The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-04-08 00:00:00

SUSPECTED MURDER AT WOOLWICH..

• Great public excitement is at present prevailing at
Woolwich; consequent ohthe lifeless body oriohn Law-
ler, a gunner and driver in the Royal: Artillery, having
been taken from the water at Hog-lane-stairs; with every
reasonable appearance for belief that the unfortunate
man had been the victim of foul play. Oa the discovery of
the body, a piequet of military conveyed it away to await
.an inquest, and an assistant surgeonin the garrison in the
meantime_ made a post mortem examination, but without.
coming to any other conclusionahan that it was a common
suicide. Other circumstances, however, revealed them-
selves, and Dr. Little, one of the surgeons attached to
the garrison staff, made a second examination, and dis-
covered lone wounds in the head of the deceased (two on.
either side), which apparently had been inflicted by some
blunt instrument. Coupled with this circumstance, it
was further ascertained that the deceased bad- been in a
brothel, at No. 5, Hog-lane, a Tett; hours previous to the
discoveryof the body in. the river, that a disturbance had
taken place, that the deceased was purseed. by Catherine
Ceulson, the keePer of the heuse, and an accomplice in
infamy, named John Webster.' The disturbance 'took
place between twelve and one o'clock lon the morning
of the 25th ult., the body being discovered between
seven and eight the same morning, and from -the
-great cunnieg displayed by the
.principals
:in the affair,
suspicion was for a time-thwarted; until a split by some
Means taking place between them, the truth is now gene-
rally breaking forth. An inquest has been held before
Mr. C J. Carttar, and twice adjourned, and Catherine
Coulson' and, John Walsh taken into, custody.' On
Saturday last, Walsh and Catherine Coulson were
Placed in the dock, before Mr. Train, the'Woolwich
eaueme Lew Lu UtZll'Uy Uy jumping' into tne river.
Mr. James Pearce attended for the prisoner Coulson;
Walsh was undefended. Margaret Murphy stated that
She was an unfortunate girl, and lived `at No. 5, Hog-lane,
with Mrs. Coulson. She remembered the soldier, Walsh,
and her landlady being together on last Teesday night
week. A disturbance was created, and Walsh struck the
soldier in the face. Mrs. Coulson took up the poker, and
made a blow at the soldier, but she did not hit him: After
a good deal of noise the soldier was pet out. A knock
Was afterwards heard at the door, when Walsh pursued•
the-soldier down Hog-lane, accompanied by her landlady.
On getting to the stairs, Walsh s:ruck at the soldier, but
did not hit Win ;he only knocked his cap off. The soldier
then fel bask into the water. Mrs. Coulson teized the
poker to strike him, but Walsh threw it away, and said
he would see
:him 4-1 first before he'd save him.
:Witness :believed it was abqut three quarters of an:hour
from the time, the, seldier was pushed at. Margaret.
Maelonalcl, 'also an unfortunate: residing at 5, Hog lane,
corroborated this evidence. .She saw Walsh and the
soldier in company with Mrs. Coulson. ' The Soldier said
he knew Walsh, but his real name was 'Smith. —Walsh
said that was a lie. The soldier was then asked whether
he was not mit without leave, when -he made an ineolent
answer. The 1 indlady then asked him what brought hiria
there, the eoldier replying la, very bad language. She
asked hint if, he keew who he was speaking to, and he
said he .dicl'at care. The remainder -of ,her vvidence
tended to confirm the main facts above, as to the mode
by which the unfortunate rnancarne by his death. Other
witnesses having been called, but . who`-did not appear,
Mr. Traill said he should -adj.-mew the further exainina-
tiOn until all the evidence had- been before the coroner,
and consequently remanded. the prisoners. Mr.-Pearce
requested. to be allowed to put in bail for. Coulson's
appearance at the next examination, but his worship at
once refused."

•
Tale EXODTTS.—During the last week an unnsually large
number of the peasantry have left the 'west of Ireland for
America. On Thursday evening last, the trains on the
Midland Great Western Railway, must have contained
several hundreds ofetnigrants: ' Bands of emigrants of
both sexes:entered the trein at the stations of Oranmore,
Athenry, Woodlawn; Baliinasloe and Athlone: In some"
instances it was really distressing to witness the parting
of relatives, but in general the emigrants left with a lieu
h art and those left behind are buoyed up with the hope
of being able to fo'low. The authorities have no idea of
the immense drain on the population at present•going on
—Western Star.

. At one of the last mewing; of the Aeocle,tnie des Sciences,
at Paris, M. Guenin-Meneville, produced a number of
wheat7hanline of more tharr,seren: Let in he-ighi; each of
them bearing several splendid ears. This fine specieS'af
wheatilerives its origin from five grai.,s that were' found
in an Egyptian tomb, and thus hurl for tirrus3nds of Years
been, pres.rved from all • ex'-ernal influence. Sown,
out in 1819, they g.'ew up luxuriantly, and I,ielded
a twelve hundred fold produce—in consequence of which
M. Dronillard- made various comperatite ex-periments
in Southern and Central France. as well as in Brit-
tany.. In 1850 these. experiments were in4de':on a large
scale, and assumed a :More iniporlant charaOter. Since
then they hsve been regularly continued, 'and the results
have been'officially.confirmed. Onst.lfalf of a was
i4)wn with the Egyptian, and the other with cur common
wheat; the fernier gave sixty: told, tho second a fifteen
Told. •-produee; while commonly a leven br eight fold
produce is considered a fair ono. Sown out by singl
trains. the Egyptian wheat -yielded 'a 'five laindred and.
fifty-six fOld harvest. .'i he experiments are now made in
always increasing extension, End not less than 1,000
kilogrammes 'of " mummy wheat" have been sown this
year in the arrondissement of Morlaix.

In the annual report. of the Astronomical Society just
issued, the council urges its members (says the Literary
Oarette) to be on the look out for stray comets ; and
photograhers are invited to direct their particular atten-
tion to the fixed stars. "It would give the council much
pleasure to knew that several of the unprofessional Tern-
heti made a practice of watching selected portions of the
heavens for the passage of comets; and of learning readily
to'clistinguish between them and the nebulae. Our Ger-
man friends have hitherto—and all prai3e to them for it—
received most of the King of Denthark's niedals, and this
country has taken comparatively' little part in thus
watching the skies. May we hope to see the professional
observer occasionally red with a comet by our private
searchers ? The pursuit is peculiarly one in which a
telescope may be usefully taken up for an hour or 'two,
and put by again. Photometry again still offers very
much for research; but to pass out to another subject, we
may remind our members that no one has at present pro-
duced on our table a photographic image of a fixed'star.
A good or evena moderate photographic image of a group:
such as the Pleiades would be something we have'not yet
had the pleasure of. seeing; and a fair approabh to getting
an instantaneous nage a croup of faint points .might
lead the way.to results of great importance. It may be.
long, or,it may not be long, before we have to 'add a.
column of actinic magnitudes to our catalogues, and
replace thp human retina by a suela.ce still more sensitive
to luminous impressions.