The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-07-31 00:00:00

ATTEMPTED ROBBERY OF AN IRON
SAFE CONTAINING £4,700!

—-- - - -
The sitting magistrates at Portsmouth Police-court
was engaged for several hours, on Monday and Tues-
day, in investigating a charge against two watermen,
named William Flowers and Robert Hawkins, of steal-
ing an iron safe, containing about £4,700, from on
board Her Majesty's ship Octaves, when lying along-
side the south jetty of Portsmouth dockyard.
Mr. Swaioson, the Admiralty solicitor at Ports-
mouth, prosecuted; and Mr. Cousins, of Portsea, de-
fended.
Shortly after three o'clock on the morning of Monday,
the 10th inst., John Aickin, a private, Royal Marines,
was on duty on the jetty alongside the Oetavia, when
his attention WS attracted by • noise DA if something
heavy falling on board the ship. He went towards her,
and then saw a wan, whom he positively identified as
Flowers, conic out of the port leading into the pay-
master's office on the maindeck, jump on to the stage
which was between the ship and the jetty, and get Mao
a boat. Aickin raised an alarm, when Hawkins came
through the port, and the prisoners got away. The
boat passed the Sprightly, which was lying near, and a
seaman who was on watch recognised Flowers as one
of the men in the boat.
The water police ship was hailed, and a boat was at
once put off and intercepted the boat in which the two
prisoners were.
It was found that a chest, containing about £4,700,
and weighing over three hundred weight, had been
removed from the paymaster's office on to the port sill.
The office door was not locked and the port WAS open,
and the assistant paymaster slept on the mat ontside
the door, but he did not hear any noise until he was
alarmed.
Mr. Cousins addressed the Bench at some length,
contending that the evidence of i ientity WRA not suffi-
cient, and that, even supposing the Bench thought it
was, it was not proved that the prisoners had any con-
nection with the removal of the safe; they might have
been there for another purpose.
' The Bench committed the prisoners for trial.

THE EARL OF DALHOUSIE ON THE
FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.
On the occasion of the laying of the foundationditone
of a new free kirk a few days ago at Aboyne, the Earl
of Dalhousie delivered an interesting address touching
upon the prospects of the largest voluntary church in
Scotland. In the course of his speech, the Earl of
Dalhousie said :
" Ladies and gentlemen, it has been said also that this
Free Church of ours, now twenty-six years old, has be-
come a dwining and a dwindling Church, and that the
days of her manhood are already passed. I may say
there never was a greater fallacy than this, and I am
wiry to say that the fallacy has been somewhat en-
couraged by the conouct of those within our own
boa rn, which I deeply regret, and which I hope to
see repented of. (Applause.) Let us look on what the Free
Church was originally and what it is now. It came out
with about 474 ordained ministers. Of these 270 W paro-
chial ministers, the remainder being cloisters of those
churches which were in status, although not in emolument,
equal to parochial churches. From 474 ministers ordained
to preach the Word, we have swellei to upwards of 900.
lApplawe ) Is that any symptom of decay?
‘• We have built upwards, I believe, of 800 churches. We
have added to that 600 schools, and we have, out of the
poverty of our land, gathered an amount of money to sustain
the great cause which we advocate, which speaks well for the
vitality as well as the stability of our church.
" It has been said that the church is going too fast, by
some of those who belong to it. It has been said that in
being too forward in the way of church extension we have
run the risk, and have actually committed the fault, of lower-
ing the stipends of the fixed ministers of congregations. I
deny that this has been done to any extent. It may have
been done to some small extent; lout who shall gainsay church
extension?—hear, hear)— who shall tell me that is a real
Church which is not a missioloary Church. Meal., hear.)
I honour the saying of Dr. Chalmers, when he told the
people that commerce and religion were conducted on
two totally different principles. In commerce the dk mind
must precede the supply ; in religion the supply must
precede the demand. But it is in vain to tell me that a
Church can do its duty that does not plant itself it. the
midst of barren ground—that does not till the ground till it
makes it a snoiliug field, and gathers into it a congregation
which did not exist lam proud to think the Free Church
goes On in that work, aid I am convinced that, sowing in
that manner Providence will bless the need, and that the
Church that sows the seed will reap benefits from the trans-
action aretifyiog to all its members, and proving a bit:sting
to the coniniunity at large.
"Now, my friends, with regard to the finances of the
Church I have already told you that the money collected for
Free C arch purposes is large beyond any conception—and,
by the bye, we stand a monummot to prove that although a
Church he disestalklised, and altholigh it he disen.lowed, tilt
haven earnest ministry and a zealous and ardent people, it
will 11.,urish for better wiliout having the golden links of
the State wour.d around it which may emanate from the
State's lows."

MURDER OF A RIVER WATCHER
IN CUMBERLAND.
On Tuesday, an adjourned inquest was held at
Cockermouth upon the body of Abraham Starkie,
river watcher, who was murdered by salmon poachers
while in the execution of his duty. on Sunday3the 18th
inst., in the river Derwant, near Cockermouth.
The deceased, who was a man of great physical
power and high courage, was employed by Mr.
Anthony Dalzell, a salmon fishery lessee, of Stainburn
Hall. On the night in question he had gone alone to
watch the river. Witnesses had seen three men poach-
ing at a place called Stoddart Yot, and it is conjec-
tured that Starkie had fallen in with these, and that
they had net upon him and murdered him, for on the
following morning he was found lying dead in the
river.
Three men are in custody at Cockermouth upon the
i
charge of being implicated n the aftvir. One of these
is a river watcher, named John Moss, who had
latterly taken to poaching, and the other two are well-
known poachers in the neighbourhood, named Henry
Higlgeon and Richard Temple. •
At the inquest, on Tuesday, Dr. Dodgson stated that
be had been called to the Cockermouth lock-up to
examine the finger of one of the pri.amers-:-Hoidg-on.
He did so, and found that it was marked as if by a
bite, and the primmer said to him, "it is healing up
now, but when it wan first done it gaped very much,"
adding, "lie bit it, and he got me by the throat as
well." Dr. Dodgeon asked him whom he meant by
'• be," and the prisoner replied, "The man who was
struggling with me in the water; I don't know who
he was, but we had a struggle together."
Dr. Whitehead, of Cockermouth, who had assisted
at a post-mortem examination f the body of the de-
ceased, was of opinion that Starkie had been drowned,
but that he had received a blow previously on the
head from a stick.
The inquest was adjourned, and in the meantime
the prisoners will be brought before the magistrates,
when it is understood the police will produce further
evidence connecting the prisoners with the affair, and
statements made by themselves while in the lock-up
acknowledging their connection with the crime, and
detailing the circumstances under which it was com-
mitted.
The police have found a net with which the poachers
were fishing on the night in question, and in it were a
button and a piece of cloth which bad been torn from a
coat in the struggle, and which corresponded exactly
with the coat worn by one of the prisoners.