The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-08-15 00:00:00

POLICE COURT.-YESTERrAY

(BEFORE MESSRS. DICKSON AND (I. HOLT.)

ASSAULTS DY WOMEN.—The time of these gentlemen
was taken up for a considerable period in disposing
of the differences that for the last fortnight appears
to have arisen between a number of women through
town, upon whom the heat of the weather seems
to have had .a maddening effect ; for, in the
memory of the " oldest inhabitant" of the police court,
there never was such a " monomania" for pugnacity
amongst the " gentle sex " as has been exhibited for th'd
last five weeks. Amongst the candidates for publid
notoriety who presented themselves before the bench
yesterday, were Margaret Cunningham and Catherine
Howley, the former being supported by Mr. Bluck, and
the latter by Mr. Chilton. It was a charge and cross-
ebarge of assault, and from the evidence of both sides it
smite,' that the organs of destructiveness in both ladies
got excited to a fearful degree on Sunday night week,
when the neighbettrhood of Crosby:street, where they
lived, was kept in a State of uproar and alarai hoed
" dewy e'en" to "bleak o' day ;" and after hearing
details, the magistrates said one party wasjjut, as bad as,
the other, and as even-handed justice prevailed, a fine 9t
5s and costs was imposed on es.:lh, with a strong etpres-
sion that if they came again they would be more severer
dealt with.—The next case decided
was between two
SLoteh women, who had a fierce conflict wish each other
about, a baby, This and several other cases were decided
according to the merits,:and the imprisonment infl;:!ted
on some will, no doubt, have a cooling effect on th
" heat oppressed brain" of the antagonistic persons.
(BEFORE MR. MANSFIELD.)

THE WAY TESTIMONIALS ARE GOT ITP.-.SOLDIERS4
WIVES IN DISTRESS—TWO women, named Kelly and
Davis, whose husban is were in the 90th Regiment, now
at Aldershott, came before his worship, and applied for
assistance to enable them to go, with their children, to'
join their husbands at the camp. The applicants pro'.:
duced certificates of good character, and his worship'
considered these as satisfactory. Each also produced an
account of the relief they had received from the associa-
tion for the relief of soldiers wives. They however stated
that about three months before the allowance was
stopped, the Rev. Mr. Conner asked them what they
would contribute to a service of plate, which was to be
presented to the Major? and they agreed to give six-,
pence, but it was afterwards increased, and they gave
two shilling;, a sum which they could not afford to with.
draw from the support of their children. On one occa-
slim one of them offered Is. 6d. Mr. Connor said, " Oh,
for shame, Mrs. Kelly, wont you give more than that ?
look at the amount of money you have received." Mr.
Mansfield remarked that that was the way in wbicif
testimonials were got up. Major Powis was an excellent
man, and one to whom he would be glad to contribute
his individual support in a public testithtinial, for the
kindness he had shown and the ability manifested by
him in dispensing the fund, but he thought there e(ml.l,
be nothing more deplorable than the course which seethed
to have been adopted, to wring from the poor creatures
the sum of two shillings, which they could so ill spare,
as they were so destitute. At the same time he would
take this opportunity of publicly expressing his thanks
to the gentlemen connected with the management of the
London and North Western Railway Company, who had
come forward with the greatest liberality and tendered
him their assistance, when he had occagjon to forwarai
such persons to their destination: Markes, art otlicefi
said the company had offered to take the women and thei:
families to their destination for £2 12s. &i., and Mr.
Mansfield said that was another proof of their liberality,
and he felt very grateful for it. He then handed the
Reporters the followng letter from the Rev. Mr. Connor

" 119, Islington, August 14, 1856. Dear under..;
stand from the parish authorities that you have been
applied to by some soldiers' wives for assistance, to
enable them to join their husbands, who have returned
from the Crimea, and that you wish for an explanation
of the position of these women. I have the honour to
state, that the Central Association has relieved at Liver.
pool about 200 soldiers' wives. It has paid them, hi
weekly allowances, sums which, when added together,
very to each woman from £4O upwards. It spent upod
them large sums in blankets, bedding and clothes, and
on discharging the women, furnished each of them wit 4
a written statement of the amount paid to them. I
believe that the soldiers' wives received much more at
Liverpool than elsewhere ; on account of this liberality,
many came from a distance to the town—some brought
their relatives here, and latterly, many, at my reqnest,
have become depositors in the Provident Society. On
the 7th July the association ceased its weekly payments,
and presented each woman with two months' pay in
advance, as a bonus, to take them to their husbands, if
in England, and if on a foreign station, to take theni
home. The provident portion of the women immedi•
ately left Liverpool, but I regret to find that many
others, in a few days, squandered their bonus, and are
now throwing themselves on the parish, complaining
bitterly of the Centr.►l Association, and of its honarary
board, who, for the last two years, have, to the utmost
of their power, laboured to befriend those women.--I
remain, dear sir, yours, &c., Jolts R. CoNrcoß,
Honorary Secretary to the Central Association."
In reference to certain allusions made in the letter, Mr.
Mansfield observed that they might apply to other
cases, but from the testimonials produced from the
regiment to which the womens/ husbands belonged,
these women were respectable, and possessed good
characters.

A RUFFIAN.—John Baker, a rigger, residing id
Wright-street, Park, was summoned by Mrs. Anne
Styles, the wife of a joiner, for very brutal conduct, and
for which he was fined XI and costs.
THE SMOKE NuisArrcg.—Mr. Thomas Berstow, the
owner of rice mills, in Fleet-street, was summoned
by Inspector Wignall, for having an improper fur..
nace, and for allowing the smoke from his furnac e
to become a nuisance. Mr. M'Gowan appeared
for the prosecution, and called the inspector, who
proved the case. The defendant said he was most
anxious to remedy the evil, if any practical man
pointed out to him how it could be done. Mr. Alderman
Holme, who happened to be on the bench, said the
premises in questio❑ belonged to him, and he referred
the defendant to his (Mr. Alderman Holme's) son's
engineer, who would show him a furnace and chimney,
working for fourteen years, that did not make any
smoke. The defendant said he would adopt the
suggestion. A fine of £5 and costs was indicted on the
defendant.

IRISH IMPROvEMENTd.—Upwards of £2,000,000 has,
within ten years, says the _Dublin Ex? ress, been spent its
the draining, of land, under the Land Improvement Act.
But for one land-owner who drained under that act, there
were five who drained with their own money; so that it is
calculated that the sum of £12,000 000 sterling has thus
been spent in the improvement of laud, by draining and
subsoiling, within the last ten years. The consequence is
an immense increase of produce. The finest green Crops
now flourish on lands which formerly could scarcely feed a
goat. In 1841 there were only 1,863,116 horned cattle;
in 1854, they had been multiplied to 3,722,219, having
increased nearly threefold ; while in the same time the
number of sheen has nearly doubled, and their prices in.
creased one-third—from £2 to £3 far the first class.
CHARGE OF MURDER.—A charge of murder has been
brought against a family occupying a respectable positba
among the farming class, and living in the parish of Aglisb.
about sixteen miles to the west of this city, on the road to
Macroom. From the statements that have been already
given in evidence, it appears that the body of a farmer
named Lehane, about sixty years old, was found, about
fifteen months since, in a river that runs at some distant*
from his own farm, and, on the bady being taken out of tbs
water, a mark was found upon the neck, which the medical
witnesses eximiced on the inquest said might have resulted
either from the deceased falling from his horse, or, if
violence had been used, from the imprissiln of a man's
fingers. A coroner's it 'pest was held, and after the evi.
deuce produced on that occasion had been duly considered,
an open verdict was returned. A servant of one of the
family now swears that it was a case of murder, and the

magistrates are investigating the charge.
THE AIRDRIE HORSE-STEALER'S ESCAPE FROM PRISON.-...
Some weeks ago wo had occasion to narrate an extraordi.
nary case of horse-stealing, which took place at one of
the stables of the Messrs. Baird of Gartsherrie—the cool
thief having at that time taken a valuable horse in broad
daylight, and in the presence of a number of the working
man in connction with the stables, This paragraph having
gone the round of the newspapers throucyhout the country,
and notices having been posted to all the different police
stations for his apprehension, it will be remembered that
thereafter he was caught in the nick of time in Edinburgh,
for blanket stealing, and committed to prison, where he
was recognised by that active detective officer, M'Levy,
as the veritable hors-stealer from Gartsberrie. As &
matter of course, he was handed over to the authorities at
Airdrie, where he has remained ever since, up till Tues-
day last, awaiting his trial, everything having been pre•
pared by the Lord Advocate and his Bouts in order to
give " the devil his due." It so hal:welled that on Tues-
day last, the day referred to, while meditating, like
Napoleon of France, while in the Citadel of Ham, he
bethought himself that liberty was an object worthy at
being attained, and, in consequence, he bristled up his
brains and bestired himself for the task. Being in the
courtyard, he found a ladder " whaur nae ladder should
has been," and at about half-past three o'clock, while the
Governor was at dinner, he deemed that the lucky
moment had arrived ; so having placed the ladder at a
convenient part of the wall which surrounds the prison, and
whichavin g is
gained fifteen
the feet
su'nmit, u•n
high, he ascended like a squirrel, and
h
mit, he dropped down upon a bed of
sand and lime which happened to be there for the use of
the new County Buildings, now in progress of erection.
The hue and cry was got up about this cool and dexterous
thief in less than no time, and every available means of
communication was set in operation in order to detect the
fellow who calls himself by the names of William Whits,
alias Black, alias Brown, alias anything. He has, in the
meantime, escaped all the means and extensions that have
been used for his apprehension.