The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-30 00:00:00

THE CHIRK MURDER.

APPREHENSION AND EXAMINATION OF
THE MURDERERS AT SHREWSBUY.

SHREWSBURY, DEC. 29.—Tne murderers were taken
at Coventry on Christmas-day, and were brc•ught
into Shrewsbury yesterday evening, in a post-ehaise,
and lodged in the gaol. The greatest praise is slue
to the county police-force, under the direction of the
Deputy Chief Constable M'Michael, for their exer-
tions in tracing out the suspected villains. The
Viscount Dungannon has been unceasing in urging
a rigid investigation into all the circumstances con-
nected with this inhuman and bloody deed. The
Magistrates of the county offered a reward of 201. for
the apprehension of the perpetrators of this atrocious
murder, and, through Lord Dungannon's intercession,
a further reward of 1001. was immediately offered
by the Secretary- of State, and strong hopes were
entertained of their being soon taken, especially as
they were such well-known characters. Their names,
as has already been stated, are Williams and Slawson.
The general opinion, both from report and a close and
vigilant look out on the part of the police, led the au-
thorities into a belief that the fellows lay concealed
either in the town or immediate neighbourhood of Wrex-
ham, and the efforts of the constables were directed ac-
cordingly, but without avail. C.Tp to Monday no doubt
was entertained as to their being still harboured about
thcir native place, on which day a letter was received et
the Chief Constable's Office, in Shrewsbury, with in-
formation that two men answering the description given
of the suspected murderers were taken by the Coventry
police, in which city it appears that they had offered tor
sale at a silversmith's 11 silver spoon=-marked E. E ,
and he, having heard of the murder and robbery at
lironygarth, gave information to the police.
Air. *Michael left Shrewsbury on Monday in order
to convey them here. The prisoners came to Wolver-
hampton by railway, and from thence to Atcham by the
Salopian coach. At nine o'clock yesterday evening
they arrived in this town, a chaise having been pre-
viously sent to meet them at the village of Atcham,
three miles distant.

John Williams is a stout young man, aged 22 years,
a native of Cornwall,•but has resided at Wrexham
from his infancy. He had been in custody three years
ago, at Ruthin, under the Vagrant Act, and was in the
same prison a year ago for an assault, where he under-
went nine months' confinement. The other prisoner,

Slawson, is about 21 years of age, has rather a boyish
look, and far from a ferocious appearance. When at
Coventry, Williams assumed the name of Jones, and
Slawson that of Halley. They reached Coventry on
Wednesday evening, on their way from the scene of the
murder. Slawson, who is a tailor, worked at his trade
in that city, and earned from Wednesday to the Friday
83. 4d. The examination took place this day in the
Guildhall, before the Hon. Thos. Kenyon (Chairman
of the Quarter Sessions), the Hon. and Rev. R. H.
Hill, T. C. Eyton, Esq., Sir B. Leighton, Bart., H. Jus-
tice, Esq., E. Jeffreys, Esq., Major Bayley, and other
magistrates. The witnesses examined were T. S. Mac-
ntichael, Superintendent of the Shropshire Rural Po-
; Thomas Henry Prosser, chief constable of Co-
ventry ; and Mr. Moss Fridland, watchmaker and sil-
- of Fleet-street, in the same city, to whom
the spoons were offered for sale by the prisoner Wil-
hurls. Mr. Prosser, on searching Williams, discovered
in his inner pocket in his waistcoat a half sheet of paper,
with the following directions written upon it by some
companion in crime :7

" You must make the best of your way through South
Wales to the Bristol Channel, and cross over to Corn-
wall, and inquire at Tregonna for some of the Beards,
if you are lucky enough to get there."
The Court was crowded to excess, and the examina-
tion created the most intense interest ; but the late hour
at which it concluded renders it impossible for us to send
any part of it by post. Both prisoners were remanded
till Friday next, when they will loe committed.

THE MURDER at SEVERN STOKE.
(From the IVorcestershire Chronicle.)

The adjourned inquest on view of the body of the ill-
fated Richard Kenton, was held on Thursday, on suspi-
cion of murdering whom, W. Tippin (the men who was
in custody) has been committed on the Coroner's warrant,
to take his trial. The only fresh circumstance of import-
ance which transpired at ti:e adjourned inquest was the
fact that two peculiarly situated nails had disappeared
from one of the prisoner's boots, but which he positively
denied having drawn. Contrary to what has been pub-
licly stated, Tippin has invariably denied ail knowledge
of the crime, declaring again and again, that he knew
nothing of poor Kenton's death till he arose on the
Sunday morning. His conduct in the inquest-room
was certainly far from decorous, and his levity continued
after the inquiry closed, for on his way to Upton, the
police cart passed an Italian carrying a board of images on
his head, upon which he burst out into a loud laugh
and said—" I was serving the masons once, and as such
a fellow as that passed under me, I pitched a brick-end
upon his board, and broke half of them I" Being re-
monstrated with upon his ill-timed merriment, he be-
came more quiet during the rest of his journey. Be
remained at. Upton 01 about three o'clock on Friday,
shortly before which time Superintendent Craig re-
ceived a warrant (which he had been anxiously
expecting) directing his removal to the county
gaol. After receiving this authority, the Superin-
tendent lost no time in starting with his prisoner,
and as several policemen were in attendance, the
order of the town was not in the least disturbed on
removal from the lock-up. Before Tippin left Upton
he conferred with a gentleman of the legal profession,
with a view of preparing for his defence. Since he has
been in the county gaol his conduct has been very be-
coming, but so far from admitting his guilt, or any par-
ticipation in the crime with which he is charged, he
strenuously asserts his innocence. Stanton, Powell,
and Anthews, the other men in custody, were liberated.

EXPLOSION ON THE BRISTOL

RAILWAY.

THE INQUEST.—Tuesday, the inquest was held be-
fore the County Coroner, at the New Inn, Wickwar.
On proceeding to the stable a sickening sight pre-
sented itself. There lay the remains of the two
who were killed instantly. Jones was completely naked
except his boots ; one side of his face and the iower
part of his body had been blown away, which gave
rise to the telief that he had the barrel of pow-
der in his arm when it exploded. The head
of Stephens was a shapeless mass, and he was other-
wise much injured. Bennett's body lay in a back
kitchen, and was dreadfully injured. The first witness
called was

John Stephens, who said—l nave been employed as
a foreman under Mr. Brunel for nearly fifteen years,
' but am at present a sub-contractor under Mr. Nowell.
The injured men worked for me. On Friday evening,
after work, I told James Jones, one of the men killed,
who had charge of the powder, to put it in the black-
smith's shop, and take it out again on Monday morn-
ing before the men came to work ; we have put it there
frequently before on Saturday nights, for safety ; on
Monday morning I went down to the blacksmith's shop
and had gone about thirty-four yards, when I heard the
explosion ; it did not appear to me louder than the re-
port of a fowling-piece. I turned and saw some-
thing like a bundle of burning rags coming
in the air towards me, and in about a second
after, a quantity of timber and stones fell around,
but nothing struck me ; at that instant I heard the
cries of tire poor fellows who were hurt, and after-
wards found it was the body of Jones that had fallen
by my' side ; there were nearly one hundred men at
the spot in five minutes, and we rendered all the
assistance in our power; we found that two were
dead, and another died about two hours after. We
brought them all here, and Mr. Riberts, the surgeon,
attended them immediately. The only way I can ac-
count for the accident is, that Jones must have gone
to work behind time, and that he was in the act of tak-
ing out the powder when it caught.
Two other witnesses were called, but nothing further
was elicited, all who were present in the shop having
been either killed or taken to the infirmary. The inquest
was then adjourned till Thursday
,week, when it was
hoped some of them would be sufficiently recovered to
attend. The names of those dead are—Matthew
Stephens, 27, single marl ; James Bennett, 29, wifo
near her confinement ; and James Jones, 27, single.

Sir James Graham is expected in town this
evening from a visit to his constituents at Dorchester.
HOUSE OF LoRDs.---(From a Correspondent.)
direction of the Earl of Lincoln, First Commis,
sioner of Woods and Forests, workmen are busily en-
gaged in decorating the interior of the House of Lords.

The old dark-coli';ured block paper has been removed
from the wails, and they are now painted a light buff
colour, which greatly improves the appearance of the
House. The seats of Peers are ordered to be re-covered

with scarlet cloth, and the other alterations in progress
will add materially to the splendour of their Lordships'
house. It is generally thought that his Majesty the
King of Prussia, the King of the Belgians, and many dis-
tinguished foreigners, will be present at the opening of
the ensuing Session of Parliament on the 3d of Febru-
ary next. •

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.--We have heard
that her Majesty* - 'early announced to the proper
authorities that it , itention to open the ensuing
Session of Parliament in person with a Speech from the
Throne ; and it is generally expected, from the altera-
,tion's and embellishments now going forward in the
Ifouse of Lords, that our beloved Sovereign will be ac-
companied on that important and interesting occasion by
all the Royal and distinguished foreigners invited to wit-
ness the christening of the infant Prince of Wales.

HORRIBLE BA RBARITY. ARISTOCRATIC
AMUSEMENT.—A correspondent has supplied us with a
detailed account of one of the most atrocious outrages,
committed on a poor helpless creature by a party of
aristocrats, that we have ever heard of, and which re-
sulted in the death of the miserable creature in ques-
tion. We can scarcely believe that the circumstances
our correspondent relates can be true yet he details
tliedi so circumstantially, and authenticates them so
strongly, that we fear there must be seine foundation for
his statement. To elicit information, therefore, on the
subjtcr, we supply the following leading statements:—lt
appears that a party of gentlemen—most of then English
ulL..crs—were last week on a visit at a gentleman's
house in the neighbourhood of Philipstown, King's
County, when one evening they gave their host some
opiutn, and, in sport, proceeded to practise their horrible
cruelties upon a pooridiot boy who found an asulum about
the house. They first extracted all his teeth, and then be-
daubted him over with oil and turpentine—set fire to his
clothes to make bins run, when, horrible to relate the
poor creature was burned to death ! Our Corre-
spondent states that a sort of inquest was held, but
that the greatest exertions were made to hush the
matter up, and conceal the real facts of the case. We
refrain at present from going more into details, but
shall be happy to receive additional information on the
subject, properly authenticated, and which we shah re-
gard as strictly confidential. If the facts are as they
have been stated to us, nothing shall be' wanting on our
part to bring the miscreants to justice.—Dublin Monitor.
[We hope this will prove to be ass exaggeration—if it be
not wholly an invention.]
CHELTENHAM, WEDNESDAY. 'SO great is
the feeling in this town become against railway travel-
ling, that this morning a lady offered five pounds for an
inside place to London by one of the coaches, which was
booked full, and no one felt inclined to relinquish their
place for that sum.
TOTAL REPEAL OF THE BREAD• I'AL—A
public meeting of the inhabitants of Manchester will be
held in the Town Hall, King-street, on new year's day,
for the purpose of petitioning Parliament in favour of the
total and immediate ropes,' of the Bread and Provision
taxes, and of recommending to the House of Commons
the appointment of a Committee to ascertain the best
mode of compensating the injured bread-eaters of Great
Britain and Ireland fur the great misery, privation, and
loss sustained by them from the operation of the Corn
and Provision-laws. Mr. Alderman Brooks will take the
chair.

A DISCRIMINATING PRECEPTOR.—A SCIIOOI-
- in Cornwall, advertising his establishment, says,
" Every boarder must be supplied with a Bible and a
Prayer-book, a knife and fork, three towels, and a silver
dessert spoon ; all of which, except the books, become the
proprietor's perquisite on the pupil's quitting school."

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
UNION-HALL.
James Atkinson, alias Aldridge, was charged with being
at large in this country after having been transported for
lite. It appeared that the prisoner was tried and con-

victed of house-breaking at the Surrey Assizes of 1828.
Sentence of death was recorded against him, which was
subsequently converted into banishment for lire, and he
was conveyed on board the convict ship at Chatham,
from which, however, it is now suspected he made his
escape. The apprehension of the prisoner on the present
charge arose out of a quarrel that occurred between him
and his brother, in the height of which the latter sent
to the station-house, and gave such information as led to
his being taken into custody. When the prisoner was
secured there was evidence of his not having forgotten
his old practices; for there was found in his possession a
complete set of ingeniously-constructed skeleton keys
for opening locks of all descriptions.
When brought before the Magistrate, the prisoner de-,
Glared that the policemen were wrong in his identity, and
that he was not, the man alluded to, and that he was
never tried l'ur any offence, much less transported for life,
Burridge, the chief usher, referred to the minute-book
of charges taken at the Court in 1828, and found it con-
tain the committal of James Atkinson for burglary in
182 S, to the Surrey Assizes.
One of the turnkeys of the county gaol identified the
prisoner as the man who was convicted and sentenced to
transportation for life, at the Surrey Assizes in the above
year. The witness added, that he accompanied the van
of convicts, amongst which was the prisoner, from the
county gaol to Chatham, and that although it was so
many years ago, still he had a perfect recollection of him.
The prisoner was then committed.
GI?EEN WICH POLICE.

Yesterday Mr. Walford, the medical attendant of Mrs.
Maria Robinson, attended before Mr. Jeremy, agreeably
to the Magistrate's desire, to give evidence in the charge
made against TV. Rob tison of having administered poison
to his wife.

The prisoner was not placed at the bar, the Magistrate
remanding the case until Monday, but in consequence of
the low state jr. which Mrs. Robinson was described to
be, Mr. Jeremy proceeded to the house of the unfortunate
woman, in North Pole-place, Greenwich. In answer to
the question of the Magistrate, she stated that her hus-
band had made her some gin and water on the Sunday,
telling her it would compose her. He boiled the water
in a saucepan on the lire, and put the gin in afterwards.
As soon as she tasted it she discovered a singular taste
in the mixture, which caused her to inquire, " What is
this ?" The prisoner made no answer, but shortly left
the room, when she contrived to got up and lock the
liquid in a drawer. It was afterwards shown by her sister
to Mr. Riches.

Mr. JEREMY inquired who took the cup to Mr. Riches.
Mrs. IZobinson. liho answered with great difficulty,
replied that Mr. Whotherhall, the landlord of the house,
emptied the contents of the saucepan into a cup, and sent
his daughter with it to Mr. Riches.
Mrs. Robinson further declared, that she believed she
should not recover from her illness, and with this con-
viction upon her mind, and the knowledge that she must
soon appear before God, she could affirm with truth that
what she had stated of the matter was correct.

Mr. JEREMY told her he did not wish unnecessarily
to distress he-. but it would be necessary for the ends of
justice that ahe should swear to the truth of her state-
ment in the presence of the prisoner. The Magistrate
then left the ;louse, postponing the further examination
of the case PritP Monday.