The Dewsbury Chronicle, and West Riding Advertiser. — 1872-10-19 (Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England)

THE POACHING AFFRA.Y AT HEATON  PARK.  At the Manchester County Police Court, on Thursday, before Mr. W. H. Higgin, Q.C., and other magistrates, Joseph Bradbury, a gamekeeper in the employmerA of the Earl of Wilton, was charged with the wilful murder of Ralph Mellor, who died from the effects of a gunshot wound, received in the poaching affray at Heaton Park on Friday morning. Mr. roftou prosecuted, and Mr. Leresche defended the prisoner. Mr. Crofton, in stating the case, said the deceased man, in company with others, was in Heaton Park on Friday morning. What they were doing had better not be entered into. While the deceased and another man were doing certain acts, a dog came up and set upon them. He was beaten off, and then two keepers came up and a struggle ensued, in the course of which these two men called out to some others that they knew were close at hand, and, they coming up, the keepers ran away. The deceased separated himself from his companions, and when he got away some distance a shot was heard. On that the deceased called out he was shot, and directly after another shot came from the keepers. A dog had since died-of a gunshot wound, but there was no evidence to show how it was, shot. Both parties denied they had any firearms, and it would be for those who survived to show who was telling the truth. The injured man was taken to the Manchester Royal Infirmary, where he died-on Saturday. Mr. J. G. Gordon said he was a surgeon at the Manchester Infirmary. Between eight and nine o'clock on Friday morning the deceased was brought to that Institution. He was suffering from a gunshot wound in the upper part of the right thigh. He attended him up to the time of his death, which occurred on Saturday afternoon, between two and three o'clock. The cause of death was the gunshot wound. On Friday night he considered him in such a dangerous condition that he sent for a magistrate and had his deposition taken. He was perfectly sensible at the time. He made a post mortem examination of the body on Monday. Inside the cavity of the abdomen he found a number of small shots. There was a large hole in the thigh, which might have been caused by a number of shots going in together. On Tuesday night another man was brought to the Infirmary, out of whose scalp he extracted two pellets. There was no rupture of the intestines of the deceased.—ln crossexamination the witness said he was present when the deposition of the deceased was taken. That was on Friday at midnight. There had been a previous deposition taken which was read over to the prisoner, and something was added. The deposition of the deceased was then put in, and proved by Mr. Walker, one of the magistrates' clerks. The witness said that, on the first occasion, when the deposition was taken there were present Mr. C. H. Bazley, Mr. Superintendent Bent, Mr. J. G. Gordon, and himself. On the second occasion there were present, in addition to those already named, James Hough, another gamekeeper in the employment of the Earl of Wilton, and Sergeant Whitlam, of the county police, who had the prisoner in charge. A technical objection was taken as to the admissibility of the deceased man's deposition, the case for the prosecution broke down, and the prisoner was discharged.