The Sun. — London, England, 1862-04-02 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUF,E OF LORDS-YESTERDAY. The Lorin CHANCELLOR took his seat on the wooltack at five e'el.cek. THE RIVER SHANNON. The iilarquis of CLANRICARDE presented a petition prayi'ag, for an inquiry into the regulations of the river Shannon. THE REVISED CODE. Petitions against the Revised Code were presented by Lord Portman and the Earl of Hardwicke. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The Bradford Corporation Water and Great Northern Railway (No. 1) bills were read a second time. The Newry and Armagh Railway Bill was read a third time and passed. BLEACHFIELDS ON OMEN AND CHILDREN EMPLOYMENT) BILL. This bill was read a second time. MARINE MUTINY BILL This bill was read a second time. MUTINY BILL. This bill was read a third time and passed. AUSTRALIAN COLONIES GOVERNMENT ACT AMENDMENT BILL. This bill passed through committee, and waft reported without amendment. Their lordships then adjourned. HOUSE OF COMMONS—YESTERDAY. The SPEAKER took the chair at four o'clock. PRIVATE BUSINESS. The following bills were read a third time and passed:— London and South Western Railway (additional powers), Sou.th Molton Corporation, and Winchester Road. The West Midland (Merthyr, &c., Lease) Bill was read a second time. Several private bills were read a first time. PETITIONS. Several petitions were presented In favour of a reduction of the duty on fire insurance; by Colonel French, praying for an inquiry into the inefficient manner in which the works of the river Shannon had been executed ty the commissioners ; from several places against the Parochial Assessment Mill, in favour of the Consolida tion of the Law Statutes ; by .1)1rb 7 - Scully, from the county Cork, praying foi an amendment of the Irish Poor Law ; b y M r . B r i g ht, 'fttan Efriningltam, signed by persons connected with the corn trade, praying the hou'4o to order the collection of agricultural statistics in England, Scotland, ancl.Wales ; and also from Ashford, in the county of Kent, for the repeal of the duty on hops. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. Mr. B. COCHRANE gave notice that on Tuesday, the 29th inst., he would draw the attention of thehouse to build ings erected for the public service during the last 20 years, and to move for a commission to inquire whether more economy might not be introduced into the construction of euch .buildings in future. IRISH WORKHOUSE OFFICERS. Mr. BLAKE asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland 'whether he intended during the present session to take steps to carry out the recommendation of the Select Committee of last session on Irish Poor Laws, with reference to grant ing superannuation to workhouse officers ? Sir R. PEEL said that last year the report of the com mittee was received, and it was sanctioned by Government that a bill on the subject should be introduced, but as a separate bill. He could not, however, say when that bill would be brought forward. LUNACY REGULATION BILL. Mr. PHILIPPS asked the Secretary of State for the :Home Department when he intended to introduce the Lunaey Regulation. Bill ; and whether such bill would con taro any provision for the purpose of facilitating the build ing of a lunatic asylum by counties united for that pur pose? Sir G. GREY said that a bill was drawn up on the sub ject in accordance with the recommendations of the com mittee whiejh sat on the matter. Fie could not say when it would be, brought forward, as the Government had received some important communications from the Lunacy Com mission which requized consideration. THE ARMSTRONG GUNS. Mr. H. BERKELEY asked the Secretary of State for War whether, adverting to the probability that guns of much greater calibre must now be placed on our seaboard forts, and iron-plated ships, Sir William Armstrong was to have the exclusive manufacture of such guns, or was their construction to be thrown open to competition ; and, of wllat calibre was the largest gun corn pleted intended for practical service as yet made for Government by Sir Wil liam Armstrong, and proved without accident to the breech or bursting ? Sir G. LEWIS said that the Government had no con tract with Sir William Armstrong, but they had with an iron works company in Essex, which had been appended to the report of the commission on military organisation. By reference to that report, it would be seen that if Govern ment did not carry out their contract with that company they would have to forfeit £85,000 for loss of plant. With regard to the Armstrong guns, there were several under experiment, including one with a smooth bore, which would throw 3001b5.; and another with a rifle bore, which would throw 6001bs. Some of a smaller calibre had been tried, and found very successful. PRISON OFFICERS IN IRELAND. In reply to Sir G. BOWYER, Sir R. PEEL said he understood that the prison officers in Ireland wero not satisfied with the retiring allowances they had received, but as ho was informed, it was not the intention of the Government to introduce any bill for an improvement in their situation. ACCOMMODATION FOR PASSENGERS AT HOLYHEAD. Mr. LEFROY asked the Secretary to the Admiralty when the accommodation and protection promised to be pro vided for the mail packets and for passengers, landing on the wooden jetty at Holyhead, would be provided, in com pliance with the agreement made between the Admiralty and the London and North Western and Chester and Holy head Steamboat Company ? Lord C. PAGET said that a sum had been taken in the estimates, which would come before the house on Thursday next, by which provision was made for the object alluded to by the hon. member. ADVANCES AND REPAYMENTS ORDERED. In reply to Sir C. NORTHCOTE, Mr. F. PEEL said that the account of the advances and repayments ordered on the 17th of February last would be shortly laid on the table, but they had been delayed for the purpose of making them more perfect. luisii BILLS. Mr. p. T_TIZQU HART asked the Chief Secretary for Ire /and whether he meant to proceed with the committee on the I'oor Relief (Ireland) Bill before the Easter recess : and whether he meant to proceed with the other Irish measures before the Faster recess ? Sir R. I'EEL said that he was not able to make greater progress than he had done with those bills. He was afraid he would not be able to proceed with the Pool• Law Eili bef,re, Easter— (hear, hear)—but he should do all in his power to press it on. WEST HARTLEPOOL RAIT,WAY-BREACII OF PRIVILEGE. Mr. FARRER drew the attention of the house to a matter personal to himself, in which a breach of privilege had been committed. His hon. and learned friend the member for Sheffield brought forward a motion the other evening with a view to the appointment of a select committee in reference to a private bill, and in a petition which he presented certain charges were made to which he thought it right to give a denial. Laving alluded to some correspondence which had taken place with a gentleman whose name was connected with the company in question, he said the breach of privilege of which ho complained was contained in an article in the Stockton Gazette and Middlesborough Timms, and the writer described his (Mr. Farrer's) statement as a" de liberate lie." Ho would not call on the house to summons the printer of that journal to the bar of the house, but he thought he would bo unworthy of a seat in Parliament if he did not bring forward this subject. (Hear, hear.) Sir G. GREY said he thought the hon. member should , 7 1" - :t Pass ov er thi s ma t: cc , b u t h e th oug ht his (Mr. Farrer's) nigh c haracter was quite refutation sufficient of such a char re.. (hear, hear.) In re TILE EASTER RECESS. p l y t 0 Mr. DISEAELT, Lord vik Thursday, wtheiERSTON raid that ho would state next the Easter Tee:, Government propoEed . to adjourn for C OM PETITI \71.1 XA.MINATTON IN THE CIVIL Mr. lIENNESSy in "RXICE. " That this ( 7 , 1 the following resolutions : house is permontiunion that the best mode of procuring competent tc to u fill , the junior clerkships in the Civil Service would com petitive examination op en to u l ' i . t o:Th . a system of I %) t ects of the Queen who fulfil certain definite conditions character; and that, with a -yiow of o : ta a . g . e i , h health, and c, , mpeti , ion ! it is v bl ain rtruim : o th t,j. s a b u t oef el : t h h system of open desirable that Presented t o her experiment ,firz-A , tried in the India Itoo ge re peated from time to time in the other de Civil Service: that, an humble address be Majesty on the foregoing- resolution." Mr. VANS ETTART seconded the motion. Mr. COCHRANE moved, as an amendment, ic ` many of the qualities con stituting a good "public officer—good principles, good habits, sound judgment ;, g eneral intelligence, and energy —ea nnot introduction, h . e t e ted by any plan ot public competition ; the therefore, of such a system into all the .tlerr4rti-ne.nt: of ffi the public service would be very ittittri;iusi fo thetr. t_ cieney." ridiculed the description of . -eqrmiiatu o which carldidalus for the civil service werorit*oted. Mr. PEACOWiE seconded the amendment.. Lord STANLEY approved of the present system, ivllieh king found to answer in ono branch of the public servitv, Iva% Most reasonably extended to another. Sir G. C. LEWIS deprecated repeated discussions upon regulations so long sanctioned by Parliament, and briefly described the_ nature of the examinations sanctioned and approved by Government. After considerable discussion, in the course of which /4C)11. lumbers approving and disapproving.competitive - -- examinations re-affirmed the arguments of preceding years the amendment was negatived without a division. Sir G. C. LEWIS then moved the previous question. Sir C. WOOD seconded this amendment. The house then divided on the previous question : Ayes Noes The motion, therefore, was not put, FIRE INSURANCE. Mr. H. B. SHERIDAN asked leave to introduce a bill to reduce the duty on fire insurances. The hon. member stated the amount of reduction provided for by the bill, and pointed out its effect upon the revenue, contending that were his proposition adopted, it was clear from cal culations in his possession, that the revenue would ultimately be greatly benefited. The amonnt of revenue which the Chancellor of the EXchequer was requested to abandon by the reduction of this im politic tax was under a quarter of a million sterling, and that immediate loaa could easily be replaced by the sale of Government stokes or wooden ships, which recent events had now 1 ;-coved to be useless. The tax was levied only upon 'insurers, while that class of the community who never Insured avoided it altogether; it was, therefore, most un reasonable, unjust, and impolitic. Mr. HADFIELD seconded the motion. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER considered the subject both upon precedent, upon principle, and upon facts, and expressed a hope that the house would at once meet the question, because it was mischievous to play with taxation, and held out hopes which obviously could never be realised. lie deprecated the speculative opinions of Mr. Sheridan. They would do nothing towards meeting defi ciency and supplying the wants of the public service. He further objected to individual members making isolated motions for the reduction of taxation before the budget was brought before the house. He was not disputing or deny. ing that an increase of duty would arise from a reduction of taxation; but the question was, whether this tax so pressed upon them that its abolition should take precedence of all others. It was their duty first to look at their means and obligations before giving anything away, and if they had a surplus to spare, to ascertain what tax had the strongest claim for reduction. At present they were called upon to express an' opinion in the dark, and he therefore hoped the house would meet the motion with a direct negative. Mr. MALINS contended that this duty upon fire insurance was altogether unjustifiable, most inexpedient, and ought to be abolished. He should, therefore, support the motion. Mr. HAWKEY said the objection to this tax was, that it was not levied upon equitable principles, and therefore while leaving himself unfettered upon the second reading, he should upon this occasion support the motion. After a few observations from Mr. ROGERS and Mr. Noiueis, Lord PALMERSTON observed that his great objection to the measure was the time at which it was brought for' ward. The natural course in such cases was to allow the Government to propose their financial arrangements, and not to enter blindfolded upon schemes which, perhaps, upon fuller information, might prove not the most pressing upon their attention. After a few words from Mr. SHERIDAN in reply, The house divided, when th© numbers were— For the motion Against it Leave was then given to bring in the bill. JUDGMENTS LAW AMENDMENT (IRELAND). Mr. WHITESIDE obtained leave to introduce a bill to amend the law of judgments in Ireland. DEBENTURES ON LAND (IRELAND). Mr. WHITESIDE obtained leave to bring in a bill to authorise the issue of debentures chargeable on land in It e land in connection with sales made by the Landed Estates Court. _ PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. Mr. BOUVERIE moved the appointment of a select committee to consider whether it is practicable to provide a compendious record of parliamentary proceedings for the use of members. Practically there were the daily records in the newspapers, and at the end of the session the journal of the votes of the house, in which was accumulated an enormous amount of matter, public and private, perfectly immaterial for the members of the house to consider. The ordinary records of their proceedings were cumbersome and inconvenient, and there was no reason why they should not have a "handy book" of reference as a short cut to knowledge, which might very much facilitate the transac tion of business. Mr. ESTCOURT thought that whatever was printed of their proceedings should emanate only from the authority of the Speaker. Mr. WALPOLE was anxious that they should have a compendium of their proceedings ; but if it would interfere with the authority of the Speaker, he would oppose this motion. Mr. SCULLY believed they had a sufficient record in the library. He moved that after the word " practicable" should be inserted the word "expedient." Mr. BOUVERIE assenting, this amendment was in serted in the motion. Mr. NE WDE GATE thought the day would come when they must have reporters of their own. He had seen a work, by Mr. Toulmin Smith, a record of their proceed ings, but there were the gravest objections to that work, and also as an act of injustice to Mr. Hansard. This was a great departure from all the precedents of that house, and it might become the means of the greatest possible unfair ness as between the members of that house. Lord PALMERST ON did not object to the proposal of this committee. It was true they had valuable records, but they were not easy of reference, and therefore it deserved the consideration of a committee. He recommended great prudence in the appointment of a committee. The motion was then agreed to. INDUSTRIAL AND PROVIDENT SOCIETIES BILL. Mr. S. ESTCOURT moved for leave to introduce a bill to consolidate and amend the laws relating to industrial and provident societies. Ho believed there would be no objec tion to the bill, and on a future occasion he hoped ho should have a better opportunity to explain the details of the measure. Leave was given, and the bill was subsequently read a first time. SUPPLY-REPORT. The report of the sums voted in committee of supply on Monday evening was agreed to. THE RED SEA AND INDIA TELEGRAPH COM- PANY BILL. The report of the committee on this bill was brought up and agreed to, and leave given to bring iu a bill founded thereon. The house adjourned at five minutes to one o'clock. , ILWAY AND 1 , 17.731:1 - 0 COMPANIES IN PARLIAMENT. Yesterday, having disposed of the clauses and technicalities connected with the bill of the Abery st with and Welsh Coast R-ailway, Lord Torrington's committee took up the case of the Carnarvonshire Railway, who propose to incorporate themselves with a capital of v 200,000, and to make a line of 27 miles from a junction with the Bangor and Carnar von Branch of the Chester and Holyhead at Car narvon to Port Madoc, and to work with the Lon don and North Western and Aberystwith and Welsh Coast. After production of the promoters' evidence their lordships passed the bill. The bill of the Llynvi Valley also went through, the object of it being to raise an additional capital of £40,000 and to borrow £13,000. The Earl of Romney's committee proceeded with the consideration of the Dundalk and Enniskillen, which was opened by Mr. Hope Scott, Q.C., and evidence taken. The bill of the Dare Valley Railway, for colliery lines in the neighbourhood of Aberdare, and to raise I:10,000, was passed in Lord Redesdale's committee. In the . Commons, after examining Mr. Hemans, C.E., and hearing the opposition of the Brighton and Uckfleld Railway against the East Grinstead and Groombridge and Tonbridge Railway , the committee passed the bill, and adjourned to this day for con sideration of the clauses. Further evidence as to the .local features of the line and its necessity occu pied Mr. Adair's committee on the Bristol and South Western Junction, who propose to make five new branches in Somersetshire, and to raise for that purpose £750,000 by shares and £250,000 by loan, The case of the Bala and I)olgelly Railway was con cluded in Lord Stanley's committee, and the com peting line proposed to run between the same points by the Merionethshire Railway, opened by Mr. V. Williams, who examined Lord Mostyn and others in its favour. Messrs. Errington and Bouch, engi neers, were examined on the Buxton line of the Midland Railway, and the following bills passed muster in committee of the Chairmab of Ways and Means :—Eastern Union Railway, who pLoporso to me r 1 , 1 . raise £250,000 in new shares, and to apply £200,000 in. discharge of existing liabilities which they have i i ) n e e an n , rzh .th le , to A redeem, and contribute the remain- ing £50,(100 towards the v:a Waveney Valley ; Rick -8 miles betw een t. , 8 'an" and Chesham, for a line of mansworth ; Lo . "`".'e P'+ cos ; I E. ithiclUxbridge and Rick twcm t h ose . and Fowey, for a line be ' Keighley and Points and to raise .£40,000 ; and of which Railway. A committee, Mr. Mills is chairman, sat Improvement Bill • and provem., and Edin to consider the Salford a mongst miscellaneous measu res ' r,, passed were the Improvement i l i i a li t l i e i r ,9: l :r k and 'm s '''''r a k !l e y t rp s' on t4 nt im bur' , b lßoads and Streets. .. THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY FIVENiNui, APRIL 2, 1862. CITY COMMISSION` OF SEWERS. Yesterday, at the weekly meeting of the Commis sioners of Sewers, held at Guildhall, Mr. De 'jersey in the chair, Dr. Letheby, the medical officer of health, reported on the state of 171 houses that had been inspected during the week, and submitted a list of 128 places for sanitary improvement. He likewise reported that the markets, slaughter houses, and cow-houses of the city had been duly inspected in the week, and that the officers had seized 4,8711 b., or rather more than two tons, of meat, and 179 head of wild fowl,as unfit for human food. It consisted of 27 sheep, 3 calves, 7 pigs, 31 quarters of beef, and 36 joints of meat; 41b. of it wer e putrid, 4,4601 b. were diseased, and 3701 b. from animals that had died from natural causes. All of it had been destroyed. On Friday last Mr. Bruce, of Fox and Knot yard, was summoned before the justice for having received into his slaughter-house the carcase of a cow that had died from pleuro pneumonia in a London cow-house, and dressed it as food. He was fined £2 and costs. The mortality returns were a little below the average for the season. Last week the number of deaths was 58, whereas the proportion for the correspond ing week of the last six years was 63; 34, or more than half the deaths,were among children of less than five years of age,and 12 were among old persons of 60 and upwards. The chief causes of death were as follows :—Phthisis, 4; pneumonia, 6 ; bronchitis, 11 ; mesenteric disease, 5 ; whooping-cough, 3 ; croup, 3 ; continued fever, 3 ; and scarlet fe7er, 1— making together 11 deaths from tubercular diseases, 18 from inflammatory affections of the lungs, and 10 from diseases of the zymotic Blass. Sixty-three births were registered in the week, namely, 35 boys and 28 girls. Mr. Newman, one of the inspectors, said, in reply to Mr. Young, that in one cow-house he found no less than 24 cows in a diseased state, and which, notwithstanding, were regularly milked for public use. He had reported the fact to the medical officer. Mr. Haywood, the engineer of the Commissioners, called their attention to the nui sance, both to the neighbouring inhabitants and to the public, caused by the hoarding at the corner of Eastcheap, which projected far into the public road, and had impeded the foot and carriage traffic for the last 18 months. The matter was referred to the General Purposes Committee, with the view to a speedy remedy. A communication was read from Mr. Shepard, one of the directors of the Carburet ting Gas Company, with whom the Commissioners recently entered into a contract to apply the process by way of experiment to the public lighting of a district in the city, describing the progress of the work, and stating that they had fitted up 1,200 car burators to the public lamps in the district allotted to them, by which there would be a saving of 30s. on each lamp in the year, without any diminution in illuminating power. The Improvement Com mittee reported that they had succeeded, after nego tiation, in inducing the directors of the Oriental Bank in Threadneedle-street to set back the line of their gates so as to range with the line of the Baltic coffee-house, without requiring any compensation, from which great public convenience would result. The Court then adjourned. said it no 'doubt rested entirely on the evidence ofi Mr. Westall, the gentleman who had struggled with the burglars so bravely. The jury, a-fter tan minutes' consideration, found the prisoner guilty. the The learned Judge, in passing sentence, aaL l crime was one of the most serious which could be committed, and, as it had been accompanied with great violence, and the prisoner had been guilty of wounding as well as of a burglary, it would have been his duty, if the case had occurred at the last assizes (before the act of last session abolishing the punishment of death in several other cases), to pass sentence of death; as it was, he could not do less than sentence the prisoner to six years' penal ser vitude. (Before Lord Chief Justice Brie,) BATTE.RSHALL V. FITZGERALD. This was an action for false imprisonment. The defendant did not justify the charge, and pleaded not guilty. Mr. M. Chambers, Q.C., and Mr. C. Wood were for the plaintiff; Mr. Sergeant Ballantine was for the defendant. The plaintiff had gone with one Capt. M'Can to Brighton, where they bought a horse, for which they gave a check of the latter, which was not honoured. At Riegate the defendant, who was a friend of the seller, by his desire gave the plaintiff into custody on a charge of felony. The charge was dismissed, and this action was brought. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine, who Vas not in a posi tion to call witnesses, addressed the jury as to damages, and The Lord Chief Justice left the case to them on that point. They found for the plaintiff—Damages £25. TAYLOR V. JONES, THE YOUNGER. The plaintiff in this action complained that the defendant had thrown heated oats in his eyes, whereby he was seriously injured. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine- and Mr. Laxten were for the plaintiff ; Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Holl were for the defendant. The plaintiff was a labourer who had been engaged as a "corn runner," in taking up corn out of barges at the defendant's wharf. On February 4, as he swore, he saw the defendant take up a handful of damaged oats (which were in a heated state) and dash it in his face. Ho said he cried oat, " Oh, you have blinded me !" and that he had suffered great pain, and had been injured in his eye. He also swore that he had complained to the defendant about it. The defendant was called, and distinctly denied that he had thrown anything at the plaintiff; and the father was also called, and confirmed the con tradiction as to the complaint alleged to have been made. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine made a very energetic appeal on the part of the plaintiff in reply ; and, The Lord Chief Justice having summed up the case to the jury, they found a verdict for the plain tiff—damages, £l5. TAYLOR Y. TYLOR. This was an interpleader issue in which the plain tiff was claimant under a bill of sale dated Feb. 28, and the defendant was execution creditor, who had seized the goods under a writ and warrant on the 3d March. Mr. Sergeant Parry and Mr. Hance were for the plaintiff; Mr. Dickie was for the defendant. It was proved that the execution debtor was really indebted to the claimant, and the case for" the defendant, the execution creditor, being only that the writ was dated before the bill of sale, and no notice being shown to the claimant before the bill of sale was given. The Lord Chief Justice said there was no answer to the claim, and therefore directed a verdict for the claimant. Several cases wore taken and turned out to be undefended. In the next case (No. 1 2), the plaintiff, an attor ney, suing for slander, not being present, Mr. Hawkins, on his behalf, applied to postpone the trial, on the ground that his client was acci dentally absent. Mr. Lush, for the defendant, opposed the appli cation. The absence of an attorney plaintiff could hardly be excused. The Lord Chief Justice said he was willing to take any other case which was ready. No other case turned out to be ready. Mr. Hawkins remarked that the cases had gone off much more quickly than had been expected. Mr. Lush said, on the other hand, it must be admitted that the absence of a plaintiff, and he an attorney, who had only yesterday himself entered the cause, was unexplained, no ground for post ponement. The Lord Chief Justice said the case must be called on unless a guarantee could be given for the costs of the day. This not being given, Mr. Hawkins - . withdrew the record. No. 13 was then called on. NORTHERN CIRCUIT, LIVERPOOL, April I. (Before Mr. Justice Mellor and Special Juries.) CLEMENTSON T. THE LONDON AND NORTII- WESTERN RAILWAY. This was action to recover damages for an acci dent which occurred to the plaintiff by reason of the insufficient lighting of the railway station at Mossley. Mr. Edward James, Q.C., and Mr. Aspland ap peared for the plaintiff; and Mr. Overend, Q.C., and Mr. Simon for the defendants. It appeared that on the 14th of December last the plaintiff had been dining with his brother, and was going from Mossley to Ashton by the 5 48 train, and was waiting on the platform of the Moss ley station for the train with a crowd of people. The old station had been pulled dawn and was being rebuilt. At one end of the new station a verandah was building, which was imperfectly lighted with an oil lamp. At the other side of the railway there were two gas lamps, which cast a light across the railway. On the train coming up the carriages shut out the light given by these lamps. The plaintiff was under the verandah, in the crowd, and as the train came up he stepped back to get out of the way. In doing so he fell over a block of wood, striking his face against a large piece of slate. His face was cut, and for a long time he was confined to the house and unable to attend to his business of a cotton dealer. He had since suffered from severe headaches, and was unable to masticate his food on that side. The defendant's case was that the station was in the process of being built, and the plaintiff had frequently been there, and knew that the building materials were lying:bout, and that it was his own carelessness and negligence which led to the acci dent. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff.— Damages, £2OO. "OXFORD CIRCUIT.—GLOCESTER, April 1. (Before Mr. Baron Channell.) George Collins, 24, a soldier, was charged with burglary in the dwelling-house of Francis] Veale, on the night of the 30th of December, 1861, at Stow in-the-Wold. Mr. R. Aikwright conducted the prosecution. The prisoner was undefended by counsel. It appeared teat the prisoner was a private in the Royal Horse Artillery, and on the night in question he was seen near the premises which were, broken open, but not entered, and evidence was given that footmarks in a newly-dug garden and in the snow corresponded with marks made by the prisoner's boots, but as this evidence was not satis factory to the jury, he was acquitted. The prisoner was then tried upon a charge of attempting to commit a burglary at another house in the same neighbourhood and on the same night. The evidence was similar to that given in the first csse, with the addition that in the yard of the pro secutor's house was fonnd an envelope addressed to the prisoner, and containing a letter written by the prisoner. Upon this evidence the prisoner was found guilty, and Mr. Baron Chan n ell sentenced him to six months' imprisonment, with hard labour. Tryphena Wayman surrendered to take her trial upon a charge of maliciously setting fire to a rick of straw, the property of Henry Anstey, on the 20th of February, 1862, at Tortworth. Mr. J. 0. Griffits conducted the prosecution ; Mr. R, Sawyer defended the prisoner. The prisoner is a young girl, about 15 years of age, who was formerly in the service of the prose cutor as nursery maid. The prosemiter is a farmer at Tortworth, and on the 20th of February last he had three ricks in his yard, near his house. At about 6 o'clock in the evening the prisoner came into the kitchen from the yard, and gave an alarm that one of the ricks was on fire. This was found to be the case, and in the result all three ricks, valued at £250, were consumed. There was no evidence to connect the prisoner with the fire beyond the fact that she was seen near the spot just before the fire was discovered, but when she was taken into custody by the police she made a statement that she should not have done it hut for another servant, who had made her a great deal worse, and advised her to do something to spite her master. Mr. Sawyer addressed the jury for the prisoner, but she was found guilty. Sentence deferred. BENSON'S WATCIIES AND CLOCKS.--" Perfection of mecbanisni."—Morning Post. Gold watches, sto HOguineas; silver watches, 2 to 60 guineas. Benson's new Illustrated Pamphlet, free for two stamps, descriptive of every construc tion of watch, enables persons fu any part of the world to select with the greatest certainty the watch best adapted to their use. Watches sent free and safe by post on receipt of a remittance.—J. W. Benson, 33 and 34, Ludgate-hill, 46 and 47, Cornhill, London g.C.—Established 1749. Thames was 47 0 7 deg; the:mean-of the lowest was 45 5 deg. On Satuiday a thermometer in the water rose to 50 . 6 deg, the highest temperature of the air on that day having been 49 deg. ASSIZE INTEL LIGIV CE. MIDLAND CIRCUIT—WARWICK, April 1. CROWN COURT. (Before Mr. Justice Williams.) James Jones Salt was yesterday again placed at the bar upon another charge of forging a bill of exchange with intent to defraud, and in another count with uttering the same with the like intent, and he pleaded not guilty. Mr. Sergeant Shee and Mr. Beasley appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Kennedy conducted the defence. The particular charge sought to be substantiated against the prisoner respected the forging and utter ing of a bill purporting to be accepted by M. Tans ley, a glass dealer. The evidence was almost a re petition of that adduced respecting the forgery of the bill purporting to be accepted by Mr. Dawes reported yesterday. There was, however, one piece of additional evidence of much importance adduced by the prisoner. Frederick Brookes, formerly an electroplates, nor' a pawnbroker, the son-in-law of Mrs. Leonard, swore that the name " M. Tansley," which formed the acceptance to the bill, was in the handwriting of his own wife, and Mrs. Wadham, who had been Mrs. Brookes's instructress in writing when she was a girl nine years old, confirmed his testimony. Mrs. Brookes swore directly the contrary. It was elicited in cross-examination that Mr. and Mrs. Brookes had quarrelled about ten days since re specting her evidence. She owned that she had stated as facts at the public office, before the magi strates, and also in her examination in proceedings touching Salt's bankruptcy, matters that were, as she now stated, untrue respecting her mother, touching an imputation of forgery. Her inducement to do this was, she said, that Mr. Marshall, her husband's step-father, had persuaded her that if she made this statement, which she said he called a mere point of law, she would get her mother and her husband out of trouble, and there was no harm in it. She owned that before marriage she had, at her mother's request, put her own maiden name of Law son to bills of exchange, but denied that ehe had done so since her marriage. She had left her hus band's house, taking away their bed, which her husband afterwards had taken from under her by two bailiffs. She had since been living in the house of a labourer named Rogers, her expenses being paid by a detective officer. Since having made the false statements she had mentioned she had been to Mr. Kindersley, the magistrate, and bad told him that she had made an untrue statement, and he told her to mention the matter to a solicitor. Mr. Mar shall directly contradicted her as to the statement imputed to himself, and swore that he had told her that she should go to the Bankruptcy Court and speak the truth. She further swose, and was in this respect supported by a servant, that Salt and Emma Gubbins, his housekeeper, had come to her on the 12th Feb. last, when she was lying in bed, and in Brookes's presence brought ink and paper to her, and urged her to write the name of Tansley several times on pieces of paper: Emma Gubbins and Mr. Brookes directly denied the truth of this story, or that Salt and Emma Gubbins had ever been into the bedroom. It was further attempted to be established by Gubbins's evidence that Salt had long ago given his bsoililiciinto4ruPesltri.oHn. after Wright), it who had retained th e was paid, and wh en th ere was no suggestion of its being a forgery, to take proceedings against the acceptor, who had dis honoured it. Mr. Kennedy in the course of the case took an objection to the admissibility, in proof of the guilty knowledge of the prisoner, of evidence that a great number of other forged bills had been uttered by him ; and the cases " R e gina v. Millward," Russell and Ryan, and " Regina v. Ball," Russell and Ryan and 1 Camp., were quoted. His Lordship, however, admitted the evidence. Mr. Sergeant Shee addressed the jury, directing their attention rather to the charge of uttering than to that of forging. ' His Lordship directed the jury to confine their attention to that count. The jury, after half-an-hour's deliberation, re turned a verdict of guilty of uttering. He was sentenced this evening to six years' penal servitude. This case concluded at about 2 p.m., and Mrs. Leonard was afterwards placd at the bar and pleaded not guilty to a charge of forgery. The case occupied the court to so late an hour that we must defer our report. HOME CIRCUIT.—KINGSTON, APRIL 1. CROWN COURT. (Before Mr. Justice Wightman.) The learned Judge charged the grand jury, an then proceeded to try cases. The calendar is light, there being only 15 pr soners for trial, and none of the cases being of the gravest character. A beardless youth, named Edgeler, was indicted for highway robbery. Mr. Lilley was for the prosecution. Looking at the prisoner, the case seemed one of unusual audacity. He was a labourer living with his father, in the employ of Mr. Roper, in the neighbour hood of Godalming. The employer's sister was crossing some fields, on her way home from Shackle ford, at one o'clock in the day on the 27th of De cember last, when on her reachinc , a lonely spot, a man, who was disguised, rushed' at her, threw a handful of dust in her face and knocked her down, wresting from her hand a bag she carried, contain ing a £lO note, a sovereign, and some other money. She struggled with him and kicked him as she lay on the ground, but he very soon got it from her, and tha whole affair was over in a minute. She gave information to the police, describing his ap pearance but not mentioning his name. He was taken the same night at his father's, but nothing was found at the house, nor anything, except a few shillings, on his person, The bag was afterwards found hid in a plantation in the direction in which the robber had run off, and where also the dis guises used were found. Before the magistrates the young lady swore positively to the prisoner, as she did on the present occasion, and she also said she knew his name, though she did not men tion it at the time. She said that, as he worked for her father, and was paid with the other men, he would know she would have money to get on the Friday, the day of the robbery, but so would 20 other men in the same employ. The case, it will be seen, turned entirely on the question of identity, and in support of the casefor the prosecution several witnesses were called who had seen the prisoner near the spot about the time in question, and one of whom—a very small ploughboy, who was " mind ing birds" near the place—spoke to something like a disguise as described by the prosecutrix. The learned Judge examined this little boy as to whether ho knew the obligations of truth, and instead of putting it in the usual way—" Do you know the nature of an oath ?"—put it thus :—" Is it a bad thing or a good thing to tell lies ?" to which the little witness twice over answarcd, " Good"— an answer which excited some laughter; but it would appear that he had not quite understood the question, for on its being again repeated he said, " A bad thing ;" so he was examined. He did not seem above six years old, and did not know, he said, how old he was. He gave his evidence with the most amusing gravity and deliberation. Mr. Ribton, for the prisoner, made an ingenious but hopeless defence, founded on the fact that the prosecutrix, though she said she knew the prisoner, had not mentioned his name at first. The learned Judge summed up the case with his characteristic care, especially on the question of identity; but _ _ The 3 1 iry, without any difficulty, found a verdict of guilty. The learned Judge said he believed the evidence had satisfied every one who had heard the case that the prisoner had committed this violent robbery. There could be no doubt that he had waylaid the lady, after carefully disguising himself for the pur pose, and committed the offence with every circum stance of violence, The offence was of the worst description, and the prisoner must suffer penal ser vitude for four years. A young man, named Brunel, was indicted for burglary. Mr. Lilley was for the prosecution; Mr. Oppen heim was for the defence. The prosecutrix is a widow, living at Coldhar bour-lane, Camberwell, in whose house a Mr. Wes tall,i a clerk, w as l o d g i ng . B etween o ne and two n the morning of the 28th of February the latter was awoke by heari ng th e b ang i ng o f a door, and, on going down stairs, he found two men—the prisoner and another, wh o h a d no t b een t a k e n—armed with bludgeons. They said, "We came in quietly, and you had better lot us go quietly." He, however, strove to arrest them, when they said, " If you do so we will knock you down." He still persisted, and they , fell upo n hi m an d b eat hi m severe ly, cutting his lace open. H o t h en ca ll e d l ou dl y f or th e police, the street door being opened by the burglars. They threatened that if he cried out they would kill him. Seeing them determined to carry out their threat, h© thought it prudent to let them go away, which they then did, th e l a d y no t b e i ng di s turbed until seven o'clock, He gave information, however, promptly to the police, and the prisoner was ar rebted. Mr. Oppenheim made a clever defencP, on the ground that in the E euffle the s ole witness to iden tity might have been mistaken. . Mr. Justice Wightman, in summing up the case, ~~ ._ -- HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK. (From the Registrar-General's TVeekly Return.) The deaths in London, which had fallen to 1,271 in the third week of March, rose to 1,360 in the fourth week (that ended last Saturday). But the mortality is not high relatively to the average mor tality for the end of March in 10 previous years, which when corrected for increase of population is 1,560. The deaths from typhus, which had been 123 and 108 in the first and second weeks of the month, and had declined to 63. in the third, rose again to 89 last week ; 11 of this number occurred in the Lon don Fever Hospital. Out of 25 deaths from measles 4 were returned in the west sub-district of Mile-end Old Town; out of 43 from scarlatina there were 4 in the west sub-district of Islington, 4 in Peckham. Diphtheria was fatal in 21 cases. In a family living at '249, Tottenham-court-road, the father died of phthisis, two children of whoop ing-cough, all of whom, with a third child, have died within a week, and the registrar states that the four bodies will be buried together. On the 27th March, at 18, Edgware-road, the son of a jeweller, aged 5 years, died of diphtheria, after six days' illness. Mr. Ancell, the medical atten dant, writes in reference to this case as follows : "This is the second case of death from diphtheria occurring in its most malignant and intractable form at 18, Edgware-road, Marylebone, within 15 days. The drains belonging to this house were dis turbed by the authority of the vestry of Maryle bone on the 26th of November last, and kept open until the 7th of December. The drain, which is stated to have been a perfectly efficient one, and passed from the back of this and the adjoining houses to the sewer, was reversed and carried through the basement to another sewer. This was done, not on account of any effluvium or defect of drainage in this house, but ostensibly on account of the drains being out of order at 33, Upper Seymour street, the next street, running at a right angle. The portion of the old drain belonging to this house was bricked up, and accordingly the two sections of the old drain about this house as cul de sacs, the alteration having been carried out in this house only. Since this disturbance of the drain and alteration of its course it is stated that the water closets, &c., of the house have never been as freo from effluvium as heretofore, and it Is impossible to disassociate the occurrence of this malignant disease in this particular house and family from the cir cumstances herein stated relating to the drainage." Last week the births of 1,041 boys and 1,083 girls, in all 2,124 children, were registered in Lon don. In the 10 corresponding weeks of the years 1852-61 the average number (corrected) was 2,091. METROPOLITAN WATERS IN MARCH, 1862. The total impurity in the London waters, accord ing to the analyses of Dr. Robert Dundas Thomson, F,R,S., is somewhat less in each sample than in the preceding month, while the organic matter in cer tain cases is greater. Those containing the maxi mum quantities of organic impurity are the East London, Kent, West Middlesex, and Lambeth. Some of the specimens, as that of Chelsea, were clear, while others, as that of Southwark, were somewhat turbid. For the sake of comparison the composition of a surface well is given ; it yielded decided evidence of the presence of oxidized sewage, Total impurity Organic im per gallon. purity. gra. or deg. grs. or deg. O'n 0.0 Distilled Water Loch Katrine water, new supply to Glasgow (March) 2 35 •605 Manchester Water Supply (March) 3'33 •680 Pump, Star-lane, Fulham 98'96 9'52 THAMES COMPANIES. - - - Chelsea Southwark West Middlesex 20.68 2.16 Grand Junction 21'13 1•70 Lambeth OTIIER COMPANIES. Kent East London 25'00 2.10 23'72 2 , 11- _ New River 17'92 The table is read thus—Loch Katrine water contains in the gallan 2111 degrees or grains of foreign matter in solution, of which •605 degrees, or grains are of vegetable or animal origin. At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height of the barometer in the week was 29.284 in. The reading of this instrument was 29.90 in. on Sunday, and it fell to 29.05 in. on Friday. The mean temperature of the air in the week was 47.9 deg, which is 5 . 5 deg above the average of the same week in 43 years (as determined by Mr. Glaisher). The mean daily temperature was below the average on Sunday; it was more than 11 deg above the average on Monday and Tuesday, and continued above it the rest of the week. The highest day temperature was 63 . 0 deg on Monday. The lowest night temperature was 34.9 deg, and it occurred on the Sunday preceding. The range of temperature in the week was therefore 28.7 deg. The mean daily range was 12-7. The range on Friday was only 5.2 deg. The difference between the mean new -point temperature and air tempera ture was 2'2 deg. The mean degree of humidity of the air was 93, complete saturation being repre. scnted by 100, which point was reached on Sunday, and nearly reached on three other days. The wind was very variable; it was a lt erna t e ly sou th- cast an d sou th- w est till Friday afternoon, when it turned to north-cast. The rain measured 0 84in, more than half an inch living fallen on Sunday. The mean of the highest temperatures of the water of the amilie' . -~~-- POLICE INTELLIGENCE,-April 1 MANSION-HOUSE.—William Homewood, the conductor of an omnibus, who had been liberated on bail, attended before Mr. Alderman Hale a day or two ago' n remand, charged with an aggravated - The prOSecub j , t g was one Wiiiion Spong, thel driver of a Peckham omnibus. For nearly a month he had been unable to attend the court to depcise to the injuries he had received. On the afternoon of Tuesday, the 4th of March, he said he was in Gracechurch-street with his omnibus. The time keeper had called his time, and he went behind his omnibus to get on the box, but the pole of the de fendant's omnibus was so close to the door that he could not pass. He asked him to put his horses back, but this the defendant refused to do, saying his time was up, and he ought to be gone, upon which witness put them back. A lady was about to get into the omnibus, and witness was opening the door, when the defendant whipped his horses up and drove him against the stepboard. Witness had still hold of the horses' heads, and put them back a second time. The defendant lashed him several times with his whip across the hands, and getting down from his seat, took him by the collar, " banged" him against the wheel of the omnibus, and, after shaking him there, ran him up a passage, where he threw him down on his head on the stone pavement. The witness became insensible, and bled tery much from the nose and left ear, while his arm was much bruised. When he came round he found himself sitting, 131,!:::eding, on an empty fish-stall in Billingsgate-market. He had been troubled with pains and ringing in the head ever since. He had a black eye and a cut nose tw - . 1 days afterwards, but he did not know how he got them. _ _ _ In cross-examination, he said a cart in front of him, which had backed close up to his horses' heads, prevented him going that way to get on to his box. He denied striking the defendant on the latter pushing him away. He had since been unable to drive. He had no previous quarrel with the de fendant, but the latter had annoyed him very much on the,road. Mr. Deane, a surgeon in Southampton-street, Camberwell, said he was called to attend the com plainant Spong on the 4th of March at his house. He appeared to be snaring from pains in his head and a cat in the scalp over the left ear, which was not particularly dangerous. The concussion would be more dangerous than the wound. His hat must have saved the head. He was under witness's care about 10 days. He did not perceive any blood from the left ear, and saw the complainant a few hours after the assault. The prisoner, on being cautioned, said he would reserve his defence. He was committed for trial, and was allowed to give bail to appear and answer the charge, himself in £BO and two sureties in £BO each. _ Henry Hales, a man about 30, who has been some years a porter to Mr. George Curling, a wholesale druggist in Cullum-street, was convicted in petty sessions of stealing a quantity of tartaric and opium, worth £l2 or £l4, the property of his master, and sentenced to four months' imprisonment with hard labour. MARYLEBONE.—A gentlemanly-looking man, who at the station-house gave the name and address of Charles Fergusson 2, Burton crescent, was brought before Mr. Yardley, charged with an inde cent assault upon police constable White, 91 D. Complainant deposed that on that morning, at 5 o'clock, while on duty in Weymouth-street, he was accosted by the prisoner, who said that he wanted to speak to him. He walked with him to the cor ner of the mews, which was only a few yards off, when the prisoner pushed him against the wall, exposed his person, and otherwise acted improperly. Witness told him that he must take him into cus tody. He seemed ready to faint, and exclaimed— " Oh! pray don't ; have mercy on me ; it nearly broke my father's heart when a charge was made against me on a former occasion. I'm sure it will be the death of him now." Acting-Sergeant Dib• bin, 314 D, at this time came up, when the prisoner said he would give them £2O each and his watch and chain if they would go with him to his father's at 35, Wimpole-street. He was then taken to the stationhouse. Dibbin corroborated the latter portion of the above evidence, and added that on the way to the station the prisoner repeated the offer of money. Ho had been drinking. Inspector Combe stated that the address given by the prisoner in Burton-crescent was false. In reply to Mr. Yardley the prisoner said—l am ashamed to say it, but I never was more drunk in all my life. I have no recollection of anything that passed. The evidence having been read over by Mr. Tate, the clerk, Mr. Yardley committed the prisoner for trial. In the course of the afternoon it transpired that the real name of the prisoner is Edward Park. Shortly before the closing of the court his father and another gentleman residing in the same street offered themselves as bail, and were accepted, the prisoner in £3OO and his sureties in £l5O each. WORSHIP-STREET.—Thomas M'Carthy, a decent-looking man of 36, was charged with break ing and entering a house. Mr. Thomas Howell, of White's-row, White chapel, left home with his wife and brother at three o'clock on Monday, after carefully securing the doors and windows of their apartments, and re turned again at a quarter to five. The wife pre ceded the husband, and on gettnig indoors she was apprised by a widow living in the house that she had just before seen a strange man look in at one of the windows and then enter the passage. This much alarmed her, and while hesitating *hat to do she saw her bedroom door open, and the prisoner thrust out his head, with the evident intention of escaping. She exclaimed, " You scoundrel, what are you doing in my bedroom ?" and grasped him by the collar, but the prisoner tried to force his way past her, and a violent struggle took place be tween them, the woman retaining her hold of the prisoner till they got into the street, and screaming Stop thief!" as loud as she could. Mr. Howell came up at the moment, and, seeing his wife en gaged in such a contest, ran up to secure her as sailant. The prisoner, however, shook off Mrs. Howell, and darted down the street, pursued by her husband and his brother, who secured him, brought him back again, and handed, him over to Sergeant Copping ; the prisoner assert ing that he was innocent, and declaring he did not know what he was taken for. Mrs. Howell, on examining her bedroom, found the door, which was locked at three o'clock, prised open, the lock broken, and part of the woodwork torn away, and two locks in a chest of drawers broken ; one of the drawers was on the floor, while its contents were thrown about the apartment, and the oth er d rawer was partially drawn out, and its contents, consist ing of her husband's and her own wearing apparel, were lifted out and left hanging from it, ready for removal. Mr. Leigh committed the prisoner for trial. TILE MURDER AND ATTEMPTED iSUICIDE AT HENDON. --- ~-- Yesterday afternoon an investigation was opened by Mr. G. Brent, the Deputy-Coroner for West Middlesex, at the Adam and Eve, Mill-hill, Hen don, into the circumstances attending the death of Anne Cox. Various witnesses spoke to the facts mentioned in a paragraph which appeared in The Sun of Saturday. Mrs. Sarah Barnes, the wife of a labourer who lived next door to the deceased, said that James Lawrence, who shot the deceased, had been sleeping in the house of her mother, as a pro tection to the two women, in consequence of their lodger having gone to bury his mother. She be lieved that Lawrence was jealous of James Mann, a young man who had formerly been a lodger in the house, but who was now a policeman in London. Charles Ede, a labourer, said that he worked with Lawrence at Highwood-hill. Last Friday he heard him continually saying , " Nancy is in the Strand buying a bun," and asked him what he meant. He said, " I know Anne Cox is going to London to be married." About midday Lawrence asked what o'clock it was, and when told it was 10 minutes after 12, he said, " She's married now." Mr. Bar tholomew, incumbent at Mill-hill, produced a letter which he wished if possible not:to make public. The Deputy-Coroner said it would be necessary to read it. It was signed by Lawrence, was dated the 21st ult., and appeared to have been intended by Law - rence as an explanation of the act he was about to commit. It asserted that the deceased was in the family-way by James Mann, and contained these words This is the cause of my doing what I have. Now, do tell Mr. J, Mann he is disap pointed as well as me, so let your daughter with me. So good bye to Anne be buried alo ng all and bless you." The Deputy-Coroner made some remarks on the necessity for a post mortent examination, after which the investigation wus adjourned in order that it might be made. AN IRISH REGISTRY.—In the Registry of Deeds Office, Dublin, there was at the beginning of this year an arrear of 10,018 memorials untranscribed, and of thoe which had been transcribed 31,711 had not yet been com pared or examined with the originals. THE ACCIDENT ON THE .WORTII KEN ' RAILWAY. The inquiry into the fatal accident whieil occurred on the North Kent Railway, between Strood and Gravesend, on the 20th ult., by which Geo. Wa Iler, the head guard, was killed, was resumed at the Town-hall, Gravesend, yesterday, by Mr, E. A. HiHer, the borough coroner: Captain Henry Whalley Tyr;er, from the Railway Department of the Lloard of Trade, was the first w itness examined. He said he ,had inspected the line on the 24th ult., having join. eel the coroner and jury at their request. He considered it a difficult thing to throw a steady engine off a' . good road on a straight line, and that there must tab something very far wrong in the engine, train, or' permanent way when an accident of this kind oceure. In the present instance the engine evidently left I:he line before the carriages, and the cause of the accident, therefore, lay between the engine and the road. The engine Showed no symptoms of failure in .any of its parts such as would have led to the present accident. The permanent way was in a less satis factory condition. It had been down since 1847, a period of 15 years. The sleepers were not he a good condition. The trenails, by means of whi.ela the chairs were attached to them, were in a yet worse state, and the joints were loose. It was admitted by the witnesses at the ,former examination tleat the first disturbance in the permanent way — that is to say, the bulges to the left and right—. arose solely from the failure of theafienails which ought to have secured the chairs to the sleepers. The foreman platelayer, Beibents, though he as serted that the trenails so foteteere3 l had been sound, admitted, nevertheless, that they had given w a y . It might have been quite true the his auger, as he , 1 bored them out went into hard wo grabecause such trenails frequently lay broken in ' he chairs and useless for security, while the upper and lower por , tions were still in a bard condition. If he could have been certain of the particular chairs, ' and their position, he should have been ably to point out how far each fastening had been secure or defective, and what parts had given way where the rail was knocked out of its place. As it was , he could on l y state the general but inevitable conclusion that, as the rail 4id thus give way under the passage of an engine under ordinary speed, that alone was s uffieient proof' that the rail was not securely retained in its place by the fastening which ought to have held it. Fie might add that this rail did not appear to have been. subjected to any great violence, or even to have been bent when thus pushed out of its place. The engine either did not appear to have met with great resistance when it came against this rail, as it did not merely drop off it when it:* gave way, but, un checked in the oscillation which it had derived from the previous slight bulges on the road, it went at once considerably off the rails to the heft, as he ob served by the marks still visible on tlec sleepers and by the absence of broken chairs o n tn.e off s ide of the line. If the rail had been perfectly secured the engine would have glanced from it and ~left it undisturbed. If the trenails on the outside of the rail had been sound and strong, or if there had beep. wrought iron spikes in their places, that rail would," no doubt, not have been thus displaced, even if the trenails had been less secure inside the rail. In examining the line in the neighbourhood of the scene of the accident, he found many cases in which the heads of the trenails were gone altogether out of the chairs as they stood in the line. Sometimes both of them had disappeared from one chair, and the holes were filled with dirt. In some cases the heads of the trenails remained in the chairs after their frac ture, and in others he was able to pull them out with his thumb and finger. In short, he found these fastenings so much deteriorated as to render an acci dent of this description not only within the bounds of possibility but very likely to occur. The broken rail, which was found at 50 yards beyond the dis placed rail, had the appearance of having been bent and broken by violent impact on the inside, and its appearance indicated the track of the engine cross" ing it, besides showing that it must have been held in its place far more tightly than the rail 50 yared , behind, which was thrown out on its side. After full consideration of all the circumstances of the case, as far as he had been able to ascertain them , he attributed the accident to the failure of the wooden fastenings between the chairs and the sleepers. The use of the wooden trenails had been the soie cause of the accident on the Lancashire and Yorkshir e Railway in 1860, and on the South Western and Glasgow inMay,lB6l. In the former case the engine, of the express train burst - the pe rmanent w a y , and the carriages only were thrown off the line. In the latter case the engine and carriages left the rails under circumstances very similar to those they were then investigating, though with more fatal results. In answer to questions by the Coroner, Captain Tyler added that if the weather had been ever 5 . , 0 bad the accident ought never to hav e occurred Lt the fastenings were good. Examined by Mr. Rees, solicitor, who represente d the railway company, Capt. Tyler said that he hau seen so many accidents through wooden trenails that he advocated spikes instead, and had recora mended their use to the North Kent Railway Cow pany. Their engineer had as great an objection to them as he had. He was sorry to see that nothing but wooden trenails had been put down by the en gineer of the London, Chatham, and Dover Rail" way, although the engineer of that line stood very high in his profession. So long as trenails remained sound they held the chairs better than spikes,whiell were apt to shift out after being in use several yeer'' Spikes were still more necessary on curves. When he inspected a line made with trenails he AlwaY! reported that to the Board of Trade, but on curv e ' he insisted on spikes. The Coroner having read over and commented 011 the evidence, The jury retired, and, after an absence of am . hour, brought in the following spe cial verdict .. "Accidental" death; and it is the unanimous opi y the imperfect state of the permanent jury ion of the jury that the accident is attr wa ibutabl at and eto near the spot where it occurred, and the re commend the immediate attentio n of the tom aq P to the state of the trenails and sleepers. Mr.Eborall, the general manager of the raihtql)", said the recommendation of the jury should hav e every attention, and that the company deeply re" gretted the accident. FOREIGN MAIL PACKET Lin: MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton. April IS ' 13 ' via Marseilles ..... , . airazil and Cape- Verds, by British packet. April 6' Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena.. Apr il 4 ; China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. April %,',_ via Marseilles ...April 1"' Falkland Islands .. April Gibraltar, via Southampton April 4' India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton April i2i. -- via Marseilles April N India (Bombay), via Southampton ...... via Marseilles Lisbon April 1 ' Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton... , April 4- via Marseilles April 4: Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo . ,April 1. U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet .. .. April 2. by U.S. packet.... 0 by Canadian packet. April -',;, W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe ..April lv Bahamas, via New York ' ..Aprill' Mexico All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, April California, and British Columbia.. ___—...!!! BIRTHS. BRENDON.— On the 29th ult., atWoodlands- terrace, 131a4; heath, the wife of Major Brendon, Royal Artillery, 1 ; 3 SOIL gip . GAISFORD.—On the 2Sth u lt , at Offington, Susses/ - Lady Emily Gaisfo r d, o f a son. ife MALCOLAI.—On the 29th ult , at 22, Princes-gate, the of James Mal co l m , E sq ., Of a son and heir. OARES.—On the 30th ult., at the East Cavalry Barraell Aldershott, the wife of Lieut.-Col. Oakes, 12th Lanc er of a daughter. MARRIAGES. RICHARDSON—METCALF.—On the 31st ult., at St. Oils/ Church, Camberwell, Henry Ferdinand Richardson , f Sheffield, eldest son of Henry Richardson , Wes t Hae.7 ; ' ney, to Augusta Maria, only surviving child of th e le ' Benj. Metcalf, of London. WATsoN—RowLEY.—On the' 2ih ult., at St. Mad °, South Norwood, the Rev. Thomas Henry Watson, DIA' of Mitcham, to Frances janetyoungest doUghter of ow Rowley, Esq., of South Norwood, Surrey. DEATHS:' 1 - - AstutoluvEn,—On the 30th ult., at liPigghton, William Ashburner, Esq., aged 71. T. 72.- BEAMN.—On the 30th ult., at 9, Stratfoi&place, Caoe dish-square, Wm. Frederick Beadon, Xitq.otPolico l‘P. gistrate, aged 54. BE the 28th ult., at Pentonville, Mr. Artha t. Bentley, of the Stock Exchange, aged 30. CoNsTABLE.—On the 29th ult., at Brandon, Suffolk, Phil- lips Constable, aged 65. LAMIERT.—On the 31st ult., at East Maudit Vicarag e, Northamptonshire, the Rev. lla*ry Lambert, third a° a l of Vice-Admiral Sir George R. Lambert, K.C.8., age 36. Monnts.—On the 28th u h l , t l . ll ,...a p t a C y n h li e g r , A m yr a ; e lt s i t r y c . , s lN s r 3 il d lite ra M c o n r t ri . s, Esq., M- 1) . , SAms.—On the 30th ult., at 173, Piccadilly, John Saiogt Esq. L ONVO N : Printed and Published by JOIIN el-TAP/41147' o f No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TinSUN Office, N 0 .1 1,1 St r and, in the Precinct o f th e S avo y, i n the CotuitY Middlesex.—Wednesday, April 2, 002. ,„!-ast ate 12.] .4ver i • A A, The ratinfx doptio ilb., bit Ort °I.COtr, i mp( l'x•i ce b. Loi 1)r. n on fo,:; A I t 4 . Sol Worc )tt11,71, kt, ( "" 4 my ) tt I ' o l4 l 0 t %1 4 - Ti c iT r ] 4:0 8 t•ttic:j ra - y"; ~ AI 4,ife t nit th NB baldi f .---_ PP Asiz .