The Sun. — 1853-04-08 (London, England)

MURD.  ►ER AT SHEFFIELD.  The town of Sheffield haTof late obtained an unenviable notoriety from the commission of deeds of bloodshed and publichouse quarrels. So recently as Easter Tuesday another young man feel a victim to an outrageous affray in a publichouse at Catcliffe, and the perpetrator is now lying in York Castle awaiting his trial. The present case originated in an affray in a publichouse on Sunday evening, the 6th of March, about half-past 11 o'clock. The deceased, Joseph Leadbeater, a tableknifecutter, residing in Dunfields, William Turner, a sawhandle maker, of 27, Radford-street, and a man named Timperley were at the Crown Inn, Scotland-street, drinking in the tap-room, at the time some Irishmen were drinking in the bar. One of the Irishmen broke a pane of glass in the bar window, and they refused to pay for it. In endeavouring to force their way out of the house the landlord and another of the Irishmen broke two other panes. The noise attracted from the taproom the deceased, and Turner and Timperley, and then one of the Irishmen impudently charged Leadbeater with having broken one of the first panes. A watchman was sent for, and, rather than be given into custody, they paid for the broken panes, and went away threatening it should be a " bad job " for the landlord. A few minutes afterwards Turner and the deceased and Timperley went together up Scotland-streot, and, when opposite Scotland-street chapel, the three Irishmen rushed out of Cannon-yard and felled Turner and the deceased with brickbats. The decealed received a fractured skull, and was immediately removed to the Sheffield Infirmary, where he died on the following Sunday, leaving a wife and three children. Turner received a large wound the whole depth of the forehead, another on the right eyebrow, and a third just above the right angle of the mouth, the missile penetrating through the flesh, and knocking out a tooth from the upper jaw. He was so far convalescent as to be able to appear at the adjourned inquest on Wednesday week. No new light, however, was thrown upon the case by him, for to him, like the -rest, the Irishmen were unknown. After the Irishmen had left Crown Inn a watchman, named Else, heard one of them say he would "give it that d-- d Englishmen, if he had him in the dark." The Coroner (Mr. T. Badger) stated that he had learnt the names of the three- Irishmen ; they were,—John Fitzgerald, John Dermoty, and Jem Nolan, alias M'Quin, or " Big Jem." They were all masons' labourers, and, he understood, had been working for some time past at the Sheffield new barracks. An Irishman named John Ferrock, a gardener, living at Hill-foot, stated that Fitzgerald was his son-in-law, but he was so designedly stupid in giving his evidence, that the coroner more than once threatened to give him into custody. He knew nothing about the "accident," as he persisted in calling it. After much cross-questioning, how ever, he admitted that all the three men were drinking together at his house on the evening when this outrage occurred, in honour of the christening of Fitzgerald 's child, and that they left between nine and ten o'clock. A few days after the " accident" Fitzgerald and Dermoty disappeared, he knew not where, but he believed it was to get out of the way, owing to this " job." Fitzgerald lodged with Dermoty, near to him, and " Big Jem" at Owlerton-bridge. The inquest was concluded on Wednesday evening last, when the jury returned a verdict of " Wilful murder" against some person or persons unknown. The jury requested the coroner to communicate with the Secretary of State (Lord Palmerston), to solicit a reward for the apprehension of the guilty persons, and the granting of a free pardon to any person not the actual perpetrator of the deed.