The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-05 00:00:00

MURDER AND SUICIDE.

An inquest has been held at Leicester on the bodies of
Emma Stone 'Crofts, aged 34, and Amy, her -daughter.
The mother of the child for many years past had led a
loose and immoral life. About seven years ago she was at
some open-air movement, when a young man named
Charles Crofts, of respectable,: position, a clerk in a
solicitor's office in the town, fell in love with and
married her. They lived together but a little time, as
her husband, on finding that she was leading a profli-
gate life, abandoned her, went to America, and has not
since been heard of. About two-and-a-half years ago she
was taken to by a man named Preston living at Grantham,
with whom she seems to have stayed up to within the past
six months, and by whom she had the deceased child, who
had attained the age of 1 year and 7 months. Since her
return to Leicester she had again indulged in dissolute
habits, had frequently been seen in a state of intoxication,
and had often been heard to say that she would destroy the
child and herself too. On Wednesday her sister happened
to go into the house of her parents in Sandiacre•street, and
was nursing the child in question, when deceased snatched
it out of her arms, and said, " Give me my child, and I'll do
for it and myself." She then took out of her pocket a
bottle containing a dark fluid and endeavoured to swallow
its contents, but both it and the child were wrested from
her. She, however, took another bottle from her pocket
and was about to drink the contents, when it was also taken
from her, and also a caster from her pocket, which were all
found to contain laudanum. On Saturday morning she re-
turned home about one o'clock, and seeme d very strange. She
had several glasses of ale during the day, and about six o'clock
in the evening, while her mother was feeding the child, she
snatched it out of her lap and ran out with it ; but as it was
supposed she was going to a neighbour's no further notice was
taken of the act. A few minutes afterwards she was seen
by aman named Joseph Rudkin passing down the street
towards the canaL Fearing that something was wrong,
he watched and followed her for some &lance. After
looking about in various directions, she turned her back
towards the Abbey and ran towards the canal side.
Rudkin followed her, and shouted, " What are you going

to do ?" but she rushed onward, and before he could get
near to her hurled the child, which she had in her arms,
into the water. She then threw her bonnet and child's
hood aside, and rushed into the water herself. Rudkin then
went to his own premises and procured a drag, and was
using it, endeavouring to reach the deceased, when, with
. .

the excitement, he let it slip through his hands into the
water. Assistance having arrived, he went to his yard.
loosened a boat, and pushed it towards the floating bodies.
He soon succeeded iu rescuinv the child, which was still
alive, and which was taken into his house and properly
attended to, but expired soon. In a few minutes he secured
his drag, and with it brought out the deceased woman,
whose body had floated some distance down the stream,
and must have been in the water from twenty to thirty
minutes. Life was quite extinct. Rudkin also stated that
about a week since he was the means of preventing the
deceased committing a similar act, when she said, " If I
had got into the water no ono would have known anything
about it."

The jury returned a verdict that the deceased woman
committed both acts while in an unsound state of mind,
brought about by her intemperate and profligate habits.

THE MURDER IN DUMFRIES,

We yesterday reported a horrible murder from Dumfries-
shire. The circumstances of the case are of great atrocity.
The little girl who was the victim of this fearful crime is
named Thomasina Scott, the daughter of John Scott,
shoemaker, at the village of Cummertrees, about three
miles and a half north of Annan, and was one of a family
of eleven children. She was a smart little girl, and her
mother had been in the habit of sending her to Annan on
Saturdays to make some household purchases ; and on
Saturday forenoon, about twenty minutes past ten o'clock,
she was despatched upon her weekly errand. Half-way
between Cummertrees and Annan stands a lonely cottage
—Longford Cottage—inhabited by a farm servant named
Creighton, who is employed on a neighbouring farm.
There the little girl called for shelter. A young man,
named Robert Smith, or Colvin, was sitting in the kitchen
talking to Mrs. Creighton, who was the only other person
in the house. He had been engaged in harvest upon the
af'j ,ining farm, and was therefore acquainted with the
people of the district. When the little girl entered he
asked whither she was going, and, hearing she was going
to Annan, said he would accompany her on tho road.
The two left the cottage together between eleven and
twelve o'clock. The girl was never again seen alive, ex-
cept
by Smith. The prisoner next appears upon the scene
between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, when he
re-entered Longford Cottage, in which Mrs. Jane Creighton
(whose maiden name was Patterson) was then engaged in
washing and scrubbing the kitchen floor. He struck
her a heavy blow with a stick, or some such instru-
ment, and having thus stunned her he seems to have
rushed upon her with a pocketknife, with which he
inflicted coins severe wounch upon the unfortunate
woman, cutting her throat acro33 in front, and inflicting
two other scr:)r.s wounds upon the side and back of her
neck. The blood flowed copiously, as the appearance of
the floor amply :hewed afterwards. He then dragged the
wounded woman into a back room, she struggling ; but
while he was intent upon ccunpleting -the horrible murder
he had commenced, two little boys who were passing on
the road with a donkey cart, on their way to the farm
where Creighton worked, called at Longford Cottage with
a message for Creighton's wife. They knocked loudly at
the door, but could obtain no answer. The noise, how
ever, had the effect of alarming Smith, who seems to
have desisted from his murderous work, for the woman
soon came staggering to the door with her face covered
with blood and with blood streaming down from her neck.
The boys, alarmed at the horrible sight, call _l a shepherd
from the neighbouring fields, 4nd in the meantime the
prisoner rushed out of the house-door and was seen by
the boys, who recognised him, he having been working on
the same farm during the harvest. He ran across the rail-
way, and was there afterwards seen washing his hands by
some railway labourers, among whom was a brother of
the little girl who had been murdered. He then disap-
peared. Assistance was rendered to the half-murdered
woman ; the police authorities at Annan were communi-
catal wall, and t'ie county constabulary at once com-
menced a search for the prisoner on the charge of the

murderous assault upon Jane Creighton. The fate of
the little girl Scott had not then been ascertained ;
but the news of the assault upon the woman having
been spread, the parents of the little girl became alarmed
for her safety. They heard that she had been on the road
with the prisoner and, as the child did not return home
when she was expected, a search was commenced by
lantern-lig7 t. Inquiry at Annan shelved that she had not
been there ; and the roadside and neighbouring plantations
were then carefully examined. At a place about half a
mile south of Longford Cottage traces were first dis-
covered. There, by the side of a plantation, marks
were found of a violent struggle ; and, crossing the
palings and entering the wood, the searchers found the
little girl lying murdered. There was a mark around her
neck, sheaving that she had been strangled by a thin
ligature —probably a leathern boot-lace—and the
condition of her clothes and person sheaved but too

plainly that a horrible violation of her person had been
comm:tted before she had been murdered. The police were
now informed of this second outrage, and they continued
their search with redoubled eagerness. -Under the direction
of Mr. Jones, the chief constable of the county constabu-
lary, the whole country round was scoured by police
officers ; and intelligence was sent to Carlisle and other
places with descriptions of the suspected murderer. After
he had washed his hands in a-pool near the railway, he
had been seen skulking beneath some hedges, and he was
afterwards heard of upon the highway, but there traces
were lost. On Sunday morning, however, the police
again got upon the track of the murderer, and he was ap-
prehended about noon on Sunday, at 35, Queensberry-
street, Dumfries, where he had been lodging previously.
His clothes were found stained with blood, and his under-
clothing was similarly marked ; and' a leathern shoe-lace
tied in a noose was found in his pocket. The little girl
had been robbed of about 103., the purse being found rifled
near her body ; and some money was found upon the pri-
soner. The prisoner, Robert Smith, alias Colvin, is be-
tween 19 and 20 years of age. He is a native of Eagles•
field, near Kirtlebridge, in Dunifriesshire.

Dr. Deane, Q.C., has been appointed Admiralty
Advocate, in the place of Sir Travers Twiss, who resigned
on his appointment as Queen's Advocate.
DEBT AND DOWER. —ln a case heard at the
Assize Courts, Manchester, it was shewn that the e3tate of
a deceased gentleman who had died intestate was insolvent,
and the question before the court was as to the priority of
claim of the widow and creditors respectively. The judge
decided that the widow was entitled to dower out of the
balance in priority ever ordinary creditors.
TH2. RAVNG op POLICEMEN AND POSTMEN.—

Mr. Bowater, a letter carrier of the Birmingham Post
Of!ice, has receivel the feowing reply from the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer in answer to a question as to
whether the supposed exemption of policemen from
rating extends also to postmen :—" Downing-street,
rel,ruary 1, 1803.—Sir, in reply to your letter of the
30th of January, I am directed by the Chancellor of the
Exchequer to inform you that policemen are only exempt
from rates when they occupy a police station or building
used for public purposes, in which they are required to
reside in discharge of their official duties.—l am, ail;
your obedient servant, MONTAGUE CORRT. Mr, Henri
Bowater."

NA V. IL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

The armour-plated iron turret-ship Monarch, 6
guns, 5,100 tons, 1,100-horse power, building at
Chatham dockyard, the only turret-ship under con-
struction in either of the Royal shipbuilding yards,
was commenced shortly after the keel of the Her-
cules was laid down, in the latter part of 1866. A
variety of causes have, however, contributed to pre-
vent the turret-ship being pushed forward with that
rapidity which has characterised the construction of
the llercules, and fully 12 months more are likely to
elapse before the Monarch will have a gun on board,
or be ready to proceed on her experimental cruise.
Although nominally intended to represent a power-
ful ship on the turret principle the " improvements"
and alterations made in her design—for which it is

only fair to remark the members of the late Ad-
miralty are chiefly responsible—have been so many
and frequent that the principal advantages of the
turret principle have been entirely sacrificed to the
prejudices of naval officials connected with the Ad-
miralty, and for which the constructing department
of the Board is in no way responsible. The chief
distinguishing feature in the Monarch is the great
comparative height of her free-board, or, in other
words, the height of her sides out of the water,
which from her water-line to her upper deck are 14
feet, or more than double the height of American
turret ships, as well as those building for European
Powers. In the turret-ship Captain, building for
the Admiralty at the yard of Messrs. Laird, at
Birkenhead, under the sole superintendence of Capt.
_ _ _

Coles, the free board is carried to a height of 9 feet,
the additional height being, it is understood, in-
sisted upon by the Admiralty. Another important
deviation from the accepted theory of a true turret-
ship has been in the placing of a huge topgallant
forecastle on the Monarch's upper deck—a strikingly
novel feature, insisted upon by the Admiralty in
opposition to the remonstrances of the officials con-
nected with the department of the Controller of the
Navy, to whom the designs of the Monarch are
credited—the effect of which will be that the turret
guns will only be enabled to sweep a portion of the
deck, instead of having an all round fire. The
mechanics are busily engaged in the construction of
the turrets, which are now being carried up to the
upper deck. The turrets alone will absorb 177 tons
of 10-inch and 8-inch armour-plating, the maximum
thickness of 10-inch plating being fixed in that part
of the turret close to the gun, and plates of Bin. in
thickness in the remaining parts. The 10-inch
plates will be laid on a backing of teak timber Biu.
in thickness, and the 8-inch plates on a similar back-
ing of 10in. iu thickness. Behind the timber back-
ing will come a skin of i-inch iron plating, fastened
to 7-inch girders, with au inner plating tin. in
thickness, the total thickness of iron and wood in
the turrets being 2f t. 2iin. Along the entire broad-
side of the vessel protecting the turrets will be laid
armour-plating of 7in. in thickness, laid in five tiers,
with a single tier of plates 6in. in thickness. All
the plates are of the best rolled iron, from the esta-
blishment of Messrs. John Brown and Co., and
Messrs. Cammell and Co., of Sheffield. The total
quantity of armour-plating protecting the Monarch's
sides will be 1,380 tons, of which about two-thirds
have already been bolted to her sides. From the
central broadside aft the plates range from a thick-
ness of 7in. to 4iin., with a minimum thickness of
Sin. under the counter. Forward the plates taper
from 7in. to 4in., with the exception of the third
tier, in which none of the plates are less than Sin.
in thickness. The armament of the Monarch, as
at present decided upon by the Admiralty, will con-
sist of a couple of 22-ton guns in each of the turrets,
the foundations for the platforms being already
laid in each turret. In addition to these, however,
and as a compensation for the Monarch not being
able to fire her turret guns directly ahead or astern,
a 6i-ton gun will be placed in the bow and stern.
both guns firing in a line with the vessel's keel, and
each protected by armour-plating. These guns will
complete the Monarch's armament, while the height
of the turrets above the water will enable the guns
to have a greater range of training than could
otherwise be obtained. The Monarch will be a full-
rigged ship, her running gear being worked from
the upper deck as an ordinary vessel, the fore and
aft bridge, or hurricane deck, usually seen in turret-
e
n
rs.
ships not being
fteaoir,efn:teennspqor uetnehli
Deptford-pier,
elntytfdaop.:
r)oldeb:vsuprels
tt
he
jemaanbciallidelenth)othi
r‘fnvra.eyielryl
slty:
being
eii
Ten-
nant,i
euiop troos ealaiobonforcsulmetCpasoo:x.uw,
that the vessel shall steam at a mean speed of working
knotsyespteerrday hour.
the shipwrights at Chatham dockyard
commenced preparations for the launch of the iron-
clad frigate Hercules, which takes place on Satur-
day nexpta,
dshdloerwtlhyeael teftenranap
mid-day.shi
The
Buzzard, 6, Staff
Commander J. G. 11. Thain, from Queenstown,
arrived in Plymouth Sound on Monday, and is now
in
ABaNrrenrpyoolalrwgeaiftoinrgeeoisrders.
expected at Aldershot dur-
ing the ensuing season. Among other regiments
to arrive at the Camp are named the Ist battalion
the
th2ed
abrraitvtaallioonf
the
stehgiFtnuesnitl,ierfsr,orafroEmdi
Dovernburgb;,
42d Highlanders from India ; the 2d battalion 7th
Regiment, from Bury ; the 2d battalion Bth Regi-
ment, from Malta, to arrive about the 22d inst. ;
the 2d battalion 13th, from Portland ; the Ist bat-
talion 20th, from Devonport ; the 2d battalion 22d,
from Newcastle ; the 31th, from Portsmouth ; the
57th, from Manchester; the 97th, from Portsmouth
the 10th Hussars, from Newbridge, early in March ;
the 3d Hussars, from Hounslow, to give over their
horses prior to departure to India ; the Gth Innis-
fromc York,amp and the sth Dragoon togointo temporary
Guards,
ystables
Northin the
from Colchester, to occupy the East Cavalry Bar-
r
regiments lately arrived, and to ar-
rai
vcek,sh.
emSeevwerila will also
also be moved to Aldershot during
the year, among others the 2d battalion 3d Buffs,
27th, 35th, and 67th Regiments,
and
2d
Rifle Brigade. A number of militiaregimebnattst,atloioan,
will be sent to the Camp for the usual 28 days'
training, making altogether a force equalled only in
of officers, composed of Col.
theAearrelgyinideayntsaolfhtohaerdCoa
C. W. Adair, Royal Marines Light Infantry, pre-
sident ; Major J. C. Jervoise, 3d Depot Battalion ;
and Major J. Thompson, 50th Queen's Own Regi-
ment, assembled at Chatham garrison yesterday,
for the examination of the following officers of the
Royal Engineers as to their qualifications for pro-
motion :—Lieut. S. C. Turner, Lieut. G. J. Jack-
son, Lieut. D. C. Courtney, Lieut. W. 11. Purcell,
Lieut. V. F. Garwood. and Lieut. 11. S. F. Hayns.
One hundred and eighty non - commissioned
officers and gunners of the 2d Division, Depot Bri-
gade, Royal Artillery, arrived at Sheerness yester-
day from Warley, to augment the strength of the
Ist Division, which has been lately considered re-
duced by large draughts having left for India to join
their respective Brigades.
Messrs. Kirk, building contractors to the War
Department in the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, on
the foundations of the
sSealt,eunr dnaiya
gcaortinnienseriecsredderle3dyintog be erected on the river
bank in the Arsenal marsh. They are to be bomb-
proof, and detached from each other by lofty mounds
of earth, to guard against injury in case of acci-
dental explosion. They are intended for filling
and preparing live shells and 40-pounder gun cart-
ridges.
In addition to the metropolitan police on duty at
the dockyard and naval establishments at Chatham
having the charge of the ordnance establishment,
the armoury, and the magazines and stores of am-
munition at Upnor Castle, another duty has been
imposed on them, by direction of the Secretary of
State for War, the charge of the Royal Engineer
tieldworks, which cover a considerable extent of
ground at Chatham. This duty it has been found
necessary for them to discharge in consequence of
the great injury occasioned to the fieldworks by
unauthorised persons trespassing on the Crown
lands, as well as the depredations and thefts which
are constantly occurring. The charge of the Royal
Engineer fieldworks by the police commenced on
Saturday, a force of men being now on the ground
both by day and n'ght. It is needless to add that
this arrangement is in no way connected with
Fenianism. _ •

The Danae, 6, screw sloop, Captain Sir Malcolm