The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-12-19 00:00:00

FRIDAY

THE ASHTON MURDER.

Joseph Ratcliffe and Joseph Constantine were charged
with the wilful murder of James Bright, at Ashton-under-
Lyne. The indictment set forth that the said Joseph
Ratcliffe did, on the 14th August, feloniously shoot at
and kill one James Bright, and it further charged Joseph
Constantine with aiding and abetting in the said murder.
The Attorney-General prosecuted, and Messrs. Potlock
and ©vans defended the prisoners. Mr. H. P. Roberts
was solicitor for the prisoners, and Messrs. Hall and Tay..
for for the prosecution.
The prisoners are both young men, and were attired as
the factory operatives of the district in which they reside
usually are. . _

The Attorney-General opened the case by stating that
he should confine himself to a simple narrative of the
events of the night on which the murder was committed.
He showed that, on the 14th of August, a simultaneous
rising of chartists took place at Ashton; that the police-
man Bright, while in the execution of his duty, was
seized in the street by two or three men, by one of whom
he was wounded by a pike, and immediately afterwards
was shot. It would be shown that Ratcliffe and Con-
stantine seized Bright, and that when he said he knew
them, the former ( Ratcliffe) struck him with a pike, and
afterwards fired a pistol at him. After this, Ratcliffe and
Constantine moved off with the mob. Ratcliffe went to a
house and assumed a disguise, and was apprehended on
the 22nd August on board the Ocean Monarch ; he was
then disguised ; he admitted the charge laid to him and
regretted his guilt. Constantine was taken a few days
after. _ _ _

A great mass of evidence wits then given, which ocen-

Dee. ig, li4i.

pied the court the whole day, and at its rising the case
was adjourned.
[The prisoner, Ratcliffe, is a wheelwright ; his master
a Mr. Buckley, of Warrington-street, Ashton—was un-
able to attend the court to testify to his good character,
from severe indisposition. A friend of the prisoner, how-
ever, was provided with a letter which set forth, in the
strongest terms, the uniform good conduct and integrity
of the unfortunate' young man ; who, although frequently
entrusted with sums of money, never betrayed his trust.
Constantine. who is a weaver, has nothing in his appear-
ance indicative of ferocity or brutality.]

SATURDAY.
Mr. PoLLocK made a most brilliant speech in behalf of
the prisoners charged with the Ashton murder, and called
a witness to prove that it was not Ratcliffe who strua
Bright with the pike.
The learned ATTORNEY-GENERAL, at great length, re-
plied. He held it as indisputable that both prisoqrs
were present on the night of the murder ; but was willing
to admit that there was not a general combination among
all the body to murder Bright. Some of the leaders,
however, might have resolved upon it. He W 11.! also
willing to admit, and the jury might take it as relieving
the case, that the shot which killed Bright came from the
higher part of Bentinck-street. Bright at the time stand-
ing below it : and it was a mistake to suppose, as some of
the witnesses had stated, that when shot he was facing
Stamford-street. The Attorney-General carefully con-
trasted the evidence of each witness, and raised the hypo-
thesis that there was every likelihood that Bright had
been fired at twice, once ineffectually by Ratcliffe. Effec-
tual or not, however, his lordship would tell them that
the offence was the same. He was willing, as the evidence
was so slight, to withdraw the case against Constantino
from the attention of the jury.
The learned judge then carefully summed up, and after
an absence from court of about an hour, the jury delivered
a verdict of guilty against Ratcliffe, but with a strong r
commendation to mercy, as Bright did not fall by his
hand. They acquitted Constantine.
His Lordship then put on the black cap, and, after
giving the prisoner some excellent advice as to the folly
and wickedness of the late rebellious proceedings, sew
tenced him to death in the most solemn terms, as follows:
—I have now discharged my duty. May God Almightft
may the holy blessed Saviour, that most worthy Judge of
all, suffer you not to be sent from him. May the Lord
, have mercy on your soul.
His lo- • sentence was painfully interspersed w 4

aship' s ,persea
the sobbing and weeping of a female in court, said to be
the prisoner's wife. The prisoner himself betrayed
scarcely any emotion whatever, and, after addressing s
few words to his solicitor, was removed from the dock.
Whilst the jury were considering their verdict, the lg
chartists, charged with tumultuously assembling at
Ashton-under-Lyne, were placed in the dock, when the
Attorney-General stated that he had determined to pro-
ceed against only eight of the prisoners. The rest wilr
be discharged on finding sureties to keep the peace tb

I two years

Loral

=i.P~.

The Rev,

William Falloon delivered two sermons at
I Skerton, near Lancaster, on Sunday last, for the schools

ALTCAR

in that township

COURSING MEETING.--Thisca meeting me
MOr.
on Thursday and Friday. The Cup was won by ff
Birch,Sh eri Sheriff a
n( Sdi ra
distinguished
Arden's Nimble, the Molyneux Plate by Mr. Webb's
Wrestler, and the Croxteth Purse by Mr. Segar's Lorle.
ThomasHeskceotmh
p, a
nßya,rat.t)
t.
On Wednesday evening, his WotshiP the Mayo!
entertained the Judges, the Earl of .Sefton. the Riga
The leading members of the medical profession in this
town—twenty-six in number—have memorialized the.
Royal College of Surgeons " to receive the certificates ot
attendance from the College of Chemistry, recently estab-
lished here by Dr. Sheridan Muspratt." lied
On Tuesday, the owners of the ship Mahtoree apP
to the magistrates. to claim damage from Frederick Ste
vens, mate of the Jenny Lind, for running into hnd injur-
ing the former vessel. It was shown that the mate, w!ts.
hSeirToLhoels. B.
acting in conformity with the directions of the due%
gateman, and the magistrates referred the case to th

ACCIDENT ON THE RIVER.—About half-past eloyea
o'clock on Friday morning, a flat, having two me r
board, sank off Birkenhead. The wit
board, was wit-
nessed by Captain M'Clure, of the Mersey steam;,
plying between Liverpool and Tranmei e. He iw meenattly

dock committee

took measures to rescue the—MenFro.
situation, and, after considerable exe_tiou, succeeded

. ,
his benevolent design.
at the Mayor's Dinner, on Tuesday week,
DINNER AT THE TOWN HALL.—The Editor of the
LIVERPOOL STANDARD having appealed to us as to trio
comparative correctness of two statements of a transaction.
that the evening passed in perfect harmony and good feel-
ing, and that not the slightest offence was either given or
taken by any gentleman present, so far as we are able to
we beg to say

judge.— Times. Of
WRECK AND Loss OF LlF9.—The brig Ann Pax,
Liverpool, Thomas Lister, master, the Property of Vivi°
and Co., of this town, was driven on shore at Tacumsbane.
county of Wexford, on Wednesday morning. In a short
time she became a total wreck.- Of a crew of ten men bu
three were saved. The master was drowns'. The cargo,
which consisted of fruit, was lying on the beach • and i;
was not expected that anything of value would be saved
from the wreck

.Lav VT vs,
in Liverpool, on the life, character, and writings of 130 F.
M. Luther, the great German reformer. The lecturer is
Dr. S. Lowe, a gentleman well-known to the world 11:3
able writer for a series of the leading journals and periodi-
cals in this country, and as the translator and annotator
of Dr. Olshansin's Commentary on the Gospels. The
lecture, we understand, embraces an examination of the
life and character of Luther, as a man, a father,
a refor
mer, a patriot, and a writer,—points enough to excite the
attention of every Protestant.
EAST INDIA COTTON.—Mr. Hugh Fleming, secretary
of the Manchester Commercial Association, has receisTd
a letter from the East India Company, informing bun
that they have instructed their agent, Mr. 'William Rath-.
bone, of Liverpool, to forward to him 612 bales, four halt
bales. and four bundles of cotton,. from Bombay, per the
lb, - -f the col.

ship Pemberton. This cotton is the produce m
lectorates of Dwarwar, Belgaum, and Khandeish, of the
season of 1846-7, and is to be disposed of in the usual
manner. The larger portion of this consignment consists
of native seed cotton ; but that portion of it which is from
Dwarwar is grown from American seed. The accounts
seem to indicate that this shipment is for the most part of
a superior quality. The previous consignment ofi 620
Dales, all Surat, was disposed of last week at from 3.vd to

34d per lb.
PORTRAIT OF THE LATE LORD GEORGE BEDITINCK.
We have had a further opportunity of examining this
beautiful portrait of the lamented Lord George Bentinck,
now exhibitine at Mr. Grundy's, Postoffiee-place ; and
we must in justice say, that our previous high opinion of
its merits have been more than confirmed. The features
are full of the high intellectual character of the original;
and we almost wonder, as we gaze upon them, that such
a man could either mingle so prominently as he did during
a portion of his life in the exciting scenes of the turf, or
devote himself so sedulously as he did in after years to
the dry statistical details, in the working out of which he
so greatly distinguished himself, to the great benefit of
his country, and the annoyance and discomfiture of tricky..
officials and time-serving opponents. There is a shade of
melancholy spread over his noble countenance, which-
would rather lead us to imagine that it was that of a poet
than of either the daring speculator on the turf or the
4f-devoting sta.+ An etching, tay.

Se.. -..itesrnan -
by Mr. Samuel Reynolds, the celebrated engraver,.-
exhibited by Mr. Grundy ; and, when finished, will form
a memorial and a truthful likeness, which every admirer
of its highminded and chivalrous original will be desirous
of possessing. We may observe that the painting can
only remain at Mr. Grundy's during this day and
to-morrow, and would therefore advise our friends not to
miss the opportunity presented to them.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE,

WHOLESALE RE(

OODS.-OT

ty of property, consi

Police-

tools, house-fittings, &e., was diScovered by t
officers, on the premises of Daniel M'Annally, marine-store
dealer, Regent-street.. Upon some of the instruments
were the names of the persons from whom they had been
stolen. Two or three large concerns in the town, who
had been robbed of tools, were represented in court.
among these were Messrs. Geo. Forresters and Co..
Vauxhall Foundry. Mr. Rushton sentenced him to two
months' imprisoninent, and revoked his license.
Bradley,. 508,
Row BETWEEN POLICEMEN AND SOLDIEB,S--On Fri-
day a corporal and four privates belonging to the 46th
were brought before Mr. Rushton, charged with assault-
ing the. police on the preceding night, in Ri9hmond-rovr.
The military and police bore marks of the violence of the
conflict. From the evidence of Police-constable Job?.
diers jostled, purposely, some gentlemen, and threw thee!,
off the footpath ; they were equally rude to a woman, and
on the officer remonstrating they used bad language, an
reproached. him with being only a common policemar:
it appeared that the corporal and three 501
In Richmond-row they repeated the offence, and then tiaS
police interfered. Several other soldiers, however, hl%
by this time joined the offenders, to the number of fifteen'
The police, too, mustered to the number of eight, and tac
soldiers having undone their belts used them as weapols•
and
reached Rose-hill station, Mr. Superintendent Redin%
pri-
soners. The corporal being the most active,
a regular battle commenced. The alarm having'
turned out with a competent force, and captured the
and thre!JA
ening to use his bayonet, the superintendent knoc.,,,kre
him down. Several gentlemen assisted the police.—.1u
prisoners were committed for trial.

the
MR. N ON . COBDE EDIJCATION.—At a meeting of . -
Lancashire School Association, last week, Mr. Cob
dett
spoke strongly in favour of a State provision for education,
and had, in the course of his remarks, "Although
was a difficulty in agreeing to a plan, in consequencf
some of their very best friends having changed their vie%
on this subject, he was bound to say that he thought ter.:
never was a time when there was so much strength gl °Paste
nion in this country in favour of the principle of St
education as there was at present. It might take.the.c,l!,
rection of the present system, as under Mr. Kay Shuttirlt
worth, or of that which existed in Ireland, or it raigd,
take some other direction ; but of this he was satisfie,,is
from what he saw in parliament last session, and in
country, that a national system we shall have some twrif
or other; aud, therefore, if the Dissenters as a body slies
aloof from national education, and declared thernse
hostile to the principle, or if any considerable section,
the Dissenters maintained that position, he believed Ili;e
they would be found in a false position, and that, not
of their hostility, it would be adopted, but it DAP' —4
nld
be adopted on so broad and liberal a basis 04 Pf 9
with glair co-operatigus" they