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

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Scarcely had this neighbourhood recovered from ta S '
excitement occasioned a few weeks since by the - • .
horrible murder of two sisters- by a soldier of the •' -
Swiss Legion, between the towns of Dover and Folke. '
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 can
the shocking deed was perpetrated in the open light
of day, iu the 'e'"'"' ef a dozen spectators, and within
a few yards of the town, the scene being a meadow
in front of the military hospital at Archcliffe Fort, in '
which the 49th Regt. is encamped. The man charged
with the ofience is a privaee in that regiment, named
Thomas Mansell, and the unfortunate victim was a lance
corporal in the same regiment, named A lexander M'Bur-
ney. There is no question whatever as to the guilt of the
accused party, as the deed was committed in the presence
-of several comrades ; the only point that can arise being
as to the motive which actuated the commission of the
appalling crime, and the state of the prisoner)] mind
at the time. The weapon employed was one of the
Enfield rifles, whi, h is in , use among the 49th, and it
appears that this morning, shortly after eight o'clock,
the accused came oit of the tent lee occupied with his
rifle in his ham d sad deliberately walked op to the de-
ceaeed, wh , w e kneeling• down at the time engaged
in Glee ing his regiment.] aceentremente, and, plac-
ing his rifle aga.ust the decea-ed's 1, ft side, shot him
dead upor he ,pet, the lab entering the right side and
pessieg ]ut at hi left. The deceased, it appears, rose
ue and stage rel a few earth], crying " I'm shit,"
I'm shot—Ma -sell has shot me I" and then fell down and
expired. Be the promptitude of Sergeant Major Hol-
Can, of the 49. h, who was on the spot wi:hin a minute
of the dreadful occurrence, the surgeon of tke 49th, Mr.
II ]nnay, was fetched from his tent imm 'liately, but he-
fore he lad arrived the vital spark l ; d 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 had he endeavoured to do so
—but after he had committed the horrid dee I threw
down the weapon he had need, with the simple exclatna-
tioa "There !" and walked away. He was, of c, u se,
instantly laid hold of by a &zee hanis, and by thedirec-
teen of .he colonel of the regime t eas handed over to
the civil authorities the same m ning. T• e only motive
assigned for the act seems in itrelt o trivial as to induce
the supposition that there =et have beer so neether cause ..
for Mansell's rashness, which has pot atpr eserittrars Med.
It is said to have arisen simply out of Vie less ( f a p sir of
boots on the part of Mansell, the boots having disapi ea .ed
in the following manner :—During the time the army
was in the Crimea each man way provided with what is
termed a "squad-bag," which was used for the reneption
of surplus necessaries and clothing rendered requisite by
the peculiar circumstances of the campaign. These lags
with their contents were delivered up by the soldiers on
leaving the Crimea and not returned to them again until
they arrived 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-bag"
being restored to him, he discovered theta 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 boote. 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 is quiry upon the subjectabout
a month back, while the 49th_were encamped at Alder.
shot, the result being. a full adquittal of M'Birney from
all impu'ation in connection with the loss of Mansell's
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 that any ill-feeling existed on his part towards him.
Mansell is described as a morose, sullen man, although
his appearance scarcely bears cut this impression.
THE MAGISTERIAL INQUIRY.
At ten o'clock this morning, the prisoaer, T. Mansell,
was taken before the borbugn magistrates for examina-
tion. Nevis 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
girnpse of the prisoner, or learn any of the circumstance a
"connected with the crime of which he stood charged.
He was conveyed from the police-station in a fly in
charge of Superintendent Coram. 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
Worst°ld), Mr. Jennings, Mr. Cooke, Mr. Sibbitt, and
Mr. Payn.
The pris iner, 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 privats in the 49th Regiment, was the
first witness examined. He made the following state-
ment :—This morning, about half-past eight o'clock, as
I was coning 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 theta, and, as I was going by the prisoner,
I Lit my arm touched, and, on turning round, saw
the prisoner with his piece placed close to M‘Burney's
right side. He immediately discharged the gun. I heard
the report, and at the seine moment heard M'Burney
ci-y out "I'm shot, nu 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 held of him before he had
wit more than seven or eight yards from the spot, and
he wai ordered to the guard-room, to which two other
soldiers took him. When I\l`.Burney was shot he was
upon his knees, but on being wouhded, 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 riffs, and delivered it to the
superintendent of p dice. 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 rile from the ground, the ex-
pledel cap was still upon the nipple.
By the Bench—l did not see the prisoner pull the
trigger of his rifle ; but I beard the report, and I heard
Alexander M'Burney cry out that he was shot. M‘Bur-
ney had no arms about him, and was engag:d cleaning
his things at the time.
Toe prisoner, on being asked whether he wished to
put any question to this witness, replied in the negative.
Edward Brophey, acother 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
frelock 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 w‘s then kneeling down, about
six yards distant from the prisoner. At that instant
the last witness (Parry) carne out of his tent and passed
between prisoner and the deceased. The prisoner then
moved, and ca ne up quite close te the deceased, and
shot him as he was still kneeling. The decease I put his
hand to his side, and rose up saying, "I'm shot, I'm
shot," two or thre limes, and the last time he said

" Mansell has shot me 1" Mansell, who by that tine
ha I thrown down his musket, and had, at four or five
yards fr An the deceased, turned found and looked at
him, and the deceased then fell. The deceased was im-
med'ately removed to the hospifal. I afterwards saw
the deceased, and it appeared as if the shot had passed
completely through his bedy, 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.
cersed he held the stock of.the Are:ock 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 during the time that the ma-
gistrates were consulting took a pinch of snuff with as
much sang froid as his manacled hands would permit.
During the examination 61 thh 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-
bed led in the gruund at a few yards from the spot where
the deed hal been perpetrated. From a careful inquiry
instituted by our,elves 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 COLLIE! T EXPLOSION AT OLD-
BURY-CLOSE OF THE INQUEST.

OLDBURY, Wramrst•Ay.
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 ia,t night bet' re J. Hinchliffe,
Esq., coroner for Staffordshire, and a jury composed
chiefly 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 this
occasion Baker bad been guilty of the grossest and most
culpable neglect, for after he had received warning from
below, and Lad been requested to bring the safety lamp
down into the pit with him, and after a lamp had actually
been sent fok, Le said—" Oh, there's no sulphur," and
went down "iplo...the-Tit 'With:the other men, carrying
with him a quantity of lighted coalso which caused the ex-
plosion. Had Riker been non- alive he (the coroner) cbould
have felt it his duty to direc% theta to find a verdict of
manslaughter n7ainst, him, for had he performed his
duty the oxplosi-ei would in all pr,babil.ty have been pre-
vfnte 1. The next question to be considered was, whe-
ther there was any culpable negligence shown by a, y
other. person. The Gov;-ronaent 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 discontinue&
It would be the duty of the jury to consider whether
Mr. Spruce or any °clicr person had been guilty of such
negligence as to warrant a verdict of manslaughter
against theme
The jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict
of " Accidental death," to the surprise of those who had
heard thd evidence of the inspectors. It might be men.
tinned that the jury did not ask a Obig frleatiOn
throughout the inquiry.