The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-29 00:00:00

THE DERBYSHIRE MURDER.

At the conclusfon of the examination on Monday
the prisoner, who continued to manifest great self-
control, was placed in a fly drawn• by a pair of
horses, and conveyed to Derby Gaol. He was accom-
panied to Derby by Mr. Morgan, Mr. Superinten
dent Burton, and Mr. Leech, his solicitor, the blinds
of the carriage being closely drawn. Soon after he
had passed the county gaol, his father, who had been
anxiously waiting for him for several hours at the
Derby railway station (it having been stated that
he would be brought by train from Cromford)
arrived and had a long interview with his unfor-
tunate son. The interview was most distressing.
The murderer is said to be an accomplished scholar
and linguist. He has one brother and a sister, and
when at home was the life and joy of the social
circle. His family had been acquainted with the
Goodwins for the past 30 years, and Dr. Goodwin,
of Manchester (Captain Goodwin's brother) had
been the Townleys' physician for years.
Some further particulars of the tragic affair which
were not brought out in evidence have been gleaned.
It appears that Townley arrived at the Midland
Hotel, Derby, on Thursday evening, slept there, and
proceeded by rail to Whatstandwell on Friday
morning. He called at the Bull's Head Inn there,
opened his carpet-bag, took out a morphia pill,
swallowed it, had a glass of brandy, left his bag,
and went away. He then proceeded to Wirksworth,
and at the hotel there had more brandy, and wrote
two letters in the commercial-room. After seeing
the Rev. Mr. Harris, he had an interview with
the unfortunate girl, when she consented to give
him a final meeting in the evening. She did so,
and they walked together until they got to a gate
by the roadside, against which they leaned, and
Townley then pulled out of his pocket a spring-
back clasp knife, and commenced whittling it on
the top of the gate. He begged of Miss Goodwin
to go away with him, but she refuted, and he then
put his arm round her neck and thrust the knife
into her throat. In turning the knife round the
end of the blade broke and remained in the wound.
He declares that he had no intention of committing
the dreadful act one micute before its execution,
and that in a moment after he had accomplished it
he was sorry for what he had done, He had three
knives in his pocket. The murderer was not in
business himself, but acted as confidential clerk to
his father, who is in an extensive way of business.
Mr. Moran, at the prisoner's request, wrote to his
parents, informing them of what had taken place,
and, his father being at Harrowgate for the benefit
of his health, the letter was opened by his mother.
Townley says that if a million of money had
been
offered him to break off his engagement with Miss
Goodwin he would not have accepted it, as he loved
her to distraction. He said that for the last three
weeks he had been unsettled, owing to receiving a
letter from Miss Goodwin breaking off the match.
He said that if Mr. Moran could save Capt. Good-
win's or his own family a single pang he wished
him to do so; and for himself he could only count
the moments and anxiously wait for that time when
his life would be forfeited and he should be re•
united with his victim in a better world. Townley
had recently contemplated leaving England, as he
wrote to bliss Goodwin a few days ago a letter, in
which ho says, " It never rains but it pours ; I've
had a strange run of ill luck lately." He then goes
on to say that he regards Miss Goodwin's conduct
in discarding him as the crowning act in this cata-
logue of misfortunes. He alluded to the wish ex-
pressed by his friends that he should go abroad,
but desired to see her first.
It should be stated that after Townley had
assisted in carrying the dead body of his victim to
the hall, he proceeded with Captain Goodwin into
the drawing•roone, where he had tea with the
Captain, and had also some brandy and water given
to him. The Captain, being very old and infirm,
in the absence of the police, adopted this course for
his own personal security and that of his domestics.
Townley left four sovereigns on the drawing-room
table, which Captain Goodwin handed to the police.
The prisoner, under ordinary circumstances, will
not be tried until next March, but it is probable
that there will be
The following is a copy of the letter received by
Miss Goodwin from the prisoner, and given up by
Captain Goodwin ;
" Gelnow Mills, Bolton, Wednesday.
" M Bessie,—l will only
y dear a winter gaol delivery.
say here that I
will arrive by the train you mention (11 37 a.m.,
Friday morning) and that I hope, dear Bessie, you
le ill not bother yourself unnecessarily about all this
as far as I am concerned; for my own peace of
mind I wish to see yon I
which I hope you won't
think selfish. Du reste, only repeat what I have
already said. I have but to hear from you what
your wishes are and they shall be complied with.
You can write to the Midland Hotel, Derby, where
I shall stay to-morrow nights or leave a note at the
Whatsanclwell-bridge for m©. Don't let me be the
cause of any row between you and your G. P. If
you like to call at the Inn I will not stir out till
you come, but I leave all this to your judgment.
"G. V. T.

" Miss Bessie Goodwin, 'Wigwell-grange,
Wirksworth, Derbyshire."

The Accident at Blackfriars-bridge.

Yesterday afternoon Mr. W. J. Payne, the deputy
coroner for the city of London, opened an inquiry,
at the Board-room of Bridewell Hospital, Bridge-
street, into the cause of the death of James Ellis,
one of the labourers employed in the construction of
the bridge across the Thames in connexion with the
London, Chatham, and Dover
.Railway. The de-
ceased was one of the men who fell into the river on
secieued in thetheenceofie
efeahlleintrgueotfonneeoff
thethe
travelling
Saturd sy,
cranes used
works.
Mr. Freshfield said he attended on the part of the
company as well as the contractors, and as there
had been some misapprehension with regard to the
construction of the works, he had caused a number
of witnesses to be in attendance beyond those sworn.
John Robert Chapple, of New•court, Deptford,
lighterman, deposed picking up the body of the
deceased, which was floating in the river, opposite
Somerset House, on Wednesday last.
Thomas Wild, a labourer, said he was employed
on the same works as the deceased, and was work-
ing with him on the same traveller or crane. The
traveller worked on cross-beams, from the upright
piles. He was in the traveller with the deceased
when the accident took place, and fell into the river
with him. The underneath timbers upon which
the rails were supported gave way, precipitating
the traveller and the men into the river. There was
no weight on the traveller at the time; it was only
being moved, and he believed that the breakage
took place about the middle of the cross beams of
the stage. There were seven men moving the tra-
veller by the winch chain slowly. He believed that
was the first time the traveller was on the stage,
and when in the middle of it the whole of the seven
men, including himself, fell into the river.
John Smith, also a labourer, deposed that he was
on the traveller at the time of the accident. He
corroborated the evidence given by the previous
witness, adding that the stage had been erected
about a week before. Four of the beams across the
stage broke in the centre.
Mr. William Paynter, foreman over the labourers
on the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, em-
ployed by Messrs. Peto and Betts, deposed that the
beams of the stage where the accident took place
were about the centre arch of the bridge. The span
of the stage was about 71 feet. The beams on which
the traveller ran were about 16 feet wide. There
was nothing under the beams. There were four
beams and four lines of rails. All of them were
being used. The traveller had eight wheels. It was
about 14 or 15 tons in weight, and was being moved
by seven men at the top. It was capable ofcarry-
ing 50 or 60 tons weight. At the time of the acci-
dent he was standing on the lower beam, nearest to
London-bridge. The beam that broke was on the
Surrey side. He could not say whether it was the
metal or the timber that first gave way. The
beams lap over the stage about nine feet on each
side ; that would make 89 feet in the whole length.
The beams were joined together, and were two feet
wide and sixteen inches thick. He believed they
broke in a sound part of the timber, but he had. not
examined it since the accident. He fully believed
that the tramway was perfectly safe, and was con-
structed in the usual way.
By the Coroner—He understood that the beams
were so constructed as to carry more than double
the weight of the traveller itself. The beam broke
about nine feet from the Surrey side of the span.
George Perkins, foreman of the carpenters, said
he assisted in the construction of the tramway under
his superiors. The stage was completed on Monday
week. The beams of the tramway were composed of
several pieces bolted together, there being also an
iron truss rod from one stage to the other. There
wore two rods under each beam, there being trips
brackets underneath. The first truss bracket from
the Surrey side was about nine feet from the bridge.
The beams were two feet and a half wide by lnin.
thick. After the tramway had been constructed he
could not say that it was tested. When the traveller
went on to it it was the first time it had been used.
The beams were constructed of new
the beamßalticbreaking thetim,abnerd.
The beam that gave way was nearer to London--
e
t.
hree. The
e lower
had since brokeexam ined first,
it appeared to him to be sound, there no flaw
whatever
in it. The beams were not hi toge-
ther, er, as it is considered unneecasary. Ti rails re-
main at the bettorn of the river. The ire, tie beam
below did not break. The truss beneath tae tram-
way was about four feet iu depth.
A plan was produced of the tramway, which the