The Press. — London, England, 1856-12-06 00:00:00

DECEMBER 6, 1856. examined by Mr. E. James. In the course of this cross-examination Lord Lucan said : - - --- I was recalled by her Majesty from the East. Lord Raglan intimated that to me on the 13th of February. Lord Cardigan was the Brigadier• General. The reasons given in the correspondence for my recal, I think, were a letter I thought it proper to write to Lord Raglan in refer ence to his report as to the action at Balaklava, and that it was most desirable that there should be not the slightest difference between the commander•in•chief and myself. It was not for insubordination. I was not called upon to withdraw the letter. Brigadier-General Airey never sug gested to me the withdrawal of that letter. He never asked me to do so, nor did I say, " Why, it is half way to England now." I brought the matter before the House of Loris. Lord Raglan in his report had stated I had mis conceived his order at Balaklava. I commanded the cavalry, and Lord Cardigan the light brigade. I never had any personal quarrel with him in the East. My correspondence is in that book (his lordship's publication.) We were not on bad terms ; on the contrary, quite good. We may have had a different opinion. There was none at Scutari. He wrote to complain of my subordinate officer. I did not write a letter to Lord Raglan about Lord Car digan, which I withdrew at Lord de Ros's suggestion. Our differences were not known to me to exist till after the battle of the Alma. Lord Cardigan then wrote a letter complaining of my conduct. I did my duty by forwarding it to Lord Raglan. He complained of me to Lord Raglan. I complained to Lord Raglan that I had been separated as much as possible from my division, while Lord Cardigan had been intrusted with the command. I thought I had been kept too long at Varna. I don't recollect writing another leaer. I said there that he (Lord Cardigan) began by repudiating my authority. He began that within a week after his arrival at Devna. It was the fact that it was the subject of remark in the army that I was not in the command of the cavalry. Lord Cardigan had declined to recognise me as his superior. In his letter to Lord Raglan to which I allude, Lord Cardigan complained that he could not act under my command. I forwarded that letter, with comments, explaining what he complained of, which was the despatch of an order by Lord F. Panlet. I cannot recollect the precise words I used, or that I complained of Lord Cardigan's conduct as highly improper; but there is the letter. Lord Cardigan did complain of my unceasing interference. It was not notorious in the army that our differences paralysed the operations. If there was such a rumour it was a decided untruth. I never complained of Lord Cardigan, but merely forwarded his complaint of me, with a statement. I can't say when our differences ceased. I don't now remember any difference after that correspondence. Lord Cardigan had declined to report to me as his superior, on the ground that he was on detached service; and Lord Raglan said he was quite wrong. I may have complained of that to General Estcourt as in subordination. I wrote the letter to Lord Raglan, which led to my meal, in consequence of his lordship's report, in which he stated that I had misconceived his order. I was not called on to resign because it was felt that the public service might be prejudiced by a difference between Lord Raglan and myself, bat because it was felt that my letter might occasion a difference, and it was desirable to avoid the slightest difference between us. That was what the Government stated in effect. I was on the best possible terms with Lord Raglan, and never had any difference whatever with his lordship. Sir FREDERIC THESIGER and Mr. EDWIN JAMES then severally addressed the jury for the plaint and defence. The Chief Baron, in summing np, said : The questions now raised were—fast, whether the de fendants were guilty of publishing matter which detracted from Lord Lucan's character, and, if so, were their com ments free from malice, boni•fide and fair. If they were the latter the jury would probably think they were not malicious, and then defendants would be entitled to a verdict on the second plea; but if they were not fair and bona-fide comments the plaintiff would be entitled to the verdict, with damages, the amount of which ought to be regulated by the fact whether they were malicious or not. His lordship then read the whole article to the jury, whom he dismissed to consider their verdict with the article in their hands. The jury, after an absence of some half-hour or so, returned into co urt with a verdict for the defendant. Ma. COMMISSIONER EVANS gave judgment this week on the question whether a certain sum of money now in the hands of the assignees of Strahan, Paul, and Bates, should be considered to belong to the separate estate of Strahan, or to the joint estate. lie thought the assignees were bound to use the partnership securities previous to taking any part of the separate property, and that, consequently, the sum in question must go to the separate estate. MR. BERSFORD AUGUSTUS CHRISTMAS, charged last week with stealing certain valuable books from Lady Olivia Sparrow, admitted his guilt when brought up on remand before Mr. Beadon, at Marl borough-street, on Tuesday, and was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and hard labour. Mr. Beadon, in delivering judgment, made the following tem arkable observation : I have been very much pressed to deal with the case summarily, and when I look at the large powers which the act gives me, the punishment will not be altogether in commensurate to the offence, for it will crush your pro spects for life, and deservedly so. I know not what may be the nature of the punishment of hard labour, and I am not quite satisfied that your offence does not deserve even a harder punishment than that. I have seen a letter written by you to Lady Olivia Sparrow just when you were engaged in stealing the books, in which you write that you took THE PRESS. two volumes of sermons by mistake, and begged to be allowed to read them before senciiug them back—thus adding dissimulation and the hypocrisy of the cloak of re ligion to your guilt. The sentence upon you is that you be imprisoned for six months, and kept to hard labour. THERE CASES OF GAROTTING were tried on Wed nesday at Stafford, before Mr. Baron Watson. In one case an acquittal took place, in the other two the prisoners were convicted, and severally sentenced to eight and six years' penal servitude. REDPATH AND KENT were examined at the Clerken well Police-court on Wednesday. The cases of alteration in the register in a transfer of 5,0001. Con solidated A Stock was gone into, and the prisoners were remanded till Friday, when fresh charges of forgery were brought against them, and they were spin remanded. THE THREE ITALIANS, Legava, Barbalano ' and Pettrich, charged with piracy and murder on board the British barque Globe in the Black Sea on the.sth of July last, were tried before Mr. Justice Coleridge at Winchester on Thursday. The circumstances of the case have already been before the public. The prisoners conspired together to murder the crew of the Globe while en voyage from Constantinople to Balaklava. Circumstances prevented their carrying this horrible design into full effect, but they suc ceeded, on the morning of the sth of July last, in cutting the throat of one seaman, and stabbing, with intent to murder, two others. The prisoners then escaped in a boat, landing on the coast of Asia Minor, where they were afterwards captured. The jury re turned a verdict of " Guilty." Mr. Justice Cresswell then passed sentence of death, without hope of mercy. MR. SNELL, the late chief and confidential clerk in the accountants' department of the Great Northern Rail-, way, was on Thursday fully committed for trial by Mr. Tyrwhitt on two charges of stealing cheques and embezzling monies belonging to the company. Mr. WILSON OVEREND, the Chairman of the West Riding Quarter Sessions, in addressing the grand jury on Tuesday, detailed the system of tickets of leave as followed out by the Government, and pointed out as a gross defect the fact that just previous to coming out of prison the men were allowed freely to associate together, though when out on leave if caught associating together they were sent back to prison : When men, therefore, saw that in effect there was no difference between the punishment for merely associating with thieves and actually committing fresh acts of felony, they preferred their former course of lite, with the chance of escape from detection. The system was therefore, in that sense, a direct temptation to crime. But it was said that men were not turned loose upon society with tickets of leave until they had been trained and improved. But what were the facts? Why, since the act passed there had been no less than 160 ticket-of-leave men committed to the West Riding House of Correction at Wakefield for fresh crimes. That test showed whether the system was a good one or not. MABLEY, immediately after the sentence of death was passed last week, was removed into the interior of Newgate, and the whole of his clothing was taken from him, and subjected to a most rigorous search. in order to ascertain that he had nothing concealed by which he could commit self-destruction. During this process, the nonchalance and coolness he had evinced during his trial seemed gradually to forsake him, and on being subsequently conducted to the condemned cell, his courage completely failed, and the brutal murderer flung himself down overwhelmed with despair. Two turnkeys were placed in his cell, and till the time arrives for his execution he will never be left alone day or night. Obituarl. GENERAL SIR HENRY JOHN CUMMING died yester day week, at his residence in Upper Grosvenor-street, in his eighty-fifth year. REAR-ADMIRAL FREDERICK W. BEECHEY, who died on the 2nd inst., from an attack of paralysis, was the son of the late Sir William Beechey, R.A., portrait painter in ordinary to their Majesties Queen Charlotte and William IV. He was born in February, 1796, and entered the navy in 1806, in the Hibernia, 110. In 1811, whilst serving in the Astrea, 42, under Captain Schomberg, in company with the Pheebe, Galatea, and Race Horse, he assisted, after a long and gallant action, in the cap ture of the French frigates Renommie, Cloriude, and Nereide. On his return to England after some Channel service, he was appointed to the Vengettr, 74, forming part of the expedition against New Orleans, where be served in the boats which dashed across the Mississippi with a detachment of troops, seamen, and marines, as a successful diversion in favour of the general attack upon the American line. His first commission bore date on the 10th March, 1815 ; and in September following he was appointed to the Niger, 38, on the North American station. It was on the 14th January, 1818, that Lieutenant Beechey commenced the first of those four voyages to the Arctic regions, the hardships of which, doubtless, laid the foundation of that constitutional derangement which subsequent years of indefatigable bodily and mental exertion have brought to its present premature termination. He was appointed to the Trent, under Lieutenant Commander Frank- lin, with whom he was one of the earliest com panions, as he always remained his warmest friend. An interesting account of the cruise of the Dorothea and Trent on this occasion in the direction of Spitzbergen was published by Admiral Beechey in 1843. In January, 1819, he was appointed to the Hecla, under the command of Lieutenant (after. wards Sir Edward) Parry, with whom he penetrated to longitude 113.54., within the Arctic circle, and wintered at Melville Island. In both the above Arctic expeditions Lieutenant Beechey rendered great service by his artistic attainments and general observations. On the sth November, 1821, he was appointed to the Adventure, Captain W. H. Smyth, who was then preparing to resume his survey of the northern coast of Africa. Whilst attached to this ship Lieutenant Beechey was promoted to the rank of commander, and appointed, in conjunction with his brother, H. W. Beechey, Esq., to examine and report on the antiquities of Cyrenaica, and of the ancient cities composing the Pentapolis. Com mander Beechey executed a survey of the entire coast from Tripoli to Derns; and the narrative of the expedition and description of the country, ruins and antiquities, was published by that officer and his brother. In January, 1825, Commander Beechey was appointed to the Blossom, 24, in which he pro ceeded to the Pacific and Behring's Straits, to co operate with the Polar expedition under Captains Franklin and Parry. During the three and a half years that he was absent from England he proceeded twice to Behring's Straits, and in August, 1826, penetrated to a point northward of Icy Cape, whence the ship's barge, under Mr. Elson, the master, reached lat. 71.23., long. 156.21., only 146 miles from the extreme point reached by Captain Franklin overland. In the interval he pursued his researches in the Pacific (thus passing more than once from Arctic to Tropical climates), where he discovered and took possession of several new islands, amongst which he once more brought to notice the crew of the Bounty on Pitcairn's Island (lately removed to Norfolk Island). It was in 1827 Commander Beechey, now appointed to the rank of captain, dis covered in a final Arctic voyage Cape Prince of Wales, which he named after his godfather, William IV., Port Clarence. After a voyage of 73,000 miles, and rendering most essential service to the science of navigation, the Blossom arrived at Spithead in 1828. The narrative of this voyage was also pub lished by Captain Beechey. In 1835 Captain Beechey was appointed to the Sulphur, for the pur pose of continuing the same valuable surveys in the Pacific, but his health gave way before he reached Valparaiso, and he was compelled to return home. From 1837 to 1847 Captain Beechey was con tinuously employed in the survey of the Bristol and Irish Channels, and it is difficult to say whether his minute and accurate charts, or his valuable tidal ob servations, have rendered the more useful service to his country. From this important occupation Cap tain Beechey was removed by the Government to constitute and superintend the Marine Department of the Board of Trade, in which he was actively and usefully employed up to the date of his death. He was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral in 1854, and filled the office of President of the Royal Geographical Society. He only lately delivered his report of the proceedings of that society, and an in teresting obituary of those eminent members who had died during the past year, leaving a name to be added to the future list, than which few can lay claim to the merit of a more laborious, zealous, and useful life in the service of his country. The REV. ROBERT HUSSEY, D.D., of Christ Church, Oxford, and Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History, died on Tuesday, after an illness of a few hours, at his residence in Beaumont-street. Mr. Hussey was one of the most accomplished scholars of the day, and by his death a void is left in the professorate not easily to be tilled. In Mich aelmas term, 1824, he obtained a first-class " In Literis Humanioribus," and also "In Disciplims Mat. et. Phys." In 1838 he was public examiner. In 1842 her Majesty founded two additional Regius Professorships in Theology, one in Pastoral Theology, the other in Ecclesiastical History and the Study of the Ancient Fathers ; "such professorships to be endowed with two canonries of Christ Church ; the University in the meantime undertaking to provide the professor's stipend from the public chest." Dr. Ogilvie, the other professor, is now a canon of Christ Church; and Mr. Hussey would, had he lived, have filled up the next vacancy. In 1854 he was elected a member of the Hebdomadal Council, as one of the professors. In 1825 Mr. Hussey pro ceeded to the degree of 8.A., in 1827 to that of M.A., and in 1837 to that of 8.D., and up to the time of his death he held the perpetual curacy of Binsey, Oxford, to which he was appointed by the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church in 1845, where he was much beloved by his parishioners. ofA he bo re