Inquest: Alice Mackenzie
Day 1, Wednesday, July 17th, 1889
(The Times, Thursday, July 18th, 1889)
Last evening, [17 July], Mr. Wynne E. Baxter, coroner for the South-Eastern Division of Middlesex, opened his inquiry at the Working Lad's Institute, High-street, Whitechapel.
Superintendent T. Arnold and Detective-Inspector E. Reid were present to watch the case on behalf of the Criminal Investigation Department.
The jury having viewed the body,
John M'Cormack, [McCormack], was the first witness called. He said, - I live at 54, Gun-street, Spitalfields. It is a common lodging-house. I am a porter. I have seen the body in the mortuary, and recognize it as that of Alice M'Kenzie [McKenzie]. I can't exactly tell her age, but it was about 40.
The CORONER. - Has she been living with you? - Yes, for about six years. I recognize her by her thumb, which had been crushed at the top by a machine. The nail was half off.
[Coroner] Did you recognize her face? - Yes, Sir; by the scars on her forehead. I also recognized her clothes she was wearing, and also the boots. She told me she came from Peterborough. I did not know if she had any children. She worked very hard as a washerwoman and charwoman to the Jews.
[Coroner] When did you last see her alive? - Between 3 and 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. She left me in bed at that time. She went from me with the intention of paying a night's rent - 8d.
[Coroner] Did you give her the money? - Of course I did. I gave her 1s. 8d. altogether; to pay the rent, and to do what she liked with the remainder.
[Coroner] You did not see her again? - Not until I saw the body in the mortuary. The deputy told me that my old woman was lying dead in the mortuary, and I went and recognized her.
[Coroner] Was she sober when she left you? - Perfectly.
[Coroner] How came you in bed at 4 o'clock? - As soon as I come home I lie down; and, having a little drop of drink, I go and lie down. When I came home yesterday I went and lay down immediately.
[Coroner] Had the deceased been to work on Tuesday? - No; she told me she went to work on Monday, but I did not believe it. She came home about 7 o'clock on Monday evening, and she then went to bed.
[Coroner] Why did you not believe she went to work? - Because I know she did not.
[Coroner] How do you know? - Because I was told by others she did not go to work.
[Coroner] Did she often come home late at night? - Not to my knowledge. Deceased was usually at home at night.
[Coroner] Did you have any words with the deceased yesterday? - I had a few words and that upset her.
[Coroner] Did she tell you she was going to walk the streets? - She did not; she told me nothing.
[Coroner] Did you not go down to the deputy and ask if the deceased had paid the money? - I did; that was between half-past 10 and 11 o'clock.
[Coroner] What did the deputy say? - She told me she had not paid the rent.
[Coroner] Did you say, "What am I to do? Am I to go and walk the streets as well?" - That's what I did say. The deputy said, "No; don't you go." I then went upstairs and went to bed. I got up at a quarter to 6 that morning, and that was my usual time.
[Coroner] Did you think she had gone out looking for money? - I can't say nothing about that.
[Coroner] Was the deceased a great smoker? - Yes; she used to smoke, but I can't tell what sort of pipe she smoked; all I can say is she smoked.
[Coroner] Was it a clay pipe or a wooden pipe? - It was always a clay pipe.
[Coroner] In bed? - Yes, of course.
Elizabeth Ryder, said - I live at 52 and 54, Gun-street, Spitalfields. I am married, and my husband's name is Richard John Ryder, and he is a cooper. I act as deputy of a common lodging-house. I have seen the body in the mortuary, and recognise it as that of Alice M'Kenzie. She has been living there for about four months. She lived with John M'Cormack as his wife. I have no doubt about the identity of the body. I knew she was wearing old stockings. I last saw her alive last night. She was then sober, and was not wearing a bonnet or hat.
[Coroner] Did she speak to you? - Yes. She had been at the lodging house all day. M'Cormack came home between 3 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
[Coroner] Do you know whether there had been any disagreement? I believe there had; but I did not hear anything. When deceased came downstairs between 8 and 9 o'clock she passed through the kitchen and went out.
[Coroner] Did she usually wear a bonnet or hat? - Never; but she wore a shawl, and had one on when she left the lodging-house. It was a light shawl, and witness saw it in the mortuary.
[Coroner] Was she a woman who was in the habit of being out late at night? - No. She was generally in bed by 10 o'clock. As far as I know she got her living honestly, and did not get money in the streets. Between 11 and 12 last night M'Cormack came down and asked me if I had seen the deceased since 8 or 9 o'clock. I told him I had not. He then asked me if she had paid the lodging, and I told him she had not. M'Cormack then asked what he was to do, and I told him to go to bed. He then went upstairs. Before that he told me he had a few words with the deceased, and sent her down to pay the lodging. Witness told him deceased would soon be home. Deceased had some drink during the day, and when her husband came home from work she was drunk. I did not think it necessary to make any remark to deceased when she went out. I have seen her smoke in the kitchen. She used to borrow pipes, which were short clay ones, like the one produced.
[Coroner] What time is the lodging-house closed? - At 2 o'clock in the morning. At 3:30 this morning I went into the kitchen for the deceased and another young woman, but they had not come home.
[Coroner] Has the other young woman come home? - No.
[Coroner] What is the name of this young woman? - Mog Cheeks.
[Coroner] Do you know where deceased got the drink from? - I do not; but there is a publichouse about two doors away.
[Coroner] Had you seen deceased with any other man but M'Cormack that day? - No. Between 3 and 4 in the afternoon she went to meet her husband and they came home together. When she went out at night she was alone. Deceased and M'Cormack had lodged on and off at the lodging-house for the past 12 months. When they were not there they occupied a room at Crossingham's in White's-row. The other woman referred to had lodged there for 18 months, and she was on the streets.
The Foreman. - It is important that that woman should be found.
The Coroner. - I have no doubt that she will be.
Witness. - She was in the habit of staying out all night if she had no money to pay for her lodging.
Police-constable Joseph Allen, 423 H, deposed, - Last night I was in Castle-alley. It was then 20 minutes past 12 when I passed through. I was through the alley several times. I remained there for five minutes. I entered the alley through the archway in Whitechapel-road. I had something to eat under the lamp where the deceased was found. Having remained in the alley for five minutes, I went into Wentworth-street. There was neither man nor woman there. There were wagons in the alley - two right underneath the lamp.
[Coroner] Would you swear there was no one in the wagons? - I would not swear to that, as I did not look into them; one of the wagons was an open one. Everything was very quiet at the time. The backs of some of the houses in Newcastle-street faced the alley, and in some of the upper windows were lights. That was not an unusual thing at that time. I cannot say if any of the windows were open. No sounds came from those houses. On leaving the alley I met Constable Walter Andrews, 272 H, in Wentworth-street. It was about 100 yards from the alley where I met Andrews. I spoke to Andrews, who then went towards Goldston-street. [Goulston Street]
[Coroner] How did you fix the time? - I looked at my watch. It was 12:30 when I left the alley. At the end is a publichouse - the Three Crowns - and as I passed the landlord was shutting up the house. After leaving Andrews I went towards Commercial-street and met Sergeant Badlam, [Badham] 31 H, who told me a woman had been found murdered in Castle-alley, and he directed me to go to the station. When the sergeant spoke to me it was five minutes to 1, and 1 o'clock when I got to the station.
Police-constable Walter Andrews, 272 H, said, - About ten minutes to 1 this morning I saw Sergeant Badlam at the corner of Old Castle-street, leading into Castle-alley. That was on the opposite corner of the publichouse. The sergeant said, "All right," and I said the same. I then proceeded up Castle-alley, and tried the doors on the west side of the alley. While doing so I noticed a woman lying on the pavement. Her head was lying eastward, and was on the edge of the kerbstone, with her feet towards the building, which was a wheelwright's shop and warehouse.
[Coroner] Was the body touched before the doctor arrived? - Only by my touching the face to see if it was cold. It had not been disturbed.
[Coroner] How far was it from the lamp? - Almost underneath. About 2 ft. from the lamp-post.
[Coroner] Was any wagon there? - Two; one was a scavenger's wagon, and the other a brewer's dray. They were on the same side of the way. The wagons hid the body from persons in the cottages opposite. The head was almost underneath the scavenger's wagon.
[Coroner] Where [sic] her clothes up? - Yes, almost level to the chin. Her legs and body were exposed. I noticed that blood was running from the left side of the neck.
[Coroner] You said you felt her? - I touched the abdomen. It was quite warm. I then blew my whistle, and between two and three minutes Sergeant Badlam came up. The sergeant gave me orders to stay by the body and not touch it until the doctor arrived. The body was not touched until Dr. Phillips arrived about five or ten minutes past 1.
[Coroner] Had you seen any one? - I had not. There was not a soul in the alley that I saw. After I saw the body lying on the pavement I heard a footstep coming from Old Castle-place, and I saw a young man, named Isaac Lewis Jacobs. I said, "Where are you going?" He said, "I am going to Wentworth-street to fetch something for my supper." At the time he was carrying a plate in his hand. Jacobs came back with me and stayed there until the sergeant arrived.
[Coroner] Had you been in the alley before? - Yes. Between 20 and 25 minutes past 12. I went into the alley after Allen. After he came out I went in some two or three minutes later. No one was in the alley then. After I left Allen I went into Goldston-street, then into Whitechapel High-street, down Middlesex-street into Wentworth-street again. It was there I saw the sergeant, as I have already stated.
[Coroner] Did any one attract your attention? - No, I saw no one in Goldston or Middlesex streets.
The Foreman. - Do you think deceased had been drawn to where you found her or murdered there? - I think she was killed there. I should think she had been standing up against the lamp-post, and then pulled or dragged down. There was no trail of blood away from the body, and no splashes of blood.
[Coroner?] How long have you been on the beat? - A fortnight.
[Coroner] Do people come there? - People often come to sleep in the vans, but when we find them we turn them out. I have not seen the alley used for immoral purposes, and have not seen any women there at all.
[Coroner] How many vans are there at night in the alley? - Six or eight, besides several costermonger's barrows.
[Coroner] Did you see any one the worse for drink about there last night? - I did not.
Isaac Lewis Jacobs said:- I live at 12, Newcastle-place, and am a bootmaker. About ten minutes to 1 this morning I left home to buy some supper in M'Carthy's in Dorset-street. I had occasion to pass Newcastle-place into Old Castle-street. When I got to Cocoanut-place a constable ran up to me; I stopped. He said, "Where have you been?" I replied, "I have been nowhere, I am just going on an errand, and have just left my home." The constable then said, "Come with me; there has been a murder committed." I went with him and when we got to Old Castle-street he blew his whistle. I believe a sergeant then came up. We then hurried down to the lamp-post in Castle-alley. I saw a woman lying there in a pool of blood, with a wound in the throat, and another wound in the side. I waited there until another police-constable came, and afterwards saw the body removed. Then I went home.
[Coroner] Did you see any one before you saw the constable? - No, sir.
[Coroner] Does your house look over Castle-alley? - No. That is Castle-street. [Newcastle Street]. I had not been there during the night.
Police-sergeant Badham, 31 H, stated:- About 12 minutes to 1 this morning I was in Old Castle-street and saw Constable Andrews. I went up to him and said, "All right?" He replied, "All right, sergeant." I then left him and went to visit another man on the adjoining beat. I then went to Pell-lane, when I heard two blows from a whistle. I listened for the second blow to ascertain from where it came. On hearing the second whistle I rushed up Newcastle-street and met Andrews who shouted out, "Come on, quick." I threw my cape to the ground and rushed up after him. I saw a woman lying on the pavement on the near side with her throat cut, and her head lying in a pool of blood. The legs and stomach were exposed. I got the assistance of other constables and blocked up the ends of the alley, and directed Constable 423 H to fetch the doctor and acquaint the doctor on duty. I also directed Constable 101 H to search the place and also the surrounding streets; and Constable 272 H to remain with the body, and not to let any one touch it until the doctor arrived. Sergeant 21 H and the local inspector came up and made search. They were followed by Detective-Inspector Reid. I also acquainted the superintendent, and directed other constables to make careful inquiry at the lodging-houses, coffee-houses, and places where men were likely to go. In the meantime the doctor arrived. I also made search myself, but failed to find trace of any person that was likely to have committed the murder.
[Coroner] Had you been in the alley at all that night? - No.
Police-constable George Neve, 101 H, stated:- About five minutes to 1 I met the sergeant in Commercial-street. He said, "Hurry up into Castle-alley. There has been a murder done; go and search all round." I searched all round, but did not find anything. It was all quiet. I then went into Castle-alley, to where the body was lying. I searched the conveyances in Castle Alley and looked over the hoarding, but could see no trace of any one about. I saw no one move and heard no sound.
[Coroner] Did you know the deceased? - I have known her about the place for 12 months, and have seen her the worse for drink.
[Coroner] Have you ever seen her about at night? - Between 10 and 11 o'clock. It was my opinion she was a prostitute. I have seen her talking to men. I have seen her in Gun-street, Brick-lane, and Dorset-street. I did not know where she lived. I had not seen her before that evening. In fact, I had not seen her for about a fortnight.
Mrs. Sarah Frances Smith stated:- I live at the Whitechapel Baths and Washhouses. My husband is a retired police-officer, and is superintendent of the baths. I am money-taker there. The baths back on to Castle-alley, and the window of my room looks into Castle-alley, close to where the body was found. I went to bed this morning between 12:15 and 12:30. I did not go to sleep, and had no idea that anything had happened, until I heard a knock at the door, and also a whistle blown.
[Coroner] If there had been any call for help in the alley would you have heard it? - Yes, certainly. My bedstead is up against the wall, next to Castle-alley.
At this stage the inquiry was adjourned.
Day 2, Thursday, July 18th, 1889
(The Times, Friday, July 19th, 1889)
Yesterday morning [18 July] Mr. Wynne E. Baxter, coroner for the South-Eastern Division of Middlesex, resumed his adjourned inquiry at the Working Lad's Institute into the circumstances attending the death of Alice M'Kenzie, aged about 40 years, who was found murdered in Castle-alley, Whitechapel, early on Wednesday morning.
Sergeant [Superintendent] T. Arnold and Detective-Inspector E. Reid watched the case on behalf of the Commissions of Police and Criminal Investigation Department.
Detective-Inspector Edmund Reid, H Division, said:- I received a call to Castle-alley about five minutes past 1 on the morning of the murder. I dressed and ran down at once. On arriving at Castle-alley I found the Wentworth-street end blocked by a policeman. On arriving at the back of the baths I saw the deceased woman. I saw she had a cut on the left side of the throat, and there was a quantity of blood under the head which was running into the gutter. The clothes were up and her face was slightly turned towards the road. She was lying on he back. I felt the face and body, and found they were warm. Dr. Phillips arrived. At the time I arrived I ascertained the fact that the other end (Whitechapel) was blocked and search was being made through the alley and also in the immediate neighbourhood. The deputy-superintendent and his wife at the baths were seen and stated they heard nothing unusual. After the body had been examined by the doctor it was placed on the police ambulance, and underneath the body of the deceased was found the short clay pipe produced. The pipe was broken and there was blood on it, and in the bowl was some unburnt tobacco. I also found a bronze farthing underneath the clothes of the deceased. There was also blood on the farthing. I produce a rough plan of Castle-alley; a correct copy of which will be sent by the draughtsman. During the whole time from the finding of the body only one private person was present, except Lewis Jacobs, who was examined yesterday. Everything was done very quietly. The fence on the other side of the alley, to where the body was found, is about 10 ft. high. Along that were a row of barrows. Close to where the body was found were two barrows chained together. There was a lamp where the body was found; one outside the publichouse; one at the entrance to Old Castle-street; and one at the entrance to the passage leading into the alley. I do not think any stranger would go down there unless he was taken there. I did not go into the High-street, Whitechapel, within a few minutes of my arrival in the alley. There are people in High-street, Whitechapel, all night. Two constables are continually passing through the alley all night. It is hardly ever left alone for more than five minutes. Although it is called an alley it is really a broad turning, with two narrow entrances. Any person standing at the Wentworth-street end would look upon it as a blind street. No stranger would think he could pass through it, and none but foot passengers can. It was raining when the body was removed. It was raining when I arrived, but a very little. The spot under which the deceased was lying was dry except where there was blood. I searched the body at the mortuary and found nothing. There is no doubt about the name of the deceased. I have since made inquiries at 54, Gun-street, and have ascertained from the deputy, Ryder, that Mog Cheeks, the woman that was mentioned yesterday, stayed with her sister all night. I saw the deputy this morning, and she said she would try to get Mog Cheeks here. I have no doubt the deed was committed on the spot where the body was found. I should say she was lying down on the pavement when she was murdered, as if she had been standing up there would have been blood on the wall. She was lying along the pavement, her head being towards Whitechapel. No person, unless he went along the pathway, could have seen the body on account of the shadow of the lamp and the vans which screened the body. Any person going along the road would have seen it. If I wanted to watch any one I would stand under the lamp. The darkness was so great that it was necessary to use the constable's lamp to see that the throat was cut, although it was just under the lamp. I think the alley is sufficiently lighted; there are five lamps here. In another instance of this kind - the Hanbury-street murder - two similar farthings were found. The tobacco in the pipe had not been smoked. The pipe was a very old one and was what was termed in the lodging-house "a nose warmer."
Dr. George Baxter Phillips, divisional surgeon of the H Division, said that he was called, and arrived at Castle-alley at 1:10 a.m. on Wednesday, when it was raining very hard. On his arrival in Castle-alley, at the back premises of the washhouses he found the body lying on the pavement in the position already described, as to which the witness gave full details. Having inspected the body, he had it removed to the shed used as a mortuary in the Pavilion-yard, Whitechapel. There he re-examined the body and left it in charge of the police. Yesterday he made a post-mortem examination at the same shed - a most inconvenient and altogether ill-appointed place for such a purpose. It tended greatly to the thwarting of justice having such a place to perform such examinations in. With several colleagues he made the examination at 2 o'clock, when rigor mortis was well marked. The witness then described the wounds, of which there were several, and these were most of them superficial cuts on the lower part of the body. There were several old scars and there was the loss of the top of the right thumb, apparently caused by some former injury. The wound in the neck was 4 in. long, reaching from the back part of the muscles, which were almost entirely divided. It reached to the fore part of the neck to a point 4 in. below the chin. There was a second incision, which must have commenced from behind and immediately below the first. The cause of death was syncope, arising from the loss of blood through the divided carotid vessels, and such death probably was almost instantaneous.
The Coroner. - There are various points that the doctor would rather reserve at this moment.
Margaret Cheeks said:- I generally live at 52, Gun-street. I am married, and my husband's name is Charles Cheeks, when he is with me. He is a bricklayer and has not been living with me for three years. I knew the deceased from living in the same house. I saw her on Tuesday morning getting her husband's breakfast. I have not seen her since.
Margaret Franklin stated:- I live at 56, Flower and Dean-street and am a widow. I have known the deceased for 15 years. Between 11:30 and 12 o'clock on Tuesday night I saw the deceased and was speaking to her. I was sitting with two others on the steps of a house at the top of Flower and Dean-street. Deceased was passing and going in the direction of Brick-lane and Whitechapel. We exchanged a few words. I do not think she was under the influence of drink. I have often seen her out as late as that, as she did domestic work for the Jews. I did not see her speak to anyone in Brick-lane on Tuesday night. The only name I knew her by was Alice. I knew she was living in Gun-street with a man that I knew by the name of Bryant. It was the same one that gave evidence yesterday. I have never seen her talking with other men. She worked hard for the Jews and they do not give much. It had just begun to rain when deceased passed.
Catherine Hughes, who was sitting with the last witness, generally corroborated her evidence, but stated that it was not raining when she passed, and the rain did not come down until a quarter to 1.
Detective-Inspector Reid. - I am certain it was not raining at half-past 12, as I was out at that time.
The CORONER said the inquiry would be adjourned until the 14th of August. In the meantime he hoped there would not be another affair of this kind. People having the character of the victims had it entirely in their hands to prevent this kind of thing. If they could only be induced not to assist the man who did this sort of work it would be stopped, but unfortunately it was hoping against hope, because they would lend themselves to it.
The inquiry was then adjourned.
Day 3, Wednesday, August 14th, 1889
(The Times, Thursday, August 15, 1889)
Yesterday [14 August] Mr. Wynne E. Baxter, Coroner for the South-Eastern Division of Middlesex, resumed his adjourned inquiry at the Working Lad's Institute, Whitechapel, respecting the death of ALICE M'KENZIE, who was found brutally murdered in Castle-alley, Whitechapel, on the early morning of the 17th ult.
Detective Inspector Moore (Scotland-yard) and Detective Inspector E. Reid, H Division, watched the case on behalf of the Criminal Investigation Department.
Dr. George Bagster Phillips, divisional surgeon of H Division, was recalled and deposed, - On the occasion of my making the post-mortem examination, the attendants of the mortuary, on taking off the clothing of the deceased woman removed a short clay pipe, which one of them threw upon the ground, by which means it was broken. I had the broken pieces placed upon a ledge at the end of the post-mortem table; but it has disappeared, and although inquiry has been made about it, up to the present time it has not been forthcoming. The pipe had been used. It came from the woman's clothing. The attendants, whom I have often seen there before, are old workhouse men. There were five marks on the abdomen, and, with the exception of one, were on the left side of the abdomen. The largest one was the lowest, and the smallest one was the exceptional one mentioned, and was typical of a finger-nail mark. They were coloured, and in my opinion were caused by the finger-nails and thumb nail of a hand. I have on a subsequent examination assured myself of the correctness of this conclusion.
The Coroner. - When you first saw the body, how long should you say she had been dead? - Not more than half an hour, and very possibly a much shorter time. It was a wet and cold night. The deceased met her death, in my opinion, while lying on the ground on her back. The injuries to the abdomen were caused after death.
[Coroner] In what position do you think the assailant was at the time? - The great probability is that he was on the right side of the body at the time he killed her, and that he cut her throat with a sharp instrument. I should think the latter had a shortish blade and was pointed. I cannot tell whether it was the first or second cut that terminated the woman's life. The first cut, whether it was the important one or not, would probably prevent the woman from crying out on account of the shock. The whole of the air passages were uninjured, so that if she was first forced on to the ground she might have called out. The bruises over the collar-bone may have been caused by finger pressure. There were no marks suggestive of pressure against the windpipe.
[Coroner] Did you detect any skill in the injuries? - A knowledge of how effectually to deprive a person of life, and that speedily.
[Coroner] Are the injuries to the abdomen similar to those you have seen in the other cases? - No, Sir. I may volunteer the statement that the injuries to the throat are not similar to those in the other cases.
The Foreman. - Do I understand this pipe you speak of was in addition to the one produced on the last occasion? - Yes. I cannot tell from where it came, but my impression is that it came from the bosom of the dress. The knife that was used could not have been so large as the ordinary butcher's slaughter knife.
[Coroner] Were the finger-nail marks on the body those of the woman herself? - My impression is that they were caused by another hand. These marks were caused after the throat was cut.
Inspector Reid. - That is all the evidence we have.
The CORONER. - Then we have practically come to the end of this inquiry. Opportunity has now been given to ascertain whether any further light could be thrown upon this unfortunate case. The first point the jury have to consider is as to the identity of the deceased woman, and, fortunately, in regard to that there is no question. There is an interval of nearly five hours from when M'Cormack saw the deceased until she is seen between half-past 11 and 12 by some women in Flower and Dean-street. This is the last that was seen of her. At a quarter past 12 a constable had his supper under the very lamp under which the deceased was afterwards found, and at that time no one was near. Another constable was there at 25 minutes past 12, and the place was then all right. The officer next entered the alley at 12:50 and it was between those times that the murder must have been done. When the body was discovered there was no one about, and nothing suspicious had been seen. Had there been any noise, there were plenty of opportunities for it to have been heard. There is great similarity between this and the other class of cases which have happened in this neighbourhood, and if this crime has not been committed by the same person, it is clearly an imitation of the other cases. We have another similarity in the absence of motive. None of the evidence shows that the deceased was at enmity with any one. There is nothing to show why the woman is murdered or by whom. I think you will agree with me that so far as the police are concerned every care was taken after the death to discover and capture the assailant. All the ability and discretion the police have shown in their investigations have been unavailing, as in the other cases. The evidence tends to show that the deceased was attacked, laid on the ground and murdered. It is to be hoped that something will be done to prevent crimes of this sort and to make such crimes impossible. It must now be patent to the whole world that in Spitalfields there is a class of persons who, I think, cannot be found in such numbers, not only in any other part of this metropolis, but in any other metropolis; and the question arises, should this state of affairs continue to exist? I do not say it is for you to decide. The matter is one for a higher power than ourselves to suggest a remedy. But it certainly appears to me there are two ways in which the matter ought to be attacked. In the first place, it ought to be attacked physically. Many of the houses in the neighbourhood are unfit for habitation. They want clearing away and fresh ones built. Those are physical alterations which, I maintain, require to be carried out there. Beyond this there is the moral question. Here we get a population of the same character, and not varied, as in a moderately-sized town or village. Here there is a population of 20,000 of the same character, not one of whom is capable of elevating the other. Of course there is an opinion among the police that it is a proper thing that this seething mass should be kept together rather than be distributed all over the metropolis. Every effort ought to be made to elevate this class. I am constantly struck by the fact that all the efforts of charitable and religious bodies here are comparatively unavailing. It is true a great deal has been done of late years, especially to assist the moral development of the East-end, but it is perfectly inadequate to meet the necessities of the case. If no other advantage comes from these mysterious murders, they will probably wake up the Church and others to the fact that it is the duty of every parish in the West to have a mission and localize work in the East-end, otherwise it will be impossible to stop these awful cases of crime. Here is a parish of 21,000 persons with only one church in it. There are not only cases of murder here, but many of starvation. I hope at least these cases will open the eyes of those who are charitable to the necessity of doing their duty by trying to elevate the lower classes.
The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict of "Wilful murder against some person or persons unknown," and added a rider endorsing the remarks of the Coroner, and requesting him to forward a recommendation to the County Council, and the Whitechapel District Board of Works to open up Castle-alley to the Whitechapel High-street as a thoroughfare.
