The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-07-17 00:00:00

INQUEST ON THOMAS HALLIGAN.

Yesterday an inquest was held on the body of Thomas
lalligan, labourer, who was stabbed on. Sunday morning, at
one o'clock, (an account of which is briefly given eisewhere.)
before W, H. Statham, Esq., Deputy Coroner.
James Higham, labourer, (the prisoner) who is in cus-
tody on a charge of stabbing the deceased, is an ill-looking
man, with lowering looks, dressed in a .pnaching snrt of.
velveteen coat. He appeared wholly unconcerned- during
the examination of the witnesses. Ho has, we understaisd,
been tried before for a similar offence.
John Colburn being examined, deposed that he was a
labourer, and worked at the brickfields at Egremout, where
he lived. He came over to Liverpool on Saturday evening
for a pair of boots, and staid in Liverpool, as it was too late
to go back again. He was at Mr. Keevans, the pawnbrokers,
at about ten minutes past ten o'clock, at the top of Coiling-
wood-street, in Scotland-road. In about three quarters of an
hour he went from there to Lane's public-house, corner of
Naylor-street, in Vauxhall-road. He and some of his ac-
quaintances found three men down stairs. Two of the men
with him knew them, and they drank amongst them six
quarts of ale. The deceased was one of the men whom he
met in Vauxhall-road, and helped to drink the ale. They
stopped there till five minutes to 12 o'clock, when the land-
lord told them it was time to go out. The deceased, and a
man named Patrick Moore, came out with him, and they
stood talking in Vauxhall-road. He was not tipsy, and
the other two men were pretty steady. He saw the prisoner,
Higham, cross over from the opposite side of Vauxhall-road
towards where they were standing, and said to them, "Are
you the same men that
you have been before?" lie did not
know which of them he spoke to. One of the other men
gave answer that he was. About half a minute afterwards
he heard the deceased say, " Oh, Lord God, I am stabbed!"
He saw no scuffling before this. The prisoner then ran
away, and he (witness) followed him. The deceased called
out, " He've a knife," meaning that the prisoner bad a knife.
He (witness) went up to the prisoner, and said, " Dont stab
me?" He replied, " serve you the sante as I've served
the other." He tried his best to trip the prisoner, and be fell
down. He thought lie could hold him till he got a police-
man. They had a struggle, and he (witness) fell, and the
prisoner got away from him, and he saw him ruts into the
first coult in Naylor-street. He (witness) got up and saw
Mary Ann Sweeney standing in the street. lie seized hold
of her, and went down the street in search of a policeman,
when three or four young men folloWed her and got the
young woman away from him, and slipped another in her
stead. He then found that blood was running doa n his arm
and down his clothes, anti that he was wounded in his right
arm above the elbow, and he went to the Dispensary. ' He
saw the prisoner afterwards in liridewell, and did not see
Halligan after he cried out he was 'stabbed, untithe saw hhn
dead in the Dispensary. The deceased worked in a soapery.
There was no quarrel between the prisoner and the de-
ceased, to his knowledge He could not tell uhy the 'pri-
soner crossed the street to their party. He would swear the
prisoner was the man who crossed the street, and that at that'
time he wore a whire jacket.
Policeman 155 stated t hat he went to the prisoner's !edgings,
and found a young man there wearing a white jacket, when,
on being questioned, he said belonged to the prisoner, and he
bad lent the prisoner his velveteen coat. The prisoner was
made to try the jacket, and it was found to fit him, 'and was,.
also stained with blood.

Patrick Mande deposed that he worked in MeSsrs.• Bari:Pr
and Morris' soapery, in Paul-street, and lived in Margaret-.
place, Canning-street. The deceased worked in the, same
place, and lived next door but two to mine.,, The deceased
and he left the soapery together a little'afteirtWelock
on Saturday, together with James Curry and (*t other then,
who worked at the same place. They all went to a pnblic;,
house at the corner of Canning-street and Nauxhali;rOad.
They had there some whiskey and ale. :sThei, did not stop -
there above ten minutes, before they alt went tt; John Hamil-
ton's beer-shop in Canning-street, where they had some more
ale. Thee left thereat a little after tearo'clOck:Und Thernas'

Halligan, the deceased, he and another man, whose naine.he
did not know, went to Lane's puhlic-hdose atthe corner 'of
Naylor-street, and had been there abburquarter of an hour
when Colburn and a man named Patric!: Conner:caine in.
They there had some ale and staid till the mistreis•said it was
time to go. They then went into Naylor-street, and he wanted
Thomas Halligan to go Itemise with him. He was capable of
minding himself, but was not sober. The deceased was more
sober than he was. Thomas Halligan, John Colhurn; and be
stood talking together in Vauxhall road, at the corner of Nay-
lor-street. lie (witness) went 'down Tithebarn•street about
ten yards, and stopped to see if the deceased was coming;
when he turned round, he saw him setiflT•with than in a
white jacket. He (witness) went bliekt) and by the'
time he had got up to him he had left off' siGfiling with the
man, and was coming towards him, when he saw the man in
the white jacket run away, and JohnColburn run after him.
The man with the white jacket fell at the corner of Naylor-
street; he (witness) went up to him and gave him two kicks,'
and then left him, and went back to the deceased, and as he
was going he heard a female voice say loud enough to be
heard by the man in the white lacket,—" It was James •
Higham" er "Himes that stabbed the man." The deceased •
was just falling when he (witness) went up to him, and sup-
ported him to the Dispensary. He never spoke a word ex-
cept saying he was stabbed. He asked him if he knew the
man that stabbed him, and he-attempted to speak but could
not. When they got to the Dispensary, the Surgeon said he
could do nothing for him, that he was aying, and he died in
a few minutes while he staid. The prisoner was exactly the
height of the man that had the white jacket on. He did not
see any one come to scuffle with the deceased. He did 'not
know that the prisoner was in Lane's public-house.
Mary Ann Sweeney, a workwoman at Mr. Fletcher's,
colour 'manufacturer, Vauxhall-road. She was parting with
some friends at the top of Naylor-street about 12 o'clock on
Saturday night, when she saw the prisoner, whom she knew
very well, having lived neighbour to him, dressed in a white
jacket, and on his hands and knees, and his hat at a short

distance from him. There were three men stood over him ;
John Colburn wasnne; the prisoner got up with his •hat-in
his hand, and said," chaps, that is nut fair," on which one
of the three men went and gave him a blow, or a kick, and
knocked hini into the middle of the street. One of the three
men then went back to a butcher's shop, near where she first
saw the prisoner, and she saw blood pouring from his left
side, and he said "I'm stabbed; I'm dead." On that she
turned round to Ann Donegan and said, "Oh, James
ams; James Highams," meaning the prisonet. After the
man that was stabbed had walked three or four yards,'he fell
on his knees, and he was carried to the Dispensary John.
Colburn then got hold of her, and was bringing her up • the
steps, but the surgeon would not let them in. She was stand-
ing in Vauxhall-road with Colburn, end his arm was bleeding
very badly, and covered her with blood, and a croWd collected
round her; but her brother rushed amongst the crowd, and
asked what was to do, and got her away. The prisoner H ig hams
had worked in a warehouse about two months back, and she
did not know where he had Worked before. She could not
say whether Highams had been in the habit of wearing a
white jacket, but she saw him in one on Saturday night.
:She thought Ilaude was the third man that was over High-
ams when she first saw him. There was no one near enough
to stab the man that was stabbed except Maude, andColburn,
and the prisoner.
Thomas Clayton,- hammermaa, in• the employment of
Messrs. Forrester, and Co'S. foundry, Vauxhall-road. He
and some of his companions were standing talking at the
corner of Naylor-street, about going to the race course next
morning. It was about twelve o'clock. He heard a scuffle,
and turned round, and saw a man with a white jacket lying
on the flags. Men werestanding Over him, but nobody touched
hint, so long as he lay on the flags, which was about a
minute. He then got up, and was walking away, when a -
man followed him. In the course of two minutes a scuffle.
took place between the two _Men. In a few minutes after,
deceased ran over to a butcher's shop, where there was a gas
light, and he (witness) heard someone say, "-I am stabbed."
He went over to the deceased, and 'assisted- to carry hint to
the North Dispensary. He was bleeding so, that he thought
he would die in the street. He stayed with' him at the Dis-
pensary till he died.
Thomas Pimblet examined, stated, that lie was a porter
living in Heaton-street. and knew the prisoner. They had
been working together for the last three weeks amongst cot.
ton, for Mr. Hyde. He was with him on Saturday night last,
they went home together when they left off work. After get-
ting their tea, they went out to St. John's Market, with Moses
Gott. It might be close unon 10 o'clock when they came
out of the market. They went towards home, and called at
the Cross Keys, in Vauxhall-road, and had two glasses of
of ale each, and left there about eleven o'clock, and went
towards home. He was sober. They were opposite Naylor-
street, and the prisoner went across the street to speak to a
girl he saw there. He turned round for a minute, and on
looking towards him again, saw the prisoner on the flags, and
one or two men kicking him. The prisoner got up and went
down Naylor-street, and he (witness)- went down after him,
and in a short time he found him up in an entry there, and
he (the prisoner) asked him. to change jackets. Before, he
had on a white moleskin jacket. He ( witness) had on the
fustian coat now worn by the r ner, which the prisoner
put on. The prisoner asked him it he would put on his jacket,
and he (witness) said he was not afraid to put it On as he had
done nothing amiss. They then went to the prisoner's house
at the bottom of Regent-street, and_ the prisoner then sadly
wanted him to change jackets for good ; hut he (witness)
said he did .not like to do so till he had asked his wife, and
bid him good night, and moot home with the prisoner's jacket
on. He delivered the jacket to a policeman named John
Bell, about half-past three o'clock on Sunday morning. The
reason he lent the prisoner his coat was, that he said he was
afraid he should get leathered I,tain The prisoner was ra-
ther intoxicated when he left the Cross Keys. The
.prisoner
had told him he was a spinner. Ne had seen hirn working
with cotton with a knife with a blade about two inches long,
and half an inch broad. 4 had rather a sharp point.
John Bell, policeman, deposed• to the jacket the prisoner
now had °Owes the same he received from the last witness on -
Sunday morning, at his house in Heaton-street. He showed
it to the prisoner in Bridewell, where he denied all knowledge
of it.

Mr. John Grant, one of the visiting surgeons of the North
Dispensary deposed, that he was on duty on Saturday night
and Sunday morning last, at the Dispensary. At a little
after twelve o'clock, on Sunday morning, be heard a loud
knocking at the side door, in Freemason's•row, which he im-
mediately opened, and a man, covered with blood, carried by

several persons, who said he was stabbed, was brought in.
The man could not speak. He had him taken into the shop,
and on removing his clothes, he found a %vaund on the lower
part of the abdomen, on the left side, froth which he was
bleeding rather II eely. He immediately placed finger on
the wound, to arrest the further flow of blood, but he died in
about one minute after his clothes had been removed. • No-
thing could be done to save him. He had, that day, examined.
the body of the deeerised, and found two wounds; one on'the
trout of the chest, the o!her on the lower part of theieft side
of the abdomen, about one inch long. The skin and musc:es
were divided, and the external illiac artery halt' cut ;across.
The intestines were uninjured. This wound was the cause of.
death. It appeared 'to have'been inflicted with a knife, such
as is usually carried by sailors The wound on the front of
the chest was of little consequence. He also, about a quarter
of an hour afterwards, dressed The arm of John•Coleburn,
who had received a punctured wound, and be was of opinion
it was inflicted by the same instrument.
The Coroner thought they were now in a situation to close
the case, on the part of the crown, and it was open for the
prisoner to call witnesses, but unless he could call such as
would quite.contradict the evidence against him, it was only
a waste of time.
The prisoner said, at first* he haci,no, witnesses, but after-
wards wished
Moses Gott to be examined on his behalf. The witness
stated, that was a hammerman, in Mr. Vernon's yard, at the
New North Wall. He lodged in the prisoner's house, They
went together from home on Saturday night to thefSross
Keys, and they had two glasses of ale a-piece. They then
went to St. John's Market; from there they -went Lo a pub-
lic house in Hood-street, where they had a glass of ale;
from there they went to the cross Keys again. The prisoner
had three glasses of ale, and be had three gla.sSes, of cider.
They went out or the Cross Keys at shutting up time, and
then came down Vauxhall-road. and there were some girls,
and a young man standing at the top of Naylor-street, and
then the prisoner was knOcked down, and he got up, and was
knocked down again. .Then there were four, men round
g
him, and he held his hands' up to keep them from kicking his
face. The prisoner then shouted out pick my hat up, and he
(witness) was looking for his hat, he (the prisoner) got away
from hint, and he. did not see him for halt an hour. He got
his hat, and he and 'Tomas Pimblet went down Naylor-
street to look for him. He (witness) left Thomas Pimblet,
and ran through Gladstone-street into Freemason's-row.: 1-te
afterwards met the prisoner, and he and Thomas Pirriblet
,had changed their jackets, and he did not ictroW them till
they called him, The ,witness then corroborated, the, .state-
met of Pimblet, abbrit the prisoner wanting'` 'u swap"
jackets.

. The deputy coroner carefully summed up the evidence:
They hail the surgeon's evidence that the' wound was the
,cause of death, and the evidence of Colbu rn. ItVg'very condo-
sive, that the prisoner was the party who had stabbed the de
ceased. They. had also Ann SWeeney calling out the pri-
soner's name, arid there could be no doubt of the reason or it.
And they had the evidence of the surgeon, that the wouns
on Colburn's armwas by a similar instrument. If the jun,
thought that COlburu was sufficiently sober to remark what
Was going on, he Was of, opinion theirgverdict must be wil-
ful murder, for there was malice aforethought in his emir,
across the street, andafterwards thieatening to serve Colburn.
the same.

• The evidence of Maude went to show, that there was a scuf-
fle, and if the jury should be of opinion that the stab was
inflicted during a fight, it (mold be Manslaughter only. On
the whole of the evidence, he thought their verdict ought to
be manslaughter. •
The Jury expressed a wish to, retire at a quarter to nine
o'clock, the inquiry having occupied five hour's and a.balf,
After an absence of a quarter of au hour, they returned and
found the prisoner guilty or " Wilful Murder." ,
The prisoner being cautioned that what he might say
might be brought against him, was asked if be wished to say
anything. Ile said, "they knOcked the down, and I don't
know who it was, but it is false that I used any instrument.
I was knocked down two or three times and kicked. I have
the marks on me now where I was kicked." The prisoner
was then committed to take his trial at the assizes.

The several witnesses were then bound over to give evi-
dence.

A crowd of 600 or 700 people surrounded the office door of
he Coroner, waiting to hear the verdict.

QUARTER SESSIONS.

The business of these Sessions closed on Friday. The
only case of any interest which occupied the court on that
day was the following:—

CHARGE OF ASSAULT.
kel‘t,fru.-jasoniantdhiteracnSpinks,
1 forassaulting
throwing a- tea-kettle full of boiling water upon hint, and
if tlte Blacka man Bull
nan Hotel, teßlrindlßßYlTlar-
e,
by
thereby scalding him and doing him great bodily injury.
The prosecutor, James'Britutle; said that, on the 26th of
January last. he went into the house of the defendant and
called tor a glass of whiskey, and when he was served with
it he said to the defendant, "How do you do? can you play
at dice to-day?" The defendant asked, " Did vou ever see
me play at dice?" and Brindle said he had,. on which Spinks
called 'him a liar, atsd on the assertion being repeated, he
added that Brindle was a " G—d d—d liar." The defen_
dant then Went out, and the prosecutor seated himself in the
bar. During the time he was sit;ing• there, the defendant
went backwards and forwards, and at length he took a poker
and knocked off the lid of a kettle, and then taking the kettle
in his hand, he poured its contents upon the prosecutor's leg.
The prosecutor became frantic with pain, but he was never-
thelesiforeibly thrust out of the house by the defendant, who
jumped upon his hat, which fell ofi in the struggle.
In cririSsexamination, the prosecutot said it was about
;half-past one o'clock in the day when the assault was com-
mitted; that he was perfectly sober. having only drank one
glass of ale before the glass of whiskey which he called for
-at the house of the defendant. The \ale he drank at the
house of a person named Thornton, whom he hod not asked
to accompany him to Spinks's, nor had Thornton refused to
accompany him, refusing to be seen in the streets with
drunken man.
A surgeon was called to prove that the prosecutor came to
his surges yon the day mentioned with scalded legs, and thee •
he was tinder medn!aiticatinent several weeks.
In cross-:examination, he said he apprehended that.snOrti-
ficalion would supervene, owing to the state of the prose Cu-
- haY, liehtivinit been much addicted to his glass.
In contradiction to the prosecutor, and never was case so
unequivocally contradicted,
Mr. and'Mrs: Thornton were called, and proved that the
prosecutor was at their house, as he had stated, about twelve,
o'clock on the day its question, but instead of being;
r.ts lie had sworn, they said he was very drunk and•noisy,l--,4
• Mrs. Thornton' stated that the prosecutor -had very_ nearly
fallen into the fire at their house, and, but for her savirsi
him, he would have done so. It was not true, as he:.hail•
stated, that tie lied only a glass of ale there, for he drank ONO'.
glasses of whiskey, and 1111 ale at all; and Mr. Thornton
stated that the prosecutor did ask him to accompanylim.,4,„
woars
the time of the
Spinks's, but /re refused,--not wishiug‘to be 'seell'Avith.l
in such a state of drunkenness:
re from. one
mini: and
Mr. Hilt, a coach-pruprietor, and anotherivittNls;
ed
Roberts, who were in Mr. Spinks's house at the
twl'iaast'cirhees silt7gd sienc"firtol
accident,noisy, a
u dptrhoavet
he
seat to another and fell in the attempt
with his arm as he it falling, and knoei:csrtlr.iking the - kettle
Mr. Spinks at the time being its another it upon himslf;
They also stated that it was not true that
tartth of the- hotase-,y
was immediately thrust out of the house withoute. VrcksCe34°l' or assistance, for that Miss and Mr., silinks sympathi'
prosecutor's shoes and stockings to examine took oft' thy
parts, which did not then appear much injured; and thesealde r
pro-
secutor, too, was allowed to remain, disturbing, the comp,
until they complained of his conduct, and then he wraTanY'
desired to go.away, and ultimately put out, but-with no
moi
force or violence than was necessary. The prosecutor wae's..
flatly contradicted on many other points by the witness Ro
berts; other witnesses would have been cal;ect but the cocourt
did not deem it necessary; and it is scarcely necessary to
add that the jury acquitted the defendant.
Mr. Venables, the barrister, conducted the case, and Mr.
Murphy and Mr. Preston defended it. As the case proceeded,
so disgusted was the prosecutor's counsel wills the false ,
charges made against the defendant, that he would frequently
have thrown up his brief, but was prevented by the attorney
for the prosecution, Mr. Jones.

ST. SWITIIIN'S DAY.—The watery saint sustained his
character on Sunday, a smart shower having fallen between
twelve and one o'clock. The remainder of the day was
beautifully fine. The satirical Churchill mentions the for...
lowing superstitious notions concerning rain on this day
"
" July, to whom, the dog star in her train, -
St. James gives oysters, and St. Swithin rain." Brand, in his " Popular Antiquities," says, I have heard
these lines unon St. Swithin's day : .
" Si. Swithin's day, if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain :
St. Swithin's day, if thou be fair,
For forty days 'twill rain na mair." • •
MOST WANTON OUTRAGE NEAR' ST. HELEN'S.—Oh Mbh-
day last, a young man, named Reece Rigby, went to tlre-eit,"
gine-house at. one of the collieries of Thomas Caldwell,
called Burton-head Colliery, between one and two o'clock, •
and in the most wanton manner.produced the death of two
.
persons, and injured third It appears that the engineer,
a person named Hilton, bad left the 'spot to fetch a wisket of
coals to feed the furnace, when Rigby, in reply tattle BankT-
man, who told him not to touch the engine, said be could
work it as well as the engineer. The banksman lighted his •
pipe and went away; Rigby remained behind, and immedi-
ately turned on the steam in its full power. The engine, of
course, began at a rapid rate, and drew up a bas-ket-in which
four persons had placed themselves, for the purpose of being
brought to the surface. The engineer was called on to stop'
the engine, but, before he could do so, the basket was carried "
at a fearful speed over the head-geering, and three of the four
were precipitated with violence to the ground. One, a mar-
ried man, named Robert Ruflley, who has left a pregnant
wife, was killed on the spot; another had his arm broken ;
and the third fortunately escaped unhurt. A boy, about ten
years of age, name Peery Addamson, however, met with a
dreadful death. On perceiving the danger, be attempted to
leap from the basket,- and fell down the pit, a depth of neatly
one hundred yards, and was dashed to pieces. The poor boy's..
head Was severed in two, and his brains scattered utiont, and
every bone was broken. The body was brought up in a sheet,
dreadfully mangled, and his brains in a basin. -Rigby, against
whom -a warrant was out fur a robbery, immediately ab
mOn Tuesday-
minded, and has not yet been apprehended:-
last, an inquest was held by John Ileves, Esq:','lrnd a respee-
tabie jury, on the bodies, and a verdict of 'Manslaughtet"
was returned against both the engineer (Hilton) and Rigby,
The former was committed for trial at the nekt Liverpool
Assizes, and the coroner issued his warrant far the *prehen-
sion of the latter:— IVigansCa.iette.
RIOT AT ST% HELENS.—ATTACK ON TyE PaorestAN't's.
Thursday being the anniversary of the battle of the'Boyne,-
the Protestant 'Association assembled to 'connemerrate it.
About noon they marched in procession, preeded by a hand
and flags, consisting of the Union Tad:, &c., the pat h• 'wear-‘
ing blue and white sashes. On reaching a part of the torso
inhabited by a great body Of the lower class of Irish, as4rnift.
Was given by a gang at a corner of one untie 's(reets
Greenbank, and immediately the attack eotnineneedliv•,*
volley or, stones being thrown at the Protestants.. The-hi:VW
made no resistance, but were proceedin, wheiVolie4f
their body, an old man, named. Peter Finney, a tyiffin.rrdz
testant, residing at Whiston, near Pre:scot. waVkiids'4ed

down with a brickbat. This so exasperated the Pt it
that they turned On their opponents, ankaltbdifith fetV•l7y
number compared with the latter, proved fire stroriger pottyl
A general row was the (S,onseq'uence; the Daniel trt'3eirirelli
and another beet-shop kept by a wonian Mimed o,l3sriefil;
were completely gutted, as well as about half a dezetiet4C-
tages near, occupied by the Irish who had • coirnion'evit,the
attack. Two females were injuredin
and Mrs-. Jennings.- These belonged trittie trsailiintk," A
young female, aopearently in delicate health, went to her
door to witness t he rowovhenshe. was .assailetbbytle, ,Itr+bfein
blood-thirsty. villains, who culled out "that's an grargeman ;
d—n her, kill her;" and certainly were very.o4tt;p4ting
their threats lulu .executhin, for ore of Ahem. thrcitV'a
which laid open her forehead. The coustable '‘VIP' Soon
actively engaged in endeavouring to put'down't e
and after capturing ten men, the most- active in
females, they succeeded fora time at least. It Was. OtPetttitl
that the attack on the Protestants. would be rtneweAgast
night, but we trope it. was not. A considerable amonvite{f
damage was done, the cottages inhabited by tbe assatlaiits
having scarcely a whole pane of glass left, an .entire,w4le ow
frame or any furniture t hat. was not damaged.—
WALKING MATCH ON BROMLEY COMMON or 12
—On Monday afternoon, Molloy, the pedestrian, comp ed
walking n5O miles in six weeks, at•the rote cf ri'and
a quarter for every successive hour. lie appearred-'l,g'?"eliffir
fatigued, and seemed much s;voln, oarticularly atqOncthAP6
and feet, for wart of proper rest. The match car 4101401
on Bromley C,inuaon, and Molloy was prob rs4i
taking any beverage stronger than or cc froe; 1113
strictly adhered to, 'Large sums of money were K
on the result.

. ensi

poettp.

SONNET TO TAGLIONI.

BY C. SWAIN.

In some enchanted valley wert thou born,
Haunt of all lovely visions,—spirits rare,
And nymphs soft-footed as the moonlight air,
Wreathed with tbeirgracefulspells thy natal morn :
One of the oideu Deities of Dance
'Lent thine elysian form its fairy trace;
Thou look's'—and all is instinct with thy grace—
Each movement winged with earthless elegance!
Art thou immortal!—oh, Canova's soul
Was radiant with thy presence,—when his hand
Struck life—as with a new Promethean wand—
in Her who held great Jove's Olympian bowl—
Sylph or the Dance—thy steps harmonious sbew
A Laudon's classic taste—a Lawrence' graceful flow.