The Sun.
London, England, 1866-08-14 00:00:00

ASSIZES INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—LIVERPOOL, Aug. 13.
CROWN SIDE.
(Before Mr. Baron Martin.)

MURDER.

Thomas Grime was placed at the bar, charged
with the wilful murder of James Barton, at Haigh,
on the 2d of January, 1863.
Mr. Aspinall, Q.C., and Mr. Fitz Adam were
counsel for the prosecution; and Mr. Pope defended

the prisoner.
This was the case of the "Wigan murder," which
has created very great interest throughout the dis-
trict, in consequence of the peculiar atrocity of the
crime and the mystery in which it continued to be
so long enveloped. James Barton, with his sons,
was an engine-tenter at the Bawk-house Colliery,
between Wigan and Chorley, and working the night
in the evening, being met on being at work. He went
shift alone on the night of the 2d of January, 1863,
tt
oh ehis workpumping at 60,
engienleocoknl
his way by his son John, who was then leaving
work, and he was never seen alive again. At half-
past 3 in the morning, when James Watman went
to relieve the deceased, he was unable to find him
anywhere about. He found the furnaces low, the
cabin adjoining empty and in darkness, and the fire
there nearly out. He was not immediately alarmed,
but on knocking up the fire in the cabin his atten-
tion was attracted by part of a burnt muffler on the
floor, and, on looking further, he found a crowbar
with blood upon it, and splashes and finger-marks
of blood upon the floor and walls. He then went
to seek the assistance of the deceased's son James,
and together they made a further search. In the
first furnace they found the ashes very white, as if
a gpantity of wood had been burnt in it, and
among them a thigh bone, arm bone, and part of a
skull, and the ashes themselves were greasy and glued
together by some substance which an analytical che-
mist afterwards pronounced to be blood. There
were also found some burnt buttons, shoe nails, a
waistband-buckle, such as the deceased was in the
habit of wearing, and two brace buckles. There
was also blood upon the dead plate of the furnace.
It was proved that Barton was wearing a watch that
night at his work.
These discoveries being made, it was clear that
Barton had been murdered, but, although a reward
and free pardon to any accomplice (not the actual
murderer) were offered by Government for a very
long time, no clue to the guilty persons was ob-
tained. After the lapse of a year, however, in con-
sequence of a statement made by a person named
Walton (called also " Stepper") that if the canal
were dragged the watch would be found there, fur-
ther notoriety was drawn to the case, and, after that
had been fruitlessly performed, a minute description
of the watch, with the number and name of the
maker, was published in the newspapers. Upon
reading this a brother of the prisoner, James Grime,
at once recognised it as a watch which had come
into his possession and been dealt with in the fol-
lowing way, and he at once took steps to recover
possession of it and deliver it to the police. It ap-
peared that Grime, the father, James, and the pri-
soner lived together at Chorley, and worked in a
factory there. A few weeks after the time of the
murder the prisoner produced to his brother James
a watch wrapped in a handkerchief, and, saying it
was one for which he had suffered 12 months at
Liverpool, asked him to pledge it for him. The
maker'S name was " Robert Crosskill, Liverpool,"
and the number " 17844." The watch was pledged
by him in the name of "John Walworth," on the
7th of April, and some time after the prisoner asked
his brother to apply for a " stop ticket," he
having lost the original ticket. This ticket
being also lost by the prisoner he told his
brother that he might get the watch out if he
could, and keep it, and James Grime got it and sold
it to a man called Akers. Upon reading the pub=
lished description of Barton's watch he at once re-
cognised it as one he had sold, and, getting it back
from Akers, delivered it to the police. It was proved
beyond question to be the deceased's watch by the
watchmaker who had repaired it for him, and who
had the name and number in his book. The father
of the prisoner was also able to say that on the night
of the murder the prisoner returned home to Chorley
between 5 and 6 in the morning.
Upon obtaining these clues an officer of the Lan-
cashire police named Peters presented himself at the
Dartmoor prison,
where
the prisoner was then serv-
ing a sentence for another felony, and charged him
with the murder at the pit. The prisoner said
nothing then, but on being brought back in the rail-
way he made the following statement : Det
William Thompson about a fortnight before the
murder of Barton near my parent's house at Eaves-
lane, Chorley." He said " Wilt thou come with me