The Manchester Examiner. — 1848-04-01 (Manchester, Greater Manchester, England)

DURHAM—On Saturday, at noon, William Thompson forfeited his life on the public scaffold, at the county gaol, Durham, for the murder of a gamekeeper, named John Shirley, in the service of his grace the Duke of Cleveland, at Raby Park. The crime was committed during a fearful conflict, on the morning of the 2nd ult. on his grace's estate; and three prisoners were sent to York Castle for trial, charged with the actual commission of the murder, and the aiding and inciting it. The case came before Mr. Baron Alderson. Wm. Thompson, who inflicted the fatal injury, and Wm. Dawson, were condemned to death; the third, Joseph Oldlield, was acquitted. Dawson's sentence was commuted to transportation for life. The drop was erected on the usual site at an early hour, and crowds kept flocking in from all parts, and taking up commanding positions to view the terrible proceeding. The authorities adopted every, precaution to suppress any tumult, and in addition to the strong body of police on duty near the scaffold, a company of soldiers was brought out. There seemed, however, to, ' be no turbulent movement in contemplation by the populace. Up to a short period of the wretched man's death, he maintained much composure, and paid malted attention to the entreaties of the Rev. Mr. Hamilton, the gaol chaplain. A few minutes before the appointed time the under sheriff and the governor conducted the unhappy creature from his cell-to an adjoining room, where he was pinioned. He evinced the most sincere repentance Twelve o'clock then tolled, and in a few seconds the culprit appeared on the drop and stood under the fatal beam with more than ordinary firmness. The rope and cap were quickly arranged, and in a few moments the platform was dropped, and the wretched being was dangling in the air. In a short time he had almost ceased to exist, and the body, after hanging an hour was cut down, and was interred within the precincts of the prison the same evening. COMMITTAL OF A GANG OFBuRGLARS.—On Tuesday, a gate, of burglars and receivers of stolen goods, who, it is believed; have for years infested the lower part of Essex and the adjoining borders of Suffolk, especially about Halstead, were examined before the county magistrates. The number of the gang in custody amounted to fourteen, some of whom were of respectable connexions, one being a farmer and another a shopkeeper in the town of Halstead. The circumstances which led to the discovery of the gang were these :—Several burglaries having lately been committed in the neighbourhood, a sharp watch was kept upon several suspected characters in the district by the police; and these having been often observed at a beer shop kept by a man named Gooding, it was resolved to search the premises; this was done by order of the magistrates, and various articles of property which had been stolen from different houses broken into were found. The keeper of thehouse wasthen taken into custody, and a man named Bryant was also apprehended. The latter, who was a sort of leader of the gang, then disclosed to the police the whole of their combinations and proceedings, and in particular he named a farmer a short distance off, named Gould, as one of the general receivers. His premises were accordingly searched, and in his house and amongst the stacks and outbuildings in his farmyard a large quantity of stolen property was found. The farmer was accordingly taken into custody. The house of a shopkeeper in the neighbourhood, named Jackson, was also searched on the information of Bryant; there a large bulk of the plunder of the gang was found, and the occupier was captured. Another leader of the robbers, named Edwards, was secured, and as the police pursued their inquiries, which have been going on for the last fortnight, member after member of the gang fell into their hands, till ultimately they had from twelve to fifteen. In four or five cases of burglary the offence was clearly traced to two of the prisoners, Bryant and Edwards, who were committed for trial on the different charges, and much of the property was found in the possession of Gould, the farmer, and Jackson, the shopkeeper; they were also sent for trial as receivers.—Standard.