The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-30 00:00:00

THE FENIAN OITTRAGE IN

BLOOMSBURY.

At Bow-street on Saturday evening Mr. Serle,
Superintendent of the E division, waited on the
sitting magistrates, in reference to the case. It ap-
peared that M'Donald's life was considered to be in
danger, and the surgeon had suggested that the
magistrate should be consulted as to the necessity
of his depositions being taken.
Mr. Flowers would not wish to do so if it were not
necessary, or if the excitement would increase his
danger. But he should be glad to take his deposi-
tion if his evidence was material, and it could be
done safely.
Mr. Serle slid the surgeon was of opinion that it
would not accelerate death. The dying man could
only speak to the same facts as his two companions,
but his description of the assailants might be mate-
rial for the purpose of identification.
Mr. Flowers decided upon taking the depositions,
and proceeded in a cab to the University College
Hospital, in Gower-street. The patient appeared
very faint, and spoke so low that his voice could
with difficulty be heard. The oath was adminis-
tered to him by Mr. Flowers. He said, " I entered
a publichouse in Southampton-row about 1 o'clock
this morning and asked for something to drink,
which was refused to be served. I then left and
saw some persons having words outside. Neither I
nor those with me said anything to those persons.
My friends and I walked up Southampton-row to
Vernon-place, and passed the two men who were
outside the publichouse at the time of the noise.
While passing by they made a noise at me and my
friends, and they crossed the road to the right.
They came back again, and one of them knocked a
man named Furber's bat off. Furber was with me,
and the man who knocked off his hat fired at me.
I am quite certain that I saw the two men outside
the publichouse." (Here followed a description of
the two men).
In reply to Mr. Flowers, the witness added that
he lived at 12, William-street, Regent's Park, and
is a musician in the 2d Life (;wards. He could not
sign his deposition, and requested his mark to be
put to it.
Mr. Flowers having read the deposition over,
held it before him so that he could see it distinctly,
and made a cross in the usual place of the signature,
M'Donald watching the operation, and nodding
with an air of satisfaction when it was done, but
not speaking.'
The magistrate and clerk then withdrew.

MONDAY MORNING, 2 o'Clock.
A man suspected to be the murderer has been
apprehended. It appears that some time after the
crime was committed a parcel was picked up in the
road near Vernon-place, containing a quantity of
bullets and cartridges for Tranter's medium sized
revolvers. Several cabmen and other persons affirm
that they saw two men, whom they can identify,
near Mrs. Byrne's publichouse, the Turk's Head.
Between 1 and 2 o'clock in the morning, after the
attack on M'Donald, a man named Buzzer, who
was driving a cart in Broad-street, St. Giles's,
was stopped by a number of young men, respect-
ably dressed, and assaulted, without any reason
being assigned, and they are supposed to be part of
the party who were at Byrne's, and of whom the
two who stopped M'Donald, formed part. Subse-
quently from information which the police received,
they arrested a young man named John Groves, a
sergeant in the London Irish Volunteers. Mr.
Thomson, of Scotland-yard detective force, ordered
him to be searched, when a large dagger was found
upon him, on the blade of which were marked the
words, " A sure friend." Groves was charged with
having been concerned in the attack on Buzzer. He
asked to be admitted to bail, and gave the names of
two persons notorious as having taken part in the
Fenian movement. Bail was refused. Shortly after
another Irishman was arrested, having in his pos-
session a loaded Tranter revolver, which he says he
found in Broad-street, Bloomsbury. From investi-
gations following upon the apprehension of Groves
it appears that he is well known as having for some
time past been mixed up with various well known
Fenians. At the time when the notorious Colonel
Kelly was living in Rupert-street, Haymarket,
Groves was with another person at the London
Pavilion watching two well known informers, whom
they followed till an appeal was made to the police
to be freed from molestation. After the apprehen-
sion of Colonel Kelly it appears that it was decided
among the Fenians that one of the informers above
referred to should be shot, and that a large reward
would be paid to the Fenian who shot him. It fur-
ther appeared that Groves and another person were
together at the Turk's Head on Saturday morning,
and left shortly before the murder was attempted.
Furber very closely resembles the informer above
referred to, and there is little doubt he was taken for
that person, and his two friends probably for de-
tective officers. After the three young men left the
Turk's Head they were followed by two men, who
passed them in Southampton-row. On getting to
the corner of Vernon-place the men who had
passed them suddenly confronted them, knocked off
Furber's hat, with a view, undoubtedly, to obtain a
good sight of his face, but Furber was picking up his
hat the shot meant for him struck his companion.
The man who fired the shot was, it is believed, wear-
ing false hair. Groves was seen by the two in-
formers already referred to and the police-sergeant
to whom the application was made on the night
they were at the London Pavilion, and those per-
sons have identified him. One of the informers also
identified Groves as the man who threatened to
shoot him some time ago, and also as being an active
Fenian agent in Dublin in 1865. After being duly
cautioned by Inspector Thomson, the prisoner
adMitted he was near Vernon-place at 1 o'clock ou
Saturday morning, and that be had been at the
Turk's Head. His lodgings were subsequently
searched, and there was found a number of papers
relating to Fenianism, a form of the Fenian oath in
the prisoner's handwriting, a large quantity of
bullets and cartridges fitting Tranter's middle sized
revolvers, and also a patent revolver loaded and
capped, and in the bore of which the bullet that was
shot through M'Donald exactly fitted. The pistol
that was picked up by the Irishman previously
referred to also carried the bullets found in Groves'
lodgings.
The prisoner was taken last night to the Univer-
sity Hospital to the bedside of the injured man, and
M'Donald, after carefully scrutinising him, said his
features were exactly like those of the man who shot
him, but that he hardly seemed so tall. The pri-
soner, at the time he was taken into custody, wore
a Fenian hat. His eyes are of a light colour ; he
has fair hair, cut close, and a fair moustache, but
no beard or whiskers.
The prisoner, who is charged by Inspector Thomp-
son " with shooting at and wounding Edwin
'Donald, with intent to kill and murder him,"
11 be brought before the sitting magistrate at Bow-
street this day, at 12 o'clock, and most stringent
precautions have been taken by the police for the
safe custody of their prisoner.
The latest information from the hospital is that
M'Donald has not passed so favourable a day as
could be wished.