The Press. — London, England, 1858-11-13 00:00:00

THE PRESS, NOVEMBER 13, 1858. 1106 A NOVEL APPLICATION was made to Mr. Elliott, at Lambeth Police-court, on Tuesday, by a lieutenant colonel in the army, on behalf of a person accom panying him, and whom he represented to have served as sergeant in his regiment during the years 1802 and 1816, that he might be empowered legally to carry on the trade of a vintner. The applicant handed in a paragraph from a newspapt r, quoting an act of lieorge 111., in support of the statement that any person having served in the Militia or Fencibles in the years mentioned were authorized to set up in business for the sale of any article they chose, and in whatever town they pleased. His worship, however, pointed out a special saving clause in the fourth section of the act, to the effect that "it did not give liberty to any person to set up the trade of a vintner, or sell any wine or other liquors, without licence first bad and obtained." MR. RICHARD ROPER Wag again brought up on Saturday, at the Greenwich Police•court, on the charge of setting fire to his house, at Greenwich, and thereby causing the death of his two children, and with an attempt to defraud the Kent Fire Insurance Company. The witnesses examined were those who had given evidence before the coroner's jury. The prisoner was further remanded. AN IMPORTANT QUESTION, affecting a considerable portion of house property subject to the powers of the new building act, was brought before Mr. 13eadon at Marlborough•street on Thursday. The act requires a certain space for light and air to be left in the rear of a house. The defendant summoned in this case (Mr. Higgs, Charles-street) had covered over with a skylight the space required to be left open ; but it was contended that as provision was made for light and air the spirit of the act had been complied with. The magistrate, however, seemed to think otherwise, bat adjourned the case for further consideration. AN IMPORTANT CRIMINAL TRIAL wag opened at Edinburgh on Wednesday. It will be remembered that, in the month of September, the death of a ser vans girl took place at Polmont, near Stirling, through the attempt to procure abortion, and that William Reid and a young surgeon, named Thomas Girdwood, were charged with the crime. Immediately after the fatal result Girdwood committed suicide, and Reid was captured in endeavouring to make his escape. The facts revealed are of a peculiarly distressing and painful character. The bulk of the evidence taken was that of the medical men who had examined the body of the deceased, and its tendency was to show that ihe operation had been performed by a profes sional person. On Thursday, after the several wit nesses had been examined, the Lord Advocate a.ldressed the jury for the prosecution, and the Dean of Faculty for the prisoner. The Lord Justice Clerk summed up strongly against the prisoner. The jury retired at thirty-live minutes past five, and were absent about one hour, when they returned a verdict of "Not guilty on the first charge, of murder; and guilty on the second and third, amounting to cut. pable homicide." The prisoner was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude. house and inviting a number of his workpeople from the mill to assist in firing off two cannon and letting off some fireworks. For the purpose of causing the cannon to give a louder report, they were rammed hard, by the end of the cannon being placed on an anvil and the ramrod struck with a sledgehammer. In loading one of the cannon in this way, either a piece of ignited wadding had remained in the cannon after the last firing or the blows on the ramrod struck fire, and caused the powder to ignite and the cannon to burst. The effects were fearful. One man had both his hands shattered dreadfully with the fragments of the cannon, the left hand merely hanging by a piece of skin; his left leg was broken in two places, and he is considered to be in a very dangerous state. Another was severely wounded about the thighs and legs, and his trousers were bet on tire. A third was knocked off the trestle by the force of the explosion, and lay on the ground on his back, but rose nuinjure.d. A fourth bad the first finger on his right hand blown off, and was badly wounded about the face. His clothes were also set on fire. Mr. John Shiers, jun., who was near at the time, received a wound in the fleshy part of his thigh, but not a dangerous one. Mr. Shiers and several of his children were standing near, but, with the exception of Mr. John Shiers, none of them were injured. A Most LAMENTABLE EVENT has just occurred at Greenock, in which it is feared one person, at least, will fall a sacrifice—arising, as is supposed, from using poisoned game. The facts are these : A flesher in town has been in the habit of selling dead rabbits, a regular supply of which he generally received from parts of the Highlands. Of late the supply has not come to hand, and as some customers were very anxious to get them, he was induced on Saturday to purchase a pair from a person who casually dropped in to sell. These were resold to one of his customers, a shopkeeper in the neighbour. hood. On Sunday the rabbits were cooked, and the whole family, consisting of husband and wife, the husband's mother, three young children, and the servant gill, partook of them. Immediately after wards the husband was seized with violent pains in his bowels, and afterwards every member of the household became also unwell in the same way, but after suffering for some time they all recovered, with the exception of one of the children, fifteen months old, who is not expected to recover. The supposition is, that the rabbits had been poisoned, probably with the view of detecting poachers. A HATER OF CRINOLINE was brought before the Liverpool Police-court on Saturday. Two young ladies named Hayes, the daughters of wealthy parents, in company with their governess, were pro ceeding along the Prince's-park New-road, on the Friday afternoon, when Mr. John Huntingdon, a corn merchant., came towards them, and when passing stooped down, took hold of Miss Mary Hayes's clothes in his right hand, and with the left, which contained a knife, commenced to cut the hoops of her crinoline, saying, " These hoops, these hoops, these hoops, I will cut." However, he was unsuc cessful, as the hoops were made of steel, and he offered no further violence, but walked on, accom panied by a large black dog. On information being given to the police, detective Holme proceeded to one of the defendant's stores in Mill-street, and there saw a dog which the governess identified as the one she noticed with the prisoner, and on the prisoner being called in she also identified him, and he was consequently arrested. The defendant was identified by all the ladies, who swore most positively that he was the person who accosted them so roughly. For the defence, Mr. Deighton, barrister, put in an alibi, and called witnesses to show that Mr. Huntingdon could not be the person who committed the offence. His worship, in giving his decision, said there was such positive swearing on each side, that it became extremely difficult for him to form an opinion on the whole of the evidence. It would be most unsatis factory to himself to come to any conclusion on the subject. He had resolved to refer the matter to the consideration of a jury, and he would, therefore, commit the prisoner for trial at the next sessions. The assault was of a strange and peculiar description, and the alarm produced by it on the young lady might have been serious. Under all these circum stances he had determined to send the defendant fur trial. He did not wish to put the defendant to any inconvenience, but when the depositions were taken he would admit, him to bail, in his own recogni• zance in 501., to appear at the sessions to take his trial, and let a jury decide the question. The depositions were then taken, and the defendant was admitted to bail in his own recognizance of 501. Mr. Woodruff attended with the young ladies, and there were several mostrespectable•looking ladies iu court, who seemed quite anxious about the decision of the case. A MRS. BARNETT, residing at Chelsea, has died from an overdose of ipecacuanha received as a medicine from St. George's Hospital, of which she was an out-patient. ifib.ents an Offmas. NINE FIRES occurred in various parts of the metropolis in the course of Saturday and Sunday, without, however, any very large amount of damage being caused in the majority of cases. PAUPERISM is on the decrease. In the fourth week of September 811,362 paupers received relief in England and Wales, against 816,195 in 1857, thus exhibiting a decrease of 4,833, or 0.59 per cent. In the third week the decline was 0.60 per cent., and in the second week 0.19. In the first week there was an increase of 0.06 per cent. These numbers exclude lunatic paupers in asylums and licensed houses, and vagrants, classes which form but a small portion of the entire pauperism of the country. A FATAL ACCIDENT BY FIREWORKS is recorded. It appears that on the evening of the sth inst., Dr. Thomas, a general practitioner, of Upper Norwood, was killed in consequence of a display of fireworks on the grounds of a gentleman at Crown bill, at the top of the road leading from Streatham common to Upper Norwood. Dr. Thomas was returning with his daughter-in-law and ber child, from Streatham, when the letting off of some rockets caused his horse to take fright. The startled animal, becoming quite unmanageable, rushed down the hill with great velocity, and came in contact with a sand cart with such violence as to precipitate the doctor and his family against the cart. Dr. Thomas was killed almost instantaneously, but his daughter•in-law and her child escaped with their lives, though most seriously injured. A MOST DISTRESSING ACCIDENT occurred on Friday night, the sth instant, at Oldham, from the use of firearms. Mr. Shiers, of Greenhill, has made a practice for some time of commemorating the sth of November by having a large bonfire near his Ohituarg. • THE DEAN OF ELY, the Very Rev. Dr. Peacock, died on Monday, after a long a n d ser i ous i llness. Dr. Peacock was long a distinguished member of th e University of Cambridge ; he was of Trinity College, and was second wrangler in 1813, when Sir John Herschel was senior wrangler, and the names of Fallows, Romilly, Amus, and Mill, followed him. He was the author of a treatise on algebra, and other mathematical works. Since his residence in Ely he has taken a most active part not only in the restoration and beautifying of the cathedral, but also in the improvement of the town. The deanery is in the gift of the Crown, and is the first important piece of clerical preferment which the Earl of Derby has been called upon to bestow. DR. Grevaxn died at Folkestone, on Saturday. The deceased, Stanley Lees Giffard, Esq., LL.D., of Trinity College, Dublin, and of the Middle Temple, was a barrister, but was much batter known to statesmen, men of letters, and the public, as having exercised for considerably more than a quarter of a century the office of editor of the Standard, and having discharged that office with an amount of ability, learning, power, and fearlessness, which gave his daily writings an important influence on the public opinion of the country, and rendered them a great support to evangelical religion in the Church of England, the general advancement of Protestant truth, and the dissemination of Conservative opinions. Dr. Giffard was born in Dublin on the 4th of August, 1788, and died in his 71st year, of cancer. MR. EDWARD DRAKE BROCKMAN, late M.P. for Hythe, died at Beachborough, at about ten o'clock in the evening on the sth inst. The deceased gentle- man had recently met with a serious accident, pre, ducing concussion of the brain, from which he never recovered. LADY FRANCES JULIA MAYNARD, wife of Colonel the Hon. Charles Henry Maynard, only son of Viscount Maynard, Lord-Lieutenant of the county of Essex, died at Shern Hall,Walthamstow, on the 4th inst., the anniversary of her birthday. Lady Frances was born on the fourth of November, 1821, and was the youngest child of James, Baron Glenlyon, by Lady Emily Percy, fifth daughter of Hugh, second Duke of Northumberland, and was youngest sisterof the present Duke of Atholl. MR. THO3IAS WM. BOOKER BLAKEMORE, of the Ley's Herefordshire, and of Valinara, Glarnorganshire' M.P. for the county of Hereford, died suddenly or apoplexy on Sunday in the 57th year of his age' The deceased gentleman was the son of the late Rev' L. Booker, LL.D., and assumed, by royal license, the name of Blakemore, in accordance with the will of his uncle, R. Blakemore, Esq., in 1855. He took an active part on the protectionist side in the free-trade controversy, and was a consistent member of the Conservative party. He was first returned for Herefordshire in September, 1850, without opposition. He was also author of a " Treatise on the Mineral Basin of South Wales ;" also a " Letter to the People on the Revenues of the Church." Blistellantns. THE LITERARY PROPERTY belonging to the late Mr. Bogue, bookseller and publisher, of Fleet-street, has been sold by Messrs. Southgate and Barrett for nearly 10,0001. Among the copyrights and stereo. type plates sold were the following :—" The Illus trated Byron," 1,000 copies, the stereotype plates and wood blocks, 3501.; " Milton's Poetical Works, illustrated, " 500 copies, the wood blocks, stereotype plates, and copyright of Memoir, 250/. ; " Cowper's Poems," illustrated, 500 copies, the wood blocks, stereotype plates, and copyrght of Memoir, 1601, Captain Mayne Reid's Child's Book of Animals" (unpublished), the manuscript and copyright, SOL A FOOLISH EXPERIMENT has been attemp ted by a private of the Montrose Militia Artillery, named. David Graham, but better known as "The Juggler. He had been exhibiting his wonderful powers it Dublin, where lie had gone with his regiment, by swallowing a bayonet. This feat he accomplished, making the weapon disappear to the hilt; but the dangerous visitor to his internal corporation consi derably injured him about the liver, a nd he died soon after. THE ALPACAS lately presented to t he colo n y by s few returned colonists and others in terested in Aus tralia have left on board the Goddess for Melbourne. They go out in charge of a man specially renm mended for the purpose from the Zoological e, and meeting, as they probably wi ll do, S o akh raleg brought over direct from Chili by the enterp Mr. Ledger, our readers may look forward with some Interest to the consequences resulting from the Pr° bable establishment of this animal in a new country ship apparently so suited to its nature. The sama conveys a dozen English pheasants, presented by • a 1. to )r 0. - id . , r. d, le !Al #3. a- ig aa 0- ry ip 118