
other provisions in Cook's house.
The Coroner briefly addrdssed the jury, who deliberated

for about a quarter of an hour, and hen returned a verdict,
" That the deceased John Richard Cook destroyed himself
and his children by poison, but that there was no satisfac-
tory evidence to show the state of his mind at the time,"
The inquiry then terminated.

TIMES.—Mr. Doulton, the member for Lambeth.
has contrived to make a speech to his constituents,
otherwise commonplace, memorable for its sublime
affectation of cynicism about political morality.
Where he awards praise, it is with a Rhadamana
thine air of authority, and in a tone which implies
the superiority of Lambeth statesmanship to that of
Her Majesty's Government. Lord Palmerston is
given to understand that the oracle of the Horns
Tavern, having threatened him with expulsion from
office, now grants him a new lease thereof; Mr.
Gladstone is informed that his Budget, Insurance
scheme, and speech on Reform—we suppose withs
out the preface—have Mr, Doulton's sanction ; and
Mr. Cardwell, though on his good behaviour, is
kindly patted on the back for his colonial policy.
This great censor, however, is evidently more at
home in awarding blame, and exposes the perfidy
of the Emperor Napoleon and the sordid motives of
our own Opposition with equally merciless severity.
It was not the virtues of the Ministry, but " the
incapacity and blundering of their opponents" that
saved them from defeat, and this bungling strategy
of the Opposition was due to their uncontrollable
craving for place and power. They " were hungry
for place ; they had carried it in their faces all the
Session." They pretended that they did not in•
tend to make a party fight about the Ashantee War,
or Mr. Stansfeld's affair, or the Danish Question ;
but Mr. Doulton knows better, and did not fail to
observe that " all the dirty machinery of party"
was set in motion on each of these occasions. Their
watchword practically was "Places first end policy
" afterwards," and this leads Mr. Doulton to reflect
on one great evil incident to changes of Government;
—" It must be remembered, too, that these changes'
of Government were expensive luxuries. In pri-
vate life when a man wanted to get rid of a ser-
vant he paid him his wages, and there was an end
of the matter, but some of these great public sers
vents when they were discharged continued
to receive their salaries. We were paying
now somewhere about £50,000 a year for these
discharged servants. Lord Chelmsford was Lord
Chancellor for a year or so, and got £lO,OOO a year,
and ever since then he had recei ied, and would re.
ceive to the end of his days, £5,000 a year. Mr.
Disraeli's name, too, was on this list, though he was
quite ready to admit that Mr. Disraeli was better
worth his £2,000 a year than Lord Chelmsford his
£5,000." Now, this is a good specimen of the un-
worthy advantage which orators of a certain class
take of vulgar prejudices which they would them-
selves be eager to disavow. If Mr, Doulton were
asked whether he considers £lO,OOO a year too large
a salary for the highest officer of the Crown, he
would probably have the sense to reply in the ne-
gative; and if he were further asked whether he
would propose to give any, and if any, what pension
to a retiring Chancellor, his views of economical
reform might be fairly tested. A wealthy menu
facturer would be in no danger of exaggerating the
value of £lO,OOO a year, though an operative might,
and an educated man would freely admit that official
salaries must bear a just proportion to professional
and mercantile incomes. Tnen what is meant by
all this outcry about the emoluments of a single
ex-Chancellor P Nothing whatever that we can
imagine, unless it be that the topic, though hack-
neyed, seldom fails to excite ignorant clamour,
There was a time, as we all know, when aristocratic
corruption was the scandal of the day, when per-
quisites and sinecure offices absorbed large sums
out of the Exchequer, and " pensions" were distri.
buted by favour and without the slightest regard
to merit. The present time, as most of us know,
is singularly free from such abuses ; place after
place has been suppressed, salary after salary re.
trenched, and the power of the Crown to grant
pensions out of the Civil List limited to the modest
maximum of £1,200 per annum. Other pensions
to retiring public servants are fixed by Act of Par-
liament, and may be cut down, with due regard to
vested interests, by any one who thinks it worth
while to raise the question and oan procure a
majority. The reason why this is not done is sim-
ple enough. Every one who gives the matter a
moment's thought perceives that these allowances
stand one wholly different footing from the fine
old "pensions" of bygone days. They are partly
in the nature of rewards for services actually ren-
dered to the public, and so far may be regarded as
a substitute for an increase of salary ; but they also

represent compensation for the enforced withdrawal
from a lucrative profession. Take, for instance, the
retiring pension of a Judge. There are probably
no public functionaries who earn their £5,000 a
year by harder and more incessant work than the
Judges, and it is a common remark that none but
strong constitutions could stand it. The necessary
duties of a Bishop will bear no comparison with it,
and a Bishop, enjoying £5,000 a year, besides a
palace, a p9erage, and a greater social position,
may retain his see long after he has become in-
capacitated for the active supervision of a diocess.
It is surely not unreasonable or impolitic to grant

Judges a Moderate pension on retirement, which, as
the example of such men as Sir John Coleridge
may show, is not always spent in selfish ease.

The chief difference betsieen this case and that o
the Lord Chancellor is that he is liable to be ousted

and generally is ousted, by other causes than ege
or infirmity. No doubt it may well be contended
that such an appointment should be tenable for life,
and not dependent on the changes of party. If this
is what Mr Doniton intends, he should say so.
In the meantime we must interpret his words in
the sense which they would assuredly convey to
his audience. This ia not the first time that poli-
tical capital has been made out of the Lord Ct►an-
cellor's salary; and we have seen in a manual pro-
fessing to instruct the people about the vices of
their rulers a statement the direct reverse of the

fact, that the £lO,OOO salary is exclusive of £4,000
attached to the Speakership of the House of Lords.
Mr Doulton does not commit himself to this false
assertion, but he leaves it to be supposed that an
ex-Chancellor, like a discharged servant, never
does another stroke of work for his former master,
as though a Law Lord and member of the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council were a mere pen•
sioned iccumbrance. And this, although is the
very same speech he had dwelt pathetically on his
own gratuitous labours in committees of the House
of Jommons, and protested against the popular de-
lusion that mem'aers were paid for attending them.
There is a terse saying in one of South's sermons—
" These very men, who raise and spread these in-
vectives, do not (as they pretend) hate pensioners so
much, but that they love pensions more." It is true
that it refers to a past age, but then it is the mora-
lity of a past age which can alone give any colour to
Mr Doulton's ill natured comments. It was no
unmeaning taunt that roused Burke into writing
his famous letter to a noble Lord, and drew
from Demosthenes that oration which still
ranks as the masterpiece of recorded eloquence.
Their hands were pure, but those of their con-
temporaries were not, and they writhed under
attacks which they could not refute without claim.
ing a virtue above that of other public men. Haps
pily this can no longer be said, and though political
conduct will always be governed by mixed motives
so long as human nature remains the same, we are
disposed to believe that conscious jobbery and party
votes in the worst sense are already very rare. Cer-
tainly the instance of the latter selected by Mr.
Doulton is very unfortunate. After stating that
" the fight over Mr. Stansfeld" made him feel
ashamed of the company he was in," he adds that
"there was not twenty members in the House who
believed that Mazzini had favoured assassination,
and not two who believed that Mr. Stansfeld had
done anything to forward such a desire." A more
reckless assertion has seldom been made before a
metropolitan constituency. We recommend Mr.
Doulton to read Mazzini's account of the incident,
so often related in connection with his views on
tyrannicide, in the biographical memoir just pub-
lished by his own authority, before venturing to
repeat the former statement. As to the latter, we
have only to say that if Mr: Stansfeld had been as
frank in his explanation of the facts as he was
sensitive about his personal honour he would have
found it much easier to disarm suspicion. The
penetrating mind of Mr. Doulton may have read
the mystery, as it appears to read the hearts of
his fellow-men, but others could not, and acted as
honestly in condemning Mr. Stanfeld as Lord
Palmerston in defending him.
POST.—Mr Ralph Dutton has made a very frank
statement at Portsmouth of his differences with the
political party to which he belongs. It is one that
does equal credit to his principles as a patriot and
to his feelings as a gentleman. We incline to think
that he has been rather hardly dealt with, both by
his Conservative constituents and by the Conserva-
tive leaders in the House of Commons. His case has
not been an uncommon one, at any rate upon the
Liberal side. Mr.Dutton felt that he could not con-
scientiously support the party motion which had for
its object to remove the present Government on the
question of their policy in regard to Denmark. The
Conservative electors for South Hampshire appear
to have gone hand in hand with the leaders of the
Opposition in enforcing a doctrine of absolute
obedience to party moves; and the result is that Mr
Dutton has been requested to retire from the repre-
sentation of South Hants on the next general elec-
tion. With this application he has very honourably
complied. We confess that we regret his resolution,
however much we may appreciate and admire his
motives. A general election affords the best oppor-
tunity for putting to issue differences between repre-
sentatives and a section of their constituents; and
we see no reason to doubt that, when the judgment
of the electors of South Hants shall have cooled down,
they will think that Mr Dutton judged rightly. If
the days had not passed away when rigid demarca-
tions between political parties were insisted upon,