The Express. — 1846-11-17 (London, England)

DONOVAN.—On the occasion of an Orange-Catholic affray in the streets of Bradford, at 'Whitsuntide, 1844, a person was killed ; and a man named Daniel Donovan was tried for the homicide, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced for transportation for life. It was always strongly protested by his friends that Donovan was innocent, and that an alibi could be clearly proved in his favour. When Lord Morpeth was last iu Bradford, evidence on the subject NT2s laid before his lordship, who engaged to bring the case under the consideration of the Heme Secretary. This having been done, Sir George Grey has communicated his decision to Lord Morpeth, in the following letter, bearing date Whitehall, 2nd Nov., 1816: My Lord.—Having had under consideration the application which I hail the honour to receive from yuur lordship in behalf of Daniel Ikmovan, Mho was convicted at York As.iZa. in July, 1514, of man'daughter, and sear:need to be transported for life, 1 beg to acquaint your luril=hip, that, under all the eireunistancas of the care, I bit warr..ated iu taking measurer' for the grant of a pardon to this convict on condition of his not returning to the United Kingdom, should his conduct have been good blue his arrival In Von Diemen's Land. The intelligence has been received with great pleasure by Donovan's friends, and has of course been communicated to his wife and family, who are living at Cork. MR. OASTLER is still agitating the short-time question. One meeting has been reported iu this paper ; a second took place at Halifax, and a third was held on Friday at Bradford. At the last meeting J. Psalm d, Esq., a local magistrate, occupied the chair, and was supported by the Rev. Dr. Scoresby, the vicar of Bradford; Rev. 1%. Randall, and others. The first resolution was That this meeting deeply sympathises with the factory workers of this district, who are compelled to labour in factories for twelve hours per day, which is incompatible with the development of their phrical strength, and the cultivation of their minds." Mr. (tastier, in the co urse of his address tot he meeting, said : We were now told that the factories are better than they wire. So they are, but who have been trying to hinder their improvement all the way. through? '1 here is still much to be done in the way of improvement. Read the evidence given before Stuller's committee, end if the most eminent physicians and surgeons are worthy of being believed, you will find that to work a child more than ten hours a day is to murder that child. The factory system is, therefore, a system of death yet. And, therefore, we can never submit to that system. That the ten hours' system was just did not admit of a doubt ; no one now disputed its justice, and his principle was, whatever the political economist might say, that that which was just would and ought to succeed. He hoped the opponents of the cause would now see that all future opposition was in vain ; that the friends of the Government, who have hitherto thought that the principles of political economy were more stringent than those of Holy Writ, would perceive their mistake ; and that the honest people, with the clergy at their head, must prevail. It was said that the diminution of labour sought would reduce wages one-sixth, but as the mills of England never worked ten hours a day on the average, he could not see how that result could follow. He had stated at Huddersfield, that a certain person who had frequently gone with him to advocate a Ten Hours Bill was now going about the manufacturing districts endeavouring to persuade the workpeople to go for an Eleven Hours Bill. He (Mr. Outlet.) had been told that the person he alluded to was the Rev. Mr. Stevenson. In justice to that man, he begged to say that he was not the person alluded to. A petition was agreed to before the meeting closed.