The Sun.
London, England, 1856-08-28 00:00:00

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(.17to»t the Dovv Chronicle of yesterday.)
Scarcely had this neighbourhood recovered from the
excitement occasioned a few weeks since by the
horrible murder of two sisters by a seldisr of the
Swiss Legion, between the towns of Dover and Folks•
stone, than it is again aroused into consternation by
another murder, almost as horrible and cold-blooded
in its details as the one we mention. In this case
the shocking deed was perpetrated in the open light
of day, in the view of a dozen spectators, and within
a, few yards of the town, the [scene being a miadolll
in front of the uoilitaty hospital at Archcliffe Fart, in
which the 49th Regt is encamped. The man charged
with the otlence is a price,' e in that regiment, named
Thomas Mansell, and the unfortunate victim was a lance
corporal in the same regiment, named A lexender M‘Bar-
ney. There is no question whatever as to the guilt of the
accu•ed party, as the deed was committed in the pre: snce
of several conneoles ; the only point that can arise being
as to the motive which actuated the cemusission of the
appalling crime, and the state of the prisoner's raind
at the time. Toe weapon employed was one of the
Eiifield rifles, whith is in use amen, the 49th, and it
appears that this morning, shortly after eight o'clock,
the accused cams. 0 it of the tent he occupied with his
rifle in his list d aid deliberately walked up to the de-
cetvpd, wh , w s kneeline down at the time engaged
in cleaning his regimental accoutrements, and, pisc-
ine his rifle against the decea-ed's lift side, shot him
dead upon he pp )t, the hall entering the right side and
passing out at he left. The deceased, it appears, rose
u) and stag,z,rel a few yards, crying " I'm shot,"
I'm shot—Mar sell has shot me I" and then fall down and
expired. By the promptitude of Sergeant-Major Hol-
den, of the 49th, who was on the spot within a minute
of the dreadful occurrence, the surgeon of the 49th, Mr.
H tnnay, was fetched from his tent imm eiiately, but be-
fore he had arrived the vital spark lied fled, and his ser-
vices, therefore, were of no avail. The prisoner, it would
seem, scarcely attempted to escape—indeed it would
have been utterly fruitless heti he endeavoured to do so
—but after be tied committed the herrid deed threw
down the weapon he had with the simple exclama-
tion "There !" and walked sway. He was, of ctu so,
instantly laid hold of by a dozen hands, and by thedirece
non of the colonel of the regiine-t was handed over to
the civil authorities the same me. ning. Tr e only motive
assigned for the act seems in itself so trivial as to induce
the supposition that thei e must have been so ne other eaul
for Mansell's rashness, which has not at presenttracseit ed.
It is said to have arisen simply out of the loss cf a p sir of
boots on the part of Mansell, the boots having disapi eared
in the following manner :—Durine the time the army
was in the Co inea each man Wa. provided with what is
termed a " squad-bag," which was used for the reception
of surplus necessaries and clothing rendered requisite by
the peculiar circumstances of the campaign. Thee I age
with their contents were delivered up by the soldiers oa
leaving the Crimea and not returned to them again until
they art ived in England, the contents of their ordinary
packs being sufficient for the requirements of the voyage
home ; and it appears that on Mansell's " squad-lag "
being restored to him, he discovered that a pair of boots
were missing. For some reason which presented itself
to his imagination, but which appears to be totally
wanting in confirmation, he accused M`Burney of steal-
ing the boots. The unfortunate deceased denied all
knowledge of the robbery. Mansell, however, con-
tinued to bring the accusation against him, which ulti-
mately led to a regimental inquiry upon the subject about
a month back, while the 49th were encamped at Alder-
shot, the result being a full acquittal of M-B irney from
all imputation in connection with the loss of Mansell'e
property. From that time, it is said, the two men have
never spoken to each other ; and it is not believed that
M‘Burney has ever offered the accused any provocation,
or tnat any ill-feeling existed on his part towards him,
Mansell is described as a morose, sullen man, although
his appearance scarcely bears out this impression.
THE MAGISTERIAL INQUIRY.

At ten o'clock this morning, the prisoner, T. Mansell,
was taken before the borough magistrates for examina-
tion. News of the tragedy had spread over the town like
wildfire ; and for some time previous to the prisoner's
removal to the magistrate's•office, the approach to the
police-station was lined with persons anxious to catch a
glimpse of the prisoner, or learn any of the circumstances
connected with the crime of which he stood charged.
He was conveyed from the police•station in a fly in
charge of Superintendent Comm. The sergeant-major
of the regiment also occupied a seat in the fly, and an
escort of the 49th was in attendance.

The magistrates present were the Mayor (Mr. James
Worstsld), Mr. Jennings, Mr. Cooke, Mr. Sibbitt, and
Mr. Pay n.

The prie mer, on being placed at the bar, exhibited a
firm, cool demeanour. He is rather above the middle
height, and his features express calmness, and in a cer•
tain degree intelligence. On the whole, his appearance
is rather prepossessing than otherwise.

John Parry, a private in the 49th Regiment, was the
first witness examined. He made the following state•
ment :—This morning, about balf.past eight o'clock, as
I was coming out of my tent, at the encampment in
the field facing the Military Hospital, Dover, I saw
the prisoner and Lance-corporal M‘Burney. I passed
between them, and, as I was going by the prisoner,
I felt my arm touched, and, on turning round, saw
the prisoner with his piece placed close to Mlturney's
right side. He immediately discharged the gun. I heard
the report, and at the same moment heard M'Burney
cry out "I'm shot, I'm shot." He cried out in this
way two or three times, and the last time he cried out
that Mansell had shot him. Mansell then walked away,
but I followed him and took hold of him before he had
got more than seven or eight yards from the spot, and
he was ordered to the guard-room, to which two other
soldiers took him. When M`Burney was shot he was
upon his knees, but on being wounded, he got up and
staggered a few paces, but immediately fell down again.
I took charge of the weapon which the prisoner had
used, which is an Enfield rifle, and delivered it to the
superintendent of police. According to the regulations
of the service the rifle should not have been loaded, as
soldiers are not permitted to keep ammunition about
them. When I took the rifle from the ground, the cx.
ploded cap was still upon the nipple.
By the Bench—l did not see the prisoner pull the
trigger of his rifle ; but I heard the report, and I beard
Alexander Al'Eurney cry out that he was shot. M‘Bur-
may had no arms about him, and was engagsd cleaning
his things at the time.

Tee prisoner, on being asked whether he wished to
put any question to this witness, replied in the negative.
Edward Brophey, another private of the 49th, ex-
amined—About half-past eight o'clock this morning I
was at the encampment near the military hospital, and
was leaving my tent, when I saw the prisoner with his
Irelock in his hand. I observed him cock the piece,
and saw that there was a cap upon the nipple, but I
thought he was going to snap it in order to clean the
piece. The deceased was then kneeling down, aboat
six yards distant from the prisoner. At that instant
the last witness (Parry) came out of his tent and passed
between prisunei and the deceased. The prisoner then
moved, and mole up quite close to the deceased, and
shot him as he was still kneeling. The deceased put hie
hand to his :ide, and rose up saying, " I'm shot, I'm
shot," two or three times, and the last time he said
" Mansell has shot me I" Mansell, who by that time
ha I thrown down his musket, and had, at four or five
yards from the deceasad, turned round and looked at
him, and the deceased then fell. The deceased was im-
mediately removed to the hospital. I afterwards saw
the deceased, and it appeared as if the shot had passed
completely through his body, having entered at the right
side and come out at the left, grazing the left elbow.
The firelock produced is the same.
By the Bench—When the prisoner fired at the de-
ceased he held the stock of the firelock upon his hip.
By the prisoner—The deceased was kneeling at the
time you shot him—not standing.
At this stage of the proceedings the court was cleared ;
and, on the readmission of the public, the Mayor in-
formed the prisoner that he would stand remanded until
Friday.

The prisoner did not seem in the least moved through-
out the proceedings, and duri❑g the time that the ma-
gistrates were consulting took a pinch of snuff with as
much sang froid as his manacled ha❑ds would permit.
During the exami❑ation of tha prisoner a strict search
was made at the camp for the purpose of discovering the
ball with which it was supposed the prisoner had taken
the life of his victim, and it was ultimately found em-
bedded in the ground at a few yards from the spot where
the deed had been perpetrated. From a careful inquiry
instituted by ourselves at the camp on Wednesday, we
could trace not the faintest motive other than that we
have named for the terrible revenge taken by Mansell.

THE COLLIERY EXPLOSION AT OLD.
BURT-CLOSE OF THE INQUEST.

OLDBURY, WEBNESDAY.
The inquest on Thomas Baker, Samuel Willetts,
William Simpson, and Joseph Fulwood, four of the men
who were killed by the awful explosion in Lord Ward's
" Ramrod Hall" colliery, near this place, on the 13th
instant, was concluded last night before J. Hinchliffe,
Esq., coroner for Staffordshire, and a jury composed
chialy of men connected with the collieries of this ex.
tensive mining district.
The coroner, Mr. Hinchliffe, in summing up the evi-
dence, said it was the duty of Thomas Baker, the butty,
to try the pit with a safety lamp every day, but this he
had neglected. He (the coronet) considered that on thin
occasion Baker had been guilty of the grossest and most
culpable neglect, for after he had received warning from
below, and had been requested to bring the safety lamp
down into the pit with him, and after a lamp had actually
been sent for, he said—" Oh, there's no sulphur," and
went down into the pit with the other men, carrying
with him a quantity of lighted coals, which caused the ex.
plosion. Had Baker been now alive he (the coroner) should
have felt it his duty to direcl; them to find a verdict of
manslaughter against him, for bad he performed his
duty the explosion would in all probability have been pre.
vented. The next question to be considered was, whe-
ther there was any culpable negligence slacwu by stuy
other person. The Government inspectors attributed
the explosion to the want of a furnace at the bottom of
the shaft. It was the duty of Mr. Spruce, the under-
ground bailiff, to see to this, and he had ordered a firs
to be made, but this it appeared had been discontinued.
It would be the duty of the jury to consider whether
Mr. Spruce or any other person had been guilty of such
negligence as to warrant a verdict of manslaughter
against them,
The jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict
of " Accidental death," to the surprise of those who had
heard the evidence of the inspectors. It might be men-
tioned that the jury did not wok a single qneetion
thoughout the inquiry.