The Press. — London, England, 1857-05-23 00:00:00

MAY 23, 1857. minutes afterwards, and the unhappy general was found in the agonies of death. Colonel Lugard, chief of the staff, was of opinion that it was an accident : I was sitting (he says in his evidence) with Sir James Outram in his tent this morning, after breakfast. I heard the report of a pistol. I took no notice of it, as I thought it was some one cleaning his arms. A few momenta after, a native called through the door of the tent—" the general has shot himself." I immediately rushed into General Stalker's tent, followed by Sir James Outram. was lying on his bed, on his back, with his feet hang ing down, the right hand grasping a pistol by his side. I immediately requested those at the door to run for a medical man. He appeared to be dying. There was blood on the rinisquito curtains on the right side of his head, and on the kanaut on the opposite side of the tent. Sir James Outram and myself searched the table for any docu ment that might explain the catastrophe, but found none. My full impression is, from all I know and all I have learnt, that the act which has terminated General Stalker's life was accidental. lam further strengthened in this opinion by the major-general having entered his name in the mess book, noting that Major Taylor would be his guest at dinner this evening. He was on the most intimate and cordial terms with Sir James Outram, and over and over again expressed the joy he felt at Sir James coming up here. Against this is the statement of his aide-de-camp, Captain Hunter, who states that the general was that morning excited to a degree unusual with him, and that he had specially asked Captain Hunter to load his pistols. The medical evidence was to the effect that the wound had evidently been inflicted by some firearm, the muzzle of which must have been placed close to the head. The jury returned a verdict that the general destroyed himself in a fit of temporary insanity. General Stalker, observes one of the Indian papers, had been thirty-eight years in India, and was univer sally esteemed : the soldiers lcved him ; and bis many acts of kindness had endeared him to every officer of the army. His bravery was unquestion able, and had been proved on many fields. As a general and tactician, he had few equals on this side of India; and his loss, at a period like the present, will be severely felt by the army and the State. He was interred with all the honours of war ; and the tears on many a bronzed cheek told how dearly he was loved. With respect to the death of Commodore Ethersey, the proofs of his depression of spirits are numerous. It arose, says Captain Felix Jones, in his evidence before the court, from various causes, " the chief of which was his disappointment at Sir Henry Leeke's arrival to take command of the naval part of the ex pedition to this gulf " : This was the original source of his disquietude ; it was added to by being left to conduct the duties of the fleet, while, as he supposed, he was virtually divested of his command by his instructions. This, and the harassing nature of his duties without the assistance of any staff, pressed solely upon him. I could observe his failing spirits from day to day ; in fact he communicated them to me. I endeavoured all in my power to rally him, and sometimes succeeded, but it was only to fall again into greater depression on a reaction taking place. Latterly a great sense of responsibility attaching to him in the coming expedition, coupled with a presentiment that he was not equal to it, from his diminished mental and physical powers, weighed heavy upon him. He had restless nights and was evidently suffering from great nervous irritability. The use of opium to allay this irritability only ren dered him more miserable, and the death of General Stalker affected him powerfully :- The late melancholy occurrence in the camp (says Captain Felix Jones) affected him greatly ; he told me he was frequently haunted by similar visions in respect to himself. I endeavoured to dispel these, but without effect. Extracts from the commodore's diary were then read : Dated 11th March 1857, Saturday—Heard of poor Stalker's melancholy death. His ease is similar to my con. He felt he was unequal to the resp3nsibility imposed ou him—( a blank line intervenes then ). I have had a wretched night. Dated 16th March 1957, Monday—A bad night—took opium, but the dose was too large—it made me very ill for some hours. An unfinished paper found in his diary was also read : I feel that I am unequal to the responsibility of con ducting the present large Ileet.ly head is gone. I have no longer any confidence in my own judgment,— have lost all energy, and act entirely upon the suggestions of those around me. I am dreadfully nervous, and the slightest occurrence agitates me, more especially ( sic in orig.) to a degree that renders me incapable of acting, or of prompt action. Anything that goes wrong for which I sin responsible, quite unnerves me for a time. Captain Jones added, before closing his evidence, "I may state the commodore spoke to me personally on his altered condition, said that ho would invalid, but was unable to do so on the eve of going into action.' The commodore destroyed himself by blowing out Ins brains on the night of the 16th of March in the bedroom of his residence at 13ushire. On his table were found several despatches to and from Sir THE PRESS. Henry Leeke, at Bombay. These were not read in evidence. The court found a verdict of" Temporary insanity." Beyond the mutiny of the Sepoys, there is no other intelligence of any great importance. A letter from Cahul states that the family of Dost Mohammed are resolutely opposed to any close alliance with the English. In fo tb 01 th it a ge ui in; in] mn bl he J a In th Wf by di CO eA he Co th at 10 efl 80 VE te hE se In of at ge of wi te WI th It be wl ar PE ad wt co na pr ap 118 801 gn go ex eq we Wa TI de St Ca We to efi re St Oil WI op 80 Al rEr di hi hF of sli or of BE In hi hi be CHTNA. The news from China is not very important. The China Mail, of March 30, says : No active operations have been undertaken by the admiral, nor, beyond the occasional discharge of a rocket or two at the ships of war, has anything occurred to break the monotony. The inflexible and gunboat Starling will, we are told, shortly proceed up the river—the latter armed with one 64 and two 32 pounders. The Ca'culla, and hospital ship Alligator (late Vice-Consular ship at Whampoa), are to be stationed in Blenheim Reach, and the Sybille takes the place of the Calcutta for a time in this harbour—to be relieved, we hope, by the Nankin, which has already had too long a spell as guard-ship at the Bogue. The arrival of the troops per Sir James Brooke and Zenohia, and of so many men-of-war, has infused confi- dence into the minds of foreigners. AMERICA. The usual mail, with dates from Boston, May 6, and from Halifax, May 8, brings news that it was said, on the sth, in responsible quarters at Washing ton, that the Administration, although not approving the Supplemental Central American Treaty as amended, had thought it but courteous to the Senate to transmit it to the British Government, but it is now believed that the Dallas-Clarendon Treaty is beyond resurrection ; and the time for the ex change of ratifications having expired, the Adminis tration maintains that the British Government has failed to execute the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, and will insist upon its being carried out in good faith. Governor Robinson, of Kansas, proceeded to Lecompton on the 2nd inst., to await his trial on the indictment for treason. Despatches received from the French Consul at Panama give full details of the situation of the country. It would appear, from these accounts, that New Granada is not capable of resisting the invasion prepared by the Americans, who are likely to establish themselves without difficulty at Panama and Chagres. Coat SO jastpn. Her Majesty the Queen remains at Osborne. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales arrived at o,borne on Wednesday from the Lakes. The Hereditary Duke of Saxe Aleiningen and Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar visited her Majesty on Thursday. His Royal Highness Prince Alfred is hourly expected at Osborne from Germany. State balls and concerts will be given on the return of the Court to town. The christening of the infant Princess will take place in the middle of next month, the sponsors being their Royal Highnesses the Duchess of Kent, the Princess Royal, and Prince Frederick William of Prussia. The Princess will receive tha names of Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore. His Excellency the Ambassador of France and the Countess de l'ersigny have returned to town from Paris. filer Majesty's Ministers will give state banquets upon the 26th inst., in celebration of her Majesty's birthday. Volittr al. A CABINET Couscrr, was held on Wednesday afternoon at the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury in Downing•street. The Ministers present were Viscount Palmerston, the Lord Chan cellor, Earl Granville, the Earl of Harrowby, Sir George Grey, the Earl of Clarendon, Mr. Secretary Labouchere, Lord Panmure, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir Charles Wood, the Right Hon. It. Vernon Smith, Lord Stanley of Alderley, the Bight lion. M. T. Baines, and the Duke of Argyll. THE CONVOCATION of the Prelates and Clergy of the Province of Canterbury was on Wednesday pro rogued in the Jerusalem Chamber, Westminster, by the Vicar-General, Dr. Travers Twiss, under a commission from his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate and Metropolitan, to Friday, July 10. A PUBLIC MEETINU was held at Paisley last week to discuss the question of the " armed interference of foreign powers" with Italy. Mr. David Murray, Professor Nichol, and other gentlemen, addressed the meeting at great length in favour of the law of non-intervention. Professor Nichol justified the attempts of the Italians to secure their independence, and declared his belief that if a great and united Italian empire were established, it would secure our position in the Mediterranean, but that the tres;nt condition of Italy was a source of serious alarm to Europe, and would inevitably lead to another great war. Several resolutions in accordance with the object of the meeting were passed, and a petition to the house agreed upon. AN ANTI-TURNPIKE DEPUTATION, consisting Of Lord Robert Grosvenor, Mr. Herbert Ingram, and several other gentlemen, waited upon Lord Palmers ton on Wednesday, to urge upon the noble lord the adoption by Government of a measure for the re moval of all toll gates within a radius of six miles from Charing cross. Lord Palmerston said the subject was doubtless one of great importance, and one on which he should not like to give a hasty opinion : He should feel obliged if the members of the deputation would transmit to him, as early as possible, a written statement of facts and arguments, and he would give it his best attention. At present he could not pledge her Majesty's Government to any decided course of operation in reference to the matter. THE EQUALISATION OF POOH RATES was discussed at a public meeting at Fulham on Thursday. The chairman of the local Board of Guardians explained that the poor rates in the parish had risen in four years from 11,4171. 4s. to 10,0071. 1 ls. Mr. Gilbert, another speaker, alluding to the poor in London, stated that the population of Whitechapel had increased from 68,903 in 1821 to 78,271 in 1851, whilst during that period, for various improvements, there were destroyed 1,743 houses, causing the ejection of about 11,000 workmen. By a parliamentary report, published in 1854, he saw that the amount paid by the St. Katherine's Docks for the relief of the poor was only 4141., whilst the London Dock Company, being in another parish, paid 10,6481. The increase in the six eastern parishes of Shore ditch, Stepney, Poplar, Limehouse, W'hitechapel, and St. George's in-the-East, for poor rates in four years ending 1856, was 64,342/. Resolutions embodying the sentiments of the parishioners were unanimously passed, and a petition on the subject prepared for Parliament. ittropplitan. THE ROYAL LITERARY FUND held their sixty-eighth Anniversary Dinner at the Freemasons'• tavern on Tnesday evening last. Earl Granville was to have presided, but was unfortunately detained in the House of Lords. The Right Hon. W. F. Cowper, M.P., filled the chair. Among many others there were also present his Highness the Rajah of Coorg, Mr. Thackeray, Very Rev. the Dean of Canterbury, Mr. Money Kyrie, Dr. Mayo, Mr. R. Bell, Mr. M. Milnes, M.P., Mr. Macaulay, M.P., Mr. Justice Halliburten, Sir Roderick Murchison, Dr. Livingston, Lieutenant Colonel Hamley, Mr. Scott Russell, Mr. Gruneisen, Mr. Pratt Barlow, and the representatives of all the great publishing firms. His Royal Highness the Prince of Oude, attended by a gorgeous suite, took his seat on the right of the chair soon atter the dinner was concluded. The glittering costume of the Prince, "rich with barbaric pomp and gold," attracted for a time the undivided attention of the whole audience. The attendance upon his Highness were Masse Bird, Marcadoor Khan Bah adoor, Jallasood Dowlali Bahadoor, Moolrie Mahomed Jaffir Khan Bahadoor, and Mirza Mahomed Ali. The Rajah of Coorg and his attendants were also resplendent with gold ana jewels of immense value. After the usual loyal and patriotic toasts, Colonel HAMLEY returned thanks for the " Army and Navy," end Mr. ARTHUR HELPS of the Literature of the United Kingdom." _ _ _ Mr. M ONCKTON Mir.sEs, M.P., proposed the " Litera tura of the Colonies," coupling with it the name of Mr. Justice Halliburton, who, he said, had quitted the turgid muddy waves of the great Atlantic to rest and pass his days near the pellucid waters of the Thames. Mr. Justice HALLIBURTON, in reply, said, if there was anything which he had done that was either in structive or amusing, it had been because he had re lied upon nature : In his country, as in this and in all other countries in the world, there were two great books spreadbefore them— nature and human nature. These were the only studies that they had. They had them in common with others. Those who studied closest, and who approached closest to nature, would meet with the greatest approba tion from the readers they addressed. The other portion of the toast, "The Literature of the Colonies," would re quire a more ingenious man than himself to respond to. lie was rather at a loss to know where to look for it. It reminded him of the proverb that " the Spanish fleet you cannot see because 'tis not in sight." The toast was the expression of a wish rather than the announcement of a fact. It was somethirg to hope for in future times rather than a child which was already born. It was what lawyers culled, " after possibility of issue extinct." He should rather apologise and explain why they had it not than ,re spond to the toast of " The Literature of the Ovhants. ' ■