The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-23 00:00:00

MURDER AND SUICIDE

Rear-Admiral Sir Jol—ni C. D. Hay, M.P., and
the Second Secretary, Mr. \Vm. G. Romaine, C. 8.,
will remain in town to transact business at the
Admiralty, Whitehall, during the absence of the
Board of Admiralty on their annual tour of inspec-
tion of the several dockyards.
The flying column which left Aldershot Camp on
Tuesday morning for Sandhurst arrived at the
ground selected for encampment at half-past 11
o'clock, and speedily pitched tents, picketed horses,
and commenced the various duties of field life in
much the same manner as in actual campaigning.
A very short time sufficed for the growth of a can-
vas city on a spot which but a few hours before was
a comparative solitude, and the usual measures of
order and security were taken. In the afternoon
everything wore a settled aspect, and at 5 o'clock
each regiment paraded and underwent inspection by
its commanding officer. Pickets had been previously
thrown out, and these were recalled at the hour of
retreat. At tattoo all was quiet in the encamp-
ment, save here and there the tread of a sentry on
his C,n Wednesday the
ucolumn, nvarying e
niy roundattoa
attacked
kde
du tyb.y a
supposed enemy,
turned out with alacrity to repel the invader, and
went through all the movements incident to a field
day, the Lieut.-General commanding having arrived
from Aldershot. After the field day there was a
parade. Yesterday the migratory character of the
column was well exemplified. As early as 5.30 a.m.
the tents were struck, and the men, having break-
fasted, fell in at 7 o'clock, and marched towards
Bourley Bottom, the next halting place. Their
march, however, \YRS not devoid of incident, for on
the way they were intercepted by the cavalry of the
division, under Major-Gen. Hodge, C. 8., and an
interesting sham fight took place. Ultimately the
column formed squares, the frcnt ranks dropped on
one knee, and formed a bristling chevaux de frise with
their bayonets, and fire being opened from the right
and left of faces, the cavalry were compelled to re-
treat, the column leaving a few prisoners and some
baggage in their hands. The column then continued
its march to Bourley-bottom, which it reached unmo-
lested at 12 o'clock. The whole force is under the com-
mand of Major-General Renny, and is composed of
the 51th Regiment, under Major Deacon ; the 56th,
under Col. Lacy ; the 70th, under Col. Cooper ; B
battery, 9th Brigade, Royal Artillery, under Capt.
Elton, and detachments of the •Royal Engineers,
Commissariat Staff Corps, and Ililitary Train. It
is expected that the column will return to camp this
afternoon, and that a second flying column will be
despatched in the course of a few days.
The Ordnance Select Committee of Woolwich
Arsenal yesterday attended throughout the day in
the long range at Shoeburyness, for the special pur-
pose of testing the old wooden gun-carriages and
stands, as :applicable to bear
the increased
charges fired from the 68-pounder service guns,
strengthened and altered on Alajor Palliser's prin-
ciple. The members present Were—Brigadier-Gen.
Lefroy, R.A., F.R.S., president; Capt. Lord Fred.
lierr, R.N., vice-president, in succession to Capt.
Heath, C. 8., retired on promotion to flag rank ;
Lieut.-Col. Greville, temporarily attached, in suc-
cession to Col. Adye, C.B. ; Lieut.-Col. Shaw, at-
tached, in the absence of Brevet-Col. Younghus-
band, now on duty at the Paris Exhibition ;
Brevet-Col. Freeli ng, R.E. ; Col. Wray, C.B. ;
Lieut.-Col. Mayne ; Major tfeyutan, 8.A., Secre-
t:lU ; and Qiarterma,;ter Belienna. The trials
\vere very satMactory, as proving the thorough
efficiency of the carriage !-1, which resisted even to
the destruction of the guns. One of the GS-pounder
cast-iron guns of the service was used on the occa-
sion, and was fired five rounds with charges of 161 b.
of powder, and a cylinder weighing 1151 b. A second
series of five rounds of 181 b. charges, and a similar
cylinder was also fired satisfactorily, when, after a
short deliberation, it was resolved that the cartridge
should be increased to 201 b., which it was pro-
nounced would be fatal to the gun. The members
consequently took the precaution of being
secure from danger, and the greatest anxiety
was created on hearing the report to witness the
result of the first round, which, as expected, de-
stroyed the gun,
The following appointments were made yesterday

The Levant Herald of the 14th inst. publishes
the following address from the Sultan to the Grand
Vizier, on the occasion of his return from Europe
" The marks of sympathy and goodwill which I
have received during my journey from the Sove-
reigns and the great nations of Europe have been
such that I can never forget them. In returning to
the capital of my dominions, I wish to convey to my
faithful subjects the pleasure which I have experi-
enced, and to make them sharers in it. They know
that the first and dearest of my wishes is to witness
the daily growth of the prosperity and peace of my
empire, and the wellbeing of all my peoples, and
their consummation in every respect. The satisfac-
tion of my heart increases the more when I find all
my subjects, like the Governments and the nations
whose hospitality I have been enjoying, appreciating
the sincerity of my intentions.
"There is no sweeter recompense for a Sovereign
than to see his subjects respond by affection and de-
votion to his efforts for the tranquillity and pros-
perity of the country. The public marks of attach..
ment and fidelity which I have received once more
on this occasion from the entire population are
therefore most agreeable to me, and I esteem them
at the highest price. The sentiment of duty which
renders it incumbent on me to ensure protection to
all interests, and to guarantee the general welfare
of all my subjects, has derived a new strength from
this welcoine, and has become invested with the
character of a sacred debt.
" My solicitude will therefore continue to be de-
voted to fostering those elements which everywhere
serve to bind commonwealths together ; to the ad-
vance of public instruction, the extension of means
of communication, the good organisation of the
military and naval forces, and the development of
public credit ; and my firm will is that all my Mi-
nisters and all the functionaries of the State should
devote themselves to that object, each within the
limits of his proper sphere.
" I desire that you should make known to all the
pleasure which I have experienced from the sincere
devotion manifested towards me by all classes of my
subjects, and the gratification displayed by foreign
subjects, our guests, on the occasion of my return
t o the capital of my empire."
The same journal gives an account of some of
the most noteworthy incidents connected with the
three days' festivities in Constantinople in celebra-
tion of the Sultan's return :
" At 7 o'clock on Wednesday morning the boom
of a signal gun from the batteries of Fauaraki an-
nounced the Sultan's approach to the Bosphorus.
The first vessel to meet his Majesty on his return
to his capital was the Turkish steamer Titi, and
soon afterwards came up the Austrian Lloyd's
steamer Pluto, which had a number of the staff of
the Ministry of Finance on board, and which met
the Imperial yacht in the Black Sea, about eight
miles from the mouth of the strait. During the
whole day the greatest animation prevailed in all
parts of the city. The Bosphorus swarmed
with calques and crafts of all kinds; the main
thoroughfares were crowded with people ; the
scene was varied by Turkish ladies in carriages
and on foot ; the roar of artillery was kept up
at frequent intervals, and the whole city presented
that marvellous spectacle of picturesque confusion
which Constantinople alone, of all capitals in the
world, can offer. At night the streets were bright
with illuminations. and the Bosphorus presented
really a fairy sight. On Thursday evening, just
before sunset, the Sultan held a reception of the
diplomatic body and the great State functionaries at
the palace of Dolma Baghtche. General Ignatieff,
the Russian Ambassador, as doyen of the corps diplo-
matique, addressed a few words of congratulation to
the Sultan on his auspicious return, which his Ma-
jesty briefly acknowledged. In the evening A'ali
Pasha gave a diplomatic banquet at Bebek, at which
the health of the Sultan was proposed by General
Ignatieff. Ilis Highness responded to the toast,
and drank to the health of his Majesty's allies. It
was generally expected that the Sultan would have
made a progress on horseback in the evening, the
weather being so fine, through the chief streets of
Stamboul and Pera, as he did on his return from
Egypt five years ago ; but after the reception at
Dolma Baghtche, his Majesty steamed up and down
the Bosphorus in his yacht after nightfall to see the
illuminations and the brilliant display of fireworks
at Bebek.
" The three days' fete concluded brilliantly on
Friday night. The illuminations on both sides of
the Horn and on both the European and Asiatic
:;hones of the Bosphorus were as numerous and vivid
as on the previous nights. In the course of the
evening the Sultan landed from his calque at Baght-
che Capon, near Yeni Djami, and passed through
some of the streets and bazaars of Stamboul iu a
carriage, returning on horseback across Karakeui
Bridge and along the lower part of Galata to the
Palace. The fete at A'ali Pacha's country house
at Bebek went off with great eclat, although
the Sultan did not go there either, as it was believed
he would. About a thousand guests were present,
including the members of the diplomatic body, the
principal functionaries of the Porte, and the leading
families of the capital. The Greek Legation, how-
ever, was conspicuous for its absence ;' and the
Russian embassy was not numerously represented,
some of its members having accompanied General
Ignatieff,- who had left for the Crimea. The grounds

At Kennington yesterday much excitement was
caused by the report that a mother had killed two
of her children, and then committed suicide. It
appears that for some years a Mr. Roberts, a re-
spectable tradesman, from 40 to 50 years of age, has
lived at 51, Chester-street, Kennington. lie was
married to a woman a few years his junior, and by
her he had three children, two boys and a girl.

Their ages were 12, 9, and 7 years. The husband
and wife lived on the most affectionate terms. Yes-

terday morning, at half-past 7 o'clock, Mr. Roberts,
who is a house-decorator and painter, left his house
to carry out a contract at a school which he had
undertaken to paint and paper at Brixton. Before
leaving he embraced his wife and kissed his children.
This was the last time he saw them alive. Yesterday
afternoon, between 4 and 5 o'clock, Mrs. Roberts
sent a message to Mr. Bargrave, grocer and tea-
dealer, of Chester-street, where her eldest son, aged
12, was employed, stating that she wanted to see him
immediately. Her son at once left the shop, and
was seen to enter his mother's house. Upon going
up stairs he was horrified at seeing a large pool of
blood upon the floor of his mother's sitting-room.
His mother was standing at the side of the door in-
side the room. She was very pale, and grasped in
her right hand a large long-bladed knife. She gave
a loud shriek when she saw her son, and waving the
knife in the air she rushed after him. He then saw
that she intended to kill him, and he ran or rather
leapt towards the stairs, and when he got two
steps from the top his fright became so great that
he fell and rolled towards the bottom of the flight.
His mother rushed after him and caught hold of his
clothes. He escaped, however, from the house, and
hastened to the shop of his employer, Mr. Bargrave.
The latter at once ran to the house, and upon en-
tering went upstairs to the sitting-room, and he
there saw two children covered with blood and evi-
dently dead. They were lying in a position that
showed that they had not struggled much. In an-
other pool of blood, and near her children (both
of whose throats she had cut in a frightful manner),
lay Mrs. Roberts. There was a large and very
deep wound across her throat. She was struggling
hard for breath, and her features bore an expression
of the most intense agony. Her eyes, which were
wide open, were directed upwards, and as she
looked fixedly at the ceiling her lips quivered, and
she appeared to be in the act of praying. Her arms
were outstretched, and her hands were convulsively
clinched. Within a few inches of her right hand
lay the large knife with which she had committed
the two murders. Dr. Donahoo, of the Westmin-
ster-road, was called to the house, but the woman
expired shortly after he came. Mr. Roberts was
at once sent for, and he in a short time arrived
from Brixton. He could give no explanation for
the cause of his wife's madness. He, however,
said that she had been unwell lately, and ever since
a fire which she had seen take place at Ball's floor
cloth factory, Lower Kennington-lane, her nervous
system appeared to have been easily affected, and
the most trivial occurrences seemed to agitate her.
A neighbour states that he saw the miserable
woman rush round the back garden of the house
after her son, but not seeing the knife in her baud
at the time he had no idea that she contemplated
murder. He saw the boy run towards a low wall
and leap over it, and when lie did so lie ran down
the road. The boy said that his mother attempted
to strike him in the abdomen with the knife, and in
his efforts to get away he tore his clothes. He had
noticed that his mother had been low and despond-
ing for some time past, but from a cause he could
not tell. She had always been kind to him.

CONCEALMENT OF SEX FOR FIFTEEN

Y EA RS.

An investigation of a very extraordinary charac-
ter took place on Wednesday evening before Mr.
Bedford, the Westminster coroner, at the Prince of
Orange Tavern, Brewers-green, relative to the death
of a woman unknown, the supposed illegimate daugh-
ter of a Scotch nobleman, whose true sex was dis-
covered while dying at a common lodging-house,
No. 5, Perkin's-rents. She had dressed as a man

•
for the last fifteen years.
William Gillard, superintendent of the lodging-
house, said he had known the deceased for the last
eight or nine months by the name of Fred. Mitchell,
or " Scratchem," the latter being a nickname, owing
to a fidgetty disposition. The deceased had dressed
as a male, which he believed her to be until he acci-
dentally discovered her true sex. She slept in a
separate bed in a room in which twenty-two men
' •

also slept, but not the slightest suspicion was
created as to her 113ing a woman. her habits

were very strange and her mode of obtaining her
livelihood a mystery. She was exceedingly well-
educated, and drank nothing stronger than
tea. She would bring in her food in a news-
paper, and eat it privately. There was not the
slightest sign of insanity about her. Shortly before
12 o'clock on Friday night last she retired to bed
apparently in good spirits, and at half-past 10 the
following morning had not risen. About one o'clock
she appeared to be insensible, and foaming at the
mouth. Medical attention was called in, and while
carrying out the doctor's orders he found to his sur-
prise that " Scratchem" was a woman. She die I at
a quarter-past eightin the evening. He found some
letters in her coat pocket, which he turned over to
Mr. Fitzgerald, the proprietor of the house.
Mr. Hunt, surgeon, of Tatchfield-street, deposed
to being called to the deceased on Saturday last.
He found h©r lying on her back in bed, apparently
labouring under the effects of narcotic poison or
apoplexy. He gave instructions -as to her treat-
ment, but she never rallied. He had made a post
mortem examination. He thought when he first
saw the deceased that she was a man, for she had a
most masculine face, with a slight beard, and there
was no development of her breasts. She had a femi-
nine hand. There were no external marks on the
body, which was well nourished. On opening the
head he found a most extraordinary condition of
diseased brain, both lateral venticles being broken
down. The cause of death was softening of the
brain, which must have existed for a very long time.
It was singular that she had not exhibited symptoms
of insanity. She wasbetween 50 and 60 years of age.
Mr. George Ogle said one of deceased's letters
belonged to him, and was an answer to one sent by
him to his aunt at Cheltenham, relative to the death
of his mother. About April or May last the de-
ceased presented herself, hat in hand, before the
window at witness's father's house, and solicited
alit-IF!. She said she had been in very much
better circumstances, but got gradually lower and
lower, and was then lodging iu We:Am-luster, some-
where near Old Pye-street. She said she had been
a bank clerk. Witness's father gave her some bread
and meat and some other things, and witness gage
her a coat, in which was the letter produced. They
believed the deceased was a mate. She had a very
delicate hand, white hair cut short, and walked with
a stick.
The Rev. A. White, Catholic priest, said he saw
deceased dying in an Irish lodging-house, when the
letters produced were given to him by the pro-
prietor. That addressed to a lady was in the hand-
writing of some one in Edinburgh, and the lady
took an interest in deceased, as she was accustomed
to attend a chapel near the lady's residence. The
letter was written by some half-witted sister to de-
ceased, who inquired, "How is my brother ?" mean-