The Sun.
London, England, 1851-10-25 00:00:00

HORRIBLE MURDER.

PETERHEAD, OCT. 20.—Yesterday morning we
were thrown into a state of great excitement by a re-
port that a dreadful murder bad been perpetrated at
Cruden, about seven miles from this place. On in-
quiry we found it to be unfortunately too true. The
following particulars we have been enabled to glean :
—The person who has thus come to his untimely end
was Mr. Matthew Flame, formerly a chief boatman
in the Coast-guard at this place, but who had retired
on a pension about 12 months ago, and at Midsummer
went to reside at Cruden, in a lone house on the
roadside, to which is attached some land and the post-
office, and which is the last stage for changing the
horses of the mail-coach which runs from Aberdeen.
The former tenants had a license for selling spirits,
&c., but, for misconduct, it was taken from them. It
appears that Mr. Flame had retired to rest, and left
his wife sitting up to finish some little things neces-
sary far the Sabbath. She was alarmed by a violent
knocking at the door for admittance, and being un-
willing to admit any one at so late an hour, she put out
the candle. At this the person outside became so enraged
and caused so much noise, as to induce poor Flame to
get up, who, if he had not been prevented by his wife,
would have opened the door to endeavour to pacify the
furious intruder, who, fancying it was still a public-
house, was annoyed at being refused admittance.
However, Air. Flame unfortunately went out by the
back part of the house with no other covering on his
head than his nightcap, and, on turning the corner of
the house to come to the front door, the murderer
raised his stick and struck him a heavy blow on the
head, which felled him to the ground. The poor wife
rushed out on hearing his cry. She saw him gasp
once, after which be ceased to breathe. Her cries
brought assistance from the nearest farmhouse, some
distance off. The stupified murderer remained by
the corpse, fancying he had only stunned his victim ;
and not until a surgeon came, who desired those who
had assembled to take him prisoner, was he aware of
the awful position he stood in. After some resistance
he was secured, and is now in gaol here, awaiting ex-
amination. The murderer is from the Highlands,
and had been employed in the herring fishing here
two or three seasons, as well as at other work, and
was on his way here again, with the view of obtain-
ing a situation in a Greenland ship ; but he had
been drinking, and was in a state of intoxication
when he committed the rash and fatal deed.—Edin-
burgh Witness.

MURDER IN TIPPERARY.
The Irish papers of Wednesday morning contain
an account of a barbarous murder which was perpe-
trated on Monday evening in the south riding of
Tipperary, the particulars of which are as follow :
" Yesterday evening (Monday) a most atrocious
murder took place at Ballytarsna, about four
miles from Littleton and six from Cashel,
and after such an interval of quiet as the
country has enjoyed it is painful to find that
Tipperary should be disgraced by such foul crimes—
crimes which have tended so much to prevent the influx
of capital, and injured the position of the peasantry by
preventing employment. It appears that the Rev. Mr.
Drapes, who has some clerical preferment, lately

became the tenant to a farm, the property of Cap-
tain Lanphier, and from which several tenantry had
been ejected, and a bad feeling was since that
period displayed towards the new occupant, and
those acting under him in tilling the ground. Yester-
day the Rev. Mr. Drapes went to the lands from
it became)t has a large family .
whenhouses
by tl
Lit-
tleton, and remained on them till near dusk, when he
erod
got into his gig in order to return home,
accom-
panied by his bailiff, a man of the nameof James
awhohiu t
closea shortrrie
to several
s distance
ev.maande ral
very Donnelly,
hey
dhadar k drivennd when
side a shot was fired from the hedge, and at the side at
which Mr. Drapes was driving. That gentleman tt
the moment was stooping down to arrange a portion
of the harness, and was thus providentially saved from
the aim of the assassin, but the ball entered the fuck
part of the head of Donelly, and, traversing the base
of the skull of the unfortunate man, came cut in front.
No further shot was fired, and the moment Mr.
Drapes arrived in Littleton the police turned out, and
in consequence of what they heard several persons were
arrested and are now in custody. Several of those
who lived quite close to the scene of this dreadful
occurrence were also arrested, and one and all deny
that they heard the report of any firearms, although
this could not have been possible. Dr. lilrarlsbaw
came from Thumes, and rendered every possible at-
tention to the bailiff, but the wound is mortal, and
before this he is dead. An investigation is now being
held, and some very important facts have been ascer-
tained."

OUTRAGE"IN DEAN FOREST.
A violent outragewhas recently been committed at
Mitcheldean, in the Forest of Dean, on an inoffensive
against
turf
rani
hisnp si
pkt
oe-
t the
e el
te
rtyhes r,whose
ft 0
lbebefore
ar offence
en d
the
thatl
heow local
thata,ndmagi
given
hvs ete
rna hadte.some
evidenceTh
e
gatekeeper (whose name is Hartland) was shot at by
Some villain and dangerously wounded in the lower
part of his person, so that he is not expected to sur-
vive the dreadful injuries. Five men have been ap-
prehended on suspicion of being concerned in the
outrage, viz., William Young (who was the party
suspected of stealing Hartland's fowls, and who was
at large on bail), his two sons, Amos and William
Young, his son-in-law, John Williams, and another
man named Joseph Probyn. These parties have un-
dergone three examinations before the magistrates at
the Littledean House of Correction, and the inquiry
has just terminated in the committal of two of them.
The evidence was very voluminous, and for the
most part of a circumstantial character. It was
proved that some parties were seen together
on the night of the outrage, but the elder prisoner
'William Young, and his son, were sworn to posi-
tively as having been seen under a tree near Hart-
land's house only a few minutes before the shot was
fired, and another witness saw the same men running
away from the direction of the turnpike almost im-
mediately afterwards. A gun-barrel was found in
the pocket of a man named Gwilliam, who deposed
that he picked it up near Young's house, and was
about to hand it to Mrs. Young, when a policeman
was observed approaching, and she prayed him " for
God's sake to put it out of sight." The gun had re-
cently been discharged, and proved to be one that a
man named Critchley had lent to Amos Young. Some
slugs were found in William Young's nail-shop, with
some percussion caps and gunpowder. The iron
work, screws, &c., belonging to a gun-stock, were
also found in the ashes at Young's house, while a dis-
guise was found in his garden. A servant at a pub-
lic-house also proved that when W. Young was
charged with fowl-stealing, he threatened to serve
out Hartland. The result was, that William and
Amos Young were committed for trial. The others
were discharged.

MANSLAUGHTER AT MAIDSTONE FAIR.
Yesterday an inquest was held by Mr. William
Payne, at Guy's Hospital, on the body of Christian
George Ford, aged 43, whose death, it was alleged, had
been caused by violence in a booth at Maidstone fair.
John Copeland said he lived at Maidstone, and was a
general dealer. On the 19th of August last, between
two and three o'clock in the morning, he was in a
booth erected in the meadows, near the Gibraltar
Tavern, Maidstone. It was fair time, . and the booth
was erected for drinking. The deceased was there,
and was sitting on the front of the bar In the booth.
Witness was engaged in argument with some north
countrymen, and one of them handed to him a pot to
drink. One of the party made some observation, upon
which a quarrel ensued. A man named Trice, who
was sitting by, struck witness, upon which the de-
ceased, who witnessed the blow, said it was a shame
to strike a man who was old enough to be his father.
To this Trice inquired, " What have you to do with
it ?" and immediately afterwards struck Ford, who
was sitting down, several times with his fist. lie
struck him several times on the body, and once under
the ear. After this he took him by the heels and
threw him violently over the counter. lie fell on the
other side and never rose afterwards. He was thrown
across the bar head foremost. He was not aware whe-
ther deceased was sober, but Trice was quite sober.
The deceased was conveyed to the hospital. Mr.
John Davies, house-surgeon, said he saw the deceased
shortly after his admission to the hospital. lie com-
plained of extreme pain in the back part of the neck.
He was affected by paralysis on the left side, affecting
the arm and leg, and was unable to lift his arm. He
went on tolerably well for some time, but the paralysis
continued to increase, and he died on the 21st instant.
He made a postmortem examination of the body, and
found in the neck a fracture of the fourth vertebrae,
with a displacement backwards to the spinal canal.
The injury of the spine was the cause of death. The
jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict of
manslaughter against George Trice.