THE BANK TRAGEDY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11854, 4 January 1902, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE BANK TRAGEDY.

'"-■"'" .■■■.',,.•:-.'■ .>;:/,v ... ■..■ ■•„■ .■..■:■ --'~'-;.'.-. ■;■-: ;;■;,,,:..; A LETTER IN THE MURDERER'S POCKET. In the Coroner's Court on November 21 was, enacted the last scene in the terrible melodrama which commenced t with the attempt" of James B. Porter to rob the London and South-Western Bank,.at Kennington. The attempt resulted in the murder of the bank cashier, : Mr. Crawley, by Porter, and the suicide of his murderer. At the inquest Mr. Salmon identified the body of Mr. Crawley, adding that Porter was" not a customer of the bank. , - James B. Porter, a railway clerk, of South Lambeth Road, identified the body of Porter as being that of his son. After stat- . ing how he had lived he said his son had shown him the cover of a railway bank book/, and gave him to understand that he had su- s fficient money to pay his fare to South Africa. Witness had since ascertained that he had only 5s lOd in the bank. :;Witness went on to say that he did not know what his son; did /on' the Monday, but was )with him the whole of Sunday, when seemed very cheerful. Witness had since ascer- i tained that, he possessed firearms. j The story of the shooting Was": told in J detail by two of the clerks and Mr. Couche. Detective-inspector M'Carthy said that he | saw the new life-preserver (produced) at- I tached to Porter's right wrist. He had purchased it for 3s 9d in Newington Butts. On Porter he found various cheap articles and a letter bearing his father's address "in South Lambeth Road. The coroner read the letter as follows : — - ' . : trinity-street, Dorchester, Sunday, 5 p.m. i My dearest Sweetheart,— do feel so miser--1 able about you not coming Saturday, as you j told me yon would in your letter of Friday. I I looked out for a. letter this morning, but as ! I did not get one I thought I would write." 1 am going to ask you a question, dear. If ; I come to London will you meet me at Clap- ! ham or Vauxhall ? I can come by express I leaving Dorchester 10.15, arriving Waterloo ! 2 p.m. I don't know whether •it stops at Clapham or Vauxhall; or the 12.50 from here, arriving at 4.47. Will you telegraph .very* early to-morrow morning (Monday), and just say the time you will meet me, and at what station? Do not disappoint me, dear, because this suspense is dreadful, dear; and if you are ill, dear, let me come to see you,. if only for an hour. You must think, dear. Uow I feel. You told'me in one letter this week, dear, to trust - you and all will come right, you know, Joe, 1 always trusted in you. I also asked you in my last letter to tell me, dear, what had happened, but you did not do it. Now, Joe, do come and meet me; I cannot bear this suspense. Mother sends her best love, and told me she was sure you would meet me if I asked you. Now, dear, I close, with fondest love from your ever-loving sweetheart, FLO. P.S.— and let mo have a wire about nine o'clock, dear, just to say the time I have to leave here and the station you have to meet me. You see, if you write to me on Sunday I shall not get it until eleven a.m. to-morrow.— always, FLO. ':- After medical evidence, the jury returned] a verdict that Mr. Crawley was -wilfully murdered by Joseph Edward Porter, who feloniously "killed and murdered himself. They also expressed their deep sympathy with Mrs. Crawley and her family. Mr. Anderson said he wished to express on behalf of the directors and. general manager of the South-Western Bank .their deep sympathy with the widow and family, and their sense of the loss the bank had sustained in the death of. a valued and competent servant. He was pleased to say that the directors had made some provision for Mrs. Crawley and her child. The Coroner: Then as to Mr. Couche? Mr. Anderson said the directors were very sensible of the bravery he had displayed, which was an admirable example for the other members of the staff. The Coroner said he was very pleased to hear that 'statement. He thought Mr. Couche had shown an amount of pluck for doing less than which many men were wearing; the Victoria Cross. Referring to the letter from Porter's fiancee, the Coroner said he thought it showed a motive for the crime. Porter was hard up, and intended to get money somewhere. In conclusion, he hoped they would not have a similar case to investigate for many a long day. '