BLACKBURN TRAGEDY.
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List to the wful and heartronding tale,
'Tis enough for to turn your blood cold,
To shall tears of pity I'm sure you can't fail,
When these horrid disclosures are told,
A dear little girl Emily Holland by name,
Who was only seven years of age,
is evident and clear the poor little dear,
Was murdered and cruelly outraged.
CHORUS.
May dear little Emily shine.
With heavenly angels an high ;
Her murderer's confess'd and can never find
rest,
For her blood now for vengense does cry.
Poor Emily Holland was last soon alive,
On Tuesday March 28th day ;
Returning from school, when Fish did con-
trive,
The poor innoo nt girl to betray.
He first violated his victim we read,
And afterwards, being affraid
And thinking to hide his unlawful deed,
He murdered the dear little maid.
Poor Emily was missed and her parents so
dear,
Where running about nearly wild,
airing and searching about far and near
mily, their last child.
In memory of
EMILY HOLLAND,
Who was Murdered at Blackburn
On March 28th 1876.
AGED 7 YEARS.
God comfort the parent's of that little child,
Their sorrows and grief must be great ;
To think that their darling should be defiled,
And meet such an untimely fate,
But the dear little was not to be
found,
She'd been cruelly murdered that night,
But by a bloodhound her murderer is found
And her missing remains brought to light.
Poor Emily was missing 2 nights and a day
But not far from her parents abode;
Her body at last was discovered they say
In a field off the Whalley New Road.
The head, legs, and arms, from the body it
seems,
Had been severed how sad for to say,
They searched all around and her legs they
found,
In a drain nearly two miles away.
Ever since the child's fate, suspicion was
great,
'Gainst a barber in Moss street we read ;
They searched thro' his place but nothing
could trace
To connect him with this horrid deed.
But chief constable Potts, arrangements did
make
And by the aid of a bloodhound,
They searched again when the skull of the
child,
And some bones in the chimney was found
Composed by John White, Liverpool
The annals of Blackburn show at no period so
horrible act of inhuman butchery as one which
came to light on Thursday March 30th, and which
roused the indignation of the community intense
ly. Scarcely had the excitement created by the
Wainwrights subsided, than a case more fiendish
in atrocity is discovered in our own midst About
noon on the above date a rumour was set on wing
that the body of a girl had been discovered man-
gled and hacked to pieces. The rumour circulated
with the speed of electricity through every part
of the town, and the horror and anger of the in-
habitants was provoked at the revolting discovery
In the forenoon of the day mentioned. Mrs.
White the wife of John White, of Bastwell-ter-
race, noticed a dog to be constantly running to
and from a paper parcel in the field at the rear
of her residence and close by a wall Mrs. White,
attracted by the strange proceedings of the dog,
was induced to go to the bundle for to ascertain
what it was. Noticing what she considered to
be a portion of the body of a child through some
breakage in the wrapper, she became alarmed,
and on meeting Richard Dewhurst clogger, of
66, Whalley-road, acquainted him of her sus-
picions, The parcel on being examined were
found to contaiu the trunk of the body of a girl
apparently of about seven or eight years of age,
mutilated in a most horrible manner. The
head, legs, and arms were missing. These had
been cut off evidently with a strong knife in a
rude fashion The body presented a most sick-
ening aspect and appeared to have been subject-
ed to the most barbarous treatment. The arms
had been removed close to the shoulders, and the
thighs. From the appearance of the body it is
evident that the ruffian who perpetrated the
dartardly crimc had outraged the poor girl in a
most shameful manner. The neck had been
severed from the body close to the shoulders,
and appearances indicate that the work had been
clumsily done. There is no doubt also that the
murder was committed elsewere, and that the
parcel was thrown over the wall by the perpe-
trator of the villainy.
As soon as the discovery was made, Richard
Dewhurst, proceeded to the police-station to ac-
quaiut the officials of the crime. Chief-constable
Potts and Supt. Eastwood at once proceeded to
the scene of the discovery, and on arriving there
met P.C. Rostron leaving the field with the bo-
dy in his possesion, and which he conveyed to
the police-station.
The police were soon satisfied that the victim
was Emily Holland, daughter of James Holland,
of 110, Moss-street, Blackburn, who had been
missing from the previous Tuesday afternoon.
It was reported and strongly suspected that
a tramp had committed the crime, and a tramp
named Taylor, was apprehended at Ashbourne
near Derby, on suspicion. Taylor was identifi-
ed by some of Emily's schoolmates as the man
they had seen with Emily. Taylor was remand-
ed, the police being of opinion that they could
make out a clear case against him.
On Sunday, the 16th April, there was a search
party out on the Bastwell fields of an extraordi-
nary character. The inhabitants had well nigh
tired themselves out or had given up in despair
their efforts to find any further remains of the
child During that morning, however, their
work was taken up by Peter Taylor, of Nelson
Street, Preston, who volunteered the services of
two dogs to the Chief-constable, and had them
promptly and happily accepted. One can well
understand that the police must have been nigh
at their wit's end which way next to turn for
evidence for although they had an accused one
in custody, the evidence was, to say the least,
doubtful against him. Yet people have been
hanged for less, and Robert Taylor probably es-
caped a similar doom by the narrowest chances.
The detectives, with Taylor and his dogs,
scoured the neighbourhoods where the trunk and
legs were found, but without result. They af-
terwards visited two barbers' shops. In the
first house. Denis Whitehead's, the dogs did not
scent anything but on entering Fish's shop the
dogs immediately began to scent the corners and
crevices in the place The dog jumped upon the
slopstone, and appeared to scent something there
Detective Holden opened the door leading to the
bed rooms, and proceeded up staire, and the dog
immediately followed him and after scenting all
round the rooms, stopped in front of the fire-
place. Mr. Taylor observing the manner of the
dog, and once went into the chimney, and there
found a part of a human skull and calcined bones,
bits of burnt clothing, and looks of hair tangled
and matted with blood.
Fish and his wife were present when the dis-
covery was made. Fish, stood pale and silent,
and was at once taken into custody by Chief-
constable Potts on the charge of being the mur-
derer. In reply to the charge he said :—'I
know nothing about it."
Fish was brought before the magistrates the
next day, and when asked if he had anything to
say why he should not be remanded, he replied ;
' I am as innocent as a child." Fish was them
remanded to Thursday, when he was committed
for trial.
Shortly after being removed to his cell, he told P.
C. Parkinson, who was in the cell with him, that he
had burnt part of the murdered girl's clothes, and that
another part was under the coals in the shop. This
intelligence was communicated to Chief Constable
Potts, who sent for the prisoner ; and Fish, who ap-
peared as if likely to give way under unbearable an-
guish, made the following confession, which was
written down at the time, and signed by the prisoner
in the presence of the persons whose names are at-
tached to it :—
I told Constable William Parkinson that I had
burnt part of the clothes, and put the other part un-
der the coals in my shop ; and I now wish to say that
I am guilty of the murder. I further wish to say that
I do not want the innocent to suffer' At a few min-
utes after five o'clock in the evening I was standing
at my shop door, in Moss-street, when the deceased
child came past. She was going up Moss street. I
asked her to bring me one half-ounce of tobacco from
Cox's shop. She did. I asked her to go up stairs,
and she did. I went up with her. I tried to ab e
her, and she was nearly dead. I then cut her throat
with a razor. This was in the front room, near the
fire. I then carried the body downstairs into the
shop ; cut off her head, arms, and legs ; wrapped up
the body in newspapers, on the floor ; wrapped, the
legs also in newspapers, and put those parcels into a
box in the back kitchen. The arms and head I put in
the fire, On the Wednesday afternoon I took the
parcel containing the legs to Lower Cunliffe ; and at
nine o'clock that night, I took the parcel containing
the body to a field at Bastwell, aud threw it over the
wall. On Friday afternoon, I burnt part of the cloth-
ing.
On the Wednesday morning, I took a part of the
head which was unburnt, and put it up the chimney,
in the front bedroom.
I further wish to say that I did all myself ; no other
person had anything to do with it.
The foregoing statement has been read over to me,
and is correct. It is my voluntary statement, and be-
fore I made it, I was told that it would be taken
down in writing, and given in evidence against me.
(Signed) WILLIAM FISH.
Fish was visited by his wife, who had with her their
eldest child. Directly he beheld her he burst into tears,
and seizing the child excitedly, repeatedly kissed it,
White, Printer, Rose-place Liverpool