The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-01 00:00:00

21TE _ROAD MURDER.

FROME, FRIDAY F.YENING.
A meeting of the Trowbridge rnsgistrates, to
which the public were admitted, was held this day,
at the police-court, Trowbridge, for the purpose of
investigating the circumstances connected with the
mysterious stained garment which has lately
attracted so much attention in connection with this
shocking crime. W. Stancomb, was chair-
man, and there were also present Sir John A wdry,
H. G. G. Ludlow, Esq., and Rev. R. Crawley.
Witnesses having been ordered out of court,
The Chairman said the magistrates wished to
make some inquiry rilative to the stained garment
which had been found. The first they had heard
relative to its discovery was the statement made at
Road by Police-constable Urch, which they had
seen in the papers. They had found since that Dr.
Stapleton had seen one nightdress, but not the one
alluded to by Police-constable Urch and Sergeant
Watts. He therefore, with Mr. Clark, had gone
to Frame and seen Sergeant Watts, and got cerlain
evidence which he had taken down in writing. Ile
had then been to Mr. Parsons, at Beckiugton, but
he knew nothing of the matter. He had then tecir
to Road-hill house and seen the cook, whose gar-
ment it was said to be. She said she knew nothing
whatever of the matter. The garment was not
hers. He had seen in the kitchen there what had
been called the boiler-hole, but it was not a boiler-
hole at all, but a hot-dresser. He had then con-
ferred with his brother magistrates, and had a
private meeting; after which he had seen the cook
again and had a conference with the magistrates.
He took this opportunity of informing the public
that as yet the character of Elizabeth Gough had
been untainted. _

Sergeant Watts was then called, and deposed to
finding the shift in question in the " boiler-hole."
His evidence was to the same effect as that -which
has before been given on the subject.
Superintendent Foley was then called. He said
—The last witness showed me a chemise on the
30th, the latter part of the day. I did not keep it
a minute. I think 1 said to the others, " Do put that
thing away ; you all see what it is." A little while
after I gave it to Dalimore. The policemen wanted.
me to let them put it back into the boiler-hole at
once, I can't say whether any medical man saw
it or not, or whether I saw it again on the Mon-
day. If Dr. Stapleton saw it it must have been on
the Saturday. I showed Dr. Stapleton a night-
gown in a cart on the Monday. lam sorry I did
not keep the shift and show it to you, gentlemen.
The one I saw on the Saturday was a chemise, and
why I did not want it shown was simply on account
o f decency. I should have been ashamed to show
it to you. lam sure that that dress had nothinoa•
to do with the murder.
The Chairman—l have known you, Mr Foley,
for 30 years. You held the office of
parish con-
stable before the county police was forme for many
years, and then you were unanimously appointed
the superintendent. I would say here the public
do not know you, but we do, and have perfect
confidence in you. Our faith is as firm in
you a
ever it was. We believe you have shown your
usual tact and astuteness in not making this
mat-
ter public.
Mr. Stapleton, surgeon, was then called. He
said—l was shown a garment having stains of
blood upon it, when at Road-hill house, but I saw
a garment on three separate occasions. I Was con-
sulted about the stains upon it. I believe it was
the same garment I saw each time. I can't say
what that garment was by the quality, make, or
size. I only knew it by the stains of blood on it,
and I was satisfied what those stains were. lam
not able to say whether the dress I saw was the
same that others have seen.

The clerk then read Sergeant Watts' evidence
to Mr. Stapleton, who said the garment shown
to him had stains only on the back of it.
Mr. Foley, in answer to Mr. Stancomb, said. he
had rot seen any paper with the shift.
P. C. Dalimore said he saw Sergeant Watts take
out the chemise wrapped in brown paper. He
described the shift in similar terms to Sergeant
Watts; he had it in his possession from Saturday
till Monday. He put it in the box of the cart.
He had on the Monday shown it to his wife ;
they had looked for some initials but found none.
He took it back to Road, and asked Mr. Foley to
show it to Dr. Stapleton. He (witness) showed it
to Dr. Stapleton in Mr. Foley's presence; it was
in brown paper. He put it back in the cart again,
and afterwards he asked Mr. Foley what he should
do with it, and he told him to put it back where it
was found, and he did so when the cook was out
of the kitchen. After some unimportant details,
witness said on the Monday before the inquest Mr.
Stapleton saw a night dress belonging to Miss
Constance Kent. This made two dresses Mr.
Stapleton saw on the same day, one before and the
other after the inquest.
Mr. Stapleton (recalled) said he saw a dress on
the Saturday, and just as be was leaving Road,
while his horse was being put to, he gave orders to
have the shift kept in safe custody. Never saw
this shift but once afterwards, and that was on
Monday at ten o'clock. Would swear to this.
Police-constable Urch, Somersetshire policeman,
corroborated Sergeant Watts, as also did Mr.
Fricker, of Road, and police, constable Heritage.
Mrs. Dalimore, wife of P. C. Dalimore, said she
saw a garment on the Monday after the/murder.
She was satisfied it was not a lady's garment.
Sarah Kirslake, cook at Road-hill House, said
she lit the scullery fire as usual on the morning of
the murder. She knew it was not her's, and she
did not put it there. She saw nothing in the boiler-
hole, and the fire was lighted there every morning.
Mr.i Stapleton (recalled) said he was present at
the post-mortem examination. He saw red marks
of suffocation about the body, and did not believe
the child died from suffocation. It was his fin
belief that the child died instantly from having its
throat cut. He was at the post-mortem examina-
tion, and when they returned to Mr. Kent, both
Mr. Parsons and himself condoled with Mr. Kent
on the fact that the child died instantly, and witk
little suffering. He was therefore very much
surprised at the conclusion which Mr. Parsons
afterwards came to, that the child died
from suffocation or some pressure, and was sur-
prised that Mr. Parsons so soon changed his mind.
He was of opinion that the knife was inserted in
the left side of throat ; and that the child rose its
right hand, and that accounted for the cut on its
hand.

Sarah Cox, the housemaid, denied all knowledge
of the garment in question.
Mrs. Holley, the washerwoman, was called:, and
in reply to Mr. Stancomb, stated that she had never
seen the breast flannel before. She did not wash it.
She did not think it was a poor person's flannel
at all.
Mr. Ludlow said they had now no other wit-
nesses to examine. They were agreed in this,
that it was wrong, or rather culpable, in Mr. Foley
not to have brought the fact of the finding of this
shift before them; but in not doing so be only used
his own judgment instead of consulting them.

DOUBLE CoLLlslonr ON THE NORTH-
EASTERN RAILWAY.

The collision on the North-Eastern Railway at
Croft, near Darlington, on. Thursday night (as
briefly stated in our impression appearsyesterdway),' --
to have been a fearful affair. As
our.
of
York ran into it,
correspondent could learn, there was a merchandise
train
simultaneouslyfrom DarlingtonsituatedinDarling-
ton.
came came up, and before a stoppage-
dashed into the two contena could. be effected it
was dark and foggy, and it lag trains. Tile night
appears
light was out. The cause that the signal
in mystery, but such was
of its being out is involved
ng which the driver was the fact, notwithstand-
ispeed, and o the pick-up train kept up his
suddenly turning a sharp curve per-
ceived the lights
shunting train, attached to the last waggon of the
was fearful but too late to pull up. The wreck
The cutting was literally choked up.
Engines, tenders, and waggons were either wedged
together or
kinds were smashed to pieces, and goods of all
__ scattered . in confusion across the entire
line. One engine was embedded wheel deep in the
earth, and above it and around were piled some 20 or
30 waggons and horse-boxes. In one horse-box, we
understand, there were three horses and a groom.
How they escaped destruction is miraculous. The
groom is said to have fouud himself lying scathless
on the battery. The horses lay under the
debris for some time. It was fully expected
they were killed, but they sustained little injury.
How the enginemen escaped cannot be divined, so
complete was the wreck, and so fearful the shock
of the collision. One of them was found lying on
the top of the engine-boiler. The damage must be
considerable. The up-mail, due at Darlington a
little after eight o'clock, did not get away until the
morning, and then only by returning to Darling.
ton, and proceeding by. the Stockton and Darling.
ton line to Preston junction, and so towards
Northallerton. Some scores of workmen were en-
gaged the whole of the. night clearing the line, and
it was not until six o'clock yesterday morning
that this was effected. It was only by the passen-
gers transferring themselves from one to
the other
that they were enabled to proceed on their '
jour-
ney. Some were detained the half of the night.
The accident is generally believed to have been
caused by the most culpable
negligence.

METROPOLITAN FREE HOSPITAL, DEVONSHIRE-
SQUARE, CITY.—The aggregate number of patients relieved
during the week ending Nov. 24 was:—Medical, 1,235;
surgical, 552—total, 1,790, of which 513 wore new cues.