The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-06-12 00:00:00

INquEsTop"riu: BODY.

- -
On Friday, at two o'clock, an inquest was. held (the jury
having prev,iiinsly inspected the body) at the Sessions-house,
before I'. F. Curry, Esq., touching the means by which the de-
ceased came by his death. The ticst witness was George
Wharton, a police-olficer, residing in reel. On Monday,
the 9;zli nil lend, about seven in the evening, witness received
information of a fight about to take place in Parliament-street.
Went there, but could not discover any appearance of it. On
making inquiry, witness ascertained that a body -of men had
collected n-esT: the tannery, Went there and saw two men
stripped td the waist. Was accompanied by two officers named
Fish and Ritchie. Told the crowd to go away, and the two men
who were stripped commenced running. Witness took one of
the men into custody; .and was leading hint across the fields,
followed by a part of the crowd. when some one cried out " Oh,
they are murdering Ross Witness had not seen deeeased
previously. On turning round, saw it crowd collected a little
to the left.. of Face- oineore to- -go and
assist deceased,.which'they did. At this: time another officer,
Charters,catne up. There was a cry " Now and Charters
was knockt;,l down by a stick about eighteen inches long. Wit-
ness was struck by the prisoner Connolly. and' the prisoner
whom witness first took was rescued from him. Witness was
so kit.:ked and abused while down ;,s. to be insensible for some
minutes. On recovering, saw a crowd about a hundred yards
off, and Connolly. approaching. The latter was eventually cap,
lured, and taken into custody. •Afterwardsascertained that the
deceased bad been taken to the Infirmary.

•.James M`Whatt,' a police,officet, on-duty in Patk-road
on the night in question. o'Cluek the deceased, who
was witness's- inspector; was there,
.and another officer named
Cowan. The three proceeded. to a field itt the top of Hill-
street, in consequence of information received. A large crowd
of people had assembled.. Saw the prisdnets Patrick Cum-
ming„ Edward Connolly, George M'Carty, James Diming,
and Martin Murphy among the crowd.. The deceased, as also
witness and the other officer, were nressed in the police uniform:
Deceased requested the crowd to disperse, adding that if they
did not do so, he would bring a sufficient force to make them.
The crowd went further into the field, and Cowan, the other
Officer. went for further assistance. While he was away, the
crowd had made a ring, and two tnen stripped for the pn muse
of lighting. Cowan cani, back with some more police-officers.
The men who had stripped commenced fighting. Deceased,
witness, and the other two officers then made one of the men
who had stripped a prisoner. The men had fought two or three
rounds. Witness identified the five prisoners named as pro-
moting and backing the fight. Cumming, the prisoner, had a
stick eighteen inches long—a rough, prepared stick. Saw
Cumming strike the deceased with the stick on the head twice.
Almost immediately, the prisoners Edward Connolly, James
Durning, and Martin Murphy repeatedly struck and kicked the
deceased while he was on the ground. Deceased never got
properly up. Saw Cumming strike and kick the deceased once
or twice. Witness endeayouted to rescue deceased, and was
kicked and struck by several persons in the crowd. Witness
and the other officers were beaten off, and obliged to run away
for assistance, and left deceased among the cww,t Assistance
was procured, when deceased was found lying speechless. The
crowd was still around, and. the officers commenced taking
.prisoners. Witness did not see deceased afterwards. On his
cross-examination by Mr. Davenport, the witness stated that be
did not see the prisoners Macklin and Rutledge amongst the
crowd. - _

'Thomas Threlfall, another police-officer, corroborated the
testimony of the preceeding witnesses. The bludgeon with which
the prisoner Diming struck the deceased two or three times
appeared to be a piece of timber about 14 or 1G inches inlength,
equate and thick. Saw the prisoner Connolly, with a brick in
his hand, kick the deceased whilst he was on the ground.
M'Carthy was amongst the crowd, and cried "Gu on," while
the prisoner Cumming gave witness "the leg" twice. When
witness recovered from being tripped, saw deceased icing on
the ground in a helpless condition. Many persons in the crowd
had bludgeons. Could•aot swear that the prisoners Matklie,
Morland, and Rutledge were amongst the mad. ,
Robert Ritchie, policetnan, deposed to accompaning the de-
ceased and Fish, a police-officer, on the evening of the 28th ult.
to the Tanneries, near Windsor, where a crowd was collected,
and two men fighting. On taking one of theta into custody,
they were followed by a crowd, and a great number of briclis
and stones were thrown—by whom witness could not say. emu
wing, Connolly, Doming, Murphy, James Macklin, and Pat-
rick Morland. all appeared to lie hiking part in the proceedings
or the mob. Witness received a severe blowonut:eet litieeardabwoitulti
a brick: Deceased and Witness were standing
five minutes, when tWelte- or thirty of the unoh,took sticks Tit
t.
of their pockets. Several in the crowd cried "Go it, go it, !"
The prisoner Macklin laid hold of the deceased across the breast,
and kicked his feet from under hint,,uheo he fell. Witness,
the same moment was pinioned, andikm,cked down bye td„,
on the head. When on (the grefilph,e2.or,il called out " Kill
them, murder !" The; e were two Or three lying tie the top or
witness, who drew tip his,bands and knees, when he saw the de-
ceased lying on' his hark bleeding. At that time six or seven
sticks were cutting at hint on ail parts of his body. Saw Mack-
lin, Cumming, Connolly, Murphy, 8: Moreland amongst the
crowd.—This witness was cross •exatnined at some length by Mr.
Davenport on the part of Macklin, but he was positive as to the
fact of the latter being amongst the crowd.
Mr. Nottingham, the house-surgeon of the Infirmary, deposed
to 'rereiving the deceased into that institution on the 'evenin, of
May '2B. He was treated in every way likely to conduce to his
recovery. His death was caused in the opiniou of witness by-
the injuries he had sustained.
,There appearing nu evidence to criminate Rutledge, he was
discharged.
The CoitoXatt then addressed the jury with much deafness,
pointing out to them the demarcation between murder, and man-
slauphter, After reading the, evidence carefully over, and com-
menting on it as he proceeded, the Coroner read some extracts
bearing upon the case from a work which Judge Pattison at the
last assizes had highly eulogised—Russell on Crime. It was
there la id down that a party killing an officer in the discharge
of his public -duty, knowing him; to be arfoffieer, vs as guilty of
murder. The'eVidence proved that the deceased wore the police
unitorm, anti was recognised as a police-officer,—and no doubt
could exist as to the cause of, his death been produced by the
blows he had received. The jury retired, and in a short time
returned with a verdict of "Wilful Mnrder," against James
Macklin, Patrick Cumming, Edward Connolly, James Denting,
and Martin Murphy, as principals; and against George 11PCarty
and Patrick Morland as alders and abettors.
The nrisoners, we believe, areail Irishmen, in the humblest
class of life. .'There is nothing indicative of ferocity or brutality
in their appearance. They alb behaved with remarkable com-
posure, with the exception of Muryhy, who shed tears in apud-
;lig to his wire and four children.

• MPCD VNICS' AND APPRENTICES LIBRA EY.---We learn that
it is the itnentiau of,the committee of the. Mechanics' and Ap-
prentices' err/ to issue a circular, requesting donations of
books frotwgenilemen whos. in looking flyer their libraries, tna,
find•duplica,e works, or old editions. This is a Aleces,ary step,
as the valuable works presented to this useful' and central itbrary
ar its fourdat ion are. by this time worn out.aml 'useless.. A do-
nation of valuable and useful works from dlr. James Lewin
was laid before the ii.urt committee.