The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-23 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

HUNTINGDON RACES.-TUESDAY.

THE BERMONDSEY MURDER.

EXAMINATION OF MA RIA MANNING AT
EDINBURGH.
(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)
EDINBURGH, WEDNESDAY.

This morning, at ten o'clock, Maria Manning was
brought up from the Calton•hill gaol, for examina-
tion before Mr. Sheriff Arkley, charged with the
rnorder, or participating in the murder, of Patrick
O'Connor. After being duly cautioned, the pri-
soner was asked what she bad to say to the charge.
She replied that she had nothing to say ; whereupon
she was remanded back to prison to await the arrival
of officers to convey her to London. It is expected
that one or more of the metropolitan police will arrive
here this evening, with authority to receive her into
their custody.

The intelligence conveyed in the above message,
received at a late hour last night, proves one thing
beyond a doubt—viz., that the metropolitan police
have not understood the correct mode of proceed-
ing with regard to the custody and transmission to
England of the accused party. We believe we are
correct in stating that the Scotch law gives no power
to convey into England the body of any individual ap•
prehended in that country on suspicion of being con-
cerned in crime of any description without the produc-
tion of a legal warrant from an English
magistrate.
Only one warrant has been granted for the apprehen-
sion of the supposed murderers, and that is in the hands
of Inspector Field, who at the present moment is on
the Continent, whither he proceeded in search of
Maria Manning. The Edinburgh magistrates are
therefore correct in detaining: the suspected party in
prison, until a London officer, duly authorised to re-
ceive her into his custody, arrives in that city. It is
somewhat strange that the facilities afforded by the
electric telegraph were not called into action to set
this matter right either from London or from Edin-
burgh during yesterday, but it is a fact that, although
the arrival of the prisoner was expected throughout
the day, and officers were sent up to the Euston sta-
tion t o receive her, no telegraphic communication took
place between the two cities until the receipt of that
which we have given above. Immediately upon re.
ceipt of this message (a copy of which was obligingly
furnished to us by Mr. Barker, the superintendent of
the police department of the London and North-
Western Railway), Inspectors Walker and Shaw
proceeded to Scotland-yard, and communicated
its effect to Mr. May, the chief superintendent
of the A division, who immediately sought an inter-
view with Mr. Halt, the chief magistrate at Bow-
street, who at once granted a second warrant for the
apprehension of the accused party, which was placed
in the hands of Inspector Haynes of the detective
force, who left town for Edinburgh by the 6.15
A.M. train this morning. Mr. Haynes will arrive in
Edinburgh this evening, and in all probability return
to town with his prisoner to-morrow.
The following particulars in reference to Maria
Manning will probably be read with interest :—Her
maiden name is not Rue, as has been erroneously
stated, but De Roux. She is a native of Lausanne,
in Switzerland, and inherited some small patrimony
from her parents, both of whom are deceased. About
six years since she resided in the family of Sir Law-
rence Palk, at Haldon House, Devonshire, as maid to
Lady Palk, and while travelling to and fro with this
family she appears to have made the acquaintance of
Manning, who was at that time a guard on the Great
Western Railway. At Lady Palk's decease, in
1846, she obtained a situation as lady's maid to
Lady Blantyre, second daughter of the Duchess
of Sutherland. She came to reside with her
Ladyship at Stafford House in July, 1846, and
accompanied her to Scotland in the autumn of the
same year. While on a brief continental tour with
her Ladyship, before proceeding to Scotland, she met
the deceased O'Connor, who seems to have been struck
with her appearance and mannere—so much so as to
have offered her marriage. In the early part of the
season 1847, she returned to town with Lady Blan-
tyre, and it appears was frequently visited at Stafford
House by both Manning and O'Connor, the latter of
whom appeared to entertain a very warm affection
for her. Manning, however, seems to have been the
favoured suitor, and on the 6th of August, 1847, she
lef: Stafford House with the avowed intention of mar-
rying him. Whether the ceremony was ever per-
formed is not known at present, but it is certain that
she urged an old nurse in the establishment to be
present—a request, however, which was not acceded
to. As an illustration of the woman's finesse, it may
be mentioned that upon her leaving Stafford House,
handsome presents were made to her by members of
the family; and not only was this kindly interest in
her own welfare displayed, but a relative of her sup-
posed. husband Manning recently received a Govern-
ment appointment through the influence of Lord Blan-
tyre. After her supposed marriage she accompanied
Manning into Devonshire for a week or ten days,
and then, returning to Stafford House, went with
Lady Blantyre to the Continent a second time, one
motive for her doing so being, as it is alleged, the
opportunity it afforded her of arranging her own
affairs abroad previously to settling down to married
life in England. All this time she had been deceiv-
ing Patrick O'Connor as to her intended marriage
with .11:tanning, and when O'Connor ascertained that
she really was married, he manifested the greatest
distress of mind—tore the hair from his head, and
conducted himself altogether in a most extraordinary
manner. On her return from the Continent she
went to reside with her husband in lodgings at No.
2, Church-street, Paddington, Manning at this time
was still filling the situation of a guard on the
Great Western Railway. 'We should here state
that Manning in prosecuting his addresses succeeded
in persuading Maria de Roux that he was entitled to
property under his mother's will, amounting to be-
tween 6001. and 7001. This was of course only a
fiction, to assist him in obtaining her hand, but so
deeply did he lay his schemes that he actually drew
up a will, which has been found among the papers
in his wife's possession, by which he bequeathed
this property to his " very dear and beloved wife,"
to the exclusion of all other claimants, appointing her
executor, conjointly with Henry Poole, the scoundrel
recently convicted of the mail robberies on the
Great Western Railway, who is one of the sub-
scribing witnesses to the deed. There does not
appear• to be the least reason to believe that
Mannimg had any property himself; but with
money he obtained from his wife, very shortly after
their marriage, he took a public house or hotel at
Taunton, which promised at first to do well ; but,
partly owing to the bad associates with whom he
became connected, and partly to the unfitness of his
wife tee play the hostess among the "homely boors"
of Devon, the business soon fell off. While they lived
together here, Mrs. Manning on one occasion left her
husb:und, pretending that she had to go to the Conti-
nent to receive some money. She remained absent
about five weeks without communicating, with her
husbr ad, and Manning finding the business of his
house falling off, made over the lease to another party
and left Taunton. At length Mrs. Manning re-
turned, and presented herself at her former house,
where she was of course refused admission. She then
hastened back to London, and found her husband
living with his brother, in Francis-street, Newington.
She remained with him only a short time, and then
decam zed again, and was at length discovered living
with O'Connor. A second time their differences
were healed, and they next appeared as the host and
hostess of the Old King John's Head, in the Kings-
land-road, where they remained only a very short
period, and on leaving Kingeland they went to live at
Minvee-place, the scene of their diabolical crime.
Mrs. Manning is described to be a remarkably fine
woman, and it is said that correspondence discovered
in her boxes discloses familiarity with persons far
above her own station in life. She is woman of very
violent passions, and Manning's brother states that
while she lived at Taunton she more than once at-
tempted to stab him with a knife during a family
quarrel.
The accused parties resided for a short period at
No. 6, Philpott-terrace, Paddington, before they went
to Taunton.
Manning is still at large, but there is great reason
to hope that ere long he will be in custody. The police
authorities believe that he is lurking in some part of
the west of England, and two or three officers have
been sent down in that direction. It was several
times reported during yesterday that he had been
seen in London, but the officers do not attach any
credence to these statements. It is quite certain that
he left town by the South-Western Railway on Wed-
nesday morning, the 15th instant, and it is fully
believed that he is now hiding himself in some of the
villages or towns on the west coast of England.
The furniture purchased of the supposed murderer
by Belinbridge, the broker, is advertised for sale by
auction to-day. It consists of articles of the commonest
description.
A great crowd of spectators awaited the arrival of
the various trains at Euston station yesterday, under
ate impression that Mrs. Manning would arrive in
town from the north.
Yesterday the police succeeded in tracing the
shovel with which the grave of the murdered man
is supposed to have been dug. It appears that on
Wednesday, the Bth instant, Mrs. Manning went to
Mr. Langley's, an ironmonger, in Tooley-street,
Borough, where she saw the shopman, and said she
wanted an iron shovel, at the same time stating that
she wished it to be a very strong one The shopman
asked her whether she required a regular shovel.
She replied, " No; she would like a short-handled
one." One was shown her, for which she paid Is. 2d.,
Laving her name and address, and requesting the
article to be sent to No. 3, Minver place, New
Weston-street, in the evening, which was done, and
it was received thy Mrs. Manning. The shopman
can identify her ? Mr. Langley is quite certain
that the shovel in question was strong enough to
remove any earth, but it Would require more time
than a long-handled shovel.

LONDON, THUDS yt Y EVENING: AUGUST 23 1849.

I It is a singular fact that, although every pre-
caution seems to have been taken in the commission
of this murder, and in the arrangements for the
escape of the perpetrators of the crime, yet Maria
ilianning retained in her possession the rail-
way scrip and shares, and the other property be-
longing to the deceased, which could not be of any
value to her, but which, on the contrary, were
certain to lead to her identification as the murderess,
if any chance exposed them to the view of other
parties. This is one of many instances of that peculiar
sort of fascination which seems to exist in all these
cases, namely, that which induces the criminal to
retain possession of portions of the property which
must inevitably lead to conviction it apprehended.
EXPLOSION AT THE LETTLY