Star.
London, England, 1827-09-05 00:00:00

FROM OUR OWN RIMORTIR.

This town was tnrow•n into the gteat'estconsterna-
tion by the perpetration of a diabolical murder oni
Saturday right, or early on Sunday morning last.
A poor old man named Edward Gregson, who kept'
a small chandler-shop in Bridge-street, some few week►
hack took compassion upon a youth whom chancel
threw in his way, who was in the most abject distress,
and the old man permitted him to come backwards and
forwards to the house, and his table was always at his
service—and i: is believed he is the fiend beneath whose
hand his benefactor has fallen a victim. Late on Satur-
day night last, the old man's brother, his son, two other
friends, and the su•pected man, were at his house and
drank two quarts of ale, and about eleven o'clock they
went away, the stranger going out first, not stopping
Tor the rest. The old man said he should go to bed di-
rectly, and desired his son to call for him next morning
to go to the Roman Catholic Chapel. The son then
Went home, and heard his father fasten his door. Nest
Morning (Sunday) about eleven o'clock he called and
found the door on ajar—he called his father several
times, and not receiving any answer he went up stairs,
when to hie horror he beheld the mangled body of his
aged parent stretched across the bed, dead and
told. The affrighted youth ran into the street,
calling " Murder, murder !" as loud as he was able,
and it being church time, vast crowds of persons
flocked to the dreadful spot. The constables of
the town soon came; and Thomas Miller, Esq. the
Mayor, was instantly made acquainted with the san-
guinary deed. The Mayor directed that instant inquiry
should be made round the town as to what strangers
were about, and whe her any persons were seen near
the house during the night or early on Sunday morning;
but, we regret to say, all efforts to trace the assassin
have as yet proved useless. The murdered man, when
discovered by his son, was deluged in blood—he was
partly dressed in his Sunday clothes, so that it would
appear the horrid act had been committed not many
hours, when young Gregson went to the house. There
were two dreadful wounds in the throat, and the poor
old man's hands were nearly cut to piece% as if done by
his gra•ping the instrument with which the murder was
effected. It was always thought Gregson had a hoard
of money, and it is therefore believed that that was the
object the villain had in view in taking the old man's
life, as all the drawers and other places have been ran-
sacked. Search has been made every where for the
youth ,►ho was fostered by the deceased while living,
and nothing wha ever can be heard of him.

INQUEST ON THE BODY.
A respectable Jury was empannelled on Monday
Morning, at eleven o'clock, by THOMAS MILLIa, Esq.
the Mayor and Coroner, at the Town Hall, to inquire
into the circumstances connected with the horrid affair.
The Town Hall. and indeed the town itself, presented
a scene of the greatest bustle during the investigation,
and anything at all relative to the horrid affair was
caught up with the grt atest eagerness. The following
witnesses were examined:

John Greg on—l am a weaver; the deceased was my
brother, and was nearly sixty years of age ; he lived by
himself, and had the care at a small buster's shop for
Mr. Birkett, in Bridge-street, Preston. On the night
of Saturday fortnight, between eight and nine o'clock,
I called at my brother's house to purchase some arti-
cles, as I generally did, and I then saw a young man
sitting there, apparently between twenty and twenty-
ire years of age ; he was dressed in a black coat and
a dark pair of trowsers ; I asked my brother, when I
had an opportunity, who be was? and he said it was an
acquaintance, and he was a fustian-cutter, from Man-
chester, out of employ. I then went away, leaving the
young man there. On last Saturday night I went
there again, about eight o'clock ; my brother was then
alone. I made some purchases, and went home, and
returned again about nine, and then I saw the same
young man ; he was then dressed very genteelly in
black, and a nice white shirt, plaited in front ; I sat with
him for more than a quarter of an hour, and we never
spoke; he had a brown completion, but I did not notice
the colour of his hair. My nephew John came in,
and the deceased produced a sample of Ilia] oats, arid
aei nversation arose respecting them. The stranger
joined in it. He spoke in a very genteel manner, and
appeared to be well brought up. He appeared_ like
a clerk, and his hands seemed white and soft. My
nephew proposed some ale, and I fetched a quart, part
of which the young man paid for; when that was drank
we had another, and two men named Lund and Daw-
son, sons-in-law to the deceased, came in and partook of
it. I remained there till about half-past 10 o'clock,
when my brother (the deceased) said, " come, lads, an't
thou going home, I want to go to bed ?" The young
man then jumped up and went out, and I followed him
immediately; we walked together over the Worsted
Factory Bridge, and he turned one way and I the other,
and I have never seen him since. I went home, and the
following morning a person told me my brother was
killed in his bed.

By a Juror My brother had on, on Saturday night
vhen I left him, a jacket with cotton sleeves; and when
I saw him alter he was murdered, he had on a clean
shirt and gray pantaloons, which he usually went to
chapel in.
This witness was so powerfully affected while giving
his evidence, that be could scarcely proceed.
John Gregson, the son of the deceased, corroborated
the testimony of the last witness, adding, that when he
left his father's house with Lund and Dawson, his father
desired him to call for him to go to chapel neat morning,
Which he promised to do. About eleven o'clock on Sun-
day mottling he called according to the arrangement,
and found the door of the shop ajar; he went in and
took a seat in the shop, from whence he could see
under hi. father's bed room door, and in the room he
could see his shoes, and some papers of halfpence strew.
ed about the room. He thought all was not right and
instantly opened the do: r, and he then beheld the old
man lying across the bed, with part of his Sunday clothes
on, qeite dyad, and weltering in his blood ; the wains-
e^t and ceiling • were sprinkled also • with blood ; he
embed an immediate alarm, and many people came to
Ins assistance.
la answer to several qoestions from the Coroner and
Jury,the witness said that the young man was quite a
stinger to him, that he was of very genteel manners,
~41 be spoke in a tone superior to the middling class
''' PeoPle; be seemed to be about twenty rats of age.
The violets was not aware wh.t properlyhis father haJ,
'list believes, be had some. His father kept gold and
Isilver op stairs, but in what place he did not know.
Dawson and Lund, the two persliss, sons-in-lsw to
the deceased, gave similar testimony as the last witness
04 to what transpired on Saturday night; the only ad-
dkitaal evidence that they gm was, that sbe vrane,

young man spoke but little while they were there, and"
that he was an extremely genteel young man, and his
hand was particularly soft.
Mr. Joseph Bradley, a surgeon of Preston, stated that
he was called in to see the deceased on Sunday forenoon,
about half-past eleven o'clock, and found him lying
across the bed partly dressed—there was a very large
cut in the throat, which appeared to have been done in
a very careless manner, and completely severing his
windpipe; the tight temporal and frontal bones were
fractured, as was also the back part of the scull. He
looked about the room to see if he could find the in-
strument with which the injuries had been inflicted,
but could find nothing. In the room below stairs he
found tongs by the side of the fireplace, which upots
close inspection with a magnifying glass of low power,
be discovered marks of blood, and some human hair
adhering to them, they also appeared as if they had been
rubbed in the ashes, as if to eradicate the blood stains.—
The ring-finger of the deceased was broken, and the left
elbow was much bruised, and the blood had spirted
upon the ceiling and against the walls. Witness is po-
sitive that the deceased could not have inflicted the
wounds himself.

It being now five o'clock it was suggested by the
Coroner that the inquiry should adjourn, in order that
time should be given to the officers in discovering the'
young man, to whom at present great suspicion is at-
tached.

It was subsequently agreed that the Inquest should
adjoutu for that purpose for a fortnight.—Adjourned
accordingly.