The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-01 00:00:00

TILE BILSTON MURDER.

The inquest on the body of John Bagott, tailor,
of Church-street, Bilston, was held yesterday after-
noon, before Mr. W. 11. Phillips, the Deputy-
Coroner.

The body was identified by Superintendent
111Trea.

Eliza Rawnes deposed that she acted as deceased's
housekeeper. She also worked for him as a
" tailoress." She used to go to his house in the
morning and at night. On Saturday, at 9in the
morning, a commercial traveller of Bristol, named
Richards, took him out to have something to drink,
and brought him home at 6 in the evening quite
drunk. He fell down when he got into the sit.
ting-room, but partially recovered afterwards,
and went into the shop. A large number of
people went into the shop during the evening.
Afterwards she fetched him a bottle of
wine and two quarterns of whisky. After the
shop was shut- he turned upon her the key of the
door leading into Stafford-street. The witness
closed the back door herself. Her master always
kept all the keys belonging to the house upon her
person. Before she left he said he was very sorry
for putting her about so much during the day. By
that time he seemed mush recovered, and he told
her where he had been, and what he had had to
drink. At Bor 9 o'clock on Sunday morning one
of her neighbours went into the house and told her
that she had heard that Mr Bagott had been mur-
dered. A policeman fetched her down to the house,
and she saw the deceased lying with his head to-
wards the door, and she remarked a bruise on his
chin and that his neck was as if it had been pressed
upon by some one. The bottle of port wine was
in his bedroom upstairs in a drawer. All the shelves
and drawers in the shop seemed to have been ran-
sacked, She saw a window broken belonging to
the back kitchen. The cellar grating had been raised,
which was immediately under the sitting room.
The Coroner suggested that the other portions of
the premises should be examined.

The Chief Constable of Staffordshire (Col. Hogg)
s:lid he was going to have a map and model of the
premises made. _ _ _

Witness continued—A large quantity of property
was stolen from the house on the night in question,
and she had seen several articles in the hands of
the police which she could identify as belonging to
the deceased. The hammer produced was the one
with which she was accustomed to break the coal,
and she used it last on the Saturday preceding the
day on which tho deed was committed. She was
quite sure the deceased was sober enough to under-
st and when she left the house. He had drunk during
the night only a pint of ale and a gill of whisky.
A police-sergeant deposed that he was the first
person who received information. He received it
at about 4 o'clock on Sunday morning. He found
a quantity of cloth and men's wearing apparel in
Mr. Beard's entry, and observed that the de-
ceased's house had been broken open. On entering
the sitting room he found the gas was burning
with a glimmering light. It was turned on very low.
The light was not sufficient to show the contents of
the room. On going to the other side he found the
deceased on the ground, with his shoulder reclining
on the left side of the body. The head lay over the
fender, which supported his left shoulder. Both his
hands were under him. The fire poker was left
across his neck in a slanting position, the square t nd
uppermost, but at that time winless did not observe
any mark on his neck. He raised him up and took
the stock from his neck, and his head fell upon his
chest. Deceased was quite warm. On placing his
his (witness's) hand over his heart he thought he felt
a little twitching or moving; he therefore sent for a
surgeon, and Mr. Larkin came, but pronounced him
to be quite dead. Witness sent for Superintendent
I\i'Crea, and the door and premises were broken open,
and found ransacked, as the other witness had de-
scribed. On entering deceased's bedroom with Mr.
M•Crae they found the carpet on fire. There was
burning on the carpet a piece of new cloth, and the
carpet had become ignited. In his opinion the fire
had been purposely occasioned, and the flames co-
vered about two and a half feet square. After put-
ting out the fire the smoke dispersed, and they
searched the room. They found the drawers broken
open, and their contents, with the opened cash-box,
on the bed, which also had been turned up. The
hammer produced they found at the foot of the bed.
The store-room, which was close to the bedroom, had
also been burst open, and the shop had been entered
and the property from some of the shelves taken
down. _ _ _ .

.-
The Chief Constable now applied that the inquest
might be adjourned ; and, to meet the requirements
of the police, he thought it would be well if the ad-
journment should be for a week.
The Coroner, after saying that the inquest must
necessarily be adjourned for a post mortem exami-
nation, acceded to the application.
The tool spoken of as a hammer was a most effi-
cient implement for such a purpose as that to which
it was put by the burglars. It is indeed a hatchet,
a hammer, and a small crowbar with a cleft end all

in one, and of wrought iron.
It is a melancholy fact that this is the third mur-
der which has happened in the Bilston police dis-
trict during the past twelvemonths. The last cul-
prit, who was hanged at Stafford, murdered his
wife in Bilston.

FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE NORTH
KENT -RAILWAY.

Yesterday morning Mr. C. J. Carttar, coroner for
West Kent, held an inquiry at the Gun Tavern,
Woolwich, into the circumstances attending the
death of a young man named George Parslow, who
was frightfully mutilated near the Arsenal Station
of the North Kent Railway on the previous Thurs-
day night.
The following evidence was adduced :
William Watts, of 17, Aldridge-street, Bermond-
sey New-road, deposed on the previous Thursday
afternoon the deceased, who was employed as a
waiter at the Bull Tavern, Woolwich, called upon
him in London, and they afterwards proceeded to
Woolwich together by the North Kent Railway.
Witness left Woolwich for home by the last up
train, and the deceased accompanied him to the
Arsenal Station. He entered a third-class carriage,
and the deceased stood with his right foot on the
step of the carriage, and entered into conversation
until the train was in motion. Witness more than
once told him to get down, as it was dangerous,
but the deceased replied, " Oh, it is all right,"
and immediately endeavoured to jump back
upon the platform, when his left leg slipped down
upon the rails in front of the steps of the carriage.
The train was put back as soon as possible, when it
was found the left leg of deceased had been cut off.
Mr. Charles Adolphus Barr deposed—He is a Go-
vernment clerk, residing at 29, Princes-street,Stam-
fc.rd-street, and was a passenger by the train in
question. He saw the deceased holding on by the
carriage, and speaking to the last witness, but he
afterwards went back to the platform, and the train
was then started. After the train was in motion the
deceased again laid hold of the carriage and placed
his foot on the step, but fell whilst in the act of en-
deavouring to get back on the platform.
Mr. Bartholomew, station master, and the guard
and engine driver of the train, were examined; and
it appeared that the accident entirely arose from the
reckless conduct of the deceased, whose left leg was
cut off, and who expired on the same night at the
Ravel Ordnance Hospital.
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

THE BRIDGE ACCIDENT .AT YORK.

-_ -.1.-

Two of the missing moil who were supposed to
have been drowned in consequence of the fall of the
bridge over the Ouse, at Lendal. have been recovered
from the water, making the total number at present
ascertained to have been killed by this catastrophe
to be five. During the whole of Saturday, Sunday,
and yesterday thousands of people visited the scene
of the sad calamity, but none were allowed to ap-
proach too near, as the bridge is still considered to
be unsafe. _ _ _

Mr. Dredge, of London, the engineer, was tele-
graphed to soon after the accident, and he visited
the place on Saturday morning. Mr. Cabry, also,
the resident engiueer to the North-Eastern Railway
Company, was present, and offered his professional
services towards replacing the massive girders
thrown down.
The body of a man, named Luke Brown,was taken
from the river on Saturday afternoon, and the fol-
lowing day another corpse —that of a workman
—was recovered by means of the drags. The third
body, supposed to be that of a boy, is yet in the
water,
The inquest was held in the Guildhall, on Satur-
day afternoon, a jury of 15 being sworn. Mr. J.
P. Wood, the city coroner, conducted the inquiry,
which was as to the cause of death of the four
known to be killed. When the remaining body; is
recovered the inquest will no doubt be held upon
them all.
Mr. Shepherd, barrister, watched the ease on the
part of the Corporatior, the Lord Ma:, or also being
present. The latter gentleman expressed himself
anxious that the fullest possible investigation should
take place into the whole of the circumstances.
Mr. Dale, solicitor, attended the inquest on behalf
of Messrs. Calvert and Locking, the contractors.
. Two witnesses only were examined on Saturday,
and their evidence tended to show that every pre-
caution had been used to prevent accident by those
-'nloyed on the works.
• met again on Monday morning to'view
The jui, one or two witnesses were
- identifying the bodies.
examined for the purposes _
deckled, no 4 until Friday
The inquest was then adjourne.
the .:seene, after l'Vrh_ch
any one was culpably doubt, ~ivL".ther
negligent iu the matter,
next, when it Will be