Late English News

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 176, 31 July 1888, Page 3

Late English News

The Mitchelstown Land Sub-Com-mission have announced reductions in another batch of appeals from the Kingston tenants, the average being 20 per cent. A shocking outrage is reported from Ballyduff, in county Waterford. A man named M’Grath has been on bad terms with his wife, owing to the | woman refusing to give him the balance of a sum of £64, which she had saved by frugality. A short time back she consented to withdraw the money from the bank, but directly after one of her sons stole the greater portion of it and decamped to America. The wife then buried the remainder of the money in the earthen floor of the cabin, and refused to point

out to her husband the spot where it lay. The husband made repeated searches, but failed to find it. He then swore that he would burn the cabin and his wife and all in it. After subjecting his wife to gross ill-treat-ment he carried his threat into execution. When the woman was getting out of bed he struck her down with a heavy stick, as she lay there he struck her and kicked her till she became insensible. When she came to she found the cabin in flames, the burning thatch falling upon her. With great difficulty she crawled out into the open air ; but not before she was badly burned. When found later on she was in a shocking and apparently dying state, and her features were hardly recognisable owing to the blows inflicted by her husband, who, after setting the place on fire, had escaped. The police,

| however, scoured the country and suci ceeded in arresting him. He is now lin Waterford Gaol. The cabin was burned to the ground. The Dublin Express says : Mrs Curtin has negotiated the sale of her farm in Kerry for £l,lOO. A grave was found dug a few nights ago near the door of the purchaser, with a mock tombstone bearing the inscription “ the fate of Curtin to anyone who will take the farm.” Judge Holmes, in opening the commission at Kerry assizes, lately said—alluding to the charges against persons I for the murder of Quirke, at Siscahane, and James Fitzmaurice, at Lixnaw—that it was impossible to congratulate a j ury on the peaceable state of the country when such crimes took place. However, comparing the period since the last assizes with the previous year, the eases reported to the police fell from 227 to 174. There was also less improper pressure on the people. A parliamently return was issued lately showing the number of persons under police protection in Ireland on the 31st July last, and on the 31st January last. At the former date the number who received special constant protection was 291, the number protected by patrols being 710 ; total,

1,001. On the latter date the number receiving special constant protection was 159, and the number protected by patrols 671; total,9lo. At the County Tyrone assizes, Samuel Brown, 30, a married man, was tried for abducting Bessie Stevenson, a girl under 18. The pair eloped to Canada, but returned after three months. The girl wanted to make known her return to her friends, but Brown refused, and hid her in an old barn on her father’s property. Here she remained for ten weeks, Brown supplying her with food, which he pushed through a hole in the side of the barn. On several occasions the barn was occupied by men, and then Brown placed the poor girl in a large trunk which they had used on the voyage, and locked her in till the barn was again deserted. Finally the prisoner took the girl to a neighboring village and then deserted her. The police on searching the barn found crusts and remnants of food which the girl had been supplied with. Brown was convicted and sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment.