Northern Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-08-11 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE. SOUTH LAITCASHIRE.—LtmuooL, Augast 10 , The assizes opened yesterday in tin Crown Court, before Mr. Baron WATS')N, at twelve o'clock. His Loanstitr, having taken his seat upon the bench, said : I am eorry that my brother Channel', who is tie civil jute et Lancaster, is now there trying the remainder of the causes, as there is a very heavy Therefore, the civil court. will 133 - adjourned until to morrow, at one o'clock. Causes will be entered up to twelve o'clock to morrow. The following gentlemen were then sworn in as a GRAND JURY": William Brown, Eq, M.P., Foreman. Robert. Andrews. Thomas Ashley. Thomas Biz!ey. ThOMS3 Bourne. R,bert Brandt. Samuel Bt'ook3. Ed w -rd Chalo•:er. Mark Collett. John Cros_lay. William Gray. John Grun'y. Alexander F. Haliburton. Arthur Henry Heywood. Francis Heywood. John Bramley-Moore, M.P. John Meyers. Albert Hudion Francis Shand, Mayor of Liverpool. Richard Sheil. Samuel Taylor. Charles Turner. The calendar contains the names of 165 prisonvrs for trial. There is a large number of prisoners charged with murder, and amcngst them the following Liverpool eases: _Po.tni at,lrny. for the ninracr. of John .Kildirtfrs Jolt. Gibbons (who was sent t 3 the lunatic asylum on the Bth of May, 1857), for the murder of two of his children ; James Davies, for the murder of Robert Reasies; Eliza beth Wickstead, charged with murdering her new-born child ; John Godfrey Patrick Bride, surgeon, for the murder of Marrraret M Creel, by procuring abortion ; Henry Rogers, Welliam Miles, and Charles E. Seymour, for the murder of Andrew Rose, upon the high seas. The usual proclamation against vice and profaneness having been read, lordship proreedsd to deliver his charge. He said :—Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, I am compelled to make the same obsery ition to you as I had to make to the grand jury of the northern division of this county, with respect to the calendar. rt shows a most unsatisfactory state of morals amongst some classes of persons in this county. The calendar consists of 165 prisoners; and that does not include any of those who ara ordinarily tried at the quarter sessions throughout the county and throughout the boroughs. This is merely the accumulation of crime during four months of the year. and that four months those in which the least crime is usually committed. It is also to be observed that in this great and populous county trade is in a stste of prosperity; and one would suppose that there was plenty of occupation for the people. When I say thit the calendar is in an unsatis factory state, I mean thtt the number of persons charged is great, and the crimes are extremely bad. I will give you a short summary of the crimes that are to be brought before your investigation, in the first instance, at these seeing. There are fifteen persons charged with mneler. There are twenty pe-sons charged with stabbing, wound ing, and sh oting, with intent to do grievous bodily harm. There are Eighteen cases of manslaughter ; there are eleven eases of rape and attempts to commit rape ; of forgery there are eight ; of high . Way rehbery, thirty ; and of burglary, thirty-three; and other offences, such as per jury, six; bigamy, six; and vaeiens other offences, of the description which are calculated to create in many persons considerable alarm. But I think, gentlemen, we must not refer to the demoralised state of the whole county crimes like these. They arise from a lower clads of the people, who sill always accumulate where the popu lation is in great masses; where you have large towns like Liverpool, Manchester, and other places of the sort, you will find, whilst the morale of the great mass of the people are in a healthy state, classes of the community committing the most grievous and deplorable offences. Gentlemen, I believe that great efforts have been made throughout this country to begin at the beginning with the people—that is, with education. I know no means whatsoever to stem the torrent of crime which seems to be setting in upon the country at large but by beginning at the beginning, and giving a wholesome education. You will turn many away from a life of idleness and crime to one of honesty and industry ; and I only mention this to you because I know you are perfectly awake to this subject, and convinced th it education is the only means by which we can hope. whilst eu.l64.lllCti , ion, gentlemen, win meet many cases,—there are some it will not meet. It will net meet the case of the adult population who incline to crime. It will not meet the case of the children of the utterly depraved. It will not, again, meet thote who come into the large towns within this country for the purpose of p etpatrating crime, and for the purpose of delinquency. The latter are only to be met by an active, vigilant, and intelligent police. Gentle men, I tt net that as the time goes on, the younger classes of the community will be awakened, and bmught t 3 a sense of the great principle that they can never deviate from the line of honesty and industry, without bringing themselves and all connected with them to shame Gentlemen,with these few general observations, I have to mention only one other subject to you, and that is the great-alteration which has taken place with regard to the punishment of crime. Tho old sentence of transportation is entirely abolished, and we have now introduced, for the same term of years as in the care for transportation, the punishment of penal servit ude— one where they may be sent to foreign colonies, or may be kept in this country; bat they will be kept as slaves doom ed to labour during ail that period of time. It must never go abroad for one instant, that the punishment is lessened by using the word penal servitude in place of that of trans portation. Gentlemen, with these general observations, I have only to call your attention to two or three owes in the calendar, with the observation also that, if any difficulty occurs to you in cuaidering the cases, I shall be most happy to render you any assistance prslible. The first one is the case of a captain and two mates of a vessel, who are charged with the murder of a seaman of the name of Rose- It seems that on the voyage front Bar badoe4, the deceased Was exo - a-lted on board the vessel as a sail'tr, and he seemed to have hardly any clothes with him when ho came on board, and was a man of weak in tellect, and a bad sailor. The evidence varies much in degree of the several witnesses, who speak to the cruelties inflicted upon him by the master and mates, You are Well aware, gentlemen, the master of a vessel has the power to correct a seaman, but he must do no more. If, under the appearance of correcting a seaman, he is guilty of severe cruelty, and that cruelty should result in the death of the individual, the offence would be one of murder or manslaughter, according to the particular cir cumstance-s. If the instrument used was one likely to predace death ; if the succession of cruel treatment was such as was likely to produce death ; and, although the man might not be in a state of g cd health, no person has a right to accelerate the death of a person although that death might be impending. You will have to inquire into this, and to inquire whether there was any pretence for the correction of the seaman ; and, supposing there was, you will then have to inquire whether the correction, and the means used for correction, were not excessive, and, at the time ieflined, likely to cause the death of the person. If so, that is the crime of murder. If, on the other band, there was no reason to anticipate any fatal result of that excessive correction which led to the death of the individual, then it would only come to the crime of manslaughter. You, gentlemen, have not to draw the fine shades between murder and manslaughter in youieroom, but you are to look at the evidence before you, and to see if there is any evtdcnce to put the prisoners on their trial. The next case to which I will refer is an indictment against a surgeon in tit's the ta of the name of Bride, and the offence charged—it has only been charged, what the remit will be no one can hell-- is this :--A. stewardess of a vessel came across the Atlannc, and found she was three months gone in pregnancy. On her arrival here she want to Bride to procure aborden. He used certain instruments flan that purpose, and it ended in the death of the female. And, now, I must tell you, that, in point of law, if a person by administering medicine to procure absrtion, or by usi ng instruments to effect that end, although he had no idea at the time of causing the death of the person on whom he operated in that way, and the person should die, that individual is gull=y, in law, of the crime of murder. For where a person is committing a felony, and causes the death of another during the com mission of the felony, by the rule of our law it amounts to the crime of murder. On the other hand, if ha was per forming a lawful act, and was guilty of negrgence in the perf emance of that act, and death resulted, then he would be guilty of manslaughter. In the calendar, out of the number of murders brought before you, there is one case where it is supposed that the panty causing the death of the other was in a state of insanity at the time. With that you have nothing to do. Supposing, in that case, you should find "no bill," the party would be en itled to go at large. But it is not the province of the grand jury to inquire into the sanity or insanity of the parson charged, but simply to say whether the facts brought before you are sufficient to maintain the crime charged, and the reason is this—when the party is brought before me and the jury, if the pri enee is acquitted by them, ho is acqui , ted of c le cr a ne of murder on the ground of insanity, and the law &vets the power tame to cause Eueh insane person to be kept in a lunatic asylum, to prevent him committing any further offence of that kind. I mention this that there may be_ no mistake on the subject. It matters not whether the. person is sane or insane at the time of the commission of the crime with which he was charged. There are no other oases to which I need call your attenrion. They depend upon ordinary evidence, but if there is not sufficient prihaa facie evidence on which to find a bill, you will, of course, not send the prisoner before me for trial. The grand jury then retired to their duties. BiGAMY.—Henry Lowe, aged 31, described as a painter, was charged with having ou the 14th October, 1847, at Heaton Norris, married Sarah Higgins, and with having at Manchester, on the-17th March, 1857, feloniously mar ried Mariana Hill, his former wife being then alive. The prisoner plea - led guilty. His Lordship in passing sentence remarked, that the crime of bigamy was vastly increasing in tit-A county, and in the neighbouring county of Chester. He sentenced the prisoner to be imprisoned for twelve calendar months with hard labour. BURGLilM—Patriek 0' Brien, aged 23, labourer, was charged with having at Manchester, on the night of the 27th May, 1857, feloniously entered the dwelling-house of John Harlan!, and stolen therefrom several articles of wearing apparel. The prisoner pleaded guilty. His Lordship sentenced him to imprisonment for six calendar months with hard labour. BURGLAN.Y.—Thomas Reyn , r, aged 18, factory-hand, and Mary Wilson, aged 19, factory hand, were charged, the male prisoner with having at Manchester-on the night of the 6th of April, 1857, feloniously entered the dwelling house of Riz tbeth Rogers, and stolen therefrom several articles of wearing apparel, and the female with having feloniously received into he , possession part of the same, knowing it to be stolen. Mr. Cnitty prosecuted. The house was- found, by a policeman, broken into at three o'clock in the morning. The prisoner Rayner was arrested the same day, with part of the property in his possession, and other parts were found in two pawnshops, in which they bad been pien t ra by bulb pri,v 4.01 - 6. The jury found the male prisoner guilty of the burglary, and the female of receiving. Punier convictions were proved against both. Rayner was sentenced to six years', and Wilson to four years' penal servitude. FORGERY. —Luke Hatfield, aged 48, described as a clerk, was charged with having, on the 20th April, 1857, felo niously forged the endorsement of a certain cheque, pur porting to be the order of J. and E. Markendate upon Lloyd, Entwistle, and Co., bankers; and with having, on the 24th of July, 1856, forged theendereetnent of a certain cheque, purporting to be the order of J. and E. Markendale urn Lloy I, Entwistle, and Co., and with having uttered and disposed of the said forged endorsements. The evidence of the surgeon of the gaol at Kirkdale, and of the governor was given, to show that the prisoner was at present in an insane state of mind, and not fit to take his trial. A jury was sworn to try the question, and found in accordance with the evidence given. His Lordship therefore directed the prisoner to remain in custody for the present. COUNTERFEIT Cone—Martin Lowry, Michael Kearney,. and Mary Quagley, were charged with having, at Man chester, on tee 3rd of this month, Made certain counterfeit coins. The three prisoners were found by a police officer in a house in Leeds-place, in Manchester. - When the office: - went in, the prisoner Lowry, who, with the others, were sitting close to the fire, had a spoon in his hand, which he threw into the ashes. Wnen taken up it was found to bs wa-m, and had been evidently used in. melting metal. A mould, a file, and several base coins, were also found. A fourth party was in the room with the prisoners when the officers-entered-- an old woman, who succeeded in making her escape. No other person was in the house except a child two years old, in bed in an upper room. The prisoner Martin Lowry pleaded guilty. The jury found Michael Kearney guilty, and Mary Quagley not guilty. His Lordship .entenced the male prisoners to penal servitude for-four years each. STABBING —Catherine Ridding, aged 25, was charged with having, at Salford, on the 18th April, 1857, stabbed, cut, and wounded, Hannah Roscoe. Mr. Wheeler pro secuted. The pr secutrix deposed that on the morning in question she was in her father's house, and heard a noise in the street. Went out, and found her mother and tha prisoner quarrelling together. She brought her mother away, and wont into the house again. In a few minutes she heard noise once more, and, ping oat, found the prisoner and her mother quarrelling as before. The prisoner had a dinner-knife in her hand. Prosecutrix asked her what she was doing, and the prisoner replied, " Mind your own business " Prosecutrix said, " Are you going to kill my mother ?" and prisoner said, " Yes, and you top." There was some further altercation, and pro seentrix seeing the prisoner rushing at her mother, seized her hand. The prisoner disengaged herself, caught held of prosecutrix, and gave her a stab on the forehead with the knife. The jury found the prisoner Guilty. &enema —Mae) , Ann Hall- aged 21, was charged wilt h %yin a n i t vv. ea.& ill a 111.1. r ISISt—Nt. - suld of the prisoner's mother on the night in question. They ware quarrelling, and the prisoner interfered. Some words then passed between the prosecutrix and the prisoner, when the latter, who had had a knife in her hand, struck at the prosecutrix and wouaded her upon the forehead Mr. Fearnley prosecuted in this case The jary found the prisoner " Guilty of unlawfully wounding." BlGAML—William Dyson pleaded gull y of having, at Manchester, on the 23rd March, 1857, feloniously mar ried oie Ruth Whittaker Bocock, his former wife being then alive. FORGERY.—AIex Incler M'Coy, aged 23, a factory hand, was charged with having, at Manchester, on the lst June, 1837, feloniously for g ed au order for the pay men t o f money, purpor t ing to be the order of William Macpherson upon John Hope Clarke and another. The prisoner had been employed as a piecer in the sae ory of Messrs. Clarke, of Manchester. On the day in question the prisoner came to Mr. Morris, the cashier of the factory, and pre3ented to him an order for 13s, pueparting to be for work done, " William Maepherao a." Mr. Morris, believing the signature to be gen u i ne , a n d t o b e th at of Mr. Wm. Macpherson, the manager of Messrs. Clarke's establish- , ment, paid over the money. Mr. Macpherson deposed that the signature was a forgery, and that he had never authori9ed prisoner to write his name. The prisoner., in his defence said that money was due to him fir work, but was kept back as a fine. The jury found the prisoner guilty, but recommended him to mercy. The court then rose. NORTHERN CIRCULT.—LANCASTER, August 8. citowx COUR r.-BEFORE MR. BARON WATSON. Thward Hardman, aged 28, shoemaker, was indicted for the wilful murder of Ellen Hardman, his wife, at Chorley, on the sth of March last. Mr. Monk, Q C., Mr. A Crosse, and Mr. Allison prosecuted; Mr. Overend, Q.C., and Mr. Brett defended the prisoner. Mr. Mork in stating the case to the jury, said it was winecessary for him, in a charge so serious against the prisoner as that of ha,virg taken the life of hie own wife, to request the careful ano discriminating attention of the jury. The prisoner was a shoemaker residing at Chorley, and had been married to the deceased woman about two years and two months. That union had not been a happy - one. The prisoner and his wife were of different religious creeds, and that element of discord had produced the ordinary conse quences. He only referred to this as one source of dissatis faction on the part of the prisoner with his wife, she haiing promised him that she would leave the Church of England of which she was a menber, and adopt the tenets of the Cherefiverf Rome. After their mstriage this and other sources of difference produced a separation, and in three months after their marriage she returned to her Asher's house. After a time he sent for her back again, and she agreed to return and live with him ; and the latter part of their married life had certainly not been distin guished by the differences which had rendered the former part of it so unhappy. cn Shrove Tuesday the deceased woman was taken ill, and on the sth of March, in the fol lowing week, she died. She had been atte n ded_ throughout her illnees by Dr. Smith. At this time the prisonec lived at a place celled Botany Bay, a hamlet of Chorley. On the afternoon of Shrove Tuesday the prisoner was in the house of a men na'ued Darwin, a beerhouse keeper, when his wife passed on her way from Chorley, and ehoek her fist at him. Darwin, sf eing tbis, said to the Drieoner, " What is the matter ? You had better he off.'' The prisoner went away, and returned in half an hour, saying his wife had been supping some broth at home, that it had made he r ill, an d that she had vomited and was much purged. In the course of that day he told another witness that he had " warmed some broth for her." Two days before some broth had been made by a neignixme named Rethevell, who had borrowed a pan to make it in from the deceased, and in re urn he had sent her. some of the broth, which was made of meat and vegetables. Rothwalre family pa r t oo k o f t hi s broth w:lhout tiny ill effects from it, and so did t h e d eceased on the Monday,. and put away some that remained, which she took on Shrove Tuesday, on her return from Chorley, whore see had been. The next day ( Wednesday) the prisoner wrote to his father-in-law that his wife was taken vary ill, and on Tnnrsday he went for Dr. Smith, who attended her. The prisoner told Dr. Smith she was safferieg from a bowel complaint, and unless there was a change she coned not live long The deceased woman was a healthy robust woman, welt formed and muscular. The prisoner wrote again to his fa herein-law describing his wife as vomiting and very ill, and the baby as being also ill. His wife had been confined in the previous October. Her father came over to see her. She complained of her illness, and said she thought she should like a little wine, and her father bought her some blackberry wine, of which the Finnic. Her father remained with h or all d a y, and THE NORTHERN TIMES. LIVERPOOL, TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1857. she was a little better on the Thursday night. At this time the prisoner and his wife were on terms of courtesy, but not of affection. Her lather again saw her and spent sometime with her, giving her some toast and water, and she-toutinued to get better while her father was wii h her, but when left to the care of her husband she again got worse. On Sunday, the ;let of March, she was decidedly improved in health, and was able to eat meat and potatoes, and retained this food on her stomach. On Monday, the 24ad of 'March, she still continued to improve. On Tuesday, the 3rd of March, the prisoner went to Dr. Smith, and git some mixture and some powders for her, and told Dr. Smith she was much better, and only wanted to get up her strength. On this day the prisoner met a woman named Toefield, and to her he decribed his wife as exceedingly ill, and toll her to call and tell deceased's father that she was a deal worse, and had began to be so that morning, as soon as she got her breakfast ; that she had then began to vomit, and he thought it would be a job for her this time. The vomit of the deceased was of an extremely yellow appearance, and the surgeons would state that antimony would have a great tendency to produce that appearance, by increasing the secretion of bile. In the course of this Tuesday the prisoner purchased for his wife a quantity of buttermilk from a person named Derbyshire. They would hear that Derbyshire's family partook of this same buttermilk, and that it was perfectly harmless. This buttermilk the prisoner had divided, and had placed a part of it in a jug, f)r his wife A neighbour came in and tasted it, and thought it had a very l outlier taste of soap or alum, and askew the prisoner what ha had put in it? He said nothing, tasted it, and said it was very bad, and threw it into the ashes, On Thursday, the sth, the deceased con tinued ill, and was extremely purged and vomited; she became much exhausted, and got worse and worse till she died. She appeared black under the eyes, she had a dewy, clammy skin, aching of the limbs, and was blue and cold at the extremities. Dr. Smith her medical attendant, attributed her death to gastro enteritis, or inflammation of the bowels. She was buried, and after' her funeral remarks prejudicial to the prisoner began to be made ; inquiries were instituted, and ulti mately the hod/ was exhumed eleven days after burial, and a post mortem examination and inquest were held. It was found that the body gwe out no offensive odour, an unusual circumstance where death arises from natural causes. This is a peculiarity known to be the effect of poisoning by arsenic or antimony. The stomach, on being examined, presented bright red patches, as also the' duodenum and rectum. In the case of death from an irritant poison this would be likely to be the case, as the poisoned contents of the stomach ware retained by the mechanical formation of these viscera longer in them than in other parts of the bowels. Ths cesophaens was also in a state of inflammation, which they would hear was an indication of the administration of an irritant poison. A cireful analysis of the contents of the stomach was made by a gentleman named Watson, an analytical chemist of celebrity, who resided at Bolton, and he found in all the parts of the intestines which were subjected by him to caemical tests traces of antimony, an unquestionable poison, and also slight traces of arsenic. The amount found was not great —from one-half to three quarters of a grain of antimony, and about the 200th part of a grain of arsenic, Some, however, would have passed away with the vomiting and purging, an&that found would be no indication of the amount taken. All the medical men were of opinion that this woman came by her death from antimony or arsenic, or both combined. If she died by poison, by whom had it been administered ? This inquiry was of most grave im parlance. At an earlier date than this, some months befere, the prisoner was found to be possessed of tartar emetic, which was only another name for tartarised antimony, and ho was also aware of its qualities. A person named Neald came to him and complained that he was ill, and wanted a dose of medicine to purge him.' The prisoner told him he could give him something which would work him, and h e mixed a glass of beer some powder which he had in a paper,which he handed to Neald. Neald took it, and it did work him, making him purge and vomit. In February he purchased a drachm, or 60 grains, of tartar emetic, f rom a chemist named Gorman, which he said he wanted to give to a horse. This was a poison used only for medical pup ltses. Arsenic was a poison of another character ; it was used ex tensively in manufactures, and necessary to be sold. Shortly before his wife's illness the prisoner went to Pres ton, and at the shop of a Mr. Critchley, a chemist, he bought half a pound of anomie, which he represented that he wanted to kill begs. The chemist wanted a re ference to some person he knew, and asked him if he did not know a lea-her dresser in the town, he representing himself as a shoemaker He said he did not, and gave an untrue account of this, al he dealt with one of the leather dressers in the town, and owed money to him. He also gave a wrong address. The arsenic was supplied to him coloured with indigo. Af erwards, when asked what he had done with it, he said he had broken the nt Tools tea d - pobitter." &Trig" when fie we ni to Dr. Smith for the powders for his wife, he brought them hack tied up with string The witnesses who administered these powders wool I tell them they were whi e. Dr. Smith did not tie up the powders with string, and the powders he sent were gray. A woman waiting on the decease i tasted one of these powders, and it produced a burning unpleasant taste in her month A woman cleaning the house, two days after the death of his wife, had thrown the last of those powders away. The prisoner saw her find a paper with some white powder in it ; he sprang up and said, " Give it to me, it is poison." After the burial the prisoner went into the house of a neighbour, and said it we 3 vary fortunate the police had not found this paper when they searched his house, as it contained poison. Tnree days afterwards he want to the police-office and said some persons had been raising scandalous reports about him, and he wished to know wilat it was all about. The policeman told him he had not behaved well to his wife, and people would be stare to speak of it. The prisoner said, when they lived at Brindle, shortly after their marriage, they did not live happily t oget h er, b ut s i nce they had lived at Botany they had been as happy as most couples. This would be shown not to be true. On one occasion she was seen to be crying, and ho called her " a great blubbering devil," and said that " her blubber ing made 'maple think he did not tre it her wall." In the gaol at Preston he had stated to a prisoner that he had received 411 from various burial clubs on account of his wife's funeral, and " that if he had let her live two months more he should have got £8 more." As a motive for the commission of such a dreadful crime he had already slated that differences of religious creed had ren dered their union an unhappy one. They had quarrelled as to the faith in which their child shoal I be brough; up. More than ones the prisoner bad alluded to another woman, and had stated that that woman should soon be his wife. After his wife's death he had sent a message to a woman named Sherrington, asking her to came an! see him, and telling her she had nothing to do but to come and hang her bonnet up in his house, and that if she di I not choose to come there was another ready who would These were the facts and circumstances on which, on behalf of the prosecution, the learned couosol asked the jury to come to the conclusion that the p isoner was guilty of the crime imputed to him ; and, these being for the most pirt proved, the case for the prosecution was closed, and the Court stemmed at eight o'clock at night. —His Lordship took his seat on the bench neat morning at nine o'clock, and, the prisoner having been placed at the bar, the trial was resumed. Mr. Overend rose to make his address to the jury on th ) part of the prisoner. He said he deeply felt the importance of the situation in which he was placed, seeing that the life or death of a fellow-creature was placed in his hands. The case was one of eircumstantid evidence, and that was by some considered to be, when fully established, the most per fect of all evidence. It was not his duty to show that the prisoner was innocent; it was the duty of the prosecution to prove that he was guilty. The prosecution must prove that not only was poison found in the body of the deceased, but that the unfortunate woman had died of it. Bit', though poison bad been found in the body, it had to bs proved beyond doubt, that that poison had been ad ministered by the prisoner. He would admit —and he must admit, although it might appear prejudicial to his client, that both arsenic and antimony had been found in the body. The most eminent man of the day had been brought forward, and his opinion upon a hypothetical case was that ta-e deceased had died from tire effects of antimony. But what was the amount of poison found ? Oaly from half to three quarters of a grain of antimony, and the 200th part of a grain of arsenic. And though the poison was found there was no evidence that the prisoner hadadministered it, and he trusted to be able to show that he had not adminis tered it. He thought the prosecution had abandoned the idea of the deceased havingbeen poisoned by arsenic, and the question would now be, did she die of antimony, and was that administered in one dose or more? The learned counsel then repeated the circumstances of the illness of the deceased, and said it would be for them to be satisfied that more than one dose of antimony had been administered. Her illness was treated by Dr. Smith as gastrceenteritie, or inflsanma ion of the stomach and bowels, which might arise from natural causes, and the treatment, and the way in which her health had improved, forbade the assump tion that there had been any attack from the Tuesday to the Tuesday follow ng, when she had some mussels, buttermilk, blaekberry wine, and other thin g s i mproper for a person in her state of health, got worse, and on to Thursday she died. He should account for the poison, and show that, though her death might be attributable to poison, it might have been administered by mistake and without any murderous intention. The woman had lately been confined, had gone to Chorley, caught cold, and had got some broth; and the prisoner, on her being taken ill, j had gone to A neighbour's and told her it was the broth; I and had still stuck to that as the cause of her illness, and that was the strongest possible proof of his innocence, as had he been guilty he would not have mentioned the broth if he had placed poison in it as suggested. Buttermilk had been assigned as the cause of her illness, but there was no proof that the prisoner touched it, and even the con tradictory evidence as to the taste was proof that there was no poison in it. The next thing was the powders sent by Dr. Smith, and it was said that the prisoner , had, instead of those, substituted powders of his own. There was no evidence of it. D. Smith admitted that he was in a hurry, and that the bottle containing tartar emetic, stood immediately over that containing Dover powder, and it was probable that a mistake was made by Dr. Smith in taking down the wrong bottle. And if that mistake were made, then the who!cs of the woman's illness and the discovery of poison in her body after death was fully accounted for, and he should with confidence look forward to their verdict in his favour. He submitted that if the prisoner had changed the powders, he would never have left the third powder on the table from Thurs lay to Saturday. The act would be that of a madman. The learned counsel then reviewed the conduct of the prisoner, and dwelt strongly on his calling in so many of the neighbours during her illness, and he implored them to review his conduct both before and during the illness of his wife, and say whether it was the conduct of a guilty man or not. It was said that he had received money from funeral clubs; but from the nature of the funeral he must have been a loser rather than a gainer; and then, when the rumours got abroad relative to his character, he went boldly to the police-office and challenged inquiry. That the pisoner had bean in the possession of tartar emetic he would not deny ; he bad openly paraded it, and administered it to Neild in the presence of Bradsworth. He had bought sixty grins in February, and that had been found by the girl Bolton after his wife's death, and he told her it was poison. The learned counsel then went into an analysis of the wiles parts of the evidence, contending that they would tend to exculpate the prisoner. He (Mr. Overend) had shown that he had been in possession of tartar emetic, oxalic acid, and arsenic, and explained theta all. Toe butter milk had never reached her, the both hal never been touched by the prisoner, and he had shown that, according to medical testimony, her illness was the result of natural causes. It had been said that the prisoner and his wife di 1 not live happily together, but there had been no evidence of any unkindness at Botany Bay, and the only evidence on that point was that about two years ago they quarrelled, when residing at Brindle; and as to the other motive, that he wanted to have another woman; in the Crown and Anchor a lot of rough people were joking him, and he said he should not be long before he got married again. As ts, the other point, religious disputation, the evidence only shows that he had said she had promised to turn to his religion, and had not done so ; and ho had said he would bring up her child in his own way. They had never once quarrelled on the subject. The learned counsel concluded a lenghty and forcible address by entreating a calm consideration of the case, and urging that if his statements were correct, they would be relieved from the painful duty . of finding the prisoner guilty. His lord ship said en this case the jury had two things to consider whether the deceased died from the effects of poison, and, if so, was the prisoner the person who ad ministered it. As to the first proposition, his lordship went over the evidence of the medicel men, tending to show conclusively that the deceased had died of poison, and then proceeded with the other evidence adduced by the prosecution to show that the prisoner was the person who administered it In coming to a conclusion on the latter point, they would have to look at the way in which they lived, t , gether by themselves, with only a little girl coming to nurse occasionally. Was she likely to have .cemmitted suicide ? Was the prisoner in possession of poison ? And • was that poison administered by a person in the house ? The jury were locked up, and at the expiration of about 2) minutes returned into c curt with a verdict of Guilty of wilful murder. His Lordship, having put on the black cap, proceeded to pass sentence noon the prisoner. He said : Edward Hard man, you have been convicted, after a full and painful in vestigation, of the crime of wilful murder—of the murder of your own wife—a murder committed under circumstnnees of the most painful kind. I quite concur in the verdict of the jury. It is imposs:.ble for me to hold out any hope of escape from the full punishment of the law, and I advise you most earnestly and solemnly to, apply your self to the spiritual consolation which will be afforded you. Your days are numbered, and I wonld entreat you earnestly to throw yourself before the throne of grace, wh - re there is mercy for every sinner that repenteth I will not aggravate your feelings at the present moment, but proceed to pass upon you the sentence of the law, which is that you be taken from hence to the place from whence you came, and from thence to the place of execu tion, there to be hanged by the neck until you are dead, when your body is to be taken down and buried within he precincts of the gaol where you have been confined previous soul. The prisoner, who slightly trembled, and had turned verypale, was then removed from the dock. His Lerdsh was deeply affeca.d during the passing of the sentence The Post contains the following telegraphic despatch : "BERLIN, August 9.—Austria has addressed representa tions to our cabinet relative to the protest handed in by Prussia against the elections in Moldavia. These repre sentations have been fruitless." MATH Or A PHYSICIAN BY PRUSSIC ACID.—On Friday morning. Mr. 'lncomes Stone Robertson, M.D., a physician, residing at Assembly-row, Mile-end, was found dead in his hod. It was evident be had taken hydrocyanic acid; and a post mortem and other evidence showed he had taken it with opium, to. relieve sickness and head-ache. The coroner's jury returned a verdict to that offe.a. True Naw Marianna BILL.—Our readers must bear in mini (s tys the Leaier) that the bill now passing through the Commons is, in the main, merely calculated to make more easy, and therefore more general, the divorces which peers and other wealthy persons now occasionably obtain from the House of Lards. The caution is necessary, for nne hears in society vague talk about the multiplicity of divorces for any and every cease under "the new hia't The new bill makes the adultery of the wife, and "adultery and cruelty," or "incestuous adultery" by the Husband, the only grounds of divorce. There is thus no increase, bat there is an extension o f th e f ac ili t i es o f divorce, for instead of the thr-e slits (criminal conversation, snit in the ecclesiastical court, and special act of parliament) now necessary, one suit in a new court will be sufficient for the purpose. This will simply make dirorce easy to those who have as good g,ounda for asking it as the wealthy persons who now obtain it by special privilege. No prac tical man denies that this is a real "law reform." THE LATE MURDER AT SHADWELL.—Late on Saturday evening inforinatian was received at the King David-lane Police Station, Shathvell, to the effect that the man 111 , C1uNkv, who s'ands charged with the brutal murder of S irate Hamilton, alias B . own, had been seen in the com p my of other foreign seamen, in the vicinity of St. Gauge street, Rateliff Highway. A number of active constables were sent in search of the fellow, but after the onac ere a la d visited nume.rons law dancing-rooms until midnight, they were unsuccessful in their exertions to find him The jury ernpanuelled to inquire into the death of the unfortu nate female, rrqtieetel Mr. William Baker, the coroner for East Middlesex, to communicate with Sir George Grey, the Secre:ary of State for the Home Department, with the view of obtaining a reward for the apprehension of the man M'Citplry. The coroner accordingly complied with the wish of the jury, arid on Friday morning a letter was sent to the Home-office, Weitehall, but on Saturday no answer bad been received. It is fully expected that a, reward will ba granted by Gevernmeat for the apprehension of the accused. The police have been busily employed during the last few days in searching various vessels lying in the docks and on the river Thanes, but up to last night the accused had not been captured. DE-TRUCTIVE RAIN To:tam - I' —Scannortouon, AUG. 7, —When the visltoas here were listlessly endeavouring to b - guile the monatouy of a wet day at the seaside, counting the rain-drops, arid bewailing the fate that condemned them to the dreary nibusetneats of a maritime lodging house, they knew net that the elements were preparing a downfall which for magnitude, long continuance, and disastrous consequences; has seldom, if ever, been equalled in England. The whole of yesterday was stormy and wet. but at about 9 p.m., a water-spout appeared to break over this unf r!unate town, laud cantintwes valumes of water descended without the slighest intermission till tax° this morning. It then appeared to moderate its fury, though it broke out at intervals until eight. The sad scene thus presented to the specie or is per fectly indescribable. As Scarbrough is built on a hill side, a great p rt of the lower portion of the town was for some Lours completely under water. What yesterday wire coesfortable domiciles are now ravines . and water falls, and it is only by the sight of some fragment of domestic furniture strangely mixed up with the wreck, that we can realise the fact that in ens night such utter devastation could have occurred. - Gas-pipes, water-pipes, sewers, and drains, are, many burst, all severely damaged. The fine old church yard, one portion of which is more elevated than the other, has been washed away, and the macadamised tomb-stenes, the fragrneats of coffins, the human bones, the iron tomb railings, are all driven to gether in_ one heterogeneous ..mass, testifyin g t o t h e awful violenc e of the storm. An immense mars of the Castle Cliff, a rocky promontory, 300 feet above the level of the sea, has been washed away. The loss and damage to house property must be immense. Altogether the catastrophe, from its violence and awful consequences, resembles a sudden earthquake —a great convulsion of nature araciarily Confined to tro;ical regions, POLICE INTELLIGENCE -YE3TZEDAY. LIVERPOOL. BEFORE MR. ALDERMAN BOLME. A SUPPER PARTY.—Four young men, named Robert and John Smith, Edward Powell and Richard Whittaker, were charged with having assaulted police officer 445, in a court off Windsor-street. Mr. Black defended. The affair arose out of a supper party, given by Powell, who was out of his apprenticeship, and it appeared that the others were at the party. On leaving the hou 45, at three in the morn ing there was a noise, which the policemen construed into " disorder," and out of that the whole arose. , Mr. Black called two witnesses, who explained the matter, and Powell was find 53. for being drunk, the other prisoners were discharged. ANOTHER ASSAULT.—John Gilcrest was charged with having violently assaulted officers 298, 776, and 731, in a desperate row that took place in Whitby-street, on Satur day night week. Me Cobh was for the prisoner. The prisoner stood remanded from this day week, in consequence of officer 2)8 being confined in ha3pital from the effects of the injuries received. The full details of the case were reported in our paper of this day week. The police repeated their former evidence, and were cross-examined by Mr. Cobb, in order to show that the police had insulted and struck the prisoner's wife, who was near her confinement, but all the constables denied it. Mr. Cobb called on Mrs. Macbeth, who swore that one of the police knocked down the prisoner's wife, and this witness negatived generally the swearing of the p slice. She also said the officer struck the prisoner before he struck the policeman. A Mrs. Syms also gave similar evidence, and said the police had struck Mrs. Gilcrest before any row took place. Mr. Cobb was proceeding to call other witnesses, but his Worship said it was unnecessary, as he believed the evidence of the two witnesses, and was of opinion that the police brought the case on themselves. ILe then dis charged the prisoner. A STABLE PLUNDERER —A young fellow named George Haywood, was brought up by detectives Scaife and Lay cock, on a charge of having plundered the stables of Mr. Duckworth and Mr. Adam Hodson, of Breck-road. On Monday last the stables were entered, and hammers, with a quantity of wearing apparel belonging to the servants, stolen thereout. Portions of the latter were found in the prisoner's lodging, in Banistre-street. The prisoner was remanded foe further evidence to Saturday. TEE CHARGE OF EMBEZZLEMENT. John Newbold, who stood remanded on a charge of having embezzled certain sums of money, belonging to his employer, Mr. Sampson Moore, was brcught up. Mr. Mule defended. The de tails of this ease were published two or three days ago. Detective officer Eaton, who had charge of the case, said he was informed that no farther evidence would be offered in the case. Mr. Black said the matter had been arranged. The prisoner was discharged. BEFORE MESSRS. ATKIN AND J. 11. TURNER. DANGEROUS ASSAULT.—A. young man named Andrew Dean, was charged with having inflicted a desperate wound on the head of Bridget Really, by striking her with a stone. Mr. Munk was for the prisoner. Evidence of the blow having been given, Surgeon Kavanagh, of the Southern Dispensary,said the wound was a deep transverse one on the top of the head, and at first looked about the worst he had ever seen. He could not, at present, tell the rcsalt. The prisoner was remanded. FRIGHTFUL ACCIDENT.-A LADY KILLED ON WEST DERBY ROAD. A dreadful accident occurred yesterday, about one o'clock, on the West Derby Road, whereby a lady was killed on the spot. It appears that, about the time stated, Mrs. Ma'y Garner, the wife of Mr. John Garner, who resides at Lower Breck -lane, was driving into town in a small pony vthicle, which she usually drove herself. It seems that a horse attached to a dray going in the oppo• site direction, had, from some unexplained cause, ran away at a furious rate along the West Derby Road. Turning the corner at the Licensed Victuallers' Almshouse, the dray came in contact with Mrs. Garner's phaeton, flung her violently out of it, and one of the wheels passing over the centre of the poor lady's body, killed her on the instant, crushing her ribs and chest in a frightful manner. She was instantly taken up, but was quite dead. The body was conveyed to the Workhouse adjacent, where it awaits an inquest. The deceased lady was 40 years of age, and was much respected by a large circle of most respectable friends, and her fearfully melancholy death has plunged her family and friends into the deepest distress. Mr. Garner is a well known ironfounder and merchant of this town. A gentleman who saw the accident, says the horse that canted the death of the unhappy lady, was mina at a earful rate..without any nallar. nnr did he sea any ariver near the animal. MORA TRANSPORTS FOR INDlA.—Fresh notices have been issued by the East India Company, inviting tenders to be received on the 11th instant, for the conveyance by screw steamers and sailing vessels of troops of Iler Majesty's service from England to Bombay and Kurraehee, also from England to India ; the vessels to call at Ceylon for orders. The whole of the men to ba embarked not later than the 25th instant. THE NEW DUTIES ON TEA, :SUGAR, AND RICE.—On Tuesday the Chancellor of the Exchequer will propose his ilea duties. On white refinel sugar the duty will be 183 4d the cwt: ; on white cleyed, 16s the cwt. ; on brown clayed, 13s 103 the cwt. ; and on brown Muscovado, 12s 8d the cwt. The new tea duty will be is Si the pound, and on rice 43d the cwt for feeding cattle, 91 the cwt on rough and in the husk, and 414 on meal not other wise described. The new duties are to continue until Mach, 1860. IMPRISONMENT you DEBT.—There are at the present moment •upwards of 220 persons confined for debt in Whitecross-street prison, which is a larger number than were incarcerated last year. In the Q ieeo's prison there is a goodly number, and in Horsernenger-lane gaol, an in considerable number, with the exception of County Court cases under which c ,arts the commitments are for Cor tempt," and no matter how often captured, imprisoameat will never pay the debt. The Insolvent Debtor's Court has adjourned fur the vocation until September, but will sit on Monday next and on the 28th inst., for bail cases. Imprisoiment tries friends, but if those who have, or are about to petition, could get two sureties to be answerable for their appearance, and if it is denied them to " go out of town," they might get " out of prison" during the summer weather! DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT LOWER 31008 IRONWORKS.—On Saturday morning, between one and two o'cleck, the Lower Moor Ironworks, belonging to Messrs. Woolsten hulme and Rye, were discovered to be on fire. Abeut ten o'clock, the roof, which up to that time had appeared safe, fell in, and a beam passing into the wall of a machine shop adjoining, occupied by Mr. Whittaker, was drawn along with it, and dragged down the wall. A portion of the felling bricks lighted upon the roof of a shed in the yard, and went through it ; and although workmen were employed in both places, none of them sustained any injury. 'rho millwrights' shop contained a large number of valnaWe patterns, and a considerdale quantity of seasaned timber for gearing mortice wheels, which have all been destroyed ; and although the amount of damage has not yet been ascertained, it is said that it cannot be less than £1,500. The loss, however, will be fully cJvered by insurance in the Yorkshire office, • EMIGRATION OF DEC EIARGED GOV EIVadENT A RTIS Til committee appointed at a public meeting, held at Woolwich in April last, to relieve the - existing distress (resulting from the large numbers suddenly discharged from the dockyard and arsenal) by means of free emigra tion, have just published a report of their labou s, whlch proves that the funds were appropriated in a wise and tconom:cal manner. The total amount subscribed was £6,300, .which sum includes a grant of £3,000 froth Governmnt and £2,000 from the Wellington Emigration Fund. The ebintaaltee have - provided outfi's, and sent out to Q ebtc 1,020 men, women, and children, and the railway expenses of these emigrants have been paid from Quebec to Toronto. it is also arranged that, on arriving at Toronto, each adult will receive 10s. Fifty emigrant; have teen sent out to Australia; and the fund h:s also enabled the ecrnruittee to pay the expenses of many fatuities from Woolwich to dis'ant, parts of England, where em ployment was obtained for large numbers -of the men. TIRRIFIC 'FOUNDER, STORM IN GU EFFIELD•-0,1 Satur day afternoon, Sheffield was visi:ed h most terrific thunder storm. About half-past two in the after to an, a vivid and ay.fady grand flash of ' ng brilliant !y i laminated the darkened horizon, and iIl s was quickly followed by a loud.crash of thunder. Flasli of er flish of lightning, and peal after peal of thund er , con ti nue d to . , light npa - nd shi.ks the neighbourhood for the next hour; awl during the whole of this time, rain descended hi a manner which caused the streets to have the appearance of gushing rivers. In the lower parts of the town the water gathered together to slch a depth as, in rainy cases, to, enter the houses of the inhabitants, rmd cause considerable inc-invenienct. Oughtbridge, the bidge in course of re-erection was demolished.' In Pitsrooor a cluster of houses were struck by the electric current, *Oue of them, more elevated than the rest, had the gable end and stack of chimneys th rown down upon the ra.:,f of the adjoining. - house, which was immediately rendered uninhabitable. A woman seated with an infant in her arms was struck senseless, and remained so for half an hour. Beyond this no pers)nal injury was sustained. The interiors of the houses were seriously injured. The crops around Sheffield are much damaged. THE LIVERPOOL BURIAL BOARD: An adjourned meeting of the members of this Board„l, * htld yesterday, at the. Public oases, Brownlow-hill. Jackson presided. The other members of the Board pr e ; sent were Messrs. J. B. Jeffery, Stitt, and Thornley. Clerk then read the minutes of the last meeting irvi i n" were confirmed, and subsequently to which Mr. Stitt 6% . ; plained that ha had intended to have asked the Tor e Couacil the question he had been dapu'ed to do, rel stif , to the purchase of the Newshatn Estate from the CorP ration for a Public cemetery ; but Mr. Wooduff had to wished to ask the suns question, and did do so, and answer received was, that in consequence of the presl i be of the public business upon the Finance Committee, d , consideration of the subject 'lei been necessarily postpen e o f Tice Clerk next read a draft of a report of theproceedieg l j the Board, which in substance was adopted, but subjet. to some verbs.). alterations. The Clerk then read a It: from Messrs. Fletcher and Hull, in answer to a e°,7; munication from him, dated South John-street, the s ,„v t ' o of July, 1857, in hich these gentlemen state -4‘ arrangement made is tint for the future the burial gran (the Necropolis) will be under the management of a beef of ten gentlemen, five to be selected by the propriet° , three being grave owners and not proprietors, t(), b 9; selected by the grave owners, and two to bs appointe d and out of, the Burial Board, but not being propeietar 6 ' l , As the consent to such a new agreement would requir t y supplementary agreement, wh;ch was being prepared to Mr. Cook, a barrister, the above gentlemen re qu ested have the sanction of the Board to the recom me ndatiol; This was at once agreed to, and after transacting o°l/3 routine business the Board separated. COSTA RICA RAILWAY COMPANY. The first ordinary meeting of this railway company We, held at the Clarendon Rooms, • South John-street, for !I; purpose of electing directors and an auditor, and for purpose of transacting the general business of the unu e i, taking ; Mr. James Crossfield, the chairma n , preside,. The required number of shareholders being p r esent s t h e secretary read the report, from which we extract t•L` following : "The diteeora in presenting this, their first report, h a n p'easure in congratulating the s h are h o ld ers on t h e su ccess' progress of the undertaking. - " By the accounts received from Mr. Ferrer, the goa l ° manager, they are inform e d th a t u p t o th e Bth J une (the t t of his last communicatio n ) 62 m il es o f th e ra il way we re c°': pleted, and, Ora subject to the arrival of the vessel contain'?: the final shipment of mat er i a l s , h e f u l'y expec t e d to fi n ish 1 h : whole of the line at pre sen t con t em pl a t e d, v i z ., as f a r as t ql, River Bairancas (ten mile s ), i n th e course o f ano th e r nan o " The directors have mu c h pl easure i n s t a ti ng that, as as the expenditure in this country is concerned, they 13 0 f sent out an ample supply of materials for the constructio n the line, and yet kept considerably within the estimate of' a t nally laid before the proprietors ; and, though they are tlat present in a position to lay - before the gener a l me eting a r ' i ,e B any detailed report of the expens es i ncurre d upon the wo re in Costa Rica, they see no reason to suppose that the estimat e will be exceeded there." The directors of the company ware all re-elect ed unanimously, ani Mr. Babe was chosen as the aucIVL and the first Mond a y i n J une was appo i n t e d f or holeu,"; the annual meeting. Th ere b e i ug no ot h er b u -i nc sg, the meeting separated. COMMANDS IN INDIA.—The Times announc es that Mel ee General Sir H. Bose will command a division, and Cole% Percy Herbert a brigade, i n t h e army w hi c h h as j us t bee despatched to India. ACCIDIINT ON THE HAMPSTEAD RAILWAY.-011 SatOrdl t ; is a labourer, named John S nith, was employed ott l ` th incline, with a herse drawing seine trucks laden V ie earth taken out of the excavation for the tunnel, W. , going down the incline the trucks obtained such an too petus that they went too fast for the horse in front, " 0 , which Smith was riding. Tne horse was thrown ele ° 46 and the poor fellow being pitched on to the line, ' O s trucks passed over one of his thighs. He was consreY.,`,l to the Uoivereity College Hoepital in a cart, and as lepe r of his fellow-labourers rode with hiM, and a large nan o also accompanied him, a rumour got abroad that those ag the cart were the mutilated workmen. Amputation o tv deemed necessary, and was at once performed, and sufferer is progressing favourably. A SON SHO3TING HIS MOTHSR.—On M on d a y, a t the a Casale Eden (Durham) petty sessions, Jariaes Tulin, r youth of seventeen, was charged with shooting his moth er with intent to do her bodily harm. On the precedn Wednesday eeening, the prisoner, having quarrelled i • I't a mothet's house with a female neighbour threatened .„'',, shoot her ; be snatched op a gun Fiona the corner of::: iuuw, put a cap on, aim snapped it. H: s mother eW s ll lated with him, when he e said, "You b—, I'll shoot Y- ri a too," and putting a cap o n an o th er gun, he presented an of filed the piece, the cont e nt s l o d g i ng i n t h e upper part a her back. A laedical man wa s ca ll e d i n , an d ex t r act e d eighteen shots, some of which h a d p enetrate d to t h e deP as ` of one and a half i n che s . Th e poor woman was so ill I to be unable to attend, though deemed convalescent; 5 , 0 : the prisoner was remand e d, hail bring accepted for D''' appearance. per- THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OP LORD HARDINGE•- - - )4 IL A. mission has beet, giv en by L or d P almer s ton to erec t t 7 colossal status of Lord Hardi nge , b y Foley, ~411 the ,- court-yard of Burlington H 4,•, House, far exhibiti on , p re vious "- its departure for India. The cost of the statue has been 4 defrayed out of furies veluntarVy subscribed a f e et Yea f since by that pertion• of the publi c w h o were des i ro us ° I , paying a merit of tribute t o th e a bilhi es an d me mo,' e the late Commander-in-Chief, more particularly in refer eine to that period of his life when he acted as Geverncir; General of India. A very large proportion of the fun was subscribed in Calcutta, and the statue is to be erecte d on a granite pedestal on a site close to the Governntl, House, in, the capital of the Bengal Presidency. ' l 7 work, which is in brotze has been cast by Messrs. Elch l e a . ton and Co., of Birmingham.l It is more than thirtef; feet in height, and weighs something over four tons. r l'',.„„." 1 ' whole has beet cast in separate portions, far convenien ce i , of removal, as it vv.s found that none of th e ra il wa ys Or i canals could convey it en ti re t o L on d on, as the bridges () , the tunnels did no`..afferd sufficient height for it to &s -, under. THE CHINESE AT AHOY.—An Ames , letter, of June 1 says—" Among ihe sign s o f f r i en dl y f ee li ng at Amoy,, , 3 ,e 1 ; j , of the most remark a ble h as b een a compliment paid "; ' the foreigners and to the Q ueen b y a semi-official body 6 ; n Amoy, usually called 'The Committee of Pablic Safety , i consisting of the most influential people of the place ` This committee issued invitati ,n s t o t h e consu l ar au thors ties, the naval officers, and all the merchants and missioll" aries of the place, to a dinner on the 23rd of May, intended, ' doubtless, as the Queen's birthday: The • invitation! -•, included even the- ladies, but there and a few others did not go. The p 1 Ice was a large temple, called 'Lam-p°-t 0 ; ' about two miles from the town. 'The table was prepared for us in Europea n „ s t y l e, w hil e the Chinese enter tainers had their own table is their own eyle in an adjoinil?X room. Two of their number were deputed to sit at the head and foot of our table, being selected, the one because he could talk Spanish, and the other because he kneo ' Ware If our Hong Kong- friends had heard of the pre- paratiens before leia.rning the auspicious termination, theY may very probably hive trembled for our safely, but I can assure you that the most perfect cordiality prevailed, and that no one suffered any cell consequences from the Chinese hospitality. It was a little amasing to see the endeavours of our cheirman to get a promise from the captain of the i man-of-war that he would put down any insurrection that I might occur, but of course he took care to give no such aesarance. On Monday, the 25.h0f May, I had the plo; sure of meeting at dinner at the British consu l ate two 01 , the manaar;ne, one, the command er o f t h e Amov l a nd forces, who is at present annArnoy man, the other the con" troller of customs, who is a Manchoo. We had a great deal of very pleasant intercourse with them, and they seemed quite at their case, and quite cordial with us." GOLD AT NELSON.—From the Aorere wo learn that the gold fields continue to realise the highest, expectations that have been formed of them. Several fresh gullies have been discovered, which proaaneel fully to equal in yield those already in work. Fete men, we arc told on autharitY9 have washed out thirty ou - ces in the week. A nugge t of pure gold, weighing 2 ea 11 grs., had been found ill Appoona Gell, being the largest nugget yet found. The quantity of gold brought from the Aorere for the week ending April 25, and entered at the Customs, was 1621 ounces, but this, it is stated, does not represeut the quasi" tits of gold actually broeght over; one party - , with twenty three ounce-a did not report his gold at the Customs at all. 108 passengers bad arrived at the Aorere from Wellingtou• Dvsentry was becoming prevalent there, which is e arl.. bated to the intempar e t e h a bi ts o f many of the men sac! expisure from lyieg about in the night . . The quantity 01 gold brought from the Aorere during the week ending April 18 was reported at the Customs to be 169 ounces , while the week before the quantity was 1083 ounces. As there was no law to compel persons bringing gold toaislelson to make the Customs acquaiated with the result of theic labours, the quentites above stated, it was supposed, were bat a s , :iall pie ion of the gold . Welch was 6 ;ding its way from the Aorere. As there acre also several vessels run ning from Aorcre to Wellington, it met suspected that Ue small quantity of theyield of the gold fields had found its way across the Straits. What perhaps will be a more tangible proof to persons in this country who have been et; • often deceived by the repeated discoveries of New Zealand. gold fields, is the fact that a parcel of 80 ounces has bean shipped by the Monsoon, which may be daily expected."! s Anstralian and Xew Zealand Gazette.