The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-20 00:00:00

CLEAN BREASTS.

Uneasy consciences are giving a great deal of work to
the police just now. There is more than one confession
of murder under consideration. At Cheadle, in Stafford-
shire, the authorities are looking up a murder said to
have been committed some years ago. It is certain that
at the date in question a grinder disappeared in a some-
what unaccountable manner. He had called one night at
a publichouse at Dilhorn, and was engaged to grind a
knife belonging to one of the company in the house. He
attempted to steal the knife, or exchange it for
one of an inferior quality. After he had left the at-
tempted fraud was discovered, and three men—two
named Thorley, one of whom is now dead, the other being
in penal servitude for burglary, awl a third named
Boulton—followed him along the road in the direction
of Forsbrook, with the avowed intention of punishing the
grinder. They returned some hours later, and the grinder
was never afterwards seen in the village. It is reported
that the landlord of the public-house, Rigby by name,. now
dead, went along the Forsbrook-road, and saw the grinder
weltering in blood ; that on returning home he related
what he had seen, adding, "They have killed the old
grinder," and that the next morning, at an early hour,
Rigby went to the spot, and removed the blood marks from
the surface of the road. A few days ago Edward Harvey
was at the same public-house, when a disturbance arose,
which led to reference being made to the supposed murder,
and Harvey declared that Boulton, on his deathbed, and
Rigby also previously, told him that the murder had been
committed by Boulton and the Thorleys, and that the body
was buried in Callow-wood. The grinder's machine went
out of sight when he disappeared, but it is said that the
stone of it had been found on the premises of one of the
persons concerned during the investigation, which is not
yet completed.—Besides this Cheadle affair, a man named
Dyer has confessed in England that he murdci ed his mate,
George Wilson, at the Mia-Mia Creek, Newstead, Aus-
tralia, in 1857. The Melbourne papers, referring to this
confession, state that Wilson's remains, which were
interred in a cemetery near Castlemaine, were exhumed on
the 4th of April, and examined by Dr. Norman Gow. In
the skull were two holes, such as would be made by the
point of a pick. There were also two depressions flatten-
ing the skull, as if made by the same instrument. A war-
rant was issued for the apprehension of Dyer in England.

MURDER OF A WARDER AT PORTLAND.
Portland prison seems destined to acquire an unenviable
pre-eminence in the not very common crime of warder
slaughter. Twelve months ago a warder named Trevitt
was brutally murdered by a convict. A second victim,
after lying between life and death for some three months
has just succumbed to the injuries inflicted upon him.
On the afternoon of the 20th of April a warder, named
Edward Bly, had charge of a gang of convicts on
the Government works, amongst which was a
man named Thomas Ratcliffe. Whilst the warder,
was in the act of mounting an eminence for the purpose
of being better able to watch the operations of his party,
Ratcliffe crept behind him with a shovel with which he
was at work, and raising it edgeways with both hands,
made a blow at the warder's head. Some of the convicts
who were at work near by called to Lie warder to look
out, on hearing which he partly turned round,
and saw Ratcliffe in the very act of carrying out
his murderous design. He endeavoured to avoid the blow,
but, unfortunately for the poor fellow, the shovel came
down with terrific force on one of his shoulders, making
a frightful gash, and bringing him down. Although the
convicts in Bly's gang saw the murderous assault, at
present it does not appear that they offered to render
any assistance to the poor fellow until Ratcliffee had
given him several more blows, for whilst he lay on the
ground partly stunned and bleeding, his assailant con-
tinued to hack him with the edge of the shovel, and it was
not until then that two of the convicts rushed upon Rat-
cliffe and prevented him killing Bly on the spot. The poor
fellow was at once removed to the prison infirmary,
where it was ascertained that the injuries were of the
most frightful nature; and, as he appeared to be
in a dying state, his deposition was taken the
same evening. When in the presence of the dying man,
the convict, who is a most determined wretch, did not
hesitate to say that he fully intended to take Bly's life
although h@ had done him no harm ' • and that he would as
soon be strung up for it as be kept half-starved at Port-
land. Although every attention has been paid Bly by
the medical officers of the prison, the poor fellow gra-
dually sank, and died the other night. He is said to
have been a most kind and considerate officer, never find-
ing fault with the men under his care without cause, and
he was much respected by his brother officers.

The mill of Mr. Orlando Hinchcliffe, at Gatesend,
about two miles from Mytholmroyd has been destroyed by
fire. The mill had been recently filled with new machinery.
The damage is estimated at several thousand pounds,
which is partly covered by insurance. One man was
seriously injured by a fall.
LITERARY AND MUSICAL GOSSIP.—The Orchestra
says :—Mr. Joseph Irving has been for some weeks very
ill.—Mr. Albery and Mr. Dilley are the joint authors of
the second T. P. Cooke prize drama, " The Mate of the
Mountjoy," which has not yet been placed on the stage.—
" With a Show in the North : Reminiscences of Mark
Lemon," is the title of a series of papers to be commenced
next week in the Gentleman's Magazine. The Glasgow
Daily Express says the editor accompanied Mark Lemon,
on his Falstaff tour in the North, "as companion, friend,
and amateur impresario."
PLOTJGHING UP GOLD.—Another instance of the
remarkable way in which nuggets are sometimes turned up
in this colony was furnished last week, when a nugget
weighing 690 z. was ploughed up on Mr. Allan's farm,
Mount Prospect, Bullarook, near Ballarat. .As nuggets
are always welcome things, and as this may lead to the
opening up of new ground, it may be honoured as a
very pleasant and `'welcome stranger." The lump was
only a few. inches below the surface, and has what looks
like ferruginous conglomerate attached to it, but is nearly
all gold, and well waterworn.— Melbourne Argus, April
23rd.

THE AYRSHIRE CATASTROPHE.—The lad Norton,
suspected of having shot the servant girl at Craig's farm
house, near Dundonald, Ayrshire, was apprehended on
Thursday. From his own statement it would appear that
the melancholy affair has been the result of an accident.
He states that on Tuesday morning he had taken down
his master's gun to look at it, not knowing that it was
loaded, and that while he was examining it the gun went
off, and the contents struck the girl Young, instantly
depriving her of life. Alarmed at what had taken
place, he then ran out of the house, and changed his
clothes in a field. This account is credited as the boy bore
a good character.