and the signs of dissatisfaction augmented as the
darkness set in. How the actual riot began is not accurately
known, but it soon became very violent. Mr. Sim, the
chief constable, turned out with the whole police force
of the place, consisting of nine men, but he soon found
himself unable to make head against the rioters, and he
retreated to the police-office, with a yelling crowd at his
heels. By this time the mob had broken up the stalls
in the market-place for bludgeons, armed themselves
with stones, and smashed a good deal of glass. The
Mayor and the officers presented themselves, and requested
the mob to withdraw. A volley of stones and a burst
of cheers were the replies. This was about eight in the
evening. The Mayor went to the railway station to
telegraph for troops from Preston; Mr. Sim posted his
men in some back premises, and kept up communication
with the Mayor. For the next three hours the mob
held undisputed possession of the town. The
shopkeepers hastily closed their shops; the rioters had
broken and put out the gas-lamps. They paraded from
street to street; smashed the windows at the Police-
office, the Moot-hall, the Town-hall, the Victoria and
Clarence hotels; and, having made a tour of the
principal streets, they returned to the Royal Hotel. Not
satisfied with the damage done from without, they
rushed into the house, broke the mirrors, tore down the
curtains, and damaged the furniture. "Let's go to
Taylors'," was the next cry. The Taylors are cotton-
spinners; their windows were broken and much damage
done. In succession the mob attacked other houses; in
particular, that of Mr. Johnson, another cotton-spinner.
The house and the mill are enclosed; but they got
inside the gates, broke the windows of the house,
entered the lower rooms, broke a valuable finger-organ
and pianoforte, destroyed the engravings, paintings, and
furniture of three rooms, and having collected some
umbrellas and table-linen, and portions of a sofa, they
got burning coals and made a fire in the middle of a
parlour, leaving the place in a blaze. Mr. Johnson and
his family were in the house when the attack was made,
but they escaped before the mob broke in; and after
they left the house, Mr. Johnson and some men exerted
themselves to extinguish the fire. Before they finally
retired, the rioters broke some garden furniture, and
hurled a heavy log of wood upon a conservatory. At
length, after eleven o'clock, the train with the soldiers
arrived; 150 men from Preston, under the command of
Captain Wilt. The mayor and magistrates placed
themselves at the head of this body, and sallied into the
streets. It was very dark, rioters were heard coming,
but they were few in number, and six were captured.
The rest had gone home. The soldiers turned into
quarters, and all was quiet by one o'clock. Saturday
and Sunday passed off quietly: but on Sunday evening
it became evident that mischief was brewing. About
six o'clock, a body of colliers, from three to four
hundred, marched through the town with drums and
fifes. As soon as they had passed, the soldiers mustered
in the Town-hall, and the magistrates hastened to the
spot. Meanwhile, the rioters had marched upon the
saw-mills at Haigh, but the defenders were armed and
prepared for the attack. The rioters arrived there three
hundred strong, and instantly attacked the mills.
Stones were showered on the defenders, and the gates
were battered with pieces of wood. An attempt was
then made to escalade the place; but the police knocked
down their assailants as they appeared above the
boarding. At length the rioters got on the flank of the
besieged; and the police and Mr. Peace's men retreated
to the inner yard. The mob entered the outer yard,
and tried to fire the place; but a workman thrust his
gun through the glass and fired; and upon this the
rioters retreated. They rallied again immediately; but
another volley of four shots effectually drove them bacK,
and they fled towards Wigan, bearing away their
wounded. When the police gained the main road it
was clear. The soldiers now appeared, but too late to
be of service. Leaving fifty rank and file in charge of
the mills, the main body returned to Wigan. None of
the rioters were arrested. Early next morning, a troop
of the Royal Dragoons from Manchester arrived at
Wigan, and the riots ceased; but the colliers were loud
in their threats of vengeance against some who had
returned to work, and against the masters. The six
prisoners have been examined, and their cases disposed
of. One is committed for felony, two are remanded,
one is called on for security, and two are discharged.
They were mere boys—the elder under sixteen.

Another barbarous Murder, with Highway Robbery,
has been committed in Norfolk. The victim was Lorenzo
Bella, a silversmith, who resided in Norwich. He had
two assistants in his shop, to whom he left the care of
his business while he travelled through the county to
obtain orders and to sell his jewellery. He usually
carried a box of gold and silver watches and other
jewellery in a bag, suspended from a stick on his shoulder,
and his custom was, when he sold goods to the country
people, to take payment in small instalments. He was
last seen alive, walking towards the village of Wellingham,
about one o'clock on Friday, the 18th inst. About
three o'clock the same afternoon a person named
Robinson, who resided in the neighbourhood, while
walking along the road, observed a great quantity of
blood, and noticed that some portions of it had been
partially covered by dirt scraped from the road. At this
moment two young gentlemen, sons of the Rev. Mr.
Digby, of Tittleshall, came riding up on ponies, and
two ladies in a gig, a Miss Shepherd and Mrs. Digby.
The whole party stopped, and their attention was
directed to the blood. One of the young gentlemen
observed that there was a trail of blood to the hedge,
and Robinson jumping upon the hedge, saw that the
trail was continued through the fence into the ditch, on
the other side, where a horrible spectacle presented
itself. The body of Mr. Beha was found with the legs
towards the hedge, and the coat collar turned up as if
the murdered man had been dragged by his coat through
the fence. By the side of the body lay Mr. Beha's box
of jewellery, unopened, but removed from the bag, and
his stick and umbrella, and also a large hatchet, such
as is used for felling timbers. The blade of the
hatchet was covered with blood and hair, and it
was evidently the weapon by which the unfortunate
man had been murdered. His trousers pockets were
turned inside out, and rifled; but in his waistcoat
pocket a watch was found, still going. His head
had been nearly severed from the body by a blow at
the back of the neck, and there were four deeply-cut
wounds across the temples and face, any one of which
must have caused instantaneous death. The right eye
was also driven inwards to the depth of nearly an inch.
Indeed the poor man appeared to have been felled like
an ox, and dragged through the fence into the ditch.
On searching the clothes of deceased more minutely his
account-book was found, soaked with blood, in one of
his pockets, but the keys of his box were gone. No
suspicion was entertained as to the perpetrator of the
murder until late in the evening. A man named
William Webster, while driving in his cart from Tittleshall
to Wellingham, shortly before one o'clock on the
same day, had seen a man in the plantation adjoining
the ditch where the body was found, and he observed
that the man stooped down to hide himself as he
(Webster) approached. He communicated this
circumstance to the parish constable, stating that the man
was William Thompson, a labourer, who lived with his
father in the neighbourhood. Thompson, the same night,
was apprehended in bed; and parts of his clothes were
found to be stained with blood. On further search, a
silver watch, with the name "L. Beha" as maker,
another watch with the same name, a canvas bag with
a third watch, and money in notes, gold, and silver, were
found in different places. On the 19th the prisoner was
taken before the county magistrates. Several witnesses
having been examined he was remanded till further
evidence could be adduced. Thompson is about twenty
years of age; and his appearance is superior to that
which is generally characteristic of his class. He listened
attentively to the evidence, but appeared to be quite
calm and unconcerned.

At Guildhall, on the 22nd, Charles Clark was charged
before Alderman Humphery with Stealing a Watch the
previous morning in the Old Bailey. Robert Pollard, the
prosecutor, said: I was present yesterday morning at the
Execution of the man Mobbs. I was in front of the scaffold,
when I felt something at my pocket, and then missed my