The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1872-03-16 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

NOT AGREEING TO A VERDICT.  A trial of exceptional interest took place at the Donegal Assizes, and lasted two days. It was a prosecution of two brothers named Bernard and Charles M 'Cailog for the murder of a woman. The case presented some of the most revolting features of agrarian crime, remarks the Dublin correspondent of The Times, who thus narrates the proceedings of the trial— The prisoner Bernard AUCallog, when called upon to pis ad, said, with an air of solemnity, "Not Guilty. No, tha lks to God, I never murdered any one!" His brother pleaded " Not Guilty," and in reply to the usual question, said he was ready for his trial at any minute. Mr. Johnstone, Q.C., who represented the Crown, stated the circumstances under which the murder was committed. Edward M'Callog, a brother of the prisoners, and Owen I'Fadden, husband of Ann M'Fadden, the murdered woman, were married to two sisters. The former lived with an man named Magee, but a quarrel having arisen, M Callog bad to leave the house, and the old man then took into his house a widowed daughter named Sally M'Fadden. Magee diet on the Bth of January, 1871. All the parties then met about the house, and the prisoners were heard to threaten Owen M'Fadden. Their animosity to him was not diminished when they afterwards found that he had induced Sally M'Fadden to gel the interest in the farm to him, and to eject the 51`Callogs. They were further exasperated by the seizure of their cattle for the costs of the ejectment proceedings. Owen M`Fadden went into possession on the 9th of June. On the night of the Ist of August he and his family, consisting of his wife and three children, were in the house, which contained but two rooms. They were preparing to go to bed, between eight and nine o'clock. Owen was getting his bed ready, and his wife was seated beside another, with a candle in her hand, looking over some clothes, when a man entered the room and fired a pistol at the woman, who immediately fell. She afterwards got up and struggled to the door. Her husband seized the man, and a desperate encounter ensued between them. Owen M.Tadden seized the pistol with his left hand and held it firmly, and the two combatants, when other means .if inflicting injury failed, then used their teeth against each other's faces, and endeavoured, as it was sworn, to bite off each other's nose. Ultimately. M'Fadden, being the stronger of the two, contrived to get his antagonist down on the bed, and lay over him. Meanwhile another man, believed to be Charles M'Callog, had come in immediately after the shot was fired, and he , followed the woman out and discharged another pistol. On returning the house he found his companion, who was allege! to be Bernard 111.Callog, struggling with M'Fadslen, and, coming to his rescue, struck the latter on the temple with some blunt weapon. M'Fadden with difficulty crawled away from them and got into the house of a neighbour, where he fell on the floor exhausted. There were five or six young men in that house, but not one would put forth a hand to ahl him. The woman was afterwards found outside the house still breathing, but expires! in a few minutes. The police were communicated with, and on searching the prisoners' beds found clothes with stains which on chymical examina tion were proved to be of blood. Owen M'Fadden at onee identified the prisoners after they were arrested. He swore to the facts stated, and two of his children, both very yoursg, corroborated his evidence, and positively identified the prisoners. . The defence was an alibi, and the evidence to support it was that .if a sister of the prisoners, who swore that on the night in question they met with an accident, that the shaft of a cart having broken struck Bernard M'Callog on the cheek, and that neither of them went out of the house afterwards. She gave her evidence in Irish, and it was communicated to the l'ourt through an interpreter. Counsel for the Crown applies! for liberty to produce rebuttihg evidence as to the breaking of the cart, but Mr. Justice Keogh objected to that course as unfair to the prisoners, after the case for the Crown had closed._  The learned Judge delivered an elaborate and hnpressive charge, to which he devoted three hours. After four hours' deliberation the jury stated that there was no chance of their agreeing to a verdict, and, one of them being seriously ill, they were discharged.