The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-04-04 00:00:00

ALTAR HARANGUES

At the Assizes for Nenagh, just concluded, two men named
Michael Larkin and Thomas Gleeson, were indicted for
shooting at, with intent to kill, Patrick Tierney, on the 25th
of February. The tragical fate of Tierney must be fresh in
the memory of the public ; suffice it to say, that he was mur-
dered under circumstances of more than ordinary atrocity,
on the very eve of the late assizes, and thus, by a process
the
gentleman's
a called l e
evidence,
v for
end ic thee
,
peculiar to the favoured region of Tipperary, was the leading
aoevidenceera
w were
er
atchqeapi
trtoesde. Amonghcu
tti: reverend put " out of Court." The pri-
adveefera,
nceaawdashetrhee
fßolelvow. Asir. Maher, the parish priest of Toom-
as reported in the local paper :
The Rev. John Maher, parish priest of Toomavera, was
called on by Mr. Hassard to give the prisoners a character.
The rev. gentleman being sworn was examined.—l know
the prisoners. I know their general character, for I have
been their parish priest these twenty years. I know them
to be peaceable, industrious men. I know them not to be
mixed up in those matters that disturb the country.
Mr. Scott.—ls it a fact that the neighbourhood of your
parish has been disturbed of late?
Rev. Mr. Maher.—l cannot say it is remarkable in the
way of disturbance more than any other place.
Mr. Scott.—Are you in the habit of speaking of people in
your chapel?
Rev. Mr. Maher.—l am not in the habit of speaking of
people by their names. During the time gf the assizes I
coution them to guard against false swearing, for I have
known instances where people have been induced to do so.
Mr. Scott. —Did you ever find it necessary to denounce
the deceased in your chapel ?
Rev. Mr. Maher.—He came to me to know if I had any
notion of making a charge against him with regard to an im-
proper familiarity which he had with a female. I said that
was the first I had heard of it ; hut I told him it was the
general opinion he was swearing falsely against the prisoners.
Mr. Scott.—Do you know yourself that he swore falsely ?
Rev. Mr. Maher.—Only from the general report of the
neighbourhood.

Mr. Scott.—How long before his death did you denounce
him ?

.Rev. Mr. Maher.—l did not mention his name; I had
reason to speak, and I referred to the people in general, and
to him in particular.

To Mr..Scott.—lt was on Sunday he came to my house.
Mr. Scott.—Yes! and he was attacked afterwards; in
fact, he was murdered that night. (Sensation in court.)
To the Court.—He came to me on Sunday morning and
asked me, my Lord, if he was not to be attacked.
Mr. Hassard.—By `attacked,' my Lord, he meant
" spoken of."

Court.—And did you speak of him ?
Rev. Mr. Maher.—ln a general manner ; I made general
observations. I said some people were in the habit of com-
ing forward to swear in matters they knew to be false.
Court.—Did you mention his name at that time?
Rev. Mr. Maher.—l believe I did.

Mr. Scott.—The congregation were in the chapel at the
time ?

Rev. Mr. Maher.---They were

THE OLD AND New BANKRUPT LAW.—In a Case of
bankruptcy, under the old law, when a solicitor had been
summoned to bring in the proceedings, the solicitor's bill of
casts, up to the choice of assignees, which had been paid,
amounted to £125. Under the new law, the solicitor's bill
of costs, up to the choice of trade assignees, scarcely ever
exceeds £23.

A WHALE.—On Sunday last a whale, 46 feet in length,
was captured in the Moray Frith. The fish was first noteied
about 7 o'clock in the morning by the man in charge of the
stake-nut at Kelmuir. It was then floundering and blowing
away on a sandbank, and the man getting out his coble, and
procuring the assistance of two lads in another boat, pro-
ceeded to the spot, armed with an old sword and some such
other lethal weapon. They succeeded in inflicting several
wounds on the whale, who darted hither and thither, now
making for the mouth of the Ness, and again plunging for-
ward towards the opposite side of the frith, till at length he
arose in the vicinity of the boats, and the pursuers, with great
boldness and no little risk, succeeded in fixing a grapnel in
the head of the fish, entering one of the blow-holes. At
this stroke the whale darted off with great velocity, dragging
the boat behind him at a fearful rate. The conflict was not
unobserved, and a rival party now entered the field of action,
determined to share in the glory and gain of the victory.
The Kilrnuir men say, they
had made the fish fast with ropes,
and had it fairly aground, exulting in their prize, when two
large boats, filled with men and beaded by the Craigton
pilot, appeared coming from the westward towards the scene
of action. Their wives and daughters from Craigton village
also arrived by land, and a regular scuffle ensued, which
might have ended seriously had not the Kilmuir people, who
were in the minority prudently given way, but not till several
blows had been struck. The fish is said to be worth from
£4O to £5O. It is of the (inner or razor-back species, and is
of the following dimensions :—Lenth of the head, 11 feet ;
breadth of the head, f;
- feet; breadth of the tail, 10 feet; and
the whole length, 46 feet.—lnverness Courier.

CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE 7 At the Surrey Sessionss
which concluded on Saturday afternoon, Mr. Charnock, who
was engaged to defend a prisoner (the evidence for the pro-
secution entirely resting on circumstantial evidence), said
such evidence was always dangerous to convict on, and cited
the following remarkable case, which the laarned counsel said
was not generally known :—On the northern circuit, a few
years ago, a respectable fanner was indicted for the wilful
murder of his niece, to whom he was left executor and guar-
tached, and had never been heard of until her sudden and un-
expected return, and that she had only by accident heard of
her uncle's execution.