The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-11-29 00:00:00

THE INQUEST AT SKIBBEREEN.

The Coroner commented briefly on the evidence, and laid
down the law distinctly and fully, as it applied to the finding
of murder, justifiable homicide, or manslaughter.
The jury then retired, at twenty minutes to five, and were
closeted about three quarters of an hour, when the foreman
entered the box, and desired to ask the coroner, did the un-
justifiable firing. of the rear guard on the party in the rear
constitute muruer or manslaughter?
Coroner.—lf they bad fired without any cause, or without
thinking that they had any cause whatever, then you should
return a verdict of murder; but, on the other hand, if they
had formed a presumption, although a wrong one, that there
was a necessity of their firing, then you will bring in a verdict
of justifiable homicide, or manslaughter, just as you conceive
you have a right to do from the whole of the evidence.
Foreman.—Mr. Coroner, there are many young men here
on the jury, and they are anxious to know what will con-
stitute a verdict—whether there must be a majority.
Coroner.—There must be a finding of twelve, but it would
be better to have it unanimous.

The jury then retired, but again entered the box, and re-
quested that the coroner would once more lay down the law,
and in as brief terms as possible. The coroner again laid it
down in almost the same terms as before, upon which the
jury retired as if then satisfied upon the exact point. In the
course of another half hour they returned and declared that
they had come to their verdict. The following is the verdict
in both cases :—" In the case of Michael M'Donnell, we
find that he came by bis death in consequence of a gunshot
wound, fired by some of a party of police, on the lands of
Rha, on the 17th of November, 1842, under the command of
John Gore Jones, Esq., S. M., and we find a verdict of
justifiable homicide, being of opinion that Mr. Jones was
justified in giving that order."
The jury were unanimous in giving the above verdict. The
next was as follows.—" In the case of John Brien, we find
that he came by his death in consequence of a gun-shot wound
fired by one of the party composing the rear-guard under the
command of constable Alexander Heuston, at Rha, on the
17th day of November, 1842; and we find that the said rear-
guard consisted of eight men, viz., Alexander Heuston, John
Kenedy, Richard Magrath, Jeremiah Guerin, Patrick Do-
oughue, Stephen Grady, Patrick Quinn, and Thomas Scott,
and that they are guilty of manslaughter, conceiving that,
under the circumstances, they were not justified in firing on
an unoffending party in the rear."

To this verdict the following sixteen names of jurors were
attached—Daniel M'Carthy, Thomas Henry Marmion,
Richard Coppinger, Daniel Welphy, John Collins, Patrick
Mahony, Patrick Leonard, William Young, James Collins,
Daniel M`Cartie, Richard O'Leary, Edward Fuller, John
Levis, Thomas St. John Clarke, Thomas M'Carthy, and
Ralph Fuller. There were four jurors who agreed to a ver-
dict of justifiable homicide, and two for murder.
Mr. Downing.—Gentlemen, it is my duty to tell you that
I entirely coincide with your verdict, and I say that it is both
a discriminating and a proper one.
Foreman.—We have but endeavoured to discharge our
duty honestly and fairly. But we wish to have one observa-
tion made from this box, and it is this—that we have ever
looked upon this district as one of the most peaceable and
quiet of all Ireland, and did so up to this late melancholy
transaction. We are sorry that bad advice should have been
given to the poor misguided people by persons in a superior
rank of life, and if that mischievous advice had not been re•
ceived by the poor people, we would not now be placed in
our present painful position. This we deem it right to go
before the country. .

CHARGE or MUTINY.—At the Newport (South ;Wales)
Police-office, on the 21st instant, fourteen seamen, belonging
to the ship Royal Albert, of this port, were brought before
the magistrates, charged with mutinous conduct. The vessel
was intended to sail from Liverpool to Newport, thence to
Bermuda, &c., and left this town on the Bth instant for that
purpose: but on the Tuesday following, when the ship was
at Coscomb Bay, the men refused to obey orders, and so
continued, with little intermission, until her arrival at New-
port. The captain deposed to several instances in which the
crew refused to lend a hand to comply with his directions ;
and his statements were corroborated by two pilots and others.
Ten of the men were discharged on forfeiting their wages ;
two were discharged unconditionally ; and two were fined £2,
or he committed for a month.

THE SALE OF ANIMALS AND OTHER PROPERTY AT TILE
ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.—The excellent collection of ani-
mals and other moveable property at the Manchester Zoolo-
gical Gardens were last week brought to the hammer. The
auction was commenced on Wednesday. and continued on
each of the two following days. On the first day there were
about 300 gentlemen present; on the second day upwards of
500; and on Friday also the attendance was exceedingly
good. The whole of the parrots, which were sold the first
day, fetched nearly double the prices that were expected for
them, and in general the bidding for the other birds in the
aviary was exceedingly spirited. The parrots brought prices
varying from £1 to.ts each. There was a spirited compe-
tition for the large boa constrictor, also sold the first day,
and it was ultimately knocked down to Mr. Wombwell, for
20 guineas. The pair of fine blood-hounds, originally from
the collection of Earl Fitzwilliarn, were sold for £6 55., one
of them to Mr. E. T. Grundy, who also was the purchaser
of the love-birds. The pair of wolves and den in which they
were confined, sold the second day, brought £3 ss. Mr.
Candish, broker of Ancoats, was the purchaser. The fine
lion and two lionesses have realised £323 ss. Mr. Titus
bought the lion, for £150; and the two lionesses were bought
by Mr. Wombwell, for 165 guineas. The large Bengal tiger
was knocked down to Mr. Wombwell, for £45. The three
leopards and leopardess fetched £3B. One of the leopards
was bought by Mr. Atkins, of the Liverpool Zoological
Gardens, for £9 ; another, by Mr. Wombwell, for eleven
guineas; and the third, along with the leopardess, by Mr.
Sharpies, of Bolton, for £l7 95.. The two hyaenas were
purchased by Mr. Hulse, for £7. The female puma was
sold to Mr. Herring, for £6 10s. The bears fetched prices
ranging from £3 10s. to £5 each. The fine rhinoceros (the
only one, we believe, in England) sold for 265 guineas, to
Mr. Wombwell. The elephant was knocked down to one of
the directors, on behalf of the company, at 250 guineas, and
was, we understand, the only animal " bought in." The
Bactrian camel was bought by Mr. Fraser, for 32 guineas.
The pelican sold for £7, and the geese on the lakes brought
good priees, averaging nearly £1 a head. The monkeys
averaged from £1 to £2 10s. each. Mr. Sharpies purchased
several, as did also Mr. Herring. On Friday the fixtures
and miscellaneous property were sold, and went off uncom-
monly well. The weighing machine, by Radfords and Wad-
dington, fetched 20 guineas, and most of the other articles
were sold at proportionate prices. The total proceeds of the
sale will be about £1,505, exclusive of the elephant, which
still remains the property of the proprietors.
FATAL AFFRAY ON THE MENDIP HILLS.-011 the 15th
ultimo, three men, named Samuel Britton, (with his son, a
lad,) John Day, and John Angle, went about one o'clock in
the day to the Hunter's Lodge, on Mendip Hills, where
they took some rum and water. A dispute arose between
Angle and a man in the room, which led to a fight, in which
the stranger was worsted. Some time afterwards they left
the house in their carts, and when they had got three or four
hundred yards on their road, the landlord, named Francis
Ashman, with others, came after them, and said they had
not paid all their reckoning, and that they had nearly killed
two men in the house. A dispute arose and led on to an
affray, in which it is not yet proved who was the aggressor,
and which was conducted with terrible violence on both sides.
Oneof the persons acting on the part of Ashman, (a labourer,
named Thomas Stephens,) says, that a man in one of the
carts said to his companions, " D— their eyes, what
do they follow us for ? Let's turn to them." They did so ;
and John Day beat Stephens' companion terribly about the
head. Stephens went and tried to get the stick from this
man, but could not, and they had a struggle close under the
wall: the man there wounded Stephens twice in the head
with a knife. While he was struggling, Henry Rossiter said,
" Don't kill the man," and another man then said, " D—
thy eyes, I'll kill thee." Mr. James Everdale, auctioneer,
of Wells, who was passing before the fight had commenced
in the road, remonstrated with Angle, and while he was doing
so a boy called out, "Go and get the sticks." One of the
men in company with the landlord was then struck with a
heavy stick by Angle, who made his escape. Mr. Everdale
was also struck by the same person, and dropped down in-
sensible. When he recovered he was struck again several
times, but his hat saved him. The affray then became general
and desperate, stones flying in numbers from both parties ;
and Samuel Britton, according to Mr. Everdale, took an
active part in the fight. Mr. Everdale said he believed
Britton was the person who struck him on the head with an
iron cramp. In the fight Britton was knocked down. Every
one was at that time disfigured by the blood flowing from
their heads. Some boys cried out, when Britton fell, " Oh,
don't murder my father." Day and Britton were afterwards
taken to Wells gaol, but they were not examined before the
magistrates, the prosecutor not appearing. In the affray,
Britton, who was forty-five years of age, and lived in Lamb-
street, St. Philips, received a blow on the head from Ashman,
which caused his death there on Tuesday last. An inquest
on his body was held on Wednesday, and by adjournment on
Thursday and Friday, before J. B. Grindon, Esq., at which
the evidence was not only most voluminous but extremely
conflicting. At the close of the proceedings on Friday, Mr.
Grindon told Ashman, who was in custody, that it was for
him to produce evidence that the opposite parties were the
aggressors. Mr. Ashman said, that one witness, George
Millard, could depose to the whole case from beginning to
end ; he had promised to be there that day, but his wife was
confined, which prevented him. Besides this, he had five or
six witnesses who could rebut what had been deposed against
him. Mr. Grindon then said he would adjourn the inquest
till Monday.—Brirtol Journal.
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01)ipptng intelligntre.