The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-13 00:00:00

itluTS AT COLNE.

(From the Manchester Guardian )
We are exceedinaly rorry to learn, that serious dis-
turbanc_s occurred, during the List week, at Colne,
arising principally out of the opposition of the lower
orders to the constabulrry police. This feeling broke
out with such violence in April last, as to make it neces-
sary to increase that force for a time, from the number
of about ten or twelve, to some fifty, supported for seve-
ral clays by a military force. This had the effect of
suppressing for a while the lawless preceedings of the
populace, and was hoped that the police were steadily
gaining ground in the estimation even of those who had
been violently opposed to them ; but it appears, that,
about three weeks since, this opposition was revived with
increased violence, and was shown more openly and-
boldly from day to day, till at last the rabble
proceeded, at nights, to the breaking of windows,
and making some murderous attacks upon the
officers by large volleys of stones, in some
cases from the house-tops. The first party at-
tacked was Mr. Bolton, a solicitor, of Colne, whose
public conduct, -on several points, had rendered 11;m
especially obnoxious to the rabble. His official and
private efforts against the Chartists, his advoacy of
the New Poor-late, and his efforts in the establishment
of the new police, were sufficient to mark him cut as
the first object of their vengeance ; and, accordingly, on
Tuesday evening they begat by demolishing about 14
of his windows, and making a dreadful attack with
stones upon the police, many of whom were severely hurt.
Partial disturbances again took place on Wednesday
evening, and on Thursday night, about ten o'clock, the
town was entered by a mob of 200 men, under the
command of a leader, armed with pistols, pikes, blud-
geons, and stones, who for halt an hour had complete
and uncontrolled possession of the main street, where
they broke about 200 windows, and committed some
very severe personal injuries. Commands to fire and
re-charge were distinctly heard, and have been de-
posed to. A military force was sent for to the bar-
racks at Burnley ; but the rabble had made their attack
so rapidly, and dispersed so instantly after it, tlit,
when the military arrived, the town was perfectly quiet.
Next day a public meeting was advertised to concert
measures for the protection of life and property ; but,
when the hour of meeting arrived, the Chartists and
the rabble had taken possession of the room, and the
Magistrates and respectable inhabitants were obliged
to assemble at the King's Head Inn, whers, among
other measures for preventing a repetition of tha
scenes of the preceding night, it was resolved that
a deputation, with one of the ,Magistrates, should
proceed to Burnley for military assistance. Detach-
ments of cavalry and infantry were instantly de-
spatched, and, by their presence in the town till
Sunday morning, secured the peace of the place, and
for the present all is again quiet. We understand there
is much complaint that the troops should be so soon
withdrawn, and the Magistrates quite partake in that
regret ; but they were informed, that the orders to
officers in command on such occasions were such as to
require the troops to return to barracks. This seems
strange, if it be so ; and probably some further inquiry
will be made into it. In the opinion of our informant,
there is not a town in England so completely under the
dominion of mob law, as this unfortunate town of Colne ;
and the general opinion of the respectable inhabitants is,
that, in such a reign of terror, the remedy must at last
be a permanent military force in barracks.

FURTHER RIOTS.-A CONSTABLE MUR.
DERED,

Since the above was in type, we have received some
further accounts from Colne. from which we learn.
that, on Monday night, there was a repetition of the
lawless scenes which had previously disgraced the
town, and that they ended in the murder of Mr.
Joseph Halstead, a gentleman who had been just
before sworn in, and was acting as a special constable.
The statements which have reached us in reference to
this matter, are not very explicit ; but so far as we can
learn from them, the following are the leading facts of
the case :—At an early hour on Monday evening, it
became known to the police and the Magistrates, that
the desperadoes who had committed the outrages on
Thursday intended to renew them on that night, and
that assemblages were collecting for that purpose a
short distance from the town, on the road towards
Keighley. In consequence of this discovery the Ma-
gistrates issued summonses to a number of the re-
spectable inhabitants of the town, calling upon them
to attend at the King's Head Inn, and be sworn
in as special constables for the preservation of the
peace. About seventy were, accordingly, sworn in,
and, with the Magistrates and the police (who, we
believe, had been reinforced subsequently to Thursday
night, and amounted to some thirty or forty men),
went into the streets for the purpose of dispersing the
assemblages of people which they might find there.
They paraded several of the streets without meeting
with any serious opposition. At length, between ten
and eleven o'clock, it was announced that a large body
of people were entering the town from the Keigh!ey
road, and the Magistrates, with the police and con-
stables, moved in that direction to meet them. As soon
as they came in sight of the mob, the latter halted for
a moment and fired two pistols, whether loaded with
ball, or, if so, whether directed at the constables, could
not be ascertained ; but, at all events, no damage was
done by the shots. When these pistols were discharged,
, the mob set up a loud shout as if about to charge the
constables, but finding that the latter were advancing
upon them, they gave way, and turned down St. John-
street (which runs towards the south side of the town,
and is at right angles with the main street), intending,
no doubt, to pass on the right of the constables, and get
into their rear. The constables, however, guessing
their object, turned down Parliament-street, which
runs parallel with St. John-street ; and, on arriving at
a cross-road which forms a communication between
the two, they encountered the mob who immediately
attacked them, and a sharp conflict ensued, the result
of which was, that the mob were routed and driven off
the ground, leaving two or three prisoners in the hands
of the police. Al.ter they were gone, the police and
constables patrolled the streets about ; and, at a short
distance from the spot where the principal encounter
had taken place, they found one of the special con-
stables, Mr. Joseph Halstead, a respectable manufac-
turer of Colne, lying on the ground with his skull
most dreadfully fractured, having apparently been struck
a terrific blow with an iron bar, or some other weapon
of the same kind, by which the fore-part of his skull
had been completely beaten in, and his face so fright-
fully disfigured, that it was with great difficulty that
he was recognized. He was alive when discovered, but
perfectly insensible, and breathed his last in a few
minutes afterwards. Another constable, too, Mr. Tem-
pleman, manager of the Colne branch of the Craven
Bank, was found to have received a desperate cut on
the back of the head, apparently inflicted by a sword,
or some other cutting instrument. A sergeant of the
police also received a severe stab in the shoulder during
the affray, but it is hoped that neither he nor Mr.
Templeman is any serious danger.
We have been informed that the circumstances under
which Mr. Halstead and Mr. Templemsn received
their wounds were the following :—They, with three or
four other constables, had gone towards the south-side
of the town, and, without knowing what was going on,
turned up one of the streets leading towards the place
where the conflict was going on between the constables
and the mob. When the latter gave way they en-
countered these gentlemen, whom they attacked on all
sides with the results which we have already mentioned.
As soon as the shocking murder of Mr. Halstead
was made known to the Magistrates, they set on foot
the most active inquiries for the purpose of detecting
and apprehending the murderers ; and, sonic informa-
tion having been procured, warrants were immediately
issued, and several individuals were apprehended du-
ring the night ; one of them, a well-known Chartist,
was taken in the act of trying to conceal a musket
by thrusting it through a sky-I•ght upon the roof of
his house ; and on examining him, his shirt was found
marked with recent splashes of blood.

As soonas the distureiances commenced, a messenger
was despatched to Burnley for the military, and a troop
rf Dragoons were called out and galloped off to Colne
immediately. They were, however, as before, too late
to be of any service, and we believe they shortly af-
terwards returned.

When the last accounts left Coke the town was
quiet, and the most active inquiries were making, with
the view of detecting and bringing to justice the par-
ties who had been concerned in the riots.