The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-27 00:00:00

The Murder near Luton.

Yesterday William Worsley, aged 42 ; Levi
Welch, aged 40; and James Day, aged 22, were
placed at the bar of the Luton Police-court, before
Colonel Ames and the Rev. Mr. Adey, on the charge
that they " did, on the night of the 3d August, wil-
fully murder William Bradbury, in the town of
Luton." _ .

Superintendent Samuel Popo was sworn, and
said that he had a second charge to prefer against
the three prisoners ; it was that they did, on the
night in question, steal from the dying man one pair
of trousers, two shirts, a hat, and some money.
Ile should merely state certain facts connected with
the death of the deceased, and should then ask the
Bench to remand the prisoners. On Thurslay last
he apprehended.the prisoners on a warrant. When
the nalu was murdered the first persons seen with
him were the three prisoners. They were present
at the inquest, and then made a statement, which
he should be able to prove was false. They said that
they left the Royal Oak public-house at Round-
green, at 12 o'clock on the night in question ; and
that within three mLutes afterwards they found the
deceased lying in the roan way. They also stated
that they were the first to give any
-darn'. Now he
•
would be able to produce a witness whold prove
that he left Luton at 12 o'clock on that night. ....
would take a man 20 minutes to walk from Luton
to the spot where the deceased was found; and
when this witness reached that part of the roadway
where Bradbury was lying, he saw the three priso-
ners with him ; and he, and not the prisoners, was
the first person to give the alarm. lie had also
other evidence against the prisoners, and was get-
ting more ; but he thought that it would be well
not to go into the case that day.

lir 4.-

The Chairman said that for obvious reasons it '
ought not to be gone into.
The Bench remanded the prisoners.
It is said that a witness will shortly be called by
the Crown who will allege that he was present whoa
the murder was committed, and that he stood by
and saw it done. Ile will, it is asserted, name the
first man who struck the deceased a blow on the
back of the head, as he was walking along the road.
Ile will also allege that a third man who was pre-
sent at the murder gave the deceased a second blow
before the murdered man fell. The murderers were
minutes with their expiring victim before they
were disturbed. The deceased bad many ryears
officiated as a game watcher, and it is surmised that
robbery was not the ouly object that induced the
unfortunate man's murderers to slay him. The
police made a searchiug examination on Saturday
of the place where the murder was committed. In-
spector Smith found a sriirt, a wideawake bat, and
a bit of black ribbon " tucked into" a hedge 160
yards from the spot. A further search of the ad-
joining fields and hedges was then made. In another
Indio a hundred yards from where the pool of blood
in the roadway was the superintendent discovered a
pair of trousers and a waistcoat, All the articles of
clothing were now, and they had the shop marks on
them. They were just in the same state as when
the deceased bought them on the night he was mur-
dered.one of the accused, Levi
Three years ago,
Welch, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment,
One night he was out poaching with four other
men in the grounds of Sir Thomas Seabright at
Beechwood. Two gamekeepers came upon them,
and Welch fired his gun. lie narrowly missed
one of the keepers, whose dog that was walking in
front was shot dead. After the encounter both
the keepers were found lying insensible on the grass.
One of them was wounded by a blow on the head,
and his life was despaired of for some weeks. The
other had received such a shock to his system that
he got into bad health and died fro the excite-
ment. *Welch was imprisoned for Iwo years for
his Me transaction.

Come particulars appeared in the papers of yes-
terday ef a murder, unparalleled for its brutality,
committed in the quiet mar' of town of Alton, in
Hants, on Saturday evening. The :ants which have
already transpired show that, about half-past one
o'clock on the afternoon mentioned, a little girl
named Fanny Adams, eight years of age, left her
home near the church, in company with a younger
sister and a playmate named Minnie Warner, for the
purpose of playing is the meadow adjoining Amery
Farm, which is situated a few yards distant from
the borne of the decsassl. The meadow is crowned
by a hop-garden of considerable extent, approached
by a grassy and sequestered lane, from the entrance
of which a charming view of the quiet old town is
obtained. It was in the hop-ground referred to
that the crime, of which full details have now come
to hand, was committed. It appears that at two
o'clock the children, having partaken of dinner,
were engaged in play near the entrance to the se-
cluded lane, when a man, described as wearing a
black coat, with light vest and trousers, and whO
was sitting on the gate, beckoned Fanny Adams,
the unfortunate deceased, ;towards him. All the
children approached, and singling out the deceased,
he offered her a halfpenny to accompany him for a
walk in the adjacent hop-garden. Seeing that the
other children were disposed to follow he distributed
amongst them three halfpennies, telling them to run
away and buy some sweets. They accordingly did
so, and, as they were leaving, saw that the man had
taken bold of the girl's hand and was leading her up
the lane. They also saw that the poor child began
to cry, and heard the man say thesa words:—
"Don't cry, my dear ; keep quiet, and if you will
come up into the hop-garden I will give you
some more money." From this time until
seven o'clock in the evening nothing
more was heard of the deceased. The
child; not coming home to tea, her mother
became alarmed at her absence, and made inquiries,
but nothing was elicited beyond the statement of
her companions, that she had been seen going up
the lane with a strange man. Between seven and
eight o'clock the same evening a labourer named
Thomas Gates, returning from work, had occasion
to cross the hop-ground, when he was horrified at
beholding the dissevered head of a child resting
upon two hop-poles placed at the foot of the hedge,
and lying horizontally on the ground. The man
took up the . head and ran with it to the row of
cottages at the foot of the meadow, in one of which
the parents of the unfortunate child reside. The
neighbours, who were standing in groups talking
about the missing child, on seeing the head imme-
diately declared it to be that of Fanny Adams.
With a coolness which would seem almost incredi-
ble, the man Gates took the head to the father's
cottage. All doubts were then set at rest, the poor
mother identifying the head as that of her daughter,
and immediately falling into hysterics, from which
she has scarcely since recovered. The police were
At once communicated with, and search was made
fsr the remaining portions of the body. The larger
portion of the population of the town having speedily
become acquainted with the barbarous fate of the
child scoured the hop ground and adjoining fields
to discover, if possible, the body of the deceased.
Within about twenty yards east of the hedge, and
between growing hops, were found a leg and thigh,
with a stocking and boot on, and near the same spot
the right arm and hand, severed from the elbow,
were discovered. A little further to the right, the
left hand, severed from the wrist, was found, and
some distance below were the mutilated remains of
the trunk. The other foot, which was the left,
was picked up by a young man named Henry
Allen in a field adjoining the hop plantation,
where it bad evidently been thrown with suffi-
cient force to carry it over two. high hedges and an
intervening lane. The left arm was also picked,
up in this field. Horrible to relate the eyes'
had been gouged out with almost scientific
skill. At this time the intestines and hetift-
were missing, but on the following (Sunday)'
morning further search was made, when both these
portions were discovered, the former not far from
the spot where the trunk had been found, and the
heart in an adjoining field where ithad been thrown.
The body displayed several fearful stabs and gashes,
the ribs being severely punctured, the calves of the'
legs and thighs had been completely ripped up, and
the intestines entirely removed, leaving the mere
frame of the body only. The right ear was picked
up in a corner of the hop-ground by itself. No
traces of the eyes have as yet been discovered, and
the right breast is also missing. In consequane, of
the disjointed and iuutil,kted condition of the whole
of the body, it is impossible for the medical gen-
tlemen to determine whether the poor child had
been violated. An ineffectual attempt appears to
have been made to cut off the left arm from the
shoulder. The deceased child was tha fourth of a
family of six children, and was a tall, comely, and
intelligent gill. She bore the appearance of being
several years in advance of her age, and was of a
lively and cheerful disposition. The clothes worn
by the unfortunate child were found scattered about
the plantation. They were much torn. The dis-
severed remains were placed in a truck and conveyed
to the police-station, where they at present lie,
awaiting the coroner's inquest. Ia the meantime,
Superintendent Cheyney obtained a description of
the man in whose company the ill-fated girl
•, last seen, and,.aide,d by his local knowledge,
ed that the person described exactly
-,e• man named Frederick Baker,
• -ploy of Messrs. Clements,
••inon proceeded to
-inc o'clock
-na-

he cone' lt,

answered to a you-,,
whom he knew as in the

solicitors, of the town. He them,._

the office of Messrs. Clements about .-

in the evening, and saw the accused sitting As.
rently engaged in his ordinary avocation. Super-
intendent Cheyney then inquired if he had heard
of the murder, to which the accused replied " Yes ;
and they say it is me, don't they ?" Leaving Baker in
charge of a police-constable, for the purpose of
making further inquiries, the superintendent shortly
afterwards ascertained that the prisoner was the man
who had given some vipers to the children, as pre-
viously alluded to, and on returning to the office,
accompanied by one of the children, he asked him if
the statements were true. He admitted the fact,
but said he was innocent of the crime of murder.
He was identified by the chili, and the superin-
tendent removed him to the police-station, on sus-
picion of being the murderer. The melancholy news
had rapidly spread, and an immense concourse
assembled in the High-street outside the office,
whose menacing attitude and threatening language
necessitated recourse to a stratagem on the part
.of
the superintendent to effect the prisoner's removal.
He was accordingly taken through the hack pre-
mises, and safely lodged in a cell at the station.
Here he was closely searched, and in order that no
link in the chain of evidence might be missing, Mr.
Cheyney caused him to be stripped. This was done,
and all his garments taken from him. Tho light
tweed trousers were marked with blood, On both
the legs there were signs of very recent washing,
and they were still quite damp. The socks worn
by the prisoner were wet, the result evidently of a
meant washing. The front of the waistcoat was
splashed with blood, and the wristbands of the shirt
were saturated with blood. The prisoner's boots
were sodden with wet, leading to the supposition
thlt he had washed them in the rivulet near the
:cent} g the murder. In- his pockets were found
the sum of £1 Gs. 1 iu money, and two pen-
knives, ono of which contained three blades and the
other two. Neither of these appeared to be of
sufficient strength for tho committal of the atrocious
crime, and no sign of blood could be discovered on
them. The prisoner was asked if he could account
for the state of his clothing, and he answered that
he could not ; but as to his trousers legs he had,
when out, a habit of stepping into the water. It
appears that on the day of the murder the prisoner

The prisoner, since his confinement at the station,
has not in any way referred to the dreadful deed
with which he is accused, but has maintained the
closest reticence. On Sunday the greatest excite-
ment prevailed in the town, awl thousands of per-
s yhited the site of the harrowing tragedy, where
pools of the life-blood of the innocent child were
painfully visible. The morbid feeling animwing the
public was conspicuously developed by the denuda-
tion of the hops and the cutting off pieces of the
plants and hedges growing in the immediate
vicinity.

The prisoner was taken yesterday before E.
Knight, Esq., one of the county magistrates, and at
the request of Superintendent Cheyney was re-
manded until after the coroner's investigation,
which will probably take place on Wednesday.
In searching the prisoner's desk at the office yes-
terday a well-kept diary, in the prisoner's hand-
writing, was discovered under the date "Satototty,
August 24 :" the following entry► was written in a
bold and unfaltering hand :—" Killed a young girl;
fine and hot." The prisoner is a native of Guild-
ford, and for some years was in the office of MessrA.
Smallpeice, the eminent solicitors of that town. Ile
was afterwards employed by Mr. P. W. Lovett,
solicitors of the same place, and duringhis period of
service was found to be guilty of embezzlement.
He then absconded from the town, but on the in-
tervention of his father, a respectable master tailor,
who paid the amount of his defalcations, he escaped
prosecution. The prisoner subsequently obtained
an engagement with Messrs. Clements, of Alton,
with whom he has been for about twelve months.
The prisoner is a thin spare man, about twenty-
eight years of age, and possesses a countenance of
much mildness and benignity. Ile bears but an in-
different character in the town, and it is related
that a fortnight ago he accosted a lady in a secluded
pathway, in Alton, and made improper overtures
to her. These she resisted, and ran away. The
prisoner, not succeeding in overtaking her, pelted
her with stones. lie has always been looked upon
as a man of great animal passions.
Although every search has been made for the
weapon with which the crime was committed, it
has not been found.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, Aug. 26.

The Queen's County Agricultural Society held its
fifth annual show at Maryborough on Saturday. It
was one of the best exhibitions which the society has
yet had, the entries being more than usually nume-
rous, and the quality of the stock very good. The
chief feature was the collection of sheep, to which
all the best breeders in the county contributed. In
a field adjoining the grounds in which the cattle
show was held, the Queen's County Horticultural
Association held its annual display of flowers and
fruits. The co-operation of the two societies, the
one devoted to pursuits of substantial utility, the
other to culture of a refined order, but each in its
way promoting the social interests of different
classes, secured a combination of attractions which
drew together a 1 trge assemblage of the local gen try.
The friendly alliance was cemented by a public
dinner in the evening, at which both associations
were represented. The Right Hon. J. W. Fitz-
patrick, LP., occupied the chair.
Mr. Monsell, M.P., has done good service in call-
ing attention to the causes which operate against the
interests of the Irish butter trade in the English
market. The subject is engaging the attention of
local bodies in Cork and Limerick, who urge the
necessity of taking immediate measures to retrieve
the character of Irish butterOwhich noir suffers in
competition with French, owing ahiCily to the
greater care bestowed upon the making-up and
packing of the latter. At a meeting of the Lime-
rick Farmers' Club on Saturday, Mr. Harris gave
an account of a recent visit to English markets,
with the object of acquiring correct information.
He found that buyers complained that Irish butter
is fraudulently made up, that the tare is irregular,
that the butter is too strongly pickled, and is packed
so carelessly that its taste is deteriorated by the
flavour of the casks, and loss occasioned by hav-
ing' to scrine it fro•n the sides of the firkins. On
the other hand, French butter, though the ma-
terial is by no means so good, commands a better
price, and is coming more extensively into favour
because it is not so highly salted. It is made up
newly in 561 b. casks, with cloths to protect it from
the influence of the wood. Ile spoke from expe-
rience of the injurious effect upon the Irish trade.
He found that nearly every store in Manchester was
filled with French batter. In Rochdale he could
make no sales—the French had obtained a start of
him. After failing in Lancashire, he went to Lon-
don, but there, too, he failed, although he offered
the butter at a reduced rate. With respect to the
charge of fraudulent making up, he knew an in-
stance of 111 b. of salt being found at the bottom
of a firkin, but he felt bound to add that the far-
mers generally did nit deal in this dishonest way.
The chairman mentioned the case of a butter-
maker in Cork who told him that a firkin paid
him better than Bs. paid others, because his
firkin contained 91b more of salt. These are start-
ling facts, which ought to make an impression on
the farmers. To require cleanliness and honesty
is to impose upon many of them conditions against
which their nature revolts, but they are indispens-

1..171e to success is this important branch of Irish
tract?, tind it is to be hoped that the experience of
bitter disappo....ntments in the exports to England
will oblige them stemit. Such unprofitable
s will teach a necessary
tours as that of Mr. Har.f.
evil will cure itself
lesson to the farmers, and the
in time, but the danger is that beLore the Irish
makers can be persuaded to change their .habits the
French will have so fortified their position in the
markets by continued improvements that they can-
not be dislodged. Every effort must be used to
effect an immediate reform and reinstate Irish
produce in the place which its superior quality, if
there were no serious drawbacks, would be sure to
command.
Lord and Lady Fitzwilliain set an excellent ex-
ample to other proprietors in Ireland by visiting
their estates annually and residing for some time iu
the midst of their tenantry. Their presence gives
confidence nud p:casure to the people, who are
grateful for the attention bestowed upon them, and
the fact that their landlord can make personal in-
quiries respecting any causes of complaint, and judge
for himself as to the condition of the farms and the
improvements which may be required, cannot fail to
have a beneficial effect. Coolle.tin-park, at which the
family are now staying, is a centre of gaiety and
rejoicing in honour of the marriage of Lord Milton.
Among the entertainments which have boon given
to celebrate the event not the least interesting was
on Friday, when GOO children belonging to the
several schools on the estate were hospitably received
in the parki and the most liberal arrangements made
for their riilbyment.
--- - •

A compliment ii'lkbout to be paid to Mr. Justice
O'Hagan in Belfast, hiS nativelown, which must be
peculiarly gratifying, as it indicates .trgenerous
spirit in political opponents. It is proposed to'plaed
in the Town-hall abust of the learned Judge, which
has been executed by Mr. Shakespeare Wood. A
committee has been formed, subscriptions have been
freely given alike by Conservatives and Whigs, and
on the list of trustees are the names of the Mayor,
the Chairman of the Harbour Commissioners, and
the President of the Chamber of Commerce, all
parties, in fact, co-operating cordially in te§tifying

A large number of scientific and other gentle•
men connected with telegraphy throughout Europe
assembled on Tuesday last at the icsidence of
Mr. Donald Nicoll, Oaklaeds-hall, Kilburn, for
the purpose of witnessing a se ' •• of expc riu,eyta,
with an entirely novel species of underground
electric telegraph, which, whether in point of
cheapness of construction as well as efficiency of tea.-
' ice, claims to be superior to any system of electric
telegraph communication yet inven tel The principle
upon which this telegraph system is constructed
consists of its being made in sections, of any
length, and at any angle, and laid down in
shallow or deep trenches at option, just as a lino
of a railway may be laid, but without the slightest
necessity for " chairs," bolts, rivets, &c. The
system is of exceedingly simple construction, and
consists of a zinc or other metallic semi-tube, or
species of gutter, in which any number of electric
wires can be laid in accordance with size. In the
process of manufactu. ing the conductors the wires
receive first a substantial coating of inorganised or
insulatory substance, then a coating of fibre, which„
is almost completely carbonise:4 by the beat of the
compotind, and each wife having been thus sepa-
rately treated is then embedded in the trough or
semi-tube referred to, of either 8,- 11, or 22 feet in
length, and embedded in more of the insulating.
compound. This insulating material does not de-
compose like gutta percha, which is known to perish
quickly. It consists mainly of epure Trinidad bitu-
men, and withl6-gaugecopper wires in zinc troughs
the system can be laid and completed for 20 per
cent. le s than the present cost of the unsightly
overhead wires, either on poles or housetops ; and
if 22 feet sections be used, two men, one for pour-
ing in the molten bitumen at points of junction,
and ono for fixing the wires, can easily lay over one
mile of sections per day, at about 25 per cent. less
than the cost of overhead wires either on poles or
housetops. As regards underground gutta percha
and india rubber-covered wires all that is effected by
them is realised by this system at a cost of about 50
per cent. less. It is also a feature that, inasmuch as
the bitumen containing the wires, if placed 15 or 20
inches below the surface, the conductors incur no
liability of fracture, and therefore the cost for main-
tenance is of the most trivial character—a jet of
flame at any of the junctions enabling the operator
to repair or remove any damaged sections.
The experiments conducted upon this occasion
were of a very comprehensive character. The tele-
graph had been laid over the extensive grounds,
with points of communication between the hall of
the house, the lodge, and also the bailiff's cottage at
the other end of the property, and close to the
Edgware-road station of the North London Rail-
way, and various messages and despatches were
answered with the most surprising rapidity and
accuracy, the insulation being frequently tested by
the galvanometer. A large portion of the trench in
which the wires were laid was left open to show
the junction of the sections, and the ease with
which any inequality of surface or angle can be
dealt with. The process of joining the wires at the
junctions of the section was then exhibited, and is
exceedingly simple, being a hand machine, by
which at one blow almost any number of wires can
be joined. The size or power of the pressing
machine (either lever or screw) and number of in-
dentations in the plate or matrix forced upon the
wires can be increasAas required; indeed so ea-ily
worked and understood is this process that it was
stated that boys were chiefly employed in making
the specimens laid down. Is the course of various
remarks and explanations oared by Mr. _Nicoll and
his friends other advantages -were pointed out'.
Amongst these were, th it a larger nuuOier of wires
can be laid upon any other system at much less
cost, and the wires may be turned_at any angle and
over any height or ineqtudity olourlace. Sections
containing any number of wires insulated by
this method can be packed and sent to any part
of the world, and fixed by unskilled labour at the
needful depth beneath the surface of sand or soil, or
they may be embodied in the silt or mud of sea or
river shore, For crossing open country or running
by the sides of common roads the trenches may be
formed by au ordinary sub-soil plough, and after
the trenches arc laid and the sections filled in (ex-
cept to those possessing a key thereto), all traces of
the line of route will be speedily effaced. The sec-
tions, when beneath the surface, will bear great
weight, support extreme degrees of heat and col l,
and any number of wires may b.: laid_withease be-
tween a double line of rails or down an ordinary
sewer. In crowded streets traffic need not be de-
layed or interrupted, as each boss or point of junc-
tion is in fact a testing chamber of continuity of elec-
tricity, and wires can thus be easily tested and re-
paired. Sections can be made in any length conve-
nient for transport in ordinary conveyances, and it
had been calculated that 20 miles of sections, con-
taining 50 or more wires, may be laid in a day by
30 labourers. Thus it was argued that the Eng-
lish Government could quickly lay wires from
Calais overland direct to India, and possibly suffi-
ciently compensate those nations granting conces-
sions for passage through their territories by
allotting a proportionate and free use of some of
the wires. The system can form part of and
. gradually be in'roduced into any other system
now in use, and it is obvious that the number of
wires may be almost indefinitely increased,
economy being naturally promoted by a large num-
ber of wires being laid in one operation, but it is
important to know that the cost of each wire will
ordinarily average not more than £5 per wile ; and
as the insulating material is indestructible, and has
been tested as resisting even the attacks of the
white ant of Indit, the usual heavy costs for main-
tenance and repair will be avoided. It was stated
that the directors of the Isle of Wight and some
other railways had given orders for laying this
system of telegraph along their lines, and a general
opinion was expressed that from its vast reduction of
cost, facility for laying, and indestructible character
pf the material of insulation, it will speedily receive
extek9i v e if not general adoption.—Observer.