The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JULY 28, 1866.

The Double Murder by a Mother in Somers

Town.

ADJOURNED INQUEST (THIS DAY.)
This morning, at half-past ten, Dr. Lankester, the Cen-
tral Middlesex coroner, resumed the inquest, at the Rising
Sun, 120, Euston-road, on the bodies of Emma and Agnes
Butcher, who were drowned by their mother on the morn-
ing of Saturday last, at Mrs. Sophia Skudder's, a chand-
ler's shop, Wilstead-street, Somers-town. The inquest
on Tuesday had been adjourned for the attendance of the
mother, but this morning Inspector Fraser stated that the
medical man certified that she was not in a fit state to be
moved out of the house at present. The following certi-
ficate was then put in :—" This is to certify that Mary
Butcher, aged 39, who is in this infirmary, has had a very
bad night, and is not in a fit state this morning to attend
the coroner's court.—W. F. Butt, M.R.C.S., Surgeon to
the St. Pancras Infirmary, July 28, 1866."
Inspector Fraser said that ho had himself seen the
woman, who was very ill.
John Brown said he was a carpenter, and lived at 67
Willstead-street. On Saturday morning he heard a groan-
ing in the back yard. He knew Mrs. Butcher, and ob-
served that she had changed her manners in the last week,
being abrupt in her tone towards the lodgers. About half
past six witness found her in the water-butt in a half sit-
ting posture, with the water up round her neck. He
knocked a hole in the tub and let the water out, and ulti-
mately she was got out quite insensible.
Margaret Brown, wife of last witness, said Mrs. Butcher
had been very dull lately. On Saturday witness saw her
after she had been taken out of the tub. On Monday wit-
ness saw Mrs. Butcher at the workhouse. She asked for
her children, and said, " Where's the children ? I want to
suckle the baby, you know it don't feed." She also said,
" Bill tells me they are at their grandmother's," and wit-
ness said, " Yes, they were taken there on Satur-
day." Witness went into the room, and the chil-
dren were• found to be quite dead. The husband
found the children dead and in the bed, and took the eldest
out and carried the child about, saying, " Oh, my poor
pretty angel, she's dead, she's dead."
Wm. Butcher, the husband, said the children were in
bed and asleep when he left.
The Coroner put it to the jury to decide whether they
would have any further adjournment, and to this the jury
agreed, and an adjournment was decided on.

LAW INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

' COURT OF DIVORCE.
(Before Sir J. P. Wilde without Juries.)
CLINTON V. CLINTON.

In this case Lady Clinton obtained a divorce from Lord
Thomas Clinton, brother of the late Duke of Newcastle,
and alimony had been awarded her at the rate of £llO
a year, the income of the husband being £4OO a year.
Dr. Tristram, on the part of the petitioner, now applied
for a suit of attachment against the respondent, who had
not paid the alimony, and was at present in England.

The Ceurt granted the writ.
WHITE V. WHITE AND BROOKS,

This was an undefended suit by the husband, who for-
merly carried on business as a surgeon in Charles-street,
Haymarket, for a dissolution of marriage on account of
his wife's adultery with the co-respondent, a private in
the Dragoon Guards.
Mr. Inderwick was counsel for the petitioner.

It appeared that the respondent was the daughter of an
officer in the British army, and the marriage was solem-
nised in 1853,b0th t he parties being young at the time. There
were three children issue of the marriage, and for some time
the parties lived on good terms, but the respondent shortly
became addicted to intemperance, and was in the habit of
going to publichouses in the Haymarket and returning
home drunk. Her conduct at last became so bad that the
petitioner was compelled to separate from her, and provided
her with respectable lodgings in April, 1863, but she did
not remain there long, for the landlady could not
put up with her intemperance. In the month of
August, 1865, she went to her husband and demanded
money. She was accompanied by a man, and was ulti-
mately traced to a lodging-house in Drury-lane, when she
was discovered under circumstances that left no doubt of
her criminality.
The Court pronounced the decree nisi.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.---This Day.

THAMES.

EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF FORGERY.— Richard Nott, an
elderly man, who was arrested in Croydon, and who has
been recently living in Princes-road, Notting-hill, was
charged with forging a bill of exchange for the payment
of £3O.
Mr. James Scott, of the firm of Scott and Cook, leather
merchants, 30, Minories, said he received a bill of exchange
from the prisoner soon after it was drawn. It was dated
the 16th of September, 1865, for £3O, and purported to be
drawn by Mr. Nott on W. Esterbrook, of Taunton. It
purported to be accepted by W. Esterbrook, and was in-
dorsed by the prisoner and by the firm of Scott and
Cook. He paid the bill away in the regular
course of business, and it was returned to him
dishonoured. He sued Mr. Esterbrook, the alleged acceptor,
who said the signature was a forgery. In cross-exami-
nation the witness said he did not know the prisoner was
living at Princes-road, Notting-hill, since the bill was re-
turned to him. He would swear the bill was not in Ester-
brook's writing. The prisoner had said the acceptance
was not in the handwriting of Esterbrook. He told the
prisoner the acceptance was not in the handwriting of
Esterbrook, and the prisoner said the acceptor was his
first cousin, and had authorised him to sign his name to
the bill. He was not aware that Mr. Esterbrook, of
Tiverton, was the prisoner's cousin.
The prisoner was remanded.

MARKETS. --This Day.

COVENT GARDEN.

increased supplies of fruit are on sale, and the show of
vegetables is somewhat extensive. The trade is steady at
our quotations.
FRUIT—Pine apples, 5s to 6s; grapes, 2s Gd to ss;
cherries, Os 3d to Os 9d per lb ; apples, is Gd to 2s 6d ;
gooseberries, 2s Od to 3s Od ; currents, 2s Gd to 3s 6d ;
plums, 3s Od to 3s Gd per half sieve ; strawberries, cd to
9d ; raspberries, 5d to 9d per punnet ; oranges, 8s to 14s ;
lemons, 3s 6d to 8s per 100.
VEGETABLES—Red cabbages, 2s Od to 2s 6d ; white do.,
10d to is 6d; cauliflowers, is to 2s Gd; horseradish, 1s to
2s Od per doz heads; greens, 2s 6d to 3s Od; turnips, 2s
to 2s Od ; carrots, 3s Gd to 4s Od ; onions, 9d to 1s Gd per
dozen bunches ; cucumbers, 3d to is Od each • peas, Os 9d
to 1s 3d ; French beans, 2s 6cl to 2s 6d per half sieve ; new
potatoes, 8s to 14s per cwt ; cos lettuces, Gd to 10d per
score,
POULTRY.
Geese, 4s Gd to Gs 6d; goslings, 5s 6d to 7s Od; ducks,
2s Gd to 3s 6d ; ducklings, 2s 6d to 3s 6d ; tame rabbits, is
3d to is 10d ; wild do, Os Od to Os Od ; pigeons,
Gd to 8d
each ; Surrey fowls, 9s to 12s ; do. chickens, 5s Gd to 8s; barn
door fowls, 4s to Gs Od ; Guinea fowls, Os to Os per couple.
English eggs, 8s 6d to 9s Od ; French do., Gs Od to 7s per
100. Fresh butter, is Od to is 2d per lb.

BILLINGSGATE.
Salmon, Od to Os Od per lb ; soles, 6d to 2s per pair ; cod
Os to Os ; brill, 2s 6d to bs Od • mullets 4s Od to ós ; doreys,
Os Od to Os each ; turbot, 2s '6d to lOs each ; whitings, Gs
to 12s ; haddocks, Gs to 18s per dozen ; fresh herrings, 108
to 12s per 120 ; mackerel, 30s to 40s per 120.

NEWPORT.
Par 81b. by the carcase.
Beef 3s Gd to 5s Od Mutton 3s 6d to 5s 8d
I
Veal 4s Od to 5s Od Pork
Lamb, 5s 8d to 7s Od.
WHITECHAPEL.
Per 81b. by tho carcase.

Beef 3s 6d to 5s Od Mutton ... Ss 8d to 5s 8d
I Veal 4s Od to 5s Od Pork
Lamb, 6s Od to 7s Od.
BREAD.

The prices of wheaten bread in the metropolis are from
Bd. to Bid. ; of household ditto, 611 to 7id. per 4lbs. loaf.

HIDES AND SKINS.
Market hides, 56 to 64 lbs, 21d to 3d ; 64 to 72 lbs, 3d
to 3i-d ;72 to 801bs, 3d to 3id ;80 to 881bs., 3id to 34d; 88
to 961b5., 3id to 4d ; 96 to 1041b5., Od. to Od. Horse
hides, 9s to lOs Od ; calf skins (light), 2s to 4s ; full, 7s Od ;
polled sheep, Os Od to Os Od; half-breds, Os Od to Os Od ;
downs, Os Od to Os Od; lambs, 3s to 5s Od ; shearlings, 2s
6d to 3s Od. . _

RECENT WILLS AND BEQUESTS.

(From the Illustrated London News.)

The will of the Hon. William John Vesy, for-
merly of Abbeyleix, in Queen's County, and late
of Glandore House, Dublin, was proved, first in
Dublin, under £4,000 personalty, and has only now
been proved in this country, by the Hon. Isabella
Elizabeth Vesy, the relict and sole executrix. The
testator was the only brother of the present Vis-
count De Vesci, and died at the age of 57. His
will bears date March 18, 1859. Ile has bequeathed
the whole of his property to his wife for her own
absolute use and benefit.

The will of Robert Gardner, Esq., of Chaseley,
near Manchester, and of Lytham, in Lanchashire,
was proved in London on the 19th inst., by the
executors and trustees namely, William At-
kinson, Esq., his brother-in-law, of Ashton
Hayes, and Thomas Sebastian Bazley, Esq., his
son-in-law, of Agden Hall, both in Cheshire. The
personalty was sworn under £350,000. The will is
dated June 22, 1857 ; and there are four codicils.
After some inconsiderable legacies, the testator be-
queaths the greater portion of his valuable ware-
house property in Manchester, together with the
sum of £lOO,OOO, to his grandchildren, Ellen Jero-
mina Josephine de Mendelsloh Gardner and Lucy
Anne de Mendelsloh Gardner, the daughters of his
late son, Richard Gardner, M.P. for Leicester,
with remainder to their descendants. The residue,
real and personal, is left in trust for his daughter
Elizabeth, wife of Thos. S. Bazley, Esq., only son of
Thomas Bazley, Esq., M.P. for Manchester. Mr.
Gardner died a,t his residence, Lytham, on the
24th ult., at the advanced age of eighty-five. He
was well known as an energetic and successful mer-
chant, both in London and in Manchester, and equally
so as a prominent member of the Evangelical party.
He was a liberal contributor, by personal efforts as
well as by donations, to the cause of church exten-
sion, his last work having been the re-erection of
St. Luke's Church, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Man-
chester.

The will of Nathaniel Hartland, Esq., of The
Oaklands, Charlton Kings, near Cheltenham,
banker, was proved in the district registry at Glou-
cester, on the 2d inst., by Eliza Hartland, the widow,
and F. D. Hartland, Esq., F.S.A., and E. Hart-
land, Esq., the sons, the executors. The personalty
was sworn under £120,000. The testator executed
his will Oct. 6, 1865, with two codicils, 19th and
28th of April last, and died the Bth of May follow-
ing, aged 75. He leaves his widow an immediate
legacy of £5OO and all his plate, furniture, carriages,
&c., and an annuity of £1,500, the principal
from which this is to be derived to be at
her disposal by will as far as £lO,OOO is concerned,
and the remaining £20,000 to go into the residue.
The Oaklands, with the whole of the freehold es-
tates, he leaves to his widow for her life, with suc-
cession to their eldest son, Frederick. To his son
Ernest Hartland he leaves his copyhold estate at
Leigh and a legacy of £4,000. To Alfred H. Hart-
land, £3,000, and Alfred Hartland, jun., £l,OOO ;
to Theresa Gales Bold his property in Paragon-
buildings, Cheltenham; to Emily Rosa Banks and
Anna Louisa Coulson each £1,000; to his sister,
Sarah Lewis, £5OO ; to the British and Foreign
Bible Society £5OO, and a further sum of £5OO to
such societies as his wife may see fit. The re-
mainder of his property to be divided between his
children, Frederick, Ernest, Theresa, Emily, and
Anna, in equal proportions.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

WESTERN CIRCUIT—EXETER, July 27.
(Before Mr. Justice Blackburn.)
MURDER.

osaetge ,
the
John Grant was indicted for the wilful murder of Philip
Boobier, at Plymstock, on the 9th of June.
Mr. Lopes and Mr. Clark were counsel for the prosecu-
tion, and Mr. Bere for the prisoner.
I ra pwpaesa edp
rfirvoamt e the
tin
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rt
ehde
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sona
T ofh e dae
labourceas ed
nwga smaa
n v littleh ob owys
s ofe epvl
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eyde aorns
the fortifications. The child was an unusually intelligent
boy, and was a great favourite with the soldiers. He left
his home about 8 o'clock on the evening of Saturday, the
9th of June, taking with him a book to read to Sergeant
Parsons. About half-past 8 o'clock the prisoner and the
boy went together to the camp, and they were afterwards
seen going to a place where the soldiers were playing at
pitch and toss. They left that place together in the direc-
tion of the spot where the body of the child was afterwards
found, but as the ground they crossed was undulating
they were soon lost sight of. About half an hour after
that the prisoner was seen by a person named Atkins re-
turning, but without the child. Ho went to Atkins ;he
appeared to be much agitated, and asked Atkins if there
was any Dublin man who could fight or wrestle. At
half-past nine the prisoner was seen crossing a hedge ;
he had blood on his hand and cheek, and on his
trousers. Nothing more was heard or seen of the prisoner
until four o'clock the following morning. He was then
coming from the rear of the officers' tents. The pri-
soner went into No. 7 tent. The mother of the child,
intowh o
thhaedt
ebne et.n seeking
she s
aid, ,a,lOl nh g hGtr, a
nf otl7lo
wwhe de
rteh e
haveprisoner
left my litntwlewbhbleiocryhe o?hu'e' He said he had never seen the boy.
Shortly afterwards the father of the child came and asked
sbGaertedannthait-weliamk puehat ho had done with his little boy. The prisoner
nothingse.
had
rr hebeenabout
prisoner theall nci child. i
night,
was afterwards
naTdf
thehere fatherw said
ards
he
et
taken he n
asked
had
to the
had becomeeguarid
guard-room
,3f; he for some time denied any knowledge
of the child, but after some time he said the boy had gone
with him to wash, but he was so drunk he could not tell
what
him. About 12 o'clock on Sunday the
dead body of the child was found under a furze bush in a
ditch, in the direction in which the prisoner and the child
were seen going together on the previous evening. The body
was stiff and cold. Mr. Wilson, asurgeon, was sent for, and
he examined the body and found marks of severe contu-
sions on the face, the neck, and, chest; the tongue pro-
truded. Mr. Wilson was of opinion that the wounds could
not have been caused by a fall or by accident, but must
have been inflicted by some blunt instrument and by a
repetition of blows ; no single blow could have caused the
injuries. The prisoner was apprehended and was confined
in a cell, and he then intimated a desire to make a state-
ment, and after being cautioned he said :
"On the Saturday evening I was going down to bathe. I
went across the ball-firing ground, and was told there were
rabbits and I took up a stone and flung it at a rabbit, but
accidentally struck the boy instead of the rabbit. The boy
fell from place to place. I went to him and lifted him up,
and put him on my knee for ten minutes. He then asked
me to put him down, and I did so. He did not appear to
be much l)urt. I Was going to lift him up again, but he
said No. I went to the camp. I then returned, and re-
mained with him till 3 o'clock, when he died."
Upon searching the spot near which the body was found
there was a stick apparently concealed under some grass.
The theory of the prosecution was that the prisoner left
the camp with the child, took it to the ditch, and murdered
it. That he then returned to the camp, but recollecting
that he had left the body exposed, he went back again and
put the child in a more secret spot. The prisoner had in
his statement explicitly admitted that he had caused the
ro o
proved
the
byprisoner.
several
witnesses.
The
death of the child, and the only question, therefore, was
whether the jury believed the death had been caused by
the wilful
above or
accidental
facts
Mr. Bere addressed the jury for the prisoner, urging with
great force the utter want of motive for the act.
Mr. Justice Blackburn having summed
up,
the jury re-
tired for an hour, and then found the prisoner guilty, and
w ere actp d
he was sentenced to death.

STRIKE IN A LUNATIC ASYLUM.---The Dundee
Advertiser has a comical story about the inmates of
the asylum at Murthly. The. male inmates are employed
in the garden, and to do odd jobs about the premises. Re-
cently, however, ono of their number found a newspaper
giving an account of the Clyde strike. He read the news
to his fellows, and they at once decisively struck work.
The efforts of the superintendents were of no avail. At
length Mr. M'lntosb, medical superintendent, on hearing
how matters stood, went to the men and suggested they
should send a deputation to address him on the subject.
Immediately about half a dozen marched up to the doctor,
stated their grievances at much length, and demanded more
pay and shorter hours. The doctor said it was perfectly
true they had a great grievance of which to complain—
provisions were high in price, and the hours of labour were
by far too long in this warm weather, and then put his
hand in his pocket and handed the deputation half-a-crown.
This gave complete satisfaction. The deputation returned,
informed their associates of their success, and the whole
resumed work immediately. Though it might be expected
the joke don't end here. The doctor happened to pass the
men some hours later, when he Was accosted by the man to
whom he handed the half crown. He took the doctor aside
and told him in confidence, " They are a set of disagree-
able shields, and were quarrelin' and wrauglin' wha shud
it's
_owingtThtehourntrhsodettitbonusoifnews&hicohf
hsuephpaldy
ghiavve:
keep the half-croon. There back to you, doctor, to
keep it for us yoursel'."
JA3IAICA.
Thursday, Mr. Gilpin was unable
to no
g bringbeen
notice. lie has accordingly given notice :or Tuesday next.
inconlacsltudneidghotn