The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-18 00:00:00

MURDER OF A NORTH SEA PILOT.

In the early part of November the newspaper
gave an account of the body of a man, apparently
a master of a ship, or a North Sea pilot, having
been picked up in Westgate Bay, near Margate,
murdered, with four stabs under the ribs, one of
which had taken away his life. The report also
stated that the legs of the murdered man had been
tied, and the body had been weighted with stones_
to make it sink. The body
.had the appearance a
having been about a month in the -water, and it was
thought that the person had been murdered 011
board a vessel off the coast, and thrown overboard,
and that the heavy gales that had prevailed bad:
drifted it up on the shore. The body was that of a
middle-aged. man ; and a full description of it and
of the dress that had been worn by the man was
i
sent to all the principal seaports n the north of
England. However, as no one supposed to have
been murdered was missing, the mystery was not
'cleared up. The North Sea pilots who subse-
quently took vessels up to the Downs were told by
the people on the coast that it was the general
impression that the murdered man must have
been a North Sea pilot ; and some persons who
had seen the body gave it as their impression
that they had seen the person alive acting in
that capacity. One of the pilots, Mr. Foster, urgea
by these remarks, had the curiosity to go to the Pa-
lice-station at Sandwich, and examine the clothes.
Upon looking at the trousers, he was strongly ita"
pressed that they belonged to Mr John Halerovh
North Sea pilot, of North Shields, whom it was
conjectured had been lost with the Tuscan bark
Zemira, on the 7th Oct. on the Newcombe Sands;
off the Suffolk coast, when it was stated that he and
the master and two of the crew were drowned. The
great difficulty was to reconcile the fact of the loss
of the vessel with the finding of the body so far
south of where she was wrecked, But, upon the
arrival of Mr. Foster in the north this week, the
description of the clothing found upon the body
was submitted to the widow and family of Mr.
Halcrow, and they immediately discovered a resent'
blance between them and those that would be worn
by the unfortunate man when he,was at sea. Lg."
was marked upon Mr. Halcrow's drawers and flannel
shirt, and these marks corresponded with some
on the dress of the murdered man. A pair of blue
worsted stockings was taken off the feet of the
murdered man, which the handbills giving the ill;
formation of the murder stated had " B. D.' mark e"
upon them. "My husband," said Mrs. HalcroW
to the river police, who made inquiries of her,
" when he proceeded to sea, had on a pair of blue
stockings, which he had borrowed of a mate of a
ship on a former voyage to the Downs ; but those
stockings were marked " D.B ," UpOn com-
municating with the police authorities in Kent,
our Tyne police ascertain that " 8.D." is a mis-
print in the bill, and that the letters on the
stockings are " D. 8." A pocketbook was also
found upon the body of the murdered man whiehi.
contained various bearings of the west coast of
England. A leaf of this pocketbook has been sent
down to Shields, and Mrs. Halcrow distinctly tool
decidedly states that the writing is that of bet
husband. This seems convincing proof of the idet;-
tity ; but we understand that one of Mr. Halcrow
family will proceed immediately to Kent to examine
the clothes. If the identity of the body as that of
Mr. Halcrow be established it would seem that the
vessel had arrived in safety in the Downs after a
quick passage from Shields, and that for some
reason the unfortunate pilot must have been
cruelly assassinated, and his body, after being
loaded with stones, thrown into the sea.
Immediately following his murder, or at the
time it is conjectured that he was murdered,
the vessel encountered, a fearful gale from the
S.S.W., and was obliged to run north again. Being
without a head on board, and ignorant of the coast,
the vessel was run upon the fearful Newcombe
Sands, and was immediately broken to pieces. The
mate and seven of the crew were rescued by the
Pakefield lifeboat, floating on pieces of the wreck;
The master and two of the crew, and it was reported
by the survivors, the pilot, were drowned. The me.°
have departed to their own country, but there is
little doubt that if the clothes are identified as those
of poor Halcrow, means will be adopted to bring
the men back to justice, The widow of Mr. Hal"
crow is left in a very destitute condition. She "'s
expected to be confined of her ninth child in about
a month's time.—Manchester Guardian of yester-
day.

THE SANITARY CONDITION OF WINDSOR.—gr.
Austin has reported the results of his inspection of the towo
of Windsor in reference to its sanitary condition, it having
been supposed that it was such as to be prejudicial to heat,'"
After going fully into the subjects of the water suPPIP
drainage, and ventilation of the sewers, in the town gene-
rally,n he says, "The principal part of the Castle being
drained quite distinctly from the town sewers isapparentut
safe from any contamination arising from the present gre,L
depth of these works, but two other portions of the Castle
buildings, the Royal' Mews on one side and the Horseshol
Cloisters on the other, are drained into the town sewers, 01„3.
being about the highest point of the whole system artist be
especially exposed to danger until proper means of ventil4"
Lion shall be generally provided." In addition to the gfi
neral defect of a want of ventilation in the drains, several
nuisances nuisances exist in the town—pigatys, dungheaps, neglee,-
surfaces, and deposits in gulleys. He considered these de-
fects arose from the employment of incompetent services
the superintendence of the house drainage of the town, aro
of the want of attention on the part of the surveyor tet-",,
proper working of the general system of drainage. Unies-
these defects are remedied the works which have b°l
executed at so large an expenditure will remain a source o
danger and annoyance. Mr. Austin recommends that of
thoroughly competent and active surveyor should be in 2:
mediately employed by the local board to make a house .w_
house inspection throughout the town, to ascertain tiae,
drainage) 4t0.2 of every house, and report to the board