The Sun. — 1859-01-05 (London, England)

THE CHESHIRE GAME MURDER-COMMITTAL OF TWO MEN.  The examinaticn of the six men charged with being concerned in the murder of Jas. Beech and fhos. Maddocks, gamekeepers, in the employ of Mr. H. Akroyd, I)oddington, in Nov. last, has at length, after a protracted series of adjournments, resulted in the committal, by the Rev. J. Folliott, of the two prisoners' John Danks and. R. Boulton, for wilful murder. The whole of the examinations have been conductedwith closed doors, an d whether this has served to promote the ends of justice is a question which admits of great doubt. The coroner's court has been held four times ; three were open, the last closed. Little evidence of importance was adduced at the first three, material witnesses being withheld by the magistrate. The final adjourned inquest took place on Saturday last, at the Boar's [Rad, Walgherton, befoi a Mr. H. Churton, coroner for the district. Although the public and the representatives of the press were excluded, yet the latter found no difficulty in obtaining from the witnesses who were examined a knowledge of the whole case. _ _ _  Of the four prisoners charged with being concerned in the murder, two, named Malkin and Oakes, give very important evidence against the two charged with the murder, which evidence is corroborated to some extent by others not implicated. Early on Sunday morning, the 28th Nov., the prisoners assembled together, and on setting their nets in one field, immediately caught four hares; the party then separated, three—Danks, Boulton, and Oakes, being the only men with guns—entering a wood, while the remainder went round it to await their return. On entering the wood, Oakes, seeing a bird, shot it; and then he says he was proceeding to load his gun when he heard an alarm given that there were keepers approaching. He then threw himself into a ditch, and immediately he heard one gun fired and then another from the direction in which Danks and Boulton had gone. He remained in the ditch for some time, during which he heard one of the poachers captured ; remembered their conversation, heard the keepers send for a cart and the cart arrive, and when the bodies had been carried away he went to Boulton's house. This witness bears a very bad character, and has been tried for murder. In respect to his evidence Boulton makes a direct contradiction. He (Boulton) says, that when they entered the wood, and Oakes fired, he handed Oakes his double-barrelled gun, that Oakes then went after another bird, and while he was separated from them they heard the watchers —that some one fired a gun, who he does not know, that a second gun was then fired, and then he and Danks ran away. The gamekeeper, who lived a few hours after being shot, described the murderers as a tall and a little man, and Danks is a little man, Boulton being the taller of the two, while Oakes is a short man.  Malkin, another of the poachers, in evidence stated that immediately after the fracas, he went to Boulton's house, where he met with one or more men and that on boulton's arrival, he asked him whether they had shot the dogs, whereupon he replied, " No, but the men ; Danks shot first, and then I shot, and I was sorry the moment I did it." This witness also bears a notoriously bad character, and has been convicted of various offences. With respect to the evidence against Danks, one man, a relation, affirms that he, with several 'others, was awaiting Danks' return, and when he came he said to those present, " You'd better go, the police will be here directly." The witness then went upstairs with Danks, when he said, " I believe I've shot a man, and Boulton too."  Against the whole of the witnesses, Danks and Boulton, while the jury were lunching, expressed themselves with great bitterness. Boulton cursed Malkin very vehemently, and said that Oakes had crept out of two murders, and wanted to put them in for the third. Both the prisoners conducted themselves with great effrontery, talking and laughing with their friends, and telling most indecent anecdotes of the obnoxious witnesses. Danks and Boulton were committed on the coroner's inquisition for wilful murder, and were lodged in Chester Castle on Monday afternoon.