The Sun. — London, England, 1851-02-27 00:00:00

I 44• N A:Z bitton 4-4,v SHERIFFS' COURT,-(THIS DAY.) (Before Mr. Under-Sheriff BURCHELL.) BAUD V. SOUTHEY. The plaintiff is a barge owner, and the defendant a wharfinger and lighterman on the Thames. The action was brought to recover the sum of 131. 14s. for the hire of a barge. Defendant pleaded that he was not indebted. From the evidence it appeared that defendant's son had previously been summoned to the Whitechapel 'onnty Court, and he then swore that his father was iable, and all monies were received and paid in his name, but he now admitted that he was a partner. The plaintiff's agent proved that defendant hired the barge, and that he knew nothing of the son as a partner, and that the summons had been taken out against the latter in error, as the clerk thought he was the party, being always in the business. The Learned UNDER-SHERIFF said, as the defendant had net pleaded the partnership, the jury. if they be lieved the evidence, would find for the plaintiff. Verdict for 151. 14s. 10d. EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY. (THIS DAY.) The usual half-yearly general meeting of the pro• prietors of the Eastern Counties Railway was held this afternoon at the London Tavern; Mr. Glynn, chairman of the board of directors, in the chair. The meeting was not quite so numerous as we have seen it on former occa tioas, but it was nevertheless somewhat noisy and uproarious. The advertisement convening the meeting having been read, Mr. HELPS complained that a valency had been filled up in the board without the previous consent of the shareholders, which was contrary to the spirit of an agreement come to at a previous meeting. He alluded, he said, to the appointme nt of Mr. Anderson, whose election as a director the proprietors had already once pronounced against.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. ANDERSON, after some irregular discussion had been suffered to go on, explained that during a period of intense anxiety in the affairs of the company he took the chair at three or four of the meetings, and on those oc casions he received not only the utmost courtesy at the hands of the shareholders, but what was far more dear to him, namely, their unanimous vote of thanks.—(Hear, hear.) He hed been requested to take the chair he now * filled at the instance of the directors, it was true, but in aeceptirg that htcour his only motive was to advance the interest of the concern, and therefore if his appoint ment was distastelul to th 3 proprietors. he was quite ready to place his resignation in their hinds.—(hear.) Mr. PAULING understood that another new director had been appointed, or wits about to be elected to the scat vaaatee by Mr. Bette, and he should he glad to kilos. , if that was to be made without an appeal to the bbarchoAere?—(Hear, hear.) Tbs CHAIRMAN said the directora had the power of asereinement, bat the ii3Ule power also rested with tie sherehelders, and if the meeting so thought fit they might S xercise St.—(Hear, hear.) Mr.' ;'ox esked it it wee true that, an agreement had hews come to of the nature specified by the two preced ing honehrehie proprietors. Mr. 'Rot:Ey (tbe Secretary) was understood to reply that he hal temie slight isetoileetion of such an arrange mane itaving been tacaly come tsa, but he only spoke from (Hear ) • After, some . further discussion of a :similar irrelevens nature, tee common eeal 340,4 affixed to - he register of the sitaeehelders, no the, motion cf the Chairman; and the seioeet of the directors, which has already appeared in '( lie San, havi,g 1 . 3 e CilAnimAN proeesded to address the meeting, claimiee or him.,eli and ell'ethers who e ere desirous 01 adeli easing a fair and impartial heating. al the busieete to be er eiseets d was of an urgent and importent cha racier. —(Lletir, ;sear.) The directors hail nothing to cameral, they were co-partners with the shareholders, :aid ifs no degree anxio u s to keep tuck anything.— (Heer, hear.) Ai) the, iefermstien ihey were in pos ses:eon el was at the- se , vice of the meeting, and be therefore hepee :here eteuld be as little interruption aa• pessibie.—(Hear, The report began pith taking a rather t looiny view of their aff..irs. The Great North , rn we; opened t 3 Peterberonsh, and took nearly the whole of their Peterborough traffic. as the Great Not-hem line was some six or seven lied twenty miles snorter than the Eastern Ceunties. He eel not wish to complain charging lower fares than they, because lie believed they charged tee much as their Perliemetitary powers would allow thaw.—(Hear, hear.) Then, again, when the line cpetied f ova Royston Hitchin, or rather from Hachin to Royston, there would be another route to Cambridge, while the opening of the Eastern. Union line had talon a large portion of their Norwich traffic away fruit them, since the Eastern Union route was shorter than their own, and the Eastern Union Cencpany therefore charged accordieg to a very lowitariff scale.—(Hear, hear.) They tad, however, under all circumstanaes, thought it better to come to an understanding upon the subject, and ac cordingly tin y had agreed to a mileage rate of car riage eetween London and Colchester, e nich would give the Eastern Counties Company a iourth and the Eastern Union three-fourths.—(Hear.) He would net touch upon the point of uniting the two companies under one management, because that would form the subject of dis cussion at a future meeting.—(Hear, hear.) Now how could they caetend against such adverse circumstance!: as these ? By the Great Northern line the fere by first class was 1e5..1 while theirs was 19s. Again, the fare to Norwich on the Eastern Union was as 103. 6d. against les. 6d., and 63. 4d. against St. 4d., and he hoped and trusted the two, nay, rather tee three companies, would hereafter always work in unison together as they were bound up in each other's success. They had tried what a reduction of fares would do; but the actual loss reciting from such causes was very serious, as they had one case been compelled to reduce their fares to 10a. and 6s. 6d. from 11s. and 9s. The less in their traffic to Cambridge was nine per cent., and that to Peterborough fourteen per cent., as be had already st.tcd, while their working expenses remained undiminished.—(Hear, hear.) In addition to these fusses the company had been suffering from the strike of the engine•drivers, having had to send to Scot lamed and Newcastle in search of men, at great expense, and to convert for a time their plate lay era into a body of police, so as to prevent any disturbances on the line.—(Neer.) All these extensive precamions-had been required for the due and proper working of the traffic, and because cf :he inconvenience which all this gave rise to, the dire 'tors had been forced, indeed they had no other teternative, but to charge the expenses which it involved to: revenue. (Hear, hear.) He would now say a word or two with reference to the East Ang ien line. Since he came upon the direction, he had made several attempts to come to an amicable understanding with that line, and be had always bean met on the threshold with the observation, " Why don't you pay us the twenty-two thousand pounds you °ere to us?" -7 (Laughter.) Now, they were advised that they did not Owe any thing of the kind.—(Hear, bear.) That claim, he be • liaised, arose out of certain Parliamentary expenses in curred by the late board in 1847, and they (the :new Directors) of course resisted the claim; hut whether there were or were not any bond fide grounds for the claiai., it , ought not, in his opinion, to ;ewe ' in the way, sef an amicable arrangement between the two flues for the working of both, to be settled by law, er by any other moans which might be decided upo n . Vario u s complaints had been - m de that they had u.ed the East Anglian line very ill; but he knew of only two instances since he had been at the board in which any hitch had taken place, and he was a party to one of them. When he happened to be at the board one afternoon he received a telegraphic message that the sheriff had seized the rolling stock of the East Anglian line, and he thereupon directed the superintendent that the com pany should cease to book persons further than Ely. He was sorry to stop the through traffic, but under the circumstances he thought he was justified in taking such a course. The stoppage, however, only lasted from Saturday till Monday, when he gave orders to the superintendent to resume the through traffic, the sheriff having ceased to have possession cf the rolling stock, by the use -of which alone the East Anglian line was enabled to convey passengers. The next cause of difference arose in this way—we booked passengers from London to Lynn, and they booked pas sengers from Lynn to London, each company receiving the fan's which were paid by passengers, and they, the Eastern Company, required them to deposit in their handi a sufficient sum of money to meet the differ ence in the receipts, which they declined to do. Now, these differences were anything but hostile, and on neither side was there any power or control which could prevent them arising.—(Cheers.) That company had lately published a notice in the Gazette of their intention to apply to Parliament for a Bill to lease the line to another company on a working agree ment; but as soon as the Bill was brought before Parliament, the most important clauses were withdrAw n- -- (Hear, hear.) Ever since he had a seat at the board his great desire had been to work harmo niously with all the other lines with which they were connected, because he believed the course which had hitherto been too much adopted, of fighting every one within their reach, had proved most disastrous to the compan y. —(C b eers.) After alluding to the passages in the report detailing what had b een d one with respect to the Shelfor d and S hepreth Junction an d th e New market line, he next referred to the various Bills which it was intended to promote in Parliament, and which more or less affected their interests. The first was a Bill for the improvement of Harwich. Their sincere wish was to arrive at some means by which the line to Harwich might be made. The Government had made a splendid breakwater for the protection of shipping ire the harbour, othte and the harbour itself was one of the finest, if not finest on the whole east coast of England. The next was the Bill for the Shelford and Shepreth Junction, which was lost on the second reading. The chairman then made a passing reference to other Bills, and went on to say that the Bill promoted by the B!ackwall Company fer making a railway to Tilbury Fort was now before Parliament, and had been read a snow.; time. Ho might mention th,t before that company went to Parliament with their Bill they made a proposal for carrying their Bow junction lino into the Eastern Counties line at Stretford. They offered them (the Eas;ern Counties) an equal share per mileage after deducting 50/. per cene fur we:rising expenses. Now it appeared that the result of such an arrangement would be that when a passenger paid Is. for his fire, the Eastern Couniies Comnat would only receive ad. o f i t for their share.—( L aug h ter .) Besides, a junction of that nature would bring an influx of peoengers to a to int en the Eastern Counties line where such influx would be extremely dan gerous to the public sae ty, and it was on ~' TII.E SUN, that ground that their Bill of last session was thrown out by Parliament. l -- - (Heal, hear.) 'Nevertheless, they bad always been desirous to come to. an amicable under standing with the Blackwell Cm npany, for they be lieved if a fair " give and take" agreement were entered into, they might have the advan tage of the Fenchurch-street St ation.—Hear, hear.) The Bill promoted by the Eastern Union Company had been read a second time, and if t h.sy went to a Commit tee with it, the Eastern Cou n ties Company would probably have to fight those genelemen, who might hereafter be their allies, and perhaps at great ex pense and trouble. He sincerely hoped this might be avoided.—(Hear, hear.) The last Bill on the list was the Shepreth Junction, which teas simply a renewal of the Bill which came before Parl lament last session. He now came to a part of the report which was highly important—that was the question ot7 the dividend. The balance to the credit of revenue wt is very small indeed, and he had explained the reasons why it was so; bat the sum, small as it was, had been, fairly and honestly earned.—(Cheers.) Every shilling fairly chargeable to revenue had been so charged.—('Hear, hear.) If be were determined on one thing more than another, it was to set his face against anything in the shape of fictitious dividends or cooked ac counts.—(Hear, and cheers.) The directors had r ecommended, in the strongest terms, that no dividend sh ould be declared this half year.—(Cries of "Oh," and " Le t's have a dividend.") But it was for the proprietors to, say whether there should or should not be a divider d; the question was one which laid entirely in their ha; ids, and they had a right to determine it as they liked. The amount standing at the credit of the company for the last half-year was 24,6361, and if a dividend of Is. per share, it would amount to 17,0001., thus leaving a balance in hand of 7,0001. or 8,0001. Then it should: be recollected they might have to encounter Parliamentary contests, and to preserve the credit of the company. He might remark that the directors had to bear a g,sreat deal of odium, which properly belonged to their rxredece:sors in office. —(Hear, hear.) After alluding to these discou raging circumstances, he would refer to those of a more satisfactory nature.—(He ar, hear.) The di rectors had found that, during ttee past year, a great saving might be effected by substit ating iron instead of wood sleepers, and especially at the present time, as iron was almost as cheap as wood. 'Though their money and receipts had been considerably diminished, owing to the circumstances he had detailed, he was, however, happy to say that the aggregate amount of traffic had not suffered at all, and that there had bean little or no re duction in the number of passengers or the quantity of goods conveyed_ The Chairman tnen observed that the desires of the directors was to act uprightly, honestly, and with the strictest in tegrity, and nor to conceal anytbii ig whatever from the proprietors, and concluded by moving the adoption or the report and the accounts append so. The meeting had not concluded e..hen oar report left. TATTERSALL'S__ , TRIS EVENING SIX O'CLOCK. CHESTER CUP.. 15 to I agst Rhesus 25 to 1 agst Wallflower—taken 40 to 1 agst Woolwich— taken 50 to 1 agst Beehunter--taken 50 to 1 agst Nancy--taken TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS STAKES. 10 to 9 agst Grecian DERBY.. 6 to 1 offered en the field 12 to 1 agst Mountain Sylph colt 20 to 1 agst Constellation 25 to 1 agst Ilarlboxot.gh Buck 40 to 1 agst Ariosto— taken INISTERIA:L CRISIS. :THE SPIRIT OF VIZ I.).ARISIAN PRESS. JOURNAL DES DEBAIIS.—It is again Lord John Russell who is charged to form a Ministry. We should, in fact, havo been much surprie ed if he had renounced the task so soon. It would appeer that the sudden re solution which he came to the other day was caw ed by personal considerations. lie took it without consulting his colleagues; several of them, Lc rd Lansdowne, Lord Minto, and Lord Carlisle, were in the country, and not at all imagining that their portfolios were being so lightly disposed of, and those who were present did nor, it is said, show themselves very well disposed to share in the isolated susceptibility of their illustrious chief. But Lord John Russell wea pitiless, he would absolutely quit—to be able to return, and in the hope of leaving on the road some of thee most embarrassing of his colleagues. No ono can dispute the skilful tactics and Parliamentary c xperience of Lord John Russiill; he has on this occasion given proofs of these qualities in throwing the whole Cabinet into the wat• , r in order to save himself by swim ming. It is in consequence of this process of elimi nation that we again find Lord John Russell at the heed of the Cabinet; for how long Ai time, God only knows. The explanations given at the last sitting of the Eng lish Parliament are far irem being a solution. Lord Stanley, as we have alrea dy said, had :been sent for by her Majesty, and rep] ied that he was not at present prepared to form a Ministry, that is to say, that he did not think he c iuld do it without a dissolution and new elections. Thus, we repeat, no party is ready at this moment for fresh elections; no one has made arrangements, and all would make sacrifices in order to adjourn the crisis: The question now, therefore, is to compose a Ministry which may go through the year and until the autumn, at the fall of the leaf; a Ministry consented to provisionally by all parties, and which will give them time to reconnoitre their position, and make their arrangement% This is the work which is now being done. According to the accounts we receive from London, if Lord Clarendon and Sir James Graham con sent to form a Ministry, they will be secure of the co operation of two parties, that of Lord John Russell and that of Lord Stanley. It is on them that it is relied in order to effect a momentary compromise. Although Lord John Russell remains officially charged with affairs, his Ministry is dead—very dead. If he is to be a Minister, he will not be the Premier. The Government will belong either to Sir James Graham with the present House of Commons, or to Lord Stanley with fresh elections. CONSTITUTIONNEL.—It has heels decided that Lord John Russell is to endeavour t D compose a Cabinet, in which several friends of Sir Jan tea Graham should enter, Lord Aberdeen having ref used to occupy any functions. In this arrangement it would be the Grey family which would be sacrificed to make room for the Peelite element. Sir Charles Wood is to to replaced as Chancellor of the Exzhequer by Sir James Graham, and Sir John Cam Hobhouse by the Duke of Newcastle. These two changes are certain, for it is already known that Sir John Hobhouse is, by way of re compense, to be raised to the peerag e with the title of Baron Broughton de Gyfford. It is likewise almost certain that Earl Grey, Minister of the Colonies, will be replaced by Mr. Sidney Herbert, the patron of emigration ; but •it ix not yet known whether Sir George Grey or Mr. Labouchere will make room for Mr. Cardwell, whom Lord John Rus s ell is anxious to introduce into the Cabinet, on account of his oratorical talent and financial knowledge. People incline to think that it will he Mr. Labouchere who will be sacrificed. There will then be in all four places, two of them of the first rank, given to Peel ites. The difficulty is to come to an understanding on the programme of the Ministry of fusion. Sir James Graham exacts the presentation- of a new budget, and this, it is said, will be accorded. In the second p'ace, it is said, ho requires the complete abandonment of the measure presented against the Catholic bishoprics. It appears that Lcrd John Russell, by way of conces sion, offers to restrict his Bill to England, leaving Ire land untouched by it. Several other points are pending, but they are of secondary importance. Such is at pre• sent the situation. DEATH OF MR. SAKE DEER MAHOMED. Our local obituary thisweek includes tlienatne.of Sake Deen Mahomed, who expired on Monday fast, at the patriarchal age of 101 years. Had he lived till May, he would have been 101 Mr. Mahomed was quite a character, and contributed not a little to the fame and prosperity of Brighton. He was by birth an Asiatic, and in his youth served in the army of his native princes. With bis reasons for quitting a military life we are not acquainted; nor can we say what motives in duced him to bend his steps towards England; but we be lieve we are correct in stating that he was the first who in troduced the Indian medicated vapour and shampooing baths into this country. By their agency he performed numerous remarkable cures, which gave him a world-wide fame, and brought patients from far and wide to put, themselves under his Medical treatment. Mr. Mabomed was a very kind-hearted man, most benevolently disposed, and ever ready to assist the poor, as well by contributions from his purse, as by extending to them gratuitously all the treatment of his medical art and resources. That a man so disposed and little conversant with " business," should, as age grew en him, have encountered reverses, is not calculated to excite surprise; but it may be a satisfaction to all who knew this philanthropist in the brilliant phases of his career, to learn that his declining years were rendered comfortable and cheerful by the untiring attention and care of a worthy and dutiful 3011.—Brighton Guardian. (PROM A CORRESPONDENT.) Sake Deen Mahonied was born in the year 1749, at Patna, the capital of Bahaz, in Hindoostan. Blessed with a won derful constitution, he enjoyed uninterrupted good health and retained possession of his faculties to the last. He died at Brighton on the 24th February, 1851, aged 102. In early life he held a commission in a Native Regiment of the Honourable East India Company's Service, and served tinder General Popham at the storming of the Fort of Gwaliar, in 1780 ; was also present at the battle of Ram maggar, and five or six other engagements in the same year, In 1784 he came to England, and with an introduction from the Governor-General (Warren Hastings) to William Pitt. Shortly after he was reduced to penury by • the failure of a banking firm at Calcutta. In this extremity he first introduced the vapour and shampooing baths into this country as a curative measure in disease and as a preservator of health. Most be neficial results have attended this system, now carried on by his son in Ryder-street, St. James's, and at Brighton. lie had the honour of being introduced to George the Third and Fourth, William the Fourth, and the principal aristocracy of this country. PROTECTIONIST MEETlNG.—Yesterday a meeting of the members of the Waltham Agricultural Society was held in the Agricultural llall, Waltham-on-the-Wolds, to take into considerition the depressed state of agriculture. Upwards of 300 persons were present. The chair was taken by W. F. N. Norton, Esq., of Elton Manor, and the meeting was addressed by Mr. G. F. Young, the Marquis of Granby, Lord J. Manners, &c., &c., in advocacy of protection to the agriculturists. Lord John Manners urged the farmers to give Lord Stanley their entire confidence. If they did that he would succeed; if they did not he would fail. A petition to both Houses of Parliament, founded on the third and fourth resolutions, was adopted. M E . RUTHERFURD, M.P.—W e are happy to state that the health of this Right Hon. Gentleman is now steadily improving.—Edinburgh courant. LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 27, 1851. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Feb. 27. prisoner,t and ho was caught and secured by a person who was passing. (Sittings at Nisi Pries, Guildhall, before the Loan CHIEF BARON and a Specia Jury.) The constable who received charge of the prisoner said the prisoner told him he had not tasted feed for two days; that seeing the lady coming along with her purse twisted round her finger, ho made a snatch at it. The prisoner shed tears, and said ,it was quite true that he had tasted nothing for two days. He had been out of work for some time; he had been looking in vairs forwork all that morning, and knowing it was of no use to go home, he did attempt to get the lady's purse, as soon as he saw it in her hand.—Fully committed. SKIPPER V. THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY, This was an action to recover the value of a mare, which had died in consequence of injuries received by the alleged negligence of the defendants while being carried on their railroad. Mr. E. James, Q.C., and Mr. Willes appeared for the plaintiff; Sir F. Thesiger and Mr. Bovill for the de fendants. Tho contract declared on was that the defendants were to provide a proper and suitable carriage for the conveyance of the mare from Wallingford-road station to London, and to stow her properly and suitably. but that the plaintiffs were not to be liable for injuries which might happen in the course of conveyance. The defen dants first pleaded that they did not promise ; and secondly, that they did provide a proper carriage, and did stow the mare properly and suitably. It appeared that the mare was placed in a horse-box, in which there were three compartments, and that in the division next to that in which the mare was a powerful dray horse was placed, both being to all appearances securely fastened. At the end of the journey it was found that the dray horse had broken through into the mare's com partment, and was standing over her dead body, his hoofs being covered with blood, and the mare havieg ap parently been trampled to death by him. Upon the completion of plaintiff's case, Sir F. THESIGER submitted that, inasmuch as the company were by the contract not liable for injuries oc curring in the course of conveyance, there was no case to go to the jery. Mr. E. JAMES and Mr. WILLES contended that this exemption (lid not apply where the defendants had not taken proper means to secure that which was committed to their charge. The LORD CHIEF BARON directed the jury to find a verdict for the defendants on the general issue, and for the plaintiff on the issue raised by the second plea. THE LAW OF LIBEL. (From the Times.) The pleasures of grumbling are so great that it may be doubted, with respect to certain persons, whether redress be not the last thing in the world they desire. Give them no compensation for their grievances, and you deprive them of the solace of their lives. What would heoome of the farmer without his perennial misery and his annual appeal for relief. Ail complaints, however, are not so un reasonable. For example, we claim a favourable place for the one we are ourselves about to prefer, which, though it may seem at first sight almost too personal in its character, does, we think, in reality concern the public as much as ourselves. The case of " Wilks against Lawson," fur a libel published in this journal, was tried yesterday at Guildhall, and resulted in a verdict for the plain tiff, with one farthing damages. Unprofessional readers may require an explanation of this ver dict, which reads like a contradiction of itself. It is the same as if the jury had said— " The libel was, in fact, published, but the plaintiff had no right to complain of it." In short, it is the old Irish verdict in the assault case, where the prisoner had beyond all question broken the pro secutor's head—" Guilty, and served him right." So far so good,—the smallest coin of the realm is not much to pay for the liberty of the press ; but the sting is behind. The costs are to be paid, and without letting the public into the secret of our attorney's bill, we may say that the amount is equi valent to a heavy fine fur what a jury have pro nounced to be no offence. The history of the case is as follows:--On the 2d of May, 1850, Wilks was turnkey of Marlborough-street Police court, but was absent that day at the time the pri soners were brought from the lock-up cells to the presence of the magistrates. Among these prisoners was one Hackett, a notorious offender, and another named Mackenzie. These men when called to appear were not found, and their fellow-prisoners said they had been let out by a person whose dress and appear ance they particularly described, but whom they were subsequently unable to identify. An official inquiry was made into the circumstances of the escape, upon which Wilks was discharged, and the deputy turnkey degraded. It appeared that Hackett when in confinement boasted that he would not long re , main there, because he had money, and with his fa ther's assistance he could make up a sum of twenty pounds. After this boast, and shortly before the escape, Wilks was closeted on two occasions with the father and a woman who cohabited with Hackett, and was also seen drinking with them. These facts, with many others which need not be mentioned for our present purpose, were published in the Times of the 31 of December, 1850, and our reporter in relating them used these words :—" The authorities instituted an inquiry, and it turned out that a turnkey had received a large sum of money to effect his liberation." This lithe sentence contained the libel which the plaintiff declared upon and the de fendant denied. The result was as we have stated. Wilks has gained nothing by his action—not even a loss, for he sued in forma pauperis ; and we have to pay a considerable penalty in the shape of costs. This, then, is our grievance—not ours particularly, hut that of all the press ; and unless it can be shown to be quite inevitable, we have a right to demand redress. The London journal, no matter under what name it appears, is a daily record of the world's doings. From the snows of Ross and Franklin to the Caps of Good Hope, and from China to Peru, its arms are stretched out to comprehend the whole human race. In the palace and the police-court, in the Minister's Cabinet and the Chancellor's study, among Lords and Commons, on the platform and in the witness- hox, on'Change and in the merchant's counting house—everywhere the " reporter" may be found, though not seen. And these thousand streams of news are made to converge to one point once in every 24 hours, and are served up to the public every morning with their breakfast. To execute such a work with perfect regularity is no easy task, and at least we may claim to be offered no impediment in its performance. Yet, as the law stands, any idle tale of injury to cha racter may be trumped up by the most worthless vagabond, and used as an instrument of vexation and pecuniary loss against the journalist. Until the millennium comes he must live perpetually in hot water. Until every man is as good as he can be, and no one can possibly have anything to say against any one else, wo to the newspapers! Every record of a folly or a crime may call up its avenger. The uncertificated bankrupt who has cheated his creditors and filed a schedule with a balance of nil to pay them with, is the victim of adverse fate, and brings his action against the newspaper which dares to say the contrary. No matter that be is defeated and gets a reproof in• stead of a verdict. He has no money to pay costs (except perhaps his attorney's), but the defendant has, and in that manner he is punished, and so the end is gained. This is not to be understood as an appeal ad misericordiam. It is a simple statement of a fact which concerns the whole press, and, rightly understood, affects the public quite as much. The peril of vexatious actions of libel under which the journalist lies undoubtedly operates to suppress the truth. Many an act of injustice is unpublished because the publication would be a libel, and many a sting ing truth is unsaid through fear of the law. Lis not difficult to perceive the real ultimate conse quence of this state of things, nor to understand who are the chief sufferers by it. Nothing is easier than for us to be silent, but our silence would be an injury to the public, which would lose one of its securities against roguery. That we are not al ways silent is rather a proof of imprudence than the performance of a duty; for if the law chooses to tie our hands, we cannot be expected to work without them. There is a maxim, often quoted, and much admired, and we see no reason why it should not be applied in cases of libel. It is the motive, they say, which constitutes the crime; and the motive is to he inferred from the acts of the accused. Now, in nine cases out of ten of alleged libels in respectable newspapers, the motive, so far from being bad, has been obviously and no toriously good—the exposure of some roguery, or the denunciation of some abuse. And yet this has not and cannot always save the defen dants from an adverse verdict, and never protects them from great expense. Why not ? On what principle of morality or ground of policy are men to suffer for doing no wrong—rather, we may say, for doing right ? Is it for the protection of private character against the assaults of anonymous pens ? But it is generally supposed that honest men suffer when rogues escape, and we are sure that rogues do escape by reason of this defect of the law. Or is it by way of police to restrain the license of the press ? But the restraint, we fear, operates merely to impose silence upon those who are not disposed to abuse the liberty of speech ; but it takes no license from the licentious. (From the Daily News.) It is singular that in the course of one week in the same court, and before the same judge, actions of libel should have been tried against two of the morning journals, and that each should have re sulted in a verdict of one farthing damages. The causes of offence which could be measured by such verdicts, cannot, in the opinion of the juries, have been large, and, in the case of our contemporary the Time s , aga i ns t w h om th e plaintiff sued in forma pauperis, it can only have been a sense of public duty which prompted the defence, inasmuch as the costs must, under any circumstances, have been bor ne by them. In the case, of which a report is contained in this day's paper, the point involved was one of very considerable importance, not only to ourselves, but to the entire press. It was the degree of protection which might be claimed for a bond fide and fair report of proceedings in a police court. S uc h reports have lately formed the chief cheval de bataille for ac tions against newspapers, and they have been unduly dangerous on account of the presumption that if in such reports there were the least variance from the actual depositions of the witnesses, even although the circumstances took place, or th e statements were made, that judicially a libel had been published and damages must follow, bringing with them costs in case such damages were estimated at 40s. The charge of the Lord Chi e f J ustice has now laid down a rule which, with free protection to the public, places the press in com parat i ve safety against the attacks to which they have hitherto been exposed. Both these points are settled by his observations : If the publication complained of be a fair ac count of proce e di ngs at a police court, then I am of opinion that in point of law the defendant is en titled to your verdict. B u t if i t b e a gar bl e d ac count—if anything be omitted that ought to have been stated, or much more, if anything be intro• duced that did not take place—then it is libellous, and the law will punish it." This doctrine is worthy of the author of the Act known as Lord Campbell's Act. The importance of this view to cases, such as that which was the subject of investigation on Saturday, is apparent. The formal proceedings in police courts are necessarily short and hasty. The magistrate forms his opinion from the statements made to him whether a summons shall be issued, and when the parties come before him, much that takes place is of a conversational character, and nothing is placed on record beyond what is essential to sustain ulterior proceedings. And yet it is of the last importance to the public and to the cause of public morals that the proceedings at these courts should be reported, for it is by the fear of exposure as much as of puldshment that they act as restraints on the higher and middle classes. The reports of the infiction of a is. fine on a respectable person found drunk would be a much greater punishment than the payment of the fine. And although the report of which complaint was made in the action tried on Saturday, may have been painful and distressing to the parties principally concerned, it must have acted as a caution to prevent in many other quarters the mischief which had been done in this instance. If HEALTH OF LONDON DURING THE WEEK. (From the Registrar-General's Return.) The following is the weekly return of births and deaths in London:— The mortality of the metropolitan districts, which in the preceding week had declined to 1,036, has risen to a much larger amount than is usual at this period; the deaths registered in the week ending last Saturday hav ing been 1,213. Taking the 10 corresponding weeks in the years 1841-50, the only example of a greater mor tality occurred iu 1847, when the deaths for the week were 1,253; while the average of the 10 weeks was 1,057. Correcting this average according to the supposed rate of increase in the population, it becomes 1,164, com pared with which the present return shows an excess of 49. This increase, both on the previous week and on the average, runs through different periods of life, but is most considerable among persons of advanced age. Complaints of the respiratory organs have been more than usually active; and in this class bronchitis, which carries off the aged, numbers 119 persons, of whom 23 were children, 40 wore persons between 15 and 60, and 54 had turned CO years of age. Besides these laryngitis anti laryngismus stridulus were fatal to 7 children and an adult; pleurisy to 8 persons; pneumonia (or inflammation of the lungs) to 98, of whom 77 were children; asthma to 32; and other diseases of the lungs, exclusive of phthisis, to 12. The tubercular class of diseases, which comprises scrofula, tabes mesenterica, phtbisis (or consumption), and hydro cephalus, also exhibit a alight increase on the previous week; the deaths in this return attributed to these diseases being in the aggregate 190, of which 137 were caused by consumption alone. By far the largest pro portion of the victims of this destructive malady were of middle age, 116 out of the 137 having died between 15 years and 60. Among those diseases of a tubercular character, which are mostly confined to children, tabes mesenterica was fatal in 13 cases, and hydrocephalus (or water in the head) to 32. The average number of deaths simply described es arising from "fits" or " convulsions" is 50; and this week's table shows nearly the same amount. At this period of the year the zymotic or epidemic class of diseases on an average causes about 200, or nearly a fifth part of the total number of deaths; and i❑ the present return it contributes 208, which is of ar the usual number, though the proportion it bears to the total mortality is considerably less. It is satisfactory to observe that s mallpox now shows a tendency to become less fatal. Twenty-six persons died from it in the previous week; but that number has now fallen to 18. Vaccination appears to have been per formed in only two of these cases. Two children, aged respectively 6 months and 11 months, died o❑ the 17th of February in the Smallpox Hospital of confluent small pox, both after 7 days' illness, and " unprotected." Hooping cought has increased, and now predominates among epidemics; 65 children having died from it in the week, which is considerably wore than the average. Twenty-nine died of measles, only 9 of scarlatina, and Bof croup. Typhus was fatal in 35 caseiof which 20 occurred in the middle period of life. Daring the week 130 deaths were rtgisterd which bad occurred in workhouses, 13 in military and naval asylums, 40 in general hospitals, 3 in military and naval hospitals, and 9 in lunatic asylums. The births of 792 boys and 775 girls, in all 1,567 children, were registered in the week. The average in six corresponding weeks of 1845-50 was 1,426. STATE OF THE WEATHER DURING THE WEEK. Sunday—The sky was cloudless throughout the day. Monday—The sky was cloudless till 811.30 m. r 3f., and over cast afterwards; cumulostrati, cirrostrati, and scud. Tuesday—The sky, w ith slight exceptions, was covered with cloud throughout the day ; cirrostratus, fleecy clouds, and scud. _ Wednesday—The sky was overcast throughout the day; cirrostratus and scud. Thursday—The sky was overcast throughout the day; cirrostratus and scud. Rain fell during the evening. Friday—The sky was generkll3,- covered with cloud till 6h. P.M., and clear afterwards; cirrostratus and haze. A solar halo was visible during the morning. _ Saturday—The sky was overcast tiff 10h. A.M. ; from this time till 4h. Y.m. three•fourths of it were covered, and it was generally clear afterwards. A fine solar halo between the hours of 10 A.M. and afternoon. During the morning of the 17th active positive electricity was shown; and on Saturday active positive electricity was shown throughout i.he day. MORTALITY in the METROPOLIS. .N UMBER OF DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES REGISTERED IN THE WEEK ENDING SATIIRDAY:TiiiT2,IBii7 Epidemic, Endemic, and Contagious Diseases ...`2OB Diseases of Uncertain Seat ... 58 Tubercular Diseases ... 190 Diseases of the Brain, Nerves, and Senses... ... 144 Diseases of the Heart and Blood-vessels .. 66 Diseases of thu Lungs, and other Organs of Respiration ... ... 277 Diseases of the Stomach, Liver, and other Organs cf Digestion... ... ••• ... 55 Diseases of the Kidneys, &c. ... 14 •• Childbirth, Diseases of the Uterus, &c. 9 Diseases of the Joints, Bones, and Muscles ... 13 Diseases of the Skin, &c. 3 Malformations... ••• ... 3 Premature Birth Atrophy Old Age Sudden ... ... 16 Violence, Privation, Cold, and Intemperance ::: 36 . Causes not specified ... 2 DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES ... ... 1,213 Population Deaths in corre- Deattie Enumerated. spondinz week in the 1841. of 1850. Week West Districts... 301,189 .. 143 ... 179 worth Districts.. 376,568 .. 193 ... 250 Central Districts 374,199 ... 151 ... 216 East Dis►ricts ... 393,067 ... 182 ... 285 South Districts.. 503,346 ... 242 ... :283 Totals... ..... 1,948,369 ... 911 ... 1,213 Males ... ... ... ... ... 607 Females ... ... ... ... ... 606 BIRTHS IN THE WEEK. Males ... ... ... ... ... 792 Females ... ... ... ... ... 775 Total ... .... ... ... ... 1,567 *ln this number are included 9 by Scarlatina, 35 by Typhus Fever, and 16 by Diarrhoea. THE ARMY. ROYAL ARTILLERY.-GENERAL ORDER. Deputy Adjutant-General's-office, Woolwick, Feb. 24. 1. Her Majesty has been pleased to approve of the following promotions in the Royal Regiment of Artil lery, viz.:— Brevet-Major Charles Bertie Symons to be Lieutenant- Colonel, vice Nevett, deceased. Second-Captain Ashley Maude to be Captain, vice Symons. First-Lieutenant Walter Ferguson Lock, to:be Second- Captain, vice Maude. second-Lieutenant Richard Oldfield to be First-Lieu tenant, vice Lock. In consequence of the above, Lieutenant-Colonel Cup page is removed to the Ist battalion, on lieutenant colonel's pay, in the room of Nevett. Lieuteilaili-Colonel Symons is there ore posted to the 2d battalion, on major's pay, vice Cuppage. 2. His Lordship the Master-General has been pleased to appoint Captain and Adjutant John Brandling to the Royal Rom Artillery, vice Captain Maude, promoted. H. D. Ross, Deputy Adjutant-General. FATAL PRIZE FIGIIT.—On Monday last, a prize fight took place iu a field adjoining the York-road, Leeds, between two men, named Scaife and Kelvey, in consequence of which the latter lust his life. Yesterday an inquest was held on the body of the unfortunate man, before Mr. Blackburn, the borough coroner , a t the Dog and Gun Tavern, York-road, and - from the evidence then given it appeared that the men had been matched to fight, and met, as stated, accompanied by their seconds, and a large number of the lowest classes of Leeds. In a fight which continued for some time Scaife was considerably punished, and in the end Kalvey was declared the victor of a somewhat severe combat. Immediately after the battle the deceased, to show with what ease he had mastered his opponent, ran across the field in which the tight took place, and leaped the hedge; but no sooner had he done this, than he staggered and complained of giddiness in the head. His friends assisted him to the Dog and Gun, where a surgeon was promptly in attendance. Kelvey, however, rapidly got worse, and died in two hours afterwards. By a post-mortem examination it appeared that Kelvey, in the course of the encounter received a heavy blow on his temple, which had burst a blood-vessel in the interior of the skull. limmorrlatige on the brain succeeded, and the result was death from congestion. The jury, after hearing a good deal of evidence, returned a verdict of Manslaughter against Scaife, who was at once committed for trial at th next York assizes. DRUIDS' HALL, FARRINGDON.STREET.—The third public rehearsal of the Metropolitan Classic Harmonic So ciety took place at the Druids' Hall on Tuesday evening. The programme consisted of an excellent selection of sacred and secular music. The first part (sacred) was chiefly from the works of Mozart, Handel, Himmel, and Perry, the prin cipal solo parts being sustained by Miss Milner, Miss Law, Miss O'Donnell, Mr. Gadsby, and Mr. Manley. In the se cond part Miss Law gave Charles Horn's beautiful song, " The deep, deep Sea," so tastefully, as to elicit an unanimous encore. Shield's pretty ballad, " W hilat with village Maids," was very sweetly sung by Miss Milner; and Miss O'Donnell rendered Rodwell's song, " Oh, charming May," so exqui sitely, as to richly merit the encore by which it was ho noured. Mr. Manley sang the " Death of Nelson" with great spirit and feeling; and Mr. Gadsby gave Calcott's song, " Friend of the Brave," in capital style. The chorus was both numerous and effective. The Hall was crowded. ACCIDENTAL DEATH Or Ma BOOTH, RAILWAY CONTRACTOIL—Testerday, Mr. Wakley, M.P., held an in quest at the Morton Arms, Hawley-road, Kentish-town, on the late Mr. John Booth, sub-contractor on the Birming ham Junction of the East and West India Dock Railway, aged 49. The body presented an appalling spectacle, the skull having been literally driven in. James Stutter said that be was working the crane at the viaduct by which they were hoisting stone of 5 cwt., when, in consequence of the chain being foul, the stone came in contact with the side of the viaduct, and its progress was stopped. Deceased, who was standing on the parapet, leaned all his weight against the chain to drive it from the wall, when the chain swerved, and deceased, losing his balance, fell amidst bricks and rubbish to the road below. In his fall he called out, "Hold off, hold of 1," and tried to grasp the scaffolding.as he fell. Richard Whittaker, the foreman carpenter, substantiated th e a b ove e vidence. Several other witnesses were exami ne d, and the Coroner summed up, commenting upon the f r i g h t f u l nature of the fatal occurrence. The jury, after a br ie f d e lib eration, returned a verdict of " Accidental death." Deceased, who was beloved by the workmen, has left a widow and child to deplore his untimely end. Alarge catch of mackerel took place in our offing last week. One boat brought in upwards of 12,000 fish, which were sent to the London market. On Sunday again, three boats brought in upwards of 20,000 fish, which f e t c h e d 14.. a hundred.—Brighton Guardian. LOCK DART V. DIINCOMBE. This was an action against the defendant, as acceptor of a bill of exchange f r 3,0004 The defendant pleaded that he did not accopt, that ho was induced to accept by fraud, no consideration, and that the bill was an accommodation one. Mr. Edwf,rl James. Q. C., and Air. Dacent appeared for the plaintiff; Sir F. Thesiger, and Mr. Bramwell for the defendart. The bill was drawn by a Mr. Beebey, the nephew of the defendant; and Beebey indorsed it to the plaintiff, who bad been in his service. Consideration to the amount of 9501. was proved to have hem advanced by the plaintiff to Beebey. The case was chiefly remark able for the manner in which the evidence was give,. Atter the defendant's case was finished, the plaintiff called witnesses in reply, upon which the defendant called witnesses to contradict them; and, lastly, while the jury were considering, an additional witness was tendered, but his Lordship would not hear his evidence. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff for 950/., without interest. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. ROME ClRCUlT.—fiereford, Feb. 26. The commission of assize for the county of Hereford was opened to-day by Mr. Baron Parke. Tie causo list is not yet mode up, but the number is believed to be about the usual average. The gaol calendar is light and all the eases are of the ordinary description. Mr. Boron P A RKE, in his abanse to the grand jury, congratulated them upon the tightness of the calendar, observing that all the cases contained i❑ it appeared to be of a very simple description, and not requiring any re marks from him respecting them, and he at the sametime said it vvaa very satisfactory to see that there was not a single charge involving the desctruetion of human life, or in which the fife of any person accused was in jeopardy. Tne grand jury havinz, retired, one or two trifling cases were disposed of, but they did not furnish any material for a report. NORTHERN CI I? CUI T.— Carlisle, Fel+. 25. CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Justice CRESSWELL.) Jane Watson, aged 23, the wife of Matthew Watson, was indicted for having at Braithwaite, on the 25th of last July, feloniously cut the throat of her child, Sarah Watson, with intent to murder it. There were other counts in the indictment laying the intent to do the child some grievous bodily harm, Mr. James and Mr. Iliggin prosecuted, and Mr. Mat thews defended the prisoner. _ _ It appeared that the prisoner is the wife of a labourer living at Braithwaite, a vilaee about three miles from Keswick, and her father, Joan Kirlehritlge; lived in .the same house with them. On the 25th of July Mary Fearon, a little girl, the niece of the prisoner, went to call upon her, but finding the front door fast, she went round to the back door and estered the house, and on going up stairs she saw the prisoner sitting by the fire with her child, which was about fourteen months old, on her knee. There was bood on the floor, and two bloody razers lying on the dressing table, and bloody cloths were wrapped round the necks of both the pri soner and her child. The littls girl, Mary Fearon, in great alarm, ran back and infnrmed her mother of what she had seen, and an immediate alarm being given, vari ous people ran to the prisoner's cottage to see what was to do.. A witness named Jobsen first entered, and found the prisoner still sitting as described by the little girl. He spoke to her, and askec her what she had been doing. She made no answer, but told him "to keep off her." He took up the moors, and there was a little blood on them, which he wiped off. Ile then wont out, and Isaao Fearon, her brother in-law, went into the room. She took no notice of him, and he sat down on the bedside and began talking kindly to her, asking her what was the matter, when the burst into tears. On seeing the child lying on her knee with bloody cloths about it, he said, " 01 dear we, Jane, what could make then do such a thing as this?" She said her father had said or done something to her, and she could not bear it; but she cared nothing about herself. He went out to send for a doctor, and on his return he found her standing over the child, which she had laid on the bed, crying out with her arms above her head, " My poor bairn, my poor bairn." On the surgeon arriving he found the child appa rently lifeless. There were two incised wounds on the throat, abolit three inches long each, but not very deep, and no material blood.yeesels had been divided. On sewing up this wound the child flinched, and he then resorted to every means he could to revive it. The child re covered, and was now quite well. There were also two gashes on the prisoner's throat, and both her own throat and the child's had been bound up by her with cloths. On the cross-examination of the various witnesses it was attempted to be elicited that the prisoner lived an un happy life in consequence of having a drunken husband, and she was showe to have exhibited a state of great despondency before this event. It was also attempted to be shown that there was hereditary insanity in the fa mily; that her mother died childish and insane, and her grandmother cut her throat. The Learned Comeau. for the prisoner then addressed the jury, and in the course of his speech was consider ably affected by the painful details of the case. He urged that temporary insanity alone, there being a pre disposition to that malady in the prisoner's family, brought on by domestic trouble, would have induced her to commit so shocking an act towards her own child, to which, immediately afterwards, the returning affection of a mother had exhibited itself; and ho appealed to the jury to take a lenient view of so sad a case. His LORDSHIP, in summing up, directed the jury that it was fur them to consider the intent with which the act was done. It they thought the prisoner had committed this act -with any of the intents charged in the indict ment, they must find her guilty. If they acquitted her, then they must say whether they acquitted her on the ground of insanity and incapacity of knowing whether she did right or wrong; but the law said that insanity must be presumed, unless that presumption was rebutted by the clearest evidence. The jury found the prisoner Guilty of doing bodily harm to the child, but no " grievous bodily harm," which his Lordship said was guilty only of an assault. She was sentenced to be imprisoned, with hard labour, for one year. Mr. Bliss, Q.C., sat in the course of the day in the Grand Jury-room and tried several prisoners. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MARLBOROUGH-STREET. OMNIBUS RCEBERY.-----Frederick &urge, a pickpocket, of extremely respectable appearance, was brought before Mr. Hardwick, charged by a City police-constable n ame d Headington with hiring robbed a lady in an omnibus of her watch. The constable said he knew the prisoner to be a thief. Seeing him is company with another man, ho watched them until trey got into an omnibus at Charing-cross. Witness immediately followed in a cab, and when the omnibus stowed is Regent-street, and the two men got out, he went up to the prisoner and took him into cus tody. Witmss made the prisoner go back to the omni bus, and on %king if any of the passengers had lost any thing, an slterly lady immediately discovered that she had been roibed of h er w atch. The prisoner took the prisoner, and t o ld foemunhidb.us.Whalanthewitpereisssonsetorp'sped o t s h s e ession 14 2s. 6d. wa s watch out of his p oc k e t, a nd threw it on the seat of the p him he must go back to the omnibus, the prisoner said, " For God's sake don't take me, or I shall be lagged; consider mywife and family." Muss Jere heirle, a maiden lady, residing et 16, Queen's -I ' o % Camberwell, said about eleven that morn ing she got into an omnibus at Newington, having a watch in he pocket, fastened to it with a piece of tape. Looked at be watch at the florae Guards, and then re placed it it her pocket. The prisoner got into the omnibus a Charing-cross, and placed himself by her side, where her pocket was. The prisoner got out in Regent-stret, and in a few minutes was brought back in custody. Witness then felt for her watch, and found it had beerstolen. The prisoner afterwards threw it on the seat of he omnibus. The prianer declined to make any defence, and was fully oomrotted. DARING MID-DAY RoBEERY.—CAUTION TO LADIES. —John Mi ms , a ma n dressed as a bricklayer's la bourer, wa charged with the following daring robbery: Mrs. Ovrman, of No. 4, Queen's - row , Regent's - park, who appeaed t o be still labouring under considerable agitation fere what had occurred, stated that about an hour befor, as she was walking in Park-eresent, with her purse i her band and her watch by her side, she was sudde4 knccked down by the prisoner, who made a snatch ether purse and watch, but only succeeded in tearing offthe ends of the purse. The prison instantly ran off, thewie g the steel ends of the purse into the road. A ;entleman who saw the occurrence stopped the prisons., who was afterwards given into the custody of a policelonstable. Mr. Wytt, a young gentleman living in Chester -ter race, Reget'e_park, said he was walking with his mo- ther when , e saw the lady fall on her back in the road, and the prioner run away. Ile stopped the prisoner, and the prioner ran back; witness pursued, turned the CLERKENWELL. Yesterday John White, a well-known member of the swell mob, was placed at the hot. before Mr. Combo, charged by Thomas Edeford, cabinetmaker, of 14, Rove and Crown -court, Clerkenwell, with stealing a silver watch from his waistcoat-pocket, at the pit entrance of Sadler's Wells Theatre. It appeared from the statement of the proseeutor, that on Tuesday evening he was induced to attend Sadler's Wells Theatre, to witness the performance of the Winter's Tale, &c. When he was standing in the crowd at the pit entrance the prisoner was immediately behind him, atrl witness feeling a tug at his waistcoat pocket, in stantly turned round and seized the prisoner, who had abstracted his watch from his pocket and dropped it. Fisher, an active officer, 127 G, who was on duty with others of the detective force, took the prisoner into cus tody and locked him up. There not, being sufficient evidence, the prisoner was discharged. It was stated thst robberies of this description nightly took place at the entrance of the theatres, although there was alwa3 s a number of the detective police in att ndancP. Thomas Smith, in the garb of a countryman, was charged with stealing pewter pots, the property of Mr. Silcock, of the Carpontera' Arms, Acton-place, Big nigge-wells-road, and Mrs. Bloomfield, of the King's Head, Swinton-street, Gray's-inn-road. Porter, 101 G, stopped the prisoner on Tuesday even ing with something bulky about bis smock-frock. On questioning him he said he had nothing but his own, but on taking him to the station-house and searching him two pewter pint pots were found, the one belonging to Mr. Silcock and the other to Mrs. Broomfield, whose names, &e., were engraved upon them. The prisoner said he was employed to carry the pro. perry.—He was fully committed for trial. .:SOUTHII I ARK. Yesterday, William Griffiths, a young man of re spectable appearance, clerk in the employ of Messrs. Brown and Co., stoma-merchants, of Bankside, was placed at the bar before Mr. A'BecluAt, charged with rude cently assaulting Maria Palmer, in a railway carriage. The complainant, a respectable-looking young woman, stated that she is a servant, and that on the preceding afternoon she came up to town from Graves end by the twenty minutes past five o'clock train, in one of the third-class carriages. The defendant, accompanied by another young man, was a passenger by the train, and sat nearly opposite to her in the same c mpartment of the carriage. Before the train arrived at the aackheath tunnel the defendant pushed his feet against hers, and also put his hand upon her knee, and she changed her position in consequence, but still sat nearly opposite to him, and she was confident that it was not accidentally done. When the train en tered the tunnel the defendant thrust one of his hands up her clothes, but she pushed it away, and a second time he repeated the ect, and she screamed out, and when the carriages got out of the tunnel a soldier who sat with his hack to her in the adjoining compartment of the same carriage, seeing her crying, asked her what was the matter with her, and when she told him how she had been treated while the train was passing through the tunnel, and pointed out her assailant, he (the sol dier) said that he ought to be ashamed of himself for taking advantage of a female undar such circumstances, She did not hear the defendant make any reply, hut when the train arrived at the London-bridge terminus, she mentioned the manner in which she had been in sulted on the journey to one of the railway officers, and having pointed out the'defendant as the man, she gave him into custody. In reply to Mr. ATECKETT, the clmplainant said that she had no conversation with the defendant previously to his having acted in the manner she described. That she did scream out loud, but the noise of the carriages pass ing through the tunnel might have prevented the other pao , sengers from hearing her. That there were five per sons, including the defendant, sitting i❑ the same com partment of toe carriage with her, but still she was con vinced he was the man who insulted her, although she could ❑ot distinguish him in the darkness that prevailed in passing through the tunnel. That when they got out of the tunnel she addressed the defendant, saying that he was not fit to come thera if he could not behave him self, but he made no reply to what she said on the subject. Mr. Binns cross-examined the complainant with a view to show that she might have been mistaken in the iden tity of the defendant, and that, although exposed to the indecent conduct she described, yet that he was not the perpetrator of it, there being other men in the same compartment of the carriage at the time. The com plainant, however, adhered to the accuracy of her state ment, and added that she was confident the defendant and no other person was the man by whom she was as saulted. Richard Cheer, a private in the Fusilior Guards, stated that he sat in the next compartment of the car riage, and observing, when the train got out of the Blackheath tunnel, that the complainant was crying, he asked her what was the matter, and she described the manner in which she had been tremed, and pointed out the defendant as her assailant; that he (witness) said the defendant deserved to be given into custody for such scandalous conduct towards a decent young woman. He (witness) did not hear the complainant scream out, but this might be accounted for owing to the great noise of the engine and long train of carriages passing through the tunnel. He added that when he made the remark about the defendant's conduct, the latter made no reply. Henry Dives, ticket-collector at the London-bridge. terminus, stated that when the Gravesend train arrived, at half-past six o'clock the previous evening, he observed the oomplainant crying very much, and, on inquiring into the cause, was then informed that she bad been grossly insulted on the journey to town. The defendant was pointed out to him as her assailant, and witness then asked her if she would give him in charge, and she havieg expressed a desire to do so, he took him into custody. The witness added that when the charge was preferred against the defendant he gave no answer to it. Mr. Binns said, although the complainant spoke so positively to the defendant, yet, if his ins ructions were correct, s he was quite mistaken as to his being the per son by whom she was assaulted. That the defendant was a young man of highly respectable family, had been four years in the situation ho now filled, and that the firm by whom he was employed had so high an opinion of his moral conduct, and were so confident that he would not have acted in the way imputed to him, that they not only became his bail to appear at that court, but were also prepared to give security for his appear ance before any other tribunal if the magistrate thought fit to send him there. That a witness was in attendance who was present in the carriage, and who would prove that the defendant was not the man who had perpetrated the assault. He then called Robert Denny, who stated that he is a tradesman at Chatham, and that on the previous evening he came up in the same carriage from Woolwich with the defendant, whom ho had known since he was a child. That they both sat nearly opposite the complainant in the same compartment, and that he had not observed his friend take improper liberties with her, nor did be hear her appeal for protectio❑ to any person, or hear her scream out at the time she alleged the defendant thrust his hand up her clothes. By Mr. ATECKETT—Believed ho must have seen the defendant if he put his hand on complainant's knee be fore the train entered the tunnel. Admitted, however, that if the complainant screamed out when in the tunnel, he might not have heard her, owing to the noise pro duced by the train. Mr. ATM/LETT remarked that the charge was one of so serious a nature against the defendant, namely, that of grossly assaulting a female passenger, and taking ad vantage of the darkness that prevailed when the train was passing through the tunnel to effect his purpose, that he should not dispose of the case himself, but should send it before another tribunal. He (the magistrate) should, therefore, adjudge the defendant to find two sureties of 501. each to appear to answer the charge at the next sessions. It was intimated that the complainant's father, being in very indigent circumstances, was not in a condition to bear the expenses of a prosecution, upon which Mr. A'I3ECXETT said that if the railway company did not do so, he should apply to the Home-office on the subject, so that the law should not be defeated in a case which concerned the public at large. IRELAND. - - DUBLIN, WEDNESDAY.—THE LORD-LIEUTENANT.►— In connexion with the Ministerial crisis, there have been rumours about the departure of the Ford-Lieutenant for London, and the postponement of the levee and drawing room, fixed for this day and to-morrow. The Evening Post has the following authorised contradiction of these groundless reports:— " A foolish placard has been posted through town during the course of this day, purporting to have ema nated from a newspaper office, to the effect that Lord Clarendon bad gone to London. We have authority to state that there is no foundation whatever for such a re port, and that the levee to-morrow (Wednesday), and the drawing-room on Thursday will be held conformable to the public announcement." Actrzoss roe. LIBEL.—The long litigated case of " Wynne v. the Marquis of Westmeath" was brought to a termination in the Nisi Prius Exchequer yesterday evening. The trial lasted eight days. Four witnesses were produced to prove the plaintiff's case, twenty seven to substantiate the defendant's plea of justifica tion, and fourteen to prove the plaintiff's rebutting case. The Chief Baron yesterday occupied seven hours in charging the jury. The jury retired, and after an ab sconce of about half an hour, returned into court with a verdict for the plaintiff, 2,000/. damages, and 6d. costs. SALE OF ENCUMBERED ESTATES.—There were two properties offered for sale by the Commissioners yester day. Tho first put up was the estate of John Thomas Jessop, consisting of a portion of the Mount Jessop estate, in the county of Longford, held in fee simple. No per son having come forward to make a bidding, the sale of this property was adjourned to a future day. The next property offered was the estate of William P. A. Sutton, and comprised the impropriate tithe- rent charge of se►eral parishes i❑ the dioceses of Lismore and Cashel, in the county of Tipperary. The property was divided into six lots, four of which were sold, and realised a sum of 6,9801. The sale of the other lots was adjourned in consequence of the inadequacy of the biddings. Let not felicity eat up circumspection ; he who remits his care will perish by his neglect.—Eliza Cook's Journal. --- that Action had been successful, it would have ren dered it dangerous hereafter to give publicity to aDY police report,and tions of a nempsper, the exposure of folly and crime and li of their consequences, would have been abrogated. he case in which we have been partially tha victims imp crime tune illustrates the risks to which such reports expose u s ' On the complaint of a certain party, a summons was issued by a magistrate, who therefore was convinced that there was ground for calling upon the accused for his defence. On four several occasions did the A matter come subsequently before the magistrate. report of all these proceedings appeared onc e in this paper, and a portion of such report was neCes d Wily in the form of a narrative. It was complain!. of as "an entire fabrication." The complaint vb. " evidently grossly exaggerated, but the parties we -I re asked rr to point out any error which bad been mo le ' Reference refused, and insisted upon suing for redrebs!; ef,•rence was then made to , the reporter, and the l notes of each hearing were found to corroborate report; and an officer of the court, the upon reads lavga e the report, said that it was fair, an that g__ in which it was couched w as mdore moderate tbs., that which the parties used. It i s obviou thatt IL there had been misstatement and consequent jury, this would have been best redressed by 30 ex ( 1 planation ; but this the parties refused to adop t, , ll : ll , preferred an action at law and the damages result?, from it, if a substantially fair report were Dot I , 0 ria itted as a defence, and the slightest va riatio n be from or addition to depositions actually diet pith been regarded as sufficient to justify a verdict pith acnosdtsa.lthAouroyal ti : g w h is l e v r e i j n u a d y gment as, however, p mated the damages too do not in the least complain. We are proud to b 61 1 .0 fought the question, and to have assisted to co Up. highly considert h b a y t the one jury fartbhianss,eswv: the principles laid down by the Chief Justice. u/30 willing that our columns should be ever made the vehicle of private slander or of needless ii n jo rY llal character, and prompt to repair any uniotenti°Boi wrong which we may commit, we will n ot at i 5 our time sacrifice that liberty of the press whici;6- he c 0 a; right as journalists and our privileg e as l'l n g lle and the verdict of Saturday, by t hrowing Pr o.upe- accuser his own costs, tends most materially t ° t o tact us in the honest p e rformance of o ur duty, . 5 1a 11 0 t o discountenance the class of speculative 361° which the press is so much exposed. ___......... SHIP NEWS. NOTICE TO MARINERS. .L. tr• S . LI3IA, . i Vessels arriving at this port from Paouald, C._olof a Nl: e x w ico i , and California, are now placed in quar intlP ILIvETs, according to circumstances. ilet piolir from ... O POOL, FEB. 26. —Wind E.N.E.--Arrd. pr. LlNoa , Grad e ßte s loa : E SENp ; Ashley, ll F . omfromAlArznatnviclerriPa ;; 1 1- 1641 T f51 1, 13:: . D fr O °: se,ii it uen eGitabtrlayl,t af ; orr C ; u h ,p a be : a l g e rr a le, Tucker, from Rouen. On t.,.. . or . gilby. Sld Clown, for Nantes ; Exel li 7oflt i 9 . f ef o r' r Cadiz ; China, f° l. IC" from Ostend; frisk .r, .EU 26.—Wind N. 8.. fres h ' firDank-sl lb_erathsteand 1 rdan3 J.6on, from Maria Itis .tend; Twe &Ares, from Dragres; fora from Boulogne Ovrto; Sir Edn. . , ;Bengal, from Dunker ; . ~..Er o er ' Abt•rdeen • City Rotterdam, from Dunkirt‘, poi Rotterdam Ecliieaipriettibitl, frido Chris ' , tina, from ;Neapholcon, from Cherbourg i Sailed—A - Conn n agen.foritilottLll3ter: grippi for Trieste ;_._ Tharues, burgh ; Ocean, 11a , ner, and Giraffe, for —.to ; dam ; Sea Bird, for Gambia ; Red Port, for OP o f Stadt u3 Dordrecht, for D,, , rdt; Diana and Boscornal' for Cuba ; g ; La Pottle, for Cherbourg ,• MarY fl ele l'is- Fortuna, for Bitb,ia ; Persia, fel. Calcuttallor quethot de la Plate, for Bordeaux ; Neptune for burgh ; Aurora, for Cadiz. —.......,, :L. the S Gen arg 'toll.) patebe d * 10° 1 due' Mar ch & bfarch I yarc.- h Feb' - ptilf,, 4 Feb' 2 4 Feb3l3'-h , A rc.- otrei gar ° Tg• Tu. 20 sa ar c 'il l st. TueLTAtif 3405., 9 0 3{Ar c° , ls ll.l T wice- 13 {arch 3 ;fatal LiverPO l ': l" Liverpool; Plymout I southitu Dover ••• I voyer sou tharriP.!' '8 0 (1th: 101 1' !seuthumP ' !Plmouth• • ' , Dove r poutha P t i. Soutltamp 'Nathan:W t. ! Do ver •• - ,Dover Lond on • • Lo udon , tiout oop.. Dolfhend .. soutta l " D o ver • YAr eil Is 1 south arapt. rcl l Dis_., 4 5 Dover t. 12 15stitbooPt are. southO P y a rch I -1 1) ,yer marc !, 2 2 si ac c r ii i 6 Do t Irist'irch Ir 220 southaitiP 2 0 P a ov.„ er ao p . t. " ;sw— - DiA rc south gu tiP— I y ofe i by Led( * ) A re c4P SEABORNE [N signifies that the mails are sent front by the night—and Si by the morningtsP, when made up in General Post-office London. February 23•• •• March 7 • • • • March 8 .• ,•• 14th of the mo nth 19th & 30th of mg. Daily • • • • • • 9th of the month 9th of the month 17th of month 14th of month 7th 17th 27th of rno • d k 17th otinom. Mon., Wed., &-t T7T l7 ::h t c7deotafhdyta2hic. r..o(dri.yrz, 'Wednes. '""„ t ti' 17th of the Ih °-- ITwice dailY • • 20th of the mon' j7th& 24th ofmouth, 20th of the Month 7th& 24th of month 2d of the month.• PLACES. America (by Brit. pkt.) N America (by U.S. pkt.) N America (by U S. pkt.) 31 'arca (West coast)• • N Alexandria. ........ N Belgium • . .. • • N Brazil .. . .. Buenos Ayres .. California( via Chagres) Cape of Good Hope N Constantinople* .. • . N Central America .. M Channel Isles N Chili .. France Greece* .. Ilamburgh Liolland Honduras .. Ireland .. • • M& N India (via Southamp.) M India (via Marseilles) N Mediterranean (via Southampton) .. M H editerranean (via Marseilles) . - Mexico 31 St Ni .. N Madeira • • .. 9th of the month 7t11,17th,19t1a,97th - L & 30th of month Naples* .. • • N sth 15th 25th of mo Papal States* N sth 15th 25th of rno reninsular.. •• M 7th 17th 27th et m o Peru .. .. • • .. M 17th of the month Tuscany* N sth 1 b th 25th of mo West Indite M 17th of the month West Indies (except I Havanna & Nassau) M 2d of the month •• * The mails to those countries thus mar l French packe yla Marseilles. Malta. .. .. .......... n"...''.."'------------- 11 . ••• THE COUNTRY MARKEv„tt LzvzarooL, FEB 25 The attendance today rgiiirs3ittd. good, but the demand for — all articles vras exceedinglYcd jr< without, however, quotinga decline. In both wheat f !' st , s ad . prices must be rated as being in favour of buyers. ; rid n; oatmeal maintained their value. Beans and Pf a '' o rn ja fl malt, dull, but without change in rices. Indian c hest' rtquest at late rates. P ,! w ith t ( "ja• Beans NEW a c s A b s e T foj E ct. ThLeans, Fxis. 25.—We were fairly suPP"I,, ; A ter. 0 9 s W a h l ee and t w _ er 0 best samples sold slowly at about last wee ' bo la e a, f i r qualities were almost unsaleable. Fine _ neg l e ct scarce, and fetched late rates. Other sorts were of ~, 05 --Tba ° litt,s other articles :o r business done, without giving way in price. Ba r l a CORN t g s , ei and p.AtiiAo n o R s t 3 c h Ed e 7 : :i articles dr e zc xi y. ,i s t_ e . a d y a . t :opoirols. beasts Nz °Wet. of aPP I r was small to-day. Trade exceedingly paiert, souros ,ita Th e ~,,,,„1 , 1 wwcraLbEoutCAfoTrTtyLEheAaldAßmicogrTe, 0F:13.1025r" lc Abe....,:e; we s e old• sol good. Trade steady at former rates, with part tio. nta inerlt a trade less active, yet former prices were fully 1, 1 4, to s Bee f 0 r all di posed c.f. Beasts, 800 ; sheep, 3 ,.. 0° per stone; mutton, 6d to 6id per lb eri tioi i t o DUBLIN, FEB. 25.—We d - o net make any lilt , o per . nd P WO ° prices this day, but the market was so dull, a de . 0; limited, that more precise quotations cannot be rag ~t ~,i to es soo barley, 12s 6d to 145 Od ; oats, 65 9d wheat, 21s Od to 24s Od ; red ditto, 19s v" 3d; OP 0 4; Second mo a I li flour , market to -EcdAwato lOs in Ils Ps 18s Od to 20s Od per barrel; oatmeal, I° B . "" co rm r 480Ib, BURG to 325. ' - to sere 1 .0 L y 1.81 sacksaax a or ; ll* EDIH M - 1 Frn 26• -S-er. g 9— 41 th t los 6d 155 Od ; Indian imperial, which sold thus •--4 at 11 , 7 / 6 , ld 4- ,, Li e r sot at 11 78 Od; average price of • the whole i"." ley, y i n - 64 , 8 so cks flour, which sold at 285. 13 sacks pot-barley, 2 at 2` 1 , , ;,..• E I D d i w t h a u u s :—I at 25s 6d, lat 255, 4at 2 1 ° , j , a r Fsis• to e; Hay AND STRAW I°lAsSof 16 Stel'ele, A Oat straw, a f 6 r: Fa 7s Od to 8s Od per ken? oatmeal, eacif rreigtibciii: an,01,. be Od t ° wheat ditto, 6s Od to 70 6d ; barley ditto , 93 Hay, from 10 ~,1 ....The r , e ~f le: te i l si! dto Is per stone. „ DALKEITH MEAL MARKET, ras• *--• , b a riel , „tor bags s oatmeal, 10 of barle meal, and a t e ` on t''' sct'' secondd y's market ; laic's ready. Oatmeal h s ame tog also quality 6d per bag the lowest q dearer, rd Th' j vanced 3d per bag. Oatmeal, , SeN tld 25 0 n t s . per sack, of 280 lbs. First n 5. 9d ip s imperial 265 Od - ' 4 ' 7 , ' 3d ' Od Barle In 1 ) ea , per ditto .•• ••• 170 6 d 13 Od ' A Oa Peasemeal -* Od . "' ..13 od Flour .. •'' ••• '" —Od " 8 - e 4 ......13 - Od Pot barley . ". *** •" 2 1 3 0 213 ••• ... ... ...—.TirSTSRDAT. .60 6d Larnbton ............. . .:40 64 StOVllll3lartilllSCl.......:::::: ... 136: 691- WhitiVen ..... ••• ....... pis 0(..1 /Rue& HO ... ..... 150 1 ..• ••••• ;55 O. ICelloe .... 1 .... I 9d ISoThornilleyt.lepo.. ......... llll 6.t! IWest liellee.•• .... ... 133 u_c; ,Whitworth • ......... 153 o'l Adelaide Te e 3 ' .... 133 31 Igaciead, Tees .•••'' . ~ 0 ilartley... ........... ... 141; -64 Hill of Beath ..... a ---, gertbYr illi 2to pi .•••• COAL MARKE' Buddle's W. Hartley.. 14s 6d Carr's Hartley ..... 14s 6d lantield Moor Butes... 13s Od Wall's End, &c. Brown Elm Park Hedley Morrison Riddell Eden Main Lambton Primrose Bell Braddyll H etton H l6s Keepier aswell Grange 160 Ships at tnarkaL 81.1iTibl. OF A 80X. FOrtillria.l3lid' 6 y e o wi O fe n of tli j a o 2 h s n th llo i r n n s b t ) ., ,, tt q P ., a 3 rk i. - p c . resc c e n u t fr , the 1° t. olitt P On the - 42 d inst. at Aspall-hall, 0 . 10 o f Liell teli° Barrington Chevallier. On the 25th inst., at Cheltenham , the Ai Colonel Cotton. %CO' On the 21st inst. , the f J 13 ' b.- I , On , o t f he th 2 e 3l s i t n h st., at Maidstone, the lad"' 0- ' 0. Chilton, Suffolk. OF A DATIONTICX Pg . ' ilgs) wif Hussars.wife of J . F• . S• . GoodsY! slOs li. MARRIED. philip -- bee , der, the 24th inst., at St. Pancras Church, F . il - i - lip 11 , 11f aic is , the youngest son of the late Captain ro f r 11.E.1.., to Theresa Francisca, second daughtelsioreo.ol Robello, Esq., of Upper Woburn -place , Ta vi l l t" Neil' S te'C' At St. Mary's, Kensington, Captain W• '''‘ t be II Artillery, to Teresa Miriam, only daughter ca F. Rives, Esq v i illi e ' WED an Joan ° On the 23d inst., at Hampstead, aged '''',. w origs• 08 9 ' author of " Plays on the Passions," and the ..., _. is g At Little Glernham, Suffolk, T Coggeshall, r'sey74, }♦'• on the 22d inst., at Bognor, Mr. T. Neale, ag_ w e al& On the 221 inst., at Kynaston-lodge, ilarrow ' Jo° es P. Daykin, Esq., aged 76. On the 22d inst., at Pool -cottage , Sid e Pentiergraes, Esq., aged K. th .;zbtor i, On the 24th inst., at the Grand Parade, ...... f t er Deen Mahomed. aged 102. , 0 On the 24th inst., aged EO, Henry Jackson, E~~' of denball-street. 13 044 On the 25th inst., Sir William Owen Barlovr, Laurenny, Pembrokshire, aged iti. G °I -- ---- --- Y 0 1 JS ill , London: Printed and Published by MURDO - so, - 4 No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun. ice, g ala ' Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy. n '''" e Middlesex, Thursday, February 27, 1851. Hereforcisbire, i.r~ AG] sEAuI or an ul a CHIL 1341 1.11ce fo batv , .r n ogt o fr , rn b e l a le mlte e n t bat, ° ,, zegt 01 ,, south'', l 'etwons tc ; )I , tt ° OL ,41 Porary 4A:to at 0 i C tazt, ofeltirle; BLlaAi Iterehan r t 1-1 I Si 11' 54 kts „ 4 N 1 ,7 4 ' 1140 , Tr Pk, 'Art 4 1, tti l'er )4. tett ttj o ki + , TAT . I ) , Z 4 oni tti; 4 , o o; TbS (n r e , 4 kti 4 "ce t t lL 6 f a l tkttnitc4.l b e 14 4 FiAt 1 44 1 ,'n.k0 k h tft / "lta t4"17 th4 ,qktl i. ; hez jt . tet ,y by, th V l el B , ' 4 4e. k. Pt% Ir