THE TUNBRIDGE-WELLS. MURDER. SOFTENED BY SALVATIONISTS THE CRIMINALS CONFESS. APPALLING STORY OF YOUTHFUL DEPRAVITY. London, October 19.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 324, 12 December 1888, Page 3

THE TUNBRIDGE-WELLS. MURDER. SOFTENED BY SALVATIONISTS THE CRIMINALS CONFESS. APPALLING STORY OF YOUTHFUL DEPRAVITY. London, October 19.

Ox the evening of the 1 20th July lust Mr Lawrence, Chief Engineer at the Baltic Saw Mills, Tunbridge-»VullSi was called out of his house by two men who told him he was wanted at the office. The poor man left his wife and family, by and-by a shot was heard, and a short time after the body of. the murdered engineer Was found in the load. He hnd been .shot through the head at close quaiun.*. The mystery was a very painful 'one as Mr Lawrence was universally lObpccted and had no enemies. Suspicion naturally fell on the workmen at the Saw Mills, ami s>oveial wore shadowed bub without) result. Time pa&sed and though the police had ■\aluable clues (which one can now see would have led .direct to i he murderers had they not crassly disre- ! gardea them) nothing could be discovered. fTho first gleam of light came on Friday evening last. It was then rumoured in Tuubridge that two lads, name Gower and Pobell, uued respectively 17 and 38, had confessed the crime to a local leader of the Salvation Army, and weic even now in custody. At lir»b very few credited the story. ~ The two boys>, their triends said, weio always reading "penny dreadful*," and had hoaxed the police ior tlio sake of notofioi.y. Later, however, the circumstantial character of their confession began to impress people in spite of themselves, and there can be no doubt \vluite\er the pair arc the long-looked-for murderer's. Cower, it teem', had a grudge against Mr Laurence for keeping him late on one or two occasions and calling him "soft-headed." Dobell did not worjc at the saw mills and had nothing against the engineer, but he was (4ower'& pal and " true as steel " (to quote that wretched youth)- ( lower's enterpiibcs -were Dobell's and DoboH's Glower's. Conoequontly, when tho lastnamed amiable youth, alter reading in the "Young Gentlemen of G teat Britain " (or some such periodical) how the gallant young " pirate Dick" disposed of a hated oppressor, pioposed to shoot the tyrant, Laurenco Dobell cordially agreed to assist him. The crime seems to have been committed perfectly casually ; in fact, a^ will be seen below, it was only one of a series. The pair tossed up which should " pot the old man," and " the job "' fell to young Dobell. On September 27, Dobell, meeting a boy in the street, asked him to take the following letter to tho editor of tho local paper :— .Sir, — Two months having now passed, I venture to ask you to be kind enough to allow me a small space in your valuable paper for a few facts concerning the death of the late Mr Lawrence In the first place 1 beg to state that the evidence given at the inquest and afterwards has been utterly false, with the exception of tho two lads in the timber-yard. I beg to correct the wrong statement that Mr? Lawicncc gave. J, the nnndercr, did not summons him irom hib hous-e at all, as he was outside the back dooi when I first spoke to him, and my impiession was to have shot him on the spot. Lawrence a\js very talkative tvhen he was out of doois, little thinking ot the death he had so shortly got to die. The last words he spoke while in my company was when he caught hi^ht oi the pistol sticking out of ray pocket. He said, "\\ hat do you cairy them their things about with you for?"' My answer was ''To fhoot down dogs and cm* like you ! ' Lawrence said, " Whot. would you shoot a "' Bang ! And Tun budge Wells was startled by another my.sl.ory which is never likely to bo found on I. I might here state that the key which was found is likely to lead to no clue whatever, as that is as much a niysteiy to me as the murder i-. to you. I also wish to threaten Mr Edwards it he has any more to say concei nine: Mr Martin who is as innocent of the ciimo as he is. — i remain jours tiulv,

Another Wiutlchm'kl I\U;kdi.kkk. ■ The/c was a postscript which stated that another letter giving the whole of the particular 5 ! from beginning to end would follow shortly. Thif letter was duly shown to the police, who, however, neglected to follow it up, on the ground that they were sure it was a hoax. On October 9th, Dobell jocularly confessed hib crime to a brother workman, who merely laughed, aud declined to believe such bunkum. At thiri time the two "mates"' weie attending the Salvation Army meeting at Tuubridge Wells. For what purpose is open to fome suspicion, as one or them has since confessed that one night he went there "armed to the toeth, and on ihe look-out tor some one." On October llbh, (°ajsalocal correspondent of the " Daily News "), both (lower and Dobell were at a Salvation Army meeting led by Mr Cotterill. This gentleman dwcoiuscd upon " Victorios won, and what they coot," and he noticed at the penitential table after the address that Gower seemed to have something on his mind. Next morning early the young man called at Mi* Cotterill's house, and was accosted with " Good morning. Did you get victory last nigiiti?" Gower answered; "ISTo; 1 didn't get saved;" bub added, "I believe my mate got saved last night,' More conversation ensued, and Mr Cottorill told (slower he fcuspected he had something on his mind, and urged that if he had he must confess before God would save him. The youth hesitated awhile, but at length aaid there had been nothing bad done in Tuubridge Wells for some time that he and his mate had nob been at the bottom of ; that they were two bad characters ; that they were at the bottom of the Saw Mills murder. In response to Mr Ootbrill's expression of surprise Gower continued, " Me and my mate did it ; we tossed up as to who should do it." Asked why it was done, he said it was out of spite to Lawrence, who had stopped his time ; asked how it was done, he said, " One of us fetched him out, told him he was wanted, and when the road "\\avS clear, my mate shot him." In the course of further talk Gower explained that he and Dobell, were somotimes sorry for what they had done, but sometimes felt, that if Lawrence were to .rise again they would do just the same. He declined Mr" Cptterill's invitation to confess to the police, bub gave him permission to tell his wife on condition that he told no one, else. Mr Cotterill' asked Gower to come again, and the young* man went to his work. The Salvation Army officer theix, with a promptitude ' and completeness which' gained for him a -public compliment from the ■ magistrates, communicated with the army offices in London, with' the' result that in the aftfernoori he, / accompanied Mr 'Superintendent,. Emeryhostile saw mills. The arrest was efl'ocbed' by thesuporintendent, to whom Gower, in a nonchalant manner, admitted the charge, an d —Yes, it was perfectly true that

they iossod as to who should shoofc, and fche Jet , fell to • Doboll. The manager of the Mills, who was standing by, remarked, 1 " But Dobell never worked for us. What grudge could he have against Lawrence ?" ",Oh," airily chimed in Wower, "he's a friend of mine, and* as true as steel.-' A momont later ho said with a toss of his head and with a tone of indifference, ' ' Lawrence •was always calling me soft-headed." Cower tokl the supctintendeub how and where to find the revolver and cartridges, and gave him other incriminating information. When the superintendent came out of the mills with his prisoner, fche latter shook hands with Mr Couterill, and said, •' Well, Captaipf I thought you would have waited till to-night.'" Mr Col'tcrill answered that he had i,o act under orders from his superior oflicor, and showed him the telegram received ordering him to go to the police at onco. Meanwhile, a detective hud arrested Dobell at home. A letter had been received by him during the clay fiom (lower in the following terms: "My Bear Mate, —The Holy Oho&l. ontorod your heart la^t night, (iod only knows I wish ik had mine. Theie eeems to be something I could not give up. I went to the Captain this morning and confessed all to him. Ho wants to mjo u« both to-night ; to please to conio down to my homo to-night at 6 o'clock instead of 5.50. The iodge will be unlocked, so you can come in. Don't be later than 6 o'clock. I have not said anything to my mother yet. — Your Mate." Doboll admitted to the police that he was the actual murderer, and explained that tho threat in the letter which he sent to tho advertiser referred to a man avlio had given evidence at a trial againstsoir.d acquaintance. The prisoners weie committed for trial on tho charge ot wilful murder on Monday, but a new I surprise was in store when they came up ior | the signing of depositions yesteulay morning. During the night of MoiUay the pusoncis in ihoir cells fiecly, and in the boldest manner, made c 'nfe&sion of a string of crimes. Last year they set fire to bhree empty house?, one each for October, Novem- I ber, ond December; they filed several fag-ot and hay stacks; they broke into a house and f-tolo soino cage buds, leaving a daggor stick behind them, which Dobell yesterday in the most laikisli manner inlormed Mr Supt. Emery was his property. They set fire to the furze on tho common time after time, ' and they lay in wait to take the life of a former comiade named Langiidge. To vise their own expression, they intended to " pop him off.'' Three times in succession they weie foiled. A letter, on the first occasion, was sent as if irom a young woman of hit> acquaintance, making an appointment. Langridge went to the place mentioned and cooled his heels for twenty minutes, watched by (tower and Dobell in ambiioh. (Jower at length came out and said that the girl had gone on to her sisters : should they walk together ? The intention was to murder Lun« ridge at a certain gap from which Dobell was to spiing, but the gap happened to be stopped up, and Dobell, in retreating from it happened to lun into a policeman. Tho engagement accoidingly fell thiough. On a second occasion LahgridffG escaped by refusing to accompany Dobell down a dark lane, and a third merciful interposition was brought about by Langridge's mother keeping back a false letter by which he was to be decoyed into a lonely bye-way. This youth Langndsie wjh once a comrade, but the friendship cooled ; and the cold-blooded pair who remained constant, doubting his disci etion in the matter of secrets, resolved to " pop him off."' Any hopes that were entertained early in the week as to the penitence or remor.se of these desperate youths were dispelled by their demeanour in court. Afcthe veiy commencement ot the proceedings they were reproved for tinning their backs upon the magistrate" and staring jauntily about the coutt. Doboll defiantly and angiily denied tii.it they tossed up as to who' should lire the m-ftt shot, and both (tower and Dobell showed an absolute indifference about the grave position in which they stood. After they were committed for trial they sang, yelled, whibtled, and laughed in the cells, and the last thing seen of them at the Tunbridge Railway Junction last night was Dobell in blackguaidlv language threatening (when ho comes out) to "do for" come person whom he recognised in the crowd. The young men have hinco their arrest created the worst impicssion by their reckless, defiant, ■\\nd hardened demeanour. It is said that a 'targe number of fche vicious publications by which the minds ot the lads of the working class order are poisoned, have been tound in the homes of (lower and Dobell.