The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-30 00:00:00

.
A t ,--, 441 4 4 th
, v 4 , I sider your wife and children." Since that time he
-11-1-IW '.1:4 5-1-e, J. -R-kriN 1 ' drooped, and he lost all spirit.
--- - The jury,after a shortdeliberation, returned a ver-
The Third Edition of " The Sun "of last Evvuing was 'riot "That the six deceased children died from the
publishod in 4pm -
e
ime for delivery in town at 7.15 . I '
ftbs-ts of prussic acid, administered to them by
Walter James Duggan, and Emma Char-
lotte Dugb qn, and we find that they are
guilty of wilful -murder in each case, and that they
their own lives while in an
afterwards destroyet:
unsound state of mind.'•

SUN OFFICE, 7 o'CLocii.

THE AWFUL MURDER AND SUICIDE IN
THE CITY.

-0,

IMPERIAL PARLI:g. N ENT

CORONER'S INQUEST.-THIS DAY.

At half-past two o'clock this afternoon Mr: IV
J. Payne, the deputy-coroner for London and
Southwark, opened an inquest in the board room
of St. Bartholomew's hospital on the respeeti% e
bodies of Walter James Duggan, Engine Duggan,
Alice, Jesse, Robert Thomas, Edda Frances,
Emma Charlotte, and an infant name] George
some particulars of whose awful death have all., ady
appeared in this journal of Monday and yesterday.
Notwithstanding the immense size of the roJrn, the
same was densely crowded, and the greltest excite-
ment prevailed throughout the whole of the pro-
ceedings. '1 he jury having been sworn and the
foreman chosen, they proceedei to the residence of
Mrs. Chawner in Hosier-lane, Smithfield, where
the whole of the eight bodies were lying in the same
state as when first discovered. The rooms showed
unmistakable evidences of great poverty prevailing
in the place. The jury, upon viewing the awful
BCOLIC3, appeared to be greatly moved. Upon their
return to court the following evidence was ad-
duced :

- --

HOUSE OF COMMONS—Tuts DA T.
The SPEAKER took tl►e chair at. 12 o'clock'.
TRE OVEREND AND GURNEY TRIAL.

Mr. BRUCE, in reply to Mr. Erskyn, said the matter
of the prosicutiou in this case had been fully considered
in the cabinet, and the result arrived at was
there was nothing in this case that should remove
it from those of ordinary cases where the pro-
secution is left to those who had boon sufferers. The
only proceleut was that of the loyal British Bank, when
the prosecution was carried on at the expense of the Go-
verumetA, but that was a case to be avoided rather than
fsdlowed. The Government had been applied to to fur-
nish funcis for the prosecution of the directors of the Leeds
Batik, bet that application had been refused, and
it was thought quite impossible to furnish funds
to carry on a prosecution, the conduct of which
would not rest in their hands. He was quite aware that
it would be said there was an inconsistency in the Go-
vernment Froseeutiug Madame Rachel and refusing to do
so in the case of the directors in tha case of
Overend, Gurney, and Company, but the question
in the former was totally different from that in the latter.
In Madame itachel's case the question was whether a par-
ticlar judge had jurisdiction to try the case, and upon that
the previous conviction and sentence of five years penal
servitude dtpended, and so great public importance
attached to the determination of the question
that the Government felt bound .to take the
matter up. The Lord Chief Justice had decided that a
prosecutor could not in that court conduct his case in per-
son, and he thought it would bevidmitted that he was a
competent authority on the point. The Government-
having fully considered the whole of the matter, were of
opinion that the circumstances of the case of Overeud,
Gurney and Co., did not afford sufficient reason for making
any exception to the general rule.
Mr. EYKEN gave notice that to-morrow he should call
the attention of the house to the subject. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. FAWCETT asked if it was competent for a soli-
citor to conduct the prosecution ?

Mr. Barber, of the firm of Wyld and Barber,
here informed the Coroner that he appeared to
watch the case for Mr. Adams, in consequence of
certain remarks having been made in the news-
papers.
The Coroner—Never mind what appeared in the
newspapers ; we will hear what he has to say on
oa h.

Mr. Inspector Everett was called, and produced
the letter written by Duggan on the morning of
the fearful tragedy, which the Coroner perused,
and then read carefully the one which he had sent
to his brother.

Daniel Evans, sergeant in the City Police, sta-
tioned at Smithfield, said that on Monday last he
received a letter by post at 8 o'clock in the morn-
ing, bearing the date of that day. It did not bear
the mark of where it was posted. One of the letters
the mother had not seen.

Mr. BRUCE could not say, as he was not well-informed
on the subject they practice in law courts.
AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS.

The debate on the proposition for discontinuing the
collecting of agricultural statistics was resumed, but after
a short discussion the motion of Mr. PELL for their dis-
continuance was withdrawn.

The Coroner—l will show it to her presently, for
form's sake.

The mother was called, and deposed that the
letter received at the station was in her son's
handwriting.

The examination in chief resumed.---In conse-
quence of that letter he went to the house about
half-past eight, but could not get in. He, with
other officers, went to the next house, and opened a
back window on the first floor. A- man named
Jenkin Thomas went in and came down and opened
the door, when he and Sergeant Goodeve went into
the house, and on the first floor front room on a
table he found this bottle (produced) and a Bible.
The book was not opened, but the in irriage certifi-
cate was pinned on the first leaf of the Bible.
There was a little fire in the room burning, and
some pieces of partly burned paper. On the second
floor back room on a bed he found a man lying un-
dressed, and dead. His arms were under the clothes,
and near the side of the bed he found this bottle
and a spoon (produced.) The bottle was labelled
Shields hydrocenic acid. He then went into the
front room, and iu a cot by the door he found the
body of a boy also dead. lie was rather inclined
to be reclining ou his left side. On the left of the
bed he found in bed a woman undressed, and also
dead. She was lying on her back undressed. On
the right side of her was a boy apparently four
years old,o, dead ; and on the left side a child (a
girl) also dead, and at the foot of the bed another
child also dead. They were undressed. In another
bed he found two other children un lressel and
dead. They did not appear to have st:uggled.
1)r. Wilson was seat for and attended. Ile found
another bottle in the same room. Witness did not
conntuminte with Bribtol.
Tulin:-cot. ;able 271 said that h w(nt with Ser-
geant Evans to the Louse.and Fs3isted in seirchiug
the place. lie could confirm all that the sl!rgeaut
had state I, and a lded that found the Fp uu
(produced) on the bed at the womiu's right si !e—
-the woman's arm were under the bed-clothes --the
spoon apoeare.l to have been p'ace I there, and not
thrown there C list tuned a desk, and in
it 103. an 14i ‘»stage stamps, an 1 soul) paper
paper writings:

By a Juror—The children's c!othes we:e lying in
a he ip on the top of the dr.iw,ns, near the wan's
bed. The second bottle was_futrid on a char near
the Kll:: lAA.

Eliza 'Loverage, of Hosier-lane, opposite the
house of the deceased persons, said that she kunv
the family, and saw the children on Sunday morn-
ing whist the IN inclow was half open. They were
at breakfast, but she did not see Mr. or Mr 2. Dug-
gan. She spoke to her she believed once. The
children appeared as if they were in a very poor
state. She went out and returned home at eleven
o'clock at night, and at twelve o'clock she could see
a light in the room. About ten minutes before four
o'clock on Monday morning she saw a light as if a
fire was burning. It was then broad day-light. She
knew nothing of the family herself. She did not
sec Duggan go out that morning.
Wm. Vurvey, wholesale chemist-, of King-street,
Snow-hill, said he did not know Duggan, and
did not remember having ever sold him anything.
Witness produced a book having an entry in it of
selling 2 ozs of prussic acid to a man named Fearon
on the 14th of June. He did not think the two
bottles produced were the same as he sold. He
had seen the body of the man Duggan, and did not
believe that he was the man he sold the acid to. On
Tuesday morning the police and Mr. Brett came to
him, and he told them that he had sold tWo bottles
of prussic acid to a man who had been a customer
for two years. He had not seen the dead body at
that time. Prussic acid was used by silversmith's
and electro-platers in their trade. There was a
great quantity used by them. He never sold prussic
acid to any one without he knew the party well, and
he then entered the sale in a book kept for that
purpose.

Mr. Stephenwright, a licensed victualler, said
that he kept the Wheatsheaf, in Smithfield, and
knew the children. One of the dead boys came to
his house at 11 o'clock on Sunday night and took a
stone bottle containing a pot of fourpenny ale away
him.

Sergeant Goodeve proved finding the bottle iu a
cupboard in the house which smelt of ale, but not
as if it had any acid in it.
Dr. Willson, of Farriogdon-street, said he was
called on Monday last by the police, and repaired to
the house. He saw the body of the eldest boy iu
bed dead. He had been dead several hours. The
Witness minutely described the positions he found
the other bodies, which have already appeared in
this journal. The man and the woman did not ap-
pear to have been dead so long as the children. The
bodies of the man and woman were quite warm, and
had probably died about the same time. There
might be this inference, that the children might
have been poisoned whilst asleep. He found acid on
the lips of one of the children. His opinion was that
the man died last, and he thought that the woman
had either taken it herself or had it administered to
her after she was in bed. The reason he believed
the man died last was, that he died in one room and
the female in the other, and he could not have
walked from one room to the other after taking the
poison.

In answer to the coroner, Dr. Wilson said that
he was of opinion that the woman was a consorting
party to the poisoning of the children.
Mr. G. Wm. Adams, silversmith, 15,16, and 17,
Hosier-lane, deposed that the deceased had given
him notice to leave his employ on the 3d of
April last. On that day he said that
he was ill and unable to continue his situation, as
his lungs were affected, and a homoeopathic doctor
had told him that he must seek other employment.
Witness wanted her to stop, and said, " Look at
me, I have lived 21 years with only one NU. Con-