SIR CHARLES WARREN'S letter to the Whitechapel Board of Works is a confession of helplessness pitiful to read in the present crisis. What suggestions has our dictator of the streets to offer in this emergency? That the Board should improve the lighting of the Whitechapel slums, and use its influence with the Whitechapel street-walkers (really Sir Charles is very kind; why does he not use his own well-known abilities as a missionary?) to keep them out of the path of danger. Beyond this, we are asked to believe that because we hear nothing of discoveries by detectives, that only shows that the detectives are specially active and energetic; and we are told for the thousandth time that the Metropolitan Police are hopelessly handicapped in dealing with a situation like this for want of reserves to draw on in the emergency.
UP to the present, therefore, the only practical moral to be drawn from the wholesale massacre which is now horrifying the world, is the inadequacy of the police force from top to bottom, apparently in point of intelligence, and certainly in point of numbers. If it does nothing else the Whitechapel mystery should force the question of the control and administration of the London police to the foremost place in metropolitan politics. We are glad to see that the Finsbury Radicals are setting the example in using the occasion for this purpose, and we hope to see them backed up promptly by every political organisation in London.
LOOK at this question of the offer of a reward. At this moment the City proper is placarded with notices of a £500 reward, offered by the municipal authorities. Outside that magic area, the authorities believe that such an offer is useless, or worse than useless, and are so strong in that belief that they reject all proffers of private aid in the matter. Whether the City is right or the Home Office is right, what more convincing demonstration could be offered of the necessity of placing the whole police of the metropolis under the control of a genuine municipal authority?
IN our opinion the City is right. The very fact that the City police believe in the possible efficacy of a reward shows that there is room for doubt on the subject, and where there is room for doubt the benefit ought to be given in the direction of long-established and well-tried practice. It is the duty of Mr. Matthews and his subordinates, as we said the other day, to show that they have left no stone unturned, no resource enexhausted. But there is a special reason for offering a reward in this present case. London is in daily danger of a repetition of the recent butchery. Ordinarily, a reward is merely designed to bring the perpetrator of a past crime to justice; but here it may have the effect of preventing a repetition of the crime. The prospect of a reward is enough in a district like the East-end to convert every other resident into an amateur detective. The criminal must know that it increases his risk a hundredfold, and who knows how many a life may be saved by that knowledge alone? Have our red-tape bound officials in Whitehall looked at this special feature of the present case?
BY the way, why does our friend, the D.T., print facsimiles of the ghastly but very silly letters from "Jack the Ripper?" We were offered them by the "Central News," and declined to print them. They were clearly written in red pencil, not in blood, the obvious reason being that the writer was one of those foolish but bad people who delight in an unholy notoriety. Now, the murderer is not a man of this kind. His own love of publicity is tempered by a very peculiar and remarkable desire for privacy and by a singular ability to secure what he wants. Nor is there any proof of any pre-knowledge of the Mitre-square crimes, beyond the prediction that they were going to happen, which anybody might have made. The reference to ear-clipping may be a curious coincidence, but there is nothing in the posting of the letter on Sunday. Thousand of Londoners had details of the crimes supplied in the Sunday papers.
THERE are one or two fresh additions this morning to the stock of speculative theories of the crime. One of the least extravagant of them is that the fiend may be a foreign butcher gone mad. The character of the work is said to resemble the manipulation of the Parisian charcutier. We have always favored the "slaughterman" theory, and this variation of it strikes us as more likely than the idea that the miscreant is a maniac Malay or Lascar. The neighborhood of the docks, however, is sufficient to give some support to the theory that some form of Oriental demoniacal possession is at the bottom of the crime. But theorising on such slender materials is not very profitable work.
MRS. FENWICK MILLER'S accusation against our Courts of making "woman-killing no murder" is a vigorous and startling piece of special pleading; but it really proves nothing. Those who have been impressed by it would do well to study a curious article published some time ago on the same subject by Mr. Belfort Bax, whose contention, exactly contrary to that of Mrs. Fenwick Miller, is that women enjoy a sentimental exemption from punishment to the extent of being able to commit atrocious crimes against men with impunity. And he was able to bring forward cases, including acquittals of female murderers and vitriol throwers, quite as startling as any adduced by Mrs. Fenwick Miller. The truth is, as usual, between the two special pleaders. Our vicious system of giving to property the protection, the sanctity, and even the Parliamentary franchise which we deny to humanity, has led to the anomaly that it is safer to kick a human being to death's door than to steal a turnip. But this disregard of life is by no means peculiar to one sex. If scandalously light sentences are passed for assaults on women, even lighter ones are passed for assaults on men. The only difference is that as women are weaker they get much the worst of the bouts of violence which are encouraged by the law's indifference. Consequently poor women get kicked oftener than poor men. It the balance was on the other side, the punishment would be equally inadequate. It is the class question rather than the sex question that is at issue in this matter.
LYCEUM THEATRE. - Sole Lessee, Mr. Henry Irving. - TO-NIGHT at 8.45, MATINEE SATURDAY, at 2.
In response to the continued and great demand for "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," the following programme is arranged for next week:-
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, and FRIDAY, at 9 o'clock, DR. JEKYLL AND MR HYDE, preceded at 8 o'clock by LESBIA.
TUESDAY, THURSDAY and SATURDAY EVENINGS, at 8 o'clock, and SATURDAY AFTERNOON, at 2, A PARISIAN ROMANCE. - LYCEUM.
Dr. Savage, of Bethlem Hospital, and Dr. Nicholson, of Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, held a medical inquiry as to the state of mind of Patrick Kelly, the seaman condemned to death at the Central Criminal Court for double murder on the high seas, and have reported that he is insane, and, in their opinion, was insane when he committed the crime. Kelly will be removed to Broadmoor Asylum.
A Sketch of the Leading Lines of their Energetic Investigations - Warren breaks Silence - What a Smart American would have Done.
The failure of the police to discover the Whitechapel murderer is certainly not due to inactivity. No one who has had occasion to visit the police offices whence the investigations are being conducted can escape the impression that everybody is on the move, and it is probably a fact that very few of the chief officials and detectives have had their regular rest since last Sunday morning. One hears no complaint against the demand for extra duty, except in instances where the pressure is unevenly applied, for the police are individually
of the murderer than any one else. The City police, though there has been but one of the series of murders committed within their bailawick, are no less active in their exertions than the metropolitan, and it is a mistake to suppose that there is too much friction between the two organisations for them to pool issues in this matter. Each office pursues its work according to its own methods, but there is a constant interchange of information, and a constant comparison of views on points affecting more than one case. In conversation with different officials a Star reporter has gathered some interesting facts as to the amount of work the police are doing. One prominent feature is in connection with
It appears that the investigation of these establishments has been most thorough. Everyone in the whole East-end district, and some others, have practically been turned inside out. The proprietors and managers have in most cases heartily co-operated with the police, and every employee has been personally "pumped." Each man has been called upon to give an account of himself and his whereabouts not only on last Saturday night, but during the entire period over which the series of crimes extends. Every peculiar circumstance is made note of, and no one to whom the slightest suspicion attaches is lost sight of until the suspicion is completely allayed. Nor has the man's own word been accepted as conclusive. Each man has been asked if he knows of any one who has not been regular at his work or has played tricks on the timekeeper, for the time-book in each establishment plays an important part in the investigation. More than all this, in some cases, all men who can write have been called upon to make a statement in writing and sign their names, so that any possible question of handwriting may be more easily compared. The same thoroughness has characterised what has been done in
Deputies were required to make a showing of all their regular lodgers, to point out their habits, their peculiarities, and their associates, and to furnish descriptions of all casual visitors who had attracted special attention. Frequenters of lodging-houses have been interviewed by hundreds, and detectives have been scattered all over the district disguised as men down on their luck in the hope of their picking up some information. But the police have pretty well made up their minds that the man they want is not to be found through the lodging-house channel. The fact that so many of the victims were themselves frequenters of these caravanseries has quickened the instinct, and aroused the spirit of the class, and it would be almost impossible for a murderer to be in their midst without someone giving him away. The attention that has been paid to
has been quite as close, but the police have not always found the hospital authorities too eager to assist them. The ethics of medical etiquette appear to stand in the way of full and free investigation among medical students at least, for they are slow to tell what they know or suspect when it may affect one of their number. One police inspector told the Star man that he supposed there were over a hundred men who were being individually shadowed in his district alone, and if the same system is in vogue all over the East-end the number of detectives on the job must be something enormous. There is not a vacant building in the East that has not been thoroughly searched lest it might afford a hiding-place for the murderer; and in at least two instances the drain-pipes have been taken up for a long distance where suspicious matter was thought to have been deposited.
that has left the harbor since the hour of the commission of the last crime has been thoroughly overhauled, the workhouses have been visited for the examination of all new inmates, and even the prison authorities have been enlisted in the cause for the sake of keeping a close eye on prisoners who may have been glad to get put away for a time for trivial offences. It is estimated, roughly speaking, that there are at least 500 men engaged in these investigations who are not police officers, but who are directly instructed by the police officials.
Sir Charles Warren, replying to a resolution forwarded to him from the Whitechapel Board of Works, says:- "The prevention of murder directly cannot be effected by any strength of the police force; but it is reduced and brought to a minimum by rendering it most difficult to escape detection. In the particular class of murder now confronting us, however, the unfortunate victims appear to take the murderer to some retired spot and to place themselves in such a position that they can be slaughtered without a sound being heard; the murder, therefore, takes place without any clue to the criminal being left. I have to request and call upon your Board, as popular representatives, to do all in your power to
about Whitechapel from going into lonely places in the dark with any persons - whether acquaintances or strangers. I have also to point out that the purlieus about Whitechapel are most imperfectly lighted, and that darkness is an important assistant to crime. I can assure you, for the information of your Board, that every nerve has been strained to detect the criminal or criminals, and to render more difficult further atrocities. You will agree with me that it is not desirable that I should enter into particulars as to what the police are doing in the matter. It is most important for good results that our proceedings should not be published, and the very fact that you may be unaware of what the Detective Department is doing is only the stronger proof that it is doing its work with
I trust that your Board will assist the police by persuading the inhabitants to give them every information in their power concerning any suspicious characters in the various dwellings, for which object 10,000 handbills, a copy of which I enclose, have been distributed." In conclusion, he denies the frequently-made statement that police are transferred from districts they know thoroughly to those with which they are unacquainted, and invites the Board to suggest any changes in the system they think desirable, assuring them that their proposals will receive every consideration.
In connection with the Mitre-square murder, the foreman of the sewer hands who are engaged at Aldgate in sweeping the streets in the early hours of the morning has stated most positively that at the time when the murder is supposed to have been perpetrated he was standing not more than 20 yards away from the spot where the body was found. He never heard any woman's cries for help, nor any sounds of a struggle.
Under the supervision of the local vigilance committee, upwards of a score of citizen detectives went out on duty at twelve o'clock last night. The locality is divided into "beats," and by pre-arrangement those who have undertaken the assistance of the regular police meet periodically at central points during the night to report themselves. Noiseless boots, as from time to time suggested for the force, have been provided for the amateur policemen.
The Whitechapel murders are attracting widespread attention throughout America. Inspector Byrnes, of New York, was asked how he would proceed to solve the London mystery. He said: - "I should have gone right to work in a commonsense way, and not believed in mere theories. With the great power of the London police I should have manufactured victims for the murderer. I would have taken 50 female habitués of Whitechapel and covered the ground with them. Even if one fell a victim, I should get the murderer. Men un-uniformed should be scattered over the district so nothing could escape them. The crimes are all of the same class, and I would have determined the class to which the murderer belonged. But - pshaw! What's the good of talking? The murderer would have been caught long ago."
SIR, - A remarkable incident in connection with the recent murders is that in no one instance has it been found that the victim made any noise or cry while being done to death.
My assistant suggests a theory in reference to this very remarkable fact, which strikes me as having something in it, and as such ought to be made public.
The theory is that the murderer goes about with a vial of rum or brandy in his pocket drugged with an opiate - such as a solution of morphia, which is almost, if not quite, tasteless - that he offers a swig of it to his victims (which they would all be likely to greedily accept) when he meets them, that in about ten to twenty minutes, the poison begins to do its work on constitutions well soaked with alcohol, and that then they are easily dispatched without fear of making any noise or call for assistance.
Having been out of town lately for my holidays I have not closely followed the evidence at the inquests; but there are two questions which would require clearing up if there is anything in this theory. 1st. Have the stomachs or most of them been ripped open to do away with the evidence of poisoning in this manner, and (2nd), has any analysis of the contents of the stomachs been made. - Yours, &c.,
MITRE-SQUARE INQUEST.
The Story of the Gruesome Discovery Told by One of the Witnesses.
The inquest upon the body of the unfortunate woman who was found murdered in Mitre-square, Aldgate, in the early hours of Sunday morning, and who has since been identified as Kate Eddows or Conway or Kenny, was opened this morning by Coroner Langham, at the City Mortuary, Golden-lane, Barbican. The room is a fairly large one, but accommodation was at a premium, so enormous was the interest which centred in this attempt to ascertain by what means and at whose hands deceased came by her death. Before proceeding to the mortuary the coroner went and made a personal inspection of the scene of the crime, with a view to the better appreciation of the evidence bearing on the position of the body. The City police were represented by Major Smith, the Acting Commissioner, Superintendent Foster, and Detective-inspector McWilliam; while Mr. Crawford, the City Solicitor, was also present in the interests of the police.
was the first witness. She said: I live at 6, Thrawl-street, Spitalfields, and am a widow. I identify the deceased as my poor sister. Her name was Catherine Eddows. She was not married, and was not single, but was living with a gentleman named Mr. Kelly. She had been with him for some years. I last saw her alive four or five months ago.
The Coroner: How did she get her living? - She used to go out hawking things.
Was she a woman of sober habits? - Yes, sir.
Before she went to live with Kelly had she lived with anyone else? - Yes, a man named Conway some years, and had two children by him, both of whom are alive.
Is Conway still living? - I do not know. He was in the army, and was a pensioner who use to go out hawking things.
Did they part on good or bad terms? - I could not tell you, sir.
Has she been in the habit of seeing him since they parted? - I don't know. I have never heard her say.
By Mr. Crawford: It was seven or eight years since I saw Conway. I could not exactly say whether she was living on friendly terms with Kelly. They were living in Flower and Dean-street at a common lodging-house.
of 55, Flower and Dean-street, said: I am a laborer jobbing about the markets. I have seen the body of deceased, and I recognise it as that of Catherine Conway. I had been living with her for seven years. She used to sell things about the streets for a living.
When were you last in her company? - On Saturday, at two in the afternoon in Houndsditch.
Did you part on good terms? - Yes; on very good terms. She said she was going over to try and see her daughter Annie, in Bermondsey. Those were her last words to me.
Was Annie her daughter by Conway? - Yes, I believe so.
What time did she say she should return? - She promised me to be back by four and no later.
She did not return? - No, sir.
Did you make any inquiries? - I heard she had been locked up at Bishopsgate-street. I was told so by an old woman, who said she saw her in custody of two policemen.
Did you make further inquiries? - I did not, sir, feeling sure she would be out Sunday morning.
Did you hear what she was locked up for? - A drop of drink, sir.
Did you ever know she went out for an immoral purpose? - No, sir. I never suffered her to do so.
Was she in the habit of drinking to excess? - Oh, no, sir, only slightly. Occasionally she might drink to excess.
When you left her had she any money about her? - No, sir.
What was her object of going to see her daughter? - With a view of
so as I should not see her walking the streets at night without shelter.
Then was she in the habit of walking the streets? - No, sir; but there's been many a night we have not had the money to pay for our lodging.
Do you know of anyone with whom she was at variance - anyone likely to injure her? - No, sir, not in the least.
Have you ever seen Conway of late? - I have never seen him in my existence.
Do you know if she has? - I don't.
Do you know if he is living? - I cannot say.
Did you ascertain what time she was discharged from the police-station? - No, sir.
A Juror: What time did she usually return to your lodgings? - About eight or nine.
By Mr. Crawford: You say she had no money. Do you know who paid for her drink on Saturday afternoon? - No, sir.
Is this last time the first occasion on which she has not returned when she has left you? - Yes, for months. Some months ago she left me in consequence of a few words, but only remained away a few hours.
Had you had any angry conversation on this Saturday afternoon? - No, sir.
On Friday night did deceased sleep with you? - No.
Was she walking the streets? - No, she went into the casual ward at Mile-end.
Did you sleep with deceased at all during last week at a lodging-house? - No, sir; we were hop-picking at Kent.
Where did she procure the tea and sugar found on her? - She
on Saturday morning for half-a-crown.
And when she left you was she perfectly sober? - Yes.
Had you any money? - No; we had spent the half-crown on drink and food.
Do you know why she left Conway? - No, I could not say.
She has never brought you money that she has earned during the night? - Never, sir.
A Juror: Where were you on Saturday night? - In the lodging-house.
the deputy of the lodging-house, 55, Flower and Dean-street, said: I have known the deceased and Kelly for the last seven or eight years. They passed as man and wife, and lived on very good terms. They had a quarrel now and again through drink, but nothing violent happened. Deceased got her living by hawking and by charing amongst the Jews, from what I have heard her say. I do not think I have ever seen Kelly drunk in my life, but deceased I have sometimes. She was not in the habit of walking the streets to my knowledge. She said her name was Kate Conway, "bought and paid for," meaning that she had married Conway.
By Mr. Crawford: The last time Kelly and deceased slept together at my lodging house was five or six weeks ago. When deceased did not come home with Kelly on Saturday night I asked him where she was, and he said she was locked up. I am quite positive Kelly did not go out again on Saturday evening after coming in at about ten.
Did Kelly ever quarrel with any man about the woman? - No, I never saw any such quarrel.
Can you tell me whether when you saw deceased on Saturday she was wearing an apron? - I believe she was.
What is the distance from your lodging-house to the scene of the murder? - Five or six hundred yards.
Several of the Jury: More than that.
Can you tell me whether any one came into your lodging-house, either a stranger or anyone you knew, and took a bed between one and two? - No, I don't think so. Two detectives came about three.
Can you by referring to your books see if any one came in between one and two? - Yes, by my books.
Then I think, Mr. Coroner, the further examination of this witness had better be postponed.
The witness then left to fetch his book.
examined by Mr. Crawford, said: I have been in the City police force for 17 years. On Saturday night last I went on duty at a quarter to ten on my regular beat, which extends from the corner of Duke-street, Aldgate, into Leadenhall-street, along Leadenhall-street eastward into Mitre-street, then into Mitre-square, and round the square again into Mitre-street, back again to my starting place at Duke-street. That takes me 12 or 14 minutes. I had been continuously patrolling that beat from ten till one in the morning.
Had anything excited your attention? - No, sir.
Or any person? - No, sir.
Did you pass through Mitre-square at half-past one on Sunday morning? - Yes, sir.
Had you your lantern alight and fixed on your belt? - Yes.
And did you in accordance with your usual practice look at the various passages and warehouses? - Yes, sir.
At half-past one did anything excite your attention? - No, sir.
Could anyone have been in any portion of the square without your seeing them? - No, sir.
When did you next come into Mitre-square? - About sixteen minutes to two, a time I fix by the reference I subsequently made to my watch.
Then something attracted your attention? - Yes. I turned to the right as I entered the square and I saw the body of a woman lying there.
How was she lying? - On her back, with her feet facing the square. Her clothes were up above her waist, and I saw her throat was cut, and her bowels protruding.
The stomach was ripped up, then? - Yes, sir.
Was she lying in a pool of blood? - Yes, sir.
Did you touch the body? - No, sir. I ran across the road to Messrs. Kearley and Tonge's warehouse and called the watchman inside, a man named Morris. He came out, and I sent him for assistance.
Did you remain by the side of the body till the arrival of Police-constable Holland? - I did.
Was there anyone about but yourself? - No one till Holland arrived. He was followed by Dr. Sequeira, and Inspector Collard arrived about two.
the police surgeon, followed.
As you had entered the square had you heard of any footsteps as of anyone running away? - No, not a sound.
And to the best of your belief you were the only person in the square except that unfortunate woman? - Yes, sir.
of 26, Old Jewry, produced plans of the scene of the murder. The probable route from Berner-street, Commercial-street, to Mitre-square was marked.
Mr. Crawford: Would Gouldstone-street be on the direct route from the lodging-house in Flower and Dean-street to Mitre-square? - Yes, sir.
What time would it take to go from Mitre-square to this lodging-house, passing through Gouldstone-street? - Within a quarter of an hour.
And how long would it take to go from Berner-street to Mitre-square? - About a quarter of an hour at a fair pace.
Mr. Crawford said the importance of this evidence consisted in the fact that a portion of this woman's apron was found in Gouldstone-street.
the lodging-house deputy, had by this time returned. Further examined by Mr. Crawford, he said: Kelly slept at my lodging-house on Friday and Saturday.
Does your book enable you to say whether any person came in about two on Sunday morning? - It does not indicate what time anyone would come in.
Is there nothing that you can refresh your memory by? - I had six strange men sleeping there on Saturday night.
And cannot you tell me if any one of them came in about two on Sunday morning? - I cannot.
Do you remember any stranger going out soon after twelve? - I could hardly tell if any one went out at that time. I should be so busy then.
A Juror: Is it usual to have your house open at two in the morning? - Yes, till about half-past two.
No register is kept of names of any kind? - No, sir. It's all done by crosses and numbers.
You ask no questions? - No, sir.
An evening contemporary publishes the following: -
"This morning at half-past four a man was seen to go behind a hoarding in High-street, Shadwell, with a woman. The watchman on duty, having his suspicions, followed them and called the police. The man killed the watchman with a knife, but was secured by several constables who had hurried up. It is believed that the man is the Whitechapel murderer."
Our reporter saw the inspector on duty at Leman-street Police-station with reference to this report. "No one," said the officer, "has been arrested at Shadwell."
Has a watchman or anyone been killed? - No.
Then you think there is no truth in the report? - "Think!" he answered. "I am sure of it."
This report proves to be false in two very important particulars. No arrests have been made by the Shadwell police to-day, and no watchman has been killed. The watchman who was said to have fallen a victim to the knife of the murderer was on duty at a building in process of demolition at No. 191, High-street, opposite St. Paul's Church, Shadwell. A Star reporter found the watchman alive, though not lively, at No. 6, New Gravel-lane. His name is James McNaughten. He did not look like a man who had undergone an encounter with a desperado, and he assured the Star man that his experience did not belie his looks. He was utterly ignorant of the fact that he had awoke
and it was with difficulty that he could recall any incident of the night that could have given rise to the story. At length, however, he remembered that he had seen a man and woman pass him soon after midnight, and noticing a moment later that they had disappeared, he walked up to the other end of the hoarding, and found them in its shadow. "I asked them what they were doing there," said he, "and the woman asked what business it was of mine. I told her I didn't want no game played there, and then the man said something about my wanting to get ripped up." "Of course," continued the watchman, "I didn't want to get ripped up, and I was glad to see 'em move on." The watchman added that he may have mentioned the circumstance to some of his acquaintances before he went to bed this morning, but he attached no importance to the fact, as similar occurrences took place nightly in that neighborhood, and something about "ripping up" and "Leather Apron" was in everybody's mouth.
The Central News says: - Passengers to the City from stations north and east of London were this morning greatly excited by the intelligence that "Jack the Ripper" had been captured. The story ran that at an early hour this morning a mounted patrol observed a suspicious-looking character, and challenged him. The man immediately attacked him with a knife, slashing him in a dreadful manner, but after a desperate struggle the constable succeeded in capturing him. A similar account was communicated to the police, but after telegraphing to all the stations in London it was found the story was an entire fabrication.
The police most emphatically deny the truth of the story that has been published as to the discovery of a shopkeeper who had talked with the murderer and his Berner-street victim, had sold them grapes, and had seen them at the entrance to the fatal alley ten minutes before the deed was done. The fact is, that the alleged informant contradicts himself, and there is no evidence that there were any grapes in the possession of the woman.
Late last night a man entered a coffee-shop in Kilburn-lane, and talked in an incoherent manner about the Whitechapel tragedies. He produced what appeared to be a long-bladed knife. He was subsequently taken into custody, and gave the name of Philip Hurst. On being searched, a bright steel rule was found on him, but no weapon. He had been drinking heavily.
The Whitechapel craze has extended to the genteel neighborhood lying between Upper Norwood and Croydon, and a belief is held by many persons that the murderer, whoever he may be, finds concealment in a dense wood which skirts Leather Bottle-lane, and leads on to Croydon. The gardeners in the employ of Mr. Horne, to whom the wood belongs, have seen a person dressed as a woman, but whom they assert is a man lurking about the wood at night. On each of the nights that the murders have been committed since August the person has been seen to enter the wood. The gardeners who have charge of the wood by night have armed themselves.
An American, who refuses to give his name or any account of himself, was arrested last night on suspicion of being the East-end murderer. He is well dressed, rather tall, of slight build, and clean shaven. He accosted a woman in Cable-street, asked her to go with him, and threatened that if she refused he would "rip her up." The woman screamed, and the man rushed to a cab. The police gave chase, got upon the cab, seized the man, and took him to Leman-street Police-station, where he asked the inspector in charge, "Are you the boss?" The man is detained at the police-station, as well as two others who were conveyed there during the evening. In one case a man went up to an officer in the street, and said he "had assisted in the Mitre-square job." The constable took him to the Leman-street police-station, where it was found that he was suffering from delirium tremens. He was detained in order that further inquiries might be made.
The man was released at ten o'clock this morning, inquiries having shown that his account of himself was entirely satisfactory.
At the present moment there is no one in custody.
The Pimlico Arm Fits the Body Exactly, but the Lambeth Arm has no Bearing on the Mystery - How was the Body Taken to the Spot where it was Hidden?
There were important conclusions arrived at yesterday with regard to the headless and limbless body of a woman found in the site for the new police offices on the Thames-embankment. One conclusion was the definite and clear decision that the arm found on the bank of the Thames at Pimlico three weeks ago is a limb cut from this trunk. Immediately Dr. Bond saw the headless and limbless body, he said, "I have an arm which will fit that," and yesterday he attached to the trunk the arm which was examined by Dr. Nevill three weeks ago. Another conclusion arrived at was that the arm found in the grounds in front of the Blind School, Southwark, had nothing whatever to do with this crime. The "Lambeth arm" is stated to have been the subject of dissection, and is supposed to have been placed where it was found for a hoax. The grounds
were yesterday the subject of a rigid examination. Towards the Thames front of the site there are some underground steps. These steps lead to a door at a lower depth. An inclined plane leads to a lower level. This lower level is a vast place of arches, from which the light is partially excluded by the walls for the floors above, and is in constant shade. In one place there is a deep recess, in which, even when the sun is shining brightly outside, there is complete darkness. This leads by a dangerous way to another recess. In one corner of this furthest dark recess stands a piece of hoarding, two pieces of board held together by a cross piece, as if it had formed once part of a builder's hoarding round the building. This stands crossways against the wall, leaving a triangular space. It was within this space that the parcel containing the body was found. The devious ways which have to be taken to reach this secret spot, and the fact that this is the most secret spot on the site, lead to the conclusion that the person who placed the remains there must have been well acquainted with the place, and the deposit must have been made in the day. The bundle, it is believed was placed where it was found
The body was in a condition which showed that a vain endeavor had been made to arrest putrefaction, and the idea in bringing it to the Thames Embankment was probably to cast it into the Thames, and it would most likely have been cast there three weeks ago but for the prompt discovery of the arm and the vigilance observed in all parts of the river. It is thought possible that the bundle was conveyed by the carts which enter at the side of the building and deliver materials. It is remarkable that the severed arm was found near a wharf whence wood for building is carted to places where building is being carried on. The material in which the trunk was wrapped was thoroughly cleansed yesterday, and proved to be about two-thirds of a woman's dress made of
with a flounce about three inches wide at the bottom. This important link in the chain of evidence has been taken charge of by Mr. Marshall, while Dr. Hibbard has taken possession of a piece of blood-stained newspaper, presumably for microscopical purposes. The post-mortem examination of the body was conducted with closed doors,, but it has been ascertained that it lasted nearly two hours. It is stated that the decomposition had advanced too far to allow the doctors to form an opinion as to whether the remains are those of a dark or a fair person, but they agree upon this - that the deceased was
and that the body was exceedingly well nourished. All the internal organs were found intact, the heart, lungs, and liver presenting a perfect normal appearance. The lower extremities had been severed about an inch or an inch and a half below the navel, the missing portion including a part of the lower intestine. The medical gentlemen adhered to their formerly expressed diagnosis, as to the approximate length of time that has elapsed since the body was cut up - namely, about six weeks. Shortly before two o'clock in the afternoon the arm which was found in the Thames on the 11th ult. at Pimlico was taken to the mortuary and found to fit the body exactly, the jagged edges of the flesh
The police authorities and a medical expert went to the St. George's mortuary, where the human arm found in Lambeth was deposited. This arm must have been detached from the trunk to which it belonged some very considerable time ago. The bones too constitute the left arm, and as the arm found in the Thames was also a left arm, they must belong to different bodies.
The police have received information that on Saturday afternoon at twenty minutes past five a respectably dressed man, about 35 years of age, was seen to get over from the hoarding in Cannon-row, and to walk quickly away. No importance was attached to the matter at the time. The police have forwarded a description of this man to all police-stations. Inquiries are also being made to ascertain whether any person on Saturday afternoon, after the workmen had left the building, was seen to get over the hoarding with any bundle or not.
Tried Carbolic Acid.
William Thompson, a tram-car conductor, living in Park-place, Clapham, was charged at Wandsworth with attempting to commit suicide by swallowing a quantity of carbolic acid. He took the acid while at home. - Mr. Curtis Bennett remanded him.
The Commissioners of Police have sanctioned the retirement of Detective-inspector William Chamberlain, of the L division, on a pension of £130 per annum, on account of ill-health. Mr. Chamberlain had been in the force 27 years. He has an excellent record, and has been several times rewarded.
I see that several clergymen have written on the condition of the poor of London, says Mr. John Beauchamp, of Chomeley-park, Highgate. A somewhat intimate knowledge of the lower classes has led me to form the opinion that if all the clergymen of London, with their doles and charities and their armies of district visitors, were forbidden to have anything to do with the poor, these poor would be better off in all respects than they now are. The number of lazy people that the clergy and their friends have attracted to London is very great. The lower classes are becoming demoralised and pauperised to a fearful extent. No wonder that industrious, intelligent artisans should keep aloof from the Church when they see the sort of people who flock around the clergymen. The difference between the sturdy independence and honest industry of the working people who are members, say, of the Wesleyan Methodist Society and the idle beggary of those belonging to the Church is very marked.
