The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-27 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, OCTOBER, 27, 1862.

policy of assurance as an additional security. Of
the antecedents of Mr. Andrews we have not
heard much, except that he has been a methodist
local preacher, and professed to be a teetotaller and
a vegetarian. He is not known to have lived ex•,
travagantly, or to have speculated largely, and
therefore people are at a loss as to what he can have
done with the property of the bank. He had lately
built a residence near Ashton, called Medlockvale-
hall, but it is not supposed to have cost more than
a man with a salary of £5,000 a year might reason-
ably afford. The prisoner is a son of the late Mr.
Andrews, dyer, of Collyhurst. After his arrest
several shareholders in the bank visited him in the
lock-ups, and tried to ascertain from him the amount
of his frauds. To these gentlemen he admitted they
were to the amount of many thousands, but when
asked if he could give any idea of the total, he re-
plied, " No, I cannot ; but you have a first-rate man
to examine the books, and he will no doubt make
out a statement disclosing the whole. I know I
have done what I ought not to have done."

It is expected the prisoner will be brought before
the magistrates for examination at Manchester this
day.

ANOTHER GREAT FMB-IMMENSE
LOSS OF PROPERTY.

Yesterday morning, between the hours of seven
and eight, a fire attended with much loss of pro-
perty took place in the premises belonging to
Messrs. Charles and Thomas Lloyd, steam saw mill
proprietors and timber merchants, carrying on an
extensive business in Waterloo-road, Bishop's-road,
Victoria Park. The premises were of great extent,
inasmuch as the mills were 80 feet long and 40 feet
wide. They were two storeys high, and were most
expensively fitted up with machinery, including
that in the sawing, planing, and timber compart-
ments ; those were of course independent of the
boiler-houses and engine-houses.

About eight o'clock in the morning, as one of the
men was entering the yard leading to the factory
he noticed smoke issuing from that portion of the
mills nearest the boiler-house, and before he had
time to give an alarm the flames curled round the
boiler-house or engine-room, and took a direction
towards the stables. Mr. Green, the porter at
Bethnal-green workhouse, and another official
named Nettlefold, and Garner, the Royal Society's
escape conductor, at once pulled out the engine
belonging to that establishment, and with the aid
of a number of paupers the machine was got to
work from an abundant supply of water, under the
supervision of Mr. Edinger, the chief inspector.
The flames had by that time, however, assumed too
fearful an aspect to yield to the water that could be
thrown by one engine, and being fed by such in-
flammable articles as thin deal cuttings and shavings,
they speedily extended to the upper floors of the
mills, and also to the costly stacks of timber in the
open yard adjoining. Bartony the engineer
of Shoreditch parish, next attended with his
engine, and that machine was also got to work, but
the water thrown b 3 two engines was perfectly in-
adequate to get any control over such a body of
flame as then existed. Fortunately, Mr. Maidman,
the engineer of Wellclose-square engine-house, at-
tended with the powerful steamer by Shand and
Mason of Upper Ground-street, Blackfriars-road,
and the machine having been backed to the banks of
the canal, it was set to work; but in spite of the
many toss weight of water thrown upon the fire, it
still continued its ravages, and at length the whole
of the mills shot forth in one direction such an im-
mense body of flame as extended to the two floors
over, engulphing them as it were, when the scene
became one of fearful grandeur, for the fire and
sparks rose to an enormous altitude, firing sundry
stacks of timber in front and also on the wharf lead-
ing to the canal.

Fortunately Capt. Shaw and Foremen Swinton
and J. Gerrard arrived with another steam engine
by Shand and Mason, which was also set to work
from the mains of the East London Company, and
some thousand tons weight of water were momen-
tarily discharged into the blazing property ; but as
the water fell upon the iron machinery, including
circular, horizontal, and perpendicular saws, it
twisted them into a variety of misshapen forms, and
at one time it was feared. the steam-engines would
have exploded. Just as an immense number of deals
and other planks standing round in front and on the
wharf had become ignited, the powerful steam en-
gines were brought to bear upon the stacks, and
fortunately they did wonderful execution by cutting
off at once the further extension of the flames through
the valuable piles of timber ; but in spite of the in-
defatigable exertions of the firemen the flames could
not be wholly extinguished for some time, and not
until the steam saw mills and two floors over, to-
gether with the valuable stock in trade and ma-
chinery, were destroyed, the roof burned off, and the
stock in open yard considerably damaged by fire
and water. Fortunately, the horses were all taken
out, and removed to Bethnal-green Workhouse by
Messrs. Green, Nettlefold, and Garner.

The origin of the fire is at present not known.
When the premises were closed the overnight the
fires in the furnaces appeared to have been properly
extinguished, and not so much as anything smoul-
dering could be detected, and it was not until one
of the workmen went in to look after the horses that
the fire was seen, and even at that time it appeared
to be confined principally to the boiler.house ; but
upon opening the doors the draught caused the
flames to extend almost with the rapidity of light-
ning. The total loss will amount to several thousand
pounds, and will fall upon the Phoenix Fire-office.

CATHERINE WILSON.

EXTRAORDINARY_ STATEMENT OF THE

PRISONER.

The following is a copy of the statement of her
case, drawn up by the prisoner herself a few days
before her execution, and transmitted to the Home
Secretary to be laid before her Majesty, imploring
the clemency of the Crown. The expressions made
use of are the prisoner's own, and the document was
written in a firm legible hand, and there were
merely a few errors in the spelling :
"To her Most Gracious Majesty—l most humbly
beg your Majesty's pardon for the liberty I have
taken in sending this paper, and crave your Ma-
jesty's most merciful consideration of my case. I am
now lying under sentence of death for the dreadful
crime of poisoning, which I solemnly declare I am
innocent of. I am very deaf, and was unable to
hear any of the evidence upon my trial, therefore
could not contradict anything that was said. I have
been in prison six months, and unable to get the
evidence to come forward on my behalf for want of
means, my means being all exhausted ; and yet,
without one witness, there has never been proved
one person or place I had ever had poison of, nor
that I had ever had poison in my possession. One
witness says I told her the day of the death of Mrs.
Soames the death was not a natural one, for Mrs.
Soames had taken poison in my room on the Wed-
nesday night before ; yet this witness, though a
friend of the family's for six years before, living
with the daughters two years afterwards, never
named it to anybody till now, six years afterwards,
when I am tried for my life, then comes for wieGA to
say I told her this, which I never did. Then comes
another witness and friend of the family for 2:
years, who declares I told her there would be a let-
ter come to the house on the Monday. She says I
told her this on the Sunday before the letter came,
yet before this letter did come it was never told to
Mr. Barnes, Mrs. Soames's brother, nor her two
daughters, nor any one else until my trial. I never
did tell either of those witnesses anything of the
kind. How strange those two women should be
friends of the family both before and after death.
When the inquest was held not a word was ever
said by either of the parties what I had said. No,
because I had never said anything of the kind to
them. Mrs. Hawkshaw, a niece of Mrs. Soames,
was in attendance upon her most all the time on the
Thursday, and Thursday night she attended her
alone ; not until Friday and Friday night did I at-
tend and sit up with the daughter until she died.
Mrs. Hawkshaw was sent by her aunt to buy the
penny stamp I
paper to give me for to show that
had lent Mrs. Soames £10; it was wrote every
word
by Mrs. Soames herself. It was never disputed by
the family or said one word against until now, six
years afterwards ; yet this witness was not called.
Mrs. Soames's circumstances were not good, and

she could not meet her tradesmen's bills. She be.
longed to a building society. She had a cer-
tain sum of money to pay every week, and to
pay that with she always had to pledge her pro-
perty, The two daughters say they never knew
their mother to lend me any money, and I always
paid my rent every week, Bs. 6d. I could have no
motive for taking this poor woman's life. It was
known by the witnesses that Mrs. Soames thought
of marrying again to better her circumstances to a
man I had frequently heard her talk of, but I never
saw. The letters produced in court a day or two
after the death of Mrs. Soames came to the house.
Two people is called to say they believe it to be
wrote by me, although in a d:sguised hand. When
asked if they ever saw me write, one says he never
saw me write, the other says he saw me write seven
years ago. Neither of these two men ever saw me
write in their lives. lam sure I did not write that
letter. A part of it was torn away. A false report
has been circulated in the papers that I understood
the nature of medicine, for I had lived with a Dr.
Mawer, of Boston, which I never did, nor was there
a Dr. Mawer living there at any time. All this
proved very injurious to me. Every person that I
have attended upon, and done my best for, those
that have died, has been exhumed, and nothing
found in them like poison, or any poison traced to
my possession, or any doctor says anything against
me, except one, whose evidence is false, and yet I
am condemned to die. I therefore through (throw)
myself on your Majesty's most merciful considera-
tion, and pray to God to be more merciful than man.
',remain, your Majesty's most humble servant,

" CATHERINE WILSON."

LARGE DISTRIBUTION OF POISONED
MUSSELS IN LIVERPOOL.

LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY.

The following extraordinary case has been re-
ported to the borough coroner this morning :—A
day or two ago a wooden vessel, which has been
lying in the Birkenhead Dock for the last 18 months
was brought over to Liverpool and placed in one of
the Clarence graving docks for repairs. On the dock
being run dry yesterday the vessel's bottom was
found to be coated with thousands of mussels, and
the ship carpenters and other persons engaged
about the dock collected many basketsful and took
them to their homes. A ship carpenter, named Cun-
ningham, living in No. 5 Court, Prussia•street, took
about a quart of them home, and about half-past
six they were cooked by his sister, Bridget Cun-
ningham, 24 years of age, who keeps house for him.
Afterwards both brother and sister partook of the
mussels, and gave some to a couple of young chil-
dren residing in the same court. About 8 o'clock all
of them were taken ill, with symptoms of arsenical
poisoning. Bridget Cunningham grew rapidly
worse, and at a quarter before 11 o'clock she died,
after suffering great agony. A little before this,
Mr. Williams, surgeon, of Leeds-street and Vaux-
hall-road, was called in, and though too late to save
the young woman, his energetic efforts were effec-
tive in the case of Cunningham himself and the
two children, who, after passing through a
serious crisis, are now in a fair way of recovery.
Mr. Williams was also called in to attend another
ship carpenter living in No. 6 Court, Johnson-
street, who had also taken home some of the mussels,
and eaten them. This man's life was despaired of
during the night, but he is now supposed to be out
of danger, though quite unable to move his limbs.
Several other persons in the neighbourhood who
also partook of the mussels are also similarly though
less seriously affected, and as a great quantity
were taken from the dock by various persons it is
feared that the ill effects will be very extensive.
The attention of the health officers was directed to
the matter, and orders were given for the mussels
to be collected and destroyed, to prevent as far as
possible further mischief.

We understand that the hull of the vessel was not
coated with copper, but with a green composition,
similar to that which is used for the bottoms of iron
vessels, and it is supposed that a large proportion
of arsenic forms an ingredient in its manufacture.:
An inquest will be held on the body on the wo-
man Cunningham on 11 onday.

SUPPOSED CASE OF POISONING BY

STRYCHNINE.

SHIELDS, SATURDAY.

This evening Mr. Reid, the coroner for South
Northumberland, opened an inquest in the Town-
hall, North Shields, on the body of Mrs. Jane Gil-
lespie, of Wellington-street, who died this day fort-
night, after an hour's illness. The case is causing
great excitement in Shields. This afternoon, by an
order from the coroner, the body was exhumed in
the new cemetery, and this evening Mr. Newton,
surgeon, Dr. M'Nay, and Dr. May, of Newcastle,
assisted, on the part of the husband, by Mr. Mur-
ray, of the School of Medicine, and Mr. Fawcett,
are engaged with a post mortem examination, and
the viscera will he sent to an analytical chemist. At
the inquest which was opened this evening, Mr.
Brignal, solicitor, of Durham, appeared for the hus-
band of the deceased, but no evidence was taken,
the inquest being adjourned until Thursday after-
noon.

The facts of the unfortunate cases are as follows:
Mrs. Gillespie, a tall woman, of full habit of body,
had been unwell of a cold, and procured a bottle of
medicine from her medical attendant. She was out
on Saturday morning making purchases, and re-
turned to her home about noon, took two table-
spoonfuls of medicine, and was immediately after
attacked with alarming symptoms of tetanus; and
though every effort was made to save her she was
dead in little better than an hour. Her medical at-
tendant gave a certificate that her death was from
bronchitis; but the husband, from the symptoms,
supposing that there was something wrong, gave a
few drops to a cat, which died shortly after appa-
rently in extreme agony. After the interment of his
wife's body he took the remaining portion of the
medicine to Dr. Pattison, analytical chemist, N6W•-•
castle, who after analysing it, gave a certificate
to the effect that it contained strychnine in the
proportion of 11 grains to each fluid ounce of the
mixture. Mr. Gillespie having made the case
known to the authorities, the coroner issued
his warrant for the disinterment of the body.
The Town-hall was crowded with respectable
inhabitants of the town daring the short time the
coroner's court sat. The name of the medical at-
tendant did not transpire before the coroner's court.

7HE SHOCKING PIT ACCIDENT AT

POR7 OBELLO.

lOn Friday the adjourned inquest on the bodies
of the men killed by this accident was concluded at
the Gough's Arms, Portobello. The accuracy of a
plan presented having been proved, the witness
for whom the inquiry was adjourned was called.
Thomas Griffith, a fireman at the engines connected
with the pit at which the accident happened, said
that on Friday evening, while standing near the
mouth of the pit, he saw the banksman, after land-
ing a full skip, hook the tackler skip on the chain,
as though to send it to the bottom of the shaft for
the men, who the witness supposed had called for
it. When the skip had, as the witness supposed,
reached half way up the shaft in its ascent to the
surface, witness saw the empty skip running towards
the brink of the shaft. The banksman, John Dyke,
immediately ran to the waggon, from which he was
standing about three yards, and tried to push it over
the mouth of the shaft, but was impeded both
by the descending skip and also by the chain at-
tached to the skip in which the men were ascend-
ng. If a skip were properly " scotched " it would
be prevented from running into a pit, and it was,
the witness
.thought, the duty of the banksman to
use a " scotching'' apparatus. A man named Wel-
lings,.who was not sworn, asserted that at the time
the wind was blowing in a terrific manner. In con-
sequence of the contradiction given in some points
by Robert Heaton to his evidence on Saturday, he
was again sworn, and stated that he acted under
the banksman's directions at this pit. A few
minutes before the accident the " drawing''
skip, which afterwards ran into the pit, was
placed on the line of rails, from which it after:
wards ran, by the witness. Dyke then " scotched"
one of its wheels by the stone produced, which the
witness thought was quite sufficient to prevent any
skip from moving. The banksman having been
cautioned, said that be hung the tackle skip
on the chain when a call was made from below.
He saw that the " drawing" skip was upon
.the
wrong line of' rails, and thought it was not sate to
then put it upon another line, and consequently
pushed it further away, "scotching" the wheel with
the stone produced_ He then went to the "clapper"
on, the other side, and shouted to the men below.
1 he usual sign was given, and the engine then com-
menced to draw them U. Heard a skip rattle,and
turned a glance to the skip which had been scotched.
Saw it going towards the pit's mouth. Tried ti?a
push the waggon over but was prevented,
by the alp. Shouted, and heard the Mali

who was eventually saved say "Go on."
Told the engineer to go on. A man came, to
whom he said that the skip had fallen, and said he
thought some of the men had been ki led.
The Jury, after a short consultation, gave the
following as their verdict:—" That the deceased
me„; came by their deaths through the gross neglect
of the ban
in having the skip upon the wrong
itqman,
rails; and the jury
also consider him guilty of man-
slaughter."—Birminglian: Post.

ALLEGED CHILD MURDER AT D ALSTON

On Saturday Mr. John Humphreys, one of the
Middlesex coroners, held an inquiry at the Adam
and Eve Tavern, Lower Homerton, respecting the
death of the newly-born child of Salome Newman,
the body of which was found in the chimney of the
house in which the girl Newman was employed as
a servant.

Mrs. E. S. Polton, 14, Navarino-road, Dalston,
said that the girl named Salome Newman entered
her service on the Bth March. In August witness
taxed her with being in the family way, but she
vehemently denied it. On last Friday night they
retired to rest as usua], but the next morning wit-
ness was awakened by a noise. She heard the girl
saying " Oh, lam dying, I am dying." The girl
went down stairs. Witness put on her things and
went to the girl, who said she did not know what
was the matter with her. She stoutly denied that
she had given birth to a child. On the Wednesday
the detective discovered the body of the child in
the chimney in the girl's room. No man had visited
the girl while she was in witness's house to her
knowledge. She had a good character with the
girl from her last employer.
Clarke, 22K, a detective, said that upon searching
the premises, he found the body of the deceased in
the chimney of the girl's room. It was wrapped in
the apron produced, and a staylace was tied round
the child's neck. The girl did not say anything.
Mrs. Polton said that the apron looked like one
of the girl Newman's.
Dr. G. F. White said that he was called in to the
girl Newman, and found manifest proofs that she
had recently given birth to a child. Nevertheless
she absolutely denied the fact. He subsequently
eaw the body of a female child in the workhouse,
wrapped in the apron produced. There was a cord,
or staylace, twice coiled round the neck with ex-
treme violence, but the cord was not tied in a knot.
If the staylace had been twisted round the neck to
produce strangulation, he was afraid it would pro-
duce the same effect as that visible. The tongue
protruded, the face was livid, and the flesh was
raised considerably between the two coils of cord.
Death resulted from strangulation. The lungs
were fully inflated.
By Mr. Shorter—lt was not likely that the liga-
ture had been fastened round the neck of the de-
ceased by the mother to assist in her delivery. The
birth had apparently taken place down stairs. The
girl denied the birth obstinately, but when pressed
she admitted that she had been placed in a position
that might have led to her pregnancy by—as he
understood—a former lodger in the house.
The Coroner said that he should adjourn the case
luntil the girl Newman was sufficiently recovered to
be brought before the court.
The court then adjourned accordingly.