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
peculiar to the favoured region of Tipperary, was the leading
evidence for the prosecution put " out of Court." The pri-
soners were acquitted. Among the witnesses called for the
defence was the Rev. Mr. Maher, the parish priest of Toom-
avers, and here follows the reverend gentleman's evidence,
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 of 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 name 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 ; but 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.—I 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.—It was on Sunday he came to my house.
Mr. Scott.—Yes ! and he was attacked afterwards; in
e came to me on Sunday morning and
ask was not
fact, he was murdered that night. (Sensation in court.)
,' t
my Lord, he meantTmeodr.tmlieHe
,CamsosuyarrtLd.-0 if he
attacked, o be attacked.
..
" spoken of."
Court.—And did you speak of him?
Rev. Mr. Maher.—In a general manner ; I made general
observations. I said some people were in the habit of com-
ing forward to swearin matters they knew to be false.
Court.—Did you mention his name at that time?
Rev. Mr. Maher.—I 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 hi the proceedings, the solicitor's bill of
cats, 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 WIIALE.—On Sunday last a whale, 46 feet in length,
was captured in the Moray Frith. The fish was first notcied
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 Kilmuir 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 headed 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
£lO to £5O. It is of the finner or razor-back species, and is
of the following dimensions :—Lenth of the head, 11 feet ;
breadth of the head, 6 feet ; breadth of the tail, 10 feet ; and
the whole length, 46 feet.—lnverness Courier.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.—At the Surrey Sessions,
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 learned counsel said
was not generally known :—On the northern circuit, a few
years ago, a respectable farmer was indicted for the wilful
murder of his niece, to whom he was left executor and guar-
dian. A serious quarrel took place between the uncle and
his ward, and the former was heard to say that his niece would
never live to enjoy her property, although she wanted but a
short period of becoming of age. Shortly after this declara-
tion and quarrel the niece was suddenly missed, and no one
knew what had become of her. Rumours were quickly spread
to the disadvantage of the farmer, until it was at length pub-
licly reported he had murdered his niece for the sake of pos-
sessing himself of her property, and that he had concealed the
body. On his being apprehended on a charge of murder,
various spots of blood were found on his clothes, those being
the garments he was in the habit of wearing. Appearances
went so much against the prisoner that lie was committed for
trial. At the assizes application was made to the judge 4o
postpone the case, on the ground that public indignation was
generally excited against the prisoner that he could not safely
go to trial, and an affidavit was pat in that, if the time was
granted, there was no doubt that the niece would be produced
in court, and that the prisoner was entirely innocent of the
murder. The application was successful, and in the interim
the most strenuous exertions were made on behalf of the

prisoner and hisTrienL to find the niece, but all to no pur-
pose, and the search proved fruitless. The period of the
assizes at length came round, and being unable to produce
tit% niece, the
prisoner, to save his life, resorted to a decep-
tion, the fatal step of which procured his condemnation and
execution within 48 hours after trial. A young lady was pro-
duced in court exactly resembling the supposed murdered
female; her height, age, complexion, hair, and voice, were so
similar that many persons in court, who were acquainted with
the niece, were satisfied she was the same, and some witnes-
ses actually swore to the identity. An intimation, however,
was given to the counsel for the prosecution, that the female
in court was not the niece of the prisoner, but the resemblance
was perfect. By the most skilful cross examination by the
counsel for the prosecution, the artifice was at length detected,
and the jury without hesitation pronounced the fatal verdict
of Guilty. His Lordship,
in passing sentence of death, said
it was impossible the jury could have come to any other con-
clusion, and sentenced the unfortunate man to be executed
on the following Monday. On the scaffold, with his last
breath, the unhappy convict declared his innocence, but the
clergyman rebuked him for hardihood, and the crowd of spec-
tators who had witnessed the execution were satisfied he died
a guilty man. Within two years after the execntion, the niece
actually 'Made her appearance, and claimed the property to
which she was entitled. It appeared that on the day after
the unfortunate quarrel, the niece eloped from her uncle's
house with a stranger to whom she had recently become at-
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.

Jane, Pennington, from Charente and Liverpool, at Whitehaven
Ellen, Roche, sailed from Marseilles for Liverpool 24th March
Peru, Bateson; from Mauritius, at Bristol
WATERFORD, March 29.—The smack Minerva, of Beaumaris,
with her masts hanging over her side, and apparently no person on
person on board, was passed yesterday, off the Smalls
STROMNESS, March 23.—The Isabella, Robertson, from Liver-
pool for Stettin, in turning through Hoy Sound, got on the rocks
near Hellya, but is expected off at high water.
STOREHEDINGE, March 14.—The Amelia, Albrecht, from Danzic
for Liverpool, struck on the Chalk Grounds, near Holtug, 12th
March, but came off after throwing part of her cargo (timber)
overboard, of which 3 balks and 78 pieces of lathwood have been
washed on shore.

LIVERPOOL COTTON MARKET, MARCII 31.
We have had a very general and good inquiry for Cotton
again to-day, and the sales may be estimated at 6000 or 7000
bales, at the full prices of the week. The weekly sales are
again very large, say 56,000 bales : of these speculators have
bought 22,340, and exporters 3400 bales. The market
closes with a steady and firm feeling.

COTTON MARKET, APRIL 1.
The market opened with a fair enquiry for Cotton, and the an-
nouncement of the Great Western's being off the port caused a fe-
verish anxiety to know the intelligence by her as to the extent of
crops. Business seemed almost suspended for an hour, and the
general account of the large receipts at the various shipping ports,
confirming the largest estimate of crop, threw quite a damper upon
the market; and what business was afterwards transacted was
attempted to be done at lower prices, which buyers did not succeed
in accomplishing. The sales were warmly estimated at from 4000
to 6000,200 being American on speculation.

COTTON MARKET, APRIL 3

This morning very few buyers comparatively made their appear.
ance in our market, and when operations commenced it was evi
dently the expectation that holders would submit to lower prices.
For some time this contest was carried on; and, though in some
isolated cases purchases have been made on easier terms, 'tis not
sufficiently general to induce us to quote the market lower. The
feeling is in favour of the buyer, and the arrival of about twenty-
four Cotton laden ships since Friday last will not lighten the pres-
sure. To-days sales are 4000 bales, 500 of them for export.