The Press. — London, England, 1855-08-18 00:00:00

AUG. 18, 1855. yam ant Vitt. THE CAUSE OF BOYLE Y. CARDINAL WISENAN came on for trial again, for the third time, at Croydon, on the Home Circuit, on Monday last. The circum stances connected with this case must be familial to our readers. The plaintiff is a Roman Catholic priest, and brought an action to recover damages from Cardinal Wiseman for having published a libel upon him in a French newspaper. The cause was ori ginally tried at Guildford, before the Lord Chief Baron, and upon that occasion the plaintiff was non suited, he being at the time unable to prove the publication of the libel without calling the cardinal as a witness, and the Chief Baron ruled that he could not be examined. Upon this ruling, which the court above held to be wrong, a new trial was granted, which was tried by Mr. Baron Platt at the spring assizes this year at Kingston, and the jury upon this occa sion returned a verdict for the plaintiff with 1,0001• damages. In consequence, however, of the judge having refused to admit in evidence a certain letter tendered on behalf of the defendant, this verdict was set aside, and a third trial ordered to be had, and the cause was set down for trial at these assizes. Soon after the case was called on upon this third oc casion there was a short consultation between the counsel on both sides, and, to the apparent astonish ment of the persons by whom the court was crowded, it was announced that the record in the action had been withdrawn, the parties having agreed upon terms. It transpired afterwards that the terms were, that the defendant is to pay 1001. towards the abor tive trial at Guildford and the whole of the taxed costs of the trial at Kingston and the present action, and it was arranged between the counsel that no apology or retractation should be demanded or given. Thus has ended these proceedings. The costs to be paid, it is said, would amount to nearly 1,2001. A SPECIAL SESSION was held at the, instance of Mr. Foster Owen, the high constable of Westminster, at the Sessions-house, for the purpose of hearing the cases of persons whose property had been damaged in the late Hyde-park disturbances, and who claimed compensation from the hundred. The magistrates present were Mr. Augustin Robinson (chairman), Mr. J. W. Thrupp, and Mr. Wm. Evans; and notices of claim had been received from many persons. Mr. Curling's case was the first called, his claim being for ldt 75., the value of a plate•glass window which had been de stroyed by the mob. The CHAIRMAN said they had only broken the windows, and ff they had been well thrashed it would have served them right, but there was no felony. The decision of the bench must be to refuse to make the order for compensation, and if Mr. Curling was dissatisfied he could appeal ; but he (the Chairman) thought it would not be worth his while, for the law was dead against him. Similar decisions were given in some of the other oases, and the business of the session terminated. Ix pursuance of the sentence of a court martial held at Kamiesch, Mr. James Wilkinson Elliott, a surgeon, late of the Royal Albert, has been com• mitted to the Devon County Gaol for two years, "for neglect of duty and unfeeling conduct." He was lauded at Plymouth last week, and thence conveyed to the gaol at Exeter to undergo his sentence. A RESPITE during her Majesty's pleasure has been received by the governor of Ruthin Gaol for Marga ret Davies, convicted at the assizes last week of the wilful murder of her illegitimate child, by drowning it in a canal at Llangollen. THE SENTENCE OF DEATH passed upon Joseph Richards at the last Brecon Assizes, for murder, will be commuted to transportation for life. Evidence which, if it had been adduced at the trial, would probably have led to a verdict of manslaughter only, has, it is stated, been submitted to the consideration of Sir George Grey ; and, after conferring with Lord Campbell, before whom the case was tried, the Home Secretary is of opinion that the ends of justice will be sufficiently answered without the infliction of the ex treme penalty of the law. Ittibtnts anb Ofentts. A MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT occurred at Cremorne gardens on Monday night, involving injuries, more or less serious, to about twenty men of the Grenadier Guards. Mr. Simpson, the proprietor of the grounds, had announced a grand fete, representing the capture of the Mamelon and the rifle pits by the allied troops before Sebastopol. As it was to be held for the benefit of the Wellington College it readily received the patronage, not only of her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert, but of the highest military authorities, and, in consequence, not only were the bands of the Household Troops and of the Royal Artillery permitted to attend, but the presence of a body of men, to the number of 500, and drawn principally from the Ist and 2nd battalions of Grena diers, was sanctioned. They were to conduct the storming operations included in the mimic spectacle, and thus to give the whole display a character of reality, which could not be hoped for from the mere efforts of the scene painter and the pyrotechnist. THE PRESS. In order to secure the requisite scenic effect, each scene had attached behind it a gallery, where the devices of panoramic or pyrotechnic art might be put into requisition. Thus the business of the mock siege had to be conducted on a series of stages as it turned out quite unfit to bear the rush of a number of stalwart Guardsmen, since, just as the spectacle was reaching its close, the highest part of the staging gave way, bringing some sixty men with bayonets fixed on their muskets crashing to the ground through a fall of at least twenty feet. Among those precipitated by the accident were several boys of the Duke of York's School, who assisted in the fête. Happily none of these poor little fellows sustained any serious injury, but the Grenadiers fell heavily, and twenty of them are more or less hurt. Some received bayonet wounds in the Italie of' the tumble, but not of dangerous character. There were, how ever, five fractures, one man had both his legs broken, and another suffered some' severe internal injuries. Every attention and asistance were of course promptly rendered. The circus was imme diately converted into a temporary hospital, and as fast as stretchers could be procured the injured men were carefully removed to their own hospital. The Wellington College Fund will gain considerably by the Rte. A FATAL CONFLAGRATION happened on Monday morning in the premises belonging to Mrs. Ford ham, pawnbroker, at 35, George-row, near Bermond sey-wall. The building in which the calamity occurred was four floors high, each room being filled with plate, wearing apparel, and other articles left in pledge. As soon as the fire was extinguished, the firemen, under the direction of Mr. Henderson and Mr. Slow, the coroner's officer, went in search of several parties who were reported missing. After some time three bodies were found in the ruins fearfully burnt, and at a later hour a fourth corpse, that of Mary Reeves, a servant in the house, was also discovered. The names of the others who perished were William Wood, aged 49, the brother of Mrs. Fordham, Alfred Fordham, aged 14, and Robert Fordham, aged 4. The premises and property were insured in the Sun Fire-office. Aw ACCIDENT, by which three lives were sacrificed, has occurred at the works connected with the railway bridge now erecting across the Medway in Rochester for the East Kent Railway Company. The plan adopted for laying the foundation of the piers is as follows :—Large iron cylinders, of about nine feet in diameter, and of great weight and thickness, are sunk at spots selected. They are then braced toge ther, forming a long upright hollow pile. The water is then pumped out, and workmen proceed down the inside to the bed of the river, where the soil is excavated to a great depth, the cylinders sinking with their own weight. The interior is then filled with concrete mixed with gravel, &c., the whole forming a solid bed for laying on the masonry. Last Saturday morning a number of workmen were employed in this description of work. The men had sent up several "journeys" of soil, when from some unexplained cause the bottoms came out of the buckets. The whole suddenly fell down inside the cylinders, carrying in their fall the stages inside, and also a large diving-bell, the whole mass weighing several tons. At the time of the accident there were two men working inside, and from the immense weight which fell on them their deaths must have been instantaneous. Their names are Thomas Colvill and James Carter. One man who was work ing with the bell, named George Humphries, was also killed. The escape of some other men was most marvellous. An inquest has since been held on the bodies of the men who perished, and a verdict of az • cidental death returned. SEVERAL PERSONS went yesterday week from Sun derland over to the sands at the entrance of Jarrow Slake, to dredge for shrimps. Among them was a man named Bartram. He was dredging on the sands at some distance from the rest, when he was suddenly heard to exclaim, " Lord Jesus save us," and the next moment he was engulfed in a dangerous quick sand. His body has not been found. THE STEAM•PACKET that left Dover for Calais last Saturday night came into collision with the brigan tine Henry of Yarmouth, bound from Shields to Rouen, deeply laden with coal, when the latter was sunk, and the master, Robert High ; the mate, Charles Holmes; and a boy, [F. Fulcher, sunk with the vessel, not having been able to cast the boat they had got into adrift from the ship. Two other men who were on board, named Hastings and Rudam, were picked up by the boat of the packet. A FATAL BOILER ExmosioN took place this day week, at the Castle Mills grinding-wheel, the property of Samuel Parker and sons. A large tubular boiler had recently been put down at the works, and while it was being tested, preparatory to commencing work on Monday, it burst with a most terrific explosion. An engine-tenter named Samuel Hill, who was at tending to the fire at the time, was instantaneously killed, and the immense boiler, weighing upwards of fourteen tons, was driven through the closed gates across 131onk-street e and, passing complotel/ through 783 some melting furnaces on the opposite side, dropped in the river beyond, a distance of about eighty yards. Several others were severely hurt by the catastrophe, two of whom have since died. Obitnarz THE DITHE OH SOMERSET expired, after a pro longed illness, on Wednesday last, at his town resi dence in Park-lane. The deceased peer, Edward Adolphus St. Maur, eleventh Duke of Somerset, Baron Seymour of Hache, Baronet, a Knight of the Garter, Vice-Admiral of the coast of Somerset, D.C.L., F.R.S., and F.S.A., was born on the 24th of February, 1775, and had consequently completed his 80th year. He was the son of Lord Webb Seymour, the tenth duke, and inherited the title at his death, in 1793. In 1800 he married a daughter of the Duke of Hamilton, who died in 1827, and by this lady had issue three sons and four daughters. His grace subsequently married (in 1836) Margaret, daughter of Sir Michael Shaw Stewart, Bart, who survives him. The late duke was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and was very much devoted to scientific and mathematical pursuits. Some years ago his grace published a treatise of the relative elementary properties of the ellipse and the circle. He was also President of the Royal Institution. The seventh duke was created Earl of Northumber land, with remainder to his son-in-law, Sir Hugh Smithson. The first duke was the celebrated Lord Protector Somerset, temp. Edward VI.: his titles were granted with remainder to his issue by his second wife, and then to his issue by his first marriage ; but his honours were attainted and he was beheaded ; his eldest son by the second wife was, however, raised to the peerage, and the attainder subsequently was reversed in favour of his great-grandson, who then succeeded as second duke. On the death of the seventh duke, the late peer's grandfather succeeded as heir of the first duke's eldest son by the first marriage, the line derived from the second marriage having failed. His grace is succeeded by his eldest son, the Right Hon. Edward Adolphus St. Maur Lord Sey mour, now 12th Duke of Somerset. He was born in 1804, and married, in 1830, the youngest daughter of the late Thomas Sheridan, and granddaughter of the Right Honourable Richard Brinsley Sheridan. His grace was a Lord of the Treasury from 1835 to 1839; Secretary to the Board of Control from 1889 to June, 1841; and Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, from June to Septem ber, 1841, in Lord Melbourne's Administration. He was appointed in Lord John Russell's Government Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests in 1849, and became First Commissioner of Works in 1851, until February, 1852. The representation of Tot ness will become vacant by Lord Seymour's accession to the title. GENERAL. PEPE, who died at his residence near Turin on the Bth inst., is well known to the readers of Italian history of the last half-century, as from 1799 to 1849 he had been actively engaged in every political movement of importance. He was born in Calabria m 1783, and in 1799 sided with the French party in the Neapolitan kingdom, for which he was condemned to death, but the sentence was commuted to exile, on account of his youth. When Joachim Murat became King of Naples Pepe entered the Neapolitan army, and accompanied the contingent sent to Spain. In 1815 be fought under Murat for the independence of Italy, and continued in the Neapolitan service after the restoration of the Boar bons. In 1820 and 1821 he was the leader of the revolutionary party, for which he was again exiled, and remained in France and England until 1848. During this period he became acquainted with many of the most eminent men in both those countries, and was an intimate friend of the late Joseph Hume. In 1848 be returned to Naples, and was appointed commander-in•chief of the army sent to Central Italy against the Austrians by the constitutional Govern ment of Ferdinand 11. At Bologna he received orders to return, which he refused to obey, but re signed the command of the army, and repaired to Venice, when he was made commandant, which command he held until the surrender of that city in 1849, and there ended the long and checkered military career of General Pepe. From Venice the general went to Paris, and continued to reside there until the coup d'etat of 1852, when he went to and settled in Piedmont. THE total number of bushels of malt charged with duty in the whole of the United Kingdom during the year ended the Ist of July, 1855, amounted to 36,398,668 bushels, against 39,511,220 in 1853-54, and 41,915,541 in 1852-53. The number of bushels charged in England was 31,060,285; in Scotland, 3,261,101 ; and in Ireland, 1,470,282 bushels. IN the " California Homicide Calendar" for May, 1855, we find the following item :—" 17th. W. Link shot a Chinaman for fun near lireasertown, Calaveras county. The Chinaman drew a revolver, and ebali at, and killed, Link,"