The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-11 00:00:00

The Man in the Carpet Bag.

Supposed explanation of the Waterloo-bridge
mystery, es given by a correspondent of the Daily
Telegraph, signing himself " George Irwin, Ser-
pentine-avenue, Dublin, August 9, 1864."
While paseing time has almost caused the Waterloo-
bridge mystery to bo forgotten, even on the immediate scene
of its occurrence, information has gradually been collected
at a place distant from it by thousands of miles. Through
that extraordinary freemasonry existing among criminals
who from time to time recruit our convict class—men bound
together by the war of society against them, and leagued
in fidelity to each other by an acquaintance with or partici-
pation in each ether's crimes—there can be no doubt there
were those at the time in London who, if not privy to that
murder in its inception, very soon after the commission of
the crime knew the particulars of it, and could, if they
would, have solved the mystery.
Without further preface, I will quote an extract from a
letter received by B—, a gentleman well known in this
city from his brother, at present in Tasmania, and holding
there a highly respectable social position, and her Majesty's
Commission of the Peace, referring to a Mr B—, the sub-
ject of the tragedy which it is believed has been enacted.
He writes :
" I feel convinced that his (ft—'s) was the body found in
the carpet-bag under Waterloo-bridge. From what I have
heard from a person lately come out, it appears R— was
lodging with a Jew named W—, a returned convict, close
to Waterloo-bridge at the time that he had about £1,400
worth cf Tasmanian debentures, which for some time he had
been endeavouring to sell; that he eold them to a re-
spectable Jew named N—; that he received the money,
and the same day went home to his lodgings, and is sup-
posed to have had his money with him, from which hour
he has never been seen or heard of ; and when Mr. S—, a
friend of his, went to his lodgings a few days after, ho
could get no tidings whatever of It—, and the wretch W—
had fled no one knew where. I have no doubt he knew
It— had the money, then murdered him, cut him up, put
portions of the body (the head never was found) into the
carpet bag, and threw it into the river, Not a paper, not
a vestige of anything belonging to him has since turned
up, and I have no more doubt that that was his fate than
that lam writing this. We have ascertained that the man
W— is dead. . . Mrs. R— is still very unsettled. I
told her of my suspicions, but still she hopes on. She says
she would know the earpet-bag he tongwith him, No
doubt the police have got it. Would it be I,,2Bsible to ob-
tain it, and any other articles connected with it, ;Ind have
them sent out here for her to see them ?"

A very few words in further explanation will be sufficient.
B—, above referred to, the recipient of the communication
from Tasmania, end at present in Dublin, was himself a
resident in Tasmania some years ago, and while there met
R—, and knew him intimately; he was then a person of
some property, and holding a respectable position in life.
R— came to Ireland some time previous to the Waterloo
Bridge event, and soon after called on B—, who at the time
happened to be from home, and did not see him, nor after-
wards during the stay in Dublin did they chance to meet;
but R—'s arrival in Dublin from Tasmania at that time,
however, is confirmed from his having called on
others here as well as B—. From Dublin It—
proceeded to Belfast, where ho had business to
transact; thence he proceeded to London, where he was
also known to have arrived safely, and was called on there
by a Mr.. S— (to whom, it appears, he was also in some
way known), a few days after the finding of the carpet-bag
with the remains at Waterloo bridge, with the result stated
in the Tasmania letter.

veinl:ftt ;11 sV—by
perhaps
nlakonopttotnePwneenaduluteshrreeliticulie:;ll, and a s more h e
_
le,— was somewhat eccentric, and though possessed of
considerable means, his habits were frugal and saving, if
no means impossible he muy have
when that man was the denizen of
nwhleyillice:/dtchbeeeeedP•nlonPlgircitlyee_ eeininansguleohd—cleed, but
tlooobkeeednuepouonratiemd
and
da
r'e'lireed-
upon than one who has all along led an honest life. It— was
known to very few in London. lam not aware, indeed, that
he was known to anyone there except Mr S—, who called
upon him.
aplosrdeee:reitddaeidned by those in Tasmania
His stay there was to be brief. In that
crowded hive it raay have seemed immaterial to him where
his expenses were small.
at the time referred to, and has
with this returned convict
s7lhc
lneho sa
never since been heard. of—he, together with the proceeds
of his sale of Tasmanian debentures,. having alike disap-
enktyno stoppedcea;vsehf,oi iril It theht that
st
tibme 1
ieeon
Waterloo-bridge
peered—neither have the mutilated fragments of the human
body found in the carpet-bag. been ever since accounted for
failedtiele to make any dis-
covery—was any way the least satisfactory or credible. That it was
the means adopted ny some euatenaiet to get rii of human
g—the suggestion
st:nhtich withthe trheemains
remainseover acceptedN,— uNavptao
tsnh
onotitm whichoe
improbable, being so
different from what is customarily a
presented.
Had the information now possessed been at hand—had
anatomised—appearance
altogether
Mr S— known the description. of person with whom
R— had gone to lodge, his disappearance at that parti-
cular time might have suggested some inquiry; but an
idea that such was his fate could not for a moment have
entered S —'s mind, otherwise he would have acted upon it.
R— coming over to this country, not to remain, but merely
to transact some business and return, and moving from
Dublin to Belfast, and from. Belfast
gB, to London, the natural
inference, on not fiuding him at his lodgings, was, that he
had finished his business in London, and gone elsewhere;
that he had perhaps returned to Tasmania. Even his known
eccentricity was calculated to make his disappearance less
remarkable.
Have the London police information whether a returned
convict el Jew, named W—) was, immediately preceding
the event, residing close to Waterleo-bridge ? Do they know
at what time he left that locality, andaro they able to trace
his subsequent career ? Possibly it may not fall within
their province to look after such characters, Having gra-
duated in a penal settlement, they may, on their return, be
regarded as fully entitled to exeraputy their
matured expe-
rience upon society, unchecked by any unwelcome supervi
sion. Did the London detective staff, at the time of the
occurrence, discover that a gentleman hag been lodging
with that convict and that he and ,1
unaccountably
disappeared ? Did they discover that that gentleman had
previously sold Tasmanian debentures to a large amount to
another Jew, and been paid for them? Coald they ascer-
tain in what moneys those were paid for, and through what
channels they or any of them subsequently ?assed ? Diffi •
culties apparently greater than any that inch an inquiry
presents have been surmounted where skill has accompanied
a desire to arrive at the truth. lem prepared to give the
names of all the parties represented by inititls in this com-
munication, to any person competent or hiving authority
1 to investigate the matter further.

SIGNOR TAMBERLIK, who recently left London
for Madrid, is said to be engaged to sing ther) for 20 nights
at 5100 a night, Mdlle.' Lagru has an engarjoment for the
winter season at the San Carlo in Naples.

Sir,—ln the absence of the Rev. Mr Haygirth, the in-
cumbent of Wimbledon, it is my duty to communicate with
you respecting the funeral of Cooper, the wonnied guards-
man, who died here this morning. It is the desire of his
wife that he should be interred in our parish churchyard.
➢lany of the inhabitants of Wimbledon and of the adjoin-
ing parish of Putney would, I am incredibly informed,
avail themselves of this melancholy opportunity to tes-
tify their respect for Cooper, and for the serTice in
which he was engaged. As I visited Cooper daily
during his illness, I may be permitted to say, and you
will be happy to hear that he was apparently well
prepared for entering another and a , better world
than this. Yesterday, although very weak, he fer-
vently joined in the prayers offered up for him and his, and
gave satisfactory indication of a man at peace with God and
the world.—l have the honour, &c.,

T. HANLY BALL, Curate and Lecturer of St.
blury's, Wimbledon.
To the Commanding Officer, Coldstream Guards.

Wellington Barracks, London, Aug. 9, 1864.

Rev. Sir,—ln reply to your letter of this day's date, just
come to hand, I beg to inform you that the commanding
officer has made arrangements for the burial of the late
Private Cooper at Brornpton Cemetery, the appointed place
of interment for the men of the Brigade of Guards dying
in the London district. I beg to express to you my best
thanks for the interest you have shown, and for the care
with which you have attended Cooper throughout his ill.
ness, and to mention how great a satisfaction it was to hear
of the preparation of mind in which he appeared to be be-
fore death. I must also take this opportunity of acknow-
ledging, with all sincerity, the testimony of your
parishioners to the respect enter ai ned by them for Cooper,
and with repeated thanks for all the care and attention
shown by yourself and the inhabitants of Wimbledon to•
wards the poor sufferer, I have the honour, &c.,
EDWARD H. LEGGE,
Captain and Adjutant Coldstream Guards.
To the Rev. T. thinly Ball, St. Mary's, Wimbledon.