The Northern Daily Times. — 1857-06-05 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

BIRKENHEAD.  BEFORE THE REV. R. ICI. FIELDEN ANI) R. BRYAN, ESQ. DESPERATE ASSAULT ON DISTRAINING OFFICERS.— Michael Finnegan, ani Bridget his wife, were brought up in custody, charged with having violently assaulted and beaten James Naylor, while making a distraint on their goods for rent. James Nayler, the complainant, stated he was a bailiff, and lived at 143, Eldon-street, Liverpool; and on the 29th of May last, he came over to Birkenhead to execute a warrant of distress upon Finnegan's goods, at No. 8, Market-court, for rent due to Mr. Craven. That he got to the house about three o'clock, when he saw both the prisoners. Told them what he wanted, and shoved them the warrant. The male prisoner said he would go to Mr. Craven, and left for that purpose, ho (Naylor) agreeing to do nothing until he returned. In a short time Finnegan returned, and produced a receipt for the rent, but not for the costs. Whereupon 53 6d was demanded for the levy, which F.neeg;in said he would not. pay, the consequence of which was, that he (Naylor) proceeded to levy for that amount, upon which both prisoners attacked him, the male prisoner with a poker, and the wife with a mallet, until his head streamed with blood, and he had beers uud,:r the doctor's hands ever since. Complainant's head was bandaged up, and he also produced a doctor's certificate that the would inflicted with the piker was very serious, and would not be well for some time to come. William Wright, also a bailiff, confirmed the previous evidence. Mr. Bretherton appeared for the prisoners, but elicited nothing to shake the evidence, and, having addressed the bench, the Rev. Nit-. Fielden said that the bench had fully considered the case, and also the remarke urged in favour of the prisoners by Mr. Bretherton, and they had taken the best view of the matter—indeed, the only one they could. However hard a case might be upon poor people when a landlord issued a distress, the persons who executed that distress were not blameable, provided the distress was not exercised with unduo hardship. It appeared that the officers in this case used great forbearance, and all the violence arose from the conduct of those upon whom the distress executed. If officers were on the premises at all, there must, of course, be costs as well as the rent to recover. If those costs were excessive, there was the law to resort to. The township of Birkenhead, he thought, had already had an awful lesson, for it was not long ago that a bailiff was killed under almost similar circumstances to the present, and he (Mr. Fielden) was in hopes that such a thing would not have occurred again. The bailiff Naylor had received a dreadful injury in the head, and there was no knowing what might be the result. If there had been any irregularity in the distress, it could have been set right afterwards, but the prisoners had no right to take the law into their own hands. The bench, however, had taken into consideration what had been said by Mr. Bretherton, and also the fact that they had already sustained considerable punishment by being in custody since Friday, but they must further mark their sense of an assault of this nature, and therefore they would convict the prisoners in a penalty of 103 and costs, or twenty-one days' imprisonment in default of payment. It was stated in court, that Birkenhead bailiffs will not venture to lay a distress in the courts where such persons as the prisoners reside, for the fear of being murdered, wlelch will account for Liverpool bailiffs, in this instance, being employed.