The Sun.
London, England, 1868-07-28 00:00:00

THE ~7/lURDER IN NORTON FOLGAM,

At the Worship-street Police-court, on Monday AMP
toon, Alexander Arthur Mackay was charged with'
vilful murder of Mrs. Emma Grossmith, aged 45 years,
m Friday, the Bth of May last. The facts of the case
vill be well remembered. The deceased was the wife of
Ur. George Grossmith, who kept an eating-house, and the
prisoner was employed to do the menial work of the house.
!firs. Grossmith appears to have found fault occasionally
with Mackay for the manner in which he did his work,
and the theory of the prosecution is that this was the
:ause of the murder. On the morning of May 8, about
twenty minutes after nine, Mr. Grossmith went out for a
short time, leaving his wife, his two children, and the
prisoner in the house. The children were sent to school,
but one of them, not liking Mackay's looks, lingered for
some time, until the latter called Mrs. Grossmith's atten•
tion to the boy's loitering, and his mother then bade
him go to school at once. Thus left alone with
the unfortunate woman, Mackay seems to have
made a savage and deliberate attack upon her
with a chopper, for a. neighbour, named Stevens,
heard her exclaim, " Don't, John ; you'll murder
me ! " and a voice, which she believed to be that of
the prisoner, reply, " Hold your row." On entering the
place she found Mrs. Grossmith suffering from the most
dreadful injuries, and on her charging the prisoner with
the commission of the crime, he denied it, and quietly
walked away, saying he would fetch his master, who had
" just gone sound the corner." He thus escaped, and was
not heard of until last week, when he was discovered under
an assumed name in Maidstone gaol. Mrs. Grossmith
expired on the 20th of May. At the police-court exami-
nation on Monday, the evidence given at the inquest was
repeated, and the prisoner, who declined to say anything
in answer to the charge, was committed for trial at the
Central Criminal Court.

THE FATAL EXPLOSION AT PORTSMOUTH.

The adjourned inquest on the body of William White,
who was killed with the Hon. Lieut. Meade, in consequence
of the explosion of a torpedo at Portsmouth, on Friday,
was held before Mr. W. Swainson, at the Royal Ports-
mouth, Portsea, and Gosport Hospital, on Monday.
George Wilkinson, confectioner, of 142, Queen-street,
Portsea, deposed : I am a brother-in-law to the deceased.
About five o'clock on Friday evening I went to
the house No. 36, Union-street. When I arrived there
found the deceased lying on a sofa upstairs, immediately
over the room in which the occurrence took place. There
Were some medical men in the room. I said to him, " Are
you seriously hurt ?" and he said, " Very." Some more
doctors came into the room and examined his arm, and
then I could see that he was seriously hurt. Shortly after-
wards I was left alone with him while Dr. Rowe consulted
with the other medical men who were outside. I said,
" Tell me, William, how did this accident arise ? " He
said, " I had just finished putting the cap on a cast-iron
tube, and handed it to him." I understood he meant the
Hon. Mr. Meade, although he mentioned no name. The
deceased continued, "He requested me to light a candle,
which I did. I saw him begin to melt the gutta percha to
seal the cap with, and I turned my head for an instant to
look out of window. My impression is that the gutta
percha was applied when alight, and that he did not take
the precaution to blow it out." I put no further question
to him. William Dart, a sergeant in the Royal Marine
Artillery, wh was working with the deceased and the
Hon. Mr. Meade in the preparation of the torpedoes,
was also examined, and described the nature of their
occupation on the day in question to be that of filling
canisters or tubes with an explosive compound. Lieute-
nant Meade told him to tell his friends that it was not his
gun which was the cause of the accident, but the over•
heating of the composition used in sealing the shells.
Several other witnesses gave evidence, and a verdict of
accidental death was returned. The inquiry into the
death of Lieutenant the Hon. Herbert George Philip
Meade was also resumed, when the evidence taken was
precisely similar to that at the other inquiry, and asimilar
verdict was returned.