The Express.
London, England, 1847-12-24 00:00:00

PROVINCIAL.

TS! TER HOURS coneeqnenoe of the
secretary of the Manchester Association of Masters and
Midowners having forwarded to all the manufacturers in
the kingdom copies of resolutions recommending that an
effirt should be made by the masters to get a repeal of the
ten hours clause of the Factory Bill, accompanied boa ferns
of petition, to be presented at an early opportunity, 7. Vial-
den, Esq., late M.P. for Oldham, immediately published an
address to the factory operatives, exhorting them to
remain firm to the principle of ten hours, for which
many of them have for more than 30 years been struggling.
The short time committee of Todmorden met on Friday
last, and came to a unanimous determination not to allow
themselves to be deprived of the victory they had Ice re-
cently assisted in obtaining. An important meeting was
held at Todmorden on Monday of the central committees of
Lancashire and Yerkshire, Mr. J. Hurst in the chair. Seve-
ral delegates urged the necessity of the re-organisation of the
various local short time committees; sad expressing their
regret that the millownets should attempt to get the factory
hands to sign an eleven hours petition, without giving the
ten hours clause a fair trial. Mr. Mullineux, secretary to
the Lancashire central short-time committee, made several
statements as to the means used by many masters in Luna-
shire to cones the hands to sign the petition, but said that,
in nearly all cues, the muter, had failed in their attempts.
Letters were read from Lord Ashley and other members of
the house, expressing their determination to assist the fac-
tory operatives in maintaining the tea hours clause.
SHOCKINO Flab.—Two PERSONS BURNT TO
DCLTH.—A shocking fire occurred on Shudobill, Man-
chester, at the slum No. 63, occupied by Mr. Healey, clothes-
I dealer, at an early hour yesterday morning, by which da-
mage to a seriousamount was done, and we regret to state
that two person, were burnt to death. Mr. Healey is a
clothes-dealer at Blanchester and also at Leeds ; be himself
superintends the shop at the latter plat*, while his wife re-
sides on the premises at Shade-bill, Manchester. The pre-
raises on Shade-hill consist of alsnostory building, back and
frost, divided into a shop and sitting-room, with a bed-room
in the centre extending partly ever the shop and partly our
the sitfieg-roota. In this brt-roes, at the tiros of the firs,
Mrs. Healey and her daughter, who was about six years old,
were aleepusg in one bed, and a servant-woman, named
Mary Williamson, sod two ens of Mn. risaley, both little

.01

boys, were sleeping in another. Mrs Nutley was aroused
about tea minutes past two o'clock in the morning by an
oppressiveness of breathing, caused by the room being full of
smoke, and tried to descend from the room by the staircase,
but found the amok, so overpowering that she was obliged
to retreat, She then went through the window upon a low
roof over the eitting.room, where she succeeded in lifting her
two boys along with her, the youngest of whom was so
overpowered that he fainted! in her arms en the roof. She'
saw the 'Levant woman at that time had also got out of the
room, and was making towards the entry which leads into
Shudebill, and she called to her that little Mazy, her
daughter, wes still in the bedroom, and asked her to go and
try if she could not save her. The woman returned to the
room, and was sever seen afterwards &lice. Mrs. Healey
went to the shop of Mr. Theekray, bookseller, and gave an
alarm, and he, along with some other persons who 'stem-
bled ell:poet immediately in front of the building, began to
concert measures with a view to rescuing the child and ser-
vant. For this purpose they went to the back of the house
and tried to effect an entrance into the chamber, but Mr.
Harris, one of the party, having stamped hie foot upon the
roof, found that the lower building was entirely on tire, the
flames of which immediately burst through, and the party
coming to the conclusion that the servant and child,
if still in the sleeping-room, could not be alive,
and at all events that any attempts to save them,
from the dense smoke with which the room was filled,
would be abortive, determined to retreat. Engines having
arrived, the first efforts of the firemen were directed towards
extinguishing the flames in the hack part of the premises and
cooling the staircase, so that some person might obtain ad-
mission for the purpose of rescuing, it still alive, the servant
and child. The whole of the lower pert of the
building was by this time on fire ; but, al soon
as practicable, Corporal Jones, branchman Weldon,
and another fireman, named Humphries, ventured
into the bedroom to ascertain if any one was still
there. The child, Mary Healey, was found in bed,
her back being dreadfully burnt, and she was quite dead ;
the servant was found crouched down in one coma, and
was also dead. The property in the shop was valie d at
1,2001., for which sum it was insured. The building
was also insured. A carpenter had been at work en the
premises to a late hour on the previous evening, and it is
supposed that a spark from his candle had fallen among
some of the clothes, and smouldered there until the family
had gone to bed.
Toth MURDER AT CASTLETON.-011 Wednesday an
inquest was held on the body of Mr. Kay's servant, James
Duckworth, aged 53 years, who was found murdered on the
carriage drive leading to his master's house. The coroner
refused to admit the reporters, so that we are unable to
give what passed before the jury. It was stated to our
correspondent that Mews. Leach and Pickford, surgeons,
who made a post morass; examination of the body on Tues-
day, had found five wounds on the back of deceased's head,
one of them six inches long. The skull was fractured, and
the wounds appeared to have been made with a cart leg, or
some such instrument. The other witnesses, who were the
same as those examined before the magistrates on Monday,
cairied the evidence no farther than was reported in the
Daily Neaps of Wednesday. At four o'clock the cornier ad-
journed the inquest until Wednesday next. At six o'clock
in the evening the three prisoners were again brought up
before It. Kay, Esq., at Heywood, and were again remanded
until after the adjourned inquest.

•---- ...
THE MIRFIELD MUILDEII-I.—REID'a CONFESSION--
Our correspondent says:—" Immediately after the trial of
Patrick Reid and Michael M'Cabe, and after eentencs of
death had been passed upon them, Mr. R. Dale, the attorney
of Reid, communicated to Mr. Matthews (M'Cabe's counsel)
a confession made to him by the prisons r Reid pr.vious to
his trial. Mr. Matthews thereupon communicated with
Mr. Justice Patteson the purport of that confession, which
is stated to be to the following effect :—That, on the 12th of
May, Reid went to Mr. Wraith's house about twenty.five
minutes to one o'clock; that he conversed with the 'errant
girl, Caroline Ellis, about five minutes ; that he then took
out the soldering iron he had that slay borrowed of Kilty
and had concealed in his basket, and struck Csroline Ellis
a severe blow on the back of the head. She shrieked
out and staggered to the back door, when he struck
' her again and felled her to the ground, and Mr.
Wraith coming at that moment front the cellar into the
passage, which connects the kitchen with the two front par-
lours, with a silver pint containing beer in his hand, he
(Reid) struck him a violent blow en the head with the iron,
in doing which the iron dew from the handle, and Mr.
Wraith staggered into the parlour. Reid then returned and
got the kitchen poker and ran to the parlour, and met Mrs.
Wraith running out to the front door. He then struck her
two or three blows on the head, and felled her to the greund.
He went into the parlour, and Mr. Wraith was then laying
bleeding on the floor, insensible. He rifled his pockets, toot
his keys out, and opened the drawers with them. He then
heard a knock at the kitchen door, which he thought wu
Caroline Ellis ge ting up. He went to the kitchen, and found
her perfectly still, and again returned. He then got some
money out of the drawers, took the watch from Mr. Wrath,
and the ring from Mrs. Wraith's finger, and heard another
knock at the door. He thereupon went to the kitchen door,
and slightly opened it, when be saw the other prisoner,
M'Cabe, who inquired if they wanted anything in his line,
and he (Reid) replied, ' No, sir,' and thinking M'Cabe was
a stranger, and would not recognise him, he shut and bolted
the door. He then returned and ransacked the drawers,
sod found in them a razor-case containing two razors. He
took one and cut the throats of all the three parties, and
then w :shed hie hands and wiped them upon the towel.
He then quitted the house, locked the kitchen door, and
threw the soldering iron and the key into the well near the
back door, and then hurried towards his own home.—
Mr. Seymour, the counsel of Reid, who was also aware of
Reid's confession peterious to his trial, hu communicated the
tame to Mr. Justice Patteson, and proper representations will
llama& by the parties to Sir George Grey, the Secretary of
State, and active measure* will be taken to procure M'Cabe'e
liberation. Soon after the prisoners had entered the con-
demned cell, west* addressed the prisoner Reid, and en.
treated him to say whether he (M'Cabe) knew anything of
the murder or not. Reid in reply said ' No, yon did not ;
if I had thought you had known anythi g shout it I should
have murdered you too.' Reid thee told M'Cabe that he
had brought upon himself his own condemnation by the
false statements which he had made about the affair. M'Cabe
admitted this, but said he did it for the best. Whilst in
conversation, the storm of thunder which occursed at the
time of the murder was referred to, when Reid said ' I
thought when I heard it that it was God Almighty speak-
ing to me ; and I never have had that impression out of
my mind.' This conversation took place in the pre-
sence of the prison authorities. Reid had previously
been visited by the Rev. Dr. Quigley, the Roman catholic
priest, the prisoners being both of them members of that per-
suasion, and it is understood that Reid then corroborated the
statement he made to Mr. Dale. Reid evinces pert calm-
ew and resignation to his fate. )!'Cabe appears greatly
affected by his position, end unable to bear up. Of course
nothing yet can be known as to the ultimate fate of M'Cabe.
The case will doubtless undergo further investigation, and
it is not improbable that his life will be spared, and that he
will be desalt with as an accessory after the fact, and sub-
jected to • term of transportation. The verdict of the jury
was clearly justified by the evidence, and it will remain fur
the Secretary of State to determine whether the confoeion by
Reid can be relied upon. The evidence of Mary Hellas brings
the two prisoners together, in close conversation, after
the murder must have been committed ; and there are other
important perticms of evidence irreconcilable with the entire
innocence of M'Cabe—especially that given by Benjamin
Morton, who swears to seeing both the prisoners within 60
yards of each other, proceeding in a direction towards
Wraith's house. On Thursday the prisoner Reid was visited
by his father, and the interview was most affecting.
•

A CLERICAL POLICHVAN.—The Stamford Mercury
says that "much conversation has occurred amenest the
inhabitants of Clarborough, Sturton, and other neighbouring
places, by the procedure of the Rev. St. George Kirk, curate
of &orlon, who in his zeal for the entire suppression of
poa&ing has rather overstepped his bounds as a clergyman,
by adding to his functions those of a policemen and game-
watcher. It seems that some of the " navvies" engaged in
the formation of the W inlay's tunnel have a fancy fora hare,
and take means to gratify their appetite, which do not
meet the approval of the reverend gentleman. riming
forth, he encountered some of the persons sought for
with a dog, when they took to their heels; but hisreverenee,
calling the dog, it answered and came, whereupon the ani-
mal war sbot ! Bat this was not all : his seal prompted him
to follow the men, and down he went into one of the shafts in
furthersearth. Arrived at the bottom, he began to discover it
was toe deep for him, and some of the navvies having got
wind of his errand. oneby one they stealthily began to ascend
the shaft, but a few kept his reverence in hold until towards
evening. In the interim, they succeeded in loosing the
strings of his purse, and received the mean wherewith to
drink to his good health. When, after numerous excuses
f r delaying him, he was permitted to ascend and was about
half-way up, down came upon him the contents of sun-
dry buckets of mud and water, white', when he arrived at the
top, made him appear a meet ludicrous figure. Still this
was not sufficient to damp his courage; (or, immediately on
landing, he collared a man on the bank, who knew too well
how to teach him to let go his hold, and the divine found he
had caught a Tartar! In a day or two afterwards, whilst his
reverence was still in pursuit of the same calling, • poor
man with a dug was encountered, when the man of peace
presented • pistol, and actually frightened his prisoner to
accompanying him to a neighbouring clerical magistrate at
Saundby • who, however, with more discretion than th
sturdy curate, dintimed the case."

RENT.
CHARGE OF ARSON.—At the Guildhall, Rochester,
on Wednesday, H. Hills, landlord of the Pelican public-house,
at Stroud, was charged with the wilful firing of hit house. It
appeared that the prisoner being In debt, a judgment was,
at a recent tilting of the County Court, obtained against
him, and he not having complied with the order of the
court, the bailiffs, on Friday last, entered on posteriori. On
that day he appeared in a state of great excitement, assault-
ing the collector who called upon him for Queen's taxes,
and illtreating the man in possemion. Between two and
three o'clock on the following morning a fire was discovered
in the parlour, in which but a short time previous the pri-
soner had been sitting. After great exertions the flames
were extinguished, when a print dress was found in the
room partly consumed, and which is supposed, from its
I 'mall and appearance, to have been saturated either with
tarosatine or camphins. The prisoner, after a patient in-
vestigation of the case, was fully committed for trial.
HAILPSEHRI.
JEWISH DISABILITIES.—A town council was held
at Southampton on Tuesday last, when Mr. Andrews pro•
posed, and Mr. Ooldmaith seconded: " That • petition be
from this council—eo lash houses of parliament,
rrsea removal of the civil disabilities under which British-
barn Jews now labour," which, after some discussion, was
carried by a majority of 20 to 6. The petition was acoordingly
nod and arw4

DEVON-UIRE.
~, rACCII MISCHIEF HAS RECENTLY BEEN DONE by
the overflow of rivers. Woroastenhire and Gloucestershire
have especially suffered. In Devonshire life has been lost.
On Saturday, a Hy, from Cullumpton, in which were two
gentlemen, one of whom was an engineer and the other a
surveyor of bridges, was proceeding towards Plymtrie,
when on coming rear a bridge over a brook swollen to the
sire of a river by the late incessant rains the driver per-
sided in passing through, though advised not to make
the attempt. The gentlemen got out on perceiving the
danger, sad to their dismay saw both horses and driver
earned away by the impetuosity of the current. With
much difficulty the horses got out, hut the unfortunate
driver (who is said to have been in liquor) soon sank sad
was drowned.