Reading Room 2

Saturday, June 9, 1860.

NUISANCES AT HINDLEY.
   Thomas Walsh was summoned by Inspector Peter, nuisance inspector, with permitting an open ditch or cesspool near some cottages belonging to him, at Stony-lane, Hindley. Defendant had been served with the customary notice, but paid no regard to it. - The bench ordered him to remove the nuisance in seven days, and pay the costs. - John Houghton was also summoned for a similar nuisance, upon property adjoining the former defendant's, and the nuisance was represented as so offensive that the tenants could not bear to have their doors open. - Defendant said he should have removed the nuisance if notice had been given him. The tenants had not complained to him, and the first information he had of the nuisance was when the summons was served upon him. - This was denied by police-constable Wilson, who said defendant told him he had had a notice, but had forgotten it. - The nuisance was ordered to be removed in seven days, defendant to pay costs.

Saturday, June 9, 1860.

BREACH OF CONTRACT.
   Nathaniel Knowles and Thomas Hart, of Ashton, were charged with breach of contract. Defendants are hinge makers, and on the 18th of January last they had a quantity of iron delivered to them by Mr. Billinge, to make into hinges. They had not, however, up to this time returned either the hinges or the iron, after having been repeatedly asked and making several promises to do so. Mr. Billinge did not press for the punishment of defendants, though he had sustained considerable loss by practices such as those they were charged with. He had advanced Knowles £10 with which to purchase tools, and if he would promise to repay that sum and return the hinges, he should be satisfied. - Defendants were accordingly allowed three weeks to fulfill these conditions.

Friday, June 15, 1860.

SHOCKING ACCIDENT FROM BURNING.
   On Friday morning last a melancholy and shocking accident from fire occurred at the residence of Rev. Gerald O'Reilley, adjoining St. Mary's Catholic Chapel, Standishgate. It appears that the two servants, housekeeper and housemaid, retired to rest at their usual hour; they occupied separate apartments, and about one o'clock on Friday morning the housekeeper was suddenly awakened by hearing cries for help proceeding from her fellow servant, a girl about 16 years of age, named Mary Arrowsmith. Considerably alarmed, she immediately got up, when she experienced a strong smell of fire, and on going to her room door she saw Arrowsmith in the act of carrying a bucket of water to her bedroom, and at once seeing what was the matter she hastened to the room in question, when she found the bed and bedclothes in flames, and a considerable portion of the latter consumed. Other assistance was immediately obtained, and the speedy and vigorous efforts made to quench the fire soon put the safety of the building beyond doubt. Attention was now directed to the girl Arrowsmith, whose cries and moans left no doubt that she must have sustained some severe injuries from some cause or other. On examining her it was found that she was fearfully scorched and burnt all over her body, and Mr. Hawett, on being sent for, expressed his doubts as to her recovery, and for two days she remained in a most precarious condition. The origin of the fire was at first somewhat of a mystery, but from the fact of the housekeeper finding upon the room floor a stocking and some worsted, and a needle, there is every reason to suppose that the girl had been mending this stocking while in bed, and had fallen asleep, and knocked the candle over. How long the fire existed before the girl awoke is not known; but fortunately there were many woollen articles on the bed, and no doubt they would smoulder some time before the flames burst out. We are happy to say that the poor sufferer has continued to improve a little since Monday, and that there are hopes of her ultimate recovery.

Friday, June 15, 1860.

INQUEST AT NEWTOWN.
   On Monday last an inquest was held at the Bird-i'-th'-Hand, Newtown, before C. E. Driffield, Esq., on the body of a man named William Anderton, a labourer, 26 years of age. Deceased, it appears, had been subject to fits almost from his birth, and on Friday night last, about eleven o'clock, he had one, and disturbed his bedfellow, a man named Winstanley, who immediately got up and went down stairs for some water, but on returning to the room the man was dead. - A verdict of "Found dead" was returned.

Friday, June 15, 1860.

FURIOUS DRIVING.
   James Wright, better known as "Steeple Jack," was charged with furious driving on the 8th instant. - Police-constable Atkinson proved the case, and added that the defendant was drunk. - He was discharged on payment of costs.

Friday, June 15, 1860.

BREACH OF THE LORD'S DAY ACT.
   Michael Cain was charged with selling oysters at ten minutes past twelve on Sunday morning last. Police-constable Atkinson said he saw Cain at the time in question open half a dozen oysters and receive pay for them. - Defendant denied that it was past twelve o'clock. - Mr. Ingram said he did not understand how it was oysters were sold in June; he understood they were not in season in summer. - Cain said that "Bluemaris" oysters were bedded down in winter and taken up in the summer. (Laughter.) Yes (added Cain), Bluemaris, in Wales. (Renewed laughter.) - Defendant was discharged with a caution, and ordered to pay costs. - John Shields and Owen Brogan were charged with a like offence, but they did not appear.

Friday, June 22, 1860.

FORGED NOTES.
   We caution the tradesmen of the borough and the public generally to be on their guard, as many forged Bank of England notes appear to be in circulation, and so clever is the counterfeit that the most wary may be deceived. The other week a gentleman of this town having extensive monetary transactions received in the course of business a £5 note, dated "April 28th, 1860, E.M., 91,463," and duly paid it to one of the banks here, where it was forwarded to the Bank of England, but returned on Wednesday with the intimation that it was a forgery. We understand that an innkeeper also took a £5 note bearing the same date as the one mentioned above, and he also has had it returned with a like intimation. It will, perhaps, be in the recollection of our readers that the forged notes mentioned as being in circulation by the Times a few weeks ago bore the date of February.

Friday, June 22, 1860.

STEALING RHUBARB FROM A GARDEN.
   A boy about 12 years of age, named John Harrison, was brought before the county magistrates, on Saturday last, charged with stealing rhubarb from the garden of Mr. James Bruce, Hindley. Mr. Mayhew appeared to prosecute, and Mr. Ashton attended on behalf of the boy. Mr. Mayhew stated the facts, from which it appeared that the prosecutor's coachman saw the prisoner and another boy in his master's garden, plucking rhubarb. They perceived him coming towards them, and ran away through the hedge, but the coachman followed, and succeeded in capturing the prisoner, whom he took to his father, with a view to having him punished. The lad, however, denied that he had stolen the rhubarb, and his father espoused his cause, and took out a summons against the coachman for an assault. Mr. Mayhew said the prosecutor had no desire to have the boy punished if he would express his regret for what he had done, and withdraw the charge of assault, the costs in the cases to be paid by the boy's father. Some reluctance to accept this offer was at first made by the father, he evidently thinking his boy had been abused; but eventually, on the advice of Mr. Ashton, in which the bench concurred, he agreed to the proposal, and the case was dismissed.

Friday, June 22, 1860.

ASSAULTING AN UNDERLOOKER IN A COLLIERY.
   Three young men, colliers, named Richard Crankshaw, William Yates, and William Rothwell, were charged with an assault upon James Gregson, underlooker at one of the pits belonging to the Earl of Crawford, Haigh. - Mr. Mayhew appeared for the complainant, and Mr. Ashton for the defendant. - Complainant said that on the morning of Monday, the 11th, he was engaged in his ordinary duties when he saw, in the part of the mine where the defendants were working, that a train of full waggons was stopped in the transit, owing to one of them having fallen over on to the return line, thus causing a complete stoppage of the work. He ordered the defendants to remove the waggon, but they refused, and, in company with eight or nine other persons, set upon him and kicked him about the body and legs to that extent that he had to call out for help. - Mr. Ashton, for the defence, said that complainant was first to begin the affray, by exceeding his authority over the defendants and striking Crankshaw in the ribs with a crutch he carried with him; it was also alleged that he had threatened to "cut them in two" if they did not do as he ordered them. - The bench considered an assault had been committed by the defendants, and that they had shown great insubordination, that they were fined each 20s. and costs, and in default twenty-one days' imprisonment.