The Express.
London, England, 1851-07-21 00:00:00

Total receipts.. £1,379 13 0

FATAL AFFRAY AT MANCHESTER WITH
TRADES VNIONIBIB.

One of those sanguinary affrays took place in the
neighbourhood of Manchester, early un Saturday morning,
which have so often resulted in the north from contests
between masters and employers. A master brickmaker
named James Farr, having a croft at Itusholme, about A
mile south of the borough, gave great offence to the trade
union about two years ago, and was threatened with a per-
secution, which his opponents have ever since car-
ried on with unrelenting vigour. During last year the
unionists entered his crofts from time to time in the
night, and destroyed the newly-made bricks, whilst in the ,
soft state, lying on the butts. It is calculated that they did
him, in one rear, damage to the amount of 1001, or 3001.
He prosecuted some of the offenders at the last summer
assizes, and this by no means lessened the animosity of the
union. This year they had recommenced their attacks,
and having last Sunday morning entered his croft endviolently beaten some of his private watchmen, he deter.
mined to arm his people during the night for the future, in
order that they might oppose violence to violence. On
Saturday morning, soon after midnight, the croft
was attacked by upwards of 100 union men, armed
with guns and pistols, and the result was such as
might be expected, under such circumstance., tiom rain
exasperated by frequent persecution and injury. Mr. Fair
had four men on the watch with guns, and they had also •
-mall cannon, loaded with musket balls and marbles. The
unionists came to the neighbourhood in three bodies, and
assembled on the north side of Birch church at a given
signal, the only notice of their approach to the watchmen
being the trampling of feet, and the harking of the dogs
belonging to Mr. Farr in the croft. The watchmen, it ay-
pean, had scarcely time to make ready ore their as.
nitwits had entered the croft and were destroying
the bricks by trampling on them whilst still in
the soft state. They discharged a number of shots
in the direction of the watchers, but owing to the darkness
took but indifferent aim, and the discharges were harmless.
The watchmen returned the fire from a couple of guns, and
then discharged the cannon. The cannon was so placed as
to take the left Hank of the attacking party diagonally, and
though the men could not be distinctly seen in the darkness
of the night (the moon being overcast), the outline of the
body, to use the expression of the watehmemwas seen like a
dark cloud spread over the north side of the croft, and was
perceptible enough for the purpose of taking aim. When
the cannon was discharged, the unionists covered a flat
of bneks, the nearest part of which might be
ten, and furthest sixty or seventy yards distant. They
had at this time destroyed 6,000 or 7,000 bricks, but appear
to hare been paniestricken at the discharge of the cannon,
though they had laughed and jeered at the watchmen
when they discharged their guns. They instantly core
meaceul a somewhat hasty retreat; and from the cries or
pain heard amongst them, it is supposed that some of them
were 114 Al rely wounded, as many drops of blood were after-
wards found on the bricks. They were seen to carry a
man away who moaned loudly, and it was after-
wards discovered that ono of their body, a brick-
moulder named John Redfearn, had been shot dead. Ile
was fouud at day-break, under one of the walls of
uoburnt bricks which hr bad apparently been destroying, in
a pool of blood. One of his hands was scorched as if with
the dash of powder close to it, and, as along with a charge
of slugs found is his head, the wadding had also entered,
it is presumed he had been shot by some misadventure by
one of his own party, since it would appear none of tha
watchers were ever near enough to him to have produced
these results. Besides, it is stated that they used round
shot and not slugs. The body of this man was carried to
the Birch Vi.la Hotel, and county police sergeant Forster,
who came up to the scene of the affray, took charge of •
cavalry pistol, which ho appears to haeo had with him,
heavily loaded with ball and swan shot, ands large quantity
of ammunition found in his pockets. None of his accom.
pliers have yet fallen into the hand.s of the police, but Cap-
tain Sheppard and Captain Davies, of the county consta-
bulary, are making inquiries which will probably lead to
the apprehension of the must active of them.
On Saturday evening Mr. W. S. Butter, county coroner,
held an inquest on the body of the deceased, at which the
facts given above were stated in evidence. Capt. Sheppard
and Capt. Durie, of the county constabulary, were present,
and Capt. Sheppard stated that thew outrages last year were
carried to such an extent against Mr. Farr, that government
were induced to offer a reward for the offenders. The nu,
goon who had made a post- mort em examination of the body
of the deem.. al said that be found a charge of slugs at the
back of the neck, on the right side. It had entered =Mr
the left car, carrying with it a piece of thin wadding paper,
and had traversed the base of the brain, and another large
piece of the wadding paper had entered as far as the cavity
of the brain. He was of opinion that the gun or pistol pro-
ducing this wound must hare been fired at a dietance not
exceeding fire or six yard., and that it had produced instan-
taneous death. From other evidence it appeared that the
watchers never fired slugs, nor discharged their guns within
50 yards of the spot, and the jury, under these circumstances,
were of opinion that the wound must have resulted from
some accident by one of deceased's companions, and who,
from the direction in which the ball had come, was follow-
ing him in the attack.
The Coroner briefly explained the law, observing that,
if the jury were of opinion that death was caused by the
discharge of any of the guns of the. watchmen, the circum-
stances under which it was done would warrant a verdict
of justifiable homicide; but if they believed the fatality
might have arisen from a shot of his own party, though not
intentionally,
the law would hold it to amount to murder.
After a brief consultation, the jury found a verdict of
"Wilful murder against some person unknown."

VESSELS

BY rim Rom NAVY FOR

THE Ant TIC ESTEDITION.--OH SAtlirdaY a return to par-
liament was printed, from which it appears that betw..n
April 1818, and May,lBso, there were eight vessels specially
purchased for the Arctic Searching Expedition, amounting
to 106,4711.9 a. 110 d.