The Sun. — London, England, 1861-12-18 00:00:00

HE CASE OF MR. W. F. WINDHAM 2' (Continued from The Sun of yesterday.) Dr. Donald 15a,lrymple.—I - have practised a, Norwich for 25 years. I was intimately acquainted with the father of the alleged lunatic and with his family. I have known the present Mr. Wind ham from his childhood, and have had frequent opportunities of seeing him. For more than 20 years I attended professionally a private asylum for the insane. My opinion is that his intellectual powers are very much below par. I think he is fit ,to manage his own person, but he is not able to go into society with safety to himself or others. He is certainly not fit to manage property or money. In 1848 I saw him at Felbrigg-hall. He there broke out into violent passions apparently without any adequate cause. I have heard him tell the most transparent falsehoods, and when, as a friend of the family, I remonstrated with him, he paid no attention to me. I have frequently conversed with lira about his fondness for low company, pointing out that it was degrading to him as a young gentle man, but I never could make the slightest impres sion upon him. He did not seem to be aware that there was anything wrong or unusual in his con duct. When ho broke out into sudden outbursts of passion I do not think he was sensible of the diffe rence between right and wrong. In August, 1856, he stayed two nights at my house. A horse was hired for him, because I did not like to trust him with one of my own. He rode out, but did not bring back the horse. The saddle was brought to .my stable a week after, but the bridle has never been seen or heard of at all. (A laugh.) On the occasion of the ovation to General Windham, in Norwich, he rode in the same carriage with me, and I had the greatest difficulty in keeping him down on the seat. He screamed and howled when there was no occasion for it, and at the dinner in St. Andrew's-hall he conducted himself in the most outrageous manner, dis turbing the proceedings of the evening. He was not labouring under the effects of drink. He slept at my house that night. I went up to his bedroom and found him lying on his back quite naked. I saw him at a Volunteer review in Nor wich in the early part of the present year. He told me his uncle, General Windham, was going to get him a commission in the army. I said he would have to undergo an examination. " No," said he, "my uncle can do whatever he likes." The next time I saw him was in the streets of Norwich. He was in the company of three or four shabby-looking men, and was standing with his arms thrown around the neck of one of them, at the same time making a loud noise. Cross-examined by Mr. Karslake—Mr. Windham is an only child. I think his parents spoilt him. His father was a hot tempered man. His mother was an exciteable person also. As a child Mr. Wind ham was allowed to do pretty much as he:liked, I think he would have been better if he had been kept with a tighter rein. He was frequently in the ser vants' hall and the stables. I never observed that he was extremely fond of the housekeeper. I never saw him in a page's dress which his father had purchased for him. He was frequently restrained by his parents, but irregularly restrained. I saw him on the day of his father's funeral. He appeared deeply affected in the church, where he shed tears, but at the mansion-house after the funeral I was painfully struck by the little emotion he displayed at the death of his father. When I got him a house in Norwich 1 did so at the request of his mother, who did not ask me to lend him one of my own. I never heard that he wore an ivory palate in his mouth. His speech is peculiar, but it is not suffi cient in itself to attract the attention of bystanders. At the Windham ovation his conduct was unbe coming. He yelled in a loud, boisterous manner. The streets were crowded, flags were flying in every direction, and everybody bearing the name of Windham was in great vogue. At the dinner there were a great many toasts given, and much wine was drunk. When the health of General Windham was proposed the cheers were deafening; I never heard a greater noise made in St. Andrew's hall. His outbursts of passion even when a child were most extraordinary. When spoken to about some fault he had committed, I have seen him fling ing himself down on the floor, and then howling, shrieking, biting the carpet, slobbering, and making a noise totally unlike anything I have heard made by a child of his age. I think he is capable of managing himself. 1 have not seen him at Felbrigg since he became of age, nor have I ever seen him engaged in what may be called the practical busi ness of life. I have seen him driving, but I have never driven with him. God forbid that I should do so. (A laugh.) He drives and rides recklessly. Although I never saw him transacting any matter of business, I have stated in my affidavit, and now repeat, that he is incapable from mental deficiency of managing his own affairs. I have stated in my affidavit that his habits were of a nature to weaken Powers originally defective. Th e h a bi ts I re f erred to 3vere th ose of associating with low persons, of drinking, though not to excess, of gormandising, and of consorting with loose women. Another habit was one which I detected when I found him lying naked in a bedroom in my house. What I mean by saying that I think he is capable of man aging himself is, that he will take care not to get his own neck into danger, At the same time, if he were to injure anvbmly else wilf u lly, i nsan i ty m i ght properly be pleaded - in his defence. Re-examined by Mr. Chambers—He has an im pulsive nature, and I think that nature would lead him to do rash acts. The noise he made in the streets on the occasion of the Windham ovation was not at all like a hearty English " huzza ;" it was rather, to use a provincial expression, a " blare," and might be heard in a madhouse, but nowhereelse. SVbat made it more marked was that there was no cheering or shouting going on in the streets at the time. By the M ister—l define Mr. Windham's case as one of imperfectly developed mental power. I be lieve the malady is congenial. He is able to protect himself from physical injury, but that is alt. Mr. James Johnstone—l am a physician praltis- Ing in Norwich, and have had a good deal of experi ence in mental disorders. I have known Mr. Wind ham personally almost from childhood. I saw him on the occasion of the ovation to General Windham, He was riding on a pony quite at random. At one time he rode into the crowd. Lord Suffield caught him by the collar, and asked him what he wanted. th said, " I want my uncle Charles," in a very peculiar tone. His Lordship led him away. I saw him at a ball in Norwich in 1839. He was con tinually beckoning at a party of women in the gallery, where they were admitted to see the danc ing, wanting them to come down to him or to observe what he was doing. At one period of the evening he trod on Sir John Boileau's toes, and instead of apologising, as he ought to have done, commenced something which sounded very much like swearing. (A. laugh.) Shortly afterwards somebody trod upon his toes. He caught his foot up in his hand, limped across the room, and uttered a most extraordinary noise —somethin g like a howl. I have also met him at subscription balls. He used to run his partner through the dances, tear ladies' dresses, and other wise misconduct himself. His laugh was that of an idiot. Cross-examined by Mr. Karslake—l cannot give you an idea of an idiot's laugh unless you come with me to Colney-hatch, (A laugh.) I was never intro duced to Mr. Windham, nor have I ever been at Felbrigg-hall as a visitor. On the occasion of the Windham ovation his pony was frightened by the artillery, but I am not aware that it dragged the bridle out of his hand and broke away. Re-examined—At one of the balls in Norwich I was asked to allow one of my daughters to dance with Mr. Windham, but I refused to do so, because I considered him a person of unsound mind. The Rev. Thomas Goodwin—l was residing in Torquay in the early part of 1867. Lady Sophia Windham applied to me to take charge of her son for such time as I should remain in Torquay. I consented, and rema i ned with him for a fortnight or three weeks. He was living with his mother, and I went to the house every day. I attempted to instruct him. His education at that time was exceedingly deficient expected in a person olof i t ihiis such as I should have years. While I was with him I could not get d f o p more than two chapters in " Prescott's Historyrato toerfiu." bated my ill-success to his inabilityl:attri a few his .atten tion upon any subject for more twhaasnaefeowtivmemutes at a time. His mental power was dirty in his habits, untruthful, and boastfule. He would tell me things which on their face bore the evidence of untruthfulness. He was very ex citable. I have seen him jump over chairs without any cause. I have seen him jump upon hismother's shoulders and attempt to ride her like a horse. When we were reading together he would start suddenly up and run round the garden, shouting all the time. He was also liable to sudden bursts of passion. On one occasion, because his mother would not allow him to go out hunting, he swore at her in a fearful manner, and threw down his tea cup. He was in the habit of gorging himself with food, and ate lik e a pi g , pu tti ng l a rge quantities, into his mouth a t one ti me, ea ti ng f rom the dish instead of his plate, and mixing up the dishes in a disgusting manner. I have seen him at an evening party bringing in a large dog and turning it loose among the ladies. (A laugh.) From my experience of him I regard him as a person of unsound mind. His mental faculties are far below the average. Cross-examined by Mr. Karslake—He was en couraged in doing nothing with me by his mother. I tried him in ",Virgil," but the conclusion at which I arrived with respect to his mental deficiency was founded upon conversations which I had with him. Re - examined—He could not talk upon the 4im P le gtoubjecti lb knew the Aiming of et word here and there in Virgil, but could not construe a single sentence correctly. His habits were pecu liarly dirty. I may say that I never saw his face clean, (A laugh.) Colonel Bathurst—l was formerly in Ihe Cold stream Guards, and now command the 15 - h Middle sex Volunteers. I was first introduced to Mr. Windham in May, 1859, for the purp )- e of taking him abroad. It was proposed by Vice-Chancellor Wood that we should travel for six months. We first went to Brussels, and then to Spa, where we remained a fortnight. Then we went up the Rhine to Wiesbaden, Frankfort, Baden-Baden, and so through Switzerland. We visited Spa on our return. The tour lasted about three months. I was constantly with him during all that time. I did the best I could, but I am afraid I effected no im provement in him. He did almost nothing in the way of study, reading nothing but newspapers, and that only occasionally. I offered to read with him every day, but could not induce him to look at a book. I believe he did read two of the " Ingoldsby Legends," but that was all. Even of them he seemed to remember only a single couplet, which he often repeated— "The modern monk 44 Got jollily drunk." (A laugh.) At Spa he was guilty of great cruelty to a horse. He was in the habit of eating too much mid very rapidly. A favourite fancy of his was to speak in the Norfolk dialect. He was generally very noisy indeed, and used to run up and down the stairs of the hotel shouting at the top of his voice. One day, in the Black Forest, he screamed for half an hour. I concluded that he was letting the steam off. (A laugh.) He often laughed without any apparent cause. I could have made him laugh as often and as long as I pleased. He slavered at the mouth. He cried like a child, and burst into tears for almost nothing. He was fond of making the acquaintance of railway guards, and was frequently allowed to work the breaks. He larked with the waiters in hotels. He was always falling in love with ladies whom we met, and to some he made proposals. At a dinner-table near Plymouth, he behaved himself in such a manner as betrayed something more than a mere want of the manners of society. Complaints were made to me of his having used filthy language in the presence of ladies. I induced him to make an apology. Speaking generally, his manners were noisy and boisterous, and he never failed to make himself conspicuous in whatever company he happened to be. He could not take care of his clothes, which were dirty and full of holes. I gave him a little money when he wanted it. He bought foolish things —threw his money away. I found him untruthful, and the falsehoods he told were sometimes obvious and transparent. I have seen him in violent pas sions, but his fits were not frequent with me. My impression is that if upon such occasions he had happened to have a weapon in his hand he would have used it. I returned to England sooner than intended because I felt that I could do no good with him. I consider him a person of weak intellect. He may go into society with safety, though he will al ways conduct himself as rudely and boisterously, and make himself as conspicuous as he did with me, but Us want of ir ental power will always render him incapable of managing his own affairs. The inquiry was again adjourned. LAW INTELLIG ENCE.—Dcc. 17. COURT OF EXCHEQUER. Sittings at Nisi Prius at Guildhall.—(Before the Lord Chief Baron and Special Juries.) STUBBS V, " LLOYD'S WEEKLY NEWS.". r --TRADE PRO TECTION SOCIETIES.-LIBEL. The declaration in this case stated that the de fendant had published of the plaintiff the following malicious and defamatory libel : " DAGGERS IN THE DARK. "We are overwhelmed with letters from indepen dent correspondents complaining of the doings of Messrs. Stubbs, Perry, and Co. An Italian gentle man is especially struck with this anomaly in free England. He asks whether we shall suffer that in this land of freedom, of justice, and of hospitality, men's reputations shall be silently and secretly assailed, and that black mail shall be levied on the timid ? Tradesmen or professional men who happen to owe even the most trifling sums may find themselves in one of the black lists. Mr. Perry, for in stance," ' issues a weekly private ilist for sub scribers only, with this caution under the title, viz., ' The information herein being strictly confidential, subscribers are reminded that it must neither be shown nor communicated to any other person.' This artful warning is intended to create subscri bers. Mr. Perry wants his annual £3 3s. for the information his circular affords. It is clear that the calculations of these trade protectors are based upon the fears as well as the meanness of their customers. There are tradesmen who will condescend to patro nise a spy, in the hope that he may now and then lead them from danger. On the other hand, there are foolish men who fear the lash of the protector. They are afraid that, not subscribing, they may be described as no good ; not very wite to go into business with such people,' whereas a little subscrip tion puts them forward as 'good people, very re spectable, and with good business." It is easy to perceive the tyranny the conductors of a persecuting system of this description may exercise, not over wealthy tradesmen, but over the poor and sting gling man, who may be ruined by an evil word. It is enough that we have secret police offices, spring ing up in our midst, without suffering the degrada tion cf surveillance by the bravo who holds a dagger in one hand and a subscription form in another. It is the bounden duty of every honourable man to help to put an end to this disgraceful system of espionage. The laws are strong enough to punish offenders. There is ample security openly offered to every man's house by the police; he needs no skulking detectives om his threshold. But trades men are not alone concerned in putting aside these daggers in the dark ; men of all degrees are affected by them. They strike at the practice of the young doctor; they lay bare the passing difficulties of the student. All classes, therefore, should ' take action.' Tradesmen should decline to be protected,' and customers should refuse to deal with any of the subscribers to private lists." The defendant pleaded only not guilty. Mr. Sergeant Shee, Mr. Hawkins, and Mr. 1). D. Keane were counsel for the plaintiff. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine represented the defendant. Mr. Sergeant Shee, in opening the case, said that the plaintiff in this action was Mr. Stubbs, of Stubbs' Trade Protection Society, and the pro prietor of Stubbs' Gazette, and the defendant was the proprietor and publisher of Lloyd's Weekly News. The action, which was for libel, was brought ander the following circumstances :—The plaintiff, who had succeeded his father in the same business, carried on a trade protection office of a most exten sive character. The central office was in London, and there were branch offices in Birmingham, Glas gow, Edinburgh, and Dublin; and when be told them there were on the list of subscribers at £1 10s. a year the name of 20,000 gentlemen engaged in trade, they would be aware of the high apprecia tion in which the services which the society rendered to the mercantile community was held. The service thus rendered to the commercial world was this, that it gave to all persons by its publica tion and machinery the best possible means of pre venting the mischief of incurring bad debts. 'Stubbs' Gazette contained information of the highest importance to mercantile men, It gave a statement of all warrants of attorney, all cognovits, all judges' orders, and all bills of sale which w ere reg i s t ere d i n the public offices, and which documents gave a pre ference to those who had obtained them over all other creditors, and therefore it was of the u t mos t importance that mercantile men should know whether the property of persons with whom they were dealing was pledged to others. When he told them that during the week prior to the publication of the Gazette which he held in his hand there had been 12 warrants of attorney and cognovits, 14 judges' orders, 242 bills of sale, and 210 county court judgments registered, they would estimate the value of the information thus afforded to the sub scribers to whom this Gazette was a safe and sure guide. Mr. Stubbs maintained a staff and machinery to do for the mercantile community what each individual could not do for himself. Its ob ject was to give to the great majority of the traders of this great city and of this great country the advan tage of fair dealing—it was with this object that this trade protection office had been established; and thus it was countenanced and suppported by the mercantile world. It stood to reason that if any from doingas man did not perform the work which he undertook thoroughly, honestly, and conscientiously, so far he could harad ervic y . e, he would become a perfect pest, and would bring ruin on thousands ; so that macnoliceive any charge more disgrace he had put mone 1 1 1 fill against racter of an honeyst tradesmanr. Stubbs' position than that ocket to destroy the cha- If they found that as one who should whom he knew to be un; or to represent a man tahisitlyhasslthe deliberate be trusted. make out intention of the writer of such a charge, no doubt he had done Itioi uvtetroybbleasst not only to destroy the plaintiff's trade, but his character. The learned sergeant, aving read the libel, proceeded to say that it put the plaintiff on the level with the midnight assassin, and Mr. Stubbs being determined to challenge the defend. ant, who did not now dare to justify his words to Mr. Stubbs, the plaintiff , was then called in sup the proof, had brought this action. port of the statement made by his learned counsel. He stated that be succeeded his father nine years ago in Manchester, in the same business, though more local character; he caw to London Tofu yore Age, In his Gazette he extracted all the information re gistered in the different courts of England, Ireland, and Scotland, and gave information as to all per sons who carried on business by swindling, but their names were not put into the Gazette until the cases were investigated. The Gazette was only sent to subscribers, who were requested to regard it as con fidential. He had never received a single farthing for inserting or abstaining from inserting any one's name in the Gazette. He was perfectly ready to produce all his books. Cross-examined by Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—l invite my subscribers to give us the names of per sons who are supposed to be swindlers, and we in vestigate the cases. Ido not investigate them my self. I have agents in London and other large towns. I have eight or nine agents in London. I pay them by salary. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—What do these gentle men get for hunting out information ? Witness—From £l5O to £2OO a year. Mr: Sergeant Ballantine—And asuit of clothes. (Laughter.) Well, when one of these well-paid gentlemen catches a swindler for you what do you do with him ? Witness—We publish his name. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—That is an out-and out swindler. What do you do with a half-and half one ? Witness—We keep him in our register. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—Until he is full-blown —(laughter)—and then you publish him? Witness—Yes. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—You publish the auto graphs of swindlers ? Witness—Yes. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—And you go to fur ther expense for the commercial community; you publish photographs of swindlers ? (Laughter.) Witness—We do, sir. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—You don't keep a secret police-office. You are not connected with Mr. Field ? Witness—l am glad to say lam not. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—Why, what is the difference ? (Laughter.) Witness—l decline to answer that. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—Now, what do you call your legal agents ? Witness—That refers to the collection of debts. I mean solicitors who attend to the business of sub scribers on the terms mentioned in the prospectus. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—Oh, then, you are also a debt collector ? Witness—l am a debt collector through seven hundred solicitors. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—Gracious, do you keep seven hundred solicitors, and yet the world con tinues to exist ? (Great laughter.) Do you keep them, or do they keep you ? (Laughter.) Witness—l suppose they keep themselves. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—On the system of half charges ? • Witness—No, my subscribers arc entitled to the services of the solicitors at a less charge than usual. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—You have had other actions brought against you ? Witness--:Yeshalf-a:dozcn. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—Did you ever fight them ? Witness—Yes. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—Did you ever get a verdict in a single action ? Witness—Yes. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—You were not so lucky with the others perhaps ? (Laughter.) Re-examined—l never published the name of any person in my list of swindlers without the strictest investigation. Once I published the autograph of a respectable firm which a swindling firm had imi tated, but when I found out the mistake I imme diately explained it to the satisfaction of the respec table firm. I have published many thousands of autographs, and only in one instance was there a verdict against me, when the plaintiff', having shown that although he had been mixed up with swindlers, he had not been personally engaged in swindling, I consented, on the suggestion of the judge, to a verdict for 40s. Mr. Sergeant Ballantine—What do you mean by this under the heading, " Addresses Wanted," and then follows a long list of persons ? Witness —Persons who have left in debt and whose addresses neither we nor the subscriber have been able to find out. The Lord Chief Baron—You want the inventus in place of the non est inventus. (Laughter.) This closed the plaintiff's case, and as no witnesses were to be called for the defence it was summed up by Mr. Sergeant S hee. _ _ Mr. Sergeant Ballantine then addressed the jury for the defence. He said the plaintiff was a young gentleman—a very young gentleman indeed to take upon himself the position of arch-protector of the commercial interests of this community, which must be in a very bad way indeed if it wanted such pro tection as the spy system could afford. There was another gentleman named Perry, who was also en gaged in the same benevolent design—(laughter)— and it seemed that the system was going on to an enormous extent in this country. A public news paper, Lloyd's Weekly News, had referred to it as a question of public interest and importance. That newspaper was not conducted in the Stubbs fashion —it had no secret agents, no secret spies, but as a public newspaper it had its attention called to the fact, and under these circumstances the article had been published. He would submit that all it intended to convey was that the system was rife with danger, and that such a power in the hands of au un scrupulous person was bad and injurious. The sys tem was this: If any subscriber thought any per son a rogue, he was requested to inform the Gazette, so that not only did Mr. Stubbs spy out swindlers, but he addressed to the gentlemen whom he wished to protect the insulting proposition that they should do the same. In every parish how many men were there who hated their neighbours, and every sub scriber had the power of putting his neighbour into Stubbs' black list. How many persons were there whom he was addressing whose names might be in Stubbs' black list. Mr. Field, whose younger days had been passed in catching thieves, had now his private inquiry -office; but one advantage of his system over Stubbs' was that the former only gave the information he acquired to the person interested, while the latter gave his to the whole world. The Lord Chief Baron—You overstate the case, brother Ballantine. It is a secret which is only confided to 20,000 subscribers. (Laughter.) Mr. Sergeant Ballantine admitted the secrecy of the transaction, and that the fact of there being 20,000 subscribers must prevent any one Ilse from knowing anything about it. (Laughter.) Now, this Stubbs' Gazette was one mass of libel from be ginning to end. He had rather admired this young gentleman, Mr. Stubbs, and he would frankly adroit he rather believed him, for he had given his evi• dence with a smiling satisfaction that irresistibly led to the conclusion that he felt he was doing nothing dirty. (Laughter.) There were street scavengers as well as moral scavengers, but the per sons who swept our chimneys or who cleaned out our dustholes were not precisely the class of persons we should wish to see in our drawing-rooms. How did the system work John Tompkins had a grudge to John Jones, and he sent in his name to Stubbs' Gazette. John Jones did not read Stubbs' Gazette— he preferred a lighter class of literature—(laughter) —and there his name figured. If there was a John Jones in court, he would advise him to look at Stubbs' Gazette, and probably he would there find his autograph in mistake for that of some other John Jones, in the same way as the little mistake had occurred before. (Laughter.) Now Mr. Stubbs might be the incarnation of everything that was honourable and upright, and just as good as he thought himself, but ho were Stubbs' agents? He (Sergeant Ballantine) hated spies, and from their employment he had no faith in Stubbs. He thought that the agents of innocent Mr. Stubbs might do very dirty things in the very dirty work which he had provided for them. So much for swindlers. But was every person who gave a judge's order or a bill of sale to be held up in this publication ? A person might raise money for the most honourable purpose, and yet be branded amongst a nest of swindlers. He trusted that the trade of this country would never have to depend on such a system as spies and informers. This was a great and important question which the proprie tor of this journal had taken up ; and he trusted that it would never be countenanced or supported by the verdict of any jury of English gentlemen. The Lord Chief Baron, in summing up, said that this was an action for libel by the proprietor of Stubbs' Gazette against the proprietor of Lloyd's Weekly News. The press of this country was en tirely free, and if it published anything regarded as questionable, and a remedy were sought in a civil or criminal court, it would be for the jury alone to decide that point. The proprietor of a newspaper could not complain if comments were made on the conduct of his journal. The idea that the intelligence which the plaintiff circulated was secret because it was confined to 20,000 subscribers was a farce. He could not see any objection to the plaintiff's Gazette if it were limited to the publica tion of what was directed to be registered some where by the legislature ; but he did not think that any persons would be justified in publishing the names of those persons who had pawned articles, though that might be in some cases a guide to pi credit; clha c Ae d h c e uo nu c ld o de u r e l dot complain sl t au justify irnv eo ifl aßn t ae h no e df 7t p ho r (l a n e a t t i ß c to e rsn u he n oyu d sl e d r ; bw h e e h could not say that this system of spying behind a man's back might not lead to considerable mis chief, and certainly it deserved no encouragement. IBut the only quest i on for them was not as to l COndliCt 9 4444 be Goo*, but us to the spirit in which the paragraph comp:ained of had been written. Was it a fair comment on a public man ? And here he would say that in using the word fair, it should be used with a large and liberal indulgence to the rights of the public journals to comment on public men. Juries owed certainly very much of their freedom to the press, but juries were not independent because the press was frQe, but the press was free because juries were indepen dent. They would say had this article been written in a spirit of fair criticism—if so, they must find for the defendant, and if not, for the plaintiff, with such damages as they thought fit. The jury retired, and in a quarter of an hour came into court with a verdict for the plaintiff— damages, one farthing. MIDDLESEX SESBIO%S.—Dec. 17. (Before the Assistant-Judge.) Mary Newell, servant, was indicted for stealing a box containing a coat, other articles of wearing apparel, and a watch, the property of Mr. W. John Barker, her master, and also other property, belong ing to a gentleman named Heath, who lodged in Mr. Barker's house. Mr. Cooper was counsel for the prosecution, Mr. Dickie for the defence. Mr. Cooper, in opening the ease, said it was one of a novel, or rather romantic nature, and when the offence imputed to the prisoner was committed it obtained a good deal of passing notoriety. It would be proved in evidence that the prisoner entered the service of the prosecutor, a surveyor, residing at 29, Bessborough-gardens, Pimlico ; in March last. On the 7th of November the prosecutor went out in the morning as usual, and returned in the afternoon. In the evening he and Mrs. Barker went out, and on his return he found the door locked, and receiv ing no answer to the ring of the bell he went to his next door neighbour's, and got through his house into his own. He found the place completely ran sacked, a poker with hair upon it, and smeared with what seemed to be blood, a window smashed, and the prisoner, whom he had left in charge of the house, gone. The inference he deduced from this was that the house had been robbed, and the servant murdered. The plate was packed up in a parcel as if ready for removal. The prisoner was traced by the police to Yarmouth, where she was found in the guise of a man, wearing her master's clothes and courting a young woman as her sweet heart, no suspicion being for a moment entertained as to her sex. She had cropped her hair short, smoked cigars, took the woman " he" was courting to the theatre, marched about the Marine-parade with a Spanish cap on, and altogether the case was one of the most strange that over came before the Court. It would be suggested, he believed, that she was not of sound mind ; but if the jury were to acquit her on that ground, she would be subjected, as a matter of course, to a far more severe punish ment than if convicted simply of stealing her mas ter's goods, but that would be for the jury to deter mine. The prosecutor said'he lived at 29, Bessborough gardens, and on the 7th of Nov., on going out, he left Mrs. Barker at Lome with the prisoner, his servant. The prisoner said, before he left, that a strange man had called and said he wanted to re pair the window blinds. He returned in the after noon, and afterwards went out again, leaving the prisoner in care of the house, her sister being then with her. At 10 he returned, and knocked and rang, but was not answered, and got into his house through a neighbour's. He found the plate packed up in a damask cut tain in the drawing-room, and the place in confusion. Mr. Heath's room was all in disorder, and his property gone. He stumbled over a poker covered with a liquid resembling blood and matted with hair. The back window was broken, and the fragments of glass were on the slates below, which showed that instead of any oue hav• ing got in from the outside it must have been done by some one inside. The property missed consisted of coats, shoes, cravats, handkerchiefs, a bracelet, opera glass, a watch, £2 in money, value altogether about £67, of which £4O worth belonged to Mr. Heath. He called in the police. A panel had been cut out of the second floor bedroom door with a pair of t cissors and one of his razors. The razor was found in a drawer, jagged like a saw, and the point of one of the scissors blades was found at the bot- tom of the door, it having been broken off. Cross-examined—All the clothing taken away was men's. He received a good character with the prisoner from a very respectable tradesman in Ebury street. She had at first £lO a year, which he was about to increase to when she went away. Inspector Humphrey, B, produced the property, and described the state of the house when he went to it. He was sure that the window must have been broken inside, us the glass had been knocked out, not in. The p )ker was broken, and he found some hair in a pail in the passage, which was sprinkled with red, Michael John Sheen, 272 B, said he received in formation of the robbery, and found a cabman who had taken a young man from the house to the Eastern Counties Railway, with luggage, boxes, carpet-bag, and a large portmanteau. He traced the luggage to Yarmouth, and there he was directed to No. 10, 136-row, where a supposed young man had taken lodgings, it being a lodging-house. In the parlour he found one of the boxes tied up in canvas as a settee; it contained clothes, and a quan tity of hair exactly corresponding with the pri soner's and that found on the poker. On searching he found a bandbox with a hat in it. The landlady told him that the young man had gone to the Marine-parade. In three quarters of an hour the young man came to his lodgings smoking a cigar. The witness said to prisoner that he was an officer, and charged her with being Mary Ann Newell, late a servant of Mr. Barker's, whose house had been robbed. She said nothing. As she was in men's clothes, he did not wish to do anything in delicate, but he must search her pockets; and on doing so lie found .£2,three half-crowns, two foreign coins, a pipe from a coat pocket, a watch from the waistcoat, and she told him where a missing pin was. The clothes she was wearing were Mr. Heath's. She said the cap she bought at Ipswich, and wished it to be given to her brother. Cross-examined—The prisoner, he had been in formed, had been in Cambridge Hospital. When he took her she had no false whiskers or moustache. She came to the door in a jaunty sort of way, after her walk on the Marine-parade. Her landlady said he was a nice sort of a young man_ (Laughter.) Mr. Heath was called, and identified the articles belonging to him. They were worth about £4O. Some questions were put to him which the As sistant Judge thought had nothing to do with the case, but the witness was allowed to say he had seen her with the portrait of an actress in male attire. Inspector Humphrey said he found among the property a pocket book containing theatrical memo randa in the prisoner's writing, but of no import ance, and it did not relate to the case. The defence set up was in substance that the pri soner had a kind of monamania for the romantic, and though not exactly insane was at the time she did this under some idea that she was playing the part of a heroine in some melodrama. She was of very weak mind, and her grandfather and father both died insane. The learned counsel argued that she had no felonious intention, as must be inferred from the fact that though she packed up the plate, she did not take it with her, and that as far as was known at present, nothing she took was missing but one pocket handkerchief. It was neither mad ness nor felony, but a case of diseased mind ; she was not in constitutional health. Altogether it was a case one did not hear of in a lifetime, and was one more in illustration of the saying that "Truth is stranger than fiction." Whatever might have been her motive at the time, she had not gone to a mar -1 ket to dispose of the property. It was all recovered, and he submitted that it was a case in which the jury could, upon the evidence, safely come to the conclusion that at the moment she did this she was under some temporary delusion, and on that ground acquit her. Evidence was then given of the facts stated in the defence, and after a lengthy summing up by his lordship, The jury found the prisoner guilty of the felony. His Lordship, after some remarks upon the prisoner's conduct, in which, he said, the jury could not have come to any other conclusion, sentenced her to 1S months' hard labour. Several other cases were disposed of. SURREY SESSIONS—Dec. 17. Jeffery Abbott, 24, lighterman, was indicted for stealing from a barge on the river Thames 11 hides, value £l2, the property of Messrs. Pillow and Son, of Wellington chambers, London-bridge. Mr. Lilley defended the prisoner. 'Thomas Blackman, a lighterman in the employ of the prosecutors, said on the 11th ultimo he was engaged in removing 300 foreign hides from a ship to East-lane stairs. He left them all secure while he went to have his supper, and on his return he found that the cargo had been disturbed, and on examination he missed 11 hides. Information was given to the police. A carman named Saunders said that on the morning of the 12th of November the prisoner and another man engaged him, with his horse and cart, to remove a quantity of hides from Greenwich. He accordingly went there, and delivered the 11 hides to Mr. House, a tanner, of Bermondsey. Mr. House said that the prisoner and another man came to his place on the night of the 11th of November, and asked him if he could prepare acme raw hides for them. He told them he could, and they were brought to him by last witness. He kept the strings they were tied with, and handed them over to the Thames police constables. A young m employed, 011 board the whip from which the lighterman took them said he tied the hides up, and he identified the strings as some of those he had used. - Mr, Lilley made a most ingenious defence, con tending that there was no evidence to show th at the prisoner was connected with the robbeiy. The jury consulted a few minutes, and returned a verdict of acquittal. Timothy Linnegan, 26, was indicted for embezzl ing various sums of money belonging to his master, Mr. Joseph Musselwhite, dairyman and cowkeeper, Cornwall-road, Lambeth. Mr. Lilley, instructed by Mr. Neale, prosecuted, and Mr. Sharpe defended the prisoner. It appeared that the prisoner had been seven years in the prosecutor's service, receiving an excel lent salary, and the utmost confidence was placed in him, He, however, was on the point of establish ing a business of bis own, to the injury of his mas• ter, when the latter discovered that he had been plundered. An inquiry was instituted, and through the means of Sergeant Barrett, 16 L, his delinquen cies were brought to light. Among the customers were publicans, who had paid the prisoner on re ceipt of the milk, and others, for which he had not accounted. Evidence was given at some lengtb, and the jury returned a verdict of guilty. The Chairman said it was a bad case. The sen tence of the Court was that he be imprisoned in the House of Correction for 12 months, with hard labour. A CANADIAN VIEW OF THE ANGLO AMERICAN DIFFICULTY. The Daily Commercial Advertiser of Montreal, Nov, 26, in an article on the topic of the day, says : " When the paper blockade of the Southern coast, from the Potomac to the Rio Grande, was proclaimed, the Federal Government informed the British Minister that neutral vessels would be allowed 15 days after noti fication of the state of blockade to clear with their cargoes; yet in defiance of this declaration British vessels were seized and condemned as prizes for having trusted to it; and the excuse of the Federal Government was that the law had decided against the executive. When British subjects were seized, and their papers searched, contrary to the constitu tion, and these British subjects were imprisoned upon a secret accusation, deprived of habeas corpus and of consti tutional trial, the defence of the Federal Government was that the executive was above the constitution and the law. So, when British property was to be confiscated, the law was too powerful to allow the executive to alleviate the ope ration of an executive act; and when British persons, guilty of no offence, were to be imprisoned without cause, and discharged without trial, the law was too weak to afford them the least protection. British subjects have been arrested and imprisoned the moment they landed in the United States, on the information of spies, for sentiments uttered on board a British vessel on the high seas, or in British territory; and therefore out of the jurisdiction of the United States. British vessels have been condemned for sailing to and from Confederate ports, where no blockade had been attempted, contrary to the law of nations, and in direct defiance of the law of blockade, as laid down by Wheaton, the standard American authority. British terri tory had been violated by armed Federal troops invading Canada to arrest deserters. British laws have been broken by Federal recruiting agents in all parts of the province, and by the purchase in, and carriage of contraband .of war through, our territory. In spite of treaties giving to British subjects the right of free ingress and egress through the United States, they have been impeded in their lawful busi ness by passport regulations specially designed to harass and annoy; although, as regards the inhabitants of the British provinces against whom these regulations are chiefly directed there is no instance of their having taken service against the Federal Government, while it is notorious that hundreds of their misguided countrymen are serving in its armies. The British Minister at Washington has been subjected to studied insults, and to indignities worthy of the vulgar, ig norant ruffians who administer the Federal Government; and which have been tolerated so long only because it was evident that they knew no better, and considered the man ners of the bar-room and the flat-boat the true diplomatic style. And to crown all the causes of offence, the national dignity has been rudely struck in its tenderest part by the violation of its flag and sanctuary on the high seas. " It would be folly to suppose that all these outrageous acts were accidents of the position, and did not spring from a determination on the part of the Federal press and Govern ment to force a quarrel on Great Britain, or compel her to accept degradation in the eyes of the world as the price of peace. Before the news of the latest and most gross offences had reached England the national patience was nearly ex hausted; and the last mail brought many a quiet warning that the limit of forbearance was almost passed. The storm of anger which these added outrages will arouse will be so universal, and so violent that no Government will be able to stay it. Reasoning from the disinclination which the British Government and people have always shown to a breach of friendly relations with the United States, and the wrongs which they have repeatedly suffered to avoid it, the Federal Government appears to have concluded that there was no limit to their endurance, and it could adopt a tone and course of action towards them which no other power would sub mit to. It has chosen to forget that besides the natural dis inclination to war which a commercial country must always feel, Great Britain had peculiar material interests dependent on peace with the United States, which she would sacrifice for no ordinary cause. " In the first place, the United States was her best cus tomer for manufactured goods, and in the second, she was dependent upon it for raw materials. But these two power ful advocates for peace have ceased to plead ; British manu factures have been shut out from the North by a designedly hostile tariff; and Great Britain is deprived both of cotton for her looms, and a market for her goods, by the blockade of the South. War with the United States will now take from her no important trade, while it will remove the em b ergo which threatens her manufactories with enforced idle ness, and her factory population with sore distress, and open up a market for her wares superior to any she possesses in the world. Heretofore all her interests were in favour of peace with the United States, now they are in favour of war. Nothing but aggession to the point of defiance would justify intervention at this period of the struggle between the Federal Government and the Confederate States ; but this condition of aggression has been reached, and the na tional dignity no less than the national interests require that the challenge shall be accepted. It cannot be shown that the British Government or people have given any just cause for the violent hostility displayed against them by the United States. None of its rights have been infringed, none of its liberties assailed by them. Great Britain has declared through its Ministers, its Legislature, and its press, a determination to observe a strict neutrality, no matter what the cost to its own interests. It has recognised a blockade never efficient, as a pledge of its intention to hold to the spirit rather than the letter of non-intervention, and to afford no pretext for the charge that it had sought to embarrass the United States in the hour of difficulty and trial, Not one of her public acts can be pointed to as show ing hostility to the Union, adherents to its enemies, or a design to assist :its dissolution. On the side of the United States there has been nothing but outrage, violence, injury, and threats; and on that of Great Britain, Jaothing but loyal neutrality, forbearance, and toleration for the diffi culties of an avowed and threatening foe. Had Great Bri tain recognised the Confederate States when they consoli dated their Government she would have been strictly in her right according to American authority, and practice ; and according to her own doctrine in similar European cases. Had she broken the blockade she would have been justified, not only by international law, but by the reading of it propounded by American statesmen and jurists. Had she refused to allow an embargo to be placed upon a staple furnishing employment to millions, she would but have de fended the rights of peaceful industry to be protected from the worst calamities of war. The sins of her people against the Union have been confined to refusing to believe that a republican federation once dissolved can be re-united by the sword, and cemented together by the blood of its children shed by each other's hands; to laughing at the threats of the conquest of their territory by the heroes of Bull's Run; and, worst crime of all, declining to exchange their gold for Federal Bonds to continue a destructive and futile strife, and to be repaid by repudiation. "The United States had begun to threaten England with war before she had begun to laugh at Bull Run, or refused to loan her money for a bad purpose on a worse security. Before the first secession gun was fired at Sumter the admi nistration journals had poured broadsides of abuse and threats into perfidious Albion. While yet Mr. Lincoln's election was in debate, his future Secretary of State in his stum orations proclaimed the early accomplishment of the manifest destinyof the Union to absorb the British provinces, whether they and the mother country said yea or nay. No sooner had secession begun, than the Northern filibw tering minds turn towards them for compensation, and the Fede ral journals boasted that the loss at the South might be made good by the gained East, West, and North. The motley ar ray of three months' volunteers, the men who were to termi nate the rebellion, and restore the Union, according to Mr. Seward, in 60 days, had hardly gathered at Washington before the British possessions in America were threatened with the conquest which was to occupy a fraction of the balance of their term of service. To all these threats, and this consistent, if causeless hostility, the Government of Great Britain has replied by keeping on the even tenor of its way, and quietly providing against a surprise ; it has reinforced its garrisons sufficiently to render a coup domain impossible, and at the same time done it so moderately that the accession did not become a menace ; it has placed its magazines on a war footing, and its fortresses in a perfect position of defence; it has ordered the whole gunboat fleet to be fitted for immediate service ; it has hastened the com pletion of the iron-cased steamers building,and given orders for more. It has a fleet more formidable in every element than ever went forth to battle, an army not only large in numbers, for the Volunteers will take care of England, butd trained to war in the Crimea and in In dia. If the United States wants war it has only to stretch forth its band and take it ; but it will not be a little war like that of the Revo lution, or that of 1812, when Groat Britain had all Europe iitu on its hands, but a great war with the be the in stronges t stof ;- state military and naval power in the world , and p protiou—a power whose ad blew will tear the Sou t h for ever from its grasp, whose second will seal up its dimi- ' nished seaboard, and sweep its commerce from the seas, and whose third will girdle the Lakes with a rampart of fire. The game of brag which the - tates has played so long, is played out, and cannot be repeated ; no one now believes in its prowess, or regards its threats. HARE, THE NOTORIOUS MURDERER -HOW AND WHERE HE DIED. The Canadian correspondent of the Scotsman gives the following narrative of William Hare, who was associated with Burke in the series of cold-blooded murders perpetra ted in the West Port of Edinburgh in the year 1828 : About twelve or fourteen years ago, one of the most popu lar and best known men in Upper Canada (from whose lips I have the following story) was travelling in the stage in the township of Ekfrid, in the county of Middlesex, ,C.W. In the vehicle with him were two persons re siding in the neighbourhood. On entering into con versation with the one sitting next him, he discovered that he was the doctor of the district, and that he had graduated in Edinburgh. Being himself a native of your city, the con versation naturally turned on Edinburgh affairs, and the doctor having informed me that he had studied under Dr. Knox, whose name acquired an unenviable reputation in connection with Burke and Hare, the circumstances con nected with the trial of these criminals were recalled and talked over. The doctor then said he presumed be was not aware that it was supposed that Hare was buried in the township, and on my informant having expressed consider able surprise and interest, heproceeded to relate the circum stances connected with his death. Several years before a man named Hare arrived with his wife in the district, and settled on a clearing removed a considerable distance from any of hiineighbours. Here he lived inoffensively for some years, and it was observed that as the settlements increased he removed further into the forest. Among the settlers who arrived from the old country, there was; a.Scotchman, who brought with him a copy of a pamphlet containing an ac count of the trial of Burke. In this pamphlet there was a portrait of Hare, and also a minute description of his appearance and height. It was handed about from one farmer to another, and in the long cold nights of the Canadian winter, its contents were perused with much interest, not unmixed with horror. By and bye, some one began to imagine that he fancied he saw a striking resemblance to the portrait in their neighbour Hare, Another thought the description corresponded exactly with his appearance, and others, believing that his shy and re tiring life must be the consequence of some great crimes, began to view him with suspicion. Soon suspicion became changed into a confirmed belief that their solitary neigh bour was none other than the notorious Hare, and it was not long till he came to be shunned by the settlers, who regarded him with ill-concealed awe and aversion. The cause of the odium with which he was regarded was soon communicated to Hare, who, on learning it, went to the owner of the pamphlet and asked permission to read it. It was at once given him. He took it with him to his lonely clearing, and, began to read it. Before he finished it, how ever, he was seized with violent paroxysms of mental agony, and with fearful convulsions. He sent for a priest, but be fore his arrival he expired in dreadful torments. As Hare had pretended to be a Protestant, the neighbours considered the circumstance of his sending for a priest to be a confir mation of their suspicions. On his death some of them went to the house, and, having measured the body and com pared the marks on it with the description given in the ac count of the trial, they found that they corresponded with it in every particular. FBO.III THE GAZE= OF LAST EVENING. CROWN-OFFICE, DEC. 14. The Queen has been pleased,'Ly a commission, under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom, to constitute Theophi lus Bennett Hoskyns Abrahall, Esq., barrister-at-law, one of the Commissioners of the Court of Bankruptcy to act in the country. CROWN-OFFICE, DEC. 17. MEMBER RETURNED TO SERVE IN THE PRESENT PARLIAMENT. Borough of Finsbury.—William Cox, of St. John's. wood, in the county of Middlesex, Esq., in the room of Thomas Slingsby Duncombe, Esq., deceased. ST. JAMES'S PALACE. The Queen has been graciously pleased to promote Major- General John Fitz Maurice, K.H,, Adjutant of the Yeo man of the Guard, to be Lieutenant of her Majesty's Royal Body Guard, vice Major-General Sir Travell Phillips, Knt., resigned. ADMIRALTY, DEC. 13. Corps of Royal Marines.—First Lieutenant and Quarter master William Henry Clements to be Captain, vice R. J. H. Douglas, to half-pay; Second Lieutenant Frederick Beechey to be First Lieutenant, vice Clements, promoted. ADMIRALTY, DEC. 14. First Lieutenant Henry Swale to be Quartermaster, vice Clements, promoted. BANKRUPTS. William Bull, bath proprietor, Clerkenwell Zachary Stickling, fancy stock maker, City Henry Robert Carr, sen., ironfounder, Westminster James Henry Bourdieu Vaughan, Leinster-square, Hyde-park Edward Cahan (not Capan, as previously advertised), tailor, Strand George Pauley, clerk, Chelsea Joseph Palmer, printer, Cheyne-walk, Chelsea Poole Waterhouse, grocer, Watford, Herefordshire Henry Shimell, livery stable keeper, Liverpool-road, Islington. Jane Foxall, Ealing, Middlesex Walter Blundell, dentist, Portman-square James Purdue, Brooke-street, Holborn Thomas Bulbeck, timber merchant, Chichester Rufus Alexander James Davies, surgeon, Kingston Rus sell-place, Oakley-square Lyon Samuel, jeweller, Bury-street, St. Mary Axe Alfred Jennings, butcher, Deal Joseph Rackett, smith, Bell-yard, Carey-street Wm. Little Howard, clerk, Bolwell-terrace, Lambeth Herbert Morris, clerk, Guildford -street, Russell-square Edmund Fellows, licensed victualler, Hove, Sussex Jos. Parker Mew and Geo. Thorne, engineers, Newport, Isle of Wight William Williamson, linen draper, Putney William Everest, attorney, Brighton Edward Maxted, hair dresser, Folkestone Samuel Whitehouse, shoemaker, Birmingham George Burridge, refreshment-room keeper, Birmingham George Richards, packing-case maker, Birmingham Wm. Vaughan, fish dealer, Bristol Robert Hicks, egg dealer, Bristol John Gallagher, fruit dealer, Liverpool Wm. Thomason, wheelwright, Liverpool Wm. Jones, general dealer, Liverpool Thomas Evans, car proprietor, Liverpool Alexander Staurenghi, cattle dealer, Cardiff John Rees, grocer, Cardiff Thomas ListerAcolliery proprietor, Whittington, Derby shire James Bryant Tapp and Charles Tapp, boiler makers, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Richard Russell, lithographer, Liverpool James Newell, licensed victualler, Nantwich, Cheshire William Johns, commercial traveller, West uerby, Lan cashire Walter Sheppard, auctioner, Manchester Charles Edmund Meredith, stationer, Manchester John Walker, book-keeper, Hulme, Manchester Ann Harrison, grocer, Fatfield, Durham Lancelot Hindson, tailor, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Alfred Watts, builder, Freemantle, Hants Robert German, carpenter, Regent-street. Westminiter Charles Kedge, cab proprietor, Camberwell Charles Sills, horse dealer, Chesham, Bucks James Home, Evershott-Street, Hampstead-road 6,3,9 ge Wm. Keenan, undertaker, Bloomsbury Henry Chas Hopkins, confectioner, Pall-mall Ch ar l es jo_tin Tanner, woollen draper, Daiston Henry Taylei; clerk, Dalston Alexander Chamcion Marsden, draper, Colchester James Eglinton, deOer in carriages, St. Pancras 1-i enry Thomas Hunt, tailor, Hackney-road Thomas Hipkins, smith, Parbrooke, Norfolkshire Christopher Inch, cab proprit;i - or, Torquay Thomas Holroyd, blacksmith, It% astrick, Yorkshire Wm. Henry Bradbury, grocer, Longton, Staffordshire John Madman, confectioner, Newchuroh, Lancashire Chas. Smart, ironmonger, St. Cuthbert, Norfolk Chas. Ford, M.D., Lancashire Evan Evans, tailor, Portmadoc, Carnarvon George Dollimore, grocer, Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire Griffith Thomas. corn dealer, Llanor, Carnarvon John Wymark, carpenter, Brighton Edmund Brown, draper's assistant, Shieldfield John Rogers, gardener, Feltham Joseph Harrison, corn merchant, Kentish-town John Drew, public-house broker, Camberwell George Barrett, greengrocer, Landport, Portsea Fritz Stute, beer retailer, Fleet-street Edwin Hoy, glass dealer, Murray-street, New North road John H. Collier, tailor, Princes-end, Staffordshire Thomas Aston, manufacturer, Wolverhampton James Hiles, victualler, Bloxwith, Staffordshire Francis Burt, farmer, Meriden, Warwickshire Samuel Wm. L. Tichborne, commission agent, Wolver hampton Wm. Ward, ribbon maker, Coventry Arthur Woriall, architect, Dudley John Potter, Ilkeston, Derbyshire Benjamin Clarke, cattle dealer, Hullavington, Wilts John Glover, publican, Swansea Thomai Gribble, farmer, West Teignmouth r _ _ _ r Benjamin Burdett, skirt maker, Cumberworth, Yorkshire John Holmes, tailor, Doncaster na William tha n D s r l a a n c s k fi , e l l e d a , t er grocer, cu t t T e s e s h w e ffi e ll e , ld Derbyshire Alexander Campbell, mariner, Newcastle-upo _ p as butcher, Maidstone Newmarket Ann CatharineColebrook, Parkinson, William White, publican, Pembroke butch e- a- ouch David Wood Vigors, reporter, a oston-juxta-Neath John Beadsmoore, printer,Ash e byid 1 Z Mason , shoemaker, Aberdare Dace John Burke , tail or, Louth George Dimond, stationer, Gosport Frederick Hoggard, tailor, Rudston William Stanley, farm servant,:Blackden Thos. 'Dirndl, cattle dealer, Coventry Robert Whitehei;s l , butcher, Coventry James Eccles, grocer, Paddock, Yorkshire Richard Thornton, wooiLen dyer, Huddersfield k h o s ur o m p e an k r e , ep L e i r t Samuel Wood, German yeast dealer, Huddersfield Cheltenham, l T e a r d rs s t t o e n r Gloucestershire Yorkshire Yorkshire mriv Am mm o .. s lL ll nem a e i d n ahn e a s , ni , b l a, a n b s John Mills, baker, Dudley Joseph Starr, cloth dresser, Frome SCOTCH BANKRUPTS. William Murdoch, wi •ne merchant, Glasgow Alexander King,innkeeper, Motherwell William Mitchell Youn manufacturer Paisley John M‘lii n ay, tailor, Rothesay Andrew T Alay or, grocer, Bairhead " 04, 9 r . l Ainlox, farmer, Cothall, near Ferree EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE AGAINST A SURGEON'S WIFE. Ann Booth, 27, was charged yesterday at the South Lancashire Winter Assizes, before Mr. Baron Channel', with concealing the birth of her own child on the 6th of Sept. last. The prisoner was the wife of a medical man practising in the neighbourhood of Swinton and Worsley. It appears that the prisoner and her husband did not liv happily together, and had occupied separate apartments for more than 18 months before this event occurred. On the , sth of September the servant discovered certain traces in Mrs. Booth's room, which led to some inquiry; when the body of a newly-born infant, wrapped in a cloth, was found under the pillow. The first witness called was Jane Hiles, who had been upwards of three years in Mr. Booth's service. This witness deposed to the facts and symptoms which came under her notice.—Under cross examination by Sergeant Wheeler, it was elicited that this witness was the only female, besides Mrs. Booth, who slept in the house. Mr. Booth kept his carriage and a pair of horses ; he also had a coachman, but he did not sleep in the house. The house of Mr. Booth had but one chamber story, and some of his rooms were separated by nothing but lath and plaster partitions. Witness remembered Mr. Chadwick being in the surgery with Mr. Booth on the day above named, and about 3 o'clock the same day Mr. and Mrs. Booth dined together as usual. After dinner, prisoner was kept in the library in custody of a police officer until a cab came to convey her away ; and when she went to her bedroom to dress, for the purpose of going, the officer re mained at the door until she was ready, and then she, in the custody of two officers, was taken to the police station, a distance of three miles. There was a night-bell which Mrs Booth usually answered, and on ascertaining what was wanted, she communicated with Mr. Booth. Witness was daily in the habit of being with her mastery ir the surgery, sometimes for an hour or an hour and a half. She occasion ally assisted to make up medicines, and she knew that Mr. Booth made up some medicine for Mrs. Booth, which she took twice on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Mr. Wroe, surgeon, Eccles, was the next witness called. On the 6th Sept. he went with Chadwick, the police-officer, to Mr. Booth's, about 5 or 6 o'clock in the evening, and in company with the police-officer, went to the door of Mrs. Booth's room, but at first they were refused admittance, the prisoner wishing to know wlat they wanted. In the course of a few minutes Mr. Booth directed the officer to break in the door. After some time they gained admission, when Mrs. Booth requested to know why the officers had been brought into her room, and Mr. Booth, in reply, said, " You know, Ann, you have given birth to a child, and are endeavouring to conceal it." The prisoner replied by in quiring what reason there was for the suspicion. (Ser geant Wheeler here objected that the course of examina tion was improper, as it might be presumed the prisoner was then speaking under the coercion of her husband.) The learned judge inclined to the opinion that as far as the examination had proceeded the evidence of Mr. Wroe was admissible. His lordship, for his own satisfaction, however, went to consult Mr. Justice Crompton; and, on his return, said Mr. Wroe's evidence, "so far as it had gone," was admissible. Mr. Wroe's examination was then resumed. Witness asked the prisoner some questions ; and, after a short time she went to the bed, turned it down, and from under the pillow produced the child wrapped up in a cloth, which was perfectly free from stain. Witness went on to state the details of the conver sation between himself and the prisoner respecting the birth of the child. Cross-examined by Sergeant Wheeler—Mr. Wroe said he thought Mr. Booth must have had opportunities of know ing that his wife was about to give birth to a child. Mr. Wroe found the prisoner in a weak condition, and he ordered her to take wine. She must have been very ill before he saw her. Superintendent Chadwick and Sergeant Lee corroborated the evidence previously adduced as to the apprehension, &c. Sergeant Lee admitted, under cress-examination, that Mr. Booth brought him to his house about three years ago, when there was something unpleasant about a woman. At this stage Sergeant Wheeler submitted that there was no case for the prosecution, and after a few remarks by his lordship, the jury instantly acquitted the pri soner, the Foreman saying they were perfectly unanimous in their opinion. Mrs. Booth, after bowing low to the bench, was then discharged from custody. His lordship sentenced the following prisoners :—Emma Norris pleaded guilty to a charge of two burglaries at Pen. nington, and was sentenced to 15 months' hard labour; John Evans, who pleaded guilty to a charge of forgery at Liverpool, was sentenced to 6 monthe hard labour ; Robert Jones pleaded guilty to a charge of foTging a receipt for money in Liverpool in October last, and was sentenced to 6 months' hard labour. COUN2BY MARK.L2 )5". .~ ~--~- LEEDS—DEc. 17. Arrivals of wheat moderate. There is a growing feeling that the American difficulty will not be easily settled, and holders of wheat ask advanced rates from Friday, but the millers d 4 not willingly comply, and the few transactions are at the full prices of that day. Fine heavy barley was in better demand. Beans and oats more inquired for. BRISTOL—DEc. 17. Our market this morning was fairly attended,"and the 'business doing in wheat was fair, at is advance. Oats awl other articles wicbanged. SHEFFIELD-DEC. 17. At this market there was a tolerably fair supply of wheat, which met a dull demand ; and prices were at late quotations, but tending downwards. Oats is per qr lower. Flour and other articles without change. Red wheat, per lead of 3 imperial bushels...lBs Od to 25s Od White ft ft ...238 6d to 26s Od New red , , ...17s Od to 26s Od New white ~ ft ...20s Od to 246 6d Beans ft ,I ... 18s Od to 19s Od Peas, per qr. 548 Od to 55s Od Grinding barley, per qr 338 Od to 35s Od Malting ditto, „ 37s Od to 40s Oa Oats 1) 2ss 6d to 34s Od Millers' prices for flour-2s 2d, 2s 4d, and 2s 6d per 141 b. MELTON MOWBRAY—DEc. 17. There was a limited show of wheat to-day, and, with a steady trade, prices same as last Tuesday. Barley was in small show, and trade healthy. Prices—white wheat, 59a Od to 64s Od ; red, 54s Od to 60s per 36 stone; beans firm, at 48s to 50s for old ; new sorts, 42s per 38 st. ; barley, 36s to 41s for malting, and 30s to 32s per qr. for grinding; oats, 24s to 27s Od per 24 stone. NORWICH CATTLE. The show of store cattle to-day was tolerably good, consisting of Scots, shorthorns, and Irish. A small at tendance of buyers, but a fair trade, and at the close few remained unsold. Scots, 4s Od to 4s 6d ; shorthorns, 4s to 4s 6d i Irish, 3s 6d to 4s Od ; Devons, 4s to 4s 6d (estimated weight whon fat). Fat beasts a small show and sales firm, at 8s Od to 8s 6d per 141 b. Sheep—There was a good supply of sheep in the pens and a fair sale, Fat sheep, 8s Od to 9s 6d per stone; prime, 9s 6d,, and all sold. Pigs—A fair supply. Store pigs, 22s to 25s ; fat pork, 8s Od to 8s Gd per stone. FOREIGN MAIL PACKET LIST. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton. Dec. 19. via Marseilles Jan. 12. Brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. Jan. 4. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena Jan. 1. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Seuthampton Dec. 19. via Marseilles Dec. 27. Falkland Islands .... Jan. 4. Gibraltar, via Southampton Dec. 19. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton Dec. 19. via Marseilles Dec. 27. India (Bombay), via Southampton Dec. 26. via Marseilles Dec. 20. Lisbon Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Dec. 19. _ via Marseilles Dec. 20. Newfoundland .. Dec. 25. Oporto and Vigo U. S. and British N. Amorica, by Brit. packet Dec. 25. by U.S. packet by Canadian packet Dec. 18. W.C. 10 . .C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe .. Jan. ec Bahamas, via New York Jan. 16. Mexico ... ....Dec. 3 0, Allc a li parts for n o i f a `Vest ,andß Indies,ritish Columbia . including .D. 3 Chili, BIRTHS. BROWN.—On the 14th inst., at 3. Leighton Villas, Tuffnel. p rk W. ; the wife of Charles Wm. Brown, Esq., Mitre court chambers, Temple, of a daughter. INeLts.—On the 11th inst., at Hallfield, Wetherby, the wife of Major Inglis, late sth Dragoon Guards, of a daughter. WORTLEY.—On the 15th inst., at Worsboro' Hall, Barns ley, the Hon, Mrs. Francis Stuart Wortley, of a daugh ter. MARRIAGES. BIIRTON—DALLAS.—On the 16th inst., at St. George's, Hanover-square, Sir Charles Burton, Bart., of Pollarton, co. Carlow, to Georgiana Mary, only daughter of the late David Haliburton Dallas, Esq. SPI CRERNELL—EASTMAN.—On the 17th inst., at South-. sea, George E. Spickernell, Esq., Head Master of East man's Naval Establishment, to Sarah, widow of the late Thomas Eastman, Esq , R.N. DEATHS. BARITAnn.—On the 13th inst., suddenly, Edward Barnard, Esq., one of her Majesty's Agents-General for Crown Coroities, aged 76. - BraniT.—On the 13th inst., Joseph Blunt, Esq., Austin friars, aged 61. BASHFORD.—On the 14th inst., Mr. John Baahford, of St. George's-road, Newington, aged 68. FOSTER.—On the 14th inst., the Rev. William Henry Foster, rector of Loughgilly, county of Armagh, aged 66. FOULKES.—On the 16th inst., John Foulkes, Esq., Ash field, Wrexham, aged 60. HALL —On the 16th inst.. at Beech House, the Rev. W. J. Hall, M.A., vicar of Tottenham, aged 68. WOODS —On the 16th inst., at 13, Trinidad-place, Liver. pool-road, Mrs. P. Woods, aged 72. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TIIE Sim Office, No. 112,Strane . in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the County of Middlesex, Wednesday, December 18, 1861. 1