The Press.
London, England, 1858-12-04 00:00:00

THE t'lttB S, DECEMBER 4, 1858.

en act of mutiny. There was not the slightest 'evi-
dence as to that. Then, as to Mr. Roe, most unwil-
lingly had Miss Cleaveland's name been imported
into this case, but he was the stepfather of Miss
Cleaveland, and had reason to suppose that a clan-
destine correspondence was carried on by Colonel
Horne with that young lady, and it was his duty, if
possible, to prevent it. The magistrates, as men of
experience, would draw their own conclusion what
must be the result of such a correspondence, looking
at the position of Colonel
i Home and Miss Cleave-
land. He must say that f Mr. Roe was to be put
upon his trial for using such words as had been im-
puted to him the liberty of Englishmen was gone.
Mr. JOHNSON, a magistrate, said no doubt Mr.
Roe had acted under excited feeling throughout ; and
The MAYOR said he and his brother magistrates
had unanimously decided to dismiss the case alto-
gether, there not being a tittle of evidence to support
the charge as brought before the bench.
The announcement of the mayor was received with
loud applause by the crowded court, which was, how-
ever, instantly repressed.
In reference to this matter two letters have been
published by a morning contemporary. Mrs. Roe,
the wife of the defendant and the mother of the
young lady whose name has been introduced into the
affair, denies that there was any clandestine corre-
spondence between her daughter and Colonel Home,
who " was first introduced under circumstances that
will ever be remembered with gratitude—be saved my
child from an almost inevitable watery grave." She
represents her husband as a persecutor of his
daughter-in-law, and brands his interception of a
letter from the colonel as " a complete theft," adding,
but the thief will never have a chance to do so
again." Mrs. Roe adds, "The allusions made about
' protection' under Mr. Roe's ' roof ' is absurd, and
what he has never pretended to offer. The very
young lady alluded to, with her mother, are the
principal agents in keeping a ' roof' over his head.
His sort of ' protection ' will no longer be required.
There is a mystery in the case. With your permis-
sion, sir, I will add, that had Mr. Roe ' got up a
case' of insanity to help him out of the scrape, I
could have furnished many instances, with witnesses,
that would have borne out the said case.' It
certainly would have been more manly and less
cowardly than to entangle in such a cruel way a de-
fenceless girl."
The second letter is from Colonel Home, also
denying the "insinuation" against "a lady very
highly connected, and with an irreproachable
character," and adding, "Mr. Roe not being, as I un-
derstood from the beginning, in any way her guardian,
he had no right to expect that I should make him
acquainted with my intentions towards her."
Colonel Home also publicly declares that under
the circumstances which really exist he was justified
in addressing the lady as he did. So the matter rests
at present, but " the affair is not yet quite settled."

A THIEF named Richard Barry, who practises in
the child-stripping department of that well-divided
field of labour, has been committed for trial by Mr.
Selfe, the magistrate. A crowd of bis victims and
their parents was in attendance to charge the rascal
with his mean villanies. A police-constable said he
was prepared to substantiate a hundred cases of theft
against the prisoner.
THE 'OMAN DESPATCHES THEFT has at length been
solved. On Saturday Wellington Grenville Guernsey,
Regent-square, represented as having held a commis-
sion in the Crimean Turkish Contingent, and lately
returned from South America, was charged before
Mr. Jardine, at the Bow-street police-office, with
having feloniously abstracted the documents front
the Foreign-office. The evidence adduced went to
show that the prisoner had frequently called upon
Mr. Miller, sub•librarian at the Colonial-office, with
whom he had some acquaintance, and that he had
been left there alone on one occasion when printed
copies of the despatches were lying on the library
table. It was further proved that the prisoner was
the person who supplied the Daily News with the
copies from which the despatches were published.
The prisoner, who offered no defence, was committed
for trial, bail being refused.

THE MARCHMO-NT DIVORCE SUIT, which bas occu•
Pied so much of the time of the court, has resulted
in a verdict in favour of the lady. For the respondent
several witnesses were called. These were, for the
most part, servants who bad lived with the family,
and their evidence proved that Mrs. Marclimont bad
been the subject of violent tits of passion and
jealousy, and that she bad not been over ntco in the
epithets she applied to ber husband, nor before whom
they were uttered. Dr ig the proceedings one of

by law, but the learned judge, Sir Creswell Creswell,
declined to sanction such au arrangement, on the
ground that it would lead to the worst conse-
quences.

• 1181

AN EXTBAORDINLRY CAGE 'was the subject of an
inquest held at Cardiff, on Monday, on view of the
body of Mary Ann Parke. It appeared from the evi-
dence adduced that the deceased was walking near
the Bute Docks with her husband, the master of a
small coasting vessel, when she complained of giddi-
ness and fell to the ground. She was immediately
conveyed into an outfitter's shop, where she was
placed on some bedding in a wareroom. Mr. Pratt,
a neighbouring surgeon, was called in, and, after
feeling her pulse and placing a glass to her lips, pro-
nounced her to be quite dead. This was about eight
o'clock on Wednesday evening, and the body was
locked up in the room until four o'clock on the fol-
lowing afternoon, when three women undertook to lay
out the body, which had swollen so as to render her
bonnet strings quite tight round her neck, and her
face was black. One of them in cutting a string cat
the skin, when blood flowed freely, and on the clothes
being slakened the face assumed the hue of life and
health ; the chest felt warm, and one of the v-nuen
swore positively that she saw the lips moving as if
breathing, and that one band was raised. Mr. Pratt
was again sent for, and positively asserted that death
had taken place twenty hours previously. An in-
quest was held on Friday, and adjourned in order to
receive the explanations of the surgeon, who at.
tended on Monday evening, and cited instances of
similar appearances long after death. It was stated
that even on Saturday evening the body had the
fresh colour and other appearances of a person
sleeping, but on Monday unmistakeable signa of
decomposition set in. The jury expressed them.
selves satisfied with the explanations of the surgeon,
and returned a verdict of " Died by the visitation of
God ;" and the coroner issued his warrant for the
interment of the body.

A REMARKABLE CASE OF ROBBERY AND PERJURY
by a boy has just come to light. Three weeks ago a
burglary was committed on the premises of Messrs.
Kent and Co., Great Marlborough-street, when 511. in
money was carried off. A boy fifteen years of age,
named Edward Herbert, in the service of the firm,
on oath before the magistrate, charged two meu in
the same employ with the crime, saying that he had
received a sovereign not to speak of it. The police
had some suspicions of the boy ; and being watched,
he was observed a few days, since digging up some
sovereigns in Hammersmith churchyard, and on
Thursday when brought before Mr. Bingham at
Marlborough-street police-coart, confessed that he
was guilty of the robbery.

A DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO MURDER two officers
of the Middlesex House of Correction was made by
a prisoner named Simpson, who was tried at the last
session of the Central Criminal Court for felony, and
sentenced to six months' hard labour, on Tuesday
afternoon. The prisoner, on being supplied with
his dinner, complained to the officer in whose charge
he was, who bears a deservedly high character, and
has served many years in the prison, that the meat
was not sweet. The officer, after examining it, said
it was, whereupon the prisoner rushed at him, and,
in attempting to stab him in the throat, cut him
severely across the face with the knife given to eat
his dinner with. Morris, a brother officer, seized
the prisoner, wbo turned furiously upon him, and
struck at his throat with the knife. He missed his
aim, but the officer received a wound which placed
his life in great jeopardy. The knife struck him on
the cheek and glanced off past the ear, and stuck in
his neck. Had the prisoner succeeded in giving the
blow he evidently intended, thejugular vein must have
been severed. The prisoner was secured and placed
in irons, and every attention paid to the wounded
officers. Great fears were for some time entertained
that Morris's wound was mortal, but he is now oat of
danger, and both are getting on favourably. The
prisoner, who seems very careless about the matter,
was examined on the charge of wounding with
intent to murder yesterday.
Mr. CoOKE, THE SON OF MR. W. COOKE, of Astley's
Royal Amphitheatre, met with a serious accident on
Tuesday, whilst be was engaged in training a high-
spirited horse to perform in the new Indian piece, to
be produced at that establishment on Monday next.
In the course of a rehearsal the animal fell upon
Mr. Cooke, breaking one of his legs. We are happy
to state that Mr. Cooke is progressing as favourably
as can be expected. Her Majesty and the Prince
Consort, on hearing of the accident, sent a special
messenger from Windsor expressly to inquire after
the health of the sufferer.

Obituarg.