The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-09-22 00:00:00

THE ALLEGED MURDER IN LONDON.

In London, on Tuesday, at the Clerkenwell Polka.
court, William Scully, 17, bat maker, was charged on
remand with having wilfully murdered George Henry
Neal, by stabbing him in the back en Saturday night,
the Ist of September.
Mr. Sims, solicitor, instructed by the Treasury,
appeared for the prosecution; the prisoner was un-
defended.

The alleged murder was the result of jealousy, a
young woman named Mary Cannon having given up
the prisoner to keep company with Neal.
Mary Cannon stated that the prisoner had on one
or two occasions previous to the occurrence threatened
and struck her for walking out with Neal, and on one
occasion he said, "I will either do for you or for him
if you go out with him." On the night of the occur-
rence witness had been with Neal and a party of
friends to a music-hall. She got back to the court at
ten minutes to twelve. The prisoner was sitting on
the windowsill of her house. He rt• v:A her in the
face with his open hand for being with Neal. She
said nothing, but went indoors.

John Fury, 4, Type-court, Milton-street, St. Luke's,
said he knew both the prisoner and Neal. Early on
Sunday morning, the 2nd of September, be heard
Neal cry out "Jack, Jack." Hs ran up into the
court, and found Neal bleeding freely from a wound
in the neck. Neal did not speak again. Witne.s
picked him up and amisted him towards his house.
When they had gone a little distance they met a friend
of Neal coming towards them, and witness having
become sick at the Bight of blood handed Neal over to
his care.

Edward Lambert, 12, Type court, said he was a
lodger in the same house as Neal, who was partly deaf
and dumb. Early on Sunday morning, September 1;
witness heard cries at a little distance from the house.
He ran out, and met the witness Foy carrying Neal,
Fury turned sick, and witness took Neal from him.
Neal gave utterance to some inarticulate sounda, and
appeared to be choking. A constable came up, and
witness went with him to the hospital, carrying the
injured man. Witness remained in the hospital with
Neal until he died, an hour or two aftnlvards.

Police-constable Hopewell deposed that be appre-
hended the pridoner as he was turning into Anchor.
yard. He asked the prisoner if he knew that Neal
had beer stabbed, and the prisoner said, "I didn't do
it." Witness then enquired if be had a knife, to which
the prisoner replied " No." Upon feeli.ig in his
pockets, however, a large c 1.193 knife was found (pro-
duced). It was quite clean.
The Inspector at the Old•atreet Police•atation stated
that when the charge was read to the prisoner he said,.
"He interfered with me first."
Dr. Batten, of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, gave
evidence as to the nature of the wound, which he said
might have been caused by the knife produced.
The prisoner, who had remained perfectly quiet
throughout, said "No, sir." when asked if he had any-
thing to say, and &IL Hosack formally committed
him for trial.

A GREAT MISTAKE.—A Frog in a China Shop, mis-
taking himself for a Bull,—Punch.
THE TWEED SALMON FISHINGS.—The net fishings
on the river Tweed have closed for the season. There
seems to be a considerable number of newly run fish in
the river, and prospects for rod fishing at present look
very good. Prices on the closing day were :—Salmon,
is. 6d. ; grilse, is. 6d. ; trout, :Li. 2d. per lb. On the
closing day last year salmon and grilse were 2s. per
lb., and trout is. sd. per lb. On the opening day this
year salmon was is. 101 and traut is, 6d. per lb.
On the opening day last year salmon was Is. Bd. and
trout Is. sd. per lb. The supplies of fish to Billings.
gate from Berwick throughout the year have been
more than double those last year.

FIGHTING BETWEEN THE FRENCH
AND THE BLACK FLAGS.
A Renter's telegram dated Hong Song, Sept. 14,
says :
An engagement lasting eight hours has been fought
between the French troops and a body of Black Flags
at Phokhai, between Hanoi and Sontay. The French
had two officers and fifty men killed and wounded.
Tbe lose of the Black Flags is estimated at betwten
500 and 600 men.

The following deßpatch was received at the London
office of the New York Herald from its special corre-
spondent !n Hong Kong : _ _ . _ _

"Hong Kong, Sept. 14, 2.40 p in.

"My correspondent at Haiphong sends me from
French official sources further information cormern•
log the second attack of the French upon the Black
Flags.
" Previous accounts sent, which were derived from
Anramite sources, claimed the victory for the Black
Flags.
" The following is a correct account :

"On the Ist of September the French tdvanced
within twelve miles of Sontay, to a village calla
Pallan.
"There they found the enemy in casema4ed forts,
on which the gunboats had no effect.
"After three days' hard fighting the works were
carried at the point of the bayonet.
"The French lost in killed fourteen men and two
officers; in wounded forty men and three officers.
"The Yellow Flags—the Chinese auxilaries—lost six
killed and two wounded.

" The losses of the Black Flags were over five
hundred killed.

"The French captured two guns, two standards, and
one chief's battle flag.
" GenerAl Bouet retired to Hanoi to await reinforce.
ments, leaving three hundred men to hold the captured
towns."

Sontay, mentioned in the above telegrams, is distant
from the sea coast some ninety miles, as the crow
flies (says the Daily News). It stands on the Red
River, about twelve miles beyond the place called
Phokhai, where the French repulse has taken place.
Sontay may be regarded as the apex of the Red River
delta, the sea base of which measures about 110 miles.
The Delta is intersected by the numerous mouths of
the Red River and a network of smaller streams, the
inundation of which has so seriously hampered the
movements of the French troops. On the Annam
aide of the triangle the principal towns are Namdinh,
Hanoi, and Sontay ; on the China side the chief
places are Haidzuong and Bac Ninh. Haidznong is
about thirty miles from the sea, and was occupied
by a small French force in the middle of August.
Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Namdinh, and Haiduong form a
kind of quadrilateral, the possession d which, it is
supposed, will enable the French to dominate the
whole delta. Sontay, however, which lies fulther in
the interior of he country than any of the foregoing,
and on the road to Yunnan, is a place of great itn•
portance.