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LANCASTER ASSIZES.—On Friday last, William Heaton was con- victed of the murder of John Ratcliffe at Burton Wood, in October last. The most singular part of the case was the prisoner's calling, without.the least seeming necessity, at the house of the father of .the murdered man, almost immediately after the murder had been perpe- trated. The son of the deceased was in the house when Heaton came in, and was on the trial the principal evidence against him. "Heaton," he said, "came into our house just as the clock struck ten that night, and asked my uncle William if he had seen his brother John. He came and sat down by the fire, and asked for a pipe. He smoked part of it; and said, t I had like to have been in a skirmish last night.' I said,
Who with ?' and he made no answer. I said, You have either gotten a black eye now, or there is a scab on one side of your nose.' He said,
No, it's dirt ;' and he rubbed his face. He stuck to it that it was dirt; and for satisfaction sake, I took a candle and held it up to his face. I then saw three marks of clotted blood. I said, Why it's blood ;' and he went very red. He said, Oh, I fell over Charles Eindley's wheelbarrow, and scarred my hand among the cinders.' He showed me his hand, and I observed it was all covered over with blood.
I observed no marks of a sear. After this he sat till about twenty minutes after ten, and then went away." The body of the murdered man was found about six o'clock next morning. The constable of Warrington spoke to foot-prints, where the deceased had been found, corresponding with the shoes of the prisoner. Some cuts in the ground also corresponded with a potato-fork belonging to one Pownall, to which the prisoner had access. There were several other circum- stances tending to convict the prisoner. He was executed on Monday, after confessing his crime. Ratcliffe had been a gamekeeper ; and the murder appears to have originated in some feeling of revenge.
On Saturday, at the same assizes, John Thomas was arraigned for the murder of Ellen Bancroft, at Liverpool, on the 11th January last. The particulars of this very atrocious case were given at the time it took place. The girl was servant to a Mrs. Okell, in Brick Lane, Everton. On the day of the murder, the prisoner called at the house (which was to be let), on pretence of looking at it ; but, hearing another young wo- man who was with Bancroft at the time cough, he went away. That night, the girl was left in the house alone. Next morning, she was found by Mrs. Okell's nephew, sitting in a chair in the kitchen, with her head resting on a table, her head, face, hands, and arms covered with blood. She was carried to the Infirmary, where she died. Six silver spoons, which had been stolen from the house, were traced to the prisoner ; a chisel, which corresponded with the marks on the drawers whence the property had been stolen, was also found at his 3odgings. He was found guilty, and suffered at the same time as .Heaton.
TIIE MANCHESTER SUNDAY MErrrsas.—Broadhurst, Curran, Gil- christ, Maskell, Ashburn, Lomax, and Faux, the leaders in these meetings, were indicted on Monday, for having wickedly, wilfully, and maliciously combined, conspired, and confederated together, with others to the number of one thousand and more, to disturb the public peace, and to sap the established institutions of the realm. Four of the pri- soners had counsel, and Broadhurst defended himself. The Jury, after a lengthened trial, convicted Broadhurst, Curran, Gilchrist, and Ash- burn; and acquitted Lomax, Faux, Maskell, and Pollard.
The clergy, gentry, merchants, manufacturers, and tradesmen of Manchester, have agreed to a petition in favour of Mr. Sadler's Factory Bill. They contend for a restriction on the moving-power as the only effective restriction. This is going to the root of the matter.
It is said that one hundred and twenty actions have been brought against Bristol, for damages, in one shape or another, and the total amount sought to be recovered is stated to be about 130,0001.
On Saturday afternoon, an explosion took place in a house occupied by a married couple, of the name of Platts, living in the vicinity of Sheffield Moor. Upon the neighbours entering the house, they found the unfortunate inmates on the floor; the woman badly bruised, the husband with his knee fractured, and the calf of one of his legs nearly torn off, and an infant about twelve months of age dreadfully scalded. After the alarm had subsided, the woman stated, that she remembered having some hours before put into the oven a stone bottle, containing about a gallon of liquor, which would not work in the cellar. This she -very carefully corked up, and thought no more about, until, by the action of the fire, it exploded with Feat violence, breaking the cast-iron oven 'to pieces, and causing the injuries described. On Monday, the infant died in consequence of the accident.—Shield Independent.
• On Monday night, a fire broke out in the stack-yard of Mr. Richard Bishop; a farmer, at Edgefield, three miles from Holt. A stack of tvl!eat; containing about six lasts, the produce of twelve acres, was en- tirely consumed ; the other stacks of corn and bay in the yard were saved by the exertions of the people who accompanied the engines from Holt, very few of the Edgefield labourers having rendered any assistance.
An extensive fire took place on Friday, at Hull. The fire originated in some sparks accidentally communicating to a quantity of dry hay which had been deposited close to the extensive warehouses of Messrs. Glan- dow, recently erected at an expense of 10,0001.: these, together with a great quantity of grain, and more than 400 barrels of tar, were entirely consumed.
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