ENGLISH & FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 718, 16 September 1869, Page 2

ENGLISH & FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

[FROM PAPERS BY THE JULY HAIL.] SHOCKING TRAGEDY IN LONDON. Early on Monday morning, June 28, 4 . whole family, consisting of the father mother and six children, were fou n | dead in a house in Hosier-lane, Smith, field, and under circumstances which can leave no doubt that they had p e , risbed from the effects of poison. The father was a working silversmith in the employment of Messrs. Chawner and Adams, who have extensive premises* used as a manufactory in Hosier-lane I and with his family occupied an ing house belonging to the firm living;! rent free. He had been in that service about six or seven years, and is supposed to have come from Bristol. Latterly, however, he had fallen into ill-health, and had been obliged onj medicaladviceto relinquish his employ, ment and with it the house he occupied under his master. Whether or not that had preyed upon his mind may never he known. Aletler m the fathers own hand led to the discovery of thetragedy. It was addressed to the police authorities in Smithfieid, where is % district police-station, and was to the effect that if they went to the houseNo. 15, on Monday morning, they would find something to interest them. That letter, which had been posted on, Sunday, was delivered about tighter ' half-past eight o’clock on tiie morning, and on their going to the house indicated, which they did immediately afterwards, they did indeed find something which interested them painfully. They found the front door locked oa the inside, but obtained admission through a window at the back. It is' a house of two floors, a first and second, immediately over some workshops, and the deceased man, Duggan, aud his family bad occupied it, using the first floor as a sitting room and kitchen,and the upper floor consisting of twoi apartments, as bedrooms. On a bed] in the front room lay the dead bodies of tho mother and of three of the youngest children, one on each side of her, and the other across the foot of the bed. The dead bodies of tie daughters, Emma and were stretched upon another bed in the same room, and that of the eldest boy, ■ Walter James, upon an adjoining cribJ while the body of the father Jay alone; in the back-room. On a cane-bottomed chair at the side of the bed in which were the bodies of the mother and three infant children was a table glass,; and a spoon was found among the bedclothes. A bottle about three or four inches long, labelled ,s Hydrocyanic! acid,” and “Poison,” the last mentioned; word being in conspicuous letters, was found in one of the bedrooms, another, precisely the same in size, appearance, and label in a room below* Neither bottle bore the name of the seller. A family Bible containing the names and dates of birth of the father aud mother and of the several children, written on a fly-leaf, and with the marriage certificate of the heads of the little household attached, was likewise found in cue of the rooms on the second floor, and by it the police were able to ascertain the names and ages of the family. The whole of the dead bodies (eight in number) were in their night dresses, aud lay in an orderly maimer, mostly on their backs, and just as if they had resigned themselves to sleej for the night. The features of all o them were placid aud composed, am there were no evidences of any struggle The lips of most of them were com pressed, and on those of one or tw( there was a slight appearance of i bluish fluid or discoloration. It is - ( remarkable circumstance in connectioi with this tragedy that a neighbor occu pying a hsuse exactly opposite that o the deceased saw the gas alight in th kitchen between three and foiu: o’cloc in the morning. Between eight an nine, when the police entered, the ga bad been turned off, and one infereuc is that after the poison had been adjj ministered and had taken effect, the. murderer had been for some hours oy| cupied in disposing of the dead bodi|j of the victims. The inquest on the bodies was held 1 on the 30th June, by Mr Payne. 3fi| Vorley, a wholesale chemist, who hW] said that he thought the bottles co®| tabling prussic acid belonged to hiifl was examined as to whether he inn sold the poison to the deceased but be could not recollect having doflj so. From the fact that Duggan alofl

0 f all the deceased persons wa3 found w itb bis mouth aed eyes open, Dr. Wilson, the chief medical witness, inferred that he had taken the poison tfhen awake, while the others had had it administered to them in their sleep, rfhe same witness was, however, of opinion that the woman must have consented to what was done, as she j, a( } evidently not been dead by some ttvo or three hours so long as the children. Mrs Eliza Smith, the mother 0 f puggan, who lives at Bristol, proceed'the following letter, which was given to her by the brother of the deceased, Frederick Jones Daggan :

15, Hosier-lane, Smithfield, E.C., June 27,1869. Deal* Brother, —You are aware of Mr Adam's harsh and bud course of action ff hen he heard my lungs were affected, Tvhicb. ended in his giving rne one month's notice to leave his employ, knowing fas I tjld him) 1 had no means of livelihood but the one week's wages I left with. His bearing and language have been thoroughly tyrannical from the first moment he heard I was st ruck down, and have been continued up to the last, and tlis cause of it all is that he has made a miscalculation in me. He had reckoned he had a good, sound, and serviceable article in me, and ivhen he discovered his mistake he was furious, and showed his annoyanc? as only a hard, seliish, narrow-minded man could Jo. After tho month expired, lie then allowed me after a great deal of solicitation to remain in tho house, which is his, a ff eek longer, while I looked for work and a place to live in, which I had no opportunity of doing before. I have tried hard to obtain cither or both, but can ii.rl no lodging or work, for when they know I am out of work, and can give no reference, they decline altogether. J asked Mr Adams if lie would allow mo to name him as a reference. He said he would have nothing to do in the matter, as he might have to pay. I asked him what ho thought I could do. He said I could get a place somewhere if I liked, and that I must be out of his house at tho expiration of the week, or he would put my things into the hue. I appealed to him for somo consideration for my wifa and little ones—tho oldest ho knew was far gone in consumption. I also asked him if it were possible he could go to such extremes after my being four or five years in his employ, and the long character he had with mo, and U p to the time o( my health partially failing had devoted my whole energy in for\Y!>'dinc Ins interests. He took no notice of tint "but said ho would not bo trifled with and unless I was out of his housa he wjiiid do us ha had said, so not to deceive myself in tho matir-r. Wo we have lo face tho alternatives of starving in the streets, tne workhouse, or death. We prefer the laiter. "We may have been able to surmount the difficulties, possibly, if ilr Adam-J had acted less unfeelingly*; but he has shown scant mercy, and it the same is meted to him in his extremity it iviii "O hard with him, for the blood ol ms and mine is on his hands, and will cling to him and his. It is better to meet death as we have than to wait till ho comes through want, privation, and misery,, and would* come with equal certainty; forme, Eir.ma, and all the children are far from strong, and must have quickly succumbed. We are strongly attached to each other, and reparation alone would bo as bad &s\ death, aud we love the children dearly—| toy dearly to condemn them to utter wretchedness and want. It is agony of mind almost beyond endurance to think Unit the alternative is so ter iblo that we cannot shield it from ono or the other. Break the news gently to mother. Toil hor it is, under tha crou instances, tho best course—far better than tho degradation and want and disease before us, which must have ended in the same way after all our sufferings. Prussia acid was tho thing used. Pray undertake tho funerals if you can. I trust you will have enough things to pay expenses. O! the horror of this night. May it be visited upon the man who forced it ? I can write no more. 1 am nearly mad. So an eternal faro well tu you all, and may God bless you ! Farewell for ever!

The Coroner: I see that the bottom half of the second sheet is torn oil'. Do you know who did that? Witness: That is how it came.

Mr Adams, the master alluded to in the letter, here stepped forward, and said that as he had been thus spoken of he should wish to be sworn. He said that he was the owner of Yd, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 13, Hosier-lane. The deceased man was in his employ. Duggan gave me notice ou the 3rd April, as he said ho was ill. Duggan told me that he was in that state of health that he could not continue any longer in my service. Until that time I thought he was only suffering from a cold; Duggan said that he must get out-door work immediately, as his lungs were affected. I thinbhe saidj he hud been to a Dr. Powell, and that that gentleman said he must seek outdoor employment. I reasoned with hini myself, and urged him to try by exercise to continue in his situation at all events for a time, and till he could get employment. I told him to consider his wife and children. He

said he was afraid he should neve'r be any better. From that time he gradually drooped and drooped. He said he must give it up. He did not after that go about his work as usual. He received thirty-five shillings a week, and lived rent and taxes fiee. At Whitsuntide I advised him to go to Bristol to look for some thing. He did go, and returned to his work on the ; Wednesday. He said he could not get employment at Bristol. He continued with me, but kept saying he must give up. He said he was not doing his duty by me. On the 22nd of May I said we had better arrange to part; that I was in no hurry ; would a month suit him ? On the 19th of June he left. He asked me if I would give him another week in the house, which [ did free. His wages ceased when he left. Last Thursday, the 24th, he came in and said he could not get a situation, nor had he found a lodging. I told him that I must have the house, as I wauted it. On Friday evening he came in and said that he had made all arrangements, and should be out of the house at midday on Monday. I said that would do. This was all that passed, and that was the last time I saw him. It was agreed before that he should leave on the Saturday. He was to have gone out on the 19ih, but at his request I gave him another week. Nothing was said about it. He did not even thank me.

A juryman said he did not think the conduct of the master was harsh. Witness —I never refused him a reference. He never asked me for one Ido not use piussic acid. lie had. no use for it. The usual notice for a workman was a week. Duggan really had two months. First he gave me a month's notice, and then I gave him one. The coroner briefly summed up the evidence. There was no doubt that til echildren were poisoned. The question was whether the husband killed [he wife, whether she took poison, or whether ha administered it to her with her consent.

After a short deliberation the jury returned the folio wing verdict: —'"That while in an unsound state of mind Duggan and his wife murdered their six children, and then destroyed themselves." PENIA.N MEETINGS.

Meetings were held 011 Sunday, 27th •June, at Cork, Limerick, Earns, Mulliugar, Drogheda, Dublin, and other places, in support of a motion for the release of the political prisoners. Resolutions were passed to the effect that they had no faith in the so-called messages of peace while the prisoners were not released. At Cork, 5000 persons were present. The trades marched in procession, headed by three bands. Mr Healey, a publican presided. Mr Merrirrian, of London, supported the f resolution. He said English people desired the release of the prisoners, and charged Mr Bruce with misrepresentation. Mr O'Sullivan, another publican, said if the Government did not grant a release now, they would be obliged to do so when the opportunity came. At the Dublin meeting on the 23th June, 4000 persons were present. Mr Butt, Q.C., said the motto of true Irishmen should be, "Bide your time; | put your trust in God ; and keep your [powder dry." If Government per-

sisted in retaining the prisoners any profession of conciliation was useless. , Mr Williams, of Dangarvan, said the ; prisoners would not accept mercy; they demanded justice of the English Government, and if it was refused let the blood be on their own heads. He did not advocate a resort to the sword ; that doctrine was out of date. TEIUUBLE EXPLOSION AND LOSS OE LIEE. A terrible explosion of nitro glycerine took place on the 30th June, six miles from Carnarvon. A ship-

load of glycerine which arrived at Carnarvon Bar was conveyed in boat 3 to the pier. On that afternoon, five cart-loads, two of them for Assheton Smith's'Clanberis quarries, and three for Lord Penrhyn's Bethesda quarries, left the wharf. When the first two carts were near Cwymglo a terrible explosion occurred, about 6 o'clock in the evening. The horses and men in charge of the carts were blown to atoms. Three men were instantaneously killed, and their bodies scattered in fragments about the roadway. The cart-wheels were iound more than a mile from the spot, whither they had been carried by the force of the explosion. There was a small Welsh vil-

lage not far from the spot reached by the carts; the houses were greatlydamaged, the windows, doors, and roofs suffering much injury. Besides the destruction wrought upon the houses, the tenants will be great sufferers by the loss of household furniture. At the spot where the carts had reached, two round holes were made in the road, which measured six feet in depth and seven feet in diameter. Forty yards off was a small roadside railway station, which was blown to the ground, nothing remaining except a heap of debris. The whole valley at the foot of Snowdon was affected by the concussion of the air, and the two large lakes in the vicinity—so well known to tourists —were visibly aeffcted The loss sustained by the inhabitants all round the valley must be very considerable, so tremendous was the force of the explosion'. At Carnarvon and also at Bangor the concussion was felt; and it was not until several hours had elapsed that an intimation of what had really occurred reached the inhabitants. Portions of human remains were picked up forty yards from the carts, and the men at work in the quarries, 300 yards away, were severely injured. The three other carts, which were fortunately a mile apart, were left standing upon the roadside, to the great consternation of the inhabitants. One cart-wheel was found upon a ledge of rock fifty yards in perpendicular height above the roadway. Thousands of persons from all the neighboring villages have visited the scene of the accident. Altogether live persons perished. At the inquest (a verdict was returned of accidental death, NEW ZEALAND IN THE HOUSE OE

COMMONS. Lord Bury said he wished to put a question to his hon. friend the UnderSecretary for the Colonies upon a subject of considerable importance. It was well known that New Zealand was at present passing through a great crisis, and ia the opinion of some persons the very existence of a portion of the colony was at stake. Delegates had been sent over from New Zealand for the purpose of asking assistance from this country, and his noble friend the Secretary for the Colonies had written a despatch in which he refused that assistance. Since that despatch had been laid before the House a docu

ment hud bsen published bearing the signature of the ex- Governor of New Zealand, of Sir Charles Clifford, and of

high authorities upon such a subject, expressing strong disapproval of his noble friend's despatch, and even going so far as to threaten a disruption oi the empire if the policy laid down iu it were adhered to. He was sure that the House would agree with him that

his was a matter which should be fuUn-

discussed, and as there was a good deal of business for Friday next, for which night his motion stood, he hoped that the Government would, if necessary, be able to appoint some other day on which it could be brought forward. The papers were not yet before the House, and he wished to ask whether they would be iu the hands of the members in suffi cient time to discuss the matter on Friday, and whether, if necessary, they would appoint another day for its discussion.

Mr "Whalley said that his opinion was that the war in New Zealand had been originated and was sustained by the activity and vigilance of the Roman Catholic priesthood. [Laughter.] Sir G. Grey, the Governor, had, he believed more than once reported to this effect. He had repeatedly asked the Government for an explanation upon this matter and .received none. He had asked whether the rebellion in New Zealand was not founded upon the system of the Ribbon conspiracy. [Oh, oh.] Five Jesuit priests out of thirty who had gone out had been taken in complicity with the natives acting against our troops; at all events he had furnished the information to the Government to this effect, and the matter had never been refuted or explained by the Government. He challenged the Government now to deny the statements which he had made.

Mr Monsell said that the papers re latiug to New Zealand would not be in the hands of members till Thursday next, and therefore it would not be possible to have the subject discussed on that night, but a day would be given ;for that purpose.