The Sun. — London, England, 1858-12-09 00:00:00

NE Gila' FACTORY AT WOOLWICH. Much attention has recently been directed to this new and most important branch of the works at Woolwich Arson al—an attention not altogether unmixed with anxiety on the part of the chief manufacturing ironworks of the king dom. The general impression seems tobe that the Government are about to take the manufacture of iron ordnance; as they have don a that of brass, entirely into their own hands, and as Government has never yet been able to compete with private fir ms in cheapness of production, the new factory has been regarded with a degree of mistrust among the trade and that small section of the economical public who have hitherto watched its proceedings. Under these circum stances a brief account of what the factory is doing and what it is proposed to do may not be uninte resting to our readers, and, while it serves to dispel the hears of the trade, will show also that the new establishment was not founded without strong reasons, and that its working is likely to be pro ductive of much good in the manufacture of our iron guns. In consequence of the great demand for iron ordnance which arose out of the Crimean war, and the inability of the two great establish ments in the trade, the Low Moor and Gospel Oak Ironworks—which usually made iron guns for the Government—to insure a sufficient supply, great efforts were used to obtain from other firms engaged in the general manufacture of iron such ordnance as the naval and military services then urgently demanded. The class of guns, however, thus obtained was not by any means of a satisfactory character. Indeed, it is alleged on the part of the Government that the ordnance supplied from the Low Moor and Gospel Oak works, though sufficient to pass all proof, were nevertheless not well adapted for actual warfare, as was shown by the bursting of the mortars at Sweaborg. Upon a full consideration of the subject, therefore, and in con sequence of investigations made into the state of the manufacture of iron ordnance in Prussia, France, Belgium, and Austria, where royal establishments exist, it was decided by our Government early in 1856 that an iron cannon foundry should be estab lished to work in connection with the other war departments of Woolwich Arsenal. For this pur pose some £llO,OOO was granted by Parliament, and the new foundries, a noble range of buildings, near the Gun-wharf, were erected, fitted with all the necessary machinery, and placed under the able superintendence of Col. Wilmot, R.A. The chief ground alleged by the Government for this step was that it was not safe to trust the manufacture of iron guns entirely to the trade, inasmuch as the iron required for the purpose was of a special kind, and the ordinary demands in a period of peace were in sufficient to encourage in the private trade of the country such large special establishments as would supply the wants of the service either in quantity or quality during a period of war. Secondly, it was contended that the iron ordnance produced in this country was of an inferior character to that manu factured in others; and thirdly, that the Govern ment ought to possess, as regards iron guns, the nucleus of a manufacturing department capable of expansion in war, and which should always act as a check upon the trade and secure the production of good and serviceable ordnance. However, before the new foundries could get to work great delays occurred in ascertaining, by extensive inquiries at home and abroad, the best construction of furnaces, the fuel to use, and also the size of the factory pits for casting, with:the mode of constructing them, in order to exclude all damp. The latter objection on the nature of the ground at Woolwich, was a work of considerable difficulty, though at last overcome by making pits like coffer dams of wrought iron, bolted together and chalked at the seams. But the great obstacle which the foundry has now to contend with is the absence of any certain and accurate data as to the precise quality and mixture of iron which as a whole pro duces the best metal for a gun. The Low Moor and Gospel Oak Ironworks have arrived by long expe_ rience at certain safe rules. These firms are not opposed to the Government factory ; on the con trary, both, and especially the first, have behaved in the most liberal manner towards it, and given the new establishment all reasonable assistance. But at the same time these firms naturally, and we think wisely, decline to part with the information as to mixing and casting the metal—an experierice which they themselves have only gained by years of toil and at great cost. In order, however, to enable the Government to get at a result, specimens of ores were called for by advertisement in 1850, and a system of experiments has, we believe, since been carried on in the arsenal with a view to deter mine the metal best adapted for the purpose. It is said that these experiments have nearly, if not entirely, been brought to a conclusion as regards the tenacity and requisite hardness of the metal to be used, and that the report of results only awaits the completion of an analysis by the chymist. But the results of all these experi ments must be well considered and tested by ex perience, and many castings will have to be made and subjected to many proofs before a thoroughly satisfactory result can be looked for. Many guns have yet to be cast, and perhaps burst in proving, but these little failures, it is contended, must be expected in a new establishment. Such arguments are advanced in a general way in defence of what has hitherto been considered in the trade a perfect mistake—viz., the Government undertaking to compete with private contractors, and to beat them in the cheapness of production. The best argument the Government can use in defence of the foundry is, that it most undoubtedly will act both as a check on the trade in their prices and on the qualities of guns, and that the Arsenal, being able to produce a high standard of excellence in their own manufac • ture, will naturally expect the same in the war material which they contract for. The new foundry is, however, still quite in its infancy as regards development; though, even when in full operation, it will never be able to do much more than supply about one-half of the guns annually required for the naval and military ser vices of this country. Most people are apt to be lieve that a gun once made is a good gun for evermore ; but this is quite a mistake. A well built frigate or line-of-battle ship will outlast two complete sets of iron ordnance. Good guns are not only most difficult to make, but hard to keep good when made. To keep our navy, forts, and eolonies always well armed requires the manufacture of some 1,000 iron guns each year. When the new foundry was opened in April last it was ordered to make, for the financial year 1858 and 1859, 150 guns—viz., 100 68-pounders and 50 long 32's. There has, however, been some unavoidable delay in making the box moulds and other requisites for the 32-pounders, so that as yet they have scarcely been begun, though they are now, we may say, in process of manufacture. In the meantime, however, 120 68-pounders have been cast—the last two on Mon- , day. Of these 58 have been proved and passed into store, 42 are in course of or awaiting proof, while 8 have burst in proving. It is evident, there fore, that the feat-A - expressed on the part of the pri vate trade as to the intention of the Government to monopolize the manufacture are groundless. The foundry at Woolwich could not do so if it was re quired. Of the iron ordnance ordered for next year, 1,335, weighing in the aggregate 4,763 tons, have been ordered from private contractors, nearly all from the Low Moor and Gospel 'Oak works. Of this number 312 are 68-pounders, 460 8-inch guns, 300 32. pounders, 44 8-inch howitzers, 200 10-inch guns for hollow shot, and 19 10-inch howit zers. The contract price for these varies from £l9 to £2l per ton weight, most of them, however, being made for £2O per ton. Thus it will be seen that the rate of production at the Arsenal at present bears no manner of proportion to the demand. There are as yet, however, but four furnaces erected at 'Woolwich, which turn out four 68-pounders per - week ; but with double the number of furnaces more than double the number of guns could be manufactured, and Colonel Wilmot hopes eventually to be able, when in full work, to cast from 18 to 20 pieces of iron ordnance per week if necessary. It may bp- of interest to our readers, as more clearly elucidatite, na ture of the work, to state here briefly the va rio u s which a large gun undergoes. in its ma ntwo large manufacture. On On Monday pounders were cast at Woolwich, and i n the \a i rious departments of the factory - were (runs in al ' ii. .t s ages_ of development, mass from the rough uncouth s . when it first leaves the mould for the trimming shop up to the com plete and beautifully finished long 68, ready to form one of a line-of - battle ship's hroadsdeor become the grim occupant of a casemated battery. The loam in which a gun is cast is maii r e . of coarse sand-earth and coke - dust , kne aded together to th e consistency of stiff clay. The model used is a com plete fac-simile of a 68-pounder, only one -eighth larmer in size, to allow for contraction of the metal in cooling. This model is sawn into seven pieces, each piece of which is placed in the centre of a large iron cylinder or casting-box, joined at the sides with screw bolts. The loam is then rammed with. small iron rammers tightly between the model and the casting-box—so tightly, indeed, as to foem a material as hard as well-packed brick, l'retit which the model is easily drawn out, leaving a perfect impression of the part of the gun to be cast. Each of the seven portions of the model is treated in the same manner, seven men making a mould for a 68-pounder in one day. The casting boxes, with the moulds tight in them, are next joined together in the order of the gun's shape, the edge of each casting-box being planed off so as to fit the other with the most perfect accuracy. The complete mass is then wheeled to an oven, where it is kept at a heat of 600 degrees for 48 hours, in order to evaporate all moisture from the mould. The other day it was tried at Woolwich, by I doubling the heat, to lessen the time of baking, but the experiment was far from successful—the metal bubbled and plunged so in the mould that it was almost dangerous to approach, and the gun thus made was, o course, worthless, and burst in the proof. After 48 hours' baking the mould is re moved and placed in the casting . pits, where a metal top for the " dead-head," as it is termed, is placed above all, making the total height of the whole mould in its case upwards of 17 feet. The dead-head is four feet six high, and the object of this addition is to give by the weight of the metal it contains an amount of pressure which insures the requisite density in the rest of the gun. especially in the lowest part—the breech, where• all the force of explosion in firing is exerted. The furnaces are of the ordinary reverberatory kind. The fuel hitherto employed has been Yorkshire coal ; on Monday, however, it was Lord Ward's Staffordshire coal, which was used for the first time. The composition of metal employed was 53 cwt. of old carronades, 30 cwt. of Swedish gray, 20 cwt. of Netherton, and 31 cwt. of Blaenavon iron. The dead-head was 18 cwt., taken from the dead-head of the last casting. No Nova Scotia iron is now used at all, as it has been found not only useless, but prejudicial to the strength of the guns. Half a-ton of coals is required for melting each ton of iron. One great improvement could be introduced at once into the working of the fur naces, and that is by having a gas blast passing through a heated charcoal chamber into the furnace about an hour before casting. This would free the iron of impurities and rid it of the silica, which makes such brittle ele ment in all our castings. Wherever the gas blast has been tried its advantages have been manifest at once in the quality of the iron so produced, and it is exactly such questions of improvement as this which come specially within the province of the new foundry to prove and decide upon. ,On Mon day the furnaces were opened at 11 o'eletc, and the great stream of liquid iron came poui•ingyout,,liss ing and throwing off such showers of Pitts as made it painful to look upon aid dange to fap proach. The gun was cast in about th mute s. Each gun is allowed four day- '.--,! ol.' he mould is then broken up, and the NM cast r moved to the trimming and borig shnps. Cutt' g off the dead-head is the first woration, and this occupies two hours and a-half ; entreing it requires five more ; turning the outside as smooth and polished as steel takes 18 hou z si . turd*. ng the trunnions, 15 hours ; planing between the trunnions, 5 hours ; turning the collars of the trunnions, 3 hours ; vent ing, or making the touch•hole, three hours ; and boring, from 30 to 40 hours, according to the stiff ness of the metal. The gun is then complete. The contract price of a 68-pounder is £lOO. The cost to the Government in making them, including all items, such as wear and tear of machinery and in terest of money in plant, is, we are informed, only £57 ; so that, at that estimate, the Government save 43 per cent. in manufacturing for themselves. Each gun made at the factory is numbered, and a registry of its composition, and all, even to the most minute particulars of its casting, is kept at the Arsenal. In addition to this, when the gun is cast, two bars are cast from the same metal. Both these are subject to strain, applied in every way, such as tensile tortion and transverse strain. Each piece is broken, a registry of the different strains they endured kept, and the pieces themselves, num bered with the number of the gun from which they are taken, carefully preserved. Two rings are also cut from the muzzle of the gun itself before it is entirely completed, and these are subjected to a percussive strain with steel wedges, somewhat similar in effect to that exerted by a bursting charge, for so the proof charge may be called. It is hoped that eventually the manufacture of iron ordnance in this country may be so much im proved as to render to a great extent unnecessary the terrible ordeal of proof charges which each gun is now required to undergo. Each 68-pounder is proved with a load of 281bs. of powder and one shot, and this charge is fired twice. A certain amount of confidence is felt in a gun that has stood this test, but there can be no doubt that such a proof does injure the gun considerably, often to an extent which occasions its bursting when tried on service with two or three ordinary rounds of sharp firing. A great improvement has been introduced and is being carried out with every gun at Woolwich, whether made at the Arsenal or Low Moor—viz., that of fitting each with a touch-hole in the centre of a powerful copper screw screwed deep into the gun. By this simple improvement each touch-hole as it wears—and it always is the first part of the Fun to wear—is taken out and a fresh one put in its place. Thus the guns are made serviceable for double the length of time they have hitherto lasted, while, of course, spiking them is out of the ques tion. Altogether, the new gun foundry will un doubtedly answer its purpose of maintaining a com petition for excellence in the trade. It must, how ever, like all other departments of the Government, beware of standing still, or of adopting one type as the standard of excellence. If it avoids this great fault—a fault into which the Admiralty have fallen in the manufacture of their anchors—the new gun foundry will do well enough. If, on the contrary, conscious of the support of the Government, and with no motives to excite it to emulation, it allows itself to doze in fancied security, it will be beaten and distanced by private firms. This in itself would be a small evil if it did not also entail the certainty of the Government supporting their fac tory,, when we might see our navy supplied with inferior guns to protect them from an enemy, as they now get inferior anchors to save them from storms. If it hopes to prosper, the new foundry at Woolwich must always be as zealous and as much on the alert as it is now.— Times. THE NAVY. Two engineers, one of whom was engaged in making the recent experiments on north -country coals as a 'steam fuel, are about to be despatched by the Admiralty to Cardiff, in order to test the value of the South 'Wales coals, and to obtain materials for a comparison of their merits with those of the northern coal?. The repert of the Admiralty engi• neers is understood to relate chiefly to the possi bility of consuming the smoke of the bituminous coals of the north of England, and to make no re ference to the relative merits of the two coals. The experiments at Cardiff will embrace a wider field; and settle, it is to be hoped definitively, the dis puted question of the evaporatite power and gene ral superiority of the rival coals. Rear-Admiral John Shepherd has signified his intention of resigning his post of Superintendent of Woolwich Dockyard to-morrow morning, and will be succeeded by Captain the Hon. James R. Drum mond, Aide-dc-Camp to the Queen, who is ex pected to assume the duties of his new appointment during the day. _ _ _ _ _ _ The line-of-battle screw-steamer Goliath, 80, has had her spare fan put on board, at Chatham, and the result of the trials showing it to work satisfac torily, the steamer has been taken down to her for mer moorings at Long Reach. The Childers, 12, Commander W. Swinburn, having been stripped and her stores returned into the dockyard, is ordered to be paid off at Chatham, to• morrow. The Delia, Captain Zudolph Rapke,from Quebec, has arrived at Chatham dockyard with a cargo of deals, spars, and oak rafters for that establish ment. Her Majesty's iron paddlewheel steamvessel Bloodhound, at Woolwich, It from the West Coast e f of Africa, having under one a thorough survey, is ordered to be repair Several of her plates are completely eaten throu h with rust and rot. £2,200 having been stipulated bp' '. actor and ship. wright departments as the4lllFuecessary to com plete the total amount of rellairs, the .lordships have sanctioned the requisitiorf. ..,.: Her Majesty's iron screw seam storeship Supply in basin at Woolwich, diselwging anti from Boudroun and Carthage, was yestercla' dered. to be surveyed and return to the East and.reloadAtith a similar cargo. M. Panizzi, secretary to the British Museum, yesterday went on board the Sup ply at Woolwich and entered into arrangements for the transport of the valuable relics to London. Some of the cases are of, great weight, partibularly a marble sarcophagus from Sidon. The following appointments were made yester day at the Admiralty :—Mr. J. Tonkin, assistant master-attendant at Portsmouth, to be master attendant of that dockyard, vice Underwood, resigned ; Mr. R. Stokes (acting master-attendant at Cork), to be assistant master-attendant at Ports mouth, vice Tonkin, promoted. It is not the inten tion of the Board of Admiralty to fill up the appointment at Cork, vacated by Mr. Stokes. THE ABM Y. The following are the officers and troops under orders to proceed to Madras in the Tartar, 571 tons, Captain F. Jean, as soon as that vessel shall be reported re a d y to receive the reinforcements on board at Graves en d 23d Light Infantry; I Captain Wm. Anderson, , ; , ..it. m i r ohn J. Bailey, 29th Regiment; Ensign N. 3d allace and Quarter master Robert battalion , Du ncan , m,Len74 60th Rifles ; s h a l a n n d d m e r e s n , and Ensign Norman together with 32 non-commissioned of the Ist (King's) Dragoon Guards, from Canter bury; 20 men of the 12th (Prince of Wales's) R O3 a l Lancers, from Maidstone ; 11 men of the 6 9th'llig ' •' ment, from Fermoy ; and 17 men of the 74th landers ' from Aberdeen. The following reinforcements will embark at Gravesend to-day on board the Bloomer, 800 tons, Captain C. F. Smith, for Kurrachee and Bombay, viz. :-12 men of the 11th (the King's) Light Dra goons from Maidstone ; 32 men of the Bth Hussars, and 32 men of the 17th Lancers, from Canterbury.; 32 men of the 56th Regt., from Colchester ; 20 men of the 71st (Highland) Light Infantry, from Stir ling ; 16 men of the 89th Regiment and 14 men of the 95th Regiment, from Cork, the whole of whom proceed to Bombay. The following embark for Kurrachee :-32 men of the 7th (Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards, and 16 men of the 98th Regiment, from Canterbury ; 18 men of the 81st Regiment, and 20 men of the 94th Regiment, from Chatham; 28 men of the 27th Enniskillens, and 12 men of the 87th Royal Irish Fusiliers, from Buttevant. Pre viously to the troops embarking, the vessel will be inspected by the officers of the staff from Chatham garrison, in order that every precaution may be taken not to overcrowd the ship. A detachment of non-commissioned officers and gunners of the 13th battalion Royal Artillery, under the command of Lieut. Strange, was yesterday or dered to be held in readiness at head-quarters; Woolwich, to embark to-morrow for Bombay. Lieut. James C. Travers: recently serving as adjutant of the Ist battalion Royal Marine Light In fantry in China, yesterday arrived at Wool wich, having been appointed adjutant to that di vision. Captain Henry J. Tribe, Royal Marines, has also arrived at head-quarters, Woolwich, from China, suffering from the injurious effects of the climate, and has been granted three months' leave of absence to recruit his health. Captain William B. T. Rider, late in command of the detachment of Royal Marines serving on board her Majesty's screw steam-ship Princess Royal, has returned to head quarters, Woolwich, invalided. Lieutenant 0. F. C. Fraser, adjutant, Royal Marines, at Woolwich, and Lientent Donellan, of the same division, have been granted six weeks' leave of absence each. rHE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 9, 1858. LAW INTELLIGENCE.—Dec. 8. COURT OF PROBATE AND DIVORCE. (Before Mr. Baron Martin and a Special Jury.) EVANS V. EVANS AND ROBINSON. Mr. Huddleston, Q. 0., Mr. Hawkins, and Mr. Harrison were counsel for Mr. Evans, who prayed for a dissolution of marriage on the ground of his wife's adultery with Mr. Robinson ; Mr. Edwin James, Q.C., and Mr. Deans, Q.C., fcr Mrs. Evans; Mr. Sergeant Pigott and Mr. Hodson for Mr. Ro binson. At the sitting of the Court Mr. Edwin James called Charles Frederick Field, who said that he was frequently employed by eminent solicitors in the detection of fraud. On the 12th of January, 1854, he was:engaged by Mr. Evans to watch Mrs. Evans, for which he was to receive 15s. a-day and 6s. a-day extra if he gave satisfaction. That meant if he de tected them, or if Mr. Evans was satisfied with his exertions. He was to have 12s. a-day for travelling expenses. His engagement was to expire upon the detection of the parties, and if he did not detect them was to continue for three to six months, but he would probably have kept on until they were detected. He watched Mrs. Evans at Cheltenham from January to the 12th March. About 9 in the evening of the 4th July he met Mr. Evans in Hyde park, and they went to Dr. Jones's, in Manchester square. Either Mr. Evans or Dr. Jones told him the parties were detected. The entry in his diary was that Mr. Evans told him, but he was not sure that it was correct. It further appeared from the diary that he watched the house in Bryanston-street on the sth of July from about 2 to 4 o'clock, and saw a tall young man, whom he afterwards discovered to be Mr. Mylius, come out. He afterwards saw Ellen Davis come out, but he did not see Mr. Robinson. He then described th e arrange ments he had made with King aid Grocott for the pur pose of detecting Mrs. Evans. He was not exa mined at the first Liverpool trial. He had entered in his diary that the witnesses gave their evidence in a most excellent manner, but the jury found a verdict for the defendant, Mr. Robinson. He was examined at the second trial ; the wit nesses again gave their evidence in an excellent manner, and the jury found for the plaintiff, Mr. Evans, with £5OO damages. He was not called at Guildhall. Mr. Evans, he added, told him that while Mrs. Evans was in the Edgeware-road he had employed another retired detective, named Griffin, to watch her movements. Field also said, in answer to Mr. Huddleston, that he had been 25 years in the public service, had received a pension. which he still enjoyed, and during that time never had a report made against him nor a stain cast upon his character. He denied that 6s. a day extra was to be at all dependent upon his detection of Mrs. Evans, and he gave an explanation of his acciden tal absence on the previous day when he was called, but did not answer. He accounted for his not hav ing noticed Mr. Robinson come out of the house on the afternoon of the sth of July by saying that in sauntering up and down he frequently turned his back upon it. He denied that he had in any way improperly influenced any of the witnesses. Dr. Deane and Mr. Huddleston having commented on the evidence in behalf of their respective clients, Mr. Baron Martin summed up. He said that the questions they had to decide were, first, whether Mrs. Evans had committed adultery with Mr. Ro binson in 1853 and 1854; and, secondly, whether in March, 1851, Mr. Evans had wilfully deserted his . wife without reasonable cause. The plea of desertion was, he supposed, founded upon the 21st section of the Divorce Act, which provided that the Court should not be bound to pronounce a decree of dissolution in a case where the petitioner had been guilty of desertion. If, however, they thought that adultery had been committed, they would probably be also of opinion that Mr. Evans had ampl e cause for refusing to live with his wife. The ca se was one of considerable difficulty. This was the fourth ti me that it had been submitted to a jury, and it was to be hoped that it would now be finally decided. There were four principal epochs in the ca s e to which they must direct their attention. The first was the period previous to the marriage,. which was im portant; because, if they believed the evidence as to the improper familiarities between the respondents at that time, they would have less difficulty in com ing to a conclusion as to their conduct after the mar riage. If their intimacy . had been as close as was alleged before the marriage, it might occur to the jury that its renewal after Mrs. Evans had lived with her husband five months, and had re turned to her home dissatisfied with him, and after Mr. Robinson had been separated from his wife, was sufficient to explain what was said to have subsequently occurred. The second important period was the fortnight during which Mrs. Evans lodged with the Phillipses in the Edgeware-road, and. it was for them to say whether any inference was to be drawn fromthc conduct of Mr. Robinson in taking lodgings for a married woman of 29, pro viding himself with a latch-key, and paying fre quent visits to her not accompanied by his mother or sister, although they lived within a, short distance. The third part of the case depended on the evi dence of Munn, who spoke to a positive act of adultery close to a wall at Cheltenham, and it was for them to attach what weight they pleased to it. The fourth period was that during which Mrs. Evans was lodging in Bryanston-street, in 1854. It was difficult to say what a man who believed that his wife had committed adultery might or might not do for the purpose of detecting her ; but beyond a doubt he ought well to consider what he was about before he employ e d suc h a person as Field, for by so doing a very strong prejudice was raised, and justly raised, against his case. Of all the people in the world the p eo pl e o f E ng l an d h a d the greatest objection to a nything lik e a s py sys tem. To have men running after them wherever they went and making notes o f a ll t h e i r act i ons was what they held in utter abhorrence. Every thing of the kind was held in the great es t detesta tion in this country. At the same time they must not reject the evidence of the persons employed by Field as his spies, unless they were sati s fi e d that it was untrue. The most import an t w it nesses w h o contradicted it were the serva n t, Ell en D av i s, an d the Rev. Mr. Mylius. The learned judge then read over the whole of the evidence, and concluded by telling the jury that the case was to be decided entirely by their independent judgment. The jury retired at a quarter after 6 o'clock, and, after about a quarter of an hour's deliberation, found that Mrs. Evans had committed the adultery charged, and that Mr. Evans had not deserted her without reasonable cause. Verdict for the petitioner. of his existence, had borne the highest possible character for honour and integrity. Tl:is would in the outset render it very improbable that the prisoner should have been guilty of an offence of this serious description, and althiugh, where the evidence was clear and conclusive the fact of the party accused having previously borne a good character, ought not of course to have any weight with a jury, yet in a case like the present, in which he submitted there was, at all events, very great doubt whether the prisoner entertained any intention to defraud, such evidence was most material, as tending to show the improbability that he should have committed such an act. The learned counsel then said that he :could not deny that the prisoner had received ten shillings more than he had paid for the wheels to the coachmaker, but if the jury should be of opinion that he had no intention to defraud, and that he considered he was entitled to the additional amount as commission for the trouble he had taken in reference to the pur chase, the jury would be justified in acquitting him upon the present indictment. The father-in-law of the prisoner, a gentleman residing at Huntingfield, in Suffolk, Mr. Hatton, the chief•constable of the eastern division of Suffolk, Mr. Stanford, and several other gentle men living in that county, were called as witnesses on the prisoner's behalf, and it appeared from their evidence that he had formerly been extensively engaged as a farmer at different places in the county of Suffolk, and they stated that he had always borne a high character for honour and integrity. Mr. Justice Wightman having summed up the evidence, _ _ _ The jury deliberated for a considerable time in the box, and then expressed a wish to retire. In about three-quarters of an hour they returned into court, and gave a verdict of guilty, but at the same time strongly recommended the prisoner to mercy on account of the good character he had received. The learned judge, in passing sentence, said that the jury had found the prisoner guilty of :a very serious crime, and every one who had heard the case must regret to see a per son who had formerly enjoyed so high a character for honour and integrity standing convicted at the bar of a criminal court of the offence of forgery. It was of the last importance that the public should be protected from the commission of frauds by per sons holding public situations, and although the amount was small, and he had every disposition to give effect to the recommendation of the jury, he felt it impossible to pass over such an offence with a light sentence, and his duty to the public com pelled him to order him to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for 12 months. Mary Loft, 30, was charged with misdemeanour, in having attempted to destroy her own life. Mr. Russell was counsel for the prosecution. It appeared that the prisoner was a married wo man, living with her husband at Sittingbourne, and on the day named in the indictment she came home very drunk, and went to her bedroom. Very soon afterwards a noise was heard in the room and upon the people in the house going in, they found the prisoner with a clothes line tied round her neck and attached to the bedpost, and she was black in the face. She did. not appear, however, to have made a very determined attempt to destroy herself, and the suggestion appeared to be that in her drunken condition she hardly knew what she was about, and it appeared that she afterwards ex pressed regret at what had occurred. The jury, under these circumstances, returned a verdict of not guilty. PEOMOTIONS IN THE ARMY. The subjoined. important general order was pro mulgated yesterday " Horse Guards, S.W., Nov._29, 1858. " The following regulations in regard to the ex amination of officers preparatory to promotion in the army are to be substituted for those promul gated by the Circular Memoranda of the 14th May, 1850, 14th July, 1851, and 19th July, 1858. " Before officers are recommended for promotion to the rank of lieutenant and commanding officer they will apply to the senior officer in the district or station for a board to examine and report upon their qualifications. " The board is to consist (if possible) of three field officers, but on no occasion, when it can pos sibly be avoided, is any officer of the same regi ment as the candidate to be placed on the board. "This board is to report* to the military secre tary, for the information of the General Command ing in Chief, that the officers about to be recom mended for promotion to the rank of lieutenant have been instructed in the following points, viz.,: " 1. They must have a thorough knowledge, and must give an account of the duties they have to perform as regimental and orderly officers, as offi cers commanding guards, or as subaltern officers of guards under officers of superior rank. "2. They must have a thorough knowledge of, and be able to put a company through, the manual and platoon exercise, and be capable of exercising both a squad and a company in the drill and evo lutions as prescribed in the first two parts of the regulations for the field exercise of the infantry. "3. They must know exactly the place of all the company's officers in every situation of the bat talion, and be able to command a company in battalion exercise. " 4. They must be acquainted with such parts of the Queen's reelations and orders for the army as relate to the duties and conduct of a subaltern officer, and with the Mutiny Act and Articles of War, so far as is necessary for the performance of their duties as members of a court-martial. " 5. They must be acquainted with the Queen's regulations in regard to the pay and messing of the troops, and the supply of necessaries. " 6. They must know the weight of the knapsack, the weight of the soldier's firelock, with and with out the bayonet, of his pouch, with and without ammunition, the quantity of ammunition it is cal culated to carry and the weight of his accoutrements. " 7. Those who have passed through the course of instruction at Hythe must be thoroughly acquainted with rifle drill and practice, and the theoretical principles of musketry, as defined in the authorised book of instruction. " 8. In addition to such portions of the above as may apply to the cavalry service, it is necessary in the case of comets : " 1. That they shall have learnt the foot drill and sword exercise, and have been instructed in the single and double rifle. " 2. That they shall be able to put a troop through the carbine, lance, and sword exercise, and to exercise both a squad and troop in the drill and evolutions prescribed in the cavalry exercise book. " 3. That they shall be able to command a troop in squadron exercise. " 4. That they shall have made themselves masters of the details of saddlery, the mode of fitting the saddle, bridle, &c., and of the whole equipment of the cavalry soldier and his horse. " Lieutenants who may have entered the service subsequently to July, 1849, and all who may here after enter the army will, in addition to the above, before they are recommended for promotion to the rank of captain, be required to have : 9. A thorough knowledge of the provisions of the Mutiny Act and Articles of War, and of the forms and proceedings of court martial ; and must give evidence of having studied some of the standard works on that subject. " 10: They must understand perfectly the evolu tions of a regiment of cavalry, or a battalion of in fantry, as laid down in the regulations for those services respectively. " 11. They must be acquainted with the light in fantry drill, outpost duties, patrols, escorts, ad vanced and rear guards. " 12. They must perfectly understand the inte rior economy of a troop or company, and the estab lished system of keeping their accounts. " 13. They must be thoroughly acquinted with the Queen's and War-office regulations. " 15. It must be ascertained that they are com petent to take charge of a troop, company, or de tachment, in every position in which it may be placed.' " 15. And they must be required to Qhow that they have a sufficient knowledge of field fortifica tion and reconnoissance to be enabled to fulfil the important duties detailed in the field exercise book, from page 313 to 317. " The examination of officers for the rank of cap thin is to be made by boards of officers, to be ap pointed by the general officer commanding the dis trict or station, one of the senior officers in each station or garrison being present, and of two field officers (if possible) not belonging to the same regi ment as the candidate. " In all cases the board of examiners will ascer tain by practical examination, and not by the acceptance, merely, of verbal or written answers for - questions, whether the officer is instructed in the subjects specified in paragraphs 2,3, 8, 10, and 11 of this general order. " The general or other officer commanding the district or station will forward the report of the board (with the written questions and replies) to the military secretary, accompanied by his own observations thereon. " Every cornet or "ensign is to be examined on the different points herein specified before he has completed eight months' service, and, should he fail to qualify himself for promotion within that period, his commanding officer must report, for the infor mation of the General Commanding in Chief, whether it is owing to a want of diligence on the part of the officer, or to circumstances (such as sickness or otherwise) over which he could have had no control. " The General Commanding in Chief hopes that the subalteons of the army will see the necessity of using their utmost exertions to acquire a knowledge of their professional duties, as his Royal highness will not hesitate to promote (either regimentally or from other corps) officers who may have passed the required examination, in the place of the idle and incompetent. " It is the imperative duty of all commanding officers to pay close attention to the instruction of young officers, and his Royal Highness will hold them as responsible for the performance of this duty as for the due instruction and training of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers under their command. " By command of his Royal Highness the General Commanding in Chief, " G. A. WETHERALL, Adjutant-General." N.B.—The written questions and replies are to be sent with the report of the board. {ADVERTISEMENT.] —Holloway's Ointment and Pills. — Diseases of the Skin.—By the joint action of these inesti mable specifics; all cutaneous eruptions are quickly banished from the system, the worst description of wounds or ulcers are easily eradicated, the morbific matter which nature finds injurious to her is thrown out, and a thoroughly healthy state of the blood and fluids is the result, restoring a sound mind and body to sufferers after all other treatment has been found ineffectual—in many cases saving surgical operations, and even life itself, by their miraculous power. These medicaments are composed of vegetable extracts. of rare virtue, without the admixture of a grain of mercury or any other noxious substance. They are equally safe and efficacious. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. HOME CIRCUIT. — MAIDSTONE, DEC. 8. (Before Mr. Justice Wightman.) Henry Alfred Cocksedge, 39, a very respectable looking man, was indicted for felouiously forging a receipt for £2 10s., with intent to defraud the in habitants of the county of Kent. Mr. Russell conducted the prosecution. The prisoner was defended by the Hon. Mr. Denman. This was a prosecution instituted by the direc tion of the visting justices of the county gaol at Maidstone, the prisoner at the time of the commis sion of the alleged offence having held the position of storekeeper at that prison. It appeared that there had been a custom in the county gaol, that a sum of money should be placed in the hands of the governor, for the purpose of providing for petty disbursements, and that he at certain periods ac counted to the treasurer of the county for the money so advanced, and produced the vouchers. Latterly, however, it seemed that the governor had delegated this duty to the prisoner, who held the office of storekeeper in the prison, and the offence appeared to have been committed under the following circumstances. In the month of October last a pair of new wheels were required for the prison water-cart, and the prisoner purchased a pair of a Mr. Loder, a carriage -builder in Maidstone, for which he agreed to pay th e sum o f £2. Th e wheels were sent in, accompanied by a receipt for that amount, and the prisoner paid the money, and on the same day he handed this receipt, with the figure " 1" placed before the " 0" of the shillings, thus mak ing the amount £2los. instead of £2, and two other receipts for 9s. and Cs. 6d., sums he had paid to other tradesmen, to the deputy-governor of the gaol, and receiving from him £3 ss. 6d., thus receiving 10s. more than he was entitled to of the county funds. The fraud was not discovered until several weeks afterwards, and the prisoner was then taken into custody upon the present charge, and when he was asked for an explanation he said that he did not deny that he had only paid £2 to Mr. Loder for the wheels, and that he had charged the county £2 10s. for them, and he accounted for doing so by saying that he paid the £2 in the first instance out of his own pocket, and that the wheels were very cheap at £2 10s., and he considered himself entitled to charge the additional amount as "commission," and that he had not the least idea that he was committing any offence in so doing. The officers of the gaol, however, stated that the prisoner had no right whatever to make such a charge, and he was committed to take his trial for forgery in hay ing fraudulently altered the amount of the receipt that had been given him by Mr. Loder. Mr. Denman, in the course of a very able address to the jury on behalf of the prisoner, said that he had never laboured under feelings of greater anxiety than on the present occasion, on account of the high character the prisoner appeared to have borne all his life, and he said that he should be able, by the testimony of gentlemen of the highest respect ability and position, to show in the most conclusive manner that the prisoner, during the whole period OXFORD CIRCUIT.—GLOUCESTER, Dec. 8, The commission was opened here this afternoon by Mr. Justice Erle. The business is light, there being at present only 10 prisoners in the county calendar. There, however, are some of them charged with very serious crimes. There is one charge of wilful murder of a child by her mother, two prisoners charged with manslaughter, one with feloniously stabbing, one with rape, and two cases of arson. Business commences to-morrow morning. NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—LIVERPOOL, Dec. 8. CROWN SlDE.—(Before Mr. Justice Hill.) BRUTAL OUTRAGE UPON A GIRL. Richard Fletcher, 30, was charged with a crimi nal assault upon a girl named Jane Jones, at Fishwick, near Preston, on the 23d of August last. The facts of the case were of the most revolting nature, the complainant being scarcely 12 years of age, of weak intellect, and unable to give a proper account of the occurrence. In summing up his lordship said the jury must direct their attention to the point whether the girl was capable of assenting to, or dissenting from, the act which had been committed upon her. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, expressing their opinion that the girl was incapable of exer cising a judgment with regard to assent or dissent in the matter. (Before Mr. Baron Bramwell.) JONES AND OTHERS V. LESLIE.-DISPUTED CLAIM FOR A SHIP'S REPAIRS. This was an action to recover £1,866 ls. 7d., the amount incurred by the repair of a ship which originally belonged to a Mr. Buchanan, of Sunder land, for whom it was built by the defendant. Be fore the vessel, however, was quite finished Mr. Buchanan died, and his affairs being somewhat em barrassed, the defendant Leslie, in order to secure himself, took the vessel, and sent her to Liverpool to be repaired by the plaintiffs, who are shipwrights at Liverpool. When called upon to pay the amount above specified he denied his personal liability, and said he was only acting for the executors. The jury, however, found a verdict for the plain tiffs for the amount claimed. SOUTH WALES CIRCUIT.—CARDIFF, DEC. 7 , (Before Mr. Justice Erle.) STABBING ON THE HIGH SEAS. Joseph Power, 28, mariner, was charged with stabbing Samuel Beale, with intent to do grievous bodily harm. The prosecutor was chief mate of the ship Zeno bia, on a voyage from London to Cardiff, and about midnight on the Ist of October, by directions of the captain, he gave orders to prepare for tacking. The prisoner, in an insolent manner, asked the chief mate whether he was going to wear or tack the ship, and expressed an opinion that he could work the ship better than either of the officers. Beale told him he had better take the command, and on his continuing to grumble struck him lightly, when prisoner drew a sheath-knife, and stabbed him over the hip. The prisoner, iif defence, said that the mate had beaten him very severely, and that he had only used the knife in self-defence. Verdict, guilty. Sentenced b four years' pena servitude. MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.—Dec. 8. (Before Mr. 'lashley, Q.C., Assistant-Judge, al Clerkenwell.) THE QUEEN ♦. WINN. This prosecution was instituted by the Board of Works for the district of Hackney against the de fendant, the dust contractor and scavenger, for a nuisance occasioned by accumulations of " core" on premises belonging to him, situate at Kingsland Basin, and called Reliane-wharf. Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. M'Donnell were counsel for the prosecution ; Mr. Sleigh and Mr. Orridge appeared for the defendant. On a former occasion the defendant pleaded guilty to the indictment, and the case now came before the court, the defendant having been re quired, in the terms of his recognisance, to appear for judgment. It was alleged that the nuisance had continued since the defendant had undertaken to abate it, and witnesses were in attendance on both sides, whose evidence upon that point it was stated would be contradictory. After the case had been opened, a proposition was made for an adjournment for three months, at the end of which period a medical officer to be appointed for the purpose to report to the court what had been done, and whe ther the nuisance then continued. A long discus sion ensued. Mr. Metcalfe mentioned the case of Gore, of Pad dington, in which the late assistant-judge, Mr. Ser geant Adams, imposed a fine of £3OO, on the under standing that if certain things were done, it should not be enforced. Such a course might be adopted in this case. Mr. Sleigh said his client would undertake to re move the core from the wharf three times a week. Mr. Metcalfe thought something definite should be:done by the court. Complaint had already been made by the parish at the expense of these pro ceedings, and any cost caused by further delay must be borne by the defendant, or he would ask the court to give judgment absolutely or conditionally. The names of several eminent medical men having been suggested from which to select a reference, it was at length agreed to draw one by lot. That of Dr. Thompson, professor of chemistry at St. Thomas's Hospital, was the one drawn, and all parties said they were quite satisfied that the mat ter should-be left in his hands, independently of either side. An order was then made by the court " that the judgment be postponed until the March sessions, 1859, and in the meantime Dr. Thompson, of St. Thomas's Hospital, to be employed (at the cost of the defendant) to direct the mode in which the business shall be carried on, and. report to the court at the March sessions whether such directions have been carried out." • George Rogers, 15, William Hosier, 14, and an other boy of the name of Dore, were indicted for stealing five pounds of tea, the property of Peter Parton and another, the employers of Rogers. The latter prisoner and Hosier pleaded guilty, and Dore. who was defended by Mr. Langford, was acquitted. A former employer of Hosier stated that he had so good an opinion of him, that he would take him back into his service, and look well after him. The court sentenced Hosier to three weeks' solitary im prisonment; Rogers to four months' and four years' detention in a reformatory institution. Mr. Orridge was for the prosecution. Joshua Everett, 21, was indicted for stealing a box of candles, value £4 ls. ' the property of T. Gomm. On the night of the 17th of November the pri soner, with two others, followed a cart belonging to the prosecutor, in Halkin-street, and they were seen by a female named Matilda Fox to get a large box off the tailboard. The cart went on, and the prisoner and his companions hailed a Hansom cab. The driver asked them where they wanted to go to, and on their answering Hackney-road, he refused to take the fare and drove away. She gave infor mation to a policeman, who took the prisoner into custody. The others got away, leaving the box on the pavement. The driver of the cart said he saw the box safe as he crossed 'Westminster-bridge on his way from Broadwall, New-cut, to Old Brentford, where the prosecutor carries on the business of a grocer, and he did not.-miss it until he got to Hammersmith, when he found that the rope which held it. had been cut. He gave information to the police, and in due course learned what had taken place in Hal kin-street, and on going to the station he identified the box. It contained 12 dozen pounds of candles. For the defence a doubt was suggested as to the identity of the prisoner, but the evidence satisfied the jury, and they found the prisoner guilty. He was sentenced to eight months' hard labour. James Holt, alias Holmes, and Emma Holt; were indicted for stealing a quantity of pewter pots, the property of publicans. The man pleaded guilty. Prisoners were pot stealers on a wholesale scale. Their lodgings, 10, Greenhill•rents, were searched, in consequence of the woman having been detected with a pint pot, and no less than 16 were found in a cupboard, each marked with a differant name, in addition to a quantity of melted pewter and two pewter pots, as large as those used by gasmen in laying down mains in the streets. One had been recently used, the other was new, The woman was acquitted ; but the man, said to be her husband, was found guilty, and sentenced to hard labour for 12 months. Wm. Thomas, journeyman tailor, was indicted for indecent behaviour in the Junction-road, Kentish-town-road. Mr. Gent conducted the prosecution. The pri soner was defended by Mr. Smith. The jury acquitted him, and the foreman said, " We are unanimously of opinion that there was no ground for the charge ; that the prisoner ought not to have been taken, and he leaves the court without the least stain upon his character." POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—Dec. 8. MANSION-HOUSE.--Charles Lamand was brought before Sir R. W Carden, upon the charge of having caused the death of a little boy, aged six years. The death was accidental. It was proved that the defendant was driving his horse and cart on Tuesday afternoon at a slow trot, in Bishopsgate street, and that the child ran from behind a cab right under the cart, the wheel of which passed over his loins; that upon being snatched from the ground the poor boy kicked twice, bled at the eyes . , nose, and mouth, and that upon being carried to the hospital he died. Sir R. W. Carden said it was quite evident that no blame attached to the man, who was therefore discharged on his own recognisances to appear on Saturday if required. Two young German girls, who are in the habit of walking at night in the Minories, or what is called by arrangement the foreign side of the street, and Mary Ann King, a rival in the wretched trade, who parades on the opposite or English side, were charged with having fought to the great annoyance of the respectable inhabitants. Sir R. W. Carden, upon examination of wit nesses who stated that the foreigners were the aggrieved parties, -sentenced Mary Ann King to pay the penalty of £l, or go to Holloway Prison for a month, and discharged the Germans upon re ceiving their promise in rather equivocal English to set off for Hamburg with all convenient speed. It appeared quite plain that the poor foreigners neither had the inclination to attack nor the power to resist their tiger-like assailant, who was with difficulty restrained by the police as they passed along to the station-house. John Smith was chargedbefore Sir R. W. Carden with robbery. Mrs. Luxton, wife of a licensed victualler in the Minories, said—The prisoner andanother man came into the house and had some gin and peppermint, for which they pdid, and then they went away. Soon afterwards this man returned to the bar and asked for a glass of ale, for which he paid With a shilling. I gave him change out of the till, in which there was a considerable quantity of silver. I then turned to stir the fire, and looking round I saw him stretched across the counter with his hand in the till. He immediately ran off with a handful of silver amounting no doubt to four or five andtwenty shillings. I screamed out, but did not succeed in apprehending him. This was on. Friday last. I knew the man who had accompanied him when he first came into the house, and that man brought the prisoner to the house this morning, when I at once identified him as the thief, and gave him into custody. _ _ _ Several policemen said the prisoner had been in custody a short time ago for committing the same kind of robbery, at which he had become expert by considerable practice. The prisoner—l was in the house, certainly ; but I never took a farthing. There was another man at the bar, who was reading a newspaper, and pro bably he robbed the till. Mrs. Luxton—There was nobody there but your self, and I saw you take your hand, full of silver, out of the till. Sir R. W. Carden—l shall send you for trial. I believe that you live entirely by this sort of plun der. Committed for trial. WESTMINSTER.—WiIIiam Soaper was charged as follows : Jas. Bentley, 99, Chancery-lane, and 11, Queen street, Oxford-street, a sheriff's officer for Middle sex, said—At 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, by virtue of a writ of possession, he entered the house, 64, Charlwood-street West, Pimlico. He had ejected the persons who were in the house, and was in possession an hour waiting to give . up the key to the proper person. Prisoner forcibly broke the glass and panels out of the area window with his foot and ran upstairs, witness following him into the parlour. Witness's assistant ordered him to go out, but he would not, and said he had authority to be there, but did not produce it ; he added he was the landlord of the house. Witness's assistant laid hold of him, when he immediately struck wit ness twice in the chest and head. Witness had not touched him then. Previous to that he had broken open the back part of the house, to allow others to come in. He grew desperate, upon which he was released. He then rushed upstairs, where three persons had by this time come behind him. Pri soner said, " I am armed : if you come up I will smash you." I threatened him and his assistants— one of them was armed with a pair of tongs. He called a constable, and gave prisoner into custody. Henry Temple, the assistant, corroborated the statement. A solicitor here stated that in pursuance of Mr. Bentley's writ he had fastened the house from top to bottom, when it was broken open, as described, literally against the sheriff. Defendant said he was landlord under a stamped agreement, and his tenancy did not expire till 1861; he then declared that he had been very much as saulted by both parties and had never touched them in return. Previously he had been expelled several times. Mr. Bentley never produced the writ. Mr. Bentley declared that he produced the writ. .Frances Soaper, defendant's mother, was the person against whom the writ was issued. He never saw prisoner till an hour after the other parties were ejected. The solicitor then made a statement respecting the anterior circumstances, when Mr. Arnold said it was a very serious char g e. He should require defendant to findtwo sureties in £2O each for his appearance to-morrow. He would grant a warrant against the other three men. LAMBETH.—Mr. Alex. E. Braden, a grocer, 9, Staverton-row, lyalworth-road, was placed at the bar on the following charge ; Mrs. H. Frewen, a 'decent-looking woman, de posed that about a quarter past 11 o'clock her little boy, 9 years of-age, in company with a neighbour's child, named Cordling, 6 years of age, left her resi dence, 88, Long-lane, Bermondsey, and returned home about two, excessively ill, and retching, as if he had taken something injurious, and the other boy was affected in .a similar way. On questioning her son as to what he had been taking, he said that a grocer in the Walworth-road had thrown a fig into the street, and the other boy and himselfhadpickedit up and eat it, and it made both very ill. She took her son to the shop of theprisoner, and on seeing him the boy at once said that he it was that threw the. fig they had pi c k e d u p i n t o th e s t ree t, an d h e did not deny it, but said he had thrown it into the mud, and had no idea that a n y p erson wou ld have picked it up. The prisoner then called a cab, and drove witness and both the boys to the hospita .1, and had done everything in his power for them mince. Mr. Elliott—Are the boys still in the hospital? Witness—Yes, your worship. Police-constable James Sloman, 28 M, said that having heard of the circumstances, he went to St. Thomas's Hospital that morning to see the children and having obtained a certificate from the medical attendant there, he felt it to be his duty, on the prisoner coming to the hospital to see the young patients, to take him into custody. The witness here handed to the magistrate the certificate to which he alluded : . "This is to certify that the two boys Frewen and Corling, brought into this hospital yesterday evening, suffering from arsenical poisoning, are going on very favourably.—St. Thom as ' s H os pit a l, Dec, 8,1858.— WILLIAM CLOPTON." Mr. Braden said that upwards of 12 months ago two figs saturated with arsenic were placed inside a partition for the purpose of destroying rats, and on the day before one of them bad been taken from that place by his young man. It was tied round with a piece of twine, and not having the slightest idea that it would have been picked up by any one, but on the contrary believing th at it would have been crushed to powder, he therefore threw it into the street. The moment he had. been made acquainted with the fact of the boys having picked it up and eaten it he sent for a cab, drove Frewen and his mother to the house in Bermondsey where the other boy was ill, got him in the cab also, and took both to St. Thomas's Hospital, and requested that the utmost attention should be paid to them. Mr. Elliott remarked that there appeared to be some discrepancy between the prisoner's statement and that of the boys ; for the latter said, according to the statement of one of the witnesses, they saw him, the prisoner, throw it out, and identified him as the person who did so. No doubt it was a most improper act to throw such an article—one which he was aware at the time had contained arsenic— into the highway, where there was a possibility of persons picking it up, though it might not be done with any improper intention. Mr. Braden said his first intention was to throw it into the dust bin, but as he had some misgivings lest some person might pick it up from there, he had determined to throw it into the - kennel, where he thought it would be trampled to dust. Mr. Elliott considered it ought to be destroyed by throwing it into the fire, or in some effectual manner, but as he could not conceive that the act was intentional, and as the boys were in a fair way of recovery, he would take the accuse d's own re cognisances of £5O to:appear there on the t day week. COUNTRY MARKETS. NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE—DEc. 7. The weather at the beginning of the week was rough, but it is now fine. To-day there was only a moderate show of wheat from the grower, which sold slowly at a decline of Is per qr. Flour in limited request and is lower. Oats in fair demand. Beans and peas as before. HULL—DEc. 7. At this morning's market there was a very small at tendance, and rather more tone in the trade, sellers making fully last day's prices. Foreign quiet :and unchanged in value. Flour in limited demand. In barley and other kinds of spring corn not much doing. Wheat.... Old white....per qr Old red New white .. „ New red .... „ Dantzic, Konb., &c. old white 50s Od to 53s Od Dutch, -Belgian, and French 46s Od to 47s Od Baltic and Hamburg, red St. Petersburg and Riga, old 39s Od to 41s Od Barley.... English malting • 328 Od to 36s Od Grinding 29s Od to 31s Od • Saal and Oderbruck Holstein and Danish 3os Od to 33s Od Grinding 27s Od to 29s Od . Oats English, old Archangel and Riga, per st is Old to is ld Friesland and Dutch is 11-d to is 2d Swedish and Danish Osllid to is 'd Beans ....English, old, per qr 46s Od to 48s Od New pigeon 42s Od to 43s Od New tick. , 4ls Od to 42s Od Egyptian 37s Od to 388 Od Peas Foreign breakers Grinding Tares ....Winter Bss Od to 90s Od Indian Corn Linseed, feeding sos Od to 55s Od crushing . 44s Od to 52s Od Linseed cakes (Hull) £9 7 oto £9 10 6 Foreign BlO oto 9 0 0 Rape cakes Bones 512 6to 515 0 DUBLIN—DEc. 7. At our market to-day wheat was very quiet ; full prices were asked, but little business was done. Flour was un changed. Barley was more inquired for, at the decline of lea week ; nothing doing in foreign. Oats dull, and the turn cheaper. Beans and peas sold slowly, at late rates. Indian corn again nominal. s. d. s. d. Wheat, white 22 6 to 24 6 Do., red 2l 6 to 22 6 Do., new 21 6 to 24 6 Barley Oats Do., black ll 0 to 12 0 s.d. s.d. Do., new ll 6 to 13 0 Bere ll 6 to 12 6 Rapeseed Oatmeal l2 6 to 14 6 Bakers' flour Indian corn CORK-DEC. 7. The following were the quotations this morning :—Red wheat, 16s Od to 20s 3d; white, 20s to 21s Gd; barley lOs Gd to 13s Od; oats, lls Od to 13s Od. BRISTOL SUGAR—DEc. 8. There has been very little doing since our last report, the market being very shortly supplied. Prices are still maintained. Rum is unaltered in value, but the business done is limited. COAL MARE (Prices of Coal per Ton at a. d. Byass's Bebside West Hartley .14 9 Lambert's W. Hartley.l4 9 Wylam l5 6 Tanfield Moor Butes 12 6 Howard's W. Hartley 0 Bate's West Hartley 14 0 Davison' s West Hartleyls 0 Buddle's West Hartleyl4 0 Walker Primrose l3 3 Gray's W. Hartley 14 6 Holywell l5 6 Haswell Gas. l3 6 North Percy Hartley l4 0 Nixon's Merthyr 2l 0 Powell's Duffryn Steam 21 0 Nixon's Duffryn 21 5 :ET--DEC. 8. the close of the market.) Walls End. s. d. Heugh Hall 16 9 ' Acorn Close - 16 9 Northumberland . l4 6 Eden 16 9 Cassop l7 0 Belmont l6 0 Hetton 18 0 Framwellgate l6 6 Hetton Lyons 16 0 Brandon l7 0 Russell's Hetton 17 0 Kelloe l7 6 West Stanley 13 0 Harton South Durham l6 0 Bradyll's Hetton . .... l7 3 Riddell 16 0 Coundon 16 0 Hilda 16 0 West Kelloe l6 3 Tees lB 0 Hartlepool. 18 8 South Hetton 17 9 Whitworth.. 15 3 154—Sold, 118 Walls End. Haswell 18 6 Gosforth l6 0 Stewart's 18 0 Shincliffe. l6 3 Kepier Grange l7 3 Eden Main 16 6 Benson 16 3 Ships at market, CUTTING OFF A LADY'S CRINOLINE. —At the Liverpool Sessions on Wednesday (which for this special occasion were held in St. George's Hall, being the first time it has ever been used for judicial proceedings), Wm. Huntingdon, a baker and flour dealer, was charged with having assaulted two young ladies in Prince's-park, Liverpool, and cut off the crinoline of the elder one, at the same time exclaiming, "These hoops, these hoops, I can not tolerate them," or words of similar import. Shortly after the prisoner's elamiliation before - the police magis trate, when he attempted to prove an alibi, his friends asserted that the real perpetrator of the outrage, an Irish lunatic who had escaped from Newry, had been captured in Liverpool and immured in a local maison de sante. Ano ther curious fact connected with the affair is, that one of the local papers contained a very verbose report of second "crinoline case," but as the alleged facts could not be proved, it was generally suspected that the affair was but a ruse of Mr. Huntingdon's more zealous friends, to draw off public attention from the charge against him. The case occupied the entire day, the great hall in which _the trial took place being crowded, large numbers of ladies being assembled in the gallery. It was not concluded when our parcel was despatched. BIRTHS. ABTELL.—On the 7th inst., at 41, Eaton -place, the wife of John Harvey Astell, Esq., of a daughter. CARTER.—On the 6th inst., at 3, Newgate-street, the wife of John Sloane Carter, of a son. HomErtE.—On the 7th inst., at 5, Somers-place, Hyde park, the wife of Mr. J. G. Homere, of a daughter. TAIT.—On the 7th inst., at Fulham Palace, the wife of the Lord Bishop of Lonlon, of a daughter. MARRIAGES. BELL — CROSSE.—On the 7th inst., at St. George's, Han over-square, Robert, only son of Robert Bell, E s q., of Norris Castle, Isle of Wight, to Georgiana Helen, the youngestdaughter of Robt. Crosse, Esq., of St. Saviour's) Jersey. BOWRING—CuBrn.—On the 7th inst., at St. Mary 3fag dalene's' Munster-square, Edgar Alfred B owr i ng , Esq., son of Sir John Bowring, H M.'s Plenipotentiary Ui China, to Ellen, daughter of Lewis Cubitt, Esq. DEATHS. DANIELS.-At No. 8, Sergeant's-inn, Fleet-street, on the 7th inst., Mr. William Daniels, in the 43d year of his age, for many years the faithful clerk to H. ManistY, Esq., Q.C. BROOKE.—On the 6th inst., at Oakley Hall, Northamp tonshire, Sir Arthur De pen Brooke, Bart., aged 67. BUDD.—On the sth inst., at his residence, Woodhouse, Dulwich, James Budd, Esq., aged 50. I:ENWICK.—On the 6th inst., at Ryde; the Rev. Forster Feuwick. HAMMOND.—On the 6th inst , at Peel-place, Kensington, Mrs. Eleanor Hammond, aged 62. LovEGßovE.—On the 7th inst., at 'Tulse-hill, Surrey, C. IV. Lovegrove, Esq., aged 64. NASIL—On the 6th inst., at Queen's-terrace, Bayswater, Mrs. Charlotte Louisa Nash, aged 58. RUDGE.—On the Bth inst., at Dagnall's-park, Croydon common, S., Jame s nudge, Esq., aged 63. iONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Itl. ddlesex, Thursday, reconber 9, 1868. R OYA The GITI at the Soci( FaiDay, ti London, B ANK The Com Yearly divi of income t the proprii after the 5t ration, No. the hours No Proximo, Tran No. 7, Si aft IVAI er WEI Pr IONS wi Alanchemt( Intermedil and Yorks t t°"loti at tl3anit( y , hesid Thamapes-se ty4 ~ust LONI L r C D IR AN-s, M. LAST Vo ealigt Alb-Dior I ) Pearan LI( CI 43th , 1858 given wit ul agtilfice D ocaaions Z184 '1 1 \171.! !Lily of il "'lose ai dill be t'ost ume e ( • ' l will be street, to the lit t his occa Made an Itestaun ,Cent nave late sufficient Ticket securedB Ri 3: T e cBxo4 i : nes e t at. Boxes ata e wi t Ileasrs. 'will be St H a lf. AD] S'] ante teas of 1 to ]rturni and dan crowdec Nobil Pit, l i . ti DR 'tarket LECTI import: TORY gramm bR. BONI Author ll' ROYA The Two ] ELI formai troduc Cauti aut Pit, 'rate I seats 10 Wei Tw, I.m. N' the P these the g, Past p_9l v ic P t nag, Gre Jar , min