The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-10 00:00:00

THE MURDER NEAR LEEDS.

It was briefly stated in The Sun of Monday that
a respectable man named Richard Broughton, aged
67 years, had been robbed and murdered on Satur-
day afternoon about 5 o'clock between Leeds and
the village of Roundhay. On Monday afternoon
an inquest was commenced before Mr. Jewison, the
coroner of the district, into the circumstances of the
case, and from the evidence adduced and other
sources of information the following particulars
were obtained :—The deceased, who had formerly,
been an office-keeper to an attorney in. Leeds, re-
sided in Rose-cottage-yard, in the pretty and some-
what aristocratic village of Roundhay, about three
miles from Leeds. He lived upon his means, having,
it is understood, saved enough money to keep him-
self without work. He dressed very respectably,
and it is probable that his assailant, or assailants,
judged from his appearance that he was a " gentle-
man," and that he had more money upon him than
he really had ; for it appears he had only a florin
in his pocket, and a German silver watch. With
these in his possession he left home about 20
minutes to 5 o'clock, for the purpose of walking to
Leeds to buy food for some ducks which he kept..
On leaving home he proceeded along a lane called
Horseshoe-lane until he entered a footpath which
strikes from the high road across several fields, and
leading from the village of Seacroft to Leeds, and
had gone about three-quarters of a mile before any-
thing happened to him. He had reached the top
of an oat field, and was on the point of crossing the
stile into a field called Ox-pasture, which is only
two fields distant from the residence of Mr. D.
Lupton, one of the Leeds borough magistrates,
men,agistrates,
when he was attacked, probably by two
of whom was armed with a bludgeon. Twoone
from this instrument rendered Mr. Broughton blows
in-
sensible. He had fallen upon a hawthorn hedge,
but the ruffians had continued their violence, and
five wounds were inflicted upon the skull, one of
them fracturing the bone. The thieves had theh
ransacked the pockets of their victim, and had
gained possession of his watch, but they had
probably been disturbed (the road being much
frequented), for they had left the florin behind
them. The old man did not long remain in a state
of unconsciousness, and on gaining his feet, al-
though he appears to have been in a state of con-
siderable excitement, he continued his walk to-
wards Leeds. Four or five lads, who were going
to bathe, walked along with him for upwards of
half a mile, and he then turned round- and pro-
ceeded homewards. Blood was running rapidly
from the wounds in the head, and a person who saw
him described him as having the appearance of a
man upon whom a bucket of blood had been thrown.
When the unfortunate man arrived at the bottom
of the field below the Ox-pasture, he was met by
William Edward Barber, the son of Mr. Barber,
farmer, and a neighbour. Blood was then flowing
freely from his temples, and Barber asked him
what was the matter. He made no reply, but on
Barber taking off Broughton's hat he observed
several wounds in his head. He was then evi-
dently exhausted, and could hardly speak beyond
the exclamation, " Two men, two men," thus inti-
mating that they were the authors of the injuries
he had received. Barber inquired, " Have they
robbed you P" and the old man replied, " Two shil-
lings," taking the florin out of his pocket, and then
returning it. Barber had to go a little further, and
Broughton said he thought he was able to walk
home. Barber said he would overtake him, but
the poor fellow was in such a state of nervous and
mental excitement that he could scarcely control
his actions, and he walked home at so rapid a pace
that young Barber was unable again to come up
with him. 'Arrived at home, the dangerous nature
of the injuries Broughton had received were im-
mediately apparent, and a messenger was de-
spatched to Leeds for Mr. W. Hay, surgeon.
Unfortunately Broughton was never in such a
state of mind after the attack as to be enable
him to give any connected account of the
manner in which he had been assaulted, or
any description of his assailants ; and in an
hoar or two after he reached home he relapsed into
a state of insensibility, from which he never ral-
lied. Mr. Barber was called into the house of the
deceased immediately after his return. home, and

he asked Broughton who had attacked him P He
replied, " Two men ; one went up the hill slowly
before me, till he got to the top ; then another man
met us from another road (possibly by trespassing
across the fields) ; and then one of them struck me
twice over the head. I know nothing more." The
only description he could give of the men was, that
0110 was a young man, and the other older. Tile
Rev. Mr. Davis, who was in the neighbourhood at
the time Broughton returned home, pent some
time with the unfortunate man in administering to
him spiritual consolation. He gave to the rev.
gentleman an account of the fatal transaction sour"
what similar to that detailed above. He said,
" There were two men. One went by me ; the
other struck me over the head twice. They were
dressed somewhat like working men. One had
a jacket on, I think." Mr. Hay arrived at Round-
hay between eight and nine o'clock on Saturday
evening, and discovered that Broughton, who was
then insensible, was suffering from four or five cuts
on the head, one of which had fractured his skull.
He never rallied, and died at 25 minutes to two
o'clock on Sunday afternoon. The place where
the murderous assault was committed was a Per'
feet pool of blood, and on the hedge and stile were
portions of skin and hair, which showed the cha-
racter of the attack. After the examination of five
witnesses the inquest was adjourned till Wednesday,
the 17th inst.
By the authority of the Mayor of Leeds (Sir
Peter Fairbairn) and Mr. D. Lupton one of the
magistrates, placards were issued on Sunday after-
noon offering a reward of £5O for such infor-
mation as may lead to the detection of the
offenders ; but up to yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon
no one had been apprehended. Mr. English, the ehlet
constable of Leeds, and the local officers of the
West Riding constabulary have used active exer-
tions to discover some clue which may lead to the
detection of the perpetrators of this foul crime, but
at present slight hopes are entertained of any
material evidence being obtained to bring the
offence home to the guilty parties. A man who ..
some particulars corresponded with the very 11°-
perfect description given by the unfortunate de-
ceased of his assailants was seen lying on the grass
near the scene of the murder just about the time
Mr. Boughton must have been attacked ; and Mr°.
Ann Littlewood, housekeeper to Mr. Roebuck,
Wesleyan minister, York-road, Leeds, in passing
along the footpath also observed this man in
Puzzling-field, close to the place of the attack,
about the same time. She IN as walking towards
Leeds, and on reaching Mr. D. Lupton's park she
met the boys who afterwards were the first to
observe deceased. This would lead to the inference
that the deceased had been following Mrs. Little-
wood, and that he must have been attacked when
she was at no great distance. So daring an cot;
rage, committed in open daylight on a public an
much-frequented footpath, and so near a large
town, has rarely been perpetrated.

COUNTRY MARKBTR.

LIVERPOOL—Aua. 9.

\Vo had a fair attendance of millers and dealers at our
corn exchange this morning, and the demand for both wheat
and flour was quite in retail, holders being forced to rell-,5
quish the advance obtained yesterday. Indian corn 11°"'
only a moderate inquiryat prices the turn in buyers' favour.
Oats and oatmeal are still difficult to move, and DO
qualities irregular in value. Egyptian beans improved 6d
per qr over previous prices. Peas and barley at late rate,,,, s'
The reaction from the improvement of yesterday may `""
attributed to the fine weather and the quiet tone of Alan'
lane.

BRISTOL—Ana. 9.
In the sales of wheat at to-day's market an advance of 2°
was obtained on late rates. The trade showed considerable
excitement, and a large business was done.

SHEFFIELD—Auo. 9.
There was only a small show of wheat:to-day, and holder
asked an advance, which was not generally conceded. The
extreme prices of last week, however, were maintained'
Good samples of new oats from Nottinghamshire were
offered at 29s to 30s per qr. Beans scarce.
a
Red wheat, per load of 3 imperial bushels...l6s 6d to 178 i
White
...18s 6d to 2000,
7) 91
Peas, per qr "
Beans
Grinding
barley, per qr 33s Od to 359 ,„n"
Malting ditto, . . 33s Od to 35s Od
)
Oats . 24s Od to 32s u'
. . .
4188ss 00 dd tt oo 2641: Orli •

14111.illers' prices for flour—ls 7d, is
9d, and is
lid
Per
Hay, 80s to 85s ; wheat straw, 28s to 365; oat straw, 25.
to 3Gs ; turnips, 14s to 16s per ton.

LEEDS—Au G. 9. w
The show of wheat is good, and prices were at Frida'l
i.
currency, with a fair sale. Barley nominal. Beans, Olt
and other articles steady, with a limited demand. Sin',
Saturday much rain has fallen in this neighbourhood, but
we have a return of fine weather this morning.

Averages for the week :
Wheat 3,268 qrs., at 46s ld
8ar1ey......... ~ —s Oil
Peas
Beans
Oats 95 „ 26s 3id
Rye 36 - „ 3ls oicl