Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-03-14 00:00:00

am familiar with the
able-'bodied

Tilt NQRTHERS.._;IOIO; IN/TONDO, MARCH 14, 1859.

English vessels of war threatened to interfere tVith the
Tennessee, and also states that a force would be landed from
the English and French vessels to protect the lives and
property of the subjects of their respective nations, West
Miramon guaranteed their safety before attacking Vera
Cruz.

On Sunday, the 27th ult., a most terrible affair
occurred .at Washington, which had thrown the
whole community into intense excitement. On that
day Philip Berton, key district attorney for the
district of Columbia, was shot in the public streets
by the Hon, Daniel E. Sickles, 'one of the most dis-
tinguished members of the House of Representatives.
According to report, Mr. Sickles, becoming con-
vinced of the truth of certain scandalous rnmours
involving his wife, resolved to redress hiS wrongs,
At about two o'clock in the afternoon, proceeding
from his residence, hear the President's house,
to the south-east corner of Lafoyette square, in
the same neighbourhood, where Mr. Key was
engaged in conversation with Mr. Butterworth,
of New York, he charged Mr. Key with having
dishonoured him, and destroyed his domestic
:peace, and shot hiin with a revolver. One
of the balls entered the left side of the body,
and passed through the corresponding point on the
opposite side, lodging under the skin. Another shot
took effect in the right thigh, near the main artery,'
when Mr, -Key fell, imploring Mr. Sickles not to kill
him. The third shot was in the right side, but
glanced from the body, inflicting only a bruise. ,
Death ensued in a few moments. Mr. Sickles-at once
proceeded to the office of the Attorney-General to
give himself up, but was arrested before he reached
there by two police officers, and concluded before
Captain Goddard, who committed him to gaol. His
friends remained wit,. him till nine o'cloet, when he
was removed to his cell, a place aboutitur feet by
seven. He has possession of his wife's confession,
which, although ample, he says he -does not rely
upon, as he has too much evidence of her guilt from
--Q. He .feels, naturally, very much
Key was a widower, and leaves four
He was a nephew of Chief Justice Taney,

more reliable
depressed
children.

and a relative of Judge- Campbell, of the Supreme
Court. The proceedings in CongreEs had been quite
unimportant in their character.

TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE ON VIE MISSISSIPPI
EXPLOSION OF THE STEAMER PRINCE'S-TWO HUNDRED

•PERSONS LOST AND YeSSING

Naw OILLEA.NS, Feb. 28, 1858. —The steamboat Princess,
from Vicksburg for New Orleans, exploded her boiler,
caught fire and burned to the water's edge, at Conrad's
Point, near Baton Rouge, on Sunday, morning. Four
hundred passengers were on board at the time, two hundred
of whom are lost and missing, mostly residents of Fouisiana
and Mississippi. A large number of those on board were
ladies. Those known to be killed are :—J. W. Seymour,
of Baton Rouge ; Mr. Calhoun, of Maysville, Kye ;
The pilot and assistant engineer of the Princess ; IL B.
Murphy, of St. Louis; J. Hodges, of Mississippi; .and
three whose names are nnknown.

Among the missing are Charles Bannister and I. Howard,
representatives from New Orleans to the State Legislature ;
Joseph Clark, second clerk, and Samuel Warts, of Virginia.

NO other Northern or Eastern names have' as yet—been
ascertained. A large number were badly scalded and

otherwise injured. -
The boat and cargo are a total loss. The former was one
of the finest on the river.

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 28, 1859. —A boat arrived from the
wreck of the Princess brings a number of the wounded.
It was fuggy at the time of the explosion, and the
Princess, being behind time, had too much team on.
A Baton Rouge despatch says :-- The engineer is
reported to have said he would reach New Orleans
certain on time or blow up. The engineer was cut
in two, about a hundred persons were wounded, and many
of them are in a dangerous and dying state. It is impos-
sible yet to ascertain . the number of the lost. Several
boats saved many lives. There is much excitement here
and all atoll°.° the river. Numerous unrecognised bodies are
being found, but there are no other Northern or Western
names.

THE MURDER NEAR NEWARK.- -
ku the Nottingham assizes, on Friday, before Lord Chief
ustice Campbell, Thomas Brown Birkett, 43, farmer, was
charged with the wilful murder of William Watmore, at
Barnby-in-the-Willows, on the 18th of November, 1858.
Mr. Boden and Mr. Bristowe conducted the case for the
prosecution, and Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Adams defended,
The former gave a short narrative of the case. .
Benjamin Vessey said, he, in November last, was in. the
employment of Mr. Gilbert, at Barnby Manor Fermi; 'the
deceased Watmore also was. On the 18th November I went
to Watmore's house about nine o'clock in the evening, to
go a watching with him.°l am in the employ of Mr. Gilbert
as a watcher and trapper. I and the deceased were going
to some land in the occupation of Mr. Gilbert. We went
to a field called the Corporation Close. (A plan of Oie
field was here produced, and examined by his lordsl4)
That Corporation Close adjoins some land in the occupation
of the prisoner. There is a gate that separates them. I
was taking rabbits out of the traps and re-setting them,
and heard guns going off ; it would be about ten. o'clock.
The report appeared to come from below Mr. Birkett's
house. I then heard other reports, which came in the same
direction. When the last report was heard, deceased
shouted " Mark." Directly afterwards I saw Mr. Birkett
standing between the two fields. The night was moon-
light and frosty, and the stars shining. When I first saw
prisoner deceased and I were ,about 150 yards from him.
Prisoner called loudly, and said, " Where are those traps
marked with H. G., that belongs to. me.'! Watmore said,
" We haven't any, sir ; we don't know anything about
them." Deceased shouted the answer in a loud tone.
Prisoner said " the deceased was a - liar, and a-

thief." Watmore called him a " bucket head" several
times over, as a term of reproach. I said several times to
the prisoner that he was a " chuffy face." While this
was passing, we were about 150 yards off. Prisoner then
shouted, "If you'll come -here, I'll riddle you." Ido not
know what he meant by'it. Watmore said, " We'll go, and
he shall have the chance." We both then went to the
gate. When we got there, the prisoner was four or five
, feet from the gate in his own field. Watmore went to the
catch end of the gate, and Ito the hung 'end. The catch
end was nearest to the prisoner. The latter remained about
five feet from the gate, and was in his crwn field. We two
leaned against the gate, on the Corporation Close side.
While in that position, prisoner asked deceased where those
' traps of his were, marked "H. G." Watmore said, " I
haven't got your traps, and don't know anything about
them." Prisoner said, " That is all I wanted to
know." Prisoner then called 'Wetmore a

thief. I saw a double-barrel gun in his hand. It
hung under his right arm when we first got
up to him. The muzzle was towards the ground. The gun
was held in this position while the conversation was going
on. The position of it was altered after the prisoner had
said, "That's all I want to know." He then put the gun on
full cock, and held it in a horizontal position. fie then pit
the gun to his shoulder, still standing the same distance as
before described from the gate. After he had put the gun
to his shoulder he again called deceased a - thief. Wet-
more said, " I'll make you prove me one." Prisoner then
fired the gun, still standing where he was. It was pointed
towards the deceased, who was Standing at the other side of
the gate, at the catch end, in a leaning position. The gate
shut with the snack of a staple. The prisoner was stand-
ing a little bit sideways to the gate, and the gun was
also pointed a little sideways towards the gate. When
the gun was fired Watmore fell backwards - dead. I saw
that the gun was pointed to the left breast of the deceased
before prisoner fired it. I told prisoner that he had killed
deceased. ,Before the shot was fired, we both had sticks,
but neither of ns, while at the gate, had raised them, or
threatened him in any way. I never perceived the prisoner
to move from the spot after we got to the gate until he
had fired. The next morning I pointed out the spot to
Mr. Gilbert where the prisoner stood when he fired; also
where we both stood. When I told prisoner that he had
killed the deceased, he said that Watmore was going to
strike him with his stick. Watmore was not near enough
to do so, and he did not lift up his stick at all. I was
looking at the deceased at the time, and I could have seen
if the deceased had lifted NI his stick. I told the prisoner
he was not going to strike,Thefore he fired. In answer -to
my question as to what we were going to do, he said, " Go
and fetch some assistance, and I'll stay with him." I went
away and told Mr. Gilbert, and after I had called him up
he came to the spot. I have never had any quarrel before
with Mr. Birkett, nor had Watmore in my. presence. I
borrowed a horse and cart, and conveyed the body of Wat-
more to Mr. Gilbert's farm-house.

COPE'S PACXET TOBACCOS
'thnufao.ured by a patent kAtcess, which preserves the natural

41' our of the Leaf

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LORD NELSON-STREET

lic Anntscmtuts.