The Sun. — 1849-09-29 (London, England)

EVENING, SEPTEMBER 291 1849.  CLERKENWELL.  Four powerful-looking Irishmen, who gave their names Skean, Kelly, Grogan, and Farrell, and said they were employed as miners on the Great Northern Railway, Islington, were charged with the following daring outrage : On the previous night, about half-past nine o'clock, the prisoners, with two other Irishmen who had been at work in a tunnel forming on the London and York Railway, Copenhagen-fit-Ads, were leaving the works, when a gang of English navvies called out, " Pat ! which way does the bull run ? There goes the b— Irish !" which exasperated the prisoners, and they made an attack upon the parties, and running in every direction they fought at, and knocked down, everybody indiscriminately, by which they were much injured. Mr. William Woods, a warden attached to the Model Prison, was walking armin-ann with his wife, having a bundle under his arm, along the Chalk-road, when the prisoner Shean rushed at him, and felled him down in a state of insensibility, and an attempt was made to steal the bundle. Mrs. Woods proceeded to her husband's assistance, whence she was knocked down and maltreated. The prisoners continued their violence on numerous unoflending passengers until the arrival of a body of policemen, headed by Walter, an active officer of the N division, who succeeded in apprehend. ing the prisoners and locking them up, after considerable resistance and violence. _ _  Mr. %%roods, whose face exhibited marks of vio• lence, gave evidence as to the prisoners' wanton and brutal conduct, and identified Shean, Kelly, and Crogan as being the ringleaders, but Farrell was said to have interfered to prevent the violence upon Mr. and Mrs. Woods. Mrs. Ellen Woods, the wife, gave confirmatory evidence, which was also corroborated by numerous witnesses.  • Jan Walter, 22 N, depsed that he received information that several persons bad been nearly murdered by some Irishmen in the Chalk-road, Islington. Ile pr,;ceeded there, and, with assistance, apprehended the prisoners. The prisoners, in their defence, said they were leaving their work peaceably, when some excavators insulted them and called them b- Irish. They did not deny having retaliated, when they were pelted with brickbats and injured severely. They attacked Mr. and Mrs. Woods by mistake. Walter said that, when he apprehended the prisoners, Kelly said, " We were only having a lark, and trying our hand to clear the road, which we can can do if we like, and we made all fly before us." He (Walter) had received information that other persons had been dreadfully maltreated, and one gentleman, residing at Mile-end, had been seriously attacked and robbed, but he had not had time or opportunity to make inquiries or bring him forward. Mr. ARNOLD said, he never heard of a more violent and cowardly outrage. The prisoners might consider themselves exceedingly fortunate that the charge of attempting to steal Mr. Wood's bundle had not been sufficiently substantiated against them. As it was he should inflict the extreme penalty of the law upon the prisoners Kelly, Shean, and Crogan, against whom there was proof of assault. It was necessary that examples should he made, and this was an instance fit for such a course. There was not a sufficiency of evidence against the prisoner Farrell, and he should discharge him, but he would convict the other three prisoners in the extreme penalty of 51., and in default of payment, two months' imprisonment with hard labour in the House of Correction.  The prisoners could not pay the penalties, and they were conveyed to prison.