deed he had gone away and returned some hours afterwards to put back the gate which had been left open across the line; and that after he had put the gate back he had gone to see whether his victim was dead, and that he had then left the print of his foot in the coagulated blood. The footprints were of a peculiar character. They had been made by a man wearing shoes with nails in them; a double row of nails round the sides of the shoes, and a semicircle of nails on each side of the sole near the toe. The prisoner was an engine-driver in the service of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway Company. He was well acquainted with the deceased. He had often been in her house, he knew her habits, and the times at which the various trains passed the crossing. As the prisoner drove the second morning train from Carlisle, he was usually called at 3 o'clock and spent the intervening time in the engineshed. On the morning of the 22nd November, he came to the shed about 3.20; but instead of staying there he left, saying he was going home to breakfast. About 4 o'clock a man, named Carruthers, met him coming in a direction from the scene of the murder. The house of the prisoner was in another direction altogether. A policeman found that it took him 17 minutes to walk from the engine-shed to -Durran Hill and back. The prisoner returned to the engine-shed, having been away just long enough to enable him to go to the scene of the murder, and put back the gate and return again. The prisoner was not arrested for a month after the murder. When he was apprehended, a pair of shoes was found in his possession. In the soles of these shoes were found two semi

circles of holes, marking the place where nails had been. The semicircles corresponded in all respects with the semicircles in the footprints. The shoes corresponded in all other respects with the footprints. Some days after the murder, the prisoner said to the stoker, "I have burnt my shoes in the pit-hole, and the muds (the nails) are dropping out." About a month after the prisoner was taken into custody 52 shoe-nails (called sparibles), wrapped up in a piece of paper, were found concealed under the slates in the privy at the back of the prisoner's house. These nails were of the same size and character as the nails which formed the semicircles in the footprints. These nails had the appearance of being worn, and there were marks upon them as if they had been drawn by pincers. When the prisoner was taken into custody, he was asked how the nails forming the semicircles had got out. He could then afford no explanation. After he had been in custody for some time, and had heard the evidence given before the magistrates about the footprints, he then volunteered a statement. He said that he had lent the shoes on the Thursday night in question to Thomas Robinson, his brother-in-law; that on Friday morning Robinson returned the shoes and said, “ I have had a good spree." The evidence, however, put it beyond question that Robinson was miles away on the night in question.

The case, as stated on behalf of the Crown, was fully sustained; and the prisoner's counsel could do no more than comment on the circumstantial evidence. The jury, after five hours' consideration, returned a verdict of Guilty, with a

recommendation to mercy on account of the prisoner's previous character. This step will seem strange, when it is considered that if the jury thought the prisoner guilty at all, they must have thought him guilty of a murder so premeditated and barbarous, that no degree of previous good conduct could palliate his guilt; and that he had attempted the additional heinous crime of throwing the suspicion upon a perfectly innocent person. Notwithstanding this hideous aggravation of guilt, considerable efforts were made to obtain a commutation of the capital sentence; but the Home Secretary refused to interfere, and his course was justified by the written confession made by the murderer before his execution. 25. SALMON-POACHING- MUR- At the Carlisle Assizes, Robert Robinson, blacksmith, 50; William Robinson, blacksmith, 22; and Hugh Earl, blacksmith, 40, were placed at the bar upon the charge of the wilful murder of Edward Atkinson, water-watcher, on the 14th of January last, at Brocklewath.

DER.

The homicide for which these persons were now indicted arose out of the Act passed in 1861 (the 24th and 25th Vict.) for protecting the salmon fisheries. The Earl of Carlisle is lord of the manor of Cumwhitton, and has there the manor and the fishery in the river Eden at a place called Brocklewath, a place to which salmon resort very much to spawn. On the 13th of January the deceased, Atkinson, who had been a watcher for a long time, with another watcher called Bowman, a policeman named Cowman, and a labourer named Irwin, went in the direction of Brocklewath for the

purpose of watching during the night. They arrived at Brocklewath about one o'clock in the morning. There is a little island in the river there; and, their object being to conceal themselves, Atkinson took off his stockings and carried first one and then another across the small stream which separated it from the river bank. They concealed themselves among the willows till between 6 and half-past 6 in the morning, when they heard a dog bark in the direction of a house occupied by a farmer named James Milburn, situated about 50 yards from the river side. Waiting for a short time they heard footsteps in the main stream, and presently they saw a man in the river, evidently fishing. They kept quiet, and presently he came nearer to them, and went on fishing by the side of the island. The men went side by side with him for some 20 yards, and then, for some reason or another, he suddenly gave a whistle. Immediately on his doing so, the deceased, Atkinson, jumped into the water and seized him, and then called to Bowman, "Come in, Bob, and help me." Accordingly Bowman went in, and Atkinson said, "Put the twitch on him." A twitch is a small handle of wood, with a piece of string attached to it, which is put round the arm and secures a person more effectually. Accordingly Bowman and he were engaged in putting the twitch on when the man said, "There is no occasion to do that; I will go quietly." Cowman was told by Atkinson that he need not come into the water. Immediately afterwards two persons rushed upon the watchers; Cowman (notwithstanding that he announced himself as a police offi

cer) and Bowman were knocked down into the water, and Irwin fell in avoiding a blow-all three had difficulty in escaping from drowning. Bowman was the last who recollected anything about Atkinson. He saw two men close upon him, and one of them, without a stick, had got his arms round him; so that it would appear that the man, instead of going quietly, immediately after his companions came, turned round upon Atkinson. Afterwards he heard heavy blows upon something-whether on Bowman or Atkinson he could not tell. When Bowman and the policeman recovered their senses and had crawled to land, they saw nothing of their companions, and went away but Irwin afterwards found Atkinson lying by the river side, the upper part of his dress being quite dry, while the lower was saturated with water. He had been struck down, but had not fallen full-length in the water, as the upper part of his body was dry. He had been dragged out of the water for some distance, and left on the shore in a state of insensibility, with his clothes pulled over his face. After a little time Milburn showed himself in one of the fields. Irwin called out and told him there was a man in a bad condition, upon which Milburn got a cart and horse and conveyed him up to his house and placed him upon a sofa. He was attended by a medical man, but he died about 1 o'clock. Close to the place where the poacher had been seized in the water were found a pole and a net, with a salmon in the net; this was probably the reason why the whistle was given. The younger Robinson was clearly identified as one of the assailants. The elder Ro

binson and Earl had made statements which proved that they were the other two.

The defence turned chiefly on that difficult point of law, what is lawful resistance. If they merely went out to poach, and resisted, without preconcert, any sudden attack to apprehend them and death ensued, their crime would be manslaughter; but if they combined to go out poaching and to resist any attempt to apprehend them made by properly-authorized persons, and death ensued, all would be guilty of murder. For the Crown it was argued that the prisoners had so combined; for the prisoners that the common object of all was to fish for salmon, and that there was no evidence to show that they had any common intent to resist capture at all risks. And indeed it appeared that none of the prisoners were armed with any formidable weapon, while the watchers had "batons," and Atkinson a kind of flail, and had used their weapons pretty freely. Moreover, it appeared that the watchers had not been appointed by the conservators under the Act, and therefore had not the powers conferred by it; their powers were only such as were conferred by the old law. The prisoners were all found guilty of manslaughter; the younger Robinson and Earl were sentenced to 10 years' penal servitude, the elder Robinson to 12 months' imprisonment.

In May some poachers invaded the fishing preserves of Captain Byron at Thrumpton, on the Trent. The keepers coming down upon them in force, two of the gang jumped into the river, with the purpose of swimming or wading across. One of them reached

the other side, but saw no more of his companion, who was swept away and drowned.

26. MURDER AND SUICIDE.-A painful case of this double crime has occurred in Nelson-place, Bethnal-green. A poor woman named Mobbs, had been observed to be in a very depressed state of mind. She had three children, to whom she was much attached. This morning, one of the poor children, about five years old, came running to her sister-in-law, and exclaimed, "Oh, aunty, mother is lying on the bed in such a mess, with daddy's razor in her hand." On the room being entered the poor creature was found dead on the bed with her throat cut, and by her side her youngest child, about 11 months old, also with its throat cut.

27. BOILER EXPLOSION NEAR DUDLEY. Six Men Killed. -A fatal accident happened on the premises of Messrs. Blackwell and Sparrow, at the Corbyn's Hall Iron Works, situated about two miles from Dudley, which resulted in the death of six men and very serious injuries to about ten others. From the evidence of several engineers given at the inquest, held upon the bodies of the sufferers, it transpired that the explosion in the present instance resulted from the boiler being short of water, and from the crown plate being heated, which reduced its strength, and caused the boiler to give way under the excessive pressure. Another witness, who was also the chief engineer of the works, having investigated the cause of the accident, arrived at the conclusion that the boiler burst from shortness of water, arising from the negligence of the engine driver to keep up the supply of water from the donkey

engine. The jury, having heard the statement of Simpson, the man inculpated, found a verdict to the effect that the explosion had been caused by his negligence, and he was accordingly committed to take his trial for manslaughter.

28. THE THREEPWOOD CONSPIRACY.-At the Spring Assizes, held at Newcastle, John Dodd, William Hutchinson, and John Daglish, were separately indicted, tried for and convicted of conspiracy and wilful perjury, under circumstances which, in some respects, recall to memory incidents not uncommon in the early feudal and lawless history of the Border Counties. On the 28th of February, in the preceding year, a country gentleman of ancient lineage, Mr. William Bewicke, had been put upon his trial at Newcastle for shooting at two sheriff's officers in the execution of their duty. At that trial, it appeared that a sheriff's officer, named Stainthorpe, accompanied by three assistants, the prisoner Dodd, Hutchinson, and Daglish, went to Threepwood Hall, in the county of Northumberland, to recover a small debt of 407. from the proprietor, Mr. Bewicke. Mr. Bewicke was in bed at the time, but on being informed of the visit he rose and dressed himself. His reception of his visitors was rather sarcastic, perhaps, than violent. It seems, however, to have irritated them; for each instantly produced a pistol, and Stainthorpe levelled his at Mr. Bewicke, upon which Mr. Bewicke armed himself also, and coming down stairs into the yard confronted the officers with a revolver in his hand. This seemed to have produced the effect of humbling Stainthorpe, who touched his hat and begged Mr. Bewicke

to pay the money and let him go.

But, his blood being aroused, that gentleman told the man that as they had begun they should finish their seizure, and accordingly Hutchinson and Daglish were put in official possession of a cart-shed and of certain property outside the house. This done, Stainthorpe and Dodd left, the other two men remaining behind in possession. In the evening Mr. Bewicke, who was in the habit of beguiling his leisure at Threepwood by rifle practice, called for his rifle, which he had shortly before directed his housekeeper to clean for him, but which had not been done in consequence of the rifle being found to be loaded. Upon hearing which Mr. Bewicke said he would go and discharge it, for which purpose he proceeded up-stairs and committed the act, which was the subject of the offence charged against him. Mr. Bewicke, it seems, went into a small water-closet having a narrow window out of which he thrust his head, and calling out to the two men left in possession, asked if they were in the cart-shed and was answered that they were. He then said he was going to fire, and they replied "All right." Mr. Bewicke then discharged all the barrels of his revolver out of the window. Later in the evening, he went down stairs to the cart-shed and had a little conversation with the men, which was said to have been perfectly good-tempered on both sides. In a few days, however, the man Stainthorpe re-appeared at Threepwood with a peace warrant against Mr. Bewicke, and carried him off in custody. Brought before the magistrates, he then heard for the first time of the charge made against him, of feloniously firing at Hutchinson and Daglish with

intent to do them grievous bodily harm. For this supposed crime, he was indicted and convicted, and sentenced to four years' penal servitude. Just one year had rolled round, when the whole case against Mr. Bewicke was reversed; his accusers were now brought to trial, and were convicted of the conspiracy and perjury charged in the indictment. A part of the evidence on the trial of Mr. Bewicke consisted in the discovery of a flattened bullet, pretended to have been found in the cart-shed before referred to, but which bullet it was now charged against the prisoner Dodd had been placed there by himself, to confirm the depositions which had been concerted with Hutchinson and Daglish. Dodd was therefore accused of this malicious device, and the two others of perjury in support of the story.

For the prosecution, and in exculpation of Mr. Bewicke, it was urged and proved that he could not possibly have so fired his rifle as to have struck the cart-shed, and this argument involved a melancholy piece of evidence, which turned upon the size of the window as compared with the personal dimensions of the man who had discharged the rifle. Imprisonment and degradation had so reduced the bluff old squire, that he was but the shadow of his former self; and it was essential to show what his former stature had been, to bring out the truth. To this and other arguments was added the conclusive allegation that the prisoner Dodd had, on several occasions, admitted the device he had practised. After a trial, which occupied the entire day, the jury took but ten minutes to return a verdict of guilty against Dodd, and Hutchinson, after an equally pa