The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1847-10-05 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

STEANGE DEATII.—A very melancholy sensation has been created in the parish of Cairney (Aberdeenshire) and neighbourhood by the death of a woman under the following circumstances. She had been attending as sick nurse, on a young man suffering under malignant scarlet fever, and, in wiping the face of the sufferer, some of the purulent matter from his mouth came in contact with a pinscratch on her hand. Her arm almost instantly became inflamed, and she was soon in an agony of extreme suffering and fever. Everything that medical skill could suggest was tried to stay the progress of mortification, but in vain. After some little time the arm was amputated ; even this failed, and after a few more days of great distress the woman died.  On Thursday night, the extensive farm-yard of Mr. John Cannicott, of Stebia, near Ilminster, was the scene of an alarming conflagration. Besides the destruction of the stables, barns, stalls, piggeries, washhouse, harness room (with all its contents), and gig-house, there were about 300 bushels of old wheat in Jags, and upwards of 2,000 bushels of new wheat in stack, consumed ; also 25 tons of excellent hay, a rick of straw, and a quantity of wood, with a chaff-cutter, all the dairy utensils, and a great part of the household furniture. A valuable hackneylorse was burnt to death. Report states the estimated loss to be about £2,000, while the insurance effected in the Sun-office amounts only to £1,500. The fire evidently commenced at or rear the stable, and suspicion is afloat that it was a wilful act. An article in the Times of the 28th ult. is very facetious about restoring the old exploded law of wager of battle, in order that the murdered men in Ireland may have a chance shot with their assassins • but it does not tell us how assassins are to he compelled to take their share in the duello. It blunders on the very threshold of the article, by stating the cause of the repeal of the law, in a prisoner refusing to plead, and his attorney claiming the privilege of wager of battle. The case causing the repeal of the law, was that of Abraham Thornton, who was acquitted on a charge of the murder of Mary Ashford, and brought up for a second trial, for the same offence, on new evidence. It was on the peculiar case of the second trial that his attorney discovered he privilege of the prisoner, in claiming to fall back on the ordeal of battle. At the Central Criminal Court, on Tuesday week, John Bull, an " agent," was tried for obtaining by false pretences a bill of exchange for £2OO from John Alexander. Alexander was a draper in Kelso, he answered an advertisement offering to lend money ;. and sent a bill for £2OO to Bull to be discounted in London. The bill had been accepted in the Scotch method, Alexander writing his name under that of the drawer : the agent wrote to him that he could not negociate such a bill in England ; and induced Alexander to forward another £2OO bill. The Scotchman got no money ; and he discovered that the second bill was obtained from him by a false pretence, for . Bull had endeavoured to negotiate the first. The " agent" was found guilty, and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years, with hard labour.