Star.
London, England, 1825-08-23 00:00:00

ti:e Vey, he found the ribs broken, and the spleen
I If. :La ; about three pounds ofblooikad sowed from
vlaan ; two of the false Ohs were snapped across
ra:Le: t:lan broken ; a blow or fail would have caused
t• a ai4earauces which he noticed upon the deceased.
knew notihing of the state of the head, as he did
Lot open it.
The prisoner, when called upon for his defence, ap.'
geared again much affected. He at length said that
La never harboured the slighest intention of injuring
Lis dear mother, and that the accident which happened
to her arose out of a scuffle which he had with the wo.
=an Read. Several persons gave him an excellent
character, amongst whom was his late employer, Mr.
Thompson, attorney, with whom he lived seven years.
Mr. Justice BATLIIT summed up the evidence at great
lez3th, and the Jury found the prisoner Guilty of Man-
i:lull:ter, but recommended hins to mercy on account
elm previous good character.
!Ur. Juatice 11::::.ar said he would defer pr.ssit:g sentence until
• nondly.

4 r

CORK, AUGUST Is.

'MAL Or ARTHUR KLUFT! AND THOMAS BOURKE, TOR

THE MURDER OP THE IeRANKi FAMILY.
T:r. Serjearst GOCLD opened the case. He said the two
prisoners at the bar, Artkur Ketlfe and Thomas Bourke,
we:e charged with the murder of three individuals—a
h:.sbancl, his wife, and their son. The transaction oc-
curred on the 9th September, 1823 ; the place at which
i:-Gccurred was called Lisnagourneen, which is situated
kLout two miles from Kildorrey, and was the habita-
tion of the unfortunate Franks'. The circumstances of

thit horrid transaction were already known, in -conse-
c:uer.ce of a prosecution which took place in the spring
cf 1824, when three brothers, named Cremen, were con-
victed. At that Assizes, it was only right to state that
the prisoner Keeffe was in the dock, and that his trial
was postponed at the instance of the Crown. It was
also right to state, that at a certain petiod of that As-
sizes Keeffe expressed his willingness to go to trial. It
was further right to state, that at the last Summer As-
sizes he was ready, and that his trial was farther pest-
_

_paned at the instance of the Crown. Since then circum-
stances came to the knowledge of Government, which
141 to the subsequent arrest of the prisoners who were
now about to be put upon their trial for one of the
mist barbarous murders that every disgraced any
union of the earth. It would appear that Arthur
Keeffe was married to a woman named Kearney, the
daughter of James Kearney, by his first wife.—
ln her right Keeffe had, or asserted, a right to consi-
derable property after the death of Kearney. Kearney
married a second wife, by whom he had children ; and
about the period alluded to, Henry Franks, son of
Thomas Franks, was paying his addresses to cne of
the Miss Kearneys, and his marriage with her was ac-
tually agreed npin. How far the marriage thus con-1
templated interfered with the pretensions of Keeffe, it
was not for him to say, nor for the Jury to consider;
but certain it was, Keeffe had made declarations, from

%thief' it appeared that he conceived his pretensions
were likely to he injured by the proposed marriage.
Property, it was well known, was the great zoom of
crime. To retain and possess that property which is
not our own, has given birth to all varieties of crime.'
The time to which he alluded was fitting, and the in-
s ruments were many and willing. The character of
the Franks' gave facilities which would not be afforded
under other circumstances. They were regarded as
severe landlords to their tenants, and this gave facilities
to those who were disposed to injure them. It would
be for the Jury to consider, but it was very distinctly
stated, that the murder was no sudden thought. On
th? 7th of September, the Sunday preceding the murder,
a meeting was held near Mr. Lowe's house, at which
the murder was determined upon. At that meeting,
it would be proved that Keeffe was present, and con-
curring. The murder being resolved upon, arrange-
ments were made for carrying it into effect. Appoint-
ments were made for meeting in a potatoe-garden, near
the house at Lisnagourneen. It would be necessary
for the Jury to attend particularly, not only to the
place, bat to the hours at which this transaction °c-
entred. Agreeably to the previous resolution, some of
the murderers proceeded to the potatoe-garden, where
others were collected before them. A whistle was then
given, and panics arrived in different directions. After
a time, the party rushed into the house. The family
had dined in their kitchen, and the cloth still re-
mained on the table. This ruffian band instantly
proceeded to effect their sanguinary object, and in a
very short time the whole family was butchered.—
It would be proved, by four different persons, that
Arthur Keeffe was present commanding the party, and
whilst any life remained, crying out, " Boys, do your
duty." He was dressed in a green coat, and held a
.whip in his hand. All the witnesses would depose that
the Captain, whom they called Keeffe, wore a green
coat, and had a whip, and that he never afterwards
was seen in that green coat, although he had frequently
worn it before. There was another minute circum-
stance, Keeffe had a dog of a particular description ;
a policeman who came from Kildorrey, upon hearing
the transaction, saw this dog in a lane near the premises
This of itself was an unimportant circumstance. but
taken with other things it appeared strange, and minute
eitcumstances were often found to elucidate a doubtful
transaction. It would be for the Jury to compare and
consider all the evidence, and to give the case a humane
as well as a firm consideration. As to Bourke, he was
seen by almost all the witnesses. There was a curious
circumstance connected with him. He had a shirt
over his doilies during the transactisn, which he left on
the premises. This shirt the gardener's wife had washed,
and hung on a bush, and in the evening Bout ke was dis-
covered taking the skirt froni`off the bush. He (Mr.
S rjeant Goold) would be glad if the verdict of a Jury
absolved the prisoners, or either of them, from the com-
mission of this horrible crime. lf, on the contrary,
they believed the concurring testimonies of so many
witnesses who had no previous means of concert, and
no motive for fabrication. they would best discharge
their duty to themselves, their country. and their Gear,
try giving a verdict against the persons guilty of this
barbarous murder.
Timothy Sheehan, an approver, deposed that he re-
membered the night of the murder. Being desired to
turn to the dock, and look if any of the persons who
had assembled on that occasion were in it, after a con-
siderable pause he identified Bourke, but he did not, he
said, see any. one else that was present. Witness de-
scribed himself al baring tried to save the Franks, but
as he could not get any assistance he ran back to the
door. The two Cremens were of the party inside, and
, a man was standing near the table, who wore a green
coat, and had a switch or a whip in his hand. Witness
had seen this person at a meeting_ on Sunday, when he
of would know

Wore a Pair of leggings. Being asked if be