The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-23 00:00:00

;11

THE ATTEMPTED DOUBLE MURDER
AND SUICIDE AT GOOLE.
'We find the following additional particulars of
this case in the Manchester Examiner and limes :
—The prisoner, Mrs. Torkington, is the wife of a
police-officer residing at Stockport, but was on a
visit to her mother, Mrs. Scholes, Lower Bridge-
street,l Goole, where she has been living since the
9 thof July last. At the inquest, which was holden
on
Th ursay afternoon, at the Sydney Hotel, Goole,
the honour of
before J. dHa Simpson, Esq., M.D., the coroner for
Pontefract, the following particulars
were elicited :
Mr. It. P. Bell said—l am in practice as a sur-
geon in Goole. About two o'clock on Wednesday
morning Mrs. Scholes called me up to attend her
daughter. I went at once, and found a young child
apparently in a profound sleep. The mother was
sitting in a chair in the same room, talking in a
wild and wandering way, and was making efforts
tb vomit. I examined the child, and found its pulse
feeble and intermittent, and its skin cold and
c!ammy, with the eyelids shut and the pupils con-
tracted. I asked the grandmother what they had
been giving to the child, and she replied,
daughter says she has given them a penny worth of
opium." lat once gave an emetic, but this had no
effect. I gave a second wilh the like result. I then
used the stomach pump, but I was still unable to
give relief. In passing the tube the child vomited
a small quantity of mucus. The child died about
seven a.m. When I was first called in the child
was in a very dangerous state, and there was
no possible chance of saving its life.
I applied
every remedy I knew without effect. I
have performed a post mortem examination on the
body. I produce the contents of the stomach, and
on examining it I found a strong smell of opium.
I found a brown powder secreted among the mucus
taken from the stomach. I am sure that powder was
poison, and that the child came to its death from
an overdose of opium, or some other narcotic
poison, such as opium or laudanum. I have
tested the contents of the stomach by test paper,
and find an acid reaction. I heard that the
prisoner had another child, aid when I inquired
for it she said it was upstairs all right. I sent
her to fetch it downstairs, and then saw that it
was suffering from the effects of opium. It was
then staggering, and in a very nervous state. I
gave him an emetic, and one to his mother, and
afterwards repeated them, which caused free
vomiting. I ordered them some strong coffee, and
had them walking about for some time. The boy
was kept in motion from my first visit until five
or six o'clock in the evening. He is now better,
and the mother has also recovered from the effects
of the opium, but she is in a very unsettled state of
mind. The prisoner told me that she had bought a
drachm of opium, which cost her 31d., and that
they had all taken it.
Mrs, Mary Scholes, the prisoner's mother, said,
—Mary Torkington, the deceased, is my grandchild,
and was a year and seven months old. My daughter
came to me on the 16th of July last. I was over at
Stockport on the Bth July, and told her husband,
to bring her, as I thought she was " silly mad,"
and the change might do her good. On the 18th inst.
my son-in-law came home about two o'clock a.m.
and I got up to let him in. At that time I heard
the child moaning. I was in the same bed
with it and its mother. I took hold of the child, and
thought it was ill, and went at once for Dr. Bell.
He gave it medicine, and used the stomach pump,
but it died about seven o'clock thesame morning. I
asked my daughter what she had been doing to the
child, and at first she said, " Nothing." I said, "If
thou doesn't tell me I will knock thee down." She
then said, "We have all had a pennyworth of
opium, and shall be dead directly." She seemed
quite in high spirits over it. I sent for Sergeant
Greenwood, and in company with my daughter we
w ent to the shop where she said she had purchased
the opium. I did not know of her buying any, and
believe she was not in the habit of taking it.
She was very fond of her children, and always
afraid any one should injure them. My
daughter was in the Stockport Infirmary in Juno
last. She had then been attempting to hang her-
self. I have often taken her children away from
her, but she has found and brought them back. If
she went upstairs I was forced to follow her, fur
fear she should do herself an injury.
Mr. W. Steele, assistant to Mr. Leggitt, druggist,
proved that the prisoner applied to him for a quar-
ter of an ounce of opium, and that he cautioned her
several times, and asked if she knew it was a
deadly poison. She said she did, and from her
appearance he thought she was in the habit of
taking it.
The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a
verdict of wilful murder against the prisoner.
She had been remanded by the magistrates, and
will be brought before them in a day or two.

SERIOUS Cif ,RUE ,4 G.;INST A &SUR-

GEON AT BUXTON.

Mr. George Flint, surgeon, was on Saturday
brought before E. Buckley, B. Badqer, and E. W.
Wilmer, Esqs., at Buxton, charged, on remand,
with intent to murder his wife. Prisoner was tie•
commodated with a seat at the solicitors' table. He
appeared in a state of mind bordering closely upon
delirium tremens. It was mentioned that be had
been strongly delirious all the previous night.
Once or twice he looked round the crowded court,
and muttered nervously to those nearest him," ])ear,
dear, what a lot of people ?" but beyond this he
seemed to take little interest in the proceedings.
He rose, when the case was half over, apparently
under the impression that his further presence was
rot at all necessary, and was quietly walking out of
the Court until he was called back. Considerable
sympathy had been excited on the prisoner's behalf
on account of his former respectable position in
society. Most of the witnesses gave evidence
against him with reluctance, and one or two refused
to appear unless they were summoned.
James Kirkman, labourer, was first called. He
said that on Thursday morning last; about a quarter
past 11, he saw the prisoner standing at his own
door with a gun raised to his shoulder. Mrs. Flint
was running away holding a child by the hand.
Witness said, "Run, or he'll shoot you," and being
in danger himself he stepped round the corner.
Just as he did so be heard the gun fired, and on
looking out a short time afterwards, he saw Mrs.
Flint run into Mr. Jones's shop, and noticed
that there was blood up mi her cheek. The
Clerk (to the prisoner): Do you wish to
ask this witness anything ? Prisoner : No ;
the man has spoken the truth I dare say. Mrs.
Hannah Maria Bailey stated that on Thursday
morning between eleven and twelve, she was going
up Terrace road, when she met the prisoner, who
was very tipsy and could scarcely walk. He had a
gun in his hand, and witness asked him if the gun
was loaded. He replied, " It is, with a cap on ; lam
going to shoot my wife." Witness said nothing
more, but walked on.—The Clerk : Have you any
question to ask this witness ? Prisoner : No, I
don't remember it at all.—James Whieldon, butcher,
stated that about eleven o'clock, near the Catholic
Chapel, he met the prisoner, who said, " I am going
to fetch the gun to shoot lane." Witness told him
he must not do that, and, seeing ho was drunk, he
asked him how he would get the gun. The prisoner
answered, "I shall tell my brother I am going to
shoot a cat." He added, "that if he was not the death
of his wife, she would be the death of him."—Edwin
Ball, assistant with Mr. William Flint, chemist, the
prisoner's brother, stated that the prisoner came to
the shop about eleven o'clock on Thursday morning,
and asked for the gan, as he was going to shoot a
cat. Witness told him to come again, when Mr.
hsaimid hilv weouitl.d nTothgeo
prisoner
tr
on
Flint was in, but as the prisoner persisted in de-
manding
uingittimheagteulny l, andet
loaded the gun with a very small
quantity
and a small quantity of
powder, and
went oofushtoo shot
the shop with it.--A police officer here entered
the court, and informed the Magistrates that
Mrs. Flint could not be found—Prisoner
hastily : " not been at home to-day, so I
can't have seen her."—Mr. Jan A. Pearson fsaid
that he was called in to see Mrs. Flint at Mr.
Jones's. She was in a state of great fright and
agitation, and was wounded on the right side of her
back, near the shoulder blade, on the back of her
right arm, and on the outer side of her jaw there
was one shot wound. Her arm was bruised by
the wadding. The wounds appeared to have
been made by small shot. None of them were
dangerous at the time. The shots had pene-
trated very deep. He could not find any of
them.—The prisoner being asked if he had any-
questions to put to the witness, remarked that it4l
might as well be stated that the shots were beat tleavie
because sometimes shot entered in a body andrdp
the
a hole.—Joseph Clayton, draper, said
shot fired, and ran out and took the
du barrel weA
glienhfrom the
prisoner. He asked him if the
t reencrror,e
trying it lie
loaded. He said it was not, anscro7
found this was the ease.—George Flo g —r,
proved seeing the prisoner fire the gun. He selint began to run, and then
to hesitate till Mrs. F
emed
turning the corner.
he fired just:as she
for trialn- '-
was committed at the nce,:t
his defence,
The prisoner, who declined to say anything
Derby assizes.

OBJECTS OF GOVERNMENT.-- What is the object
of all government ? The object of all government is roast
mutton, potatoes, claret, a stout constable, an honest jus •
ice, a clear highway, a free chapel. What trash to be
bawling in the ctreots about the green Isle, the Isle of the
Ocean, the bold anthem of " Erin go bragh 1" A far
better anthem would be Erin go brezd and cheese, Erin go cabins that will keep out the rain, Eriu go pantaloolni without boles in them,-6'ydney