Word has been received in Malta of the trial of George Ball across the line for the killing of “Black” Bill Long a month or so ago, which brought the news that Ball had been given life sentence in the penitentiary and his hired man, who was 1 the only witness to the killing, had received a sentence of twenty years. iThe conviction came as a surprise to ■ the people on this side who knew j the parties concerned and who t*x-I pccted an acquittal.