The Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser. — 1871-06-17 (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England)

THE ELTHAM MURDER.  We read in the Times that the interest felt in this case has increased rather than abated since the postponement of the trial of the accused until the next session of the Central Criminal Court. At the time of the application for this adjournment it was stated to Mr. Justice Blackburn, by the counsel for the prosecution, that only on the previous day an important witness had been found, who, after visiting Newgate, had identified the prisoner; and that this person had been before the grand jury, but not before either the magistrate or the coroner. On the day following the postponement of the trial Mr. Pook, the solicitor conducting the defence, wrote to the Solicitor to the Treasury, requesting that, without a moment's delay, a copy of the evidence of any witnessed who were examined before the grand jury, and who were not examined either before the magistrate or coroner, might be sent to him. On Saturday an official answer was received, stating that no witnesses were examined before the grand jury who were not examined before the magistrate and coroner. From a perusal of copies of the two affidavits sworn by Mr. W. H. Pollard, a clerk in the Solicitor's Department of the Treasury, and Mr. Griffin, Superintendent of the H. Division of Police, it appears that the grounds upon which application was made for the postponement of the trial was that a young man named Perren, a donkey-driver, on Blackheath, spoke to having seen the accused enter the shop of Mr. Thomas, of High-street, Deptford, where the hammer, which is supposed to have been used in the murder, was purchased, on the night preceding the murder; and also that the name of another person had a few hours previously been communicated to the police who could speak to having seen the accused with a young woman in a field near the spot where the murdered girl, Maria Jane Clousen, was found on the night of the murder. So far as this latter circumstance is concerned no additional evidence has been obtained by the police; but so far as regards Rrren's alleged assertion of having seen the accused outside the shop of Mr. Thomas on the night in question, there is direct evidence to contradict it. It is necessary, in the interest of justice, that this fact should be noticed, as in some of the newspapers of Saturday and Monday a report was published that Perren was intimately acquainted with the accused, who, on the evening when the hammer was sold, had asked him to partake of drink, or, to use the words in the poet, to "liquor up" with Why it should be necessary for one man intimately acquainted with another to enter a prison in order to identify that person, to convince himself of a fact about which he must have had no doubt whatever in his own mind (supposing such acquaintance to have existed), will demand explanation. It may be mentioned that the accused expressed a hope that a true bill would be found, as he desired the fullest and strictest inquiry into the whole of the circumstances of the case, relying upon his entire innocence being proved by the witnesses who were to be called for the defence. It has already been stated that on the day subsequent to being taken to Newgate the accused was seized with an epileptic fit, on which occasion, although it has not before been stated, blood ran from his mouth.