The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-17 00:00:00

The CHAIRMAN then moved a formal resolution
approving and confirming the heads of agreement
entered into with the South Wales Railway Com.
puny, dated the sth of Nov., 1861, and authorising
the directors to give effect to the same between the
three companies or any two of them.
Lord BARRINGTON seconded the motion.
After some observations from Mr. Taylor, Mr.
Delahunty, the Rev. Mr. Nicholson, and Mr. Salter,
the resolution was adopted.
On the motion of the Chairman, the meeting was
adjourned to Friday, the 21st of February, when.
the final deed of arrangement would be submitted
to the proprietors for their sanction.
Similar resolutions were passed at meetings of
the South Wales and West Midland Railway Com-
pany.

DOUBLE MURDER IN _ESSEX.

CLAVERING, ESSEX, THURSDAY EVENING.
A frightful murder has been committed at Star-
ng-green, Clavering, a village on the borders of
he counties of Essex and Herts. The house in which
be crime was committed is in a lonely place. Built
in a hollow, it is about half a mile from any other
human habitation. The place was occupied by a
man Lamed Samuel Law, a farm labourer and rat--
catcher, about 27 years of age, and his family. He
had been married to hit wife Rebecca, aged 25, for
seven years. Two children were the issue of the
marriage, the eldest being over six years of age,
and the youngest a boy, named Alfred, 16 weeks
old. Law was a man of loose habits. The woman
was sober and generally well conducted. They fre-
quently quarrelled during the earlier portion of
their wedded life, but of late years they lived more
happily together. About a month ago the husband
was charged with having broken a gate, and was
sentenced to a month's imprisonment in Hertford
Gaol. The term of incarceration expired on Friday.
His wife had during his imprisonment gone into the
Union house with her two children. He went to
her on the following day, and promised to take her
out if, as he said, he should sell every stick and rag
he possessed. He redeemed his promise on the very
next day, and early on Sunday morning he took her
out of the Union and took her home. On Tuesday
morning, it seems, the woman presented herself at her
mother's house, which is situated at Langley, about
3 miles from Starling-green, Her hands and dress
were besmeared with blood, and she was accompanied
by her eldest child. They had walked across the
fields and through a wood in the dead of night. Upon
gaining admittance she said that someone had broken
into the house and had murdered ber husband. She
went into her mother's bed, and some time after-
wards told her parent that she herself was the mur-
deress. Soon after daybreak the statement came to
the knowledge of a tradesman named Codling, for-
merly a police-officer, who, with a young man
named Prentice, drove over in his horse and cart to
Starling-green, and entered the house. He went
upstairs, where a fr4hzful spectacle was presented
to his view. Lay's body, covered with blood, was
13 ing partly on and partly out of the bed. The head
was fearfully emtitated. Subsequent examination
disclosed nearly a hundred wounds on the head,
(
nandcodli
nagn
wasd a r ms
t. a r
tIlVe
dh ibl
ye
hleoaorkiinngg
face, and neck, and from 15 to 20 terrible gashes on
t ha te
et
rh
ye
of an infant. It proved to be the youngest child,
bthodeyriMghrt.
which he wrapped up in a blanket and gave to Pren-
tice, witleut suspecting that any violence had been
used towards it. Mr. Codling went back to Lang-
ley, where the woman was, and went to her mother's
horse. When the womau first saw him she reached
cut her hands and said, " Oh, my dear Sir, poor
Sam's gone." This she repeated several times. She
said, " I didn't want to hurt him, but I could not
help it ; I was forced to it. I chopped him with the
bill. He went to bed first, and then I went upstairs
and struck him when he was asleep, and he shrugged
his shoulders and jumped up. I struck him again,
and he groaned very much." She said that she
struck him again several times after that. She then,
according to her account, went down stairs and re-
mained in the house nearly an hour, and then went
up again and asked him if he knew her. He made
a kind of expressive grunt of " Yes," and then she
struck him again several times. She further said
that all the time she WAS striking him there was
such a noise on the stairs. She told witness " This
murder I have seen a month ago, and heard Sam's
shrieks and groans just as I heard them last night."
She also said that she went down stairs and put the
light out, and then started off to her mother s ; that
going along, she lo)ked for a place to drown the
child (referring, as witness presumed, to the one
left alive), but she did not find any, and was afraid
lest the shrieks of the child might be heard by any
one. Witness said, "I wonder you did not drown
yourself." She replied, "I wish I had, but I thought
that one day out of hell was better than being in
it." She then referred to the other child—the one
that had been killed—and said, "I have killed poor
Sam, and the child as well. I hit it with the ham-
mer." She kept constantly repeating the same words
all the way to the lea-up, where witness consigned
her to the care of the police authorities.
On being examined the child discovered in the
room where the murdered man was lying was found
to be suffering from severe injuries. These had been
inflicted about the head, apparently by a hammer
or some implement of that description. Mr. Robin-
son, a surgeon of Newport, attended the child,which
had been conveyed to the house of its grandmother
in this place, and that gentleman at once adopted
such reraedial measures as he was able. The ieju-
rice, however, were of such a nature that, after lin-
aliont the
(Thy, in considerable agony throat,
g a dry,
the unfortunate little creature expired about nine
o'clock the same night. Although a very strict
search has been made iu the house and in the out-
buildings for the hammer, the weapon has not been
discovered.
•
With regard to any motive for such a crime no-
thing reliable is at present known. The wretched
woman has not allowed a single word to escape her
which would enable the motive to be ascertained.
The Coroner's inquest was held yesterday after-
noon at the Fox and Hounds, Clavering, before Mr.
C. C. Lewis, coroner for this division of the county,
but no few facts were added to those above recorded.

lands adjoining the railway Which may be consi-
dered by Mr. Fowler as now or proximately neces-
sary for the traffic of the line, but not to include
money, shares, or other property belonging to the
South Wales Railway.
" 4. As soon as the Great Western and West
Midland amalgamation shall have been sanctioned
by Parliament (a sanction which the companies re-
spectively bind themselves to seek without delay)
the lease as now proposed on a fixed rental to be
changed into a division of net receipts on the same
principle as between the Great Western and 'Vest
Midland, and further powers if any which may be
necessary for that purpose to be forthwith applied
for.
"5. It 'is assumed that the Great Western
Railway and Smith Wales Railway Amalgama-
tion. Act (if necessary) will be obtained in 1863;
and that the amalgamation will take effect on the
Ist of January, 1864. That for the years 1861 and
1865 the proportion of net receipts payable to the
South Wales shall be 10.7 per cent.; for 1866 and
1867, 10 8 per cent.; and for 1868 and in perpe.
tuity, 10.9 per cent, of the liaited Great Western
Railway, West Midland Railway, and South
Wales Railway net receipta. Should the amal-
gamation not be effected by the Ist of January,
1864, and the auditors of the South Wales and
Great Western as at present shall certify that the
net receipts of the South Wales Railway (allowing
54 per cent. fur working expenses) should exceed
the .£170,000 agreed to be paid by clause 3, the
South Wales Company shall be entitled, after the
year 1863, to such excess receipts to the extent which
they would have been paid had the amalgamation
taken effect. And in no case shall the South Wales
Company receive less than £170,000 per annum
(whether the amalgamation takes effect or not pre-
viously to 1864) during ten years from the com-
mencement of the lease.
" 6. Four directors are to be selected in the first
instance by the Great Western Railway Board from -
the,South -Wake Bmrd, to join. the amalgamatt-.'.
Board of the Great Weifern 'Railway and West ,
Midland on the Ist January, 1862.
" 7. The plant now belonging to the South Wales
Railway, to be paid for by the Great Western Rail-
way and West Midland Company, at the rate of
£5,000 per annum:
"8. All additional capital required from the Ist
of January, 1862, is to be considered as spent for
development of traffic, and interest on it at 4-1- per
cent. is to be a first charge.
" 9. This arrangement is to commence on the Ist
of January, 1862, up to which period South Wales
are to provide for all debts and liabilities.
" 10. Until the amalgamation is completed a sum
of £1,500 a year is to be allowed by the Great
Western and West Midland to the South Wales
towards expenses of direction and management.
" 11., All questions as to Barlow Rails are to be
considered at an end, and the expenditure incurred
in their renewal up to the Ist of January, 1862, is
to be charged against joint traffic revenue up to
that date.
"12. A formal document is to be forthwith pre-
pared by Mr. Lloyd to carry out this arrangement,
and, excepting as herein provided, the terms and
conditions are to be as nearly as circumstances will
admit the same as those of the Great Western and
West Midland agreement.
" 13. All qaestions of difference arising under
this agreement are to be left to Mr. T. E. Harrison
and Mr. Lloyd, to determine on behalf of both
parties."