The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-26 00:00:00

TUE SUN, LONIi(Th, FRIDAY EVENING, JANUARY 26, 186.

would effect great results, but, although the experi-
ments were at first successful, cOws had since been
attacked after vaccination. He (Lord Belper) there-
fore thought that although vaccination might be
useful as a safeguard, it was not a perfect one. As
Mr. Paget had mentioned to him, so long as an
animal was suffering under one disease it was not
so much liable to take another ; therefore so long as
the effects of vaccination were going on, an animal
would probably not be so much likely to take the
disease. Although vaccination was not a perfect
security, the general feeling was that it might be
useful. Mr. Denison said he asked that question of
his lordship because, if vaccination could be regarded
as a security, it might alter the opinion of people
with regard to any other stringent step to be taken
with the plague. But as Mr. Tollemache's own herd
had been attacked by the disease after vaccination,
it must of course tend to shake the confidence of the
public in vaccination. He would now ask whether
there was any hope of any other remedy at all? He
had seen a letter written by the Consul at Odessa,
which stated that no remedies which had been tried,
whether fumigation, bleeding, or medicine, had been
successful, and which would therefore warrant re-
commendation. The letter gave an account of the
treatment of the disease in Russia. But coming
nearer home, he might say that he had written to
the veterinary colleges and to the Cattle Plague
Commissioners, and they all said that they could
not see that there was any specific which could be
specially recommended for preventing the disease
when once among the cattle. Well, the veterinary
inspectors all said the same thing. The state of
things going on at present in this county was this :
—The disease spreads itself to a farm, and a farmer
who has a good many cattle hopes
_he may have
success in getting rid of it, and he therefore tries
various remedies. He was sorry to say he had seen
it going on, and had witnessed cattle which were
first slightly affected get worse and die. When
cattle got into the last stages of decomposition they
had no idea of the amount of contagion. (Hear,
hear.) They became so fetid that when they were
taken away to be buried after death men turned
sick while digging the graves and burying them.
Well, therefore, might they suppose that if 50 or 60
animals died on one farm in the course of a few
weeks, the air must be impregnated with this
noxious virus to a very great degree, and the conse-
quence was that it forced its way to the next farm.
He bad been to a meeting that day of farmers held
in Newark; and he was sorry to say that this was
just what was going on. The plague was now
dreadfully bad at Mr. Cartwright's farm at Marn-
ham, 74 beasts having died out of a herd of 80.
The contagion became so intense that it affected
the next farm, and now it had reached Grassthorpe
and Normanton, and so it would go on all through
their villages. This would be the case, undoubtedly,
unless something were done beyond what they were
doing at present. He felt sure that it would thus
go through the whole country, and carry off all the
cattle. This was a very serious contemplation, and
the question was whether it was possible to take
any steps that would be more efficient than those at
present adopted. The magistrates had done what
they could to restrict traffic, but as the disease had
got among them he felt quite certain that what they
had done was not sufficient to check it. Well,
then, was there anything that would assist in stop-
ping it ? He had been looking about to see what
had been done elsewhere, and he found that in the
county of Aberdeen they had taken steps which had
been attended with remarkable success—(hear,
hear)—and with most valuable consequences.
(Hear, hear.) He then read an extract from the ac-
count which had appeared in the newspapers of
January 19, of the meetirg of the Highland Agri-
cultural Society, stating the course which had been
taken in Aberdeenshire, in which county they had
adopted a system of voluntary rating of Id. in the
pound, and by acting in consort had stamped out the
disease seven times, and had now been free from
it a month. Now, Mr. Hcpe, a speaker at that meet-
ing, said that the people of Aberdeen had treated
this matter in a much more sensible way than any-
body else, and he explained how they treated it.
They had stopped the disease, and secured them-
selves from immense expense. He (Mr. Denison)
could wish that this county was as yet in a favour-
able position for trying the same experiment. (Hear,
hear.) The centre part of the county was at present
free from disease, and in the Vale of Belvoir, up the
county to Mansfield, it had appeared. It was down
in the villages near Newark to a certain extent, and
where it had spread it had destroyed their cattle. In
the north of the county, in Bassetlaw and about
Thetford, there had not been many cases, and he
thought that if the matter were thoroughly taken in
hand, and all acted well together, they might stop
the disease entirely, and he was sure they might do
so at prodigiously less expense, which would be as
nothing compared to what expense it must be if the
thing were allowed to go on as at present. He had
written down to Edinburgh for more complete
details of the system of rating, as to what basis it
had been done on, and what their organisation had
been. He had no doubt that they instituted an active
canvass among the farmers. If they considered what
ita pennyw a s niont the
much. Suppose pound
farmer was paying, they must acknowledge
£2OO per annum, he would have to pay 165., and if
they went to the large landowners who paid £l,OOO
they would get £4 and a few pence. By paying that
sum they would be placing themselves in a position
of comparative security. But what he chiefly looked
to was the chance of stopping the disease: At pre-
sent, however, there was no kind of unanimity ;
everybody was left to do the best for themselves.
Nothing was to be done by treatment. He advo-
cated the adoption of the same scheme as in Aber-
deenshire, and said it was a question for themselves.
(Hear.) By adopting the Turkish Bath on one of
his farms he had done himself the greatest injury.
Mr. Paget supported the observations of Mr. Deni-
son, and after some discussion it was agreed to obtain
the necessary information by Wednesday next, and
that the county meanwhile be prepared for carrying
out the scheme adopted in Aberdeenshire.

YORKSHIRE (NORTH RIDING).
A special Quarter Sessions for the North Riding
of Yorkshire was held at Northallerton on Wednes-
day, to adopt such new rules and regulations as
might be thought desirable to prevent the spreading
of the cattle plague. Earl Cathcart, who presided,
read the report of the police committee, which
pointed out the way in which the Court was fettered
by the Orders in Council, and suggested a resolu-
tion to the effect that to the extent of the limited
powers confided to them the justices of the North
Riding bad done their very utmost towards cattle
plague prevention, but they desired to record, and
they begged to convey to her Majesty's Government
their decided opinion, which was, that the authorised
means .were utterly inadequate to that end. The
Lion. W. E. Duncombe, M.P., moved the adoption
of the report, which was seconded by Mr. Pulleine,
and carried. Lord Teignmouth urged the importance
of united action throughout the country, and said
the newspapers were calling for prompt and instan-
taneous action in this matter. He moved that this
Court, feeling the inadequacy of the means of pre-
venting the cattle plague placed at its disposal,
were of opinion that Government ought to assume
the responsibility for uniform and united action, and
that the chairman be requested to communicate this
resolution to the Secretary for the Home Depart-
ment. The Earl of Zetland seconded the motion,
which was supported by
Sir J. Lawson and Mr.
Cayley, and adopted.

LOCAL SELF-GOVEItNORS.—A week or two after-
wards this matter was brought under the notice of
the vestry. The proceediugi are thus reported in the
leading organ :—" The bill of expenses for perambulating
the boundaries of the parish, amounting to £133 18s. 6d.,
was presented from the general purposes committee. Mr.
N. said the expenses had been much increased by persons
not vestrymen being at the dinner. Mr. D. had seen per-
sons there who were not vestrymen, or connected with
neighbouring parishes, and who were busy bonneting ves-
trymen." (My conscience, bonnet a vestryman !) "He
could name the coroner's beadle for one. He had been told
that plates of meat had been sent from the Argyle to the
house of Mr. B. Mr. B. rose indignantly and denied the
assertion. Mr. D. could give his authority, namely, Mr.
F. Mr. B.: Then Mr. F. is a liar! A riotous scene than
took place between Mr. B. and the other vestrymen, after
which the resolution was adopted."—Dickens's "All the
Year Rand."

The Colliery Accident at WiganL

WIGAN, Thursday.
The names of the two deceased whose bodies had
not been identified yesterday are Seth Helleck, 30,
I a collier, residing at Rose-hill, Ashton; and George
Pollitt, 20, drawer, living at the same place. As
soon as all had been identified, and tickets stating
their names and residences pinned to the clothes of
each, a dozen persons employed by the firm com-
menced the .task of washing and laying out the
I bodies. One-third of the coffins required were made
on the premises, and a score have been obtained
from Wigan, and in these the corpses have now been
placed, to await the inspection of the jury. This
will probably take place to-morrow morning, when
the inquest will be opened, formal evidence of iden-
tity taken, and then adjourned for a week or more.
The excitement caused in the neighbourhood by the
accident appears rather to increase than diminish,
as large numbers of persons hourly visit the pit,
where there is but little to be seen, and crowds of
relatives and friends hang round the shed in which
the bodies have been placed.
It has already been stated that the fireman of the
pit, William Marsh, was on his way back to the
workings from the pit eye when the explosion oc-
curred, and by the side of this may be placed the
fact that the leading partner in the firm who own
the colliery, Mr. Mercer, was actually waiting on
the pit bank to descend the shaft when the explo-
sion took place. He was about to accompany Ash-
croft, the underlooker, into the place of a man
named Hill, but Ashcroft was busy superintending
the lowering of a pony down the No. 1 shaft, and,
fortunately for Mr. Mercer, this operation took
rather longer than usual.
The mine in which the explosion happened is one
of the most peculiar in the kingdom, owing to the
number and variety of the faults which interrupt
the seam, and which it is next to impossible to de-
scribe without the aid of a plan. From, the fact of
its being a maiden coal field, and the irregular cha-
racter of the seam, every possible precaution had
been taken to ensure the safety of the men. Extra
firemen were appointed, the use of naked lights
were forbidden, and, as the mine is not generally a
fiery one, the men considered they were working
as safely as possible in a coal mine. It is not to
be believed that the quantity of gas which exploded
was very large, but all agree that the effects of the
explosion must have been terrific. Many of the de-
ceased are burnt very seriously; but few, if any,
have lost their lives by the choke-damp, and it is
thought that the great majority have been killed by
the concussion.

Yesterday, Mr. Higson, the Government inspec-
tor ; Mr. John Higson ; Mr. Evans and his
brother ; Mr. Watkin, from Messrs. Blundell's ;
Mr. Pickard, miners' agent ; Mr. Clarke, of Pem-
berton ; Mr. Clarke, of Ashton ; Marsh, the fire-
man ; and Ashcroft, the underlooker, made a
thorough inspection of the workings ; but it is be-
lieved that not a single fact was gleaned which
would show the cause of the explosion. At present,
therefore, the mystery which surrounds the explo-
sion remains still unsolved, the only conjecture as to
the cause being one which Mr. Mercer is taking
measures to test. He believes it possible that there
may have been a " blower," or sudden outburst of
gas, from the floor of the mine at the spot which is
fixed as that where the gas was ignited, and that
the rush of this may have blown the light of the
safety-lamp through the gauze, and so caused the
accident. It is stated that the most careful inspec-
tion has not discovered that any lamp top was off.
The lads who were recovered from the bottom of
the jig brow do not appear to have been much hurt.
Mr. Higson, the Government inspector, will make
another examination of the mine before the inquest.

The Shropshire Murder.

STOTTESDEN, Wednesday.

To-day the inquest on the unfortunate young
man Edward Edwards, who was so brutally mur-
dered at Duddlewich Mill, near this place, on Sun-.
day week, was resumed before Mr. Trow, the dis-
trict coroner, at the Cock Inn in this place. All
sorts of rumours as to the perpetrator of the foul
crime have been rife, but we forbear giving currency
to them.

Mr. Backhouse, of Bridgnorth, attended to watch
the evidence on the part of the family of Mr. Mere-
dith, the uncle of the deceased, with whom he lived.
Before taking any fresh evidence the coroner re-
examined all the witnesses who had given evidence
on the first inquiry. These were Elizabeth Harris
and Samuel Ilarris, servants to Mr. Meredith; Mr.
Meredith, and. Win. Dorrell. The additional testi-
mony given by them added very little to their first
depositions. The servants in their re-examination'
stated that on the Sunday morning of the !murder
Mr. Meredith; the uncle of the deceased; was in the
house an hour after Harris had seen the deceased go
to the mill. He went out of the house-. Harris was
attending to the cows in the yard and Mr. Meredith
ordered him away. Mr. Meredith went to the mill
before church. He did not say anything about the
deceased's accounts when he returned from the mill.

Timothy Fletcher worked for Mr. Meredith and
slept in the house. Deceased always helped him to
feed the mare and pigs. The deceased usually kept
the key of the mill, and when he was away and wit-
ness wanted it witness had to wait until he came
home. Deceased had a book in which he kept an
account of thingS sold out of the mill.
Wm. Barber, another of. Air. Meredith's men, de-
posed to hearing the deceased and Mr. Meredith
quarrelling in the mill on the Saturday before the
murder. The deceased afterwards told witness that
Mr. Meredith had been "on with him" about Mr.
Hyde's grist. Had seen the punch produced (a piece
of iron about ten inches long) in the mill. Saw de-
ceased using it a few days before his death.

Mr. Hodges, the surgeon, who made the post mor-
tem examination of the deceased, depoied that he
assisted in carrying the deceased upstairs on the
Sunday evening. There were 16 or 20 wounds on
the scalp. lie did not know, in fact, how many.
The punch produced would have.been very likely to
produce the wounds.
The Coroner said the skull should have been pro-
duced.

Witness said he expected Dr. Thqrsfield, who had
the skull, would have been present for that purpose.
The punch would not have produced all the wounds.
The scalp wounds must have been produced by
some sharp instrument. The bleeding had ceased,
but a little blood might have escaped from the de-
ceased while he was being carried upstairs ; the
sheet round the body, however, would have caught
it. Had known the deceased some time. He was
a weakly boy.
By Mr. Backhouse—lt would take a strong man
to inflict the wounds, which had penetrated to the
brain ; but a person of the deceased's own age (18)
might have inflicted many of the 30 or 40 wounds
found on the head.

Police-constable Browuwell deposed that about
seven o'clock on the Sunday night he was called in
by Mr. Meredith, who informed him of what had
happened. Witness asked if he had any suspicion
who had done it, and he said he had not. Went
with him to the mill, and found on the middle floor
an account-book (produced). It was lying on the
floor open. There was blood on it, and in one place
two large spots of blood, which had been besmeared
as if with the intention of wiping it off. There was
a good deal of blood on the floor. The book ap-
peared to have been struck m ith something hard,
the blow penetrating through several pages. They
then. went to the lower floor of the mill, and here
was also a good deal of blood. There were three
pools of blood, and blood had been spurted against
the wall reaching from the floor about a yard high.
Here they picked up a walking stick and the iron
punch (both produced). They were near a pool of
blood, where Mr. Meredith said the deceased's head
lay. Finger marks of blood were also found.

Superintendent Christie, of Wellington, proved
that he examined the clothes of all the people at
Mr. Meredith's on Sunday. He found twenty or
thirty spots of blood on the leg of a pair of
trousers of Mr. Meredith, in the inner part of
the leg. He had sent the trousers to. London to an
analyst. Mr. Meredith's jacket appeared to have
been washed.

•
The inquest was adjourned for the return of the
officer who had gone to London with the uncle's
trousers.