Glasgow Courier. — 1848-01-15 (Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland)

KURDISH. The Court then proceeded with the trial of a man named John Renihan, for the murder of a small farmer, named John M'Eniry, on the ad of October last, at Adamstown. The prisoner was arraigned with nine others for this deed of blood; but as they refused to join in their challenges, they have to be tried separately. The facts were stated by the learned Attorney-General; and of all the sanguinary crimes contained in the Wander, this perhaps is the most attrocions. On the night of Sunday, the 3d of Oatobeka party of armed men came to the house of M'Eniry. The motive that 'educed them to commit the crime it might be difficmit to show, for the only evidence upon it was so slight and trivial that it was almost impossible to suppose that any human being could by such a motive and provocation be induced to commit so horrible a deed; but it appeared that the prisoner was summoned by, or had had some dispute with the family of M'Eniry at the petty sessions a few days before, and the only supposition was that that petty squabble had given rise to the painful transaction which the jury had now to hfvestigate as to the share, if any, which the prisoner had had in it. In the middle of the Sunday night in question. I when the murdered man and the different members of his family were in bed, and some of them asleep:the party commenced firing into the house. M'Eniry had arms in his house, endeavoured to resist the attack, and fired some shots from the window, but, seeing the number of men outside, and that they were armed, he saw his danger, and having ceased to fire, he endeavoured to hide himself, and did, in fact, hide himself under his daughter's bed. The party at length broke into the kitchen, and one of the first who entered was the prisoner. He came with his armed companions to a settle-bed in the kitchen, in which one of the servants was sleeping, and, taking from it a quantity of straw lighted it, and tried to blacken his face. The servant who was sleeping in that bed, and another who slept in an adjoining room, the door of which opened on the kitchen, saw the prisoner, and he was identified by no less than three inmates of the house. The wife of M'Eniry came to the men, and from her they demanded the arms and monej, of her husband. She gave them a gun, but knowing that M'Eniry had a pistol, they asked for that too. She sent for it, and, as she had given them some 2.5 e. of money, she thought they would then have left the house; and they were in the set of leaving when one of the party asked where was her husband. She answered that he was not at home. They insisted that he was, and that they would not leave it until they had had his life. They then began to search for the unfortunate man, and, having lighted a candle, found him in the place where he was concealed. They dragged him from his hiding-place to a yard before the house, and there they brutally murdered him. On examination he was found to have received two gun.shot wounds, his skull was fractured in two places, and his back broken. The horrible details were proved by the widow and daughter of the poor man; and as they gave their evidence a thrill of horror ran through the court at the brutal manner in which the murder was committed. Mr. O'llas addreased the jury in a very eloquent speech for the prisoner; but, without retiring from the box, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. The prisoner heard it with the greatest indifference. In the course of the day the Loan