The Press. — London, England, 1856-01-05 00:00:00

. , .... • 10 Vice-Admiral Sir George Seymour, G.C.H., hoisted his flag on board the Victory on Tuesday morning as Commander-in-Chief of Portsmouth, and assumed the duties of his office. Rear-Admiral Dundas struck his flag on board the Dukc of Wellington on Saturday last. The com mander-in-chief took the opportunity of desiring a memorandum to be addressed to the officers and crews of the respective ships belonging to the Baltic fleet, conveying the thanks of the Admiralty for their zeal and attention and the high state of dis cipline they had attained, besides having crippled the enemy's resources in every direction where it was possible to get at them. Sir Edmund Lyons, it is rumoured, will have the command-in chief of the Baltic fleet next year. The new navy list for the quarter shows a total of 456 ships, comprising the English fleet Of these 001 are in commission, while nearly a hundred more of all classes are being rapidly constructed. Admiral Richard Curry, C.B. of the "Reserved " list of flag officers, died on Thursday last, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. The gallant admiral's commissions bore date as follows :—Lieu tenant, 14th March, 1704; commander, 30th July, 1798 ; captain, 7th January, 1802 ; rear-admiral, 10th January, 1837 ; vice -admiral, oth November, 18-16 ; and admiral, Bth July, 1851. Captain Charles Anstruther Barlow, C.B. (1841), died on the 31st ult., at Hammersmith, in the 56th year of his age. Captain Barlow had served with great distinction off the north coast of Spain, and in the China war. Captain Charles Eden has been appointed Comp• troller of the Coast Guard. THE PRESS. Mr. Penrose Julyan, an officer in the Commissariat service, has recently introduced a new method of preparing field forage, which presents great advan tages in many respects. He mixes up the hay, bruised oats, and bran, or whatever other descrip tions of food are considered desirable, in certain pro portions, and then subjects the whole mass to so enormous a pressure as to get the ton weight into fifty cubic feet of space. It then becomes so solid that it can be cut like wood by a circular saw into square blocks of a given size without any trouble. Each block contains half a day's ration for a horse, and not only is there an immense economy in freight aid land transport, hut, being at once fit for use, all tile waste and inconvenience is done away with. with the turf and acquainted with Mr. Palmer. In the course of 1850 Bladen lost very heavy sums in betting, became involved, and, at a time when lie was known to have received some two or three thousand pounds on account of his employers, suddenly dis appeared. To his " friends," Bladen was known to have taken refuge at itugeley. A few weeks after his disappearance, Mrs. Bladen received intelligence from Mr. Palmer that her husband was ill and dying. She immediately started for itugeley, and on her arrival found her husband at the point of death. He died a few moments after her arrival, when Mr, Palmer removed Mrs. Bladen from the room, and objected to her seeing the body, or having it removed to London for burial. After the burial, which took place at Rugeley, Mr. Palmer handed Mrs. Bladen 151. as the amount found in the deceased's possession. In connection with the transactions of the pri• soner Palmer with the various life assurance offices, with respect to the policies effected on his brother Wal ter's life, a few additional circumstances have lately transpired. In the early part of 1855 the prisoner's brother effected a life insurance for 13,0001., at an increased premium, with the Prince of Wales Insurance Office. This office, not wishing to take entirely so great a risk, divided the responsibility between twenty-one other offices. On the 10th of August last, Walter Palmer died suddenly, when a notice and an assignment of 400/. were imme diately sent to the office. Before the period for payment bad arrived, the actuary of the Prince of Wales Office received information from Stafford shire that Walter Palmer had come by his death unfairly. Relying on the information, Mr. Hornby, the actuary, communicated with the other offices sharing the risk, and steps were immediately taken to ascertain whether the suspicious circumstances were of sufficient gravity to justify the offices in resisting any demand that might be made upon them iu respect to the payment of the claims. Mr. Hornby, accompanied by his solicitor and the detectives, started at once for Staffordshire, and, on arriving at Rugeley, soon ascertained that William Palmer was the person really interested in the policy of assurance in question, that he had been in the habit of making propositions for insurances to several London offices, and had received 13,0001. from the Norwich Union, Equitable, and Sun offices on the life of his wife, once a ward in Chancery, who had died a short time previously under mysterious circumstances. Further discoveries led to the con • elusion that Mr. Palmer had, by false representations as to the state of his brother's health, induced the medical men to make inaccura•e statements in the documents forwarded to the Prince of Wales Office, and the result was that the insurance officers deter mined, on the ground of fraud, to resist any claim made against them to recover the amount of the policies on the life of the late Walter Palmer, which determination, up to the death of Mr. Cook, had not been tested in any way by Mr. Palmer. Previous to their returning to town, Field, the detective, dis covered that one " Mr. Bates," for whom Palmer was also attempting to effect a life assurance with various offices, was Palmer's groom, who, on being questioned, admitted that for insuring his life he was to receive a certain sum of money from Mr. Palmer, who took the policy. Field subsequently had an inter view with Mr. Palmer, and informed him that the object of the visit was to obtain information re specting the death of his brother Walter. Palmer expressed himself perfectly satisfied, and added that the insurance offices had a right, and were, in fact, bound, to make every possible inquiry, in order to satisfy themselves as to the justice of all claims made upon them. In the course of conversation Field alluded to the mysterious death of Mrs. Palmer, and said that perhaps Mr. Palmer would have no objection to inquiries being made by the Norwich Union, Equitable, and Sun offices into the circum stances attending her death. Mr. Palmer replied with great coolness that he could have no possible objection to such a proceeding, if the offices desired it. With reference to Mr. Cook's death, nothing further has yet transpired. One great object of the police is to discover not only the missing betting book, but to trace some portion of the large sums of money Mr. Cook was known to be possessed of at the time of his death. Mr. Cook is supposed to have won some 3,000/. at Shrewsbury, and is known, at. the time of his death, to have had about him at least 1,0001., of which only 51. were found in his pockets, and 101. more can be accounted for. A few days after his death, Mr. Palmer paid two 501. notes to tradesmen at itugeley, and his groom changed two more of the same value at the bank. gab 3 and Vona. SATURDAY ) winnings, are believed to have amounted.to upwards of 3,000/. in bets, besides forfeits and training ex. penses. Mr. Sergeant Wilkins, with Mr. Huddle stone, have been retained as counsel for the prisoner. TIIE COMMISSIONERS OF LUNACY AT TILE LEEDS COURT -HOUSE, on Saturday last, charged Mr. William Robert Wilkinson, an assistant-surgeon of Leeds, with having forged a lunacy certificate. From the evidence adduced it appears that the prisoner had signed the name of his employer, Dr. Horton, certifying that lie (Dr. Horton) had examined Miss Sarah Ash, and testified to her un soundness of mind, in consequence of which Miss Ash was admitted into the lunatic asylum. Dr. Horton, in evidence, stated that the certificate was not in his handwriting, but lie believed in that of Mr. Wilkinson. Mr. Wilkinson, in defence, pleaded ignorance, and stated that he had frequently signed burial certificates for Dr. Horton. The bench, after a short consultation, committed Mr. Wilkinson to take his trial for forgery at the next York Assizes, but consented to take his personal bail, and that of Dr. Horton, in 10(11. each. . _ THE ADJOURNED INQUEST upon the body of Mrs. Beardsmore, who met her death by being thrown out of a window, on Saturday week last, as she alleged, by Mr. Beardsmore, landlord of the Railway Hotel, Newcastle-on-Tyne, was resumed on Saturday last. The witnesses examined at this stage of the proceed ings consisted of the police-constable who first saw Mrs. Beardsmore after her fall, the surgeon who attended her, and a niece of Mr. Beardsmore. In his evidence the police-constable swore to having heard a woman crying in distress, and a voice like that of Beardsmore's shouting, "Let the lie." He then went to the house, and on being let in by Mr. Beardsmore found Mrs. Beardsmore lying in the passage, with her head cut in several places, and upon speaking to her she resolutely accused Mr. Beardsmore of having thrown her out of window. Upon lifting her up she refused to allow her husband to touch her, begged that her doctor might be sent for, and then stated that in a quarrel with Mr. Beardsmore on some trifling matter be had struck her violently several times, and that when she opened the window of the long room to call for assistance lie had pushed her out. She appeared perfectly soltr and rational, according to the witness, said she knew she was dying, and requested her friends to be tele graphed for. The witness then stated that he imme diately afterwards examined the "long room," and found the wiodow open, while, fifteen feet from the ground, the glass-covered arcade through which the deceased would have fallen was broken. Mr. George Clark, the surgeon, deposed to having attended the deceased between four and five a.in. on Saturday week last, and finding her suffering from severe jagged wounds about the head and face. She was very excited, apparently from drink and passion. Site stated that she had been thrown out of the window, but that she held ou as long as she could before she fell, but did not accuse Mr. Beardsmore. On the Sunday she died ; and from the post-mortem ex amination he was of opinion that acute bronchitis— a disease she had suffered from for years—and con gestion were the immediate causes of death, accel, lerated by the shock of her fall and the cold she experienced as she lay in the yard. The niece, Mary Williams, stated that her uncle and aunt were both much excited with drink, that a quarrel arose, and that after he had struck Mrs. Beardsmore she ran out of the room as a second niece entered. Mr. Beardsmore in a few moments broke from his nieces, who held him back, and followed her down stairs. He came up again in a few minutes very much excited, and asking where she was. lie then searched all the bed rooms, kicked open the door of one (No. 7), and as she came out the witness stated that she heard a loud crash downstairs. The window of No. 7 was nearly directly over the window of the long room. Other evidence in support of this was given, when the inquest was adjourned for the pur pose of obtaining the evidence of some sailors who were in the house at the time. With respect to his private character on the turf, Palmer was considered to be rather a fortunate man, and, on the whole, a quiet, careful better. He won some large stakes of late years. In 185;t his horse Goldfinder carried off the Chester Cup, and during the past racing season he was tolerably successful, by his horse Chicken, with which he won many good stakes, besides bets. Until the Shrewsbury Meeting, Mr. Cook had a long career of ill luck. His losses during the past season, exclusive of his Shrewsbury AN INQUEST on the body of Lieutenant Macdonald, one of the three officers drowned on the 15th ult. in the Medway, was held at Chatham, on Monday. The evidence of Wild, the boatman, was to the effect that the boat had never capsized, from the position of the sail and ballast when she was found. The discovery of the body of the deceased at Wallopstone, near Yauntlett Creek, having been proved by Wigley, a fisherman of Strood, and no further evidence of any importance baing forthcoming, the coroner ad journed the inquiry for a week. Colonel Sandham and several officers were present during the pro ceedings. Two CASES OF BRUTALITY TO WIVES have come before the magistrates this week. At Clerkenwell, on Monday, John Sargent was charged before Mr. Corrie with having committed the most brutal as sault upon his wife. The complainant, who presented a truly pitiable appearance,'gave the following brief account of her two years' married happiness:— THE RUGELEY POISONING CASE. THE inquest upon the bodies of Mrs. Anne Palmer, the wife, and Mr. Walter Palmer, the brother, of Mr. Palmer, now in Stafford Gaol waiting trial for the murder by poison of Mr. John Parsons Cook, was opened on Tuesdaylat Rugeley, and, upon the state ment of Dr. Taylor, to whom the contents of the stomachs of the bodies were sent for analysatiou, that he had not quite completed his analysis or pre• pared his report, the inquiry was adjourned till Wed nesday next. Of the result of Dr. Taylor's analyses, nitbing official is yet known, but it is rumoured with some show of authority that Dr. Taylor is prepared to prove that both the wife and brother died from the effect of a peculiar slow poison, neither arsenic mir strychnine. At the close of the proceedings, from a discussion between the chief constable and the coroner, it appeared that the prisoner had be c3ine informed of the contents of a private letter addressed by Dr. Taylor to Mr. Gardner of Rugeley, relative to the result of the analysis of the stomach of Mr. Cook. Nothing was elicited as to the means by which the prisoner became acquainted with the contents of Dr. Taylor's letter, and upon which he (the prisoner) had addressed a letter to the coroner. The result of the discussion was that Mr. Ward, the tloroner, promised to lay a copy of,the prisoner's litter before Sir George Grey, and state all the circumstances known connected with the affair. - With reference to Mr. Palmer's previous life and actions, the investigations now pursued are daily bringing fresh facts to light. In the minds of the Rugeley people there is little doubt that both his brother Walter and his wife were poisoned. Myste rious stories are recalled connected with the illnesses and deaths of both. A surgeon who attended Walter Palmer is said to be ready to depose to the fact that, though lie never prescribed pills for him, at one visit his patient complained that the pills adminis tered by his brother, according to the surgeon's directions from Mr. Palmer's statement, had made him severely ill ; while further evidence is said to he ready to show that Mrs. Palmer, before she died, knew that she had been poisoned, and by her hus band. All these rumours must be taken at their worth, but in one it is certain that death under mysterious, if not suspicious, circum stances occurred to one unhappy visitor at Mr. Palmer's. Some few years since a Mr. Bladen an agent and collector for Charrington's firm, for 11)me time previous to hits death became connected