Widnes Examiner. — 1904-08-13 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

FOUND BURIED IN A SAND PIT.  A Girl's Unfortunate End.  The circumstances attending the death of a little girl named Edith Harriet Jenks, 4 years of age, daughter of John Henry Jenks, wiredrawer, 15, Athergill-street, whose body was found in a sand pit,off Marsehouse-lane on Saturday morning, were revealed at an inquiry conducted by Mr. Brighouse on Tuesday afternoon.—Mr. F. G. Taylor (Messrs. H. Greenall and Company) solicitor' watched the proceedings on behalf of Colonel Ireland Blackburne, the landowner. It appears that on Saturday morning about eleven o'clock, a ten-year-old boy named Horace Povey, son of William Povey, G, Marsh-street went out for the purpose of getting some soil with which to pot some plants. He was digging in the pit when, on turning the soil over, he came across a portion of a girl's dress. He informed Mrs. Whitfield wife of Henry Whitfield, a wiredrawer, living at 9, Fothergill-street, who proceeded to the scene. On turning over 14 cwt. of soil which covered the child, it turned out that the body was that of Edith Harriet Jenks, who had been missing from her home since the previous evening.—Evidence of identification was given by Mrs. Jenks,who stated that she last saw her daughter alive at 4.30 on Friday afternoon' when she was playing with, other children in the field in front of the house. When she did not return, a search was made in the district, but without resalt.—ln answer to the Coroner's inquiries, it was stated that the seam of sand in the pit was Mt. 6in. high. Mr. Taylor observed that it was incredible how anybody could be smothered there. One would think that even a child of the tender years of the deceased would have had the instinct to have lifted itself up. He expected that the child had been digging at the bottom of the seam and caused a quantity of the soil above to fall upon her: The land in which the pit was situated was bounded by two sets of fencing, the inner one consisting of barbed wire. His reason for coming to that inquest was with regard to the question of the fencing. Colonel Blackburne was greatly troubled by trespassers—people crossing the land in order to take a short cut. Children would persist in playing there—they could not keep them out. —The Coroner: If you had children like me and grand children, you would know what they do when they are about four years of age. Neither police nor fences would prevent them going in.—Mr. Taylor pointed out that Colonel Blackburne had spent endless sums of money on fencing but workmen cut the fences down in , order to cross the land.—The Coroner: That is scarcely ' our business. The Coroner added thatiparents could not be expected to have their children tied to their apron. strings. They bad domestic duties to perform, and of course, the children went out to play. A juryman observed that the, children got in between the wires, and all the fencing in the world would not prevent them going i4i. The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental I death. The Coroner said if it was his own child he ' should be very sorry but he could not have blamed [anybody.  Church Lads' Brigade in Camp. Sixteen lads from St. Cletnent's Mission, Warrington, under the charge of the Rev. A. S. Cameron (chaplain) and Sergeant-Inspector Sweeney (acting as sergeaut-major), were among the 850 youths and 100 officers belonging to the North-eastern section of the Church Lads' Brigade, who were last week encamped between Marske and Saltburn. The boys were drawn from the Newcastle, Durham, York, Ripon, Wakefield, and Liverpool regiments, which are co-extensive with the dioceses.  Shortly after noon on Thursday,a determined attempt at murder and suicide took place at Pulross Road, Brixton,in a house tenanted by a Mr. and Mrs. Williams. The man, who has for some time been strange in his manner, attempted to cut his wife's throat with a razor, and was only prevented by some passers by. He then rushed upstairs and cut his own throat. His life is despaired of, but Mrs. Williams's condition is not so serious.