The Sun. — 1864-08-03 (London, England)

MURDER OF A FATHER-IN-LAW,  Yesterday Mr Best, magistrate of Bilston, near Wolverhampton, was engaged in investigating the facts connected with a fearful outrage of a character for which the Black country is unhappily too notorious. The facts are as follows :—During some eight years past a woman, who is apparently now about 35 years of age, and is one of a respectable family, has been the fife of a collier named Henry Christian, who lives at the Coppice., near Sedgley, and is about her own age. By him she has had two children. Previously to her marriage with Christian, she was the wife of a man named Isaac Jones, who died shortly before her marriage with Christian, leaving a daughter about 12 months old. With her first husband the woman lived a life of happiness, but her second husband was in the constant habit of gambling, drinking, and ill-using her. On Sunday night last Christian had returned home from his customary haunt, at a.-neighbouring beer-house, when his wife, as she was preparing for bed, reminded him that drinking and pigeon-flying on the Sunday would surely terminate in disgrace, if not in his untimely death, and she instanced the recent death of his brother, who, about a fort • night or three weeks ago was found dead in the canal at Tipton. Ho replied by declaring that he would hive the life of both his wife and also the child Jones, who was sleeping in the same room. He drew off the bed on which his wife was lying, and placing the bed clothes round a lighted candle, swore that he would " blaze them all up." His son succeeded in getting the candle from his hand, and to escape from her step-father's violence, the girl Jones ran in her night-clothes out of the house, chased by Christian armed with a heavy strap. Her mother, in a little better than a nude condition followed, and at one o'clock on Monday morning obtained shelter for her daughter in the dwelling of Thomas Caddick, a shoemaker, aged 60, the father of the ill-used woman Christian, and of course the grand• father of the child. On Monday night Christian returned home somewhat under the influence of drink, but quite accountable for his conduct. His wife told him he must change his mode of life or they must separate. He said he would leave her, and was preparing to do so, when the woman inter Leing to prevent him taking away some of the boy's clothes, he kicked her with fearful violence, One of her sisters interposed, and he was beating both of them, when their father, attracted by their cries fur help, came in. Christian instantly turned upon the old man, pulled him to the ground, got upon him, and pressing his thumbs as he held the sides of his face with his other fingers, was thus strangling him when the women succeeded in dragging Christian off their prostrate father. Caddick had scarcely got up when, on getting outside, he fell dead, showing to another son-in law as he fell how Christian bad clutched him by the throat. The occurrence has occasioned the utmost consternation in the neighbourhood in which it happened, for deceased was much respected. Christian was remanded by the Bilston magistrate, and in the evening the inquest upon the murdered man was opened at Conley.  RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE,