The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-14 00:00:00

The disappearance of Mr. Speke is still a topic of public
'-comment. One writer thinks it is remarkable that his
I relatives have not yet said whether any efficient search has
been made in the house at Eccleston-square by the police ;
and it is still more remarkable that they offer no ex-
planation of the extraordinary circumstance that up
to Friday last the detective police—though they had
been in daily communication with the family, and even
engaged with them in exploring the whole neighbour-
hood—were left in ignorance of the fact that Mr.
Speke, who when last heard of was going "to West-
minster," had a sister whose town house was not only
in Westminster, but actually within a hundred yards of
the spot where the missing man's hat was discovered.
Nothing like a thorough search has yet been made in that
house. We are told that the police have made "inquiries,"
and received satisfactory " replies," and that they
are themselves " perfectly satisfied that nothing occurred
either in the house or garden." But something more
than inquiries and replies are necessary to satisfy the
public mind ; nor is it possible to attach much weight to
the mere opinion of the police, or to feel much confidence
in their exertions, when we remember that the very exis-
tence of this house remained unknown to them up to
Friday last, nearly a month after Mr. Speke's disappear-
ce.

Another correspondent writes : "The following facts
with regard to the disappearance of Mr. Speke may in
some measure account for the ineffectual search for him.
From 5.30 to 7 o'clock on the night of the Bth January
there was considerable fog in the Birdcage-walk and
Westminster. About seven o'clock the weather cleared
and frost set in, but the night was intensely dark. The
next night there was a dense fog, giving every opportu-
nity for the disposal of a body without attracting atten-
tion. Mr. Speke's friends, though they made inquiries
at the hospitals and of the police, put out no handbills
till some week or ten days after the Bth, under the impres-
sion, I believe, that be might have been suddenly called
away, and because they were unwilling to admit the horrid
suspicion that he had been foully dealt with. Thus
valuable time was lost that would give the perpetrators of
a murder a clear str.rt of ten days to r3g,t26-ve_All trace of
their crime. Even the hat was not heard of for three
weeks; and who, happening by chance to have seen a street
row some ten days before he was asked to recall the cir-
cumstance, or a gentleman without his hat, would be
able to give precise information on a subject which, in
all likelihood, made but slight impression at the time,
and was probably never thought of again ? Even the
cabman who drove him from Waterloo station seems to
have forgotten the fact, or is dead, or he surely would
come forward, if only for the sum he would possibly get
for his trouble. I fear the delay has been too much in
favour of the perpetrators of a foul murder. Knowing Mr.
Speke well, I have formed my own opinion ; which is, that
being attacked, he resisted, followed his assailants, and
was fallen on by two or three of their associates, who hit
him harder than they intended, and were able, favoured
by circumstances, to dispose of the body unseen. Have
the arches under Victoria-street, where the ground is
boarded off from the street, and is set apart for building,
been carefully searched? To some of this waste ground
children get access daily, but some of it is absolutely un-
frequented."

The Lancct says : "In a very interesting and incisive
piece of criticism published in the Spectator regarding the
mystery of Mr. Speke's disappearance, we find a sugges-
tion which is not infrequently made by persons ignorant
of the action of chloroform. Supposing Mr. Speke to
have been decoyed into a cab by any of the various
devices which have been mentioned, and then put
under the influence of chloroform, says our contempo-
rary, all would be explained. Now, it is a difficult
thing at any time to bring an individual under the
influence of chloroform against his will, and particularly
an athletic person such as Mr. Spoke is described to be.
It is exceedingly improbable that any one for criminal
purposes would use an agent like chloroform, which would
infallibly cause considerable struggling, and consume a
good deal of time before it induced insensibility. It is
simply a delusion to suppose that this agent can be em-
ployed for the purposes of robbery, &c.; its administra-
tion under such circumstances would be attended with
infinitely greater difficulties than the brute-force expe-
dients which would be used by powerful and determined
ruffians."

SPEEP'S DiA'APPEARANCA fj, S

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