Children of Elizabeth and Joseph Procter

Little Joseph Procter came in yesterday afternoon, seemingly wishing to stay with us. I happened to be drawing, and, by way of employing him, proposed his drawing me a horse. He said, 'No, I had rather sit and look at thee.' He did so for half-an-hour, and then I proposed his trying a building, and offered him a copy. At last I overcame his reluctance, and putting him into a good method, and standing over him to watch him, in a few hours he produced a very pretty pencil-drawing, to his great delight, and my satisfaction.

TO BAKERS, FLOUR DEALERS,

AND OTHERS.

The Executors of the late GEORGE UNTHANK, have DISPOSED of their interest in the Business carried on at Willington Mill, near Wallsend, Northumberland, under the firm of

UNTHANK & PROCTER,

To the surviving partner JOSEPH PROCTER, who will answer all Claims against the late Firm, and to whom all Outstanding Debts due thereto are requested to be paid as early as convenient.

JOSEPH PROCTER desires gratefully to acknowledge the favours bestowed on the firm of UNTHANK AND PROCTER, for so many years, by their numerous Friends, and trusts his experience in the Business will enable him to conduct it so as to ensure their continued support.

       Willington Mill, 10th Mo. 27th, 1842.

Joseph Procter, miller, a member of the Society of Friends at Wallsend, had two sacks of flour, worth £4 8s., seized the other day for a church rate of 17s. 6d.

He was a flour miller, first at the celebrated mill at Willington, and afterwards at Newcastle, and had the reputation for such strict uprightness in his trade transactions as won the respect of customers, competitors, and all with whom he came in contact.

With regard to the alleged spiritual manifestations in the dwelling-house adjoining the mill at Willington, upon the nature of which the author offers no opinion, those curious in such matters may consult Mrs. Crowe's 'Night Side of Nature,', William Howitt's 'Journal,' 'Visits to Remarkable Places' and 'Local Historian's' Table Book,' Tomlinson's 'Guide to Northumberland,' and Part IV. (June, 1887) of the 'Monthly Chronicle' (Walter Scott). This list of authorities might be greatly extended.

. . . a debt was paid to him which was due to the long defunct firm of Brown, Unthank and Procter. He scrupulously divided it between the representatives of all the partners, some of whom were much surprised to receive money which had been owed to a firm of whose very existence they had never heard.

After leaving Willington they resided at North Shields, and finally at Gosforth, becoming members of Newcastle Meeting in 1865.

Joseph Procter was a highly valued supporter of the discipline of the Society, and both he and his wife filled various responsible offices in these relations.

Their gentleness and kind Christian courtesy won for them warm places in the hearts of their friends.

The following appeared in Mrs. Boyce's "Records of a Quaker Family," and there are many who can bear witness to the truthfulness of the description

"Joseph Procter was a man who delighted in theological studies and in abstruse speculations, and who, in spite of his constitutional diffidence, did not fear to differ from his fellows on many points. In the intense spirituality of his devotion, in his amiable disposition, and in his blameless life, he was a true Friend. His mind was one in which the imaginative and contemplative faculties predominated."

WILLINGTON MILL

TO BE SOLD BY PRIVATE CONTRACT, the Premises known as WILLINGTON MILL, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, consisting of a large Building having Seven Floors, 90 feet by 30 feet, with Steam Engine and Boilers attached; a commodious Dwelling House, containing Thirteen Rooms, also Cottages and Stables, with space for additional Buildings. These Premises having Water Carriage, and being so conveniently situated between the Four populous Towns on the banks of the Tyne, are well adapted for Manufacturing Purposes, as for Oil, Bone, or Saw Mills, and also for Paper Mills, having a good supply of Fresh Water. —Apply to JOSEPH PROCTER & Son, Willington Mill.

NON-PAYMENT OF ANNUITANT RATE.

Mr Joseph Procter, miller, Willington was summoned by the churchwardens of the parish of Wallsend for having refused to pay the annuitant rate. Mr John Nelson said, that the rate was made every year, at Easter. He did not know whether it had been demanded from Mr Procter, as they had a secretary to look after it. Mr Procter was agreeable to pay it if they got a warrant, and asked that it should stand over for three or four years, so that the expense would not be heavy.

The Clerk: But you cannot make the Bench a party to such an agreement.

Mr Straker: Legally we cannot go back for the period you name, and certainly in the case of church rates we are not disposed to go back that time.

The Clerk: For what yours do you claim?

Mr Nelson: For the years 1863, '64, and '65. The amount is £3 16s 7½d.

Mr Straker: Do you know if he has been asked for the money?

Mr Nelson: I saw him on Saturday, and he said he had got the summons and we would have to get the warrant to-day in the usual way.

As Mr Nelson could not state the amount of the rate for one year or tell whether Mr Nelson [sic] had been asked for the rate the case was adjourned.

DISPUTED ANNUITANT RATE.

Last Monday, Mr Joseph Procter, miller, Willington, was summoned by the churchwardens of Wallsend for the non-payment of annuitant rates. The case was adjourned for the purpose of bringing forward evidence to show that a demand had been made for the rates. Yesterday morning, in bringing up the case, Mr Kewney said that after looking into the Act of Parliament he found that the rate was not exactly a church rate. In 1807 a tontine was granted by Act of Parliament for the purpose of rebuilding Wallsend Church. The tontine was in the nature of a rate to pay the cost of the church, and which was nearly expired, there now being only two or three persons living who are subject to it. The act confirming the tontine enacts that if the rate is not paid the churchwardens are to make a demand in writing, and if it is not paid at the expiry of that period, then they can apply to the magistrates for a warrant to enforce the claim. Consequently, Mr Nelson, one of the churchwardens, had last Saturday given the necessary written notice to Mr Procter, and of course they would require to wait a fortnight to see if the money were paid. Mr Procter had no objection to the payment of the rate; he simply wished that the rate should be recovered in a legal manner.—Mr Straker said that Mr Nelson said last week that the rate had lain over for two or three years.—Mr Kewney said that was the case. It was simply done to save expense.—It was understood that Mr Nelson would apply for a warrant at the termination of the notice given to Mr Procter.

APPLICATION FOR A DISTRESS WARRANT.

Mr Kewney made an application on behalf of the churchwardens of Wallsend church for a distress warrant to recover an annuitant rate amounting to £3 16s 7½d from Mr Joseph Procter, miller, Wellington [sic]. The Bench granted the application.

TRADITIONS AND MYSTERIES OF THE NORTH.

V.—THE HAUNTED HOUSE AT WILLINGTON.

In these papers we have dealt hitherto with matters which belonged to the natural, and which could be accounted for by perfectly natural means. This week we enter into the region of the spiritual, for the noises and sights which have been the cause of denominating the apparently harmless building on Tyneside "The Haunted House at Willington" have not been traced to the agency of any known forces in either nature or art. Although we are scarcely justified in assuming from this that the agencies were supernatural, yet when it has been asserted by trustworthy authority that thirty or forty witnesses could be produced who would testify to having seen and heard such sights and sounds as seem at least to belong to the region of spirits, a sort of colour is given to the assumption. It was about 1840 and the four or five succeeding years that the ghostly visitations attracted the greatest amount of public notice. At that time the house was occupied Mr Joseph Procter whose relatives appear to have bought the building in 1806. The large mill adjoining was used at that time for grinding flour by Messrs. Unthank and Procter but presently occupied as a store for oilcake in connection with the extensive manufactory of that article carried on in the newer building across the road. The Procter family lived in the house till 1847, prior to which the "visitations" had become less frequent. A rumour that the house was haunted gained some currency previous to the time of its purchase by Mr. Procter's relatives, although it is stated that nothing of the kind was noticed during the first twelve years of his residence there. At last, both the people outside and the family inside began to hear sounds often, and to see apparitions frequently, for which there was no visible cause. The house was built in 1800, and there are reports of some deed of darkness been committed by some one engaged in the work. Mr. Howitt also mentions that Mr. Procter had discovered book which made it appear that the same kind of thing went in a house on the same spot 200 years before.

The situation of the house itself is picturesque, not to say strange. Standing between Tynemouth branch of the North-Eastern Railway and the river Tyne, it occupies a position between two highways of commerce, which makes it anything but lonely, although thirty years ago one can conceive that Willington had been a much more secluded neighbourhood than it is now. Situated in a deep hollow, which is spanned by a railway bridge of lofty arches—a feature which is so characteristic of the North—the visitor sees the famous habitation long before he can approach its threshold or leisurely survey its proportions. A dirty stream runs round its base and joins the river, after passing the mill, through acres of mud when the tide is low. If one did not that there was something "uncanny" about the building, there is little about its exterior to suggest unnatural fears. But, knowing its history, imagination may invest the windows of the upper storeys with a sepulchral look, and people the unoccupied rooms with all sorts of goblins. It should be stated that the ground floor of the house is now mainly occupied as a laboratory. The first floor is let out in tenements to two or three families, and the third floor— in one room of which the "disturbances" generally took place— is unfurnished and unoccupied, as likewise the attics above. The present tenants have seen or heard nothing unusual, and appear to wish to laugh at the whole thing. People in the little village are divided in opinion about the matter. One says it’s all superstition and asserts that "never nothink was seen." Another is equally clear that "there’s sights been heard there that’s not very canny," and this even since the railway, the enemy of ghosts, shrieked over the dell perpetually, and the clatter of Jarrow's thousand hammers, morning, noon, and night, came floating in the air. At all events, it is clear that no authentic account of a recent apparition can be easily laid hands on, although still one might fill volume with tales of horror which the credulous in such matters love so well to repeat to the interested or the timid. The stories now afloat are more of the nature of tales told to frighten children than the accounts of the doings of 1840 and succeeding years. There seems to have been at that time a peculiar furore as to haunted houses, for we find Windsor, Liverpool, Dublin, Carlis[l]e, and Sunderland coupled, with the case at Willington. Every one knows how a mania in this kind of thing spreads, and whatever may have been the case in the past, all parties have to be congratulated that the annoyances appear to have ceased.

Efforts were made at different times to unravel the mystery of the noises and strange apparitions; but without success. Perhaps the best known endeavour in this was that made by Mr. E. Drury in 1840, from its publication in "Richardson’s Table Book," and elsewhere. Mr. Drury had arranged to pass a night in the haunted room along with a companion, and the two arrived to execute their purpose on the 3rd of July. After the house had been locked up, every comer of it was minutely examined. The room out of which the apparition proceeded, as well as the adjoining rooms, was unfurnished, and the closet out of which it issued is too shallow to contain any person. Mr. Drury and his friend had two lights by them, and were satisfied that there was no one in the house besides Mr. Procter, the servant, and themselves.  Mr Drury had come prepared to test the genuineness of the sights and sounds, inclined to scoffing rather than belief in their reality. What followed will be best gathered from his own words in a letter addressed to Mr Procter:—

"Sunderland, July 13, 1840.    

"Dear Sir,—I hereby, according to promise in my last letter, forward you true account of what I heard and saw at your house, in which I was led to pass the night, from various rumours circulated by most respectable parties, particularly from an account by my esteemed friend Mr. Davison, whose name I mentioned to you in a former letter. Having received your sanction to visit your mysterious dwelling, I went on the third of July, accompanied by a friend of mine named T. Hudson. This was not according to promise, nor in accordance my first intent, as I wrote you I would come alone, but I felt gratified at your kindness in not alluding to the liberty I had taken, as it ultimately proved for the best. I must here mention that not expecting you at home, I had in my pocket a brace of pistols, determining in my mind to let one of them drop, as if by accident, before the miller, for fear he should presume to play tricks upon me—but after my interview with you I felt there was no occasion for weapons, and did not load them, after you had allowed to inspect as minutely as we pleased every portion of the house. I sat down on the third story landing, fully expecting to account for any noises I might hear, in a philosophical manner—this was about eleven o’clock p.m. About ten minutes to twelve we both heard a noise, as if a number of people was pattering with their bare feet upon the floor; and yet so singular was the noise that I could not minutely determine from whence it proceeded. A few minutes afterwards we heard a noise, as if some one was knocking with his knuckles among our feet, this was immediately followed by hollow cough from the very room from which the apparition proceeded. The only noise after this was as if a person was rustling against the wall in coming up stairs. At a quarter to one I told my friend that feeling a little cold, I would like to go to bed as we might hear the noises equally well there; he replied that he would not go to bed till daylight. I took up a note which I accidentally dropped, and began to read it; after which I took out my watch to ascertain the time, and found that it wanted ten minutes to one. In taking my eyes from the watch they became rivetted upon a closet door, which I distinctly saw open, and also saw the figure of a female, attired in greyish garments, with the head inclined downwards, and one hand pressed upon the chest as if in pain, and the other, viz., the right hand, extended towards the floor, with the index finger pointing downwards. It advanced with an apparently cautious step across the floor towards me; immediately it approached my friend who was slumbering, its right hand was extended towards him; I then rushed at it, giving at the time, as Mr. Procter states, a most awful yell, but instead of grasping it I fell upon my friend— and I recollected nothing distinctly for nearly three hours afterwards. I have since learnt that I was carried down stairs in an agony of fear and terror."

The following more recent case of an apparition seen in the window of the same house from the outside, by four credible witnesses, who had the opportunity of scrutinising it for more than ten minutes, is given by Richardson, on most unquestionable authority. One of those witnesses is a young lady, a near connection of the family (who for obvious reasons did not sleep in the house), another, a highly respectable man who has been many years employed in, and is foreman of the manufactory, his daughter, aged about seventeen, and his wife, who first saw the object and called out the others to view it. The appearance presented was that of a bareheaded man, in a flowing robe like a surplice, which glided backwards and forwards about three feet from the floor, or level with the bottom of the second story window, seeming to enter the wall on each side and thus present a side view in passing; it then stood still in the window, and a part of the body came through both the blind (which was close down), and the window, as its luminous body intercepted the view of the framework of the window: it was semi-transparent, and as bright as a star, diffusing a radiance all around. As it grew more dim it assumed a blue tinge, and gradually faded away from the head downwards. The foreman passed twice close to the house under the window, and also went to inform the family, but found the house locked up. There was no moonlight, nor a ray of light visible anywhere about, and no person near. Had any magic lantern been used, it could not possibly have escaped detection, and it is obvious nothing of that kind could have been employed in the inside, as in that case the light could only have been thrown upon the blind, and not so as to intercept the view both of the blind and window from without. The owner of the house slept in that room, and must have entered it shortly after this figure had disappeared.

Mr. William Howitt visited the house, and in his book entitled "Visits to Remarkable Places," gives some further particulars than are contained above. In the course of his paper on the subject he says:—

"One of Mrs. Procter’s brother[s] a gentleman in middle life, and of a peculiarly sensible, sedate, and candid disposition, a person apparently most unlikely to be imposed by fictitious alarm or tricks, assured that he had himself, on a visit there, been disturbed by the strangest noises. That he had resolved, before going, that if any such noises occurred he would speak, and demand of the invisible actor who he was, and why he came thither. But the occasion came, and he found himself unable to fulfil intention. As he lay in bed one night he heard a heavy step ascend the stairs towards his room, and some one striking, as it were, with a thick stick on the banisters, as he went along. It came to his door and he essayed to call, but his voice died in his throat. He then sprang from his bed, and opening the door found no there, but now heard the same heavy steps deliberately descending, though perfectly invisibly, the steps before his face, and accompanying the descent with the same loud blows on the banisters.

"My informant now proceeded to the room door of Mr. Procter, who he found had also heard the sounds, and who now also arose, and with a light they made a speedy descent below, and a thorough search there, but without discovering anything that could account for the occurrence.

"The two young ladies who, on a visit there, had also annoyed by this invisible agent, gave me this account of it. The first night, as they were sle[e]ping in the same bed, they felt the bed lifted up beneath them. Of course they were much alarmed. They feared lest some one had concealed himself there for the purpose of robbery. They gave an alarm, search was made, but nothing was found. On another night their bed was violently shaken, and the curtains suddenly hoisted up all round to the very tester, as if pulled up by cords, and as rapidly let down again, several times. Search again produced no evidence of the cause. The next they had the curtains totally removed from the bed, resolving to sleep without them, as they felt as though evil eyes were lurking behind them. The consequences of this, however, were still more striking and terrific. The following night, as they happened to awake, and the chamber was light enough— for it was summer—to see everything in it, they both saw a female figure of a misty substance, and bluish grey hue, come out of the wall at the bed’s head and through the head-board, in a horizontal position, and lean over them. They saw it most distinctly. They saw it as a female figure come out of, and again pass into, the wall. Their terror became intense, and one of the sisters from that night refused to sleep any more in the house, but took refuge in the house of the foreman during her stay; the other shifting her quarters to another part of the house. It was the young lady who slept at the foreman’s who saw, as above related, the singular apparition of the luminous figure in the window, along with the foreman and his wife.

"It would be too long to relate all the forms in which this nocturnal disturbance is said by the family to present itself. When a figure appears, it is sometimes that of a man, as already described, which is often very luminous, and passes through the walls as though they were nothing. This male figure is well known to the neighbours by the name of "Old Jeffery!" At other times it the figure of a lady, also in grey costume, and as described by Mr. Drury. She is sometimes seen sitting wrapt in a sort of mantle, with her head depressed, and her hands crossed on her lap. The most terrible fact is that she is without eyes.

"To hear such sober and superior people gravely relate to you such things gives you a very odd feeling. They say that the noise made is often like that of a pavior with his rammer thumping on the floor. At other times it is coming down the stairs, making a similar loud sound. At others it coughs, sighs, and groans like a person distress; and, again, there is the sound of a number of little feet pattering on the floor of the upper chamber, where the apparition has more particularly exhibited itself, and which for that reason is solely used a lumber room. Here these little footsteps may be often heard if careering a child's carriage about, which in bad weather is kept there. Sometimes, again, it makes the most horrible laughs. Nor does it confine itself to the night. On one occasion, a young lady, as she assured me herself,  opened door in answer to a knock, the housemaid being absent, and a lady in fawn-coloured silk entered, and proceeded upstairs. As the young lady, of course, supposed it a neighbour come to make a morning call on Mrs. Procter, she followed her up to the drawing-room, where, however, to her astonishment, she did not her nor was anything more seen of her.

"Such are a few of 'the questionable shapes' in which this troublesome guest comes. As may be expected, the terror of it is felt by the neighbouring cottagers, though it seems to confine its malicious disturbance almost solely to the occupants of this one house. There is well, however, near to which no one ventures after it is dark, because it has seen near it.”

DEATH OF MR JOSEPH PROCTER.—Mr Joseph Procter, miller, died at his residence, Fairfield, Coxlodge, Newcastle, on Saturday, in his seventy-sixth year. To the close of his life, deceased took a lively interest in the efforts of the Peace Society to bring an end to the horrors of war, as he did in every phase of the slave question. He was a Liberal in politics, but tolerate in the spirit of Liberalism, and after the manner of the sect to which he belonged. He belonged to an old Quaker family, which for two centuries had held to the faith of the Society of Friends, and Mr Procter was long an office-bearer and actively engaged in the multifarious duties and movements of that body.

DEATH OF MR JOSEPH PROCTER.—We regret to have to announce the death of Mr. Joseph Procter, miller, at his residence, Fairfield, Coxlodge, on Saturday. Mr Procter had been unwell for a short time previously, but he gradually went to his rest in his seventy-sixth year. His death will be sincerely regretted by a large circle of friends. He was a life-long teetotaller, and was among the first to join the organisation in this district, and to support all subsequent and kindred movements. He was a Liberal in politics, but tolerate in the spirit of Liberalism: and after the manner of the sect to which he belonged. He belonged to an old Quaker family, which for two centuries had held to the faith of the Society of Friends, and Mr Procter was long an office bearer and actively engaged in the multifarious duties and movement of that body. In connection with some extraordinary manifestations at the Willington Flour Mill, in which he was a partner, his name had more than a local reputation. The "Willington Ghost" scenes took place while he occupied the house.

WILLINGTON MILL.

(From "The Haunted Homes and Family Legends of Great Britain.)

Willington is a hamlet, lying in deep valley between Newcastle-on-Tyne and North Shields. Thirty years age it consisted of a parsonage, some few cottages, mill, and the miller's house. The mill is, or was thirty years ago, a large steam flour-mill, like a factory, and near it, but not completely detached, was the miller's house. Messrs Unthank and Procter were the proprietors and workers of the mill, and Mr Joseph Procter, one of the partners, resided in the house adjoining it. Mr Procter, a respectable member of the Society of Friends, a man in the prime of life, was married to a lady belonging to the same religious fraternity, and was the tether of several young children.

The house in which Mr Procter resided was built about the beginning of the present century, and, as described by Mr Howitt in 1817, had nothing spectral in its appearance, although located in a somewhat wild-looking region, just off the river Tyne. The railway runs close by it, and engines connected with coal mines are constantly at work in its vicinity. When rumours to the miller's residence being haunted began spread, Mr Procter, it is alleged, although evidently much troubled by the disturbances in his dwelling, was unwilling to give publicity to his troubles. Apparently this unwillingness wore off eventually, as in course of time Mr Proctor frequently communicated with the Press on matters connected with the singular events at Willington.

The chief published authority for an account of the haunted house at Willington would appear to be a pamphlet reprinted in The Local Historian's Table Book, whence Mr Howitt and Mrs Crowe derived their particulars, and whence the following statement is chiefly taken.

"We have visited the house in question," says the writer of the pamphlet referred to, ''and it may not be irrelevant to mention that it is quite detached from the mill, or any other premises, and has no cellaring under it. The proprietor of the house, who lives in it, declines to make public the particulars of the disturbance to which has been subjected, and it must be understood that the account of the visit we are about to lay before our readers derived from a friend to whom Mr Drurv presented a copy of his correspondence on the subject, with power to make such use of it as he thought proper. We learned that the house had been reputed, at least one room of it, to have been haunted forty years ago, and had afterwards been undisturbed for a long period, during some years of which quietude the present occupant lived in it unmolested. We are also informed that, about the time that the premises were building there were reports of some deeds of darkness having been committed by someone employed about them."

The writer of this account, after alluding to the strange things seen and heard, or said to have been seen and heard, by various persons in the neighbourhood, proceeds to quote the following correspondence which,  he remarks, "passed between individuals of undoubted veracity." The copy of the first letter on the subject, written by Mr Edward Drury, of Sunderland, to Mr Procter, reads thus:—

"I7th June, 1840.

"SIR,—Having heard from indisputable authority, viz., that of my excellent friend, Mr Davison, of Low Willington, farmer, that you and your family are disturbed by most unaccountable noises at night, beg leave to tell you that I have read attentively Wesley's account of such things, but with, I must confess, no great belief; but on account of this report coming from one of your sect, which I admire for candour and simplicity, my curiosity is excited to high pitch, which I would fain satisfy. My desire is to remain alone in the house all night, with no companion but my own watch-dog, in which, as far as courage and fidelity are concerned, 1 place much more reliance than upon any three young gentlemen I know of. And it is, also, my hope that if have a fair trial I shall able to unravel this mystery. Mr Davison will give you every satisfaction if you take the trouble to inquire of him concerning me. I am, &c."

In response to this application, Procter sent the following note:—

"Joseph Procter's respects to Edward Drury, whose note he received a few days ago, expressing a wish to pass a night in his house at Willington. As the family is going from home on the 23rd instant, and one of Unthank and Procter's men will sleep in the house, if E. D. feels inclined to come, on or after the 24th, to spend a night (sic) in it, he is at liberty to do so, with or without his faithful dog, which, by-the-by, can be of no possible use, except as company. At the same time, J. P. thinks it best to inform him that particular disturbances are far from frequent at present, being only occasional, and quite uncertain; and, therefore, the satisfaction of E. D.'s curiosity must be considered problematical. The best chance will be afforded by his sitting alone in the third story till it be fairly daylight, say 2 or 3 a.m.

"Willington, 6 mo. 21st, 1840.

"J. P. will leave word with T. Mann, foreman, to admit E.D."

The Procters left home on the 23rd of June, leaving the house in charge of an old servant, who, being out of place on account of ill-health, was induced to undertake the duty during their absence. On the 3rd of July, Mr Procter returned home having been recalled by business matters, and on the evening of the same day Mr Drury and a companion arrived unexpectedly. After the house had been locked for the night, every corner of it underwent minute examination on the part of the visitors. The room out of which the apparition was accustomed to issue was found to be too shallow to contain any person. Mr Drury and his companion were well provided with lights, and satisfied themselves that there was no one in the house besides Mr Procter, his servant, and themselves.

Some correspondence which subsequently took place between Mr Drury and Mr Procter, with respect to the ill effects of what he did see had had upon the former and the request of the latter for a detailed account of his visitor's experience, need not be given, as the following letter. copied verbatim, will fully describe what Mr Drury says he really saw and heard:—

"Sunderland, July 13th, 1840.

"DEAR SIR,

I hereby, according to promise in my last letter, forward you a true account of what I saw and heard at your house, in which I was led to pass the night from various rumours circulated by most respectable parties, particularly from an account by my esteemed friend, Mr Davison, whose name I mentioned to you in a former letter. Having received your sanction to visit your mysterious dwelling, I went, on the 3rd of July, accompanied by a friend of mine, T. Hudson. This was not according to promise, nor in accordance with my first intent, as I wrote you I would come alone; but I felt gratified at your kindness in not alluding to the liberty I had taken, as it ultimately proved for the best. I must here mention that, not expecting you at home, I had in my pocket a brace of pistols, determining in my mind to let one of them drop before the miller, as if by accident, for fear he should presume to play tricks upon me; but after my interview with you, I felt there was no occasion for weapons, and did not load them, after you had allowed us to inspect as minutely as we pleased every portion of the house. I sat down on the third-story landing, fully expecting to account for any noises that I might hear in a philosophical manner. This was about eleven o'clock p.m. About ten minutes to twelve we both heard a noise, as if a number of people were pattering with their bare feet upon the floor, and yet, so singular was the noise, that I could not minutely determine from whence it proceeded. A few minutes afterwards we heard a noise, as if someone was knocking with his knuckles among our feet; this was followed by a hollow cough from the very room from which the apparition proceeded. The only noise after this was as if a person was rustling against the wall in coming up-stairs. At a quarter to one, I told my friend that, feeling a little cold, I would like to go to bed, as we might hear noise equally well there; he replied he would not go to bed till daylight. I took up a note which I had accidentally dropped, and began to read it, after which I took out my watch to ascertain the time and found that it wanted ten minutes to one. In taking my eyes from the watch they became riveted upon a closet door, which I distinctly saw open, and saw also the figure of a female attired in greyish garments, with the head inclining downwards and one hand pressed upon the chest as if in pain, and the other, viz., the right hand, extended towards the flour with the index finger pointing downwards. It advanced with an apparently cautious step across the floor towards me; immediately as it approached my friend, who was slumbering, its right hand was extended towards him. I then rushed at it, giving, as Mr Procter states, a most awful yell; but, instead of grasping it. I fell upon my friend, and I recollect not distinctly for nearly three hours afterwards. I have since learnt that I was carried downstairs in an agony of fear and terror.

"l hereby certify that the above account is strictly true and correct in every respect.

"EDWARD DRURY."

The appearance in print of Mr Drury's letter naturally created a great sensation. Mr Procter received a large number of letters in consequence of the publication, many of them, it is alleged, from individuals in various positions of society, informing him that their residences were, and had long been, subjected to similar disturbances to those alleged to trouble his.

Other instances of the way in which Mr Procter's house was haunted are recorded by Mr Howitt. On one occasion another apparition was seen by four witnesses, who were enabled to watch its proceedings for the space of ten minutes. They were outside the building, when the apparition of a bareheaded man, in a flowing robe like a surplice, gliding backwards and forwards about three feet from the floor, or level with the bottom of the second-storey window, seeming to enter the wall on each side, thus presenting the spectators with a side view in passing. "It then stood still in the window, and part of the figure came through both the blind, which was close down, and the window, as its luminous body intercepted the view of the framework of the window. It was semi-transparent, as bright as star, diffusing a radiance all around. As it grew more dim. it assumed a blue tinge, and gradually faded away from the head downwards." The foreman, one of the spectators, passed close to the house under the window, and also went up to inform the family, but found the house locked up. "There was no moonlight," says the account, "nor ray of light visible anywhere about, and no person near."

"One of Mrs Procter's brothers, a gentleman in middle life, and of a peculiarly sensible, sedate, and candid disposition," says Mr Howitt. "assured me that he had himself, on a visit there, been disturbed by the strangest noises. That he had resolved, before going, that if any noises occurred he would speak, and demand of the invisible actor who he was, and why he came thither. But the occasion came, and he found himself unable to fulfil his intention. As he lay in bed one night, he heard a heavy step ascend the stairs towards his room, and someone striking, as it were, with a thick stick on the bannisters as he went along. It came to his door, and he essayed to call, but his voice died in his throat. He then sprang from his bed, and, opening the door, found no one there, but now heard the same heavy steps deliberately descending, though perfectly invisible, the steps before his face, and accompanying the descent with the same loud blows on the bannisters," A thorough search was at once made of the premises, in the company of Mr Procter, but nothing was discovered that would account for the mysterious noises.

From two young ladies who, whilst on a visit to Mr Procter's, were annoyed by the apparition. Mr Howitt received this terrifying account of their experiences:—''The first night, as they were sleeping in the same bed, they felt the bed lifted up beneath them. Of coarse they were much alarmed. They feared lest someone had concealed himself there for the purpose of robbery. They gave alarm, search was made, but nothing was found. On another night their bed was violently shaken, and the curtains suddenly hoisted up all round to the very tester, as if pulled by chords, and as rapidly let down again, several times. Search again produced no evidence of the cause. The next day they had the curtains totally removed from the bed, resolving to sleep without them, as they felt as though evil eyes were lurking behind them. The consequences of this, however, were still more striking and terrific. The following night, they happened to awake, and the chamber was light enough—for it was summer—to see everything in it, they both saw a female figure, of a misty substance and bluish-grey hue, come out of the wall at the bed's head, and through the headboard, in a horizontal position, and lean over them. They saw it most distinctly. They saw it, as a female figure, come out of, and again pass into, the wall. Their terror became intense, and one of the sisters, from that night, refused to sleep any more in the house, but took refuge in the house of the foreman during her stay, the other shifting her quarters to another part of the house."

Among the various forms in which these disturbances were manifested at Mr Procter's house were, according to the statements, made by different persons to Mr Howitt, a noise like that of a paviour with his hammer thumping on the floor; other times similar noises are heard coming down the stairs; frequently are heard coughs, sighs, and groans, as of a person in distress, and sometimes there is the sound of a number of little feet pattering on the floor of the upper chamber when the female apparition has more particularly exhibited itself, and which, for that reason, is solely used as a lumber-room. "Here these little footsteps," says the narrative, "may be often heard, as if careering a child's carriage about, which in bad weather is kept up there." Sometimes, again, it utters the must blood-curdling laughter, whilst it does not even confine itself to making night hideous," but appears in broad daylight. "On one occasion, a young lady assured me," says Mr Howitt, "she opened the door in answer to a knock, the housemaid being absent, and a lady in a fawn-coloured silk entered and proceeded up-stairs. As the young lady, of course, supposed it to be a neighbour come to make a morning call on Mrs Procter, she followed her up to the drawing-room, where, however, to her astonishment, she did not find her, nor was anything more seen of her." Two apparitions appear to have haunted the house, one in the likeness of a man, already described, which is luminous, and passes through the walls as if they offered no solid obstacle to it, and which is well known to the neighbours by the name of "Old Jeffrey.' ' The other is the figure of a female in greyish garments, described by Mr Drury. She is said to be sometimes seen sitting wrapped in a sort of mantle with her head depressed and her hands crossed on her lap. "The most terrible fact is that she is without eyes."

After enduring these terrible annoyances for some years, Mr Procter, apprehensive of the ill effect they might have upon his children, says Mr Howitt, quitted Willington and removed to North Shields, and subsequently to Tynemouth. At neither of these new abodes was he troubled by any similar manifestations. Mr Procter states that a strange lady, strange to the district, being thrown into a clairvoyant state, and asked to go to the Mill, she described the priest and the grey lady, the two apparitions which haunted it. She also added that the priest had refused to allow the female ghost to confess a deadly crime committed at that spot many years ago, and that this was the troubling cause of the poor woman's apparition.

The case of this dear young man, whose days, we trust, were numbered in mercy, affords a striking instance of the uncertainty of time—of the fleeting nature of the fairest earthly prospects, and of the necessity of living in a state of constant watchfulness, in order that we may be found prepared for the final change: "for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh."

Hannah Sharp (nee Procter) died on 26 July 1842 only three and a half years after her marriage to Isaac Sharp, when their two little girls Mary and Elizabeth were only two and six months respectively. She said to Isaac at the end, "I think I cannot continue long. Thou wilt have the two little darlings."

Isaac describes the last time Hannah saw her two little ones. "Soon after twelve she took leave of our precious lambs, and having kept up remarkably well till this trying moment, she was exceedingly overcome, and it was as much as I could well bear to carry them in one at a time to receive the last fond kiss and the last sweet smile from their dear Mamma. She gave dear Polly one of her roses, gazed on them till they left the room, and then a flood of tears came."

. . . was for some time under the tuition of the Presbyterian minister at North Shields, and so highly did the boy's intellectual powers impress his instructor that he remarked, "Surely, Mr. Procter, you will bring up this son to the ministry?"

TYNEMOUTH RIVER COMMISSIONERS.—It is stated that Mr. John Richardson Procter, who has been a most active and energetic member in the Tynemouth Council since the incorporation of the borough, with Hugh Taylor, Esq., of Chipchase Castle, will be proposed to fill the officer of River Commissioners, together with Mr. Ald. Mease, of Cleveland House.

The Mayor (Ald. Spence) begged to move an amendment: "That this Board desires to express its unabated confidence in its chairman, John Richardson Procter, and its high sense of the honour, integrity, and ability which he has shown in the administration of the affairs of this Board." He need not say that he deeply regretted that Mr. Scott should have submitted a motion proposing to censure Mr. Procter. He entirely disagreed with every word which Mr. Scott had said as to the motives which had induced Mr. Procter to append the memorandum to the memorial. He knew no more honourable man—no man of greater integrity than John Richardson Procter, and he regretted that any member of the Board should make such a—should he call it?—diabolical attempt as had just been made to blast the character of such a man. While expressing his regret that Mr. Procter should have been guilty of an indiscretion in appending a memorandum to the memorial, he must say that Mr. Procter had no intention—as Mr. Scott said he had—of unduly influencing the Poor-law Board.

The proposer of the original motion withdrew it, in the face of the evident opposition to it.

On Wednesday a fire occurred at the extensive tannery works of Messrs John Richardson Procter and Son, Low Lights, North Shields, and damage was done to the amount of about £2,000.

Mr JOHN R. PROCTER seconded the motion. He said there was much in the report which was very pleasant to them to hear, and to find that they were placed in so much better a position than they were last year with regard to the reform question, which had been occupying so much of the time of the House. Some people spoke of it as a compromise. It was a compromise, and he thought they must congratulate themselves on that fact, inasmuch as but for the compromise they would have stood a fair chance of not getting the Franchise Bill passed at all. He thought it was very doubtful whether it would not have had to lie over to the next Parliament, and that, he was sure, would have been a great calamity to the country. With respect to the vote of censure, he said that had it been to put power into the hands of a party who would have done away with all war he would have most heartily gone in with it, but as it was going into hands who would only have gone more eagerly into war, he rejoiced that it had terminated as it had. He hoped the Tories would have the good sense to move no more votes of censure on a Liberal Government. (Hear, hear.)

Death of Mr. J.R. Procter, of North Shields, 'Newcastle Daily Leader,' October 12th, 1888

It is with deep regret that we record the death of Mr. John Richardson Procter, of Clementhorpe, North Shields, which took place at his residence rather suddenly and unexpectedly last evening. Mr. Procter was in his usual health up till Tuesday evening last, and even yesterday the sad event was not looked for. In the fulfilment of his duties as chairman of the Harbour and Ferries Committee of the River Tyne Commission, Mr. Procter attended a meeting of the committee at the docks on Tuesday afternoon, and in the company of his colleagues visited the various places there. On concluding the business of the meeting, Mr. Procter hurried off to the railway-station, and it is supposed that he over-exerted himself, for on arriving home he felt faint and ill. Next day the symptoms continued, and Dr. Bramwell was called in. After a while, however, he rallied, and it was thought that he would get over his illness. He had another relapse, however, and was again very ill, but, recovering, appeared to be more like himself. The recovery was only temporary, however, for he was seized with illness yesterday, and, although he rallied somewhat in the course of the day, died quietly about five o'clock, the cause of death being an affection of the heart.

Mr. Procter was one of the best known and most highly respected men in North Shields, and, it might be said, on Tyneside. He was in his 77th year. He was the son of Joseph Procter, of North Shields, who carried on business near the foot of the Wooden Bridge Bank, in the Low Town, and afterwards in premises which stood on the site now occupied by the drapery establishment of Messrs. Joseph and John Foster Spence. The father of the brothers Spence served his apprenticeship with the father of Mr J.R. Procter. While a young man, Mr Procter was sent to the works of his uncles, William and Henry Richardson, of the Low Lights Tannery, where he learnt the business, and ultimately succeeded his uncles as proprietor of the business, which he successfully carried on, latterly with the assistance of his son.

He was a member of the Society of Friends, and married a lady of the family of the Richardsons, of York. He was a man of few words, but no one was listened to with more respect. He was, with the exception of Mr. J.C. Stevenson, M.P., the oldest member of the River Tyne Commission, in the work of which the took the deepest interest, giving ungrudgingly his time and talents to the very last.

With the town of Shields, his native place, his life was inseparably bound up. There was no movement for the good of the people or the prosperity of the borough in which he did not manifest the liveliest interest, and there were few movements having the same objects in view in which he did not take an active part. Very early in life he showed an interest in the Bible Society, which he continued to support throughout his long life. He was for many years a member of the committee of the Royal Jubilee Schools, and for a time acted as secretary. He was also a member of the old Literary and Philosophical Society, which institution was ultimately merged in the Free Library, of the committee of which he was a member. He was also a member of the Kettlewell School Committee, which he joined in 1845, and at one time acted as corresponding secretary and chairman. He was chairman of the Dispensary Committee, and he also took a deep interest in the Tyne Sailors' Home, of which he was one of the directors. Of the public bodies of the borough he served as a member of the Tyne Commission, as above stated, of the Town Council, the School Board, and the Board of Guardians. He was elected a member of the River Tyne Commission in 1863, and at the time of his death was Chairman of the Harbour and Ferries Committee. He was elected a member of the Town Council in 1852, and retired in 1867, he then being chairman of the Sanitary Authority. He was elected a member of the School Board at the second election after its formation, and when he retired he was chairman. Of the Board of Guardians he was a member for about forty years, and at the time of his death was chairman. Among the other institutions with which he was connected was the University Extension Society, in which he took great interest up to the last. Indeed, Mr. Procter continued his connection with every one of the numerous movements in which he was interested up to the day of his death. He was a loyal and consistent Liberal, and during the visit of Mr. Harris, the Liberal candidate, attended two or three of the meetings, taking part at the last one held in the Oddfellows' Hall, where he was enthusiastically received. Mr. Procter leaves a widow and two sons, with whom the greatest sympathy is felt.'

From the 'Newcastle Daily Leader,' October 12th, 1888

A large public on Tyneside will regret to hear of the death of Mr. J.R. Procter, of North Shields. Through a long life, reaching considerably over the three score years and ten, Mr. Procter has always had at heart the welfare of the community among whom he lived. In most charitable objects he was a leading spirit, and was, besides, an unostentatious and cheerful giver in private ways. He was an advanced Liberal, and a sound adviser. Being a member of the Society of Friends, he objected to take an oath or to administer one. This conviction kept him from accepting the office of chief magistrate of his native borough, and ultimately practically drove him from the Council in order to get rid of the pressure to take a high position. He was a model citizen.

John Richardson Procter.

From the 'Shields Daily News,' October 12th, 1888.

Rarely in our public annals has the sudden stroke of death kindled a deeper sense of loss in the community, than that which yesterday followed the announcement of the death of Mr. J.R. Procter. For so many years in the front of all that was estimable, energetic and helpful in our public service, and, up to the very last, apparently in the fulness of his honours and his activities, there was no slackening of the grasp or diminishing of the ardour with which he devoted himself to the manifold interests and duties, to which, for a lifetime, he had given so much of his time and talents. Winning an almost unique position of respect and honour, frankly accorded to him, in sincere esteem of his character and conscientious guidance of so many good causes, he carried the modest dignity and the inward kindliness of the Society of Friends into all the varied relations of this life. Not for the titles or the public honours of the service were his labours given, but out of strong sympathy with all men, and yearning to be ever in the front when anything was to be done or said on behalf of freedom and liberty of conscience, or help to be given to the downcast or the outcast, or more light to be given to those who sat in darkness and the shadow of ignorance. His services to education alone, as one of the oldest and most able directors of Kettlewell's School, have been of great value to the community, given with such fervent zeal and judgement at the period of greatest need, and maintained to the very last. There is scarcely an effort or an occasion when the onward and upward movement of our social and political life bring us together, where his familiar presence and his generous help will not be missed.

DEATH OF MR J.R. PROCTER, NORTH SHIELDS.

In our obituary column, to-day, will be found the name of one of the best-known and highly respected of Shieldsmen, Mr John Richardson Procter, of Clemensthorpe, North Shields, who passed quietly away at his residence last evening. The sad event, the announcement of which was received last night with surprise, and which will to-day cause wide-spread sorrow and regret among all classes, although not altogether unlooked for, came rather suddenly and unexpectedly. Up to yesterday it was known only to a few that Mr Procter was otherwise than in his ordinary health. Only the other week he appeared at a meeting on the Oddfellows' Hall in furtherance of the candidature of Mr Richard Harris, Q.C., the Liberal candidate, and seconded a resolution, his reception on that occasion being most cordial and enthusiastic. A week yesterday he was in his place as chairman of the Tynemouth Board of Guardians, and took part in the discussion. On Tuesday afternoon last he called on his friend and colleague, Ald. J.F. Spence, on his way to attend a committee meeting of the River Tyne Commission, of which he was a member, and he then appeared in his usual health. This was his last public work. The meeting was held at Northumberland Dock, and was somewhat protracted, the members of the committee visiting various parts of the works. It had been Mr Proctor's practice to proceed to the docks in a cab when the meetings were held at that place, and also to return home in the same way. On Tuesday he departed from the usual custom, and at the close of the meeting hurried off to the Railway Station. On arriving at his residence he felt faint and sick, and Dr Brumwell was sent for. On the Wednesday he rallied somewhat, and it was thought that if no relapse occurred he would speedily recover his wonted health. A relapse did occur, however, and although he again rallied and appeared to be getting well, he had another attack yesterday afternoon and died about five o'clock, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.

MR PROCTER'S CAREER.

Mr John Richardson Procter was a native of North Shields, and came of an old Quaker family. His father was Mr Joseph Procter, who carried on the business of a draper in the town for many years. His first place of business, about the year 1810 or 1811, was in the Low town, near to the foot of the Wooden Bridge Bank. Afterwards he removed to premises at the foot of Howard Street which stood on the site now occupied by the drapery establishment of Messrs J. and J.F. Spence, whose father, on coming to North Shiields, went

INTO PARTNERSHIP

with Mr Joseph Proctor. The premises at present in the occupation of Messrs Spence were built about 20 years ago. Mr J.R. Procter did not follow the business of his father. Early in life he joined his uncles, William and Henry Richardson, of the Low Lights tannery, and ultimately succeeded them, carrying on with success the business of tanner, latterly with the assistance of his son, Mr H.R. Procter, till the day of his death. Mr J.R. Procter married a lady of the family of Richardson, of York, and had two sons and one daughter, the latter of whom a talented young lady, died some years ago.

THE BIBLE SOCIETY.

To give a sketch of the career of Mr J.R. Procter would be like giving a history of North Shields during his lifetime, so cloesly was he identified with all that made for the well-being of the town and its inhabitants. First among the institutions in which he took an interest was the Bible Society, which he supported all through his long life. As a young man he became a member of the old Literary and Philosophical Society, which had its habitation at the foot of Howard Street, and his connection with it did not close until

IT BECAME MERGED

in the Mechanics' Institute and Free Library, and he became a member of the committee of the last-mentioned institution. In 1847 he became a member of the Royal Jubilee School committee, and was at one time secretary, being succeeded in 1858 by Ald. J.F. Spence, who was secretary from that time till 1879, when the school was handed over to the School Board, a period of 21 years. In 1845 he became a member of the Kettlewell School Committee, and filled the offices of correspondent and chairman for some time.

THE DISPENSARY.

He was also a member of the Dispensary Committee, of which he was chairman, and a director of the Tyne Sailors' Home, in which he took a deep interest till the day of his death. Mr J.R. Procter was also a member of several of the public authorities of the district. He was a member of the Tynemouth Board of Guardians, and at the time of his death occupied the position of chairman. He was at one time also a member of the Town Council. He was elected in 1852 and retired in 1867, being then chairman of the Sanitary Authority.

THE SCHOOL BOARD.

He was elected a member of the School Board at the second election after its formation in 1873, and when he retired he was chairman of the authority. He was appointed a member of the River Tyne Commission in 1863, and with the exception of the chairman, Mr J.C. Stevenson, M.P., was the oldest member of that body. He was chairman of the harbour and ferries committee, and as shown above, continued his duties until the last, taking a great interest in the work of the Commission. It may be said indeed that there was

NO MOVEMENT

in the town or district, calculated to promote the welfare of the people, in which he did not take the liveliest interest. He was a member of the University Extension Society, and, as before stated, he was a Liberal. He was a man of few words, but he was listened to with respect, and his utterances always carried great weight. In all his acts, public and private, he did what he considered to be right and just, and, by his exemplary life, won the respect and esteem of all classes. He leaves a widow and two sons, Mr H.R. Procter and Mr J.W. Procter, to mourn his loss.

THE LATE MR J. R. PROCTER.

The following obituary notice appears in "The Leather Trades Circular and Review" of the 16th inst:—It is with the deepest regret we are called upon to announce the death of John Richardson Procter, senior member of firm of J. R. Procter and Son, Low Lights Tannery, North Shields. By his death the leather trade loses one its most honourable as well as one of its oldest representatives. His native town and district mourns loss as the central figure of almost every useful institution for the past half-century, and the various national, philanthropic, and social movements lost in Mr Procter a steadfast supporter and advocate. The news of his death caused a painful shook to the public of the borough in which he lived, as his illness was only known to few. He was, in fact, in the full discharge of his public duties and enjoying perfectly good health up to  Tuesday last, 9th October. On the afternoon of that day he attended the usual meeting of the Piers and Docks Committee of the River Tyne Commissioners, but instead of availing himself of the use of a carriage, as latterly had been his custom, he was tempted by the mildness of the weather to perform the journey on foot. The meeting was somewhat protracted, and he had delayed his departure somewhat longer than he had intended, and in hurrying to Percy Main Railway Station to catch the train for North Shields, he was seized with an affection of the heart. On his arrival at North Shields his indisposition assumed a seriousness that gave rise to considerable apprehension. Medical aid was at once called in, but for some time he remained in a prostrate condition. The following day slight improvement took place, and hopes were entertained of his recovery, but on Thursday he relapsed into a much weaker condition, and passed peacefully away at five o’clock in the afternoon, owing to failure of the action of the heart.

Mr J. R. Procter was born on the 26tb September, 1812, in the premises now known as "Howard Boot Stores," situated in the most central part of town, and occupied by Messrs G. H. and J. R. Hogg, as wholesale and retail boot and shoe dealers, but which was at that time an entirely residential district. He is thus in his seventy-seventh year. The entire daily press of Tyneside district gives very extensive particulars of his public career, which was inseparably bound up with the development of the resources of the river Tyne and surrounding towns. As a young man, Mr Procter was apprenticed to his uncles, William and Henry Richardson, of "Low Lights" Tannery. We may explain that the derivation of name Low Lights is due to the fact that the entrance to the river Tyne indicated to mariners by two lighthouses, one placed on the shore level of the estuary of the river, and the other several feet above and at a greater distance inland. The pilots of vessels proceeding from sea at night must have these two lights in line in order to navigate safely into Port, and Mr Procter's works being situated in the neighbourhood of the lower one, hence the name Low Lights, an illustration which, in the form of a lighthouse, with rays proceeding from the tower, bail been adopted as the trade mark of the firm. Here Mr Procter served a regular apprenticeship, doing all manual and other branches of the work, and sometimes in referring to his early experiences spoke of the cold when breaking the ice in winter in the open yard, now entirely covered in. due time, passed from that position to the proprietor of the works, and the practical experience gained as a workman gave him an advantage as a master which can only be folly appreciated by those who have passed through the successive stages. For many years. indeed up to a late period, the only customers of the tanner was the leather merchant and the master shoe maker. Now, as is well known, the tanner doing anything like a respectable output must look farther afield: the large manufacturers of Northamptonshire, Stafford, and Leicestershire being his principal patron. In the days of hand-sewn work, to which we have referred, Mr Procter did a respectable trade with the leather merchants the district, and the Low Lights dintles were in great requisition, and held very high position in the estimation of the local shoemakers. The dintles hides were tanned whole, firmly rolled with the bloom kept in and unstruck. The head and shoulders were folded inside, and the bellies rolled outwards at each side. In this form they were exceedingly convenient to the small master. He obtained his sole leather from the butts, the necks supplied him with welts, the bellies with his insoles, and the other offal with lifting, packing, &c. These were the days of pure bark and cold water, and Mr Procter's yard was conducted entirely upon this principle. So thoroughly indeed did Mr Procter go in for the pure oak bark that on one occasion, when some fishermen applied for the use of a pit in which to tan their nets with composition of their own, permission was refused in order that it might be truthfully stated that nothing but pure bark had ever been used in the yard. By the introduction of machinery and the ready-made boot period the dintle hide tanning was gradually superseded by butts finished in the same way, the offal being tanned separately. In the past 10 years or so the Low Lights Tannery has undergone great extensions and improvements. Although Mr Procter continued up to the very last to attend the yard once a day, yet for many years the details of practical management have been left to his son, H. R. Procter, who became a partner about 15 years ago. From an output of 60 to 80 hides of all sorts (including a few shaved hides) the capacity of the yard has grown to an output of about 250 sole butts alone per week. From a pure bark the tannage has been changed gradually to one of good mixed, mellow, but solid, light weighing, and clean finishing, in the hands of Mr Procter, junior, who is well known as one of the best scientific authorities on tanning in the trade; his text book tanning being accepted as a standard work of the highest value. As a shrewd and farseeing business man Mr J. R. Proctor's advice was frequently sought and usually willingly given to many of those with whom he had business relations. His speculations apart from his business were indicative of great caution and discernment, it being axiom with him that any rate of interest above five per cent. was attended with a corresponding risk. When the whole of the financial world went mad after shipping the so-called "dividends' of 40 per cent. to 60 per cent, had no seductions for him, and he quietly invested his capital, of which possessed a fair share, in good freehold mortgages andd first-class railways, and he was a frequent attender at the half-yearly meetings of tje North Eastern Railway Company at York.

For 15 years Mr Procter was member of the Tynemoutb Town Council, retiring therefrom in 1867, after being repeatedly asked to fulfil the duties of mayor; but having those conscientious scruples in regard to oath characteristic of the Society of Friends, of which he was a prominent member, he could not be induced to become the chief magistrate. if some positions of honour were thus denied him. he was ever to be found where service could be most efficiently rendered to his fellow townsfolk and the cause of humanity. In early life he became a member of the Bible Society, acted in various capacities to more educational institutions than we can enumerate in this journal, was a member of the committee of the Dispensary, the Tyne Sailors’ Home, the Free Library, the University Extension Scheme, for several years chairman of the School Board, and with the exception of the chairman of the River Tyne Commission, J. C. Stevenson, M.P. (of Sunday Closing fame), was the oldest member of that body, having been appointed in 1863 He was a member of the Tynemouth Board of Guardians, and at the time of his death held the position of chairman, and it is a circumstance of peculiar interest that only on that day week preceding his death he presided at a very lengthy and animated discussion, relative to the merits of the boot and leather tenders submitted by Messrs Lazenby, Pearson, &c., of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and Messrs G. H and J. R Hogg, of North Shields, and the voting being equal on each side, gave his casting vote in favour of the latter firm, on the ground that no sufficient reasons had been given why the contract should be sent out of the Union.

In politics Mr Procter was an advanced Liberal, not so much in the partisan sense of the term, as one in whom an intelligent study of the leading events in history had produced a settled conviction. Mr Procter was possessed of a good physique, while a clear, radiant, yet deep serenity of countenance indicated the clearness of his judgment and the equanimity of his disposition. Several pulpit references were made to the deceased's character and usefulness, and at one Congregational Church the 'Dead March' was played upon the organ at close of the service, the crowded congregation remaining seated during its performance. During the earlier part of his business career Mr Procter lived in a snug home adjoining the tan yard, but the place becoming surrounded with factories, he removed several years ago to a splendid family mansion situated about half a mile outside the town, to which he gave the name of Clementhorpe, the native place of his wife, who belongs to an old Yorkshire family, and with whom and his two sons great sympathy is felt. His funeral, which was an exceedingly large one. was attended by the various public bodies to which he had rendered such a signal service, as well as by all the leading citizens and representatives from other towns, who felt in following the body of so true a man to the grave they were not conferring but receiving an honour.—(Contributed by a friend.)

FUNERAL TO-DAY.

This afternoon, the mortal remains of the late Mr John Richardson Procter, of Clemensthorpe, North Shields, were conveyed to their last resting place at Preston Cemetery. There was a very large gathering at the residence of the deceased, there being present representatives of the various authorities with which the late Mr Procter was connected, including the River Tyne Commissioners, Tynemouth Town Council, Tynemouth Board of Guardians, Tynemouth School Board, the borough and county magistrates, friends, and work-people. The funeral arrangements were under the direction of Messrs J. and J.F. Spence. There were a hearse and seven mourning coaches and fourteen private carriages. The coffin was of polished oak with brass mountings, and was covered with beautiful wreaths. The coffin bore the simple inscription, "J.R. Procter, aged 76 years, 11th Oct., 1888." Following the hearse came the carriages, in which were the relatives of the deceased, among whom were Mr H. Procter, Tynemouth, and Mr W. Procter, York, sons of deceased; Mr Richardson, York; and mater John C. Procter. After the mourning coaches came the private carriages, which included those of Mr Richardson (Backworth) [. . . and a number of other, listed].

THE LATE MR PROCTER.

The DEPUTY-MAYOR moved the following resolution:—"That the Council desires to express their sense of the loss the borough has sustained by the death of Mr John R. Procter, one of the River Tyne Commissioners and that the Town Clerk be requested to convey to Mrs Procter and her family the deep sympathy of the Council on their irreparable loss.

Ald GREEN seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.