LATE ENGLISH ITEMS. IRELAND.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 10, 3 June 1863, Page 1 (Supplement)

LATE ENGLISH ITEMS. IRELAND.

The Murder of Mr. Fitzgerald.—The slow but certain pursuit of justice has overtaken another of the persons concerned in the murder of Mr. Fitzgerald, who, it will be remembere'd, was brutally shot down before the eyes of his youug and beautiful wife on the 16th of May last year by two men named Beckham and Walsh. Both these miscreants paid the penalty of their crime, but as they had no cause of personal malice towards their victim and were not even acquainted with him, it was conjectured that they were but the instruments of some concealed enemies. The inquiries set on foot resulted in the implication of two brothers named Denis and Michael Dillanc, one of whom (Denis) held a farm under the murdered gentleman. They were to have been tried at the last assizes for tho County of Limerick, but the Crown thought fit to hold the coso over to the present. On the 10th Denis Dillane, was arraigned before Mr Justice Fitzgerald, at Limerick, on an indictment charging him with being an accessory before the fact to the murder of Mr. Fitzgerald. The Attorney-General prosecuted. The case for the Crown was that before the 16th of May there had been disputes between Dillane nud Mr. Fitzgerald, and on the 18th of March a notice to quit had been served on him, and up to tho 26th of April letters on the subject had been sent from Mr. Fitzgerald to the prisoner, threatening to expel him from his farm. About three weeks before the murder Thomas Beckham and Denis Dillane went to the shop of a gun maker named Whittaker, and bargained for a pair of pistols. They went away and •returned, and again bargained for the pistols, for which Dillane offered 15s. After further treaty Dillane paid £1 2s. 6d. for the pistols, which were given to him, and at the same time a bullet-mould. In addition to the facts which appeared at the trial of Walsh, the Attorney-General said he could prove a conversation to have taken place between a person who had lately come forward as a witness and Denis Dillane. That person's name was Cussen. Between Cussen and Dillane there was an inti- | inacy. Cussen was here at the last commission. I Denis Dillane asked him to call and sec him in the gaol. He went, and they had in the yard a conversation of a very remarkable kind. The prisoner spoke to him about the jurors, nnd asked if Cussen was a juror, and he said he was not. He then asked, could he not do something for him with the jury ? They then spoke about what might happen if a lad named Walsh became approver. Dillane said he did not think the Crown would take him. Cussen said ho thought the£ would ; and Dillane said, " If so, God help me. Dillaine said, "Could not you get him away to America?" Cussen said " No." Cussen suggested that the boy might be dressed in

woman s clothes, but Dillaine said ho was too big. Dillaine then said he did not know why he had done anything in the business—that he had almost settled with Mr. Fitzgerald. " Then why did you not get it out of your head V said Cussen. "I did,' said Dillaine, " but when I went home they used all to get about me." The Attor-ney-General wound up an eloquent statement. Mrs. Fitzgerald and several others who had been examined on the trials of Beckham and Walsh gave evidence as to the facts of the ease, aud Cussen supported the statement of the AttorneyGeneral in every particular. The trial occupied the whole of the 10th and 11th. The jury retired to consider their verdict, and in a quarter of an hour returned with a finding of Guilty. The prisoner was sentenced to death. His execution is to take place on Monday, tbe 13th of April. Cooke, charged with harbouring James Walsh, one of Mr. Fitzgerald's murderers, was then placed at the bar, and sentenced to imprisonment and hard labour for one year and nine months from the date of his committal. The trial of Michael Dillane is postponed to the next Assizes.

Extraordinary Scene in a Court of Justice.—At the Dorchester Assizes, on the 10th, Edwin Alfred Preedy was indicted for the wilful murder of Charles Evans, at Portland, on the Bth of September. When called upon to plead, the prisoner said—l did the act, but not intentionally, sir.—The Clerk of the Arraigns: You must say "Guilty," or " Not Guilty."—Prisoner: If it is a matter of form, I say " Not Guilty," sir. The prisoner was a convict, and had conducted himself with great violence in prison. Evans was a warder, and on the Bth of September the prisoner rushed upon him and stabbed him under the ear. When the prisoner first came to the bar he looked a very harmless young man, but during the evidence he became restless, and sharply asked a question. Immediately after the answer, the prisoner threw one leg and arm over the front of the dock, and very nearly succeeded in getting over. Two warders who were in the dock rushed at him and seized him, and other warders jumped into the dock, and a deadly struggle took place, the prisoner kicking, fighting, and roaring more like a wild beast than a human being, and it required some ten strong men to hold him. Several had hold of his legs and arms, and some were holding him by the hair of the head. This continued for some minutes, and when it ceased it was only because he was held fast. The ferocity of the man was beyond anything that can well be imagined. He bit his clothes and tore the sleeves of his coat into ribbons. He endeavored to bite those around him, and finding that he could not vent his passion upon any one, he bit the wooden bar over

the dock and swallowed the wood. He tried to knock his head against the dock, but was with difficulty prevented. The surgeon of the gaol went to him, and was then called by the Judge, to whom he stated that this was a repetition of what he had seen before in the gaol. His observation would not justify his saying that the prisoner was insane. His opinion was that he was perfectly sensible to all that was going on. The Judge then told the prisoner that the trial should proceed, because the surgeon was of opinion that he knew what was going on.—The surgeon asked the prisoner if he knew him. r J he prisoner : Of course I do]; shake hands, you are a friend of mine.—The prisoner then began struggling again and was very violent. It was suggested to the Judge that, as well for the safety of the prisoner as for others, it would be better to put irons on him. The Judge said he did not like to do this; but the violence continuing, his Lordship gave way. The prisoner was then heavily ironed and strapped—certainly as much as any maniac could be; but it was some time before he could be managed, on account of his extreme violence. After half an hour's delay, the Judge went out to consult Mr. Justice Byles, and their Lordships remained in consultation lor a considerable length of time, and the prisoner ap- i pearcd to be completely exhausted, and ! seemed as he were asleep. Another surgeon was sent for, and the prisoner was with difficulty conveyed into a private room and further examined After another half hour's delay, the hearing of evidence was resumed. The case for the defence was that the prisoner was insane; but various witnesses were I called on the other side to prove that he knew i well enough what he had done, and what was then going on—The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and the prisoner was sentenced to death. Precdy, on hearing the sentence, bowed very reverentially. He was then surrounded by officers, five of whom had guarded him, although so manacled that he could scarcely move, and he was removed in quiet. —The trial, it will be noticed, took place on the day of the Royal wedding, and it so happened that at the commencement of the sentence the bells were heard ringing a merry peal, which, however, was put a stop to by the Under-Shcriff.

The Roman Catholic Clergy and tiie Polish Insurrection.—The well-known French writer, Edward Quinet, has addressed the following letter to the Roman Catholic priesthood:—"l witnessed the resurrection of Greece, of Italy, of Romania; I pray Heaven that it will yet permit me to see that of Poland. This resurrection depends especially on the Catholic clergy. Too long has it justified me in accusing it of repressing modern right and ranging itself on the side of the strongest. I now entreat it to confound me, and I say to it, with clasped hands, 4 You have a solemn unique opportunity, not only of closing our mouths, but of compelling us to return you thanks. Profit by it. It was you who in the last century struck down the heart of Poland, and thereby caused its ruin. Undo that. You can do this better than anyone else. Bring back to life this corpse, call forth this Lazarus, and we shall be compelled to bless you. It is true that I do not ask of you simply words, collections, remote sermons, in the walls of the church.

I ask you for that in which you arc so rich when you choose—for acts. You have a hundred times had acts of despotism; have one for liberty. You knew how to make a Vendee against revolution; make a Polish Vendee. Remember what you have been able to do for the cause of the past. Arm yourselves with the same weapons for the cause of the future. Crush us with your victory. I call for it, I salute it, I will recognise it. Take the cross ; march at the head. Let your tocsin sound from the top of St. Peter's at Rome. Let it be heard from the Vistula to the Niemen, in every city, in every village of Poland. Let a whole people at this signal leave its fields and be free—be free through you. To you shall remain the honour—to you the power. You will have obtained two things—you will have obtained the glory of having saved a nation and of having dispelled the illusions of your adversaries. It will be shown that the force which you have exerted to compress, you possess also for setting free.' "

The West Coast.—The exploration of the West Coast—a measure so calculated to increase the revenue of this Province, and to add to its pastoral territory, is about to be resumed under Government cognizance. Dr. Hector's party left last week, per Mathilda Hayes, for the terra incognito. Ample stores have been laid in, and every provision made for the dangers of life and the risks of starvation, to which an exploring party in the rugged regions of the West Coast will be exposed.— Telegraph. The Cologne Gazette mentions the fact that the engine of the train which conveyed tho Princess Alexandra of Denmark to the Belgian frontier was called the Bleucher, while the engine driver bore the name of Wellington.

INVERCARGILL STOCK MARKET. 22nd May, 1863. Messrs. Robertson and Co. report:—Our advices from the known shippers state that the prices for really superior heavy or light draught cattle ranges very high, and that although small mob smay bo expected to find their way here at intervals we have little to fear for some months to come of a plethoric market, uuless a mania should again seize upon parties not knowing the requirements of the district to ship extensively from young unbroken mobs of an inferior class. Should this be the case there will doubtless be heavy losses sustained, but if fortunately we cscapo this, we confidently look forward to a first-rate trade during this winter and well into j the spring. So long as cartage from Invercargill can be kept down to something like £lO or £ls ! per ton under the rate from Dunedin there will j be a steady demand and that will most assuredly produce an equally fine stock in the horse market. During the last few days there has been a marked improvement in the roads, and therefore a corresponding decrease in the rates of cartage demanded, which has caused larger amounts of loading to be engaged, and stimulated the demand for good teamsters, and we have very little doubt of the continuance of this improved state of things. We have to report that our sales daring the week have been—Superior Heavy Draught Horses, £9.5 to £IOO ; good second class ditto ditto, £65 to £80; inferior ditto £4O to £55 ; Light Harness ditto, £4O to £45, nominal; really good Saddle Horses, £4O to £SO, and in good demand; ir ft rior Hacks, £2O to £26, and if many are brought forward prices must fall for this description, as the demand can never exceed a very limited supply. Cattle—Store, much wanted ; a really good mob of mixed would realize from Ll3 to Lls 10s. Fat, very few offers, market very bare ; First-class reef, from 655. to 71s. per 100 lbs. Sheep.—Fat Wedders worth 355. to 405., according to weights ; Store, as imported, 255. per head; acclimatised Ewes, from 30s. to 325. Stations.— Very few offering—any really good ones wonld realize good prices. Messrs. Carey and Gilles report:—That during the week they have sold by public auction, second class heavy draught horses at from £7O to £9O ; third class draught, £4oto£Gs ; hacks, £2O to £45.