The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-20 00:00:00

THE BURNOPFIKLD MV

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, Dec. 19.—Yesterday Richard
Rayne was again brought before the magistrates at
Gateshead County Police-office, on the charge of being
engaged in the murder of Mr. Sterlincr, the surgeon at
Burnopfield. A man named John Cain, alias Whisky
Jack, was also placed in the dock, charged with being an
accomplice in the murder. The magistrates were Messrs.
G. Hawks, C. Bulmer, and T. Bramwell.
_ _

Mr. Stoker, of Newcastle, appeared for the prisoners.
Mr. Stobart, the cattle drover, repeated the evidence
he had formerly given, and added—l believe the pri-
soners are the men I met in Swailes•lane. I met a per.
son and spoke to him. He spoke to me in Scotch.
Ann Watson said—l am a servant with Mr. Raine, a
pawnbroker in Durham. O❑ Friday I saw the prisoner
Rayne, between 3 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon, at my
master's shop. He was very urgent. My mistress came,
and he offered her a watch fur 30s. He had his back to
me. I heard nothing of the murder till a week after-
wards. The man seemed like a pitman. I know him to
be the prisoner Rayne by his features.
Samuel Bennett deposed—l am chainmaker at Winla-
ton-mill. On the Saturday after the murder I was at
Rowland'a Gill. I found there a blue button or stud.
(The button or stud was produced.) I gave it to Ser-
geant Turnbull the same day. I did not know the pri-
soners. I might have seen them.
Sergeant Turnbull deposed—The button or stud. was
found three yards from where the body of Mr. Sterling
was foetid.

Superintendent Squire deposed—l searched the pri-
soner Cain's house, and found a waistcoat, which thepri-
■oner Cain admitted to be his, arid which I produce.
(The waistcoat had on three buttons of precisely similar
description to the one found by the witness Bennett,
near the spot where the body was found, and was minus
one button.) I apprehended Cain, and he said he, did
not know where the murder was committed, and had
never been there.

Alice Raine deposed--I am wife of 'William Raine,
pawnbroker, of Gilesgate, Durham. On Friday, Nov. 2,
a man came to my shop with a watch to pawn. Ile
asked 30s. upon it, and came down to 4s. The watch
had a silver face with gold letters. The man was dressed
as a pitman. There was no chain to the watch. It bad a
guard of worsted, about 6or 8 inches long. The man
was very urgent. I think he would have taken ls. He
had not large whiskers. He had a fresh appearance. 1
thoiislat he wanted to pawn tliti .catch for drink, because
his face looked dissipated. lam certain that Richard
Rayne, the prisoner at the bar, is the person who ten.
dered the watch to me.

The prisoners were then remanded till the 26th inst.,
but they will be taken to-day before the adjourned in-
quest at Burnopfield.
In addition to the above facts, it is known thatßayne's
house was the depot for the sugar used by Cain in dis
tilling whisky.

THE SUSPECTED POISONIIvG CASE AT
AUGBLEY.

FURTHER PARTICULARS.
We understand that circumstances have transpired
tending to establish other charges against William Pal-
mer, the surgeon, who has been committed to Stafford
gaol on a charge of poisoning Mr. F. P. Cooke (as for-
merly reported). It is said that Palmer insured his
wife's life for 1,000/. She died shortly afterwards, and
upon the upon' probate being produced the money was
duly paid by the office. He then induced his brother
Walter Palmer to insure his life for a similar sum, and
afterwards obtained the transfer of it on an alleged debt
of 4001., which he (Willia:n Palmer) stated was due
to him by his brother. Palmer made every endeavour
to further insure this life ; but in consequence of an
anonymous letter from Stafford it was declined. The
brother has since died, and the usual demand was made
for the money. The large amount, and the previous
death of Palmer's wife, having excited the suspicion of
the numerous insurance offices concerned, they deemed
it prudent to place the matter in the hands of Inspector
Field's (late of the Detective Police) Private Inquiry-
office. Mr. Field, with his assistant, Mr. Simpson, pro-
ceeded at once to Stafford and the Isle of Man, and after
the most searching investigation, extending over a periiA
of upwards of six weeks, reported to the various insurance
offices certain startling revelations, which induced the
offices to form a "Defence Fund" for the purpose of
mutual resistance to these attempts. Mr. Field baying
gathered certain information that Palmer had endea-
voured to effect an insurance for 25,0001. upon the life
of "a gentleman," whom Palmer reported to live "
on
his estate" in the locality of a village in Staffordshire,
Proceeded there and found that other persons in high
position had conspired with Palmer to falsely represent
the standing in life of the individual, who was in fact no
other person than Palmer's occasional groom, renting a
bed-room at 2s. per week !

THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS IN THE
MERCANTILE HOUSES.

The Lord Mayor has transmitted letters, of which the
following is a copy, to the principals of the firms in some
manufacturing towns on the subject of the movement
for making the 24th inst. a elose holiday in the metro-
polis, as well as the 25th :

" Dec., 1855.
" Sir—ln reply to your letter, requesting my sanc-
tion and support to a movement for making the 24th
inst. a close holiday in the metropolis as well as the
25th, as is now attempted at and other provin-
cial towns, I beg to say I should rejoice in the success
of any endeavour to obtain for all classes at this festive
season of the year the advantage to be derived from
an additional holiday, but I venture to suggest
whether your efforts should not rather be directed
to th© surrender of the 26th, the day following, rather
than the 24th, the preceding Christmas-day.
"The 24th of December has hitherto been one of the
heaviest business days in the year. This year it falls on
Monday, a double post day, and a day when some of
our principal London markets are held. To provide
beforehand for three consecutive days' consumption by
the inhabitants of all classes of the great metropolis of
whatever they require, appears to me not very easy ; if,
therefore, your proposed holiday were general, it would
inconvenience more than it would relieve ; and should
it not be general, those who did not keep the holiday
would gain a profit at the expense of those who did.
As I trust there would be few who had not a
surplus on Christmas-day, the 26th might be acceptable
to everybody, masters and servants, employers and em•
ployed. For myself I should be delighted in having an
official holiday on three or more consecutive days, and
would rejoice at a commencement on the 224 and a con-
tinuation to the 26th or 27th, including of course your
suggested holiday, the 24th ; but, before giving any
official sanction to your proposition, I must look at it
practically, and see how it is likely to bear on toe
various classes of which this great metropolis is com-
posed, and I fear that—however practicable it may be
in provincial towns—it would not be feasible in the
metropolis.

" You are at liberty to give publicity to these views,
so that those who are interested may determine the
question for themselves.

"I remain, Ace, &,:,
• 1
(Signed) "DAVID SALMONS, Lord Mayor,"

THE MANCHESTER STRIKE.

The seventh weekly meeting of the minders and piecers
on strike at Manchester was held on Tuesday evening.
The Secretary said the masters bad offered to agree to
the average of the Ashton prices, and the operatives ha,l
agreed to accept the average of the working wages of
hton and Oldham, but this proposition the employers
had rejected. Although the operatives might be suffer
ing by the strike, the masters were also injured by their
mills being idle, and they were endeavouring to create
divisions among the operatives, so as to bring about a
general reduction of wages. We recommended the ope-
ratives to be united, and before making any terms, or
taking anything for granted, to consult with the commit.
tee, so as not to be entrapped into anything but an
honourable settlement of the question. If the men were
dictatorial the masters had forced them to be so, by at-
tempting to reduce wages without assigning any reason.
He referred to the alleged injustice done to the men in
the weighing of their weft, and said the operatives had
shown themselves prepared to submit the question be-
tween them and their employers to arbitration, but the
employers feared arbitration, because they knew it
would place the position of the minders and piecers in
such a light as the world had never seen it in before. A
few more delegates had last Sunday resolved to support
the men of Manchester. The hands of New Islington
Mill were to resume work yesterday morning, and
he advised those who had not turned out from that
mill to k
from it, so as to let those who
had worked eep away
therep
previously have the first chance of
resuming wore( there.
A delegate from Oldham, who had been a spinner 42
years, recommended union, sobriety, and orderly con-
duct on the part of all on strike. The operatives of Old-
ham, who were all united, were subscribing for the Man-
chester turnouts. At Oldham they were not cheated
as at Manchester, because they could either see their
work weighed, or else it was measured lineally by "re.
gulators " without reference to weight. The average
wages Of the self acting minders in Oldham were 225.
per week.
An operative said it appeared the ()Wham wages were
53. 6d. per week above the Manchester average. Here
in 1847 he got 275. or 285., and now only 15e. 6d. He
should like to know where the difference had gone to.
On the recommendation of the Secretary, the meeting
was then dissolved, instead of adjourned again, as the
operatives could reassemble publicly, when necessary,
after the holidays. In the meantime he said there would
bo meetings of the turn-outs, and the committee had a
great deal of work to do.