The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-10 00:00:00

STRANGE AFFAIR.

On Wednesday, a melancholy occurrence kept
the inhabitants of a populous part of the town, the
Blakemore district, in deep anxiety and suspense,
for some hours, and it had a fatal termination.
John Griffith, a working collier, of good character,
had a daughter, named Emma, aged 15, in service
at a neighbouring beershop, kept by a man named
William Trunter. On Sunday forenoon, some men
in the house heard the poor girl call for help, and
there appears no doubt that he shamefully abused
her. The girl, on escaping from him, went home
and told something of what had occurred to her
mother and female relatives : but appeared in great
dread of the truth being told to her father ; and
on a man not of the family appearing, she ran
affrighted into another room. On Tuesday, her
father went to the magistrate's office, to apply for
a warrant against Trunter, desiring his daughter
to follow him. Still her fear and shame withheld
her, and she did not go. Her father upbraided her
for this, and, some additional facts having trans-
pired, he told her that next morning she must go to
a surgery for examination. In the morning, when
the time came, it was found that the poor girl had
left the house. The father sought her, and
learned at her grandmother's that she had
been there, and said she would never again return
home. On prosecuting his search further, he caught
sight of the poor girl, who, on seeing him, ran off
down a by-road in the direction of the coalpits at
Blakenhall. Her father followed slowly, till, see-
ing that she got near an old coal-pit shaft, he called
to some men to stop her. The girl then ran into the
field, up the bank which surrounded the shaft, and
had thrust herself between the apertures of the
planks which formed the protection to the shaft.
Her father, seeing his worst fears about to be rea-
lised, shouted with much feeling, " Don't do that,
my wench !" but the girl was too determined, or
too panic-struck to heed him. Dragging through
the rest of her body, she rolled herself into the pit.
By this time her terror-stricken father had got near
enough to her to imagine that he could yet arrest
the dreadful act. He clutched at her, but she had
fallen too far. The shaft was known to be a deep
one, and to have lain unworked for six years. If,
therefore, she had escaped being dashed to pieces,
there was yet no hope for her life, as the foul air
towards the bottom of the pit must be fatal to her.
Nevertheless active efforts were at once commenced
to recover the body. A brave fellow, an engine-
driver at a neighbouring pit, volunteered his ser-
vices. He commenced descending amidst the hearty
though stifled cheering of some hundreds of anxious
spectators. He had not gone far, however, before
he was beaten back by the carbonic acid gas. Other
attempts followed, but they were unsuccessful, until
some air-troughs were procured from Messrs. Aston.
and Corns, the proprietors of the colliery. By these
the shaft was cleared to within 9 yards of the scaf-
fold, which ran across the shaft at a distance of 69
yards from the mouth, and upon which it was
known the body of the girl must be lying. Joseph
Elwell, however (for that was the engineer's name)
thrust himself through that, and hastily groped for
the body in the dark. His hand first reached the ......
foot of the corpse, and he speedily drew it up to the ' 1•:.7 '
safe air. Upon the corpse reaching the bank, it -w:tis •-",.:::
found that there was a bruise upon the face upow
,-4e;"
the left elbow, a cut upon the knee, and bloo' ' d was A.:l4'<il
oozing through her clothes from her back. She had, .';--(Y
then been in the shaft about seven hours, namely,
from 10.30 a.m. till about 5.30 p.m.—Manchester
Guardian.

COUNTRY

MARKETS'.

BIRMINGHAM-SETT. 9.

At this morning's market there was a large supply of
wheat, and the damp samples were sold at a considerable
decline on the currencies of this day se'nnight, but dry
parcels nearly maintained their value. Barley taken in re-
tail at previous rates. New oats 6d to is per qr. lower,
but old were fully as dear, and scarce. Beans less in re-
quest, and peas unaltered.