The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-06-01 00:00:00

THE LATE MURDER AT U7NTON.

[From the Afenchrstcr Ithrcury, May 30.1

Sire regret to state that neither of the men Comte-lined is the
Isle dreadful murder at Winton have yet been taken, but a
.clue has been obtained, which we hope will lead to their appre-
hension.
On Saturday last, Blr. Lavender, haring learnt that Mrs.
Stewart, who was examined as a witness on the Coroner's In-
quest, had received a letter in a very mysterious way, went to
'her house, to make some inquiries respecting it. Before calling
on her, he learnt that, on Wednesday morning, a woman came
to a lad who sells ginger-bread in Smithy.doer, and gave him
r letter, which she desired him to take to Mrs. Stewart's shop,
wlych he did, and gave it to her. When Mr. Lavender qui&
coned Mrs. Stewart respectiag the letter, she at first denied
krowledge of it, but being pressed on the subject, she at I
craved she had received it, and afterwards burnt it. She stat
was without signature; but, from the description of the hand.
writing, it appears to have been written by Michael 111'Keatgle
and reterred to himself and his brother. It stated that the peas*
might condemn them for what bad occurred near Eccles, yet
they were not so much to blame as might be supposed ; for whet.
Alley had done, they did in their own defence; that they were at-
jacked by the landlord, and one of them was wounded before they
committed violence on any one; that Mrs. Stewart might dismiss
lane apprehensions on their account, for they had succeeded in
snaking their escape; and the writer regretted that she would go to
.the house in Byroni;place, sell the furniture, and giie the proceeds
to.his mother and sister ; and at the same time tell them Pat to be
tummy, for they had escaped.
This statement of the contents of this letter was confirmed by a
woman whom Mrs. Stewart had called on to read it, she not being
side to read it herself ; this woman also corroborated the statement
that the letter was burned.

From thiidisclosure it appears tolerably evident that the writer
of toe letter must have been in or near Manchester, on Wednesday;
and the nett consideration was, who the woman could be who could
hive delivered the letter to the Itoy:' From his description of her
person, it was ascertained to he lieu, Connell, • Scotchwoman,who
had lived with Michael .11'Keand, in King.street, Salford, io the
capacity of • housekeeper, and who was also suspected of knowing
.wore than any other person respecting the lire which took place in
,Itta house. It was ascertained that he kept her somewhere, and,
though St now diligent search was made, the place of her abode
could not be found until yesterday noon, when she was found in a
house in Collier-street, Salford. and was taken into custody. We
understand that she admitted having delivered the letter to the boy
in fuitity-does, and that she bed received it from M. WlEcand,
who ehe said arrived at her house at fire o'clock on Tuesday
morning, the morning after the murder, and remained there until
ten o'clock at Wednesday evening, when he left her, and she did
Jsettknow where he was gone; she said that he went away in the
giothes be came in, and they were not at all bloody, but there is
Awe reason to doubt this part of het statement. It appears abe
was confined of a child, of which Michael is the father, about five
;freaks ; a eircumettuire which in sonre degree accounts for the
o.4hctilty of lindusg her residence before.
A strong east:norm is entertained that the brothers are still in
this town, and the efflwts of the pointe to discover their retreat are
Ameeptietiog, and we hope they will be successful. It may, per_
„hays, be yirable to have it known, that the description which has
..homy even of their persons is, in one respect. inaccurate. They
'are described as having dark eyes, but the fact is, we believe, their
eyes WC guy.
litvdtct Any.—On Sunday night the house of Mr. Earl,
• shopkeeper residing at Great sallnß, was broken Into and robbed
-of iriarge (remit of property. conismisigehiefiy of-woollen cloths,
iskarois, band s, ice. with which the rubbers escaped
Aseeveroi.
Mouse tivtAt,ttra.—On Tuesday night, the etatie
41r..(filbert, in flail-yard, Goiden.latte, was broken open, an
light bay pony stolen. A reward of 101. has been dined fee
theoftvery of the thins&

COURT OF
si

He, for one, if this was not stopped, would punish Patti" "
offending for contempt. If there was any dispute in this
case, it was as to the law ; and from the Judge the Jury bad
heard the law, and found a verdict contrary to It. This WS/
an additional argument why the venue should be changed ; for
it was to be hoped there would not be found such another per.
verse jury. It was thought to 'be hard that the defendant should
suffer for publications which he could not control ; and It was also
thought that changing the venue would be to extend the power of
the newspapers, but he thought not. 'He thought it might be
found to operate as a check : for if any party incurred additional
expenses in consequence of the course newspapers might think it
proper to adopt, in his opinion there would be good ground of
action against such papers, to recover in the way of compensation.
The other Judges concurred with the Lord Chief Justice.
Rule made absolute.

PREROGATIVE COURT, WEDNESDAY, MAT al.

HALL V. HALL.
This was a question on the validity of a will executed by Mr. J .
Hall, on the 3d of February, 1810. The testator, at the time of his
death, lived in Cottage-lane, and died in the year 1820, at the ad-
vanced age of 80, leaving three sone and one daughter. The de-
ceased lett no less- than four wills, all executed within three years
antecedent to his death, and each making • different disposition of
his property. The first will ware dated on the 3d of August, 1817;
and by this will the eldest son. John J. Ilall, would take 4931., of
which 3001. was stated to be a debt due to his tither ; the second
ton, Alfred Hall, would take 27W.; the daughter, Mrs. Bateman,
would take 1931.; and the third eon, Robert Willis Hall, would
take 970/. ; and to this will Mr. R• W. Hall, with two other per-
sons, were appointed executors. The second will (that now pro.
pounded) was dated 2d February, 18111; and under this will John J.
Hall would take 4931., Alfred Hall MOI., Mrs. Bateman 1931., and
Robert W. Hall 5201. Two other wills weresubsequently executed,
the first on the 17th February, 1819 t and under this John J. Hall
would only take his debt, amounting to 3001., Alfred Hell would
take 9381., R. W. Hall 312/., and Mrs. Bateman the same as in
the former wills. The fourth will, which was the last executed by
the tettator, was dated the Ida October, 1819, and again reversed
the distribution of the property By this last will John J. Hall
would take 493/., Alfred Hall 31.21., and Robert Willis Hall 87414
Mrs. Bateman the same as before. This last will had been mini.
nally propounded, hut the Court decided against its validity, on the
ground that the testator, at the period of its excitation, wee of
incapable mind, and had acted under the influence of interested
persons.
Dr. LUSHINOTOX contended that the will now propounded was
clearly invalid, and that the evidence proved it was executed under
the influence of a person named Allen, who lived with Mr. Hall as
a servant. The incapacity of the teatime at the period of the exe-
cution of the will of 1818 could not be denied, as he was admitted
to have been incapable in February, 1819, the date of the third will,
and had been afflicted with an apoplectic fit previous to the date
of the will in question, which effected his speech anJ understanding
in a manner which rendered him incapable of executing& valid will.
Under all the circumstances of the case, the Learned Advocate sub-
mitted that it appeared from the evidence that the testator altered
the disposition of his property as he chanced to get under the con.
trol and management or the several individuals who had the great.
est beneficial Lamest under the various wills. Neither of the
documents produced, therefore, could be considered the will of the
testator, and the Court was therefore bound to decide against the
will propounded.
Dr. J. A DDAMS appeared to support the validity of the wili. He
admitted that the testator's faculties were impaired both antecedent
and subsequent to the execution of the will of 1818,, but that the
evidence proved he wilt sometimes capable about the period of the
execution of the will of 1818. Now it was said that the will of
1818 was executed under the influence of a Mrs. Allen t but there
was no evidence to prove that Sirs. Allen was in any degree con-
nected with Mr. John J. Hall, by whom the will of 3.818 was now
propounded. The instructions for the will in question were dis-
tinetlyred to have emanated from the testator.
prn Sir J. NICHOL did not think it necessary to go minutely into
the detailsof the evidence, as there was no very decided difference
of opinion as to its value. It clearly appeared, however, that the
deceased was an instrument in the hands of those who were about
him. It did not appear that the deceased was of capable mind at
any time during what, may be called his testamentary life; and,
under these considerations, the Court could see nothing in the
present case to induce it to decide in favour of the will in question,
having already pronounced against the will of October, 1819.
By this decision, the will propounded was declared invalid, and
the parties left to litigate on the two remaining wills, or else to agree
to an equitable adjustment,—a course that, if pursued in the first
instance, would have secured the bulk of this small property to
the Fatties concerned, instead of transferring it into the pockets of
the legal practitioners.

POLICE.

HATTON-OARDEN.

ROMAN CATHOLIC MARNIAGNS.--Yettefdly 1 HOS heard
at this office, before W. L. Rogers, Esq., wherein the qwestion of
the validity of a Roman Catholic marriage was again started.
Erwobetli Powell, • young woman dressed in the extreme
of fashion, was brought up, at the instance of the overseers of the
parish of St. Pancras, to obtain en award for the maintenance of a
bastard child, of which she was delivered some months back, at a
house in the Hampstead-road.
Mr. Root as—Does ohs assert that site ls married 1
The Parish Clerk—Yes. She states that she was married some
years age in Ireland, but there it proof that she has not lived with
the person whom she describes as her husband, for the last two
years, during which period the infant was born:
Mr. ROGERS—But it is possible that they might have visited
each other in the interim.

The Clerk—Certainly, Sir, so it is ; but she admits that the child
is not her husband's.

Rooms—Whose, then, does she sarit is ?
The Clak--She says that since she has been parted from her
husband, she cohabited with a person named Conley, or De Caney,
who holds some situation in the Royal establishment at Windsor,
and she is now ready to swear that he is the father of the child.
The clerk said that if he was rightly informed the marriage was
not a legal one, having been performed by a Roman Catholic cler.
gyman, the woman being a Protestant, and the man professing the
Catholic faith.
Mr. ROGERS said, it was a subject on which he would not like
to give a judicial opinion, though he believed that such marriages
were not valid.

Mr. MALLETT, the chief clerk, then referred to several legal
authorities on the question of the validity of Irish and Scotch nal,
Colic
but the particular clause regarding marriages by Roman
Catholic Clergymen, where the parties are of different persuasions,
was not found.
Mr. ROGERS, after some consideration, decided, that if there
was sufficient proof that the woman had been married under such
circumstances, he should hold the marriage to be invalid, and the
perish would therefore become entitled to claim an order of affilia-
tion against thefather of the child, as in any commas case of bas-
tardy. He asked her if she was willing to make oath to the truth
of a written statement which was handed in.
Mrs. Powell, who appeared excessively agitated, replied in the
affirmative ; but added, that she could see no reason for the inter-
ference of the parish, as the child never had become chargeable,
and. in all probability, never would be any expense to them, or to
any other person, but the father.
A provisional order of maintenance was then made .outsgalnst
De Courcey, the person named in the deposition of Mrs. Powell,
and the parties withdrew.

21A RLBOROUG H-STR E E T.
John Robins. one of a notorious gang of pickpockets, was yester-
day pent to the House of Correction for • month for attempting to
pick a gentleman's pocket in New-street, Covent-garden.
Bertrand, an eater, watched** prisoner in Covent-garden, at
half-pest eleven cm Tdeeday wissing, following several gentlemen ;
of one, in New.etreet, the prima tried the coat pocket, but did
not obtain the handkerchief. Wholes imatediately seised him, and
was surrounded by a gang, who led m bade the prisoner
bileigi.
from his grasp. However, be is bias to the watch.
asee
house. where be *as searched. imatesse• posher : ertbiefs found
upon him, with pawnbrokere'depticates for
The prisoner said he bought them of a youngest. in the after.
loprei
noon. and denied rutin bie bend* dm et.
Mr. DYER edvordsiagibe and dread
to send rbr she ' man if ilkii prisease " him.
Catherine nk Margaret Marko, ninlk a *ld of 12 years
old, were apprehended for passing sennteribitddillega.
Mr. Po wts.s., Solicitor, he the Mbar, dedbed promoting
1 the child, on account of her mill. Malellen bad ben detected
i on the 28d of November, bet eidarged frau a defect in evidence.
The prisoners were road es Iles ISA inst. by Riordan aid
Bertrand, to go first into 2dr. Mew% in Gnat Tuebileild.mmet,
and there change • shilling for a &es Odder, which ow paid fir
by Middles% ; Burke then ordaedageeztens of impressible hr treat
the others. and gave another bed st, . ' They shovel& sem
to Mr. Wood's, in the same evert. they were takes lure Ise-
tody. In Burke's left hand war s esusteefeit dialing g and
Riordan seeing her throw eresethlog es *elm, called to his gees-
pinion to hold the prisoners while be seardsed. end. on the grimed
he found an old glove containing ten counterfeit shillings wrapped
up in air.
Thep prisoners said nothing in their defence. The little gid
cried very much. The two elder were fully committed for aids
and the witnesses bound over to prosecute.

MARY/AESONIrsOFFICE.
MYSTERIOUS itosemay.—Ysitiestlay an investigation Leto a
most ortensire robbery,tocantittad in the house of Mr. Wataoo,
Mewl
jewell* er, Cho
this rkton.strast, Europe/oam, took place before Mr.
, at Cake.
Mr. W'ateon left his house on ilaterdtp aileroooo bag for ao 43.1.
er_aniOnlnto 111°...**Int19 !Mit • owl

the morocco cues. He also found that a brace of loaded pistols
were stolen from another drawer. The room contained such a
variety of valuable property, that had any professed burglar got
lab) the house, he, it is thought, would hue collected it, without
troubling the bureau drawers ; but in this instance the robber had
not interfered with anything, having only opened the two drawers
containing the jewellery, to which they certainly must have had
duplicate keys, the locks not being either forced, picked, or injured.
Mr. IVataost questioned the servant as to whetted been In the house,
and found from her statement that a carpenter, who was occea-
sionally employed, had been there on Saturday evening, repairing a
bagatelle.board in the drawing-room, and was left up stairs by
himself for a considerable time. This person knew very well the
nature of the property contained in the bureau, and had, under the
direction of Mr. Watson, purchased and put on the patent locks,
and was well acquainted with the nature of the locks and their
construction: Mr. Watson made some inquiries instantly ■bout
this person, and learned that he, site, and child, had left
their lodgings very suddenly on Sunday, and had not since been
seen or heard of; but Mr. Watson alto heard that the man fre-
quently was away for days together, and no person could tell
whither he went, or the object of his absence. The carrying away
the loaded pistols was an extraordinary circumstance, and the only
construction put upon the circumstance was this, that the thief,
upon seeing the pistols, possessed himself of them to intimidate, or
perhaps murder, the servant, if she interrupted him while In the
act of plunder. The property stolen was principally jewellery
ornaments, which were all of a beautiful and rare description,
the chasing entirely of fine gold. It is singular that Mr. Wat-
son had always an apprehension that his house would at some time
be robbed, which had latterly so much increased upon him, taat he
slept with loaded pistols by the aide of his bed every night.
Mr. Rawxistsost said the matter was involved in so much mys-
tery that he could only come to one conclusion.
Mr. Watson was promised the assis'ance of the police, but at
present there is no clue whatsoever to the robbers.

Peas 'Tar qr.
a. d. .. A.
White, old ... . ,44 0 4 0
Do. new
Grey, 34 0 0l I.
Maple _ 42 0 40 9

MSIt, Par Qr.-
English 4d 0 64
RTs. Per gr.
Irish 32 0 84 0
Beans per Qr.
English, 43 6 43 0
Foreign, free 4O 0 12 0
80. in bond 3O 0 51 0
Irish .10 0 43 0
Indian Corn, per cp ar3 0 40 0

-
Englieb, per 28011, —4B 0 49 0
trial 46 0 41 9
American, per barrel 26 ft 38 0
Danteg, 23 0 :7 0
Oatmeal per 2401 b.
EngiLsh
Irian 27 0 :11 0

Ft THI 230 TO Tlli 29rx or yll

Barley, Qrs.
frelsad
Coastwise l4

Beans, Qrs.
Ire Mud _

2)

Oatmeal, Sacks.
Ireland ........... ....• • • MeS
COSIKWISO ........ .......,

Total ..... 1823
Flour, Backs.
Ireland be
Europe, barrels
Exported, ditto