The Sun. — London, England, 1863-02-19 00:00:00

THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA. (From the Times' Correspondent.) NEW YORK, Feb. 3. Though the House of Representatives, under the auspices of the Committee of Ways and Means, has passed a financial project, authorising the issue of 300,000,000 dols. of Treasury notes, and loans to the extent of 600,000,000 dots., it does not follow that Mr. Chase approves the measure, or that, - whether he approves it or not, the Senate will con sent to it. So complicated are the details of all finan cial business that comes before Congress, in conse quence of the absence of the Secretary of the Trea sury from the deliberations of both houses, the semi officiel character of the Committee of Ways and Means, and the power of the Senate as well as of the President to reject or modify, that it is difficult to understand at any time what chance there is of the passage of a money bill which the Financial Minister has recommended, or even to know what parts, if any, of such bill or bills are due to his in spiration, Mr. Chase is understood to disapprove any further inflation of the currency, and the Pre sident, in giving his consent two weeks ago to the issue of 100,000,000 dole, of greenbacks, distinctly stated in a I,peeit l i message that, were it not for the pressing needs of th: army, he would not have sanc tioned any such proceeding. The House of Repre sentatives ( nterteins different opinions, and has not only passed a bill for adding 300,000,000 dols. to the 100,000,000 dols, of inconvertible paper that is in process of distribution to the army, but has shewn throughout the whole course of its deliberations on the subject that it thinks paper—unrepresented by gold —the grand and only panacea for all national evils—the source of unlimited wealth, of which it is next to impossible to issue too much, were 10,000 steam engines dailyand nightly at work to supply it. The tneeefact that the house had authorised the print ing and issuing of 300,000,000 dols. of greenbacks sent, up the premium on gold last weekto 60percent. The mere fact that thefinance committee of the Senate is understood to disapprove this portion of the project, or is not likely to consent to it, when made known yesterday, sent down the price of gold nearly 4 per cent. ; while the negative but very important fact that nobody knows or understands orcan guess what is ultimately to be done creates a bewildering ex citement on the Stock Exchange, and converts half the traders and merchants of the city into reckless gamblers. The rise of prices continues. Every article imported from Europe suffers the first and greatest enhancement. The goods manufactured in the country undergo the same process, to the enrich ment of the manufacturers, but not to the increase of the national revenue; and food, fuel, and every other article of first necessity mounts in price in a manner which may not be distressing to gamblers and con tractors, but which is very alarming to every one else, especially to the poorer classes who live upon fixed wages and salaries, and find that the thousand dol lars of a year ago now represent no more than 600 dols. Tney discover that the remaining 400 dols. are their compulsory contribution to the cost of the war s To this they add the taxation which not even the humblest can escape, and ask themselves what inte rest they have in a war which punishes them so severely, and why they should aid in the subjuga tion of the Southern people at the frightful cost of their own reduction to misery and pauperism. Whil e such is the financial situation, with a pros spect of its growing worse, the military situation gives little sign of amendment. Operations on the Mississippi await the completion of the "cut," or canal, opposite Vicksburg, which is to enable the Federal gunboats and ironclads descending from Memphis to pass to the other aide of the city and attack it in flank. The last accounts represent the water to be flowing into the cut to the depth of four feet; but as the Mississippi is 60 feet deep at Vicksburg, it may not result from this partial success that the course of the river will be diverted, or that Vicksburg, though attacked by gunboats both above and below, will be captured or destroyed by those agencies. Pending the attack on this city, the ooerations languish at Port Hudson ; and, as the distance between these two places is nearly 500 miles, in the course of which the Confederates may have raised fortifications and placed obstructions utterly unknown to the Federal officers, it is not at all clear that even the capture of Vicksburg would enable the Federal gunboats to co-operate with General Banks for the reduction of Port Hudson. The failure of General Burnside's movement against Fredericksburg—the impossibility of any advance towards Richmond by General Hooker in the present state of the weather and the roads, even were such an advance not prohibited for other and perhaps more cogent reasons, has released the army of General Foster at Newbern from the duty origi nally assigned to it, which was to march upon Rich mond from the South, simultaneously with Burn side from the North. If present indications are to be relied upon, that army has received orders to proceed southwards to take part in the attack upon, Charleston, which most people in the North consi der to be a doomed city, only to be saved from utter destruction by immediate and unconditional sur render. There can be little doubt that Charleston is in imminent danger, and the destruction of a Federal steamer in the Stone river would lead to the inference, if the attack have not already com menced, that it cannot be delayed for many hours. Northern pride requires a pabulum, and nothing which could be administered to glut its hungry appetite would be so bitter-sweet as the utter ruin and destruction of this offending city. rill that, or something almost as satisfactory to its sense of offended dignity, be done, the North will be in a bad humour, and there will be an impediment en the way of that peaceful settlement which it begins very ardently to long for, in spite of its anger. Congress meanwhile acts as if it were determined to do as much mischief as it can during the short remaining term of its existence, and leave as large as legacy of difficulty as possible to its more Demo cratic successor. Whatever individual members may say, whatever amount of respect and love they may express for the Union, and whatever determi nation they may exhibit to fight out the quarrel with the South to the " bitter end," they act in their corporate capacity as if they were hopeless of any other result to the struggle than a speedy separa tion. Their whole legislation tends in this direc tion. The object appears to be twofold—first, to such a degree to exasperate the South as to render a reconstruction of the Union impossible, and, se condly, so to centralise and consolidate the power and the government of the North as to make it in effect the homogeneous and united nation which it has always claimed to be since the outbreak of the war. In these two objects may be found the clue to its whole policy as recently displayed. The abolition of slavery in the district of Columbia was a direct provocative—planned, debated, and carried through by men who did not believe in the restoration of the Union. The abolition of slavery in the territories was another movement of the same kind, having its root in the same idea ; and, last of all, the Procla mation of Emancipation to the slaves of " rebels," and the incitement of the negroes to take up arms against their masters,was forced upon the President against his better judgment by men who were con scientiously of opinion that the " Union was a league with Death and a covenant with Hell," and ought not to be restored. Congress never really entertained the idea that Mr. Lincoln had power to liberate the slaves by his proclamation. The members knew full well that it was just as easy for him to abolish the British monarchy or the French Empire by the stroke of his pen and the countersignature of Mr. Seward as to set free the four million of black labourers in the cotton States without the consent of their masters. The real object of the abolition party in both houses was to disgust the Southern leaders and people, and to shut the door of compromise without th e hope of its Gen. Butler To this end also they sustained Butler in all his arbitrary acts at New Orleans, and meditate at this moment his re-appointment to that city, with larger powers for evil than he before pos sessed. With the same idea of provoking the South they passed the revolutionary Act for erecting a moiety of the sovereign commonwealth of Virginia into a separate State, and urged the President, who had strong constitutional objections to the measure, not to v eto it as h e or i g i na ll y f e l t di spose d t o do, N lest or t0:11 the settl e m en t o f th e boundary lines between and South, at the conclusion of the war, no part of Virginiashould be awarded to the North. And, finally, as if to prove to the Northern people how utterly hopeles s the war must be, it has urged the Government, which boasts t that it has a million of w hit e men on the rolls oe , t army, a rm y, to resort tothe aid of 150,000 armed negr nes enable the task that this million of white men are Seen from this point of bi to accomplish. view, the action of the fragment or Rump of Congress now sitting in Wash ington becomes intelligible. It will remain for his tory to decide whether, with such foregon e conclu sions prescribing an d dictating its n poeee it would not have performed a nobler and more Christian part if it had offered p eace to the "wayward sis ters" before the lives of half a million of men had been sacrificed in a contest pre-arranged to be un availing. the The other and c orrelative object, consolida tion of the North, is more legitimate; but it is pur sued in such a manner as to render it extremely doubtful if it can be accompli s h e d without of a vice lent revol u ti on . A s it was no t on ly the question slavery th a t pro d uce d t h e di sso l u ti on of the Union, but that of State rights, Congress appears resolved to abolish State rights altogether, to reduce the Federal commonwealths to the position of counties or provinces, and to invest the Federal Executive with powers not intended by, or expressly prohibited by, the Constitution. To this end it is usurping, or has usurped, authority which can only be legiti mately exercised by a National Convention of the whole people, and has virtually inaugurated a revo lution as unmistakable as that which commenced in France in 1789, though in a centrary sense and direction. The French revolution was in the name of the people and for the idea of liberty. The Ame rican revolution, as this Congress understands it, will he in the name of a minority, for the establish ment of a despotism. Many significant measures to this end have already been introduced, and bid fair to be carried. Mr. Chase's scheme for remodelling and federalising the banking institutions of the Ste tes is the that and most harmless of them. The second is the bill for authorising the President to suspend the habeas corpus at his own discretion and on his own single responsibility, without the inter vention of Congress—a clear violation of the Con stitution—by virtue of which he will become auto crat, despot, and imperator of the republic, owning no law but that of necessity, of which he is to be the judge and interpreter. The third is the bill of Sena tor Wilson, a noted shoemaker of Massachusetts, for increasing the militia of the several States by a con scription, converting it from a militia into a national guard, and conferring the chief command upon the President. Under the still existing constitution of the United States the Militia are enrolled in the several States, are not movable beyond the State limits, and are under the command of the State Gravernors,:who, by their aid, are warranted in re sisting the encroachments of the Federal power, if it seeks to override or annul the State laws and con stitutions. All this is to be set aside by Mr. Wil son's bill, w hich virtually seeks to abolish the States of the Federation, and fuse them into one jurisdic • tion as effectually as if they were English counties or French departments. Besides this, it introduces in a new form the conscription which the Central Government was last year compelled to abandon under the pressure of public condemnation and the fear of a Northern rebellion. It may, perhaps, be for the ultimate advantage of the North that it should cease to be a federation of Sovereign States, and that these should all resolve themselves into one immense and homogeneous Empire, over which the President should rule as an Autocrat. But it is doubt ful whether the people are prepared to take that view of the case, and whether the attempt on the part of Congress to force these measures through both Houses before the 3d of March may not lead to perils as well as perplexities, or expedite a new se cession in quarters where the Government is by no means prepared for such a catastrophe. The bill for the arming of 150,000 negroes to fill ep the gaps in the national armies, which are not to be supplied by all the inducements of high bounty money or all the terrors of the conscription, was passed yesterday in the House of Representatives by a majority of 85 against 55. Mr. Stevens, who had charge of the bill, admitted in the debate that not 50,000 white men could be raised by recruiting, and that it was absolutely necessary to raise an army of negroes to end the war. He further admitted that a large number of the Federal Generals and officers were sympathisers with the South; and insisted 1 that such of them as had threatened to resign if negro troops were called into the field ought to be tried by court-martial and shot. The bill, however, as passed, was clogged with conditions which its framers neither anticipated nor approved. The negro officer, however great his merits or military talents may be, is never to exercise authority over a white man, and the negro regiments are to be commanded by white men in all the supe rior grades, the negro not being considered suffi ciently intelligent, or safe, to be entrusted with high command. If he is to save the Republic, as Mr. Beecher says, he is to save it as a private soldier, or at most as a corporal. Neither must he save it as a private soldier if he be a bondman in Kentucky or other Border State, or be allowed to save it at all if his master be a loyal man. In obe dience to the warning of the Border State repre sentatives, who urged that if any negra recruits were raised within their boundaries the recruiting officers would infallibly be shot by the outraged people, au amendment was proposed and carried that no Africans from loyal Slave States and districts specified in Mr. Lincoln's proclamation of Emanci pation should be received as soldiers or sailors in the service of the Federal Government. But, as if to make amends for this insult upon poor Sambo— inflicted, too, at the very time when his services were in most request for the salvation of the Union,—the Senate exhibited a totally unexpected literally with regard to him. It had been pro posed to pay ten millions of greenbacks for the emancipation of 100,000 slaves in Missouri, pro vided their emancipation were effected in 20 years. The generous and impatient Senate, under the prompting of Mr. Charles Sumner and the great shoemaker of Massachusetts, Mr. Wilson, passed an amendment to the effect that the sum should be 20 millions, provided the emancipation were com pleted within one year. It may perhaps be thought in England that all this legislation on the subject of the negro is popular, or it would not be attempted. Bat such is not the case. The antagonism which exists between this Congress and the people on the subject of the negro is remarkable. The Congress is as much an assembly of theorists as the first French Conven tion, while the people are about the most practical and prosaic people in the world, and despise and oppress the negro in a manner which the nations of Europe ought thoroughly to understand before they praise the North too much for its supposed love of Negro freedom, and condemn the South too emphatically for the blot of slavery on its escocheon. Congress passed a law for setting free all the slaves in the district of Columbia, whether they belonged to loyal or disloyal owners. And what is the result to the negro ? He is free, no doubt; but has he the rights and privileges of a free man ? And can he assert the social position to which true liberty entitles him if he be honest, industrious, well-behaved, and law abiding ? Mr. Horace Greeley, who ought to be an authority on the question, reports in the negative. " Among the whole number—over 60 " justices of the peace in Washington", says yesterday's Tribune, "there recently could not be "found one to issue a writ on the plea of a coloured man for the arrest of a white man who had stolen his property; and it is conceded to be impossible for a coloured citizen to prosecute in either one of the courts a claim against a white man, Even their testimony is excluded from the courts, in plain violation of the laws passed last summer for their protection." Of a piece with this confession of the powerless ness of law when it runs counter to the social pre jadices of the people is the recent activity of Go. vernor Andrew, of Massachusetts, in the arming of a negro brigade in the little aggressive State of which he is the chief magistrate. When requested to re ceive an immigration of a few thousand free negroes he declined with peremptory disgust, and treated the proposal as an insult. He is now arming the negroes within his jurisdiction as fast as he can; not that they may remain to do garrison duty, and allow the white men of the State to fight the battles which they have done so much to provoke, but that they may depart to the South, never to return. Negroes do not thrive physically, morally, or finan cially in Massachusetts. They compete with white men for labour, and bring down its wage, and they become in their old age and helplessness a burden upon the community. For these and other reasons the far-seeing Governor wishes to be rid of them as speedily as possible, and finds no means so ready as to make soldiers of them. There may be much apparent philanthropy in the talk of those who act with the Governor in this matter, but the real philanthropists are not the Governorand his friends, but such people as the reverend gentleman men tioned in m y l as t letter, who would abolish all dis tinction, social, political, and ethnological, between the white m an an d the black, by the single though not very facil e But theoretically the the process of amalgamation of the races . they Abolitionists lov e the are negro. not A m Practically a lga m at io nis theyts. hate him; and wish with Mr. Lincoln that the whole race could be transported back again to their native Africa, or anywhere else, where they might be seen no more by " the free and enlightened citi zens of our glorious Republic." The Divine Author of Christianity said, " Blessed are the peacemakers." A person claiming to be a Christian, and holding the position of Chaplain to the Senate of the United States, renounced the blessing, and declined to be of the number of the peacemakers yesterday in the following remarkable prayer which he offered up before the commence ment of Senatorial business : " Oh Lord, our God, we entreat Thee to hear the prayer of Thy servant, which we come to make this day for the officers and men of our army and navy. Be pleased to give them endurance, and in all their sufferings stay them with Thy strength, and bestow upon them the spirit of foresight and of combination to smite and to scatter the enemy when ever and wherever he may be found. May they not be baffled by the storms of Heaven, and may no unpropitious condition or elements of the material creation impede or post pone their progress, We pray Thee that, if it shall be Thy will, even the very processes of physical nature may be suspended for a time, while this fartul problem of Repub lican liberty and free institutions is wrought out. If it must be by war—which we do most earnestly and sadly deplore in itself—we pray Thee that it may be speedy and effectual war ; and Oh, L or d, we p ray , if Thou wilt hear our petition, that the tiIOOLISIT GITIBEntsu of th ose w h o p ro f ess t o f o ll ow illusion of an UNHOLY PEACE may be for ever stifled and we pray that this great people may be neither blinded nor deceived by the fatal influence of such insane counsels. 0 Lord, silence for ever the tongue thatshall madness and folly; wag with such yet we pray Thee that Thou wilt gi ve us Thine own peace in T • time give Thine own and Jesus Christ. Amen." way, through the rev. gentleman may think himself, and possibly is, a good patriot ; but the Christian spirit is sadly deficient in his prayers. And when he supplicates Heaven to work miracles rather than that the armies on which his lopes are fixed should be de feated, he confesses—inadvertentlY, of course—that human means may fail to secure the end which he so ardently desires. And were such prayers offered up in the presence of soldiers, and not in that of rHE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 19, 1863 Senators, they might, perhaps, chill the ardour they were intended to inflame, and damage the cause they were spoken to encourage. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. to the Senate of the un T i f te m d Es s . rat T ea h h e as 6:h in a a prayer offered up before the commencement of Senatorial business, called upon the Almighty God of Mercy " to stifle the foolish gibberish of those who profess to follow the illusion of an unholy peace, and to silence for ever the tongue which shall wag with such madness and folly." So horrible a curse, so solemnly and pub licly, and in national form, invoked upon those " peacemakers" who have been somewhere pro nounced " blessed" has a tendency to make quiet people shudder. But nothing is too fierce for a fanatic or too false for a hyp ocr it e . P ro b a bl y t h ere were individuals of both classes present to say " Amen" to that prayer. P er h a p s , a l so , th ere are a few people in this country who would pray with them in all fervour, at .d by whom peace in America would be detested as a curse, if unaccompanied with the realisation of their o wn es p ec i a l th eor i es . Let this be so. We cannot help the operation of feeble judgment or morbid vanity. We cannot prevent these mental diseases showing themselves in violent language, fierce hatreds, and personal animosities. There is a certain principle of honesty, hoa ever, which ought to run through even these matters. A man may have his foolish crotchets or may advocate absurd ideas, but there is an honest way and a dis honest way of doing this. The people who assume the name and character of the Old Anti-Slavery Society, and who, by the way, had another of their gatherings last night, offend against the ordi nary decencies even of English agitation. What we complain of in them is that they are dishonest. They are exhibiting themselves under false pretences. They are falsely palming themselves upon Europe and America as the survivors and descendants of the great men who abolished the Slave Trade first, and then abolished slavery itself in our colonies. They have usurped the name of the position hereto fore held by the Wilberforces, the Bustons, and the Brougham of former days. They rest all their hope of an audience and all their claims to atten tion upon the assumption that they are sitting in the places of the old emancipators, and are speak ing the sentiments of the old antagonists of slavery. It is a matter of very serious import that the grand old cause of the Anti-Slave Trade and Anti Slavery movement should be thought to have degenerated into a mere cat's-paw to Mr. Seward, and that one of the most glorious bands of disinterested philan thropists which this or any other country has pro duced should be thought to have sunk into a few dupes of President Lincoln, advocating a measure which is not freedom to the blacks, but is as far as possible massacre to the women and children of the whites. We ask, therefore, publicly whether there is the least truth in the suggestion that these people have ever received the authority of Lord Brougham, or the Bishop of Oxford, or Sir F. Buxton, or any other man of ancient connection with this question, to associate the name of Brougham, Wilberforce, or Buxton with their pre sant doings. If they have, let us have the proofs; if they have not, it is only honest to the public to let it be known that these Northern political de monstrations are but cuckoo eggs, fraudently laid in the old nest, but utterly repudiated by the old birds. In a case like this the suppressed yeti is scarcely a step removed from the suggestio Jain. If they have any letters at all from these men, who are the natural guardians of the Slave, those letters ought to be produced. Perhaps we can jog the memory of these worthies as to some of the pro tests they have conveniently suppressed. Was there no letter from Lord Brougham upon the sub ject of the address to Mr. Lincoln ? Did not that venerable patriarch of the cause of negro liberty telegraph to beseech the persons who have now usurped the places of the real friends of liberty , not to dishonour the cause by carrying that docu ment up to Mr. Adams ? Did he not even ask for a little space of delay in order that time might be given for further reflection; and was not the presentation still persisted in, and rather hurried, to avoid the possibility of a damaging public protest, with the signature of " Henry Brougham" attached to it ? If these gentlemen, who take upon themselves to represent the old Anti- Slavery agitation, have such a letter as this it would have been only honest in them to publish it ; if they have not such a letter, we have been very much misinformed. Perhaps the very small dogs who have taken possession of the old lions' den, and are making such vain efforts to imitate the roar of the old occupants, will tell us also whether they have taken any means to obtain information as to whether the sons of Wilberforce and of Buxton, who have all been brought up in the teaching of their fathers, now share the opinions of the present Emancipation Society as to the Proclamation of Mr. Lincoln. Without pretending to any very ex clusive information as to the opinions of the Wil berforces and Buxtons, we are strongly inclined to believe that there is not one of them who would not repudiate the doings of these people as an indignity to the memory of their fathers. Perhaps they will tell us what the Bishop of Oxford may have said on the matter. When they have told the public the whole truth as to their relations with the old apos tles of Anti-Slavery, we will then hold further con troversy with them, bat, at present, we utterly re fuse to recognise them as a respectable agitation. tion of all these works, supposing they cut off some portions which would not destroy the value of the works, and which the wine and coal duties would ultimately enable them to effect. Mr. Deputy HARRISON asked whether the finan cial difficulty that was on the mind of the First Com missioner of Works a few days ago had been re moved. The CHAIRMAN said he was satisfied the coal duties would produce the figures he had stated, but he was opposed to cutting the new street short of the Mansion-house. Mr.DOULTON ; M.P., said, that after the statement of the Chairman, he would not proceed with the motion of which he had given notice; but he thought the whole subject should be referred to the Main Drainage Committee. He would therefore move, " That the consideration of the plans proposed for the north embankment and the new street, as well as of the south side, be referred to the Thames Em bankment Committee, with instructions to report to the board on such modifications or other details, and on the estimates of their cost, as may be advised by the engineer and architect of the board." Mr. HALL seconded the motion. Mr, BENNETT moved an amendment to the fol lowing effect:—" The board desires to record its opinion that any curtailment of the proposed street by stopping at Cannon-street, would materially alter and seriously depreciate both its usefulness and the utmost value of the ground for building purposes, and would cause an entire failure in its principal object." Mr. LE BRETON seconded the motion. After a short discussion, the amendment was put as a rider to the resolution, and carried unani mously. The board then adjourned. Southwark. About four months the prisoner had been the manager at the latter place, and had charge of the whole of his stock. His duty was to effect sales, enter the same in a book, and account to the prosecutor. In the course of the business the pro secutor suspected his honesty, and sent persons to purchase goods. The prisoner sold them, received the cash, and, instead of accounting for the whole entered in the books a considerably less sum. Evidence to that effect was given, and the Jury found him Guilty, Sentence, nine months hard labour. OLD COURT. (Before Mr. 'Filson.) James Yardley, 21, Edward Dark, 22, and John Brown, 18, were indicted for stealing .1 bag contain ing three shirts and other articles of wearing ap parel, the property of Ann White. The prisoners Yardley and Brown pleaded guilty, but Dark was put upon his trial. The evidence was very conclusive against all the prisoners, who were seen loitering together in the Blackfriars-road, on the evening of the 2d inst., by Sergeant Barrett and Young, detective officers. They were observed first to follow a gentleman's carriage, from which they returned, Dark saying to his companions that there was nothing there. The officers continued to watch them, and at last they (the prisoners) went after the cart of a laun dress, from which Dark secured the bag in question, which he handed to Brown, and then they were making off together. The officers, however, pur sued them and secured them, and conveyed them to the station-house. _ _ Dark made an appeal to the jury, contending that he had no connection with the other prisoners, and that the officers were mistaken as to his identity. The jury, without hesitation, found the prisoner guilty, and the other prisoners were brought for ward for sentence, A former conviction for felony, after a previous conviction, was proved against Yardley, when Mr. Keene, the governor of the gaol, informed. the Court that Brown had been summarily con victed as a rogue and vagabond. Detective-sergeant Palmer, of the A division, stated that Yardley had also been in custody for having skeleton keys in his possession. Yardley— Yes, and I was discharged, you mon key-faced chap. (Laughter.) The Deputy-Chairman sentenced Yardley to four years' penal servitude, and Dark and Brown to twelve months' imprisonment each with hard labour. James Beale, 23, was indicted for stealing 561bs. of pieces of undressed hides, the property of John Isaacson. _ _ _ Mr. Sleigh, specially retained, with !Mr. Collier, prosecuted, and Mr. Thompson defended. It appeared that the prosecutor carried on an ex tensive business as a hide merchant, in Leadenhall and Bermondsey-markets, and the prisoner had been his foreman for some time. It was his duty to collect the hides from the butchers, and bring them to the premises in a perfect state. He was not en titled to any perquisites, unless it was the teats or udders which were cut from cow hides. He Lied, however, cut off tail pieces and pieces from the bellies and shoulders, which he converted to his own use. A great deal of evidence was gone into, and the jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to three months' hard labour. POLICE INTELLIGENCE--Feb. 18. MANSION-HOUSE.—James Howes, a returned con vict, was placed at the bar before the Lord Mayor, on re mand, charged with attempting to steal a parcel containing articles of the value of £l4 from a van in Old 'Change on the evening of Monday week. The evidence clearly established the charge, and the Lord Mayor sentenced the prisoner to three months' con finement, with hard labour. GUILDHALL —John Alldritt, a draper, lately carry ing on business at Capel St. Mary, near Ipswich, was placed at the bar, before Mr. Alderman Hale, charged, under the 221st section of the new Bankruptcy Act of 1861, with having concealed and embezzled his estate, with hav ing attempted to account for his poverty by fictitious losses, and with having committed wilful and corrupt perjury. Mr. Alfred Jones, who conducted the prosecution, stated that the prisoner was adjudicated a bankrupt upon his own petition. Having filed certain accounts and surrendered, he was examined relative to his property. He stated that on the 21st of June last he sold his stock-in-trade and furniture for about £l3O to a Mr. Brown, of Fore-street. He cashed the cheque given him by Mr. Brown for £l3l 75., and ,the notes he received in exchange he took down to Mr. Pittock, a relative at Capel, and repaid him the sum of £lOO which he borrowed of him about two years ago. Two documents were produced, purporting to be receipts for the money in both transactions. The one referring to the loan was dated September, 1860, while that referring to the re payment was dated September, 1862. The prisoner and Pittock swore that the signatures on the receipt stamps were written at the dates the receipts bore, although the paper of both was precisely the same, and the stamps were not issued by the Government until about two months after the date of the first receipt, so that the signature on that stamp could not have been written by the prisoner at the time he had sworn. The prisoner swore most distinctly that he paid the notes he received fer the cheque to Pit tock. Mr. Henry Dowsett, a clerk in the Inland Revenue office, deposed that tae stamps in question ;were not issued by the Government before Oct. the 23d, 1862, the stamps issued previously being altogether different. Mr. William Abbott, a clerk to the London and West minster Bank, Lothbury, said he paid the cheque produced for £l3l 7s. on the 24th of June, and gave out one £lOO note, No. 89178, one £2O-note, No. 15751; one £lO-note No. 60327, and £1 7s. in cash. Mr. R. A. Baily, the trial clerk of the Bank of England, produced the £lOO-note and the £lO-note referred to by the last witness. The first was paid into the Bank on the Ist of January last, and the latter on the Bth of the October previous. The names of T. Elliot and Joseph Pittock, both of 34, Penton-street, Islington, were on the notes. A member of the firm of Pawson and Co., St. Paul's churchyard, identified the handwriting on the notes as that of the prisoner, after which the case was adjourned until Tuesday next. The case against Mr. John Bruce, stockbroker, 4, Bank chambers, Lothbury, was proceeded with yesterday, but the cross-examination of the prosecutor, who was the first wit ness, had not been completed when the Court rose. The report is reserved. B Wr- ST REE T Post -office letter-carrier named Thomas Hugh, who has been several years in the service, and has hitherto borne an excellent character, appeared to answer a summons charging him with delaying the delivery of letters. He pleaded guilty. Mr. Peacock, the solicitor for the Post-office, informed the magistrate that the defendant, having about 30 letters to deliver, got drunk, and was unable to perform his duty. He went home in a cab, in which he left his letters, and they were afterwards found there by the cabman, who took them to the Post-office and stated the facts. Mr. Henry said if it was known to latter-carriers gene rally that by delaying letters they were liable to a fine of £2O, which could be enforced by distraint upon their goods, these cases would probably be of less frequent occurrence. Considering the defendant's previous good character, he would mitigate the penalty to £lO. MARYLEBONE.—Ed ward H. Merritt, aged 17, clerk to Messrs. Gray and Davidson, organ builders, 370, Euston. road, was charged with having robbed his employers. The prisoner had been about five months in the service of the firm. On the 127th ult, the sum of £36 4s. was given to him in checques and notes to pay into the Union Bank of London, Regent-street, on his employers' account. On Mon day last he had £25 12s. given to him for the same purpose, and on the following day Mr. Davidson ascertained that the sums alluded to had not been paid in at the bank. He therefore questioned the prisoner, when he became much agitated, and fainted. He was given into the custody of Last, 181 S, and when searched at the station-house he had in his possession a £lO note, a£s note, two cheques for eight guineas each, and about 16s, in silver and copper. Sergeant Mulvey, 8 S, subsequently went to the lodging of the prisoner, and in his bed-room he found a pocket-book, in which were six sovereigns. He also found in the apart ment an opera-glass, a telescope, a pistol loaded and capped, a silver vinaigrette, and a pair of dumb-bells. The prisoner, who seemed much dejected, had no answer to make to the charge. He was committed (having pleaded guilty) to hard labour in the House of Correction for six months. WESTMINSTER.—Thomas Underwood was charged with housebreaking. At about half-past Bon Tuesday evening Mrs. Pearce, of 1, Smith's-terrace, King's -road, Chelsea, on going into her back parlour, found the prisoner and another man there. She.screamed as loud as she could, and the prisoner seized her with both hands by the throat and thr ew h er on the ground. He and his companion then rushed out of the house, but her husband promptly followed the prisoner, who was calling out " Stop thief !" He was seized by a constable in plain clothes, who met him. The other fellow escaped. The prisoner and his companion had Emptied some drawers and boxes of their contents, and packed them in a couple of bags ready to carry them off when they were interrupted. The prisoner very coolly interrupted the proceedings and said he would plead guilty. Mr. Arnold refused to dispose of the case, and the pri soner was remanded until Wednesday next. LAM BETH.—Charies Lawrence, alias Roberts, alias Leafer, who stands charged with being concerned in several burglaries, and who has also suffered penal servitude, was . brought u p on remand for final examination, on a charge of being concerned with M a tild a Q uen t r ill in robbing the house of Mr. Rudd, of Brixton, of plate, cash, and other property, to the amoant of LIGO. Great efforts have been made to apprehend the prisoner while the young woman Quentrill was in custody, but he managed to keep out of the way, and it was not until he was apprehended at Portsmouth for another robbery that the officers obtained any tidings of him. The prisoner had been permitted to visit the young woman Quentrill as her lover. It was also a fact at the very hour when the robbery had been committed the prisoner was said to have been seen at the house of Mr. Rudd, but the person who saw him did not like to swear positively to his identity. In reply to the Magistrate's questions, Sergeant Dun nington said the prisoner stood committed for trial, but some way or other had been admitted to bail on a charge of burglary and robbery, when a policeman was very nearly killed in attempting to capture him and his companions, and was also liable to be tried for robbery at Portsmouth, so that he was not likely to escape justice. In the case of Mr. Rudd, Mr. Norton did not think the evidence sufficient to sustain the charge, and discharged the prisoner. CLERKEN WELL.--John Harrold, a young man about 20 years of age, a cash clerk in the employ of Messrs. Meek.. ing and Co., drapers, Holborn-hill, was charged with steal ing several sums of money belonging to his employers. Mr. Warrand appeared for the prosecution ; Mr. Thomas Wakeling for the defence. The prisoner has been in the employ of the prosecutors for about two years and a half, and his duty was to receive the money from the salesmen, and each day at 4 o'clock he handed it over to the chief cashier. Tfie salesman hands in a check and keeps a counterpart. While one of the salesmen was absent the prisoner took the counterpart and destroyed it, and in that case appropriated a sum of £4 ls. lld. He never accounted for that money, and as other cases were found out against the prisoner he was given into the custody of Police-constable Richard Fawcett, 425 A. The constable told him the charge, on which the prisoner said that he was very sorry, that he was guilty, and that he had destroyed the check papers and put the money in his pocket. Mr. Wakeling asked that the case might be dealt with at once, but the magistrate declining to accede to the applica tion he said the prisoner would reserve his defence. Mr. Barker fully committed the prisoner to the Middle sex Sessions for trial and refused bail. SOUTHWARK.—Mr. Louis Dumont, a watchmaker, of Baden-place, Crosby-row, White-street, Southwark, was charged with unlawfully pledging a watch, the property of Cecilia Eliza Wilson, of Bethlehem Hospital. The prosecutrix, assistant matron of King Edward's School, attached to Bethlehem Hospital, deposed that on the 18th of December last she handed the prisoner her watch to repair. She several times went for it, and on every occasion the prisoner put her off by saying he would bring it home. At last, finding she could not get her watch, she obtained a warrant for his apprehension. William Fensum, 227 M, one of the warrant officers of the Court, said he apprehended the prisoner after consider able trouble, and ascertained that he had pledged the watch for n 10s. two days after he had received it. A pawnbroker produced the watch. The prisoner admitted the pledging, but said he intended to have redeemed it had not unfortunate circumstances in terfered to prevent him. Mr. Combe sentenced him to pay a fine of £5, and a fur ther sum of £2 10s. the price for which the watch was pledged, or go to prison for two months, Just as the prisoner was removed another person said that he intrusted the prisoner with a gold watch in December, which was not forthcoming. He understood that he had pledged it. Mr. Combo told him to lodge a warrant for the prisoner to answer that charge on his release from prison. The Late Fatal Accident at the Coal Depot at Paddington. Yesterday Dr. Lankester resumed and concluded the inquiry at the Bank of England Tavern, Cam bridge-place, Paddington, on the bodies of Thomas Downes, John Stafford, and Stephen Langston, who lost their lives at the station of the Ruabon Coal Company on the morning of the 4th ult. Mr. Metcalfe attended on the part of Messrs. Smith and Knight, the contractors. Some evidence having been given as to the sufficiency of the strutts, Mr. John Edwards, by advice of his counsel, was next sworn. He said he was manager to Messrs. Smith and Knight, who were the contractors. Lester acted under his instructions. Lester under took some part of the contract, the removal of the soil and sinking a well. Witness was on the plat form about 10 days or a fortnight before the acci dent, and saw the bunkers were clear of coal. It the coals had been there and his orders had been car ried out there would have been no danger. He ordered the girder which broke to be shored. On the Tuesday before the accident he saw they had soil enough removed in the arch which fell up to an upright, and he told Downes he would go to Barnes and get him to put one up before he removed the first column. He told him to get the round oat be tween the columns and 3ft. from the first column, to be ready for the bricklayers. He made a mark on the ground, and further said it was not to be re moved until that had been done. He (Edwards) went to the works about twenty minutes past nine, and found that the strutt was in. They had no directions to remove the second column, and had no right to be working within sft. of that column. They ought not to have been working in the arch et all until the new column was in, but they worked contrary to the directions that were left. He meant Stafford and Downes, they being the only two men at work there. There were no definite instructions given them. He believed that the bunker would not have given way if his directions had been fol lowed out ; and he did not believe there were coals in the bunker, as on looking up he could see the daylight. By Mr. Metcalfe—Witness had no control over the company in putting coals into the bunkers. There were sixty tons of coals in toe bunker; that would be 21 cwt. to the superficial foot. If he had thought there had been any danger he should have used the lateral strutts ; but the accident was of a vertical character. If he had known the clay was faking away from the stanchion he would not have allowed a dog to remain there. He took the same precaution in the other arches. The men objected to have strutts put up, as they considered it hindered them in their work. By the Coroner—The men had everything neces sary—timber, nails, &c. ; and when the stanchion fell, and ;they saw the clay slipping, they should, the first thing have had strutts put up. The men were employed by the day. William Lester, on being sworn, said he was an excavator, and had taken work under Mr. Ed wards at the Great Western Station. He undertook the removal of the soil under the arch which tell. He , employed Downes and Stafford. On the morning of the accident the first pier was down but the strutt was up. The second pier was up. The men were digging when the first one fell. He did not tell them to work round the second pier, but they were working towards it. He went again a little after nine, and he did not observe the second pillar was down. He was not told that it was, and if he had known so he would not have worked there. He then went to the wall, where he had nine men at work—a dangerous place, 20ft deep and 16ft wide Ho was not told there were eoals in the bunkers : if there had been, it would have been dangerous. He did not think anything about it. He worked with the men. Ford never told him there were coals in the bunkers. He made no inquiries. The bunkers might be empty at night, but when the men went to work they might be full, and no one know any thing about it. By the Jury—Witness never thought of any dan ger, nor did he think it necessary to go and look. Mr. Robert J. Hood, civil engineer, said he hid visited the scene of the accident, and he felt that Mr. Edwards had exercised a sound discretion in the orders he had given, and he believed that if his orders had been carried out there was plenty of support to prevent accident to the men, even if the bunkers bad been full. The cause of the accident was the falling of the second stanchion. If the earth had not been dug away beyond the three feet ordered by Mr. Ed wards that stanchion wou ld not have fallen. H e saw no connexion between the coals and the accident. The accident might have occurred without the weight of coal, and the clay, though too near the excavation, would have squeezed out by the weight of the iron column. When the pier fell, without the weight of coal the accident would have happened, as there was a joint over the second column which Mr. Kerr when he visited it was unaware of. The Coroner summed up. The court was then cleared, and on the re assem blage of the public the following verdict was deli vered :—" We find John Edwards and William Lester guilty of the manslaughter of Thor. Downes, John Stafford, and Stephen Langston." Application was then made by Mr. Hargrove for bail on the part of Edwards and Lester; and as both men had left the house, The Coroner said they had better be sent for, and he would receive Mr. Knight's bail for their ap pearance at the Old Bailey to meet the charge. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIo way'sPills.—Furred Tongue. Tainted Breath.—No personal disadvanta g es can be more annoying than these disagreeable afflictions, which are quickly removed by Holloway's Pills. Tneir powerful cleansing properties will soon rectify impaired digestion, and take away all its vexatious symp • toms When the constitution from climate excess or other causes, is en feebled, a regulated course of this medicine will effect a complete change throughout the system, and restore to the worn-out invalid that ease and strength which he (bought had flown for ever, so long had he been a stranger to both. An occasional course of these jurtly celebrated Pills is re commended to all feeling " who a t ease l " indeed can rarely point out the origin or seat of their morbid sen sations, METROPOLITAN BOARD OP WORKS. A special meeting of the Metropolitan Board of Works was held yesterday at the offices in Spring gardens, in accordance with the requisition of the chairman, for the purpose of considering certain proposals with regard to the Thames Embankment. Mr. John Thwaites presided. EMBANKMENT OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH SIDES OF THE RIVER THAMES AND THE NEW-STREET. The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, said before entering upon the subject which had speci ally called them together, he wished to give them some information as to the produce of the coal dues. When he was before the First Commissioner of Works he was not able to tell him the probable amount the coal duties were likely to produce in the diminished area of taxation. He had endeavoured to obtain the most reliable information from the City and the First Commissioner of Works as to the produce of the coal duties, and the latter had esti mated them at £150,000 per annum. That esti mate, however, applied to the ninepenny and not to the fourpenny coal tax. By the best estimates that can be made, the cost of the northern embankment would be about one million sterling, and the new street, from Blackfriars-bridge to the Mansion house, £500,000 more. Therefore, taking the coal tax at what he had stated, they would be able to borrow £1,200,000, which would be £250,000 short of what the works would cost. It was most impor tant that the board should have such information as to what those duties would produce as would guide them in their operations with regard to any improvements which might hereafter come under their notice. He had, accordingly, had an inter view with the First Commissioner, and found that during the year 1862 the sum of £162,000 ha 1 ac tually been received from the coal and wine dues. That was very satisfactory, as it enabled them to take £160,000 as the basis of their calculations. For the 20 years that the coal dues were now to be continued, the board would be able to borrow £2,174,552. Taking those dues at £160,000 for the 19 years unexpired of the term above mentioned, the amount would give a surplus of £200,000, which would increase the sum available to the board to £2,374,552. That sum the board would be enabled to borrow, and having regard to the views of lenders, and the elasticity of the tax, he believed it would increase to an extent that would give them such a margin as would afford them ample security. Having arrived so far, the board would have to consider the three works that had been sug gested. For one of them they had obtained Par liamentary powers—the embankment of the Thames on the north side, which was estimated to cost one million ; but that was the net cost, which was very different from street improvements. In the latter case the ground rents soon afforded a return, but from the embankment there would be no return. £he next work to complete the scheme, was a new street from Blackfriars-bridge to the Mansion-house, without which the grand scheme of the embank ment would be imperfect. The total cost of that, street would be from £460,000 to £500,000. The whole scheme of the embankment had been referred to the engineer and architect, to ascertain if any and what improvements could be made in the plan proposed by the Royal Commissioners. The en gineer and architect, after carefully considering it, had made their report, and in that they recom mended the wideningof Thames -street at an expense of £30,000. They also suggested other improvements, which would give the wharfingers in Thames-street free access to their premises. By taking other pro perty and easier gradients the engineer had recom mended an improvement in the new street, which would reduce the estimated cost from £690,000 to £620,000. With regard to the southern embank meat the estimate of their engineer for the construc tion of it to Vauxhall-bridge would be £1,100,000, whereas the original estimate to High-street, Lam beth, was £690,000. It bad been suggested to stop short at a point opposite Alillbatik Prison, and if that were adopted the cost would be about £580,000, and that with the other works would leave a balance in the hands of the board, out of the £2,200,000 borrowed, of £174,000 as a working capital, and as a guarantee fund if the expenditure should be over the estimate. Under all these circumstances he felt !that they might see their way clear to tho execu- SURREY SESSIONS—Feb. 18. NEW COURT. (Before J. E. Johnson, Esq., Chairman.) Mary Cormick, 61, Daniel Cormick, her son, Henry Pritchard, Samuel Pritchard, and Matthew Haywood surrendered to take their trial on indict ment charging them with unlawfully, with strong force of arms, and strong hand, entering certain messuages situate Nos. 1,2, 3,5, 19, 20, and 23, Stamford-street, in the parish of Christchurch, Southwark, and keeping out Miss Cordelia Ange lica Read, the owner thereof. Mr. Robinson, instructed by Mr. J. C. Meymott, appeared for the prosecution ; and Mr. Oppenheim, instructed by Messrs. Lewis and Lewis, for the male defendants. The female was undefended. The court was densely crowded by persons anxious to hear the proceedings. The prisoners on being arraigned pleaded guilty, when Mr. Oppenheim, who appeared for the two Prit chards and Haywood, said that by his advice they had pleaded guilty, and on their behalf he wished to address the court in a few words. Those defendants for whom he appeared had,unfortunately for themselves, hired themselves to another party, but he was in structed that they did not enter any of the houses until after Mrs. Cormick and her son. He (the learned counsel) was well aware that although they were acting in ignorance of the law there was no excuse, and that they were equally liable with the other parties. They were hired by them, and only acted under instructions given them, thinking that they were doing no harm by getting into those houses. They now admitted having committed a breach of the law, and trusted that the court would consider the ends of justice satisfied by their enter ing into their own recognisances to appear and receive sentence when called upon. Mr. Robinson, on behalf of the prosecution, ob served that no doubt it was, as his learned friend had stated, that the defendants had been hired by one who was their head in committing this serious breaeh of the law. Who that party was they best knew. There was no difference between the defen dants, which was shown by the evidence of wit nesses, but which was not disclosed in the deposi tions, as the magistrate (Mr. Combe) did not con sider it necessary to go into all the facts when committing them foi• trial. Nothing was mentioned of the riot and breaking into the other houses on the second day. On the first day all the defendants went to 19, Stamford-street with a hatchet, crow bar, and other implements, and with force of arms broke into that house. That same evening Miss Read regained possession, but at a later hour the house was again broken into by the defendants and entered by them in an unruly manner, and Miss Read, the prosecutrix, was compelled to seek safety by flight from the roof. The following day the de fendants, with a like mob, broke into six other houses mentioned in the indictment (which does not appear on the depositions), and held possession for some time. The whole neighbourhood was by their acts kept in a state of terror and excitement for some days, and application was made to Mr. Combe, under an old Act of Parlia ment, to assist her by his attendance to turn out the defendants and other rioters. The magistrate did not like to act under the provisions of such an old act, but Sir Richard Mayne, chief commissioner of police, sent a sufficient force to prevent resist ance, and the prosecutrix gained possession of her houses again. With respect to the claim of Miss Read to these houses, all he had to say was that she had held possession of them for 18 years since her father's death, and that he purchased the free holds 40 years previously, and had always held in disputable possession. It was a strange notion of Mrs. Cormick, such an old lady, to suddenly come forward to claim property in the manner she had. Whatever was the nature of her claim Miss Read could not imagine. He (Mr. Robinson) had placed all the facts before the Court, and a ll Miss Read asked was for protection for herself and property against such lawless persons, who had struck terror into the neighbourhood, and put the owner in jeo pardy of her life. Not only that, but property of hers had been Post and destroyed of the value of about £7O, but he did not mean to charge the de fendants with larceny. Miss Read would be per fectly satisfied with the decision of the Court, and leave the matter in their hands. The Chairman observed that the only object the Court could have in the present instance was to prevent a recurrence of such unseemly and riotous conduct, and especially with regard to this pro pert) , and to show that persons could not be allowed to act in such au illegal manner. Some of the de fendants might suppose that they had a sor t o f claim to the property , bu t this was not the way to show it by collecting aeiotous mob and com m itti ng serious havoc in the neighbourhood. The law pro vided a means, if they had any title to it, and that they ought to have appealed to. With respect to the defendants, he should order each of them to enter into recognisances to come up for judgment when called upon, and he hoped he should never hear of such unseemly conduct again. The recognisances being entered into, the defen dants left the court with their friends THE ROBBERY OF MESSRS. NEGRETTI, AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE.—Late i n the afternoon George Restall, late manager at the Crystal Palace for Messrs. Negretti and Co., who was found guilty on Monday of stealing 13 v aluable lenses, their pro perty, was called up tor judgment. Mr. Sleigh, on behalf of the prisoner, said he had intended to have asked the Court for a case for the Court of Criminal Appeal, but understanding that Mr. Negretti had strongly recommended his client to mercy, be had withdrawn that question, He now trusted that, for the sake of the prisoner's young wife and family and his previous good character, and consistent with the ends of justice, that the court would temper the sentence with mercy. Mr. Robinson, who appeared for Mr. Negretti, said that the most valuable lenses were still missing, and the prosecutors, in recommending the prisoner for mercy, believed that he would have given them such information as to show what ho had done with them. The Chairman observed that early in the morning Mr. Negretti had been before the court and strongly recommended the prisoner to mercy; but he had a strong feeling on the subject, believing that the prisoner would confess as to what had become of the more valuable lenses. Were the prisoner to do that most likely great leniency would be shown to him. Mr. Robinson here urged for a postponement of the sentence until next session, and in the meantime the prisoner might think it advisable to give the required information. The Chairman thought that would be the best course to adopt, therefore he postponed passing sen tence until the next session, on the 24th of March. The prisoner, who persisted that he knew nothing whatever of the other lenses, was then removed. A very respectable-looking young man named George Mold was indicted for stealing a large quantity of brass fittings, the property of an en gineering firm at West Croydon. Mr. Robinson prosecuted, and Mr. Lilley de fended the prisoner. The prisoner had been for a short time engaged by the prosecutors, and a large quantity of brass fittings were missed. The evidence went to show that the prisoner offered large quantities for sale at a marine-store dealer's at Croydon, and some of it was traced to him. After a very lengthy trial, the Jury found him Guilty and recommended him to mercy. The Chairman sentenced him to six months' hard labour. William Harris, a very respectable-looking young man, was indicted for embezziing various sums of money the p r op er t y o f hi s master , M r . J u dah Davis, at 202, High-street, Southwark. Mr. Green the accused. prosecuted, and Mr. Lilley defended The prosecutor in this case is an extensive clothier, carrying on business at 178 and 202, High-street, Attempt to Poison Eight Persons. The Court of Ass'zes of the Maine-et-Loire has just tried a farmer named Arrial, on a charge of attempting ,o poison eight persons at Villedieu, in the abovenamed department. This crime, like many others, seems to have originated in the superstitious belief of the peasantry in witchcraft and sorcery. The prisoner had been for some yeats on ill terms with his nephew, Fontenau, owing to some dispute about pecuniary matters, and whenever any misfortune or afflic tion occurred to him or his family, he invariably attributed it to a spell thrown on him by his nephew. In 1861 the prisoner's son died after a short illness, and his wife was also taken ill. Under these circumstances the prisoner went to consult several reputed sorciers, one of whom informed him that he was under a spell thrown on him by his nearest neighbour, and to coun teract its pernicious effect he was told to catch a rabbit in its burrow, taking especial care to seize the animal by its left leg with his left hand, to skin it alive, and hang it to rot as near as possible to the door of his enemy, and this enemy the prisoner concluded to be his nephew, occupying a house adjoining his, some distance from any other dwel ing. As the prisoner's wife did not get any better after this, he had recourse to a more criminal expedient, for in June last the family of Fontenau found the ends of a quan tity of Lucifer matches in their salt-box, and several of them experienced symptoms of poisoning from eating soup seasoned with that salt. As the box hung in a place where the prisoner could reach it through a crack in the boarded partition between the prisoner's apartment and Fontenau's, there was little doubt that he had put the matches into it. Fontenau accordingly removed it, and nothing unusual oc curred till Aug. 17, when the Fontenau family and other pe sons who dined with them, eight in all, were taken seriously ill after dinner. Fontenau's wife had observed a white powder which she supposed to be flour, mixed with the bay salt in the box. She mentioned this fact to the doctor who attended the family, and he, on examining the salt-box, found that it contained enough whito arsenic to kill two hun dred persons. As the prisener was the only person besides their own family who could have had access to it, he was arrested. An investigation followed, which led to the discovery of numerous facts incriminating the prisoner, and left little doubt of his guilt. In his defence the pri soner merely said that all the evidence against him was false, but the jury did not think so, for they brought in a verdict of guilty, and the Court sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment. COUNTRY MARKETS. b` LYNN-TUESDAY. We have to report an average show of wheat, and the condition was generally improved. Prices maintained. Barley scarce. Wnite ..50s to 53s j Barley. 3Bs to 39s Red.. 49s to 51s Grinding ...... .. 328 to 33s Beans .38s to 42s Oats .22s to 24s New —s to —s Peas —s to —s HULL-TUESDAY. A small supply of English wheat to-day at market, which was taken off freely at fully last week's currencies. Foreign was still quiet. Barley for malting sold in favour of sellers. Oats firm. Beans and peas were at fully late rates. Wheat.... Old white.... per qr ... 50s Od to 53s Od Old red „ New white .. New red .... ~ Dantzic, Konb , &c. old white 52s Od to 57s Od Dutch, Belgian, and French. Ns Od to 62s Od Baltic and Hamburg, red St. Petersburg and Riga, old sos Od to 52s Od Barley.... English malting 32s Od to 38s Od Grinding 3os Od to 33s Od Saal and Oderbruck Holstein and Danish 2Bs Od to 29s Od Grinding 2Bs Od to 31s Od Oats .English, old 26s Od to 28s Od Archangel and Riga, per st oBl2id to 13d Friesland and Dutch osl3d to oal3td Swedish and Danish osl2id to osl3d Beans ....English, old, per qr 4ss Od to 46s Od .- . _ _ New pigeon New tick. 4os Od to 42s Od Egyptian Peas Foreign boilers .. 36 34s 6d s Od t o 3 tic 3 i l s , 6 0 d d Grinding Tares ....Spring —s Od to —s Od Indian Corn . Linseed, feeding s2s Od to 56 s Od crushing 110 5 0 to £lO 10 0 Linseed cakes (Hull) F oreign Bl5 oto 9 0 0 Rape cakes 6 5 oto 610 0 Bones 5 6 oto 610 NEWARK• WEDNESDAY. We had a quiet market, Ns prices is to 2s per qr dearer. White wheat new, 52s to 54s Red do. 4Bs to 52s Old white sBs to 62s Red do. 52s to 56s Barley, malting 38s to 43s Peas, .... ith a moderate demand, and Barley, grinding-298 to 32s Oats, old, 27s to 310 New do 228 to 278 I Beans. 43s to 46s 1 Beans, new 378 to 42s 38s to 445. COAL .ARKET. the close of the market. Walla End. Irrioea of Coal per Ton a' Lambert's West Hart- a. d. ley 14 3 Davison's West Hart- ley 14 6 Nettlewerth Primrose 12 6 North Pelton Gas 14 0 West Hartley ..14 6 Eden M.tin ...14.. 6 Bates'sWest Hartley..l3 9 Cowpen Hartley 14 3 Hastings Hartley l4 3 Holywell ..15 6 falilleld Moor l2 6 Wylam 15 9 Ships at mark( .8. d. South Kelloe l5 6 Hartlepool 16 3 South Hartlepool 15 0 Eleugh Hall 15 0 Tlinidon Hartlepool l6 3 Riddell..... South Hetton 17 0 K elloe Ha5we11,.,.... l7 0 Tunstall Harton l3 6 (Atssop l6 9 Brsddyll's Hetton 15 9 It, 78 ; sold, 26. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Ans'aiilia and Mauritius, via Southampton ..Feb. 18. via Marseilles ..Feb. 12. ...irazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. Mar. 6. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena.. Mar. 3, China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. Feb. 18. via Marseilles ...Feb. 12. --. Falklaud Islands.. Gibraltar, via Southampton Feb. 10. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, viu Southampton Feb. 18. via Marseilles Feb. 12. India (Bombay), via Southampton Feb. 10 via Marseilles Feb. 20. Portugal.... Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Feb. 10. via Marseilles Feb. 10. Newfoundland ..Feb. 18. Oporto and Vigo Ti. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.... Feb. 12. by U.S. packet.... by Canadian packet. Feb. 13. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Tenerifle Feb. 10. lialiatuas, via New York Feb. 12. Mexico • ...Feb. 28. AI) parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, 1 Feb. 13 California, and British Columbia.. ...... .... COLONIAL AID FOR THE COTTON DISTRICTS. The Government of Victoria, Australia, have remitted to the Home Government £5,000 towards granting free pas sages to the colony for young women capable of undertak ing domestic service, and a few married couples. The emi grants are to be selected from the distressed districts of Lancashire and Scotland, under the direction of the emi grant commissioners. ALARMING ACCIDENT AT CREWE STATION.—On Monday morning the passengers by the Irish "limited" mail on the London and North-Western Railway had a narrow escape from destruction. The train is due at Crewe at about half-past 2 a.m., but does not stop there, and on Monday morning it dashed through the station at its usual speed, but had not proceeded far beyond the railway~ bridge when, from some unexplained cause, sever al of the car riages ran off the line, and before the train could be brought to a standstill all the carriages were more or less smashed. The passengers, who were fortunately few in number, were greatly alarmed and much shaken, but most miraculously escaped without serious injury. It was some three hours before the line was cleared, when the train resumed its journey with fresh carriages, about half-past 5 o'clock. The approach to Crewe station on the Chester line is by a great curve, and there are numerous points at and near the station, necessitating a slower speed while passing through We understand the company intend shortly to make a de viation in the line, to avoid the curve. Births. DUFFIELD.—On the 11th kst., at Marcham-park, the wife of Charles Philip Duffield, Esq., of a son and heir. GIFFORD.—On the 16th inst., at Berkeley Castle, the Lady (xifford, of a daughter. HENDEILSON : —: )n the 16th inst., at awlish, the wife of Rear-Admiral Thos. Henderson, of a son. NEWTON.—On the 18th inst., at 43, Lowndes-street, the wife of Major-General Newton, of a son. Marriages. JARVIS—SHERBROOKE.— Cn the 17th inst., at Oxton, E. Jarvis, Esq., late Captain 18th Hussars, only so n of , Lincolnshire, t G o . A K lice j 31471184E1E, Esq., f d D d ° a d u d g i h n t g e t r m of Hali Henry Sherbrooke, Esq. of Oxton, Notts. THORNHILL—RODOSON.—On the 17th inst., at Saint George's, Hanover-square, Thomas Thornhill, eldest son of Thomas Thornhill, Esq., of Riddleaworth, Norfolk, to Katherine Edith Isabella, only child of Richd. Hodgson , E sq., m,p., of Carham, Northumberland. Deaths. BARMAN. -011 the 17th inst., suddenly, at Montpelier road, Peckham-rye, Henry Dawson Barman commau" der M.S., aged 42 . , BECKER.—On the 16th inst., at Lorrimore-road, Wa l " worth, Francis Paul Becker, Esq., late of the Eusten road, aged 57. Cox.—On the 10th inst., at Bath, Douglas Cox, Rear - Admiral of the Blu e , agd 73. HEADLEY.—On the 16th inst., at Aghadoe, Killarney, co. Kerry, the Dowager Lady Headley. LEWIS.—On the 17th inst., at Wandsworth, Chas. Lewis, Esq., aged 62. RENTON.—On the 17th inst., Mr. J. David Renton, of 3 0 1 Brewer-street, Golden-square, aged 62 - _ London : Printed and Published by WILLIAM ANDRVWS' of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at THE SUN Office, It 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the Co'w l ' , of hilddlesex.—Thursaday, February 19, 1863. __.......-....''''"'' '''4 4. i Th Pare( or th 4ipe ilii Ar, the u 1 DEy, Thy 'he b Insti listen I)u hay,. 12 4: N