The Press.
London, England, 1854-07-01 00:00:00

gab 3 an Velitt.

AN IMPORTANT DECISION under the new Emigrant
Passengers Act was given by Alderman Carter at the
Mansion-house Police Court on Monday. An intend-
ing emigrant, named Thorpe, had summoned Messrs.
Griffiths and Newcome, the shipowners, for breach
of contract. He had paid his passage-money to
Australia and got ready for a vessel which they had
announced to sail on the 24th of May. So unpunc-
tual, however, were the owners that his berth on
board was not fitted up until the 15th instant, and
the ship was not prepared to sail even at the date of
his application to the court. Sixteen shillings had
been offered him for subsistence while waiting, but
lie demanded the return of his passage-money (221.
55.). His case was only one out of many, as a great
number of emigrant passengers, male and female,
had got their property on board the vessel, and were
suffering much distress and agitation from the cruel
delay. Defendants' counsel raised some objections,
founded on the wording of the act, which, he said,
did not contemplate the return of passage-money.
Afterwards he applied to have the case referred to a
higher tribunal, and talked about letting the com-
plainant obtain a mandamus from the Queen's
Bench, where the question of law might be discussed
and decided, it being of great commercial importance.
Alderman Carter remarked that this course towards
a poor man in the complainant's position would
amount to a practical denial of redress. The act
gave him a power of summary jurisdiction, which he
should exercise in this and all similar cases. He
wished emigrants who had to complain against ship-
owners for breach of contract to know that a ready
mode of obtaining justice was open to them. De-
fendants were then ordered to pay 21. compensation
to the complainant and return him his passage-
money.

JAMES SMITH, a shellfish-seller, was charged at
Worship-street on Tuesday with having committed a
cowardly outrage on a young woman. While passing
down Shoreditch, half-intoxicated, he dropped his
basket, and, fancying it had been knocked out of his
hand, attacked the nearest bystander, who happened
to be a woman, in the most ferocious manner. The
complainant was suffering much from his violence
while relating the particulars to the magistrate :
She had neither touched nor spoken to him, but the instant
his basket had fallen he rushed at her and struck her about the
head and face most violent blows in rapid succession; he seized
her bonnet, which he tore from her head, and then, grasping her
with both hands round the waist, dashed her down heavily upon
the pavement, against which her head came into such violent
contact that her hairpins were forced into the skull, causing her
the greatest agony. He was about to deal her another heavy
blow in the face with his fist, when her screams alarmed one of
the neighbours, who ran forward and knocked up his arm just in
time to save her.

Mr. D'Eyncourt, with some just remarks upon the
cowardly brutality of the assault., sentenced the
prisoner to six months' hard labour.

AN ACTION FOR DAMAGES was brought against the
Great Western Railway Company by Mrs. Barefield,
a lady of considerable fortune, residing at Thatcham.
In June last year the plaintiff was travelling to Lon-
don for the purpose, as was stated, of attending the
Queen's drawing-room. At the Reading station she
left the carriage for the refreshment-room, and while
standing on the platform a porter in the company's
service let a box fall from carelessness and hurt
one of her toes. Besides suffering a good deal of
pain the plaintiff was obliged to attend the drawing-
room wearing a large slipper. The fact of negli-
gence on the part of the porter was proved, and the
defendant's counsel addressed themselves to the
question of damages, which the jury ultimately esti-
mated at 27/. 108. A verdict for that amount was
consequently returned.
A " rough-looking fellow," John Murray by name,
was charged at Bow street with assaulting a Vice-
Chancellor. It seemed that Sir W. P. Wood was
passing through Princes-street., Lincoln's-inn-fields,
when he saw the prisoner attempting to strike a
woman. His honour interfered, and the man turned
upon him and struck a blow which fortunately took
effect principally upon his hat. Prisoner was drunk
at the time, and Sir W. P. Wood not pressing for a
severe penalty, a mitigated fine of 30s. was imposed,
with three weeks' imprisonment in default.

PATRICK CALLAGHAN, a well-known begging im-
postor, who was found pleading " starvation" in the
public streets, and looked as destitute as usual, was
brought up at Bow• street, by a Mendicity officer,
charged with the old offence:—

611

The constable stated that the prisoner had 21. 78. 6d. in his
possession when apprehended.
Mr. J ARDINE committed him to prison for a month, and di•
rected the money to be handed over to the governor of the gaol,
to defray the expense of the prisoner's maintenance.

3rtibmis nub effnuts.

THE Isis AT OXFORD has been the scene of two
melancholy and fatal accidents within the last week.
On Sunday a boat containing two young men employed
by a shopkeeper in the town, and three young women
daughters of Mr. Chamberlain, bedmaker at Trinity
College, was upset through the inexpertness and
terror of its occupants, all of whom were drowned
before assistance could arrive. Another boat was
upset on Monday, and Mr. W. Earl, commoner of St.
John's College, lost his life. He was having a race
with a friend, and in the excitement lost the manage.
ment of his skiff, which turned over, and he went to
the bottom instantly. But few minutes elapsed before
the body was rescued, and all availible means used for
his recovery, but life was already quite extinct.
NEARLY SIXTY HOUSES HAVE BEEN BURNT by a
great conflagration which broke out at Olney, in
Bucks, on Monday. The fire originated in the wash-
house of Mr. Morgan, a grocer, residing in High-
street, in the centre of the town. The wind blowing
briskly fanned the flames, so that the fire spread
rapidly from one side of the street to the other, con-
suming everything that came in its way. Many of
the houses being of thatch, it was impossible to stop
the flames, although there were six fire-engines on
the spot. An immense amount of property way
destroyed, and many of the inhabitants lost the whole
of their furniture. During the night between 300
and 400 women and childen were sheltered in the
National School-room and other places. The fire i,s
supposed to have been the result of accident.
SEvEtur. FIRES have occurred in London, doing
much damage, though in no case, fortunately, resulting
in the loss of life. On Sunday morning a fire brokp
out at the rope-manufactory of Messrs. Morgan and
Sons, Blue Anchor-road, Jamaica-level, Bermondsey,
and was only extinguished after the destruction of
considerable amount of property. On Monday the
Kangaroo, a splendid steamer belonging to the
Waterford Steam packet Company, and lately arrive 4
from Manilla, was visited by a conflagration wlaicla
commenced, probably, through spontaneous combus-
tion among some hemp in its cargo. The flames
destroyed goods to a considerable value and did
much damage to the steamer, but were subdued by
strenuous exertions and through the happy circum-
stance that the steamer was fitted with iron bulkheads.
The vessel was lying at the time off liorselydown-
stairs. On a subsequent day the premises of Mr.
Franklin, a tobacconist, in Church-lane, Shoreditch,
were burnt down, the inmates making a hasty and
perilous escape, and the adjacent house suffering
severely from fire and water. A fire broke out on
Monday in the "kitchen department" of the Crystal
Palace at Sydenham. A large body of policemen
were happily near at the time, by whose exertions the
flames were quickly subdued. An escape of gas was
said to have had something to do with this accident,
which but for timely detection and efficient efforts
would have threatened the destruction of a wing of
the building.
SuicinE was committed on Monday night by Mr.
Joseph Mitchell, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle.
Deceased had, it appeared, been low in spirits for
some time, but nothing serious was apprehended.
On the night in question the report of a pistol was
heard from his room, and his wife on entering found
that the unfortunate man had fired the pistol and the
slugs had entered his side. He died in less than
three hours. The only cause that could be assigned
for the rash act was thatthe deceased fancied himself
in embarrassed circumstances. The jury at the sub-
sequent inquest returned a verdict of "Temporary
insanity."
THE adjourned inquest into the circumstances
attending the murder of Adcock, near Leicester, was
resumed on Tuesday, and again adjourned. A man
named Ashton has since been apprehended on
suspicion, and remanded after examination before
the local magistrates. The prisoner describes
himself as coming from New York. He has been
lecturing on phrenology at Leicester for about six
months, and professes to cure all sorts of diseases by
means of flannel bands charged with electricity.
THE STEAM-SHIP " HIMIJAYA, after making a splen-
did passage of eight days from Malta, went ashore
on Thursday on Sconce Point. on the Isle of Wight
side of the Solent.. Fortunately she struck upon a
soft bed of mud, and on Friday was got off at high
water without damage.
MARY ANN Baouost, the woman who murdered six
of her children at Esher some days since, was
brought up before the district magistrates on Thurs-
day. The bench, however, adopted the unusual course
of declining to investigate the case, observing that
the verdict of the coroner was sufficient to ensure
the prisoner being brought to trial. The woman be-
haved with much indifference while her crime was
under discussion at the court.