The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-01 00:00:00

THAMES POLICE.

Yesterday, Thomas Sleeman, a wheelwright, and John
Sharp, a sackmaker, in the employ of Mr. Wright, coal
merchant, at Ratcliff-cross, were brought before Mr.
Broderip on a charge of causing the death of a girl
named Ann Conolly.
It appeared from the evidence that the deceased and
her sister were stationed near Mr. Wright's coal wharf,
each with a basket of fruit before them on the ground,
and the prisoners commenced backing a large coal-
waggon to which no horses were attached along a
declivity leading to the wharf. The deceased was
sitting on a stone with her back to a post at the side of
the wharf entrance. One of the prisoners was in
the shafts and the other at the wheel backing the
waggon down the incline, and they called out to
the girlsto get out of the way or they would be run over.
The deceased stooped to pick up her basket of fruit, and
at the same moment the waggon started down the in-
cline at full speed, and overpowered the men, who were
unable to stop it. The wheel caught the deceased, and '
she was crushed in a frightful manner between the
waggon and the post. Her sister, a younger girl, would
have shared the same fate had she not been hastily pulled
away by a waterman named Dunbar, and just in time to
save her from being crushed by the next wheel on the
same side, and the prisoner Sharp also narrowly escaped
destruction. He was at the wheel when the waggon run
down the incline, and close to the side of the covered
way. He made a sudden spring towards the street, and
escaped unhurt. The deceased was taken to the surgery
of Mr. Buchanan, in Ratcliff. The blood was then flow-
ing profusely from her nose and mouth, and she was
unable to speak. She died a few minutes afterwards.
The sister of the unfortunate deceased, and the other
witness, said the occurrence was quite accidental, and,the
prisoners said the waggon suddenly ran back, and they
were unable to stop it.
Mr. BRODERIP—The death of the girl appeared to
hare been the result of accident, caused by her anxiety
to save her little stock of fruit, and as the case would be
investigated by a constitutional tribunal, the Coroner's
jury, he would accept of bail for their appearance on
Monday next.
The prisoners immediately entered into sureties, them-
selves in 601., and two sureties in 301. each, and were
liberated.

DREADFUL AFFRAY AT HALIFAX.
A MAN KILLED.
(From the Halifax Guardian.)
On Monday last a most melancholy catastrophe oc-
curred in the neighbourhood of Chapel Fold, Smithy
Stake, in this town, arising out of a quarrel, which,
though apparently insignificant as to its origin, yet
quickly led to the death of its originator—a man of the
name of Daniel Martin, a railway labourer, aged twenty-
four, and a native of Cork. The unhappy individual
who has been the means, accidental or otherwise, of the
death of Martin, in this encounter. is a man named
James Tansy, of Sligo, aged forty, and is a maker of
besoms. We may here state that Tansy has hitherto
been known and respected in his locality as a very quiet,
inoffensive, and industrious man. About three months
ago his wife died suddenly while engaged in washing,
leaving him with a family of four little children. Both
Tansy and Martin lived in Chapel Fold.
The circumstance leading to the tragical death of
Martin occurred at the Sun Inn, in Smithy Stake,
at which place he was drinking in the forenoon of
Monday last. Whilst there his sister, accompanied by
another woman, came into the house, and called for
something to drink. On seeing this Martin became
very angry, and ordered them both out, and was
about to inflict personal chastisement, upon his sister,
who however made her escape to the door, upon which
Martin followed, intent upon thrashing her. The
woman ran home to her lodgings, the house of Tansy,
into which she ran, imploring protection from the fury
of her brother, by whom she was immediately followed
into the house, and struck several times. At this time
Tansy and his children were quietly engaged in getting
their dinners, and there was also present a man named
John Rocks, who lodges in the house, who interfered in
behalf of Martin's sister, where lie was struck by Mar-
tin, and sent against the table at which their children
were getting their dinner, thereby upsetting the table
and dinner things, and causing general confusion. At
length Tansy thought it time for him to interfere, and
rose up for that purpose, still retaining the knife in his
hand which he had been using at dinner. He went to
Martin, told him he would not allow such conduct in his
house, and endeavoured to put him out. On this Mar-
tin, who was a most powerful athletic fellow, imme-
diately turned upon Tansy, whom he began roughly to
handle. At length it became a struggle for mastery iu
the house, and they collared each other, Tansy haring
hold of the knife and Martin's coat collar in his right
hand at the same time. Martin being the taller and more
powerful of the two, gave Tansy a complete swing round
against the wall ; and it would appear from Tansy's
statement at the inquest, that the point of the knife
being in the direction of Martin's left ear, the latter,
during the turn at the wall, drove his head against
it with great force, Tansy's elbow resting at the
time against the wall, thus giving a double force to the
contact with the knife, which entered just below
the left ear, and inflicting a wound three inches internally
and one inch externally. Immediately the blood gushed
out in a fearful torrent against the wall, which, with the
floor, was drenched with the crimson fluid. The unhappy
man finding himself in such a state, rushed to the house
door, and a cry of "murder" was instantly raised. A
man who happened to be passing by at the time, and see-
ing the dangerous state in which Martin was placed,
seized him and held together the wound so as to prevent
the issue of blood until the arrival of Mr. Tucker, sur-
geon, who had been sent for. That gentleman tempo-
rarily secured the carotid artery, and bandaged the
wound, during which it required six men to hold the
unhappy man, who, in his paroxysms of pain, at one
time overthrew them all. In the meantime Tansy went
to the police-office, and requested that Martin might be
taken into custody on a charge of assault. Martin was
taken to the infirmary, where every attention was imme-
diately paid to him ; but he had lost much blood pre-
viously to his arrival there, nor did he recover from
insensibility up to the time of his death, which oc-
curred on the following morning at a quarter to ten
o'clock.

On Wednesday afternoon, at four o'clock, a jury was
summoned at the infirmary to view the body, after
which they proceeded to another room in the institution,
where the inquest was held before G. Dyson, Esq. Af-
ter a long inquiry, a verdict of " Manslaughter" was re-
turned, and Tansy is in custody.

I T,
JCORTSOKEN WARD.—OFFICIAL DECLARATION OP
THE POLL.—Yesterday afternoon, at five o'clock, a
wardmote of the ward of Portsoken, adjourned from
Friday last, was resumed at the late workhouse, in the
board room, Cock and Hoop-yard, Houndsditch, to re-
ceive the official declaration of the poll, upon the elec-
tion of an Alderman, in the room of Alderman T. John-
son, on which occasion there was a numerous attendance
of the electors, principally of the Jewish race. Mr. D.
Salomons arrived a few minutes before the Lord Mayor,
accompanied by his friends. Mr. Sheriff Moon was not
present. The Lord Mayor, preceded by the mace bearer
and the sword of state, having taken the chair, announced
the result of the poll to have been for Mr. D. Salomons,
168, for Mr. Sheriff Moon, 136, and declared Mr. David
Salomons to have been duly elected Alderman of the
ward.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. D. Salomons then addressed
the electors, and moved a vote of thanks to the Lord
Mayor. Mr. llill seconded the motion, which was
agreed to unanimously, with loud cheers. His Lordship
thanked the electors, and the wardmote was dissolved.
JAMES COCKBURN BELANET.—An inquiry was in-
stituted before the magistrates at Belford, on Tuesday
last, respecting the burning of the property belonging to
James Cockburn Belaney, and the breaches of the peace
committed at North Sunderland, as stated in our last.
Mr. Belaney, accompanied by his brother, the Rev. Mr.
Belaney, and Mr. Abbs, his solicitor, were present during
the inquiry, and it is understood that steps have been
taken to sue the hundred for the amount of the damage.
The dwelling destroyed is not the romantic mansion of
Belaney, on the edge of the cliff, but a farm-house,
where he had been residing, and which belonged to the
trustees of the late Lord Crewe, and it is said to be in-
sured. Belaney's new house is known by the name of
the " Cave," and it has been built so close to the sea
that the spray will, in a storm, blow against the windows.
It is a curious place. The soil has been cut away from
the top of the rock en which it is built, and, so far had
this to be done, that the roof of the house is nearly level
with the ground of the land side. It is surrounded with
a high wall, so that no one can obtain entrance to it but
by -descending a flight of about twenty-one steps, and
then the door, instead of swinging on hinges, is made,
like & portcullis, to draw up into the wall. The sea view
is, of course, extensive, and the situation would seem not
a disagreeable one in summer, but during the blasts of
winter it must be exceedingly cold and dreary. What
trifling furniture was saved from the fire, was on Mon-
day conveyed in a cart to Aytoun, about ten miles north
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, where Belaney's father resides.
So universal would seem to be the feeling excited in the
case of this unhappy individual, that it is stated his
London solicitor, having been recognised the other day
at Doncaster races, was attacked by the mob, and actu-
ally ducked in a pond.----Newcastle Journal.
The Poor-law Commissioners have decided that all
occupiers ofhouses compounded for to the poor-rates are
entitled to have their names placed upon the rate-books.
Occupiers of parts of houses, whose several rents amount
to 10f. per annum, are also, we understand, entitled to
be placed upon the rate-book. This decision, if strictly
acted upon, will have the effect of adding greatly to the
names on the register.—Nottingham Review.
THE WOODEN PAVEDIENT.—On Saturday last it
was agreed to unanimously, at a vestry held in the
parish of St. Marylebone, that part of the wooden pave-
ment in the said parish should be removed, and that a
granite pavement phould b 9 substituted,