THE WHITECHAPEL MURDER.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 68, 9 March 1876, Page 4

THE WHITECHAPEL MURDER.

.y;:~BJ^i^^t^9^ptinmpHi'''vitneaa in! this . case, to thei murderer after sentence y-^ had been passed \ upon|h,iai, appeared in the London (rjpbe:—' ! >' '}a * ) ; ?; 1' 34, Baker's-fow, Wb itechap.el, , " December 16. j ••Dear Sir— While r there is., pppor- •; tunity wil^ you permit me to address yon a few lines to tell you hovfr ex* . tremelyspiry I ftm f ,wheni think o;f the . awful position in which yon are! now M Cj>tacM| Wvfeefl'mußl write to yj>u to say that I trust that you will not considerthat what I have said agains you 5;U -was^either said or^dbne fromv any per- ' Bonal malice towards you,. or that .. was : liidKiii^ 1 ° : ifriena*Bhip towards you, because, I pould not bring, myself t< any ' try and screen you. On the contrary, I, and all to whom Ijhave: spoken, 'who were formerly .in jyour •!) emproyment, have always esteemed you bB a kind and good master, and alwayß ;r -""a -moBt^'generouB"" friend. Gods and kAow how much jwere ■ concerned in the terrible crinife laid to your charge; but I do hope and jtrust .Ky#g(? w M r consider ithat in?! giving my evidence against you I only fulfilled a «'ibstional r dniy'i Which I believe was the will of God^ and which I know: was done in the interests of humanity. ? f T^henLl ; Jayi thatut was the will of God, I must now tell you more of the details of- the strange promptings I had f to open the parcel than ; I>bave hither to .made public. Perhaps you think,' as I fen'ow many in the world think, that I «waß only moved by a base and a paying ' cariosity. .But I can assure you, be- ; tween myself and God, that it was not fHihat,lbut that J, in reality, was urged fas it were, by a strange mysterious agenoy for which I can scarcely acf count. Probably the world may laugb, 'and you, too, at what I am now going >: lib tell' you }' but I declare it to be true. It has caused me more than ever to be convinced that there is a God a,nd a superhuman powner around us, and I hope it will cause you to think so too. . These unaccountable promptings began :■ the .very moment you left me with that ■ frightful bundle while you went to . the . cab. The very instant your V back was turned I Beamed to bear & ''^supernatural voice say to me three timds, as distinctly as though it were ; -; "?a tiumdn voice somewhere near me, •Open that parcel ! Open that parcel I Look in that parcel!' At first I thought that perhaps you were carrying away t hair,;; or something not belonging to )ii ypu^ and I hesitated what I should do. I seemed to hear (be voice again, and : then felt pressed on by an irresistible '" impulse to open it. , I immediately rent , -. it open. The head and hands came up , -together, and I as stood aghast at the ' 'mutilated head,' so grim and yet apparently bo pitiable, thinking over and ;,| puzzling what I should say to you when " you came back, I seemed* instantly po^essed "and; controlled by a power and agency— by a cautionary prudence and energy not my own, and certainly cot natural to me; and then, as I hastily closed up the parcel again, thinking that perhaps it would be jbeßt to say nothing about it, I then seemed to hear the same supernatural voice Xi address me again, arid say, : 'Murder; it iia- : a murder. .""' Will; you conceal a murder t v I'then said,. 'No, not for n ' ! my'owia father. "Oh ! pray God direct ;,, men aright j DUt shall I give upj the ) ,?v!ery best friend I have had in; my inhiiijfap Yoti then came up with the jcab, "' vlf Mo% the parcels, and drove away. \ As for. a moment in utter conater- ' nation, with my hair feeling as though : «!.itf« stbdd /'erect on my head, I imniediseemed ; to hear, the same v!oice "again Rddressing me, and Baying; 4Fol{clow that riab-- follow: that cab/ |l at opcedid so; I set, on to run ns thdugh mir,^ C} ysjiy. propelled, along. I ran till L .nearly, dropped of exhaustion, rand certainly seemed sustained by a strength uv< superior to my own. Thus from the remembrance of that strange inexpli-, cabje power which' so suddenly over- ' ruled me, I feel convinced that I (was really destined to he the humble t n|edium, by which that mysterious land ; (>v * Ibialrbairdus murder was to be brougbjt to !vvl*gM«: iT ß[ad I;beeo leftto-my jmn. natural impulse in tbe matter, the probability is that the crime would jnot have been so fully detected. Under ytbese circumstances then, X do tj-uat ..Itthat yp u will personally forgive jme. 1 ; ;Y<. :Sn.j[ own personal grief is very great i when I reflect upon the awful position ■', x iny^ evidence has placed you in, and [the terrible bereavement it has entailed f : upon- your i poor wife, your children, .Jand your family. -No ; doubt, in future .; years I : shall often ponder over yjour" "^'iiiiiti^iy-'endy'-an'd regret that it was It Ifviiip had to perform such a painful national duty ; but it will greatly .aSluTgdimy^'regV^ futjure years, reflect- that I, did all I could to ''- assure you that I had no personal to you. As a former friend, I. v now, :ask" you io make your' peace with X^od;? There are many who, like njyeelf, know the desperate straits into -rwhiohvyou were driven, and tliat, without s doubt, yoors is the story of , : :I a i faliea< and mis-spent life, Ampng 7 t'be many classes which constitute this great world of London you were at pne ; time the very orbit of one— -the very centre to which others of that particular class looked up as their champion ... Anct. their 'guide. Tour extraordinary " may excite their admiration, >bu^ their empty approbatiob can a^ail i ;i^'b"u^nfitKsi6g.7 !r liet' poci, then, in the end V^kffi&fof&W&bfc'i?' M'-lgd to migfcftke; as J9iim%jlot fl,d^|^.fih^iuacy Joi manJl- i

ncsa and a persistent silence for pluck. All lookTupou : you as a highly intelligent and educated man, and youj will^. therefore, iao doubt, riot fail tp^ae; that they are the most truly manly j who, wbejn they have done wrongs frfcnk'y acknowledge it, thus; showing that tbey esteem, not tile commendations of jthose who, in some classes of society, would say, *Be game to the end.'" libave been very much touched lately by attending some of the special religiciUß services held ! on your behalf in the Eaat-end. Many friends who jwere your former associates were praying for you, and at one place they sang a special hymn, entitled, 'I am praying for you.' 1 enclose you a copy,' and may it be the means of toacbing! and softening your heart; and, further, as these will be the last lines I can' ever hope to address to you, and as I must now take a solemn and awful farewell of you for ever, my humble and earnest prayer is that God will be truly merciful towards you. And uowj good-bye (or;eyef,Tboth in time and eternity. " From your grieved and obedient servant, ' • '■' Alfred Philips Stokes. •' Mr Henry Waiowright."