Glasgow Courier. — 1847-07-01 (Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland)

SHOCKING OUTRAGE AND MURDER AT BARRHEAD. Last Saturday being the annual fair at Barrhead, as is customary all work in the village and neighbourhood was suspended during the afternoon, and amongst the rest the railway navies and workmen engaged in the festivities customary on such occasions. An the evening advanced a large party of the railway workmen, amounting to from 200 to 300, commenced a sort of riotous pro. cession along the streets; and impelled by that rude spirit of combativeness and nationality which all over the world distinguishes Irishmen they made a boast of their prowess, and seemed inclined to throw out defiance to the lieges. With all this no breach of the peace was committed, nor the slightest injury inflicted on any individual, till a little after eleven o'clock, when a stout young man named M'Les, or M`Lean, who had been taking a lead on the head of the navies, and who was a little the worse of liquor, called out that he was stabbed, and in a few minutes afterwards he expired. The deed was, in every sense of the word, done in the dark. No threatening word had been made use of, nor the slightest:appearance of a quarrel manifested. The wounded man was carried away, but a crowd continued about the place, when shortly after two other men, named s,Priaily aol Flanagan, were also both wounded in a similar myilterions manner, and without an individual being able to discover the hand that committed he deed. A little after this, an aged resident of the name of M'Kechnie came to his door, and, on his asking the came of disturbance, a blow from the same fatal and mysterious knife, wag the only answer he received. M'Kechnie was taken into his residence severely wounded, and an individual, unknown to the inmates of the house, showed great activity in assisting his family to shut out the crowd, and bolt the door. The same person even flourished a pair of tongs in defence of M'Kechnie and his family, but in a few minutes after, he broke out at the hack window, and made off. He was dressed with a blue jacket and cap, with white trousers; and suspicion now rests ou him as being the principal perpetrator of the revolting acts which we describe. Another person in the crowd was a short time after stabbed, and slightly wounded,:but this last assault, there is reason to suspect, was not committed by the same individual as the other. On information of this occurrence being communicated to the legal authorities at Paisley, a searching inquiry was set on foot to discover the delinquents. During the greater part of Monday, Mr. Roger, county-fiscal, and Sheriff Glasgow were engaged at Barrhead investigating into the case. A post-mark= inspection of M'Lea, and an examination into the eases of the other wounded men, also took place by Doctors Wylie and M'Kinlay of Paisley, along with the medical gentleman at Barrhead who had first been called in. From all the inquiry that has taken place there I every reason to believe, we understand, that the wounds bad bee„ inflicted by a clasp hunting knife or some similarly shaped weapon" and there is every reason to suspect that in every case the heart had been aimed at, although it was only in the case of M'Lea that the murderer had been 'successful in reaching that vital part. By the latest intelligence from Barrhead and Paisley no trace of the guilty individual had been discovered. M'Lea was about 253 ears of age, of rather a forward and boisterous disposition, and this he had manifested tea conaiderable extent on the evening he was