The Sun. — 1858-02-04 (London, England)

OLD COURT. (Before Mr. Justice Williams and Mr. Baron  Bramwell.) Jeremiah Callagher, 25, and Patrick Murphy, 22, two Irish labourers, were indicted for the wilful murder of Henry Morgan. Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Clerk conducted the prosecution. Mr. Sleigh defended Callagher, and Mr. Laxton appeared for Murphy. The facts of the case have appeared very recently in the report of the proceedings that took place before the magistrate and the coroner. The deceased was a police-constable, and it appeared that on Boxing-day there was a great disturb Ince in the Commercial-road, at the East end of the town, in which the prisoners and a number of other Irishmen were engaged and fighting with each other. In the course of the fight the prisoner Callagher was seen to strike a man named M`Carthy a violent blow, and a police-constable, named Filler, seeing this, and observing that M'Carthy was bleeding, and apparently severely injured, ho laid hold of Callagher, and attempted to take him to the station, but the mob interfered, and forcibly dragged the prisoner away. The deceased and some other constables went after Callagher, and again attempted to secure him, but his companions resisted them in the most desperate manner, and the police were struck and pelted with stones, and several of them severely injured. During thesei proceedings the prisoner Murphy seized hold of the staff of the deceased and pulled him round, and Callagher was then seen to strike him a violent blow with the fist on the head. The matter at first appeared to have been viewed in the light of an assault, but the deceasei very soon afterwards became paralysed, and he died on the 2d of January, and upon a post mortem examination, the brain was found to be in an extreme state of congestion, and the injuries he received upon the occasion in question were alleged to have been the cause of death.  The jury retired to deliberate upon their verdict, and in about half an hour they returned into court, and found both prisoners guilty of manslaughter, but recommended Murphy to mercy, on the ground that he did not appear to have committed any actual violence upon the deceased. Mr. Justice Williams sentenced Callagher to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for two years, and Murphy for one year. Patrick Riley, 36, was indicted for the murder of David Tat bit t.  Mr. Robinson prosecuted. Mr. Platt defended the prisoner.  The deceased, it appeared, was a private soldier in the Scots Fusilier Guards, and on the 28th of December was walking along Rosemary-lane, ao• cAnpanied by one of his comrades named Robert Steel, when he observed two women, one of whom had a child iu her arms, about to fight, when the companion of the deceased interfered and told them not to do so. The consequence of this humane proceeding, it appeared, was, that the crowd set upon the two soldiers and ill-used them both, arid the prisoner came out of a shop where he was at work and threw a small hammer at the deceased, and it struck him on the head and knocked him down. At first it was not thought that the injury was of a dangerous character, but on the 4th of January it was found necessary to take the deceased to the hospital, where it was discovered that his skull was fractured, and it was found necessary to trepan it. He died on the 26th of January of the injuries he had received. When the prisoner was taken into custody he at first denied that he had used any violence to the deceased, but he afterwards said that the soldier had interfered with the wife of his mate, and he gave him a cut with the hammer. Mr. Platt made an able speech to the jury on behalf of the prisoner • and he called a witness who swore that the deceased struck one of the women, who was the wife of the prisoner, in the face with a cane, and that the prisoner seeing this threw the hammer at him. The jury, after acme delibQration, found the prisoner guilty of manslaughter ; and, in answer to a queition put by Mr. Baron Bramwell, the foreman stated that the nrljority of the jury were of opinion that it was not true that the wife of the prisoner had been assaulted before the prisoner threw the hammer at deceased.