The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-30 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
THAMES-POLICE.
Yesterday Mr. Pelham, the solicitor, accompanied
by Mr. John Read, a " coal-undertaker " of the Com-
' mercial• road East, Allen Spiers, a foreman coal-
whipper, and thirty Irish labourers, applied to Mr.
I3allantine, for summonses against a person named,
John Jeremiah Kelly, the manager of' the " Ship-
owner's Protection-office," for the employment of coal-
whippers in High-street, Shadwell, under the follow-
ing novel circumstances :
Mr. Pelham said he was concerned for the poor
men by whom he was accompanied, and who sought
redress from the Magistrate for a very grievous wrong,
and to obtain a public opinion from the Court on the
manner in which they had been treated by Kelly,
whose name must be familiar to every one in con-
nexion with the disputes which had existed among
the coalwhippers. A few days since the steam-ship
Trident, which brought her Majesty and suite from
Scotland, and which belonged to the General Steam
Navigation Company, was chartered by the Royal
West India Mail Company to proceed to the
West Indies, in consequence of the unseaworthy
state of the Clyde. It was necessary that the Trident
should be laden with coals for the voyage, and a con-
tract was entered into with Messrs. Randall and Co.,
a highly respectable firm at Queenhithe, for
that purpose. Messrs. Randall afterwards made an
agreement with four persons,—Charlton, Buck, Read,
and Kelly, to load the Trident with 461 tons of coals.
Charlton and Buck were to take the starboard side
of the ship, and Kelly and Read the larboard. The
starboard men, 36 in number, had been paid their
wages, but the larboard men had not, and he would
shortly explain the reason why. Read, who now
stood before the Magistrate, and who, he understood,
was a very worthy man, and had seen better days,
unfortunately for himself, and unluckily for the men
who were collected by Allan Spiers, had entered into
partnership with Kelly in this transaction, and on
Saturday last, the day the work was finished, Kelly
waited upon Messrs. Randall, the coalmerchants, and
received the money, 321., and had since refused to
pay the men for their labour. Mr. Read's house had
been since beset, both night and day, by the deluded
men, who were clamourous for their money and had
threatened him with personal violence. On one oc-
casion the men surrounded Mr. Read's dwelling, and
declared they would drag his furniture out of the
house and burn it, and tear him to pieces, if the
money was not forthcoming ; and he was now in
bodily fear, and apprehensive that he should be at-
tacked in the streets if something was not done to
pacify the men. Mr. Read would most willingly pay
the men if it were in his power, but he had no funds,
and Kelly had not only deprived the men of their
hard earnings, but had prevented Mr. Read from de-
riving any profit by the transaction.
Mr. BALLANTINE said, he should never hear the
last of Mr. Kelly, and asked where he was to be
found ?
Mr. Pelham replied, in the Queen's Bench Prison.
It was necessary he should state that there was but
little chance of obtaining any money from Kelly, who
had lately been released from Whitecross-street
Prison, and was again arrested on his way to that
Court to answer two summonses issued against him
in reference to this particular case. He knew there
were considerable difficulties in the way of prosecut-
ing Kelly, but he hoped the Magistrate would in-
terfere.
Mr. BALLANTINE said that Mr. Pelham had stated
more difficulties than he could well get over ; Kelly
and Read had employed the men, and were both
liable, and, however much he might regret the situa-
tion Mr. Read was placed in by the alleged defalca-
tion of Kelly, if any one applied for a summons
against Read he must grant it, and if he did not
obey the order made upon him, the Magistrate would
enforce the order by a levy on his goods if he had any,
and if he had no goods he would be committed to
prison. _ _

Mr. Read said he was most anxious to pay the men,
but he had got no money.
Mr. BALLANTINE--YOU will be obliged to pay
them if they apply to me for summonses, and you
must settle the matter with Kelly in the best way
you can.
Allan Spiers, a remarkably tall good-humoured
Irishman, said he engaged the men for Kelly and
Read at 3s. 6d. per day each, and they had been de-
manding payment of him, but nothing but good
words could he give them.

Mr. Pelham said, in point of law, Spiers appeared
to be the only person liable to pay the men for putting
the coals on board, as be had actually employed them
by desire of Kelly and Read. He was much afraid
there would be a good deal of rioting, and that Mr.
Read would be attacked and his property destroyed,
if the men were not paid.
Mr. BALLINTINE—There must be nothing of that,
or the men will lose their liberty as well as their
money. I cannot interfere in the case in the shape
in which it now presents itself. Read had better find
the money, if possible, and pay these poor men. He
will have his remedy against Kelly afterwards. In
the meantime, the peace must be kept, and Mr. Read
must not be made uncomfortable.

Spiers said he would do all in his power to keep the
men quiet, and said, it was with difficulty they were
restrained from taking vengeance on Kelly on Satur-
day night, when they found he had kept the money.
Mr. C. Randall, the coal merchant, subsequently
appeared before the Magistrate, and said, he under-
stood his name had been mentioned in the case of the
Trident, and he begged distinctly to state he had paid
the contractors for loading the ship with coals directly
the work was done, and one man had absconded with
321. of the money.
Mr. BALLANTINE said, there was no imputation on
the character of Mr. Randall or his partners, and he
had heard nothing to their prejudice. He had already
said he could not interfere in the matter.

THE LATE MURDER IN WHITE-
CROSS-STREET.
ADJOURNED INQUEST.
(Continued from onr Afternoon Edition of yesterday.)
John Rice sworn—l am a journeyman shoemaker
in the employmentof the prisoner,Aleaghan, and I was
spending the Sunday evening in the house of Mr.
Perry, who lives in Playhouse-yard, nearly opposite
to Regan's house. About ten o'clock I heard Ca-
therine Singleton call out to Jeremiah Regan,
" Jerry, Jerry," three or four times. I went out and
asked her what the matter was, and she told me to
go to Michael Meaghaa's, and I would see what was
the matter. I went there as quickly as possible, and
seeing Mrs. Cotter I asked what was the matter. She
said, "Go in and see." I went in, and saw the de-
ceased lying behind the counter, bleeding. When he
saw me he held up his hand, and said, " Jack, you
are a man I respect, the last man I'll speak to in this
world; I'm done," or "I'm no more," I am not
sure which. I said, " For God's sake, Tom, tell me
who did it," but he could return me no answer. He
took his hand from mine, and put it to his breast, from
which the blood was flowing.
By the CORONER—There was no intimacy between
the deceased and Catherine Singleton, more than
perhaps joking when they met each other in the shop,
and no liberties were ever to my knowledge taken by
deceased with Mrs. Meaghan. I have been ac-
quainted with Leary for two years, and he was
quite sound in his mind. I know of no quarrel be-
tween him and Meaghan. I could not find Catherine
Singleton afterwards, and have only seen her when
at the bar in Worship-street.
Frederick Wright, surgeon, of Whitecross-street,
said, that he was called in to the deceased about half-
past ten o'clock on Sunday night, and found him
lying on the floor, bleeding profusely from a wound
just above the nipple of the right breast. It was
rather more than two inches in length, such as
would have been made by the knife found beside
him. He was too far gone to speak, and all pulsation
had ceased at his heart. Witness did not think it
possible, judging front the post mortem examination,
that the deceased could have inflicted such a wound
upon himself, because it was so near the side that his
own arm would not have had muscular power suffi-
cient to force the knife into the chest through the
right lung and through the auricle of the heart.
Edward Wallis, police-constable, 218 G, said that
he was on duty at the station-house on Monday, and
was ordered by the Inspector to take Meaghan to
Worship-street. When on the way there he (pri-
soner) said " Oh, the liquor ; oh, the liquor ; it has
caused me_ to be here. The man that is dead, that is
stabbed, was lushing with me all day on Saturday,
and we were both at a christening on Sunday, and
when we left it we both went to the Green Man in
Whitecross-street, and we had a good deal of rum ;
and when we went home we had a few worth, and
that was how it was done. What I have donel am
sorry for, but it is too late to call it back, and I must
abide by the consequences." He said again—" It was
the liquor caused me to do it." He was quite sober
when making this confession.
Thomas Ellis, police-sergeant, 7 G division, said
that the man, Michael Meaghan, came to the station-
house in Featherstone-street, about half-past two on
Monday morning, and gave himself into custody,
saying, "I have heard Tom Leary is dead, and that
the police are after me, but I know nothing about it."
There was no appearance of blood upon his clothes or
person.

Sergeant Beaumont, 11 G, took Mrs. Meaghan into
custody at her own house.
John Clarinbold, 160 G, assisted last witness in
taking Mrs. Meaghan, when she said," Oh, Lord, what
shall I do; if they split this will be a hanging job."
The CORONER explained to the Jury at great length
what constituted manslaughter, and what wilful mur-
der ; and he cited a number of cases from the criminal
records in illustration of his remarks. He thought
there could he no difficulty in the case of the male
prisoner of arriving at a just conclusion ; but if they
thought the females were not a party to the murder,
they could in that case record a verdict against Michael
Meaghan only.