The Sun. — London, England, 1863-08-26 00:00:00

THE. POLISH INSURRECTION. (From the . Special Correspondent of the Times.) NEAR CRACOW, Aug. 16. Prince Gortschakoff's account of th.e circumstances under which Archbishop Felinski was arrested is ono of the most ingenious pieces of misrepresenta tion that Russian diplomacy has put forth for some time past. Several notoriously true statements seem to ha,'re been purposely introduced into the document in order to give it a colour of veracity ; and the false ones which it contains in abundance are so well put together, and are made with such an air of candovr, that the whale is admirably calcu lated to deceive persons not well acquainted with the facts of the case. According to Prince Gods chakbff the Archbishop was arrested for playing the p.irt of a political agitator, and in particular for having written a letter to the Emperor, in which, as your readers may remember, he urged his Majesty in the strongest terms to unite theltasso-Polish pro vince to the Kingdom of Poland and govern this ne w Polish State as constitutional King. Prince Gortschakoff would have the world believe that the Archbishop was punished for this terrible crime s imply by being confined, with all the respect due to his position, in the Imperial Palace of Gatchina, not far from St. Petersburg. But the truth is that Felinski is detained at Jaroslaw, in the interior of Rzssia, having been sent there, not for presuming to oiler advice to the Emperor (in a letter published without the writer's knowledge or consent), but for protesting indignantly against the illegal, and in all respects unjustifiable, execution of the priest lionarski. Readers of Prince Gortschakoff's clever fictions 'would perhaps like to know how it has really hap pened that an ecclesiastic who was named only two years ago to the Archbishopric of Warsaw for his supposed devotion to the Imperial Government should now find himself in the same position that the patriotic bishops Rzownski and Soltyk occu pied when a few years before the first partition they were taken from their places in the Diet, and for their determined opposition to the interference of Russia in the affairs of Poland sent into exile. It will not have been forgotten that when Arch bishop Rjelkowski died in the autumn of 1861 the churches of Warsaw remained closed in consequence of the outrages committed in one of them on the occasion of the Kosciusko anniversary. The great question at St. Petersburg was how to get them opened, and it was resolved in nominating a new archbishop to choose a man who would be able to arrange the matter to the satisfaction of the Govern ment. It was not astonishing that M. Felinski should have been selected for the work, for it was known that in his youth he had been a refugee and a red republican, and that when the aristocratic and de mocratic parties of the Polish emigration were per forming their political farces in Paris, he was named by the latter one of tho three dictators to whom the Government of the future Poland of the democracy was to be intrusted. A Polish red republican exile, who had suddenly resolved to become a Roman Catholic priest, and had come to Russia to prepare himself for holy orders, was, indeed, not likely, whatever his other merits, to be a man of strong character. It was at the Roman Catholic seminary of St. Petersburg, under the direction of Archbishop Ho lowinski, of Mohilew, that the ex-revolutionist com pleted his theological studies. The Government, with a keen eye for human weakness, saw that he was a man peculiarly amenable to persuasion, and in fact persuaded him first to become Archbishop of War saw, and secondly, or perhaps simultaneously, to open the Warsaw churches and write a pastoral letter forbidding patriotic manifestations, and espe cially the singing of the national hymn i❑ places of . . worship_ The pastoral letter was written, shown to the Emperor and sanctioned ; but the Arclbishop, weak though he might be, had not sold himself to Russia; and when he arrived in Warsaw, and saw for himself what was going on, he became touched by the enthusiasm of his countrymen, and refused to issue an epistle which he felt would not only be. unavailing, but would jar upon the feelings of the whole land. But nothing—except the organisation of the Na tional Governmtnt—ean be kept secret in Warsaw, and the Archbishop's pastoral was stolen from him and sent for publication to the Czas of Cracow, where in due time it appeared. Its contents excited general indignation, and Archbishop Felinski. was from that time until quite lately regarded as the enemy of his country, and as a mere ecclesiastical agent in the hands of Russia. He had really be come a convert to the doctrines of the Marquis Wielopolski, and the Grand Duke, the Marquis, and the Archbishop were supposed to form a most har monious trio. Felineki's destiny may be said to have been fulfilled. He was now member of a triple dictatorship, the only remarkable difference between the dream of his youth and its realisation was that instead of becoming the Minister of revolution he had become the servant of despotism. All went well between the members of the trio, and ill between the trio and the• people of Poland until the insurrection broke out. But in the month of March Archbishop Felinski, shocked at the atrocities committed by the Russians, and con vinced that his countrymen would not yield, and that the land would be devastated if the struggle continued, wrote to the Emperor to entreat him to pacify the country by the only means possible short of declaring Poland an independent State. He begged his Mejesty to unite the Polish provinces to the kingdom of Poland, to grant this new Poland a con stitution, and to let a common dynasty be the only political tie between Poland and the Russian Empire. This letter shared the fate of the pastoral in so far that it was stolen, sent to the newspapers and published, either immediately after or at the same time, or, acrording to Prince Gortschakoff, even before it was placed in the hands of the Emperor. No one can think that it was right to print such a letter; and I heard personal friends of the Archbishop complain bitterly of the indis cretion as soon as it was known to have been com mitted. This time, however, the prelate lost no Popularity by having his secrets betrayed. On the contrary every one said that Felinski's Polish nature bad spoken out at last, and that what he had pre letter °lady done must be forgiven for the sake of his to the Emperor. That Archbishop Felinski ultimo" had _ _communicated it to the press is untrue, and not Prince Gortschakoff known this to be the case he would not have waited three months to bring the a ln the c , cusati on against him. zn d o n t while, however, the Archbishop had in th e e c eniert 4 c ; ways. He had resigned his seat .State, he had refused to forbid a religious p r I already ee h fi ne : t c : and finally, after he had been he protested, as it w an own residence at Warsaw judicial assassi eetion r f duty to do, against the Thin Abbe Konarski. matter has apparently escaped Prince Gortselmakeat It is such a trifling t hi ng to 8 . memory altogether. ota cave executed a priest in holy orders, whose R pti having given religious Cons ol : t r en ee consisted in and dying. It is true th e to the wounded oil Government a ccused the Abbe Konarski n ot auan i ns urrection (which as a combatan 'l ttl °lj°inin g pr the but also of getting intox i cated. if e tz theoined), in th© Russian emp ire who g o t intoxicated ere t° ests be banged , g ibbets would be as plentif u l w in the co untry district s of Russia Pro p er as sianpoms i n England ; but whether drunkenness h ug t to be tt regarded as en offence worthy of death or not •iK ono which could never have been proved ag a i nst the Abbe Konarski, who is known to be a man of perfectly sober habits. As to the punishment inflicted on the Archbishop of Warsaw Prince Gortechakoff cannot but admit to himself that he has been guilty of a subterfuge un worthy of most persons in pretending that the Palace of Gatchina was the final place of retirement ft signed to him, when he knew that it was only the temporary one. Archbishop Felinski was detained long enough at Gatchina to give the Prince en op portunity of-telling all Europe that he was there, and to enable him: to explain afterwards, it any ex- planation should be found necessary, that ho was there when his letter was written, or at least at the date which the letter bears. A 1 this is worse than the system of Nicholas, who never would have allowed one of his ministers to pretemd that a political offender actually in Siberia was staying in the Winter Palace—though many of Nicholas's victims did enter the Winter Palace to be examined by the Emperor himself, before being sent forth on their sorrowful journey. Ever since the commencement of the Polish insurrection, the Government of Alexander 11. has Shown itself more ferocious, and at the same time infinitely weaker and more perfidious than that of his predecessor. , Nicholas was very frank on the subject of Poland. " Je la roulerai!" he exclaimed with savage r age when he heard that the country was in aims ap A in s t him. He denied the right of foreign Pov tors t o interfere in Polish affairs, and, to save trouble, said plainly that he would not accept their advice. Count Nesselrode states in one of his despatches of the year 1831, that it would be better for the Em peror to gice up the kingdom of Poland to no matter what Power than be obliged to govern it with a constitution of which advantage had been and would again be taken to undermine his autho rity. The parchment constitution was then put into a box, and sent in a cart to Moscow, where it is still kept in a museum of antiquities. The pre sent Russian Government, however, pretends to recognise the right of the Powers that signed the treaty of Vienna to " exchange ideas" with Russia on the basis of that treaty ; but it will no more accept their recommendations in conformity with its stipulations than Nicholas did. Nicholas, when he granted an amnesty to the insurgents of the kingdom of Poland, observed it, but the amnesty granted to the Poles lust May was not observed for an hour. Some few who accepted it were let off with commuted punishments, but scarcely anyone asked for pardon, and of those who did ask none obtained it. Finally, Nicholas had too great a horror of socialism and of anarchy of all kinds, and too much confidence in his own military power, to think of putting down the Polish insurrection by arming the peasantry against the proprietors, and inciting them to pillage and murder. The present Government of Russia has acted more basely kES wail as more cruelly than that of Nicholas, while as re gards mendacity, it can be backed against any Government that ever existed. Fatal Accident to an Areonaut. A grand fete was held on Monday last in the park of Mr. ' North at Basford,near Nottingham. Among the otheramuse ments it was announced that Mr. Coxwell would ascend in his balloon at 6 o'clock in the evening. However. for reasons which will soon appear, his place was supplied by Mr. Chambers, who had previously made many ascents. The balloon was almost new, but of not very large dimens'ons. After it had been fully inflated Mr. Coxwell tried it, and found there would be some difficulty in his ascending by it. Just at this time Mr. Chambers stepped forward and offered to go up in the balloon. Mr. Coxwell was in a perplexity, and feared the balloon would not carry his weight. Cham bers said he was lighter than Mr. 0 xwell, and wished to make the ascent. After some conversation it was agreed that Chambers should go up, but Mr. Coxwell told him not to attempt an ascent unless he felt quite confident he could manage the balloon. Chambers replied that he had no fear about managing it, and accordingly he was allowed to make the ascent. The balloon rose steadily, and was carried somewhat rapidly in a north-easterly direction towards Nottingham. It proceeded as far as Arnold Vale, when it was seen suddenly to collapse while still at a considerable altitude, and then to fall quickly in an unehapely mass. Some young men who were near the spot where the balloon fell hastened to render assistance. The balloon heaved and fell as it descended, completely covering the car, and ulti mately both dropped in a field near Scout-lane, three miles from Nottingham. The car struck the ground and re bounded several feet, end then fell again, when it was caught hold of by the young men and stopped. At the bottom of the car lay stretched the body of the unfortunate amateur aeronaut. He was lifted out and found to be just breathing, tut quite insensible, having his handkerchief in h's mouth. He was conveyed to the nearest dwelling, and all means adopted to restore animation, but without effect. Drs. Robertson and Maltby afterwards saw him, and it was discovered that his left thigh was fractured, and some of his ribs on the left side were broken, but they considered it very probable that the unfortunate man had died through suffocation, as the handkerchief which was found in his mouth had been evidently placed there by himself when he found himself in danger of being stifled by the gas from the collapsing balloon. Chambers was a married man, 36 years old, and leaves a family. His father was an aeronaut. As soon as the fate of Chambers was known, the music and amusements at the fob wero sotpped, and the visitors gradually dispersed, An inquest was held yesterday afternoon (Tuesday). John Mayfield said, about 20 minutes to six ceeleek on Monday night he saw the ballono going over Scout-lane, Arnold. It was going along very steadily, when suddenly it was driven into a cloud. Witness and his companions ran down a hill and saw the balloon again, when it was descending rapidly. The balloon flopped about as if there was an escape of gas. It then came down to the ground. Witness did not see ary one in the car. After it had fallen it rebounded about two yards. He went close to it and found the balloon nearly empty of gas. He looked in the car and found the deceased, who gasped three times and then died. He saw a white poeket-handerchief in his mouth. There was one sandbag in the car, It did not rain until after the balloon had fallen. William Turton said he was with the last witness when the balloon fell. He saw no ono in the car, and thought it was empty. All the gas appeared to be escaping from the balloon, and it went in all forms, When the car reached the ground deceased was found in it, gasping for breath. He died in a few seconds. There were no grappling-irons in the car. There had been no rain upon the deceased or the balloon. His clothes were perfectly dry. Sergeant Blasdall, of the Netts police-force, said he saw the balloon descending with rapidity. He went up to it and found the two last witnesses rulking the hands, chest, and feet of the deceased. Witness afterwards took posses sion of the balloon and car. He examined the balloon, but could find no rent in it. Two of the sprints of the valve were disattached, and the rim was broken in three places. Mr. Coburn, superintendent of the Midland Institution for the Blind, Nottingham, said the deceased had been engaged in that establishment as a teacher of weaving and basket -making. He was about 37 years of age. He was a married man, and he d left a widow and five children. He was exceedingly temperate in his habits. Deceased was the son of Chambm.s, the veteran aeronaut. Mr. Henry Coxwell, of Tottenham, Middlesex, said he was an aeronaut. He had accepted an engagement to go up in a balloon at the Basford fete. He brought his own bal. loon and all its appendages. This was a new balloon, and he had not made any ascents in it himself. He began to fill the balloon on Sunday evening about 8 o'clock, and finiehed at half-pasta on Monday evening. He intended to go up himself, and got into the car several times, but the balloon would riot lift him from the ground without any bal last. After he had tried it a third time deceased entered the circle and spoke to him. Witness had known deceased and his father for 16 years, 'Witness said "I am in con. siderable difficulty. The gas is heavy and unsuited for balloon purposes, and I find that it will not raise me." He replied " I am a lighter man than yourself ; perhaps it will just take me." Witness said "I know you have had some experience. If it will raise you with one bag of sand, and you can manage the balloon, I will accept your offer." He seemed pleased with the opportunity of making the ascent. He then got into the car of his own accord, and witness found that it would just raise him. Witness again asked him if he had full confidence to manage the balloon. He replied, " Yes." Witness then cautioned him not to go either high or far, and to go about a mile. Witness ob served that, although although the balloon was ri s i ng steadily,deceased immediately b e gan to empty some ball ast out. This was ta unnecessary, and contrary to witness's instructions. He shouted to the deceased not to do so. Ho looked anxiously eepecting to see the rising power of the balloon checked. This could easily have been done by opening the valve a li tt l e wards. Deceased got into the car entire y o own way. It had then moved horizontally and l f sl h ow ts re slowly dow f n e will, and without any persuasion on the part of witness. - between them There was no agreement of money payment I before from Cremorne-gardens and other places. o had whatever. Witness knew that he had ascended many times I never ascended with him. His father had. Witness saw the balloon descending rapidly into a dark cloud, and he then sent a man after him in a cart to render assistance. About an hour afterwards he heard of the accident. As a scientific man, witness believed he could say how the acci dent occurred. After deceased had entered the heavy cloud the balloon broke into sunshine or a clear atmosphere, and the gas expanded very rapidly, streaming out of the neck or satety. valve, which is always left open. By being found with the handkerchief in his mouth it is evident that he inhaled t h e gas, which might have been prevented by open ' the upper valve a very short distance. Witness sup- Posed_ that deceased became insensible from the gat, pre viim4Y,,clne)iittl_i; the valve-line round hie wrist an vio wrist it kept the bottom t Qf ": l 7 , : ea he valve. In all probability he fell to the balloon naturally 0:1, ear, and as' the valve cord was round his e Open to its full d the cord becam e gas escaped, Mid the r en a r ti l a imensions. As the greater by losing the gas the strain on been gas could notee:eel-r greater, until nearly all the have net been fast to his wrist the efofscnapecl from the balloon, no tear or fractur having The proceedings Were not over ndin sratched. w hen our parcel was de . A horrible series of crimes w a nights since, at Lloras (Drome), fa s rr ;c7 r altted. three Grtrd n, with ber eldest and youngest s:n r 3 8 wici° 7 , lane farm house, were all murdered and the ' pr r •e stll3 V ll a fire. The state of the bodies left no doubt as to t a h l e 'sc l i -') ,: °4 The second sc,n, who is supposad to be 2 11 ,y.. u -7 erer and in ceneliaiv, Lae, Lee 21k(..1A, , THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 26, 1863. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. HOME CIRCUIT.—CROYDON, Aug. 25. ¶Beforo Baron Bramwell and a Special Jury.) - WOOLLEY V. POOLE. - EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL. This was an action to recover £4,000 from the San Fire Office upon a policy of insurance against fire effected in that office. The defendants pleaded several pleas, but only two of them were material, and they involved a question ofvery considerable importance, as by one of them th alleged to have made a fraudulent claim in respect of was the property that was represented to have been destroyed, plaintiffestr caused wilfully the fire that was the subject of the inquiry. Mr. Bovill, Q.C., Sergeant Ballantine, Mr. Merewether, Mr. H. James (these gentlemen being specially retained), and Mr. Rosher were counsel for the plaintiff. Mr. Lush, Q.C., the Hon. G. Denman, Q.C., and Mr. Garth were counsel for the defendant. Thecause actre:ttaekda i a e n eo t d ba de i a aq l u o i f r3, , interest, uhich on is account altogethero of the amount and also on account of th e pl eas w hi ch the defendants felt themselves justified in pl ac i ng upon the nearly b £30,000,ad re cord. As the case was expected to last several days, the gentle men who had been summoned to serve on the special jury were very anxious to be excused from being sworn upon the jury, and Baron Bramwell excused some of them, and even tually the learned counsel on both sides agreed that the case should be tiled by ten jurymen only. A very well executed model of the premises was placed upon the counsels' table, to enable the jury to understand the points in the case. Mr. Bovill, in opening the case to the jury, said that they were about to enter into an inquiry of a very long and trou blesome description, but when they reflected upon the very serious character of the imputations that were cast upon the character of the plaintiff, he was sure they would not con sider any amount of time ill bestowed on such an investi gation. The object of the present action was to recover the sum of £4,000 upon a policy of insurance against fire effected by the plaintiff, and when they considered the nature of the issues that were raised by the company, they would see that it was impossible for the plaintiff to remain under such imputations for a single moment longer than was abso lutely necessary, and these had, therefore, been sent down for trial at these assizes. Tho plaintiff had resided for a great many years at Camden House, Kensington, which was represented by the model that was on the table, and those gentlemen of the jury who looked at the model, and who bad seen the extent of the ruins, would be able to form a very good idea of the character of the buildings. As he had before stated the plaintiff had resided at Camden House since the year 1847, and down to the morning of Sunday the 23d March, 1562, on which day the whole of the premises,with the exception of some of the outbuildings, and everything it contained, was entirely consumed by fire. It the question to be decided merely had been in reference to the insurance for £4,000, it would not have occupied an hour in being disposed of, but he was bound to tell them that besides this policy of £l,OOO upon which the present action was brought, other insurances had been effected that altogether amounted to £29,000. The sum might appear to be a large one, but he believed he should be able to satisfy them that, large as it was, it would be utterly insufficient to restore the building and its contents to its former posi tion. The learned counsel then went on to explain that the policy for£l,ooo now sought to bo claimed upon was effected on the 16th August, 1855, in the Sun ; in 1859 another in surance was effected in the same office for £6,000, and ano ther policy for £2,000 was effected in the Hand-in-Hand, making the total sum for which the building alone was in sured £12,000. Another policy was effected subsequently upon the fixtures and fittings, in the Sun for £4,000, and in the Hand-in-Hand for £3,00. A policy for £5,0u0 was also effected with the Sun upon household goods, china, glass, &c., and also a policy for £5,000 with the Atlas upon pic tures ; so that the whole sum that was undoubtedly in volved in the inquiry was nearly £30,000. He had informed them that the fire took place in March, 1862, and the whole of the building and its contents were entirely destroyed,and in due course the usual application was made to the insu rance offices with which policies had been effected. The first dispute that would seem to have arisen between the parties was with regard to the , policy upon the furniture, and an action having reference to that subject was set down for trial in London; but, owing to the pressure of business in the courts of law there, it was found that it could not be tried, and it was therefore arranged that the present. action should be first disposed of, as Mr. Woolley was determined not to rest under the imputations that were cast upon him a single moment longer than was absolutely necessary. The defendants, as they had heard, had placed several pleas upon the record, but it was impossible not to see that the real ground of defence was, that the plaintiff had caused the de struction of the building and the property contained in it by his own wilful act. The amount for which the building was insured was £12,000, and to any one at all acquainted with the nature of building operations, he said that with reference to that part of the case it was obvious that this sum would be totally insufficient to rebuild such extensive premises, and, indeed, he did not believe that any dispute occurred between the surveyors of the plaintiff and those appointed by the company upon the point, but, on the contrary, he be lieved that the surveyors had arranged plans for the re erection of the house at the time the transactions occurred that bad led to this action being brought. It appeared that the first subject of discussion was as to the contents of the mansion and the value of those contents, and the companies insisted upon having the most minute information in refer ence to this subject. Some delay was occasioned in giving this information from the fact that Mr. Woolley, who nar rowly escaped with his life at the time the fire broke out, was ill, and consequently unable to give the necessary infor mation ; and when the information was completed, the jury would be able to form some idea as to the extent of the pro perty by the fact that i he inventory filled a volume of consi derable size, and it contained 1,000 items. The learned counsel went on to say that while these discussions were going on upon the subject of the furniture, it appeared that some rumours had got afloat about the fire, and these rumours at last got to the ears of the insurance companies, and they, and other persons, some of whom he believed thought it was impossible for any fire to be accidental, at once jumped to the conclusion that this fire at Camden House was caused wilfully. The result of this was that the plaintiff was required to give a full account with regard to the furni ture and where it was bought, and what price was givenfor it, He was unable to give complete answers to these inquiries, for the reason that a great deal cf the furniture consisted of old and rare articles, a great many of which had been pur chased abroad, and at every place where old and valuable curiosities could be obtained. The plaintiff, however, did give them all the information in his power—he allowed them to examine his servants, nothing was concealed; and after all this the insurance companies turned round upon the plaintiff, and said that the whole transaction was a fraud on his part, and that he had wilfully destroyed the property; and upon these grounds they came forward and defended the present action. It was impossible to conceive a more seri ous charge than this could be made against any man, and it was one for which only a few years ago his life might have been forfeited; and this being the case the jury could easily conceive what the feelings of Mr. Woolley must be at having such a charge made against him, and could under stand his determination to have the matter fully investie gated at the earliest possible moment. If there had really been any foundation for such a serious charge against the plaintiff, it would have been their duty, as it appeared to him, to have had the matter investigated by a a magistrate, but they had not done so, and down to the present moment the plaintiff was utterly ignorant of the grounds upon which the Sun Fire Insurance Office and the other com panies, who were, no doubt, all acting in concert, felt them selves justified in bringing forward this serious charge. The plaintiff (Mr. Woolley) would be called before them. He was told that he was to be cross-examined upon every incident of his life ; but ho would be placed in the box, and would fearlessly face a cross-examination with which he was threatened. He had not at this moment the slightest notion what the circumstances were upon which the charge that was made against him was founded. They did know that the defendants had made inquiries in every direction, and one of those inquiries he believed was, whether Mr. Woolley was in the habit of sleeping in a nightshirt, escapingghtsh ir. (A. laugh.) He believ e d th at i n t h e hurryfrom the fire, Mr. Woolley did put on far as a he could shirt,aaaldl d ea a ra n ,ap th art is was which one th of the charge aharg t e he points, of aranwa so s fi r o et u b l e fco treet htaslightest to bo supp orte d ; but if this should prove to be the case, it wd only show w ha o t nh m in i s serable expedients the defend an t s were compelled t o resort to. He would observe at this point o f he e h e t 10 months were m,as givensuff suffered o e d f atnoyela suspicionpse afterb e i t n h g e entertained that the fire was other than accidental, and it was not until the plaintiff had expressed a determination to enforce the policies that he was met by the charge that he had wilfully caused the destruction of the property. The learned counsel then proceeded to inform the jury that Camden House, the place in question, as they were proba bly aware, was a very old mansion, built more than two centuries ago. It was formerly occupied by Lord Camden. The Merry Monarch had held some of his revels there, and it had also on several other occasions had the honour of en tertaining royalty. The plaintiff after ha became possessed of it took a pride in fining it up in the most splendid and magnificent manner. There was a theatre attach e d t o t h e truildit,er, which was at:Air:Med to the purposes of amateur and he might state that th e xrforznances and concerts, ' whole of the proceeds were devoted to charitable purposes, and that between £3,000 and £4,000 had been expended in this manner. The place was so beautifully fitted up, and contained so many rare, e::traordinary articles of sit and verbs, that it eras considers .1 a must interesting exhibition, anti it was vif , itol by prr: ots of the highest rank and sta tion, many of whom \ e.re induced to take drawings of sou se of the more remarkable portions of it. (The learned counsel here exhibited to the ju r y a num b er of the drawings to which , he referred.) He then said the jury would be enabled to judge from these drawings what the character of the build ing and its decorations really were, and they would at the same time be able to form their own conclusions as to whether the amount for which the property was insured was an unrea. - ,ond,h; or an extravagant one. The fact was that it was Mr. Woelley's hobby, or, if they liked to term i t sr), his folly, to decorate this place in the most extrava gant and goreessus manner, and his brother-in-law. Captain Cope, and his sister seemed also actuated by the same views. He might mention, as an in stance of the lengths to which Mr. Woolley went to gratify his feelings in this respect, that upon one occasion being de sirous to purchase some rare carving work that was in an old farmhouse in Essex, finding that the owner would not bandt waiterseeWoolley n wast out e a ns a servants a r allow it to be rem ove d , h e actually bought the estate in order that he might obt a i n possession of it, and having done so it was u taken v v v n e a d r n y t P a extraordinarylpersonsalcvplaced o living a w m e roein in the g dressed t he h e man. s e anede o t neighbourhood h e p b A r oi l curiositiesnuthr silver o g ea h r who andhinoCamden House. I n f act he was justified in saying that Mr. pos sessed of consid era bl e wealth he kept no horses or carriages, blue e livery f o a n r t great he p a occasions rpasa. In wfaeer henotspent his ent own he ra an servants, ey t l he could get in beautifying and decorating Camden House in the wily ho had stated, and he had borrowed a large sum of money of his brother and sister-in-law upon mortgage of the property, the whole of which was devoted to the pur poses he had alluded to. The learned counsel then pro ceeded to state that it appeared that in November, 1861, Mr. Woolley took a house at Brighton, and he believed an attempt would be made to show that he had removed a por tion of the property from Camden House to Brighton ; but he should be able to prove to them by the most satisfactory evidence that there was not the slightest foundation for this suggestion. With regard to the supposition that the property had been destroyed wilfully, he should be in a position to prove that, although the amount of the insurance which was effected was certainly very considerable, still that in point of fact, if the whole sum were paid, the plaintiff would in reality obtain little er no benefit, for the £12,000 for which the building was insured would not cover the expense of its re erection, and nearly the whole of the remainder would go to the mortgagees. He might also state that the surveyors of the fire office had had the fullest opportunity for looking over the property and ascertaining its terrine, and that they took pretty good care of their own interest in the matter by declining to take the risk except upon a double and hazard ous premium, which was 4s 6d per cent., and the amount of the annual premium was £l3O. Mr. Bovill next pro ceeded to state that the plaintiff had at one period occupied Tunbridge Castle, and during his absence his wife was un fortunately drowned. It was supposed that she was feed ing the swans, and that she fell into the water; but it was never known how the accident actually happened. To show, however, the course that had been taken with regard to the plaintiff, and the unfounded assertions that were made re • spccting him, he might state that "they" had actually circulated a report, founded upon the fact to which he had alluded, that Mr. Woolley had murdered his wife. Mr. Lush said he did not know who his learned friend meant by " they ;" but on the part of the defendants ho most positively denied that thy were any parties to such a suggestion. Mr. Bovill said that the statement had come round to them, and the plaintiff was well aware of the source from which it emanated. He then proceeded to give a detail of the circumstances under which the fire occurred. The per sons in the house at the time were Mr. Woolley, his butler Crozier, and a man named Temple and his wife and son. Mr. Woolley slept in one portion of the house, and his butler occupied a room not far from it. He was awoke by some noise, and upon his opening his bedroom door he found the house was in flames. He awoke his butler, and he at first attempted to give an alarm to the man Temple and his family, but the fire prevented him from doing so, and ho and Crozier were compelled to make their escape by a back staircase. They then proceeded to give the alarm to the other inmates of the house, and Mrs. Temple in her fright jumped out of the window and was seriously injured, and her husband and son got out of the burning mansion by means of the fire-escape. Mr. Woolley had nothing on at this time but his shirt, and he was removed to a neigh bouring house, and in consequence of his exposure to the cold and wet—for it was raining at the time the fire hap pened—Le was rend ere d ser i ous l y ill, and this to a certain extent prevented hi m f rom g i v i ng t h e information that was required by th e i nsurance compan i es so quickly as they wished it. Baron Bram we ll as k ed the learne d cou nsel whether he in tended to give the jury any i n f orm ation with regard to the origin of the fi re . Mr. Bevil! said they had no information whatever upon the subject; all they knew was, that no one was in the hoase but the persons he had mentioned ; but the mae Temple had stated that on the evening previous to the fire he had been engaged in frying sausages, in what was called the green-room of the theatre, for his supper, and this might account for the fire, as the flue of the chimney of that room communicated with a beam that had been found to be on fire on a previous occasion. In these old houses, however, it was very difficult to tell how a fire happened, and he was not in a position to give the jury any further information as to how the fire in question originated. He added that the whole family were exami ne d , everybody a b ou t the premises was subjected to a s earc hi ng inquiry b y pe rsons connected with the insurance comp an i es, and ne submitted , therefore, th at if there had really b een any groun d f or s upposing that Mr. Woolley had bee n gu il ty of the ser i ous crime imputed to him, the course they sh ou ld h ave a dopted would have been ti have given him into custody, and have had the matter fully investigated by a magistrate. They had not ventured to do this, and it was clear, in his opinion, that having got hold by some means or other of the knowleage of some cir cumstances which in their o pinion amounted to something like suspicion, they had resolved upon defending the present action, in the hope that they might induce the jury to give them a verdict. The learned counsel then proceeded to nar rate some of the other circumstances he proposed to give in evidence, and concluded a most clear and able speech by observing that the only issue the jury had to decide was, whether the plaintiff, without the slightest motive, had wil fully destroyed that property which it appeared to have been the sole object of his life to obtain possession of. The following evidence was then adduced : Miss Anne Barker said—l am the sister of the late Sir G. Barker, and I am acquainted with the plaintiff, an d be ocfamlB9s6B°. were living with Mr. W oo ll ey. I drawings elf of portions of Camd en H ouse s h i\ o i l s t a l y c a o f p t after t t h h e e d a e i a s t t r i t h h . s a w fi r o s th wife,e plaintiff,in the w n a t tl e d r for charitable pu r p oses, an d I hermy self aadd b hh r ee o ea t nr h d e t r at , kh Capt. taken p sao t n; nd C e s o a p l e d , made some drawings which were sold for the same pur pose. Some of the draw in g s t hat were produced were made by me, and some by La d y Belc her. Very little furniture appears in my drawing", and my reason s f or l eav i ng out the furniture from them was that rh o drawing would have ap peared contused it the fur nit u r e had been introduced ; for the same reason I left out chandeliers and vases in some of the drawings. I was well acquainted with the house, and it was so extremely beautiful that it was a pleasure to go over it. There was a large quantity of statues, pictures, and beautiful carving and gilding all over the house. There were also a number of old pictures, and a great many were in panels in the drawing-room and library. The furniture was very rich, and all in character with the decorations of the house. There was a great deal of very rare and valu able embroidery in some of the rooms, and the carpets were also of a most valuable description. There was a theatre at tue back of the house. I played there a great many times. The performances were amateur ones, and got up for the purposes of charity. The first I played at was got up by Lord Raynham. Upon one occasion £B9 was received, which was devoted to charitable purposes, the proceeds of one per formance being given to the Warehousemen and Clerks' School. The?e was plenty of scenery for the purposes of an amateur theatre. Mr. Woolley took very great interest in his house. I never saw any one take so much interest in an establishment. It was all the amusement he appeared to ilistsheCodpiffeerent rooms. There was no were constantly engaged in h making ave, anti he alterations h e and 1\ n alteration in the furniture or anything else at the time the fire happened . at lam quits sure none of th e fu rn it u r e th a t was Woolley's house at Brighton had been brought from Camden House. There were two very large looking glasses in the ball-room and the drawing-room. There was a profusion of valuable looking-glasses all over the house. I last saw Camden House in November, and at that time I did not miss anything. Cross-examined—lf the large glass in the drawing. room had been removed it would have been missed immediately. I first went to Camden House about three or four years ago. Everybody who went there was always shown all over the house, at least over all the show rooms. I was introduced to Mr. Woolley by Mrs. Milner Gibson. In the year 1861 I was constantly at Camden House. A great many of the pictures were portraits. They ccnsisted of portraits of saints, Madonnas, and Holy Families. I should think there were three hundred pictures altogether. I think that the chandeliers in the drawing-room were intended for candles. I have seen so many as 500 persons present at some of the parties that were given at Camden House. The guests had supper, wine, and the usual refreshment. The season at Camden House lasted so long as the London season ; but it was no use to give parties when there was no one to go to them. I was aware that Mr. Woolley was in town at the time the fire happened, but I did not see him at Camden House. I met him at Mr. Milner Gibson's three or four days before the fire happened, and he told me he was only going to stop in town a few days. It had been arranged that there should be an amateur performance at the time the fire took place. I knew Crozier, the butler, as ono of the servants of the family. Re-exatnined—Mr. Woolley's sight is very bad, and ho is obliged to have some one to accompany him when ho goes out after dusk. Lady Belcher said—l have been acquainted with Mr. Woolley since MS, and I knew his wife before she was married to him. I was in the habit of going to Camden House down to the period of the fire, and I concur in what was staled by Mies Barker as to the character of the furni ture and the decorations. The house was crowded with fur niture. Some of the pictures were very good, particularly the portraits, and many of them were by old Italian masters. Lady Belcher then identified some drawings of different pictures of the mansion, as copies of drawings she had her self made, and said they were quite correct. Cross-examined—Th e pictures I considered the moat valuable were those by the old masters, and there were, perhaps, about twenty of them. I heard Mr. Woolley say that he brought some of those pictures from Florence. - Sir John Burgoyne said—l am a general officer in the army and Inspector of Engineers. I have known the plaintiff, and have been on what I call terms of friendly intimacy with him for a great many years. I have been frequently to Camden House, and I agree with the two last witnesses that it was most magnificently furnished. It ap peared to be quite a mania on the part of Mr. Woolley to have everything in his house of the most recherchd cha racter. Everything was most beautiful. Cross-examined—l have been to the theatrical perform ances at Camden House upon several occasions. Count Mellor de Woelze said—l have known Mr. Wool ley 11 or 12 years, and I have stayed at Camden House on several occasions. I agree with the last witnesses as to the magnificent character of the furniture. I remember Mr. Woolley going to Brighton in November, 1861. At that tinae there was no difference in the state of the furniture. Mr. Woolley was to have breakfasted with me on the morn ing after the fire—but I received a letter from him and saw him the same morning at Dr. Hamilton's, in Grafton street, and that gentleman was attending him. He appeared to be very ill. Cross-examined— I was at Camden House three or four days before the fire. I only saw Temple the man who had charge of the house. Mr. Woolley wa. not at home. Re- exanained— Wnen I saw Mr. Woolley at Dr. Hamil ton's he appeared in a very excited state. Colonel Alexander Macdonald said—l have known Mr. Woolley eight or ten years, and I frequently used to go to Camden House formerly, but I have not done so for the last two years because I have been engaged. Everything in the house gave me an idea that they were articles of great rarity and value. There was abundance of furniture ; in fact, the house appeared crowded. One or two other witnesses were examined, who gave evidence to the same effect. The Court then adjourned. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. POST. —lf any hope could be indulged in that the dreadful crime of murder could ever come to be so abhorred in this country as to ensure thereby its rare occurrence, the faith might perhaps bs cherished by the reflection that it is very seldom found to be the deed of any save the lower and consequently unedu cated classes. We might trust that as education advanced there might at last remain scarcely any left so utterly uncivilised as not to be restrained in their ungovernable passions by the feeling of social ' responsibility, if not of religious sentiment. The crime might be expected to almost die out, and fall into the same semi-desuetude as arson or" burking." But every now and then cases arise painfully prov ing to us that the most smoothing processes of in telligence or refinement are totally inadequate to quell the natural ferocity of some savage natures, and that we are as far off from totally eradicating murder from among the higher classes as we seem to be from even diminishing it in the lower. It must be admitted that when individuals somewhat lifted above the common herd by station and intel ligence once pass the boundary of moral restraint so tar as to compass, even in thought, the taking away the life of a fellow-creature, the tide that sweeps them onwards seems to be irresistible. Our later instances of it have been appalling in the wild in tensity with which the designs, once formed, have been carried out. The fiendish hypocrisy, yet un swerving tenacity with which Palmer murdered by inches his companion, Cook, the whirlwind of savage hate which urged on Roberts to his assault upon Captain Murray; the unpityingcowartlice pervading another deed of violence which official but mistaken leniency prevents us from characterisin etas we could wish, have all something in them more horrible and appalling than the stab of a clown half drunk with spirits, anc half mad with anger, or the blow of a ruffian whose only hope of plunder is the death of his victim. But we should be careful lest we allow the amazement and curiosity with which we regard this intense development of human frailty to obliterate our abhorrence and degenerate into interest. At this moment an instance of it is ringing through the land, which for the extraordi nary contradiction of the passions engaged, the wondrous i ncons i stencies of the various feelings successively elicited, the palpable premeditation of the crime, the deceit which succeeded in concealing the intent, and the implacable ferocity with which it was finally carried out, will scarcely find any parallel even in the pages of fiction. We deprecate whilst we fear the mental obtuseness which may create these incidents, and the sympathy accorded to the crimes of fiction ; but we trust that a plain statement of them may rouse a little common sense, and exhibit them in their real abhorrent light. As far as they can be gathered from the coroner's in quest, the examination before the magistrates, and the confession of the murderer himself, they appear to be these. A Mr. Robert Victor Townley, de scribed as a handsome young man of five-and-twenty, had become the accepted suitor of a Miss Goodwin, a young lady, residing with her grandfather at Wigwell Grange, in Derbyshire. Miss Goodwin subsequently desired that the enga ,, ement should be broken off. Mr. Townley acquiesced, but desired an interview, and for this purpose repaired on 'riday last to Wigwell Grange. He arrived in the neigh bourhold in the morning, and, by questioning an acquaintance, evidently ascertained the truth of what he had before suspected, namely, that Miss Goodwin preferred another to him. lie, however, expressed himself to the acquaintance that "she had a right to please herself, and that he would not stand in her way." In the evening he proceeded to the Grange, and was admitted, and shortly after wards Miss Goodwin quitted the house with him, and strolled about the grounds. She had, however, previously told a servant to come in half an hour to say that "she was wanted." The servant did so, and found the two apparently conversing calmly enough. But as th e y re t urne d t o th e h ouse Miss Goodwin told the servant that Mr. Townley had said to her that " if she would not have him, ho would take care she should not have any one else." 'Atter remaining in the house for about an hour, Miss Goodwin saying she had promised Mr. Townley another interview, again left it, despite the remon strances of the servant, who thought it hazardous after the threat which had been irade. At about half-past eight a farm labourer returning home, alarmed by groans, proceeded in search of their cause, and found Miss Goodwin in a lane adjoin big the grounds, mortally wounded, but staggering in the direction of her home by the aid of the wall. She told the astounded labourer that " a gentleman had cut her throat," and entreated him to take her home. Whilst he was endeavouring to do so Townley came up, and to the man's natural ques tion replied—" I stabbed her; she has proved false to me." He then seemed to relapse into tenderness tor her, repeatedly kissed her, using fond expres sions, and finally assisted in carrying her up to her home, himself holding her head. The poor girl ve died on the road. She was found to hay . e . rce c, id the two mortal wounds—one in the neck d1V1 ,4 11), carotid artery, the other in the shoulder, which had extended to the spine. Her fingers as if the poor thing had endeavoured were to also cut, defend her selfr after the first attack. main tained during the whole time the murderer t he most calm and collected demeanour. He repeatedly avowed him self to have committed the crime, voluntarily gave himself up to the constable who had packet hadbeen the sent e l for, asp and himself produced out of his knife with which he had perpetrated the horrid deed. Before he went away in custody he calmly looked again on the face of his unhappy v i ctim, said he felt "all the happier now he had done it," and hoped " poor Bessie was in a better world." 11 these facts were proved in evidence before the magistrates oa Monday; and after being asked if ho had anything to say in answer to them, and hav ing replied "nothing," it is needless to say h e was duly committed for trial. This is one of the most cold-blooded and appalling murders on record. We trust its incidents will excite only abhorrence for the murderer. A letter was alluded to at the examination which, connected with the result, would seem to prove that the dreadful deed was premeditated from the very beginning.. It only adds another hateful ingredient to the rest of the vile qualities evinced in the matter. Smothering his horrid intent, the miscreant must have entirely deceived the poor girl into his acquiescence in her wishes. He must have thus secured the second interview at a later hour, and then have persuaded her to leave her own grounds, for what may have seemed to him a more fitting place. When we think that his victim was an unprotected girl, that he had loved her, and hoped to make her his wife, how he could ever have brought himself to have struck the cowardly blow, baffles all conjecture; and perhaps we shall never know: But we do know that he could stand aloof and watch her staggering along the wall-side with two mortal wounds—his deed —draining her life fest away. Had not the labourer appeared It is probable he would have allowed her to drop in the ditch and die there, unmoved. He is an object of utter abhorrence, and we trust will be regarded only in that light. We could wish that he may be painted only in his true colours—that of a pitiless brutal murderer. We would fain hope that his case might he divested of the interest and publicity which SECIU to foster only the delusions of a maudlin sentiment. We would willingly bo spared " the portrait of the victim," or 't the photograph of the murderer," together with numerous " views of Wig Deli C nr , e," which are sure to divert the per ception of the pa hlie from the true and stern appre ciation of this atrocious act. Let the murderer, gantlernan though ho he, expiate his crime as such crimes should ho atoned for. Let him remain in his cell till his hour arrives, with the sure know ledge that he is accursed among men for his in famous deed. Let him be brought forth to die the death that is only too good for him," among the execrations of such as can look upon such scenes ; but lot him not be commiserated or excused upon this earth, for he is one of the most cowardly and unpardonable murderers on record. HEP.ALD.—The last luxury of a thoroughly des potic Government has been provided for the people of the Northern States of America. President Lincoln Rai IJiS Cabinet Lave intirgurtltze, as Au auxiliary to their public means of information, a peculiar state institution, rather obsolete with us, which was perfected in the French Empire by the elder Bonaparte and the Duke of Otranto. To see the strides of the giant republic towards all attri butes of Imperial autocracy is a sight to bewilder even Mr. John Bright, and to turn him, were it possible, from his accustomed and ready disposition to trace all corruption, and wrong-doing, and ne farious political action to that incubus over English society, an aristocracy. In the brief two years since the American brothers came to open blows, we now trace, in the words of the King of the Brobdignags, a heap of conspiracies, rebellions, murders, massacres, revolutions, banishments, the very worst effects that avarice, faction, hypocrisy, perfidious ness, cruelty, madness, hatred, env, lusa malice, and ambition could produce. There is not a single crime which monarchs, oligarchies, or dictators have committed on the Old Continent, that has not found—though we are regarding but a period of twice twelve months—a parallel in the history of the New Continent since the outbreak of the American civil war. An immense debt, with a paper currency; a standing army of the most brutal character, if all that is told of it be true ; the con script law, the press-gang, and high bounties, all working at one and the same time, attend the mili tary career of the Northern half of the United States. A terrified and bridled press, place-hunting and favouritism, venality and the sale of offices, the most shameless frauds in the army and navy com missariat, elections determined at the point of the bayonet, the invitation to the helots of the soil to supplement the army, imprisonment or banishment for citizens speaking adverse opinions to the Go-. veinment—meko up a list of excesses such as the worst European chaos of empire never evoked in so brief a space of time. Death has been so busy with the army that the Cabinet has not yet invited him to aid their civic legislation. There are two pictures, however, which we would fain present from the latest intelligence respecting both the American citizens who stay at borne, and those who go out to fight their country's battles. The local journals tell us that "the substitutes for draughted men are kept in a large room " in the guard-house, on the second story, and are strongly guarded. "The guard carry Springfield muskets loaded with cartridges, in which the powder is topped by a bullet and several backshot." Was there ever a mote terse and sufficient description ? The corre spondent of the :Hartford Times is, indeed, most choice in his epithets, and takes care to point out that any attempt at " skedaddling" would be pretty sure to result in a " wounded substitute," or a dead one. These substitutes are evidently a very slippery set of recruits, and must have impressed Ole autho rities with a notion of their facile and elastic views of military enlistment, tojustify the treatment they receive when once on the books of a regiment. Whenever one of them wants to go about town on any errand he is accompanied by one—generally two—armed soldiers ! Just as if he were a convict or a criminal doomed to a soldier's career as a penalty, with incidental death in the background. When these recruits are equipped with uniforms—weapons at first of course are not put in their hands—they are quietly, we read, taken off in squads of six to twenty in the cars, and sent to the Conscript Camp at New Harlem. No wonder at the lack of disci pline, or personal carriage, or pride in appearance, so frequently reported of them, and which, amongst us old-fashioned people, all go to make up a smart soldier. The unhappy civilian left in inglorious ease behind is equally, however, the object of the unceasing attentions of his paternal Government. The spies of the State Department are übiquitous. These emissaries of Mr. Seward, writes a publi c corresponden t,even from the English side of Niagara, evidently after close experience of the wretches, are both amateur and professional, male and female, American and foreign. "They catch up scraps and odds and ends of conversation ; they sit Yankee fashion, balancing their chairs, with their heels on the window sills or the balustrades, pretending to read the newspapers, but straining their ears to catch the disjointed fragments of the confidential talk of the bystanders." Of course these vermin are ever where, but that it should be thought ne cessary to transport them across the Border, and infest the watering places resorted to by English and Canadian visitors, is only a proof how thoroughly they are at last engrafted into the " ways and means" of President Lincoln and his subordinates. Doubiless we may find them, and have found them, at Liverpool and in London ; but happily, to Englishmen they are of no more momcn: than the creeping things which are always thought to inhabit old furniture when it has been neglected or !aid aside to decay. Each American community, whether at New York, Baltimore, or Cincinnatti, is, it would seem, haunted with all the " terrors of old-fashioned Italian espionage." In all public places, and especially at the hotels, the gentleman who greets you "casts an uneasy glance over his shoulder as he shakes hands, fidgets in his chair, as he starts the monotonous subject of the weather, and at last fairly begs you to take him into your private room, as no talk can safely be carried on in these spy-beset public apartments." No wonder at the continents! watering places being this year reported to be more crowded with Americans, of every stamp, than they have ever been known to be. It wanted but this infamy of a paid and organised espionage to fill up the measure of the folly and fear of the - Washington Government. Assuredly there is the direct promise of absolutism in its most hideous form, in this suspicion, which inflates itself into tyranny and injustice, by hired spies and informers. A military dictator, supported by a mercenary army, is the next degree of govern ment to that which seeks to muzzle free speech, or misrepresent it, by depending on the hireling eavesdropper. And though no one but General Schenk or General Butler has attained a sufficient altitude of cruelty and brutal and merciless oppres sion to entitle him to be pointed out as the leader in a coup doted, with the event will come the instru ment to execute its scope and purposes. No more better illustration of the rotten condition of " Yankee politics" has yet reached us than the tacit acceptance of the spy system, by which the lightest worn may be exaggerated to the importance of the gravest, deed. The nation which acquiesces in the employment of this secret police is already as ti:Tch gagged and mannacled as though it spent its lire in .n prison. Next t o th e terrors of a lif e, where silence alone is a safe condition, many will say that the penalty of death must be the one final evil in store. CRIME IN FRANCE. The Tribunal of Correctional Police last week tried a co:ttractor for public works, named Lecoq, on a charge of having attempted to corrupt a public functionary. It ap peared from the evidence that, on the 6th June last, Le cog, who had contracted for the supply of certain materials for public works, called on M. Ambroise, an agent of the Ponts-et-Chaussees, residing at St. Denis, charged with the passing of the said materials, and after a conversation with him, secretly loft on his desk a bank note for I,ooof L,coq having admitted that he had left the note in ques tion, the Tribunal declared the charge fully proved, and condemned him to four months' imprisonment, a fine of 3001., and the costs of the prosecution, The Tribunal further ordered the confiscation of the 1,0001. note and directed that it should be given to the hospital of St. Denis. ho police have just succeeded in arresting two shoplifters who have for some time been exercising their craft to the prejudice of lacemen, dealers in embroidery, and jewellers in Paris. Many complaints had been lodged with the police, but all efforts to discover the thieves proved fruit less, until some of the tradesmen remarked that the robberies had always coincided with the visits of an ele gant lady, accompanied by a nursemaid is peasant cos tume, carrying.a baby dressed in very rich embroidery. A watch was accordingly set on these two persons, and the day before yesterday an agent of the detective police caught the nurse in the act of secreting some valuable lace while her mistress was pretending to make purchases. It was then found that the pretended baby was a doll with a waxwork face and hands, while the body was hollow paste board, and served as a hiding-place for the articles stolen. The two women were taken to the Prefecture of Police, and on searching their lodgings a considerable quantity of stolen goods was found, as well as a great number of pawn-tickets relating to property which had been obtained in a similar manner, The Civil Tribunal of the Seine has just given judgment in an action brought by the Countess de Rosselmini Gua landi and Baron de Maistre, as rcpresenTatives of the late Princess de Bethune, against the temporal administration of the church of St. Thomas d'Aquin, to recover a sum of 120,000 fr. advanced to the administration by their relative under the following circumstances. Some time since the City of Paris offered to purchase a house worth 250,000 fr. for the residence of the cure, on condition that one-half of the amount should be paid by the temporal administration of the church in the course of ten years. The offer was accepted, and the Princess deßethune, to enable the adminis tration to fulfil the conditions, made a donation to the church of 120,000 fr,, of which alto was to rt:ceivc, the interest as long as she lived, (ha the eleuas(l of the princ , ss, her heirs de 'winded the return of the donation, on the ground that the administration could not legally aci:ept it without first ob taining the authorisation of the Government, which had never been demanded. After hearing counsel for both parties, the Tribunal declared the donation null and void, owing to the absence of the authorisation required by law, and condemned the administration of the Church to refund the amount with interest from the time that notice of action was given. Full benefit of reduced duty obtained by pur chasing Horriman's pure Tea ; very choice at 3s 41 and 4s. "High Standard" at 4s. 4d. (formerly 4s. Bd.), is the strongest and most delicious imported. Agents in every town gupply it in packets. FRENCH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. At the last sitting, M. CoulVier-Gravier communicated a table of the shooting stars observed from the 17th ult, to the 14th inst., the period of the year during which that phenomenon occurs with peculiar frequency. The maximum number observed per hour was 121, on the 10th inst.; the minimum was 6, on the 17th ult. From the Bth to the 14th (except the maximum above stated), the numbers ranged between 33 and 48. M. Coulvier-Gravier is of opinion that the phenomenon, after decreasing in intensity wince 1848, is now again on the increase.—M. Jobart de Lamballe communicated a paper on the regeneration of animal tissues, being a continuation of his former commu nications on the same subject. In the present paper he establishes the fact that the periosteure (the membrane which icovers the bones) is insensible.—M. Coinde an nounced that certain insects which invest the Neriura Oleander and other plants in Algeria possess, in a high degree, the tinctorial qualities for which cochineal is so highly prized.—M. Evrard announced that nitrate of potash is contained in the dregs of wine in a sufficient quantity to be remunerative, and may be obtained by col lecting the crystals which are deposited in the vats by the dregs, and subjecting these crystals to repeated re-crystallisations. The mother liquor which re mains contains a qua , tity of carbonate of potash, which may be extracted by evaporation and calcination.—A pamphlet was received from M. de Simone, in which he describes a disease which is called " attossatura" in Sicily, and causes the deluh of many young mules. A few days after their birth, and after having sucked their dams, they fall sick and die without any apparent cause. M. de Simone states that this disease is attributable to a previous morbose state of the dam, which suddenly becomes tat after the first months of gestation, and has her udders filled with a serous kind of milk. ABSORPTION BY TILE SKIN.—Dr. Parisot has addressed two papers to the Academy of Sciences on the absortive power of the skin, for the purpose of testing the efficacy of baths. The following substances, viz., iodide of pottts slum, the yellow cyanide and chlorate of the same, sulphate of iron, belladona, fox-glove, and rhubarb, he has tried upon himself, and some of them upon patients whose state required it, The baths were taken early in the morn ing. fasting, the temperature of the water ranging between 2S and 30 degrees Centigrade, that of the air between 18 and 27. The duration of the immer sion was from one to twu hours for Dr. Parisot himself, and from 30 minutes to one hour for his patients. The results obtained were, that salts and colouring matter of rhubarb dissolved in water are not absorbed by the skin ; and that vegetable poisons, such as fox-glove and atropine, dissolyed in water, are not absorbed by the skin, because after a lengthened stay in the bath no symptoms of poisoning are experienced. Dr. Parisot's experiments on water, chloro form, and ether are peculiarly striking. The body of an infant which had died 12 days 'after birth, was laid in a bathing-tub, the water of which was incessantly renewed by a permanent influx and efflux of the liquid ; the head was kept above water. At the end of 24 hours, the body, which weighed 2,050 grammes before the immersion, weighed 2,055 grammes. Being afterwards left for 24 hours in the labo ratory, and then weighed, it was found that it had lost the five grammes it had gained in the bath. Now the epider mis has a sebaceous coating everywhere except on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet ; it remained therefore to be seen whether the imbibition had been effected throughout, or only at the hands and feet. In another series of experiments, the palms and soles of certain subjects were coated with turpentine, while thole of others were not; and the result was, that the for mer did not increase in weight by immersion, while the latter did. Hence the palms of the hands and soles of the feet must be considered the only points of the human body through which imbibition can take place, they being de prived of that sebaceous coating which acts as a protecting varnish all over the rest of the body. Chloroform, alcohol, and ether dissolve the sebaceous matter more or less com pletely, and hence the substances dissolved in them may penetrate to the derma. Dr. Parisot dissolved five centi grammes of atropine in 20 grammes of chloroform, he then steeped co , ton into the solution, and applied it to the fore head of a person ; the extension of the pupil becatne visible after the lapse of three minutes ; two minutes later it was complete, and equal on both sides; after a quarter of an hour, the skin was found to be red and burning. All these symptoms disappeared in the course of an hour Substitut ing alcohol for chloroform, the action was greatly retarded, the dilatation not taking place until after half an hour's ap plication, and the redness and heat of the skin were hardly perceptible. Atropine disolved in water acidulated with acetic acid produced no effect whatever. COUNTRY MARKETS. 4 . LEEDS-TUESDAY. New wheat was in moderate demand to-day, and the cur rencies of last Friday were not materially altered. A little more inquiry for old. LIVERPOOL-TUESDAY. At our market to-day there was a gocd attendance of millers, and fresh American wheat experienced a fair business at a reduction of 2d per cental upon the week. Barley and peas fully as dear. Oats and oatmeal were neghcted. Indian corn rather lower in price. Beans dull. Flour (A merican) a moderate sale, and prices in favour of buyers. MARKET HARBOROUGII-TUESDAY. The prices of wheat were is in favour of the buyer to day. Barley steady. Oats slow, at rather less money. —White wheat,:4BB to —s; red, 41s to 47s per 36 stone. Malting barley at —s to —s per qr.; grinding, 30s to 36s per 30 st. Oats, old, 20s to 255 . ; new, 19s to 22s per 24 st. ; beans, 37s to 40s per qr. SHEFFIELD-TUESDAY. A fair supply of wheat, and the demand ruled inactive, at is to 2s per qr lower. Barley the same in puke as last week. Oats slow. Beans quite as dear. Red wheat, per load of 3 imperial bushels...l6s Od to 17s Od White I) , ...18s Od to 20s Od New red t ..18s Od to 19s Od New white „ 1, ~..19s Od to 20s Od Beans ,) 1) `... las 6d to 17s 6d ..._ Peas, per qr - -45 s Od to 56s Od Grinding barley, per qr, 30s Od to 32s Od Malting ditto, „ 34s Od to 38s Od Oats If 22s Od to 27s Od Flour, is 7d to 2s ld per stone. MELTON MOWBRAY-TUESDAY. Wheat was in liberal supply, but the demand was heavy. —The following were the currencies :—New white wheat, 46s Od to 50s Od ; new, red, 43s Od to 46s per 36 stone ; beans, 38s to 42s for old; new sorts, 37s to 38 sper 38 at. ; barley, 34s to 38s for malting, and 27s to 30s per qr, for grinding; new oats, 24s to 27s Od per 24 stone. DUBLIN-FRIDAY We are unable to report any improvement either in the nominal prices or demand fot any description of old grain. The supply of new increases considerably, and all met a very cautious demand to-day. s. d. s. d. Wheat, white 11 0 to 12 0 Do., red lO 0 to 11 0 Do., new Barley Oats Do., black — 0 to U B.d. s. d. Beans.. ..... 0 to 0 Bere Rapeseed Oatmeal l2 0 to 14 0 Bakers' flour Indian corn Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. .vustralia and Mauritius, via Southampton ....... Sept. 18. via Marsei lles ......... sept 12. Brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. Sept. 3 ;ape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena.. Aug. 29. :hina, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. Sept. 1. via Marseilles ...Aug. 27 Falkland Islands ......... Gibraltar, via Southampton ...... Aug. 25. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton Sept. 1 via Marseilles Aug. 27. india (Bombay), via Southampton Aug. 25. via Marseilles Sept. 4. Portuga1.... Nialta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Aug. 25. via Marseilles Aug. 27. Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo U. S. and British N. Amorica, by Brit. packet.. • • Sept. 2 by U.S. packet.... by Canadian packet. Aug. 28. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Tenerirfe Sept. 10. Bahamas, via New York .... Aug. 27. Mexico • ...Aug. ;:ti All parts of Wes California. and t Brit Indies,ish Columbig includin . Ch Peru j , i Aug. 28. a. .... ili, . . . Births. BRIDGES.—On the 23d inst., at Senthsea, the wife of Com mander W. W. S. Bridges, R.N., of a daughter. HINCHLIFF.—On the 23d inst., at P entlow Hall, Essex, the wife of Major Flinchliff, of a daughter. SCUDAMORE —On the 18th June, at Muree, Punjaub, the wife of colonel Scudatuore, C. 8., 7th Hussars, of a daughter. YOUNG.—On the 24th inst., at Hastings, the wife of W. B. Young, Esq., of a (laughter. Marriages. BURGESS — ROXBERRY— On tho 24th inst., at St. Leonard's, Deal. George Alfred, second son of Captain J. Burgess, Gravesend, to Sarah, eldest d a u g ht er o f Wm. Reirberr.c, sh i powner, Gravesend. VOILLEY —BAR:mt.—Oa the 25th inst., at Camden-road Chapel, William Vorley, Esq., of Camden-road Villas, to Mary, second daughter of the late Chas, Baker, Esq., of Hermitage House, Brixton-hill, Surrey. Deaths. • 1-3-A-ERINGTON.—On the 9 -ad inst., at his residence, Bello Cuttag, Eames, Surrey, Llint,-Colonel H. Barrington, formerly of the ad Light Drag,eons, aged 75. HAMILTON. —On the 24th inst. ,at 22a, Connaught-square, Hyde -park, the Rev. Wm. liainilton, M.A. IciNci.—On the 21st inst., at 18, Lower Ward, 'Windsor Castle, Capt a i n J o h n Duncan King, Military K n ight of Windsor, aged 74. MASTERS.—Ou the 25th inst., Joseph Masters, of 33, Al' dersgate-street. WALLER —On the 24th inst., at Burford, Oxon, William Waller, Esq. London: Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDRI: W i ', of :No, 112, Strand, Printer, at TU E S UN MCC 1 " . Strand, b the Precinct of the lavoy, in the County cm dl cam.— We dues lay, A t i gus t 26, 18 63. the Pas coin acc( 5d., rat( Mat exc at 1 £7O few bas rap La pla am in,' (SOl a r rou anti W e Spr In: hot the tuc 011