The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-26 00:00:00

634 4

THE ROAD MURDER.

FROME, TVESDAY.
It has already been stated that Mr. Slack, who is con-
ducting the 'nvestigation into this most mysterious affair,
has mitted the results of his inquiries, up to a certain
point, to the Wiltshire Magistrates, by whom he is em-
ployed.. is This was done at the Court House, Trowbridge,
which within three miles of the scene of the murder, and
the place where the former magisterial inquiries have
been
conducted. The magistrates present were Mr. 11. G. G.
Ludlow, Mr. W. Stancomb, and Mr. J. P. Stancomb.
These gentlemen have from the first taken an active partin
the investigation, and it is understood that they regard the
fresh revelations which have been- made as very important,
and likely to lead to practical results. Everything which
has been elicited has been kept profoundly secret, the
only parties present besides Mr. Slack and his clerks being
Mr. Dunn, who is Mr. Kent's solicitor, and Mr. Wo'fe
and Mr. Foley, the superintendents of police. Up to the
present time the witnesses examined are Mr., Mrs., and
the Misses Kent, the boy Alliday (not Holiday, as hitherto
printed), Mr. J. Parsons, of Beckington, the surgeon who
made the post mortem examination of the murdered child's
body, and the female domestics, including Elizabeth
Gough, the nurse. Emma Sparks, said to have been a
servant at Mr. Kent's a year and a half ago, has not
been examined yet. Miss Constance Emily Kent, who,
it is well known, was, at the instance of Inspector
Whicher, the metropolitan detectife, taken into cus-
tody on the charge of being the perpetrator of the
horrible crime, has undergone a very searching examina-
tion. The fact of her having bean publicly accused and
examined before the magistrates on the charge of murder,
and of her father being still under recognisances to pro-
duce her for re-examination if required, rendered her
position one of extreme difficulty. Mr. Edlin, of the western
circuit, who defended Miss Constance when before the
magistrates, and Mr. Dunn, the family solicitor, were con-
sulted on the subject ; and the result was that, with the full
consent of the young lady, she was interrogated with ex-
treme minuteness. That some decisive measures will be
taken is the general opinion here ; but until the presenta-
tion of Mr. Slack's final report to the magistrates it would
be premature to conjecture the result of the investigation.
Meanwhile; it is said that since the digging up of Miss Con-
stance's garden, and as a general result of the inquiry, the
impression as to her entire innocence has been strengthened,
Popular opinion, which at one time was very strong against
Mr. Kent himself—so strong, in fact, that he could scarcely
venture from his home without protection and dread of
Lynch law—now almost entirely exculpates him, especially
as he has, so far from showing any disposition to frustrate,
in every possible way facilitated Mr. Slack's inquiries. Mr.
Dunn has been stated to be merely a passive listener in the
course of the investigation. This is scarcely correct. Mr.
Dunn has the interests of his clients to protect, and, though
not an obstructor, has been an active participator in the
examination. Mr. Slack to-day is examining some gentle-
man who is resident at Trowbridge. His name and the
nature of his evidence have not been allowed to transpire.
It is expected that Mr. Slack's report to the magistrates
will be presented to-morrow.

THE TERRIBLE ACCIDENT AT

STOCKPORT;

From inquiries made on the spot yesterday morning, the
report of this sad accident seems to be in the main correct,
excepting that six, not seven, persons were killed. There
appears, however, no doubt that throe of the wounded
are suffering from concussion of the brain, and cannot long
survive. Amid so much confusion, no clear idea of the
details of the accident seems to have been obtained by

any one.
It was generally understood that after the fireworks in
the Market-place there would be another pyrotechnic dis-
play in the New Market, Middle Highgate, the nearest
route to which was through the Meal House Brow. This
outlet from the Market-place is extremely confined and
crooked, and declivity is very steep. Nevertheless, about
eight o'clock a general rush was made to this point, and
the human mass went, down the hill like a headlong
torrent, which nothing could stop. A man named
Gosling, the uncle of the boy of that name, who is
killed, was walking up the brow, accompanied by his wife
and children, in order to meet his nephew and his
nephew's father. He is a strong powerful man, yet
ho was obliged, by the tremendous pressure of the crowd,
to let go the hpads of his children, from fear of their arms
being broken. His wife escaped with two black eyes. The
details of the accident are no doubt made up of incidents of
this kind, which it is impossible at present to obtain in any-
thing like a correct form. Gosling says that the scene was
disgraceful; that, instead of the crowd endeavouring to
assist those who, by some means, had fallen to the ground,
it rushed headlong down the hill, knocking young girls
heels over head, and trampling those already down. It
seems that the great bulk of the throng passed over the bodies
of the fallenand trampled them under foot. As soon as some
thing like order could be restored, the bodies of the dead
and wounded were picked up and conveyed away, some to
the police-office, others to the Albion Inn, at hand, and one
to her own house. The wounded were taken to the Infir-
mary. The following is a correct list of the killed and
wounded :

KILLED.
John Thomas Gosling, Hazel-grove, 13 years old.
Sabrina Ford, Crook's-court, Lord-street, Stockport,
aged 8.
George Worthington, a child, 8 months old, 1, Howard-
street, King-street, Stockport'.
Mrs. Browq, 1, Howard-street, King-street. She had
charge of the child Worthington.

Mrs. Wilkinson, of Lord-street, Stockport.
George Linney, Crowther-street, Stockport, about 20
years of age.

WOUNDED.

Bridget Fleming, 22, Marple-bridge, near Stockport,
suffering from general shock, but able to leav e the infirmary
yesterday morning.

Lettice (Letitia) 'Wilson, 15, Portwo6d-street, Stockport.
Her injuries are likely to prove fatal, as she suffers from
concussion of the brain.

Walter Ford, 50, Wellington-street, father of Sabrina
Ford, who is amongst the killed. He was suffering from
contused chest, but was thought well enough to be sent
home soon after his admission to the Infirmary. Yester-
day morning he was reported to be worse, and was to have
been visited by some of the surgeons.
Sophia Brown, 5, Howard-street, daughter of Mrs. Brown,
who is amongst the killed. She is dangerously wounded,
and suffers from concussion of the brain, and fraoture of the
right leg.
John Nixon, 16, Hazel-grove, fractured right thigh.
James Bath, 14, Old-road, Lancashire-hill, Heaton Nor-
ris. This young man's injuries are likely to prove fatal, as
he also suffers from concussion of the brain.
The dead bodies of Gosling, Ford, and 'Worthington were
conveyed to the police• office, where Mr. Cheetham, surgeon,
was soon in attendance. Mrs. Brown was thought by
some to be still living when picked up. She was convoyed
to Mr. Shaw's, chemist, Lower Hillgate, and afterwards to
her own house, where she was found to be quite dead. Mrs.
Wilkinson and George Linney were taken to the Albion
Inn, where Messrs. Medd, Massey, and. Derbyshire, sur-
geons, were in attendance.
Some idea of the terrible confusion which prevailed may
be gained from the fact that yesterday morning the police-
office was deluged with persons inquiring for lost hats, caps,
bonnets, shawls, and even boots and shoes, which had been
torn off in the melee; and information has also been re-
ceived of baskets, and purses of money, being lost in tho
throng.
Some of the bodies, in consequence of the violence of the
deaths, will require speedy interment. Up to a late hour
last evening there were no reports of any more deaths.