The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-04 00:00:00

Railway Traffic Returns for the Week.

The last week's railway receipts, ascertained up
to the 31st December, are in round figures as
under:—

1865. 1864.
Great Western ... £60,877 £59,150
North Western ... ... 103,511 97.341
South Western ... 18,883 18,908
Brighton ... 18,580 17,348
Midland ... 54,136 47,156

Great Northern ... 30,097 30,446
Lancashire and Yorkshire 42,202 36,110

Bristol and Exeter

5,243

North Eastern

5,

::. 70,132 58,557

Manchester Sheffield, and Lincoln ... 21,564 18,445
Great Eastern ... ••• 34,694 32,550

London, Chatham, and Dover 8,206 6,662
These returns, when compared with those of the
corresponding period of the previous year, generally
show some very satisfactory results. On the Great
Western there is an increase of £1,727 ; North
Western, £6,170 Brighton, £1,232 ; Midland,
£6,980 ; Lancashire and Yorkshire, £6,092 ;
Bristol and Exeter, £176 ; North Eastern, £11,575 ;
Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln, £3,119 ; Great
Eastern, £2,144 ; and London, Chatham, and
Dover, £1,544 ; while the South-Western exhibits
a decrease of £25, lnd the Great Northern £349.

MURDER NEAR MERTHYR TYDVlL.—lnformation
of a murder of a revolting character has been re-
ceived at the police station, Merthyr. The locality marked
out is in a secluded wood on the mountain top distant three
or four miles from Merthyr, and near the residence of Mr.
Henry A. Bruce. The information was to the effect that
a body bad been found, the head lying decapitated, and
three or four yards from the body. It appears that a
farmer named Davies was walking in the wood on Mon-
day and came upon the body, which was that of a young
man, in an advanced state of decomposition. There were
numerous wounds on the head and body, and identification
was at first difficult. On Monday evening it was dis-
covered to be the body of a smith striker, named Davies,
who had been missing since September. It is reported
that he received his pay, a large sum, on the first Saturday
in September, and was last seen near a public-house on
the borders of the wood, in company of .a man who has not
since been heard of.

BRUTAL MURDER IN GLASGOIV.—.A.bout eleven
o'clock on Monday night a married woman named
Greenan was murdered in her own house in Saltmarket-
street, Glasgow. She was the wife of a labourer named
Patrick Greenan, and in the house which they occupied
were two lodgers—Michael Robertson or Kelly, and a
woman named Mary Macfarlane, with whom he co-
habited. It appears that on Monday Kelly had been
out drinking with Macfarlane, and went home at eleven
o'clock. On the way he had separated from his para-
mour, aril on going home asked for her. He was told
that she had not returned, and thereupon he commenced
to quarrel with Greenan. While the men were strug-
gling, Macfarlane entered the house, and upbraided
Kelly with leaving her. A general souffle then took
place, and Mrs. Greenan interfered to assist her
husband against Kelly. It is alleged that Kelly then
threw Mrs. Greenan to the ground, and kicked her in
a savage manner on the side and breast. The poor woman
never spoke, and seems to have died almost instantaneously.
All the parties were in a state of intoxication, which would
seem to account for Greenan not being able to protect his
wife. A young son of the murdered woman raised an
alarm, and two women, one a neighbour and the other a
sister of Mrs. Greenan, ran into the room. Kelly had
finished his attack on his victim, and immediately com-
menced a furious assault on the neighbour alluded to, at
whom he aimed a blow with an iron hammer, but fortu-
nately his arm was caught and the weapon wrenched from
him. The police having been called, Kelly was taken into
custody .

EXTRAORDINARY ESCAPE FROM PRISON.---A woman
named Ann Harrison recently escaped from the pri-
son at Bury. She had boon committed for theft, having
previous to committal attempted to get up the chimney at
the police station. The manner in which she effected her
escape proved her to be possessed of great daring and de-
termination, combined with no inconsiderable agility. It
was for some time a matter of speculation in what way she
contrived to gain her liberty, but she has given her own
account of the transaction, and from her statement (which
is corroborated by various circumstances, and is no doubt
correct), it appears she went directly to the gate, within
three yards of the matron's residence, and contrived to
clamber to the top of it by getting her foot upon the cross
bar in the centre, though, being a short woman, this would
scarcely appear possible. From the centre she mounted the
top of the gate in another stride, no doubt using the che-
vaux de frise by grasping the centre to draw herself up.
She must then have shifted herself alongtho top of the gate,
holding by the chevaux de frise till she came to the wall,
the top of which she was then able to reach. Having
mounted the wall she crawled along a distance of 16 yards,
which brought her to the roof of the cells, and this also she
climbed; but, after having gained the summit, and when at an
elevation of about 20 feet, she missed her hold when pre-
paring to descend, and after rolling down the roof, fell
over the edge, and came to the ground from a height of
from 12 to 14 feet. Fortunately for her she fell upon soft
mould in the garden, but she alighted within three feet of
the water tank, and therefore very narrowly escaped either
drowning or severe injury by collision with the brickwork.
She was a little stunned by the fall, but speedily rose to
her feet, apparently none the worse, and ran across the
garden, and then to the south-west corner, whore a wood
fence afforded her the means of scaling another wall, from
which she dropped into some allotment ground on the
other side, and so gained the road. She was recaptured,
and when taken back to prison did not appear to be much
the worse for her escapade ; but on the following day it
was found that, although no bones were broken, she had
sustained a severe shock to the system by her fall.
THROWING A DOG INTOA RAILWAY CARRIAGE.—
Yesterday, at the Bromley petty sessions, John Humphrey,
a young man, employed as a groom in the service of a gen-
tleman at Bromley-common, surrendered in discharge of his
bail, charged with having thrown a live terrier dog over the
railway bridge of the London, Chatham, and Dover Rail-
way, and thereby severely injuring John Wells, the hind
guard of an express train from Ludgate-hill to Dover. Mr.
Church, solicitor, attended to prosecute. The case has
already been reported, from which it will be remembered
that as the train in question was passing under one of the
road bridges at Bromley, a glazed projection, or "observes
tory," of the last carriage was broken, the glass striking
and cutting Wells in the face, and knocking him backwards,
and rendering him insensible. On recovering his conscious
ness, Wells found the dead but still warm body of a dog
lying on the brake van. From inquiries subsequently made
by one of the company's officers, the dog was traced to the
possession of the prisoner up to a very short time of the train
passing Bromley, and at the first hearing of the case the
prisoner denied the charge, alleging that he left the dog on a
door-step while he entered a linendraper's shop, and that on
coming out the dog was missing. On the re-hearing of the
case, the prisoner acknowledged his guilt, and the magis-
trate committed him for trial at the next West Kent
Sessions.