The Express.
London, England, 1849-05-24 00:00:00

THE STANFIELD HALL MURDERS.-DISCO
VERY OF THE WEAPON.

MONDHA M, WEDN t SDAT.—The discovery of the
weapon by which Retail perpetrated the murders at S an-
field 11011 has created considerable interest in the county.
The locality in which it was found certainly tend' to show
that the presumed search made by the county police wes at
least carried out in the most slovenly manner. For several
weeks they, with 60 or 70 hired labourers, under the personal
direction of C.d. Oakes, the chief officer of the force, at a
very great expense to the county, were engaged in almost
the complete demolition of Potash, the turning up of land,
and the emptying of the numerous pita of water which
abound in the district. In fact, to such an extent was the
search said to have been made, that, to use the words of
one of the officials, had so small a thing as a pencil-case been
secreted, it would have been turned up. It may be stated
that the weapon had been so placed after the search br
some person, for the purpose of obtaining a large reward, but
a general opinion prevails that that portion of the farm
where the discovery was meet, had not been examined
at ell. Although the process of ejectment has been served
on Mr. James Ruth, son of the deceased murderer, and
the furniture disposed of by public auction, yet he continua
to Add possession of the farm. It appears that in the course
of last Saturday one or two of the labourers were engaged in
clearing away ROMS muck which stood near a shed at the east-
ern extremity of the barn, scarcely 30 paces from the back
door of Potash, when a double-barrelled abort gun or blun-
derbuss was turned up in the soil. The feet was instantly
communicated to Mr. Rush, who took possession of the
weapon. I. had evidently been concealed a considerable
period—several months, as it was corroded. To more pro-
perly describe it, it is a small double-barrelled carbine, about
three-quarters of a yard in length, something similar to the
arms carried in former days by mail-coach guards. It has a
spring dagger or bayonet rtsched to it, which seems to have
been added since its oonstractinn. The maker's name, it
is said, does not present itself. Being without a ramrod, the
one found in the ball of Stanfield-hall on the night of the mur-
ders was fitted to the weapon, and was found to correspond
in size and make in every particular. That it Deluged to
the instrument was proved beyond a doubt. The finding of
the ramrod in the hall favours the impression that he used
it while there. Ilia reloading would account for the four
shots fired.
It i, somewhat surprising that the police did not, after
hearing the selm'ssions of Rash that be had buried the
clothes he had amen on the night of the murders near the
pigsty of the farm, insti u•e some search in the locality men-
tioned by the murderer, if only_ to satisfy themselves as to
the truth of the statement. Had they done so, the proba-
bility is, owing to the close proximity of the pigsty to the
plus where the weapon was found, that it would have
then come to light.

THE CAPTURED SIitiGGLERS.—OR Tuesday, at the
Portsmouth petty mesions, before a full bench of magistrates,
the captain, engineer, and stoker, captured on board the
Royal Charter, steam tug, as related in the &press
last week, were put on their trial for emupg'ing Mr.
Beverley, from the Custom's, London, attended for the
crown. The 'MOWS proved the facts formerly reported in
thin journal, and left no doubt on the minds of the magis-
trates, and the three men were each convicted in the penalty
of 1001. each, and, in default, son month"' imprisonment.
Yesterday one of the men found in the boat towed into the
harbour by the tug, was put on his trial, and convicted. The
sentence on this last defendant was the same as in the other
cases. The remaining prisoners, nine in number, were then
charged with the offence, and severally convicted in a penalty
of 1001., or six months' imprisonment. Five or six of these
last are old offenders.

FATAL RAILWAY COLLIBION.—On Tuesday after-
noon a collision, attended with fatal comequeness, took
plate on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, near to
the Clifton Junction, between Bolton and Manchester. It
appears that the two trains between which the collision w-
aned consisted of waggons laden with coal and coke, and
that one of them was passing at a speed of between twenty
and thirty =flee an hour along the main line of rails, at the
time that the other was easing on to the mote line from a
siding, the man in charge of the points haring, we under-
stand, signalled to the speeded train that the line was clear.
The malt was that the cm train ran with an awful crash
Into the other, killing one of the stokers, breaking the legs
of an engineer, and mailing • tender and some of the
waive as pieta. TM amen ecefusion aided for ease
Maui tM pastampw train wain( tip was
g delayed for
a langliamai aledrallehliuns Saniferel.