The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-07-23 00:00:00

MR. O'CONNELL

(From the Dublin Evening Mail.)
The " most incomprehensible of all imaginable vaga-
bonds," not satisfied with turning an anti-repealer—Mr.
Corbally, the brother-in-law of Lord Fingall, one of the
lords of the bed-chamber—out of the representation of
Meath, is proceeding in a similar way to oust Mr. Standish
Barry from Cork, because that gentleman is opposed to the
ruinous measure of repealing the corn laws. It will be seen
that Mr. O'Connell, not content with the representation of
Meath, has been flirting with Clare, and coquetting with Li-
merick, and, finally, is offering his hand to the county of
Cork; has been proposed by the very Mr. Barry whom he
has driven from the hustings—by the very Mr. Barry, who
last year, declared his intentions of accepting the Chiltern
Hundreds, and retiring from parliament, rather than be a
party to the ruin of his country, by the destruction of her
agricultural interests !

Some appear to think that Mr. O'Connell is actuated in
his present mode of proceeding by mere motives of vanity—
his pride leading him to prove that neither his influence nor
his popularity has decreased in consequence of his late de-
feats, and that constituencies are still open for his reception ;
and secondly, his ambition urgink him to represent the
largest constituency in this part of the kingdom—the York-
shire of Ireland.

The friends of Mr. O'Connell, finding the outcry raised
against him, for his conduct towards the late member for
Meath, of so strong and angry a nature, endeavour to miti-
gate public indignation, by alleging that his object in ac-
cepting the representation of Cork, is with a view of enabling
Mr. Corbally to fall back upon his former constituency, and
thereby make some reparation for the grievous wrong and
the gross insult he has inflicted upon that gentleman and
his ill-used relative, the Earl of Fingall.
We do not concur in these views.

Mr. O'Connell, it is true, has expelled an anti -repealer
from Meath, and is about to eject a supporter of the corn
laws from Cork. Mr. O'Connell, it is true, by being the
elected representative of two counties, deprives the present
ministry and his own party of one vote, when their very ex-
istence is at stake, and he is too much of a patriot and too
little of a traitor to subject himself to such o'loquy as a line
of policy so treacherous would expose him to, if he had not
some great personal object to achieve.
Now we think we can plead—and with truth—this : the
actuating motive of his public life. Mr. O'Connell will en-
ter Parliament with the nomination of a county seat in his
possession, ready to be disposed of to the "-highest and
fairest bidder." A " safer speculation" never was available
since the day Raphael embarked his " thousand—say a
thousand" for tae representation of Carlow. There be Ca-
binet Ministers, Lords of the Treasury, secretaries, and pay-
masters, all discarded by the constituencies to which they
made their appeals—Who'll buy ?—Who'll buy ?
Meath will be unrepresented—her electors disfranchised
for three weeks at the least, after the assembling of the new
parliament. What cares Mr. O'Connell for that? There
are Lords Morpeth and Howiek, and Mr. Stanley, the
whipper-in, and many other men with influence and with
money, without the possibility of procuring a seat. Who
bids? Who'll buy?
_ _ _

Men of Meath one of these will be thrust upon you, and
Mr. O'Connell is the very man who can give you the why
and the wherefore. He is a man of CON-sr-DE-RA-i'ION.

THE HUMOURS OF AN IRISH ELECTION,

The following sketch of the proceedings which took place
at the nomination for Mallow affords a pleasant idea of the
spirit which prevails at election contests in Ireland :
A charge of a breach of faith having been made by the
priests against Mr. Longfield and his agents, in bringing his
friends into the Court House before twelve o'clock, which
allegation was denied by the latter, and a scene of great con-
fusion having been thereby created, Father Collins leaped on
the hustings, clapping his hands, and attempted to make a
speech, but was met with cries that he was no elector ; a
scene here ensued between his reverence, who was backed
by about twenty other priests, and a number of conservative
gentlemen who occupied one of the galleries, his reverence
apparently abusing them, while they were shouting him
down. At length we heard him say, "We are able to give
you a leathering, anyway !" which was met with hisses.
Father M'Carthy, an athletic man, then rushed forward,
and, with the most violent gestures, screamed out, " That
shows you what a shout the bloodhounds would give when
rushing to the slaughter of Roman Catholics."
Mr. R. Winn—l reply to Father M`Carthy, that we are
not the bloodhounds, but he and his party are the blood-
hounds—thirsty bloodhounds—seeking for the slaughter of
Protestants. Every act of theirs proves who the bloodhound s
are. Some of his brawlers I was obliged to swear my life
against—two dogs—one Thomas Roe, a half-pay officer, and
the other James Mahony, the attorney—(awful yelling, in
the midst of which a number of the radical lads were threat-
ening violence to Mr. Winn, but he stood undaunted by
their threats).
Father Collins—Hear him.

Mr. Winn—l fling in your teeth the foul charge.
Here again the tumult prevented our catching what oc-
curred, and all we can say is, that Father M'Carthy was
reaching towards Mr. Winn shaking his clenched fist at him,
as also was Father Collins.

Father M'Carthy—Come on here, come on here, and see
what you'll _

Mr: Winn—l know you thirst for my blood—(yells).
Father Collins—Oh, you dog, you
Mr. Dan Clanchy—For God's sake, let's have good hu-
mour—(yells).

Mr. E. Foot—Act like Mallow boys—act as I always
knew you to act—(yells).

Fattier M`Carthi—Mie will never forget the malignity of a
party that has trampled on us. (Yells.)
Dr. Linehane here said something which we did not catch,
when a rubicund-face priest cried out " Bravo, big loaf," a
pet name the lusty physician had got from his friends the mob.
Counsellor Longfield—Before the court is opened, I ask
Father Collins, will he get a hearing for Mr. Longfield and
his friends ?

Father Collins—l will not suppress public feeling.
Counsellor Longfield—Will you exert yourself to do it ?
Father Collins—l will not be servant to the antagonist
party. (Tells.)

Counsellor Longfield—lt seems a fair proposition to some
of you, but you, Father Collins, may act as you please.
Father Collins—l never did anything, nor ever will, to
suppress public feeling. (Hisses.)
Counsellor Longfield—We do not want you to suppress
public feeling but to suppress outrage.
Father Collins—You are mere things of clay ; you have no
souls ; you are mere two-legged animals to whom nature by
mistake gave the human form. (Shouting.)
Father Collins then cried out to open the court, and let in
the people, when another priest ran out into the street, and
told the mob, which amounted to from 20,000 to 30,000
people, that the tories had taken possession of the left-hand
gallery, and for them to rush up the stairs, break in the door,
and throw them over. Immediately on the doors being
opened, the rush that was made into the building shook the
stoutest heart, and even made the priests quake for their
safety, though in the hands of their own party ; every gen-
tleman in the body of the court was forced from his place,
and closely jammed round by the mob. Father Collins then
endeavoured to mount above the rest, and waving a white
handkerchief called for a cheer for the people, which was
responded to, and a groan for the tories, which was answered
by a howl the most ferocious that could be imagined, in
which they had been instructed parochially during the last
three weeks. Now the attack commenced on the door of
the gallery, in which the conservatives were, which was de-
fended from within for some time amidst yells from the mob
in the body of the building to " tear the guts out of the
orangemen ;" at length the door was shivered to pieces
by sledging it with stones on the outside, and the breach was
defended from within for a few minutes, until the ruffians,
being over numerous for the small band that tried to oppose
them, and being evidently determined on slaughter, the con-
servatives had to give way, when some of them threw them-
selves from the gallery down to the dense mass below, and
the remainder were flung over the railings. This did not
satisfy the bloodthirsty wretches, who, perceiving that Mr.
Longfield, his proposer, seconder, agents, and friends were
beneath them, mounted the gallery, and leaped on the heads
of those gentlemen, who had no means of escape, as they
were pressed together by the mob surrounding them at all
points. During the scene, the ruffians in the lower part of
the court were yelling on the desperadoes above, amidst
which were to be heard " murder the orangemen,” the cries
of the injured, the screams of those who saw nothing before
them but death, many of whom were Sir Denham's own
friends, and the shouts of Dr. Linehane and Mr. Braddle,
both justices of the peace, to spare the lives of the tories.
Here Mr. Ware, justice of the peace, called upon the stipen-
diary for assistance, to endeavour to protect the lives of
those who were in jeopardy, but the stipendiary was unable to
stir, and the fright he appeared in seemed to make him regret
that he had not taken the precaution he was bound to have
taken ; and there he was in the closely-packed crowd, look-
ing up to Father Collins in the most piteous manner, im-
ploring him to save their lives. It would be very difficult to
supply a precedent for the situation in which the stipendiary
was placed with a troop of dragoons, a very large body of
infantry, and 400 or 500 police under his command ; but with
which, through his indiscretion, he cut off all communica-
tion, and was consequently obliged to beseech the protection
of an electioneering priest, who had at his back a rabble of
20,000 or 30,000 ferocious ruffians, who were engaged in
trampling on and assaulting gentlemen who had assembled
in discharge of their public duty, but to whom the authority
vouchsafed no protection. We say authority, for the military
and the constabulary were not under the surveillance of any
of the local magistrates. Mr. Ware having frequently called
on the stipendiary to save the lives of her Majesty's subjects,
Mr. Smith said that he would get in the police, if he himself
could get out, to which

Fattier Collins replied—Let the people alone—don't at-
tempt to interfere with them ; I know their temper—you are
a stranger. Don't mind what Mr. Ware here says to you.
(Here again the ruffians commenced leaping from the gallery
on the heads of those beneath, and poor Mr. Smith trembled
for his own safety. Quiet, boys; hear me, for my cause—
(awful confusion, the voices of hundreds yelling out " Mur-
der," while Sir Denham and Fathers M`Carthy and Moriarty
scrampled over the shoulders of those in the gallery to en-
deavour to prevent them from leaping down, during which
Father Collins was roaring out to be heard.)
Mr. Ware—The clerk of the peace has been hurt, perhaps
killed. Why doesn't the stipendiary do his duty ?
Mr. Smith—Mr. Collins, Mr. Collins, I have no authority
here ; the seneschal has all the power. (If this were the
fact, the seneschal appeared unconscious of it, for he trem-
bled for his safety, as well as the stipendiary.)
Counsellor Longfield—l call on the seneschal to adjourn
the court.

Father Collins—Never mind that hotheaded man. (Howl-
ing, with cries of " Coffin them !) Boys, quiet. (" Kill
Fitzsimon and Orange Longfield.")

AUSPICIOUS COINCIDENCE.—On Friday last, two Con-
servative members for the county of Dublin, two for the
city, and two for the university, dined with the Conservative
Lord Mayor, a circumstance which has not occurred before,
we believe, since the battle of the Boyne.
A PATRIOTIC ROMAN CATHOLIC.—Mr. Mackay, the re-
speetable Roman catholic barrister of Dublin, has given the
following reasons for voting at thq city of Dublin election
for the conservative candidates, West and Grogan. They
should be printed in letters of gold, in juxtaposition with
the judgment of Sir Michael O'Loghlen, in the case of the
tyrant Earl Fitzwilliam against the Rev. Henry Moore. The
Roman catholics of Ireland may well be proud of such men
as O'Loghlen and Mackay ; they are a credit to the country
which gave them birth --" First--To mark his abhorrence
of the conduct of ministers in perpetrating one of the vilest
and most flagitious jobs ever committed by any ministry—the
appointment of the present Chancellor, thereby saddling this
impoverished country with the payment of £3OOO a year
during his life, for doing literally nothing. Secondly, be-
cause he (Mr. M.) had not patience to listen to persons pro-
fessing liberality, and eternally boasting of their love of
country, who are at the same time avowed advocates for the
repeal of the corn laws—laws which, if repealed, would be the
destruction of this country, a country pre-eminently agri-
cultural, eighty of every hundred of its inhabitants deriving
their support altogether from agriculture. In his (Mr. Mac-
ka 37's) opinion, therefore, such repealers were the worst
enemies of their country, infinitely worse than any Sassenach
that ever trod the Irish shore. Thirdly, he voted as he did
holy
yh be
orders
e rs;
and inse:(:l
to mark his detestation of priestly interference at elections ;
lookedupon the interference of clergymen at elections
to be directly contrary
messengers and promote peace
their solemn declarations on taking
corhesfactobohfneoidlniucgc,ht
he
s they ought to be, the
men, they became, by and good-will among
the
spurned, pests andwit
with
firebrandsthemost
of society. As a Roma'',
indignant contempt, such unchristian.
interference and in-
solent dictation."

WRECK OF THE SHIP SAMPSON, OFF NEW-
FOUNDLAND.

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM A

PASSENGER, WHO SAILED ON BOARD THE SHIP SAMSON,
BOUND TO NEW-YORK FROM LONDON.
" We left Portsmouth on the Ist of May, and had unfa-
vourable winds until the 28th, when the fogs, which had been
thick for live days, became so dense that we could not see our
sails. At six o'clock, being below in our berths, we were
alarmed by the cry of " Breakers a-head !" I immediately
rushed on deck, but the scene I cannot describe. It was too
evident that we must strike, for the ship was hemmed in by
breakers, and at the moment, the fog lifting a little, we saw
land about 700 fathoms distant. This was a joyful sight to
those who had been much frightened. The first shock being.
over, Captain Smith told me to go to a rope and help the sea-
men in launching the boats, and one was immediately sent in
charge of the second mate to discover what sort of place it was,
and if any inhabitants, and while it was gone the ship struck.
This is a sensation which you must feel to comprehend ; the
ship seemed to shake in every board, and the masts tottered.
The Captain ordered one of the men to stand with axe in
hand at the foot of the mizen-mast, and cut immediately he
gave the word, but the ship righted, and by this time the boat
had returned, the second mate stating that the place appeared
to be a rock or island, for they had walked two miles, and it
appeared to be leading them round. The passengers—that
is the women and children—were then landed first, some of
de men, mere children in point of moral courage, almost
crying to be allowed to go in the boat, for the ship kept
striking every five minutes, and it was necessary to hold fast
by something to be enabled to stand on deck. All the pas-
sengers were landed, and had begun to make fires on the
I rock or island, the place being about six miles round, and
having a projecting head, but of which, in consequence of
the thickness of the fog, we could see nothing when we left
the ship. The ladies were all lying on the mattresses which
had been sent on shore for them ; the men were some round
the fires, others straining their eyes to see if they could de-
scry our boat, and when the captain landed, they gave us
three cheers. I shall never forget this scene—the fires were
flaming above the trees, and every minute a tree would fall
into the flames. There now came on a heavy rain, which
soaked me to the skin ; so we lay down on the soft ground,
and were thankful to find ourselves on anything firmer than
water, and I slept well for five hours. But now comes the
most disgraceful scene in the midst of our sufferings. Most
of the crew were"blacks, and the moment we struck, the liquor
was their only object of solicitude. They begged it of the
passengers, whom I entreated not to give it, and got all I
could and threw it overboard. They then went to the
steward's stores and demanded some, but the captain gave
the steward a brace of pistols and desired him to shoot the
first man who broke into the liquor-room : however, they
managed somehow to get enough to make them all drunk,
and in the night they took one oi the boats and got on board
the ship, when they broke open nearly all the passengers'
boxes. Farebrother had advised me to put on my best suit
in case the ship should go down in the night, which I did,
and was fortunate enough to save £5 and my letters, my
little book-box having been overlooked by them, together
with a trunk containing my linen, and some parcels. Poor
Farebrother was cleared completely out, not having been left
so much as a shirt. Captain Smith himself had been robbed
in the night of a case of jewellery and two gold watches,
worth 700 dollars; and one of the cabin ladies (a countess)
lost a case of the same, worth £3OO. The next morning
we were espied by fishermen, who came to our assistance,
and we all re-embarked, the ship having drifted off the
rocks in the night, the fishermen acting as pilots. The
ship had now anchored with seventy fathoms of chain,
which we were obliged to let go, not being able to weigh
it, and we got once more out to sea, steering for Whitehead
Harbour, near Cape Cause. We struck twice again getting
out. Shortly after Captain Smith came to me and said,
" Brown, you see that headland which projects out ? I want
about five volunteers to take a boat and stop on the corner
of that, and make a fire all night, as we shall have to get
round it, which I do not think can be done to-night,
and I shall not trust to the fishermen, and as if I have
a fire there, I shall be enabled to avoid the rocks."
Farebrother and myself accordingly went, and took three
of the steerage passengers (countrymen) with us to chop the
trees, and two seamen. There was a heavy sea, and it rained
incessantly, but we landed at dusk, the two sailors returning
with the boat, leaving us there with a codfish which happened
to be in the boat. We remained till 10 o'clock next morning,
when a fishing-boat took us again on board, Captain Smith
cordially thanking us, telling us we had materially contributed
to save the ship and a cargo worth £70,000 by our fire, for
in the night Mr. Whiting, the mate, saw by our fire that the
ship was steering on a rock, which he had seen in the day,
and mentioned it to the captain, who immediately ordered
an anchor to be let go, and in the morning the mate threw
a biscuit from the deck into the breakers—a narrow escape.
By cutting away the foremast the ship got next day into the
Whitehead harbour, where all the passengers were landed,
and there being only ten houses, and these two or three miles
apart, we had most of us for the first night to sleep in the
woods, the ship being half-full of water. Next night we
slept in a house on the floor, seven of us together, upon some
clothes, for which and some little refreshment, of fish and
potatoes, we paid the sum of two shillings for each of us.
Poor Captain Smith was almost eaten up by the passen-
gers beseeching him to give advice. I had not the heart
to trouble him. But the next day, all the cabin passengers
having gone to Halifax by a schooner which they engaged
themselves, Captain Smith sent for me and Farebrother, and
we were made as comfortable for that night as the cabin
would afford ; for we had not had our clothes off for eight
days, and were wet through almost every day. Here we re-
mained till a brig and a schooner were brought to take us
and the cargo on. Farebrother took his passage in the
schooner, fearful that the news of our misfortune might reach
his wife. I waited for the brig which was to take the re-
maining passengers. We started by the brig on Saturday
morning, with a fair wind for New York, having parted with
Captain Smith, who was obliged to delay in consequence of
the folly of one of the passengers, who had made affidavit
that it was his intention to have wrecked the ship. On Sun-
day morning about 7 o'clock, while in bed, we heard a most
tremendous crash, the women again screaming with alarm,
and on getting on deck found that both topmasts had been
blown away, which compelled us to put about and steer once
more for Halifax, which we reached after beating about for a
week. Several of the passengers now quitted the brig,
having had enough for the present, but I shall sail again to-
night for New York."

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.

YORK—MONDAY, JULY 19.
CROWN SlDE.—(Before Mr. Justice WIGHTMAN.)
AWFUL MURDER.

John Burlington, Henry Nuttall, and Charles Gill were
put to the bar to take their trial upon an indictment which
charged them with the wilful murder of Joseph Cocker, at
Knaresborough, on the 18th day of June last.
Mr. Knowles. assisted by Mr. Martin, conducted the case
on the part of the Crown. Mr. Wilkins defended the pri-
soner Nuttall, and Mr. Newton Burlington and Gill.
The case having been previously appointed for this morn-
ing, the court and all the avenues to it were crowded at an
early hour by persons anxious to hear a trial, the occasion of
which had since its commission created an unusual sensation
in the neighbourhood. The prisoners are all young men, and
when placed at the bar were of rather decent appearance.
Mr. Knowles stated the case to the jury, giving a very
clear as well as concise account of the transaction, and
offered such observations only as seemed necessary to explain
and connect the history of the transaction with the evidence
of the different witnesses, who were all, on the request of one
of the learned counsel for the defence, ordered out of court
until called in to give evidence in the case.

From the evidence of the first witness, Mary Snow, it ap-
peared that the deceased Joseph Cocker kept a public-house
in nearly the centre of the town of Knaresborough, being
situate opposite the market-place. He was 56 or 57 years
old, and lived quite alone, not having either child or servant.
The back window of the deceased's house, which gave light
to the kitchen, looked into a small yard, into which the back
part of the house of the witness's husband also looked, and
into which they had access from the back door. Between
eleven and twelve o'clock of the night of the murder Mrs.
Snow looked into the yard before she went to bed, when she
thought she heard groans as if coming through the window
of the deceased's kitchen. She went to the window, but
not being quite tall enough to see in, took a bucket which
stood in a dust hole, and having mounted upon it looked
through a joint or crack in the shutters ; she then saw three
men in the kitchen, and heard the groans continue. The old
man was raised up against the chimney, and there was a
quantity of blood on the floor. She ran to the front door,
when, on lifting the latch, she found it was fastened. She
then rattled it loudly and cried out " Ha, Cocker, are they
murdering you ?" and then ran back and alarmed her hus-
band, who was asleep in bed. As she was doing this she
heard the front door open, and a noise as if a person or more
rushed out. Her husband came as fast as possible, and took
with him a pistol. They both proceeded to the back window,
and looking through again saw the old man lying on the
ground, two persons standing over him, and a third kneeling
over him, and apparently rifling his pockets. Two of the
persons they could plainly distinguish to be the prisoners
Burlington and Nuttall, but by reason of the other being be-
tween them they could not so well distinguish him, but had
no doubt of his, being the other prisoner.
Henry Snow, the husband of the last witness, corroborated
her testimony so far as it related to him, and swore to the
identity of the prisoners. One of them said, " Shall we take
him to the cellar ?" After he had seen through the shutter
what was before described, he was going to the front door,
when it suddenly opened, and they all rushed out. He fol-
lowed on, and at the end of Synagogue-lae heard some
persons in it talking. One said, " Where shall we go ?" and
another in answer said, " Thou know'st we can't get in."
When Snow saw the prisoners in the house, Gill had a light
jacket on, and Burlington a dark one. He had known them
long before by sight and person, but was not familiar with
their names. After he left the end of Synagogne-lane he
called up Mr. Vickerman, the chief of the police, who ac-
companied them to Cocker's house. They found the old man
lying on the floor in a pool of blood, and there were large
splashes of blood all about the walls of the chimney and the
long settle. His pockets were turned inside out, and a can-
dlestick was standing on the end of the dresser. Vickerman
found a handkerchief on the floor, with which he wiped the
blood from the old man's face and mouth. He still groaned,
and Mr. Beaumont, the surgeon, was sent for, but he died
before that gentleman arrived, which was only a few minutes
after the messenger called him.
In the mean time Mr. Vickerman got together a number
of the most respectable inhabitants of the neighbourhood,
and sent them in all in various directions in pursuit, telling
them to stop every body they found who couid not instantly
give a very satisfactory account of themselves. Vickerman
himself set out on the road to Harrowgate, when, after
about half an hour, a man came riding on horseback' to re-
call him, with the news that the prisoners were taken. He
accordingly returned and received them into !custody, when
Mr. and Mrs. Snow immediately identified them. They
were stripped, and their clothes now produced were marked
in many places profusely with blood, which, when they were
taken was quite fresh. Burlington's hands were literally
caked over with blood. On the person of Gill was found
copper in all sorts of coin to the amount of between three
and four shillings. The next morning when Vickerman
went to Gill's cell to carry his breakfast, Gill said they were
all at the old man's, but that it was Burlington who struck
him on the head with a hammer.
Mr. Beaumont, the surgeon, on being examined as to the
cause of the deceased's death, gave a description of the va-
rious wounds which he received. There was one on the back
of the head four inches long, nearly three inches wide, arid
two deep ; another on the right side of the head, which
nearly severed the rinht ear, and extended to the chin. Either
of these wounds was sufficient to produce death. There were
also five other wounds on the head, beneath each of which
the skull was fractured ; and under one of these was a great
depression of the inner table of the brain. When the de-
ceased was found lying on the ground, a poker, with blood
upon it, was found lying across his legs at one end, andmthre
Beaumontothere nd overtho utghhet f
tehned
won .
nßdf
esowreer?lie
a7seende dbtyh ethbaotdy,
instru-
ment, but on a more elaborate investigation he was of opinion
that the injuries were occasioned btyaninwss trument which
would cut, but not cut clean, such of a hammer.
Mr. Inchbald, who is a grocer and tallow chandler at
wKonrakreedsbwoirtohuhghim, doenpaonseddfftfhoartfivtehe pyearris,soannedrivNasninttahlils
ehmad.
cpolooypeirm,smaeddzieatebleylobnegfionrgetothtishecopnrecmurirs.enescwe.hiehThheerehawdaLa
at
hs emn
tfoo rl
operhapsfori
its,
i xa
nwdeaebk
os
übt ehf
ao
irfe
t. h
eTbhl
and oe cwc ua
sr rfeenucnedinduced
off from the stock and handle part, which was not found. He
as tnedp pfeod u
nd intoth
e priCocker'sso
ne r tshte n h
eri
eg ht before
then.
Thebyo uwte
unine
wo'clock,
after.
In answer to a question from Mr. Wilkins, the witness said

he had never known anything against the prisoner Nuttall
before.

Mr. Wood, the coroner of the jurisdiction where the un-
fortunate deceased died, held an inquest the next day after
the occurrence. All the prisoners were present, and fter the
evidence of the witnesses had been taken, the prisoners were
separately told that they might make any statement they
wished to make, but that if they made any statement it would
be taken down in writing, and given in evidence against them
at the trial. Each of them made and signed a statement.
According to the account by Burlington they had all been
there the night before with the same purpose, but Mr.
Inchbald came in and they went away. On the night of the
18th of June they went again, about nine o'clock, and had 5
pints of ale. They asked for more. The deceased told them
that they had had enough, they had better go home, and he
would not give them any more. That then Nuttall took a
hammer from his pocket, and struck the deceased on the head.
Soon after they heard the door rattle, and heard a woman's
voice, when Nuttall went to the door to see who it was, and
then rushed out and ran away. Nuttall's account was ;that
they were drinking at the public-house, and he went into the
back yard. When he returned the old man was on the ground
and Burlington striking him ; that the blood flew upon him,
and he ran away frightened. They followed him, and afterwards
all three went back, when Gill said the old man was not done
for, and struck him four or five times on the head with the
hammer. They then ran down Synagogue-lane ; one went
down High-street, and another down the back lane. They
got into Danwell's field. They threw the hammer into the
river at a place called Cherrytree Deeps, about 200 yards
above the bridge. Burlington then said he thought they had
better return to the town, which they did, and were all taken
immediately ; but that he (Nuttall) never struck a blow, and
did not know anything about it till it was done.
Gill's statement admitted his being present, but he denied
any participation in the offence, and said be was innocent,
Mr. Wilkins addressed the jury for the prisoner Nuttall in
a very able speech, and dissected the evidence with much
skill, and argued that there was no proof of his having taken
any part in the actual violence against the deceased, and that,
therefore, unless they were satisfied that he was there with
the common purpose on which the others were engaged, he
was entitled to an acquittal at their hands.

Mr. NEWTON, on behalf of the other prisoners, submitted
that there was an evident cause of contention between the
prisoners and the deceased. They wanted more beer, and he
refused to give it. This might have led to contention, and
blows might have ensued, and the death of the deceased
might have been produced in the heat of the struggle, in
which case it would reduce the offence to that of manslaugh-
ter, which was all he asked at their hands.

The learned JUDGE, in summing up the case to the jury,
told them that no circumstances were proved to reduce the
crime to manslaughter, and, with every allowance that could
be made, it did seem to him that it must be murder or
nothing ; and it would, with respect to that crime, be for them
to say whether all, any, or which of the prisoners, if any, were
guilty, and though they ought to exercise the utmost caution,
yet, if they saw no reasonable doubt, they were bound to
discharge their duty with firmness, whatever the conse-
quences might be. There was one caution which he would
give them, namely, not to take the statement of any one of
the prisoners as evidence against the others, but only as evi-
dence against the one who made it. His lordship then mi-
nutely recapitulated the whole of the evidence.
The jury retired for a short time. and returned with a ver-
dict of Guilty of a " Wilful Murder" against all the pri-
soners.

The learned JUDGE then proceeded, with much emotion,
to pass the awful sentence of the law upon them, and shortly,
but with great earnestness, implored them to direct their
prayers to Heaven for mercy in relation to another world,
as he could hold out to them no hope of a remission of their
sentence in this.