The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-23 00:00:00

S NI NOVEMBER 23, 1847.

held. The Benner of Ulster, in its description of the
proceedings, says--
"Mr. O'Brien and the remainder of the confede
rates endeavoured to effect an entrance, but the police
were acting under superior orders, and prevented the
success of the effort.
" Mr. S. O'Brien, finding his endeavours ineffsc-
tual, took off his hat in front of the theatre and com-
menced to address the multitude. Men of Belfast--
(Immense groaning and cheers)—men of Belfast—
(Groans)—l come here—(groans)—in the perform-
ance of a sacred duty.—(Cries of ' Three cheers for
John O'Connell,' which were lustily responded to)
I say I come here in the performance of a sacred
duty. (The crowd at this stage had pressed so upon
the Hon. Gentleman that the police were obliged to
beat them back, and the yelling had become terrific.)
Will you hear me ? I don't want the police at all;
I wish to speak as a freeman.—(' Are you a friend of
O'Connell's ?') lam a friend of this country ; and,
what is more, I am a friend of yours.— (Cries of
' Down with him, the -- traitor,' and You killed
O'Connell.2 I have come to Belfast—(' Three cheers
for John 0 Connell," Old Ireland for ever.') I have
come—(lncreased uproar, if the din could at all have
been greater, amid which one of the auditors called
out—' to let the gentleman alone.')
"Mr. C. M'Donnell—Don't go away, Mr. O'Brien.
Stay here and you will get a hearing.
"At this moment an extraordinary movement was
visible in tha.throng, every one seeming anxious to
get out of the way,' and no person near the speaker
seeming to understand the reason. A few seconds,
however, solred the mystery—a bite or two on the
legs, and a loud bark from a couple of ferocious
bull-dogs, which had been evidently procured for
the occasion, and let loose upon the people, satisfying
those present that they had something more formi-
dable than human tongues to deal with. Some ruffians
in the crowd were observed hunting on the savage
animals, and our reporter plainly heard one man
say, Hiss—at O'Brien's throat.' The police, for
about a minute, were unable to drive off the dogs,
and it was only when the ribs of the brutes felt the
cold steel of the bayonets, that their master or masters
had a certainty that the tender menaces of their pets
were attended with no evil effects to the men. Ott
some degree of order being restored,
" Mr. O'Brien continued-1 call upon the Govern-
ment of this country—l call upon the Parliament of
this country—(Clamour and tumult, the crowd press-
ing the police forward towards Mr. O'Brien)—l call
upon the people of this country—(Renewed uproar)
—to resist the interference of the police force with
their rights as citizens to meet and deliberate on that
which concerns the public weal.—(Cheers and groans).
I here, before you, protest against the power of the
magistrates to deny me admission to this house, and
I protest against. their denying admission to those who
come with me—(Cheers and tumult)—and I say that
I will hold these magistrates responsible, not only for
the violence done to our own persons, but for the
violation of those rights which we, as citizens, possess.
—(Cries of ' Go home to Limerick; we don't want you
here,' and Who killed O'Connell ?' mingled with
furious yelling). The magistrates acted upon
an affidavit, and I have only to add, that
that affidavit merely stated that it was be-
lieved that an attempt would be made to prevent us
from entering this theatre, but that cannot prevent
us from holding another meeting.—(Groans.) I now
again ask 'admission to this theatre.--[Mr. O'Brien
turned towards the door, but was refused entrance.]
There being no difficulty but that interposed by the
police officers, and the present opportunity being
denied us of meeting, I call upon the magistrates to
let us know what time we will be allowed to hold a
meeting.--(Renewed clamour, amid which Mr.
O'Brien turned once more to the police, but Mr.
Lindsay again declined permitting the deputation to
enter, firmly but calmly stating he was acting under
the orders of the magistrates, and that he was only
performing his duty, by obeying their commands.
" Mr. John Rea, who had made the affidavit before
the magistrates, stated that his object was to obtain
the protection of the civil power.)
" Mr. John Mitchel stated that he had taken down
the names of the magistrates, with the view of pro-
ceeding against them by law. They had determined
to hold a meeting, and neither the impertinence of a
court of petty sessions nor the bellowing of Hercules-
street would prevent them from holding one to-
morrow at one o'clock.—(Awful uproar.) The
mooting to morrow would. 'Jut be im iikljUUrtiVa IlleCt
ing. They would hold to-morrow a meeting of the
citizens of Belfast.— (Renewed clamour.)
" Mr. S. O'Brien—We shall now formally demand
admission. I demand (said Mr. O'Brien, turning to
the police force) admission iton this house.
" Mr. Lindsay—You cannot get in, sir.
" Mr. O'Brien here walked close to the police, who
gently removed him backward from the door. Messrs.
Ilea and M'Ghee then pursued the same course,
together with Messrs. Meagher and Martin. Mr.
Mitchel observed that he had been forcibly removed
twice from the door already, and that was enough for
him.
" Mr. S. O'Brien then addressed Mr. Cunningham,
lessee of the theatre. He said— You, of course, un-
derstand that this building has been engaged for the
purpose of receiving a deputation from Dublin. We
came hero to demand admission, and have been pre-
vented by the police. Was that done by your autho-
rity ?
" Mr. Cunningham—Certainly not by mine.
" Mr. O'Brien—Do you see any obstacle to our
entering this house, which we have engaged, except
that made by the police ?
" Mr. Cunningham—Decidedly not.
" Mr. O'Brien—Have you any objection to our
holding a meeting here to-morrow ?
‘• Mr. Cunningham—I have none whatever to your
meeting here to-morrow. I have nothing to do with
the legality or the illegality of the meeting. I leave
that with the magistrates.
" The deputation then moved from the theatre,
Mr. Smith O'Brien expressing his determination to
go through Hercules-street, and such a scene of
confusion and tumult as ensued has rarely been wit-
nessed. Offensive epithets of every description were
used to Mr. O'Brien. He was by turns a ' hang-
man,' a cut-throat,' a murderer; and at last the
wrath of the mob began to expend itself in the throw-
ing of stones, Mr. O'Brien receiving rather a severe
knock in the face from one of the missiles in Corn
Market. A regular enzeute was on the point of
breaking out, when the police, with great difficulty,
preserved their position, and the deputation were in-
duced to retreat towards the Royal Hotel."

At 12 o'clock on Friday, Dr. Enright, coroner,
held an inquest upon the body of Mr. Hill, within
the precincts of the county gaol. A jury having
been empannelled, they proceeded to the dead-house
of the County Infirmary, to view the mutilated re-
mains of the unfortunate victim, which presented a
horrifying spectacle, the face being swollen and dis-
figured with powder and blood. There were three
gun-shot wounds on the person, two at the lobe of the
ear, at the angle of the jaw, on the right side of the
head, which communicated directly with the spine,
which was extensively fractured. The third (sup-
posed to have been inflicted by slugs) was on the
right side of the face, under the eye, which fractured
the floor of that orbit, passed underneath the cartil-
lages of the nose, which were completely shattered,
and came out at the left side at a point corresponding
with the orifice of the entrance.

The first witness examined was Thomas Flannery,
one of the bailiffs, who deposed to the facts of the
case as already detailed. lie fully identified James
Skehan as leaping over the ditch with a gun in
his hand immediately after the shots, and from the
spot the shot came that wounded M'Mahon, and as
having been about the place for three weeks before,
and having threatened the deceased. He also swore
that Quain's daughter (Mary M'Narnara) was the
woman he saw in the haggards whence the shots
came.

The following evidence was then given :
Prisoner—You are much mistaken, for I was not
there at all at the time. When I went to the house it
was the first news I heard.

Witness—There was a shot fired as the keepers
were running away. I saw Mary M'Namara and
her mother looking at the end of the house as we
were coming up the iroad at first. I could not be
mistaken in her. I had a pistol in my possession,
and when I was running away I endeavoured to pull
it out of my pocket to have a shot at our assailants,
but my hand being cold it fell on the ground ; when
I stooped to take it up I saw a man jump over the
ditch with a gun in his hand. It was near where
Mr. Hill fell. That man was apprehended yester-
day, but Ido not know his name. I identified him
the moment he was arrested.—(James Skehan was
here brought forward.) That is the man.
Conorian (to Skehan)—Where are you from?
Prisoner—From O'Brien's-bridge, county Clare.
Mr. Barron (stipendiary magistrate) —When
arrested yesterday he gave me his name as Keane.
vlout o rfi .t
QnCeursiaspi—pn
sl—shwCa
eegragtraapri ndo
sl.
tH,
vheeel
yhgahadev
sa histh e
gunnma
imanneht hai
saa
hand at
that time. He was not attired as at present. He then
wore a grey coat and a straw hat. I could not be
deceived in him, for I saw him three weeks before,
when the corn was seized. I also saw him when I
was losting the notice fur sale, and again the day
before the murder, at quain's house. was speak-

[PaicE 51).

, ing to him the day previous, when Mr. Hil
and I went to Rathure. I asked him for the key
of the barn, and the answer he made was,
that he couldn't give it, as Mrs. Qunin
hadit, and was gone to town. Mr. Hill said, "We
can't be waiting, get a piece of iron and break in the
door." I didn't du so, but raised my leg and kicked
in the door. When I did so, Skehan said, "You'll
bo sorry for th:it, my good fellow." After the
murder I came into Limerick, to Mr. Fitzgerald's
office, and reported the occurrence. Five of the
City police and Mr. Cripps, a magistrate, at once.
returned with me to the scene of outrage. The
artillery . were there. I heard some one say he
saw a man - running along the hedge. I
didn't sc.‘e birp, but when he was made
a prisoner' aftcrw.grds, I identified him. Skehan is
the pars, n. lie had but one shoe on when arrested ;
the other was found by a policeman behind a ditch at
Quain's bounds. It was the fellow of the one the
prisoner (Skehan) wore. When asked where his
shoe was, he said he did'nt know. lie at first refused
to put on the shoe..found by the police, observing it
was not his.

A juror—We should like to examine one of the
carmen who watf, present.
Witness—They were a great distance behind.
Prlioner—Ye all came up together.
Alderman WATSON—You are a great fool to say
anything that may tell against you.
Witness (to Mr. Barron)—The shot which wound-
ed M‘Mahon was fired from the spot where Skehan
leaped over the ditch out upon the road. I know no
more of the transaction.

Dr. Gelston was next examined, and described the
wounds received by the deceased, as already stated.
He gave it as his opinion that death must have been
instantaneous.

The jury returned a verdict, " That the deceased,
Ralph Hill, came by his death at Rathure, hi the
county of Limerick, on the morning of the 18th
inst., having been wilfully murdered by gunshot
wounds inflicted by some person or persons to us
unknown."

In the afternoon the remains of Mr. Hill were con-
veyed from the infirmary to his residence in Clare-
street, followed by sorrowing friends.
An order was received this day from his Excel-
lency the Lord-Lieutenant, for the ordnance wag-
gons to proceed to Rathure to bring in the corn of
Quain's family, distrained by the late Mr. Ralph
Hill, as the carmen of this city refused to be em-
ployed in the service. The distraint Hill be removed
to town under escort of military and police this
afternoon.