The Press. — London, England, 1853-12-17 00:00:00

'Y'AI the prisoner was in Hull, working at his business. There in March last he addressed a letter to a Miss Crackles, who was a pious person, and possessed of some property. In this communication he declared his affection f.r Miss Crackles, stating that besides herself he had never seen a young woman whom he could fancy for a wife. As it hail been ordained by God that man should make the first advance, he hoped Miss Crackles would pardon him for address ing her, and trusted that she would grant him an interview, adding that he belonged to the same re ligious denomination as herself. He should, how ever, leave the matter in the hands of the Lord. Miss Crackles declined to see the prisoner, when he addressed a second letter to her, and eventually she consented to accept his suit. In the same week that he was writing these letter , . to Miss Crackles the prisoner wrote to his wife, who was then at Ipswieli, informing her that, being unable to obtain employ ment in Hull, he was about to sail for America, where he had no doubt of getting a good living. He ad vised his wife to remain at Ipswieb, and concluded his epistle in terms of the warmest affection for her. The prisoner married Miss Crackles at Seulcoats l'illlTCll on the tlrd of June last. Ilk marriage was discove►ed, and ho was apprehended on the charge of bigamy and lodged in Hull gaol. Whilst in prison he wrote two letters, one to his wife and the other to Miss Crackles, and prevailed on a person who was working in the gaol to take charge of these commu nications. In the letter to his wife ho asked her to get some person to write to him stating that she was dead, and to date the letter previous to the second marriage. if any inquiry were subsequently made about it she could state that time individual who wrote the letter had gone to Australia. Ile begged his wife to do this, as it would save him from trans portation. In the letter to Miss Crackles ho stated that he hail every hope of' being acquitted of' the charge against him, and that they could then live happily together. The jury found him Guilty, ex pressing their opinion that the offence was aggravated by being committed under the garb of religion. Sen tenced to five years' penal servitude. IN THE Cnr•nr or QUEEN'S BENCH, on Wednesday, a verdict of 41x11. was obtained by Captain Cox, who formerly commanded the Melbournt, against the Royal Australian Mail Company, for breach of con tract in superseding him from the command of that vessel without due notice. ANortinn Arrubx, connected with the celebrated case arising out of Mrs. Kelly's will, has occupied the Court of Exchequer in Dublin. The trial lasted during four days, and was decided on Monday. Some short time back Mr. George Birch, a solicitor, was tried and acquitted on a charge of having em bezzled the enormous sum of 40,000/., the property of Mrs. Kelly. Upon the first discovery of the alarming defalcation, and when it had been ascer tained that ninth had left the eluntry, Mrs. Kelly offered a reward of 5001. for his apprehension—a feat which was accomplished by a sergeant in the detective force named Ryan, who, as a matter of course, claimed the reward. The lady, however, de murred, and peremptorily refused to fulfil her part of the compaet. Ryan, therefore, appealed to the law, and, after a protracted and stormy trial before the Chief Baron, the jury found a verdict for the full amount claimed by the plaintiff, with 041. costs. Sow: ritorErtry stole!) recently atlw'igbt un Buzzard from the shop of Mr. Matthews, the jeweller, has been traced to the possession of Lewis Myers, who had disposed of certain articles and offered others for sale among the London dealers in old silver. This man was in consequence exa mined at the Guildhall on Monday. Vanons chains, watch movements, dials, &-c., which were found on the prisoner's person and at his lodgings, were pro duced and identified. Respecting others Mr. Matthews cent, not speak positively as to his pro prietorship, the patterns being common. It was shown also that Myers had made some overtures to a silver tefiner in Barbican respecting the sale of 100 double-cased watches which he stated to have fur disposal. About that number of similar watches had been purloined from Mr. Matthews. At the close of the exatnination the prisoner was remanded. Three men are also in custody on suspicion of having been concerned in the burglary. Tut: CI'HATF. (Ir (lour" near "'eyeball). In Hampshire, suddenly left that village on the I; th of November, taking with him a young woman named Macfarlane, daughter of a pensioner residing in the place, and who had tilled gee office of mistress at the village school. The cutate's name is the Rev. 11. F. Hewgill. Ile is thirty-four years of age, and has a wife and four children. Some pecuniary misdoing caused the police to be put on his track, and the missing pair were traced to Boulogne, where they lived in the first style and visited the theatres and places of amusement. Afters arils they returned to England and visited different places in the coun try, but the unhappy woman was recently deserted by her betrayer and left destitute in London. Mr. Hewgill was, however, arrested last week, and, being brought up at Marlborough-street police-office, was THE PRESS. by the magistrate sent down in custody to Fareham to be examined by the local justices. The only charges against him of which the bench could take cognisance were those which related to certain alleged frauds. It was stated that the prisoner had shown papers purporting to be drafts or orders for money to different tradesmen, and obtained advances upon them. One of these documents appeared to be an order for 15/. from the rector of the parish for salary ; and another a draft for the same amount on the prisoner's uncle. Both were dishonoured on pre sentation and stated to be forgeries. Evidence upon these charges having been given, the prisoner was committed for trial. As ATTEMPT TO GET re A CoMr \NV seems to have been chiefly instrumental in causing the insolvency of Mr. J. B. flora, whose affairs and conduct were placed before the Insolvent Court for judgment on Saturday last. The scheme in question was called the City of London Brewing and Malting Company. While trying to set the project on foot, the insolvent had raised money on accommodation bills, and the expense of the atfairluul caused his embarrassments. lie had issued prospectuses, and the capital was to be 1,000,000/. During his examination Mr. Lloyd was asked how he was induced to connect himself with the affair. Ile said the public press complained of the brewers and the beer supplied ; and at a tavern which lie used the subject was discussed. Others were of the same opinion, and l►e started the com pany, which continued but for a few months. The British Bank were the bankers, and all that was paid in was 101. Ho got 51/. of plated goods from Messrs. Sarl for the purposes of the company, and immediately pledged them. Some were pledged on the day following that on which they were obtained. It was complained that the debt with Messrs. Sarl had been fraudulently contracted, or without reasonable expectation of payment. The insolvent had been in great distress since he bad been in prison. Mr. Commissioner Phillips, in delivering judg ment, said ho thought the company looked like a juggle from beginning to end, and consequently ordered the insolvent to be remanded for seven months'', for contracting a debt without reasonable expectations of payment. *tihnts antt Oficncts. SEVERAL FAMILIES were placed in great danger on Wednesday morning by the outbreak of a fire at Stoke Newington. Several of the Brigade and West of England engines soon reached the locality of the catastiophe, but in two hours three houses with their contents were destroyed. LIFE WAS Lear by a tire which broke out on Satur day last on the premises of Mr. Mustard, a baker, in Grafton street, Fitzroy-square. Part of the house Was let out to different lodgers, one of whom, a tra velling draper, named Rogers, was burnt to death, or suffocated in his room. Considerable property was also destroyed, and the house nearly gutted by the eontiagation. Two NEN WERE KILLEn and others seriously in jured, at the Old Excise-office in the City, on Mon day morning. Several men were at work in the courtyard, clearing a pile of many thousand bricks, and in doing so pulled out several bricks at the bottom of the stack, which gave way, amid almost buried the whole party, who were dreadfully bruised and smashed. One was killed on the spot, and another died on the road to the hospital. The ac cident is attributed entirely to their own carelessn ess. A STA - nos-MASTER and guard on the Caledonian Railway have been fined, one in :11. itts., anti the other in V. for taking two passengers in custody who protested against an undue filling of a carriage with passengers beyond the number allowed by the company's regulations. Tim WIFE: of Mr. Stocker, proprietor of a respec table academy at Boughton, near Faversham, left her home in company with one of the ushers, named Chatterton. The guilty parties took with hem all the plate, and a considerable sum of money. The woman left three children and a husband, and her accomplice has succeeded in victimising several tradesmen to a large amount. Tut: Wooowonk in a coal-pit belonging to Bush l'ark Colliery, near Wordsley, caught fire on Friday night in last week from some accident, anti the flames communicating to the coal strata around produced fumes which suffocated five men and a boy who were at work in the pit. Three of the bodies were after wards extricated with much difficulty, but the fire spread so rapidly that the shaft was covered over, and remains closed until it can be stilled. THE 'M1)11E-TAX C4II.I.ECTOrt for St. Clement Danes district, Mr. T. lloulton, has lately disappeared. leav ing, it is alleged, very serious defalcations in his ac counts. An official notice has been issued by Messrs. Twining and Wood, property and income tax com missioners. stating that, in consequence of Mr. Boulton having become a defaulter to the amount, of 8,R001., they had seized upon all his property. Mr. Boniton's securities, who are four in number, arc, as SATURDAY, a matter of course, accountable for his defalcations. The appointments which he held for many years i n the parish have been already disposed of. Soils new theatrical " thunder" having been pre pared for the Edinburgh theatre was tried last week with a very unexpected effect. The Flowers of the Forest was perbirmed, and in the storm scene the thunder being let off produced a noise which absolutely frightened the audience into the belief of some dread ful catastrophe. A panic got up in the gaUery, shrieks and cries of " Murder !" were heard from all parts, and, from the contagion of fear and the instinct of self. preservation, there were symptoms of an overwhelm• mg rush to the door. Mr. Wyndham, the manager, aided by some of the company, vociferated that there was no danger, and imploied the people to keep their seats, but the pit was rapidly emptying itself, and some adventurous youths were sliding down the pil lars from the galleries into tho boxes. Happily the appeal proved, at length, successffil, and a loud cheer from all parts of the house conveyed the assurance that nobody was hurt and nothing was wrong, and announced at the same time the unparalleled success of this extraordinarily " startling effect." AMONG several garotte robberies that have lately been perpetrated in Manchester, the most singular and daring was committed on the person of Mr. Tyrrell, a wine-agent, and at his office, near the Royal Exchange. Mr. Tyrrell had just returned to his office at five o'clock, when, before he could strike a light, two men, who had apparently dogged his steps, seized him, and, while one grasped his throat so as to prevent his calling for assistance, the other rifled his pockets. After abstracting twenty-five sovereigns and some silver the thieves absconded, leaving their victim insensible, and locking the door behind them for further precaution. They had ample time to effect an escape before Mr. Tyrrell had re- covered sufficiently to set pursuers on their track. A STATUE is not much more expensive than a painting. Let the base for the support of the one go against the frame of the other, and a statue in marble or bronze will be found very little to exceed in cost that of a portrait on canvas. For the latter 8001. (often more) has been fre quently paid. For each of the portraits in the Waterloo Gallery at Windsor Castle, Sir Thomas Lawrence received IMO/. We cool(' easily supply many more cases. The City, it is known, has commissioned six statues—the artists bring Bade, Macnowell, Foley, Marshall, Th►upp, and Lough—for which the City is to pay, for each, OM/. : liaily received for his world-famous statue of "Eve at the Fountain" COOL, and for "The Hunter" .40W.; Marshall received from the Art-Union of London WO/. for his statue in marble of " The Laming Girl Reposing ;" and Foley WO/. for one of the great master works of the age, the group of " Bacchus and Inn ;" to this list we may add the comm►ssions of marble statues for the House of Lords to the best British sculptors, at S(M) guineas each _ _ Tim •Ersstax Curnett affects toleration. Of the vast population of filly 60,000,0(0 only about 45,000,000 are members of the regular Church ; 350,000 are heretics or dissenters to that Church itself; 8,500,000 Roman Catho lics are found throughout the wide domains of the Czar, and fully 250,000 Arminians. The Protestants of the Augsburg Confession of Faith amount to 2,000,(X); those of the Reformed Church to 54,000. There are 10,000 Moravians, while no less than 2,500,000 belong to the Mahometnn creed. The Jews are 000,000 in number, and the followers of that mysterious potentate, the Grand Lama of Thibet, amount to no less than half that amount. liut there are creeds still more extraordinary throughout the enormous tract of territory which constitutes the Rus sian empire ; 170,000 are open idolators, and no less than GOYS* are addicted to the disgusting practice of Fetichism, worshipping bats, cows, and every uncouth specimen of brute, as representative of the divinity of heaven.—Noliasal Migeeltany. l'AltimAN HINTS ron CAB nyton3l.—The superiority of the French conveyances over those of London is very striking to those who visit Paris. In the French capital there are to be fonnd plying for hire broughams of a per fect description, quite as good as those of gentlemen. The driver Is in livery, the horse very good, and the whole of the appointments well finished. The charge for these broughams is, of course, something more than the common cabs ; ladies and others take them by the hour, and are sure of civility; nothing can be more cowenient. Every one knows if they send for a brougham in London how enormous is the charge, so much so that few ever indulge in sueli a dear species of luxury. Again, in Paris there are little barouchea, drawn by one or two horses. holding four people ; these also ply for hire, mid can be had on fair terms. They are exceedingly convenient ;in }kir weather families use them very much—in fact they are so much called for that. unless bespoken, it is very difficult to get one. Surely these carriages would be much sought for in London, when we consider its vast suburbs, inhabited by the very class of persons requiring such vehicles. There is also another conveyance of great importance to families. At all the railway stations there are in waiting small omnibuses, which a family can hire on arrival, and which takes them, their servants, luggage, itc., to their residence altogether. Thus, the hiring of two or three cabs is unnecemiarv. avoiding also the risk of the trunks tumbling MT in the dark, and many other annoyances. A family leaving town can send for one of these 'busses, and be conveyed to the station. The convenience of this plan beyond description,