The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-04 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.—Feb. 23.

OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Williams and Mr. Baron

Bramwell.)
Jeremiah Callagher, 25, and Patrick Murphy, 22,
two Irish labourers, were indicted for the wilful
murder of Henry Morgan.
Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Clerk conducted the prose-
cution. Mr. Sleigh defended Callagher, and Mr.
Laxton appeared for Murphy.
The facts of the case have appeared very recently
in the report of the proceedings that took place
before the magistrate and the coroner. The de-
ceased was a police-constable, and it appeared that
on Boxing-day there was a great disturb Ince in the
Commercial-road, at the East end of the town, in
which the prisoners and a number of other Irish-
men were engaged and fighting with each other.
In the course of the fight the prisoner Callagher was
seen to strike a man named M`Carthy a violent
blow, and a police-constable, named Filler, seeing
this, and observing that M'Carthy was bleeding,
and apparently severely injured, ho laid hold of
Callagher, and attempted to take him to the sta-
tion, but the mob interfered, and forcibly dragged
the prisoner away. The deceased and some other
constables went after Callagher, and again at-
tempted to secure him, but his companions resisted
them in the most desperate manner, and the police
were struck and pelted with stones, and several of
them severely injured. During thesei proceedings
the prisoner Murphy seized hold of the staff of the
deceased and pulled him round, and Callagher was
then seen to strike him a violent blow with the
fist on the head. The matter at first appeared to
have been viewed in the light of an assault, but
the deceasei very soon afterwards became para-
lysed, and he died on the 2d of January, and upon a
post mortem examination, the brain was found to
be in an extreme state of congestion, and the in-
juries he received upon the occasion in question
were alleged to have been the cause of death.

The jury retired to deliberate upon their verdict,
and in about half an hour they returned into court,
and found both prisoners guilty of manslaughter,
but recommended Murphy to mercy, on the ground
that he did not appear to have committed any
actual violence upon the deceased.
Mr. Justice Williams sentenced Callagher to be
imprisoned and kept to hard labour for two years,
and Murphy for one year.
Patrick Riley, 36, was indicted for the murder
of David Tat bit t.

Mr. Robinson prosecuted. Mr. Platt defended
the prisoner.

The deceased, it appeared, was a private soldier
in the Scots Fusilier Guards, and on the 28th of
December was walking along Rosemary-lane, ao•
cAnpanied by one of his comrades named Robert
Steel, when he observed two women, one of whom
had a child iu her arms, about to fight, when the
companion of the deceased interfered and told them
not to do so. The consequence of this humane
proceeding, it appeared, was, that the crowd set
upon the two soldiers and ill-used them both, arid
the prisoner came out of a shop where he was at
work and threw a small hammer at the deceased,
and it struck him on the head and knocked him
down. At first it was not thought that the injury
was of a dangerous character, but on the 4th of
January it was found necessary to take the deceased
to the hospital, where it was discovered that his
skull was fractured, and it was found necessary to
trepan it. He died on the 26th of January of the
injuries he had received. When the prisoner was
taken into custody he at first denied that he had
used any violence to the deceased, but he after-
wards said that the soldier had interfered with the
wife of his mate, and he gave him a cut with the
hammer.
Mr. Platt made an able speech to the jury on
behalf of the prisoner • and he called a witness who
swore that the deceased struck one of the women,
who was the wife of the prisoner, in the face with a
cane, and that the prisoner seeing this threw the
hammer at him.
The jury, after acme delibQration, found the pri-
soner guilty of manslaughter ; and, in answer to a
queition put by Mr. Baron Bramwell, the foreman
stated that the nrljority of the jury were of opinion
that it was not true that the wife of the prisoner
had been assaulted before the prisoner threw the
hammer at deceased.