Swansea and Glamorgan Herald, and South Wales Free Press. — 1860-10-17 (Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales)

THE LIFE OF A MAN AND THE LIFE OF A HARE.  WE occasionally meet in obscure corners of our exchange papers—amidst a lot of insignificant matter of no greater interest to the world that lives outside one particular village than the facts that John Jones and David Davies were picked up by P.C. No. 3 in the kennel last night and sent home this morning after paying a shilling to the police poor-box—with the record of an occurrence deserving a little more attention than the country reporter bestows upon it. Such is the following paragraph which we cut out of last Saturday's North Wales Chronicle :  "A dreadful and fatal affray with poachers took place between 4 and 5 o'clock on Sunday morning at Bryneieteddfod, near Llansantffraid-Glan-Conwy, in which one lof five poachers was killed. The collision and affray took place as follows .—Two of the keepers of the Venerable Archdeacon Jones, having been out the whole of Saturday night, came in contact with a gang of five poachers, near the lodge at the entrance to Bryneisteddfod grounds. One of the poachers was seen to place suet by a gate in which a hare was immediately caught. The keepers tlUsti rushed upon them, when a terrible fight took place,—and somehow or other in the struggle a gun exploded, and the contents entered the body of Owen Roberts, one of the poachers, which must have, in the opinion of the surgeon at the inquest, caused instant death. About 6 o'clock the same morning, the dead body was found by the P.O. stationed at Llansantffraid on the road aide, with a cap covering its face. The body was then removed to the Wheat Sheaf Inn in the village, where an inquest was held on Monday by E. Pierce, Esq., and a respectable jury, and a verdict returned of ' Found dead on the roadside, having been shot, but by whom there was no eridence to show.' Win. Roberta, brother of the deceased, is now in the custody of Inspector Hammonds at Llanrwst, under remand, for feloniously assaulting and attempting to murder Edw. Petch, he having been identified as one of the gang, by Edward Petch. Chief-constable J. Denman, who was present at the inquest, together with Superintendent Pugh, Inspectors Hammonds and Owen, and several of the force, are on the alert making efforts to discover who the missing poachers are."  This is but a meagre account to give of an event forcibly illustrating the happy operation of those beneficent laws made to preserve the means of one of the country gentleman's chief amusements. The local correspondent of our contemporary perhaps told all he knew, or all he deemed essential, but one would like to inquire a little farther. A tight took place on the grounds of a rev, gentleman on Sunday morning between the rev. sportsman's gamekeepers and a party of poachers, and in the struggle "somehow or other a gun exploded,' whereby one of the poachers was killed. The jury summoned next day to inquire into the cause of the man's death returned a verdict, it appears without any lengthened investigation, of "Found dead on the roadside, having been shot, but by " whom there is no evidence to show." The deceased was then, we suppose, buried, and there was an end of his case. But his brother and companion in the fight is in custody on a charge of attempting to murder Edward Fetch, who we presume is one of the gamekeepers; and " Chief" constable J. Denman," and all the rest of tho constabulary force of the neighbourhood, are exerting themselves to the utmost" to discover who the "missing poachers are." And who, we wonder, are making efforts to discover who the man was who shot the deceased ? Whose gun was it that exploded in the way so perspicuously described as "somehow or other"? The jury did not know for they only pronounce that the man was shot, and that they could not tell by whom, thus suggesting rather that the shooting was intentional than accidental. And they had no great anxiety to know, or else certainly they would not have come to an inconclusive verdict on the very first sitting, the day after the man's death. It seems to be thought of vastly more importance to find out who wanted to kill the hare than who actually did kill the man. Conies and partridges appear to be of more value at Llanstintffraid than human beings who fall into the idle profligacy of poaching Unfortunately the appearance of things favours. the same notionas regards many other parts of the country where Eft...tees against the game laws arc h‘quest. In the prepent case the circumstances