The Express.
London, England, 1866-03-10 00:00:00

THE BOLD EXPERIMENT.

TO THI FDITOR or THE LIPRP/SS.
referouce to your graphic account of
this came, we era requested by Mr. Augustus Smith to
state that partieulsr instruct were given by him to do
no uneeeessary injury to the fence is its removal, and that
in fact the fence has not bees materially injured
been taken oat of the ground, rolled up, sad left stacked on
ro

the oommon.
The real " boll experimeAalwt" in this cvse is the Lord
of the Manor, who, without notice, put bin hoc* round a
common which has hose opiu laud from time immemorial,
to say nothing of stopping several highways.
It was to prevent a p'eri'ls breach of Vie peace tbat a
strew force was used.—We am, Isc.,
LLW HENCE aed SOUTHEY.
6. Lutooltes-itte-fielai, Loudon, Mach E

Raraisarrsfloa or Warr Wonerartantiaa.—
Last evening the address of Kr. W. E. Dowdeswell, the
omeervtive ndidate Gt. the vacant
the death of Earl
Beauchamp, and the noonision of his brotherlt this e Hon.
Frederick Lygon, to the wise, was issued. dated
from rall'cour", near Tewkesbury, sort "Boreludieg to
the death of the late cod procesds : sod bred
ansoogst you. I shall, if eleoted, scheely employ myself
for the genera
welfare of thy country ; and, warmly
attached ty the prieeiples advocated by thq consnatin
leaders, heartily support that party, 'retrying to myself
that iodepeodeoce of action which is du tomer, country
reattemss. AD ardent supporter of the chinch of
llegland, and slams for the maintenance of her fabrics and
services, I am anxious for &fair adjustment of the disputed
topic, the abolition of church rates, and though opposed
to maid abolition would sopout a moderate whew' ca,ca-
lated to set at rest that much controverted question.
Whilst I deprecate an been or precipitate lowering of the
franchise I would support a stessare for the lekral sates-
sloe of the suffrage to those wile prove themselves entitled
to be admitted to the exercise of so inspyrtant and moony
obis a trust. lam an advec.te for economy, sod the &mit
notion of the public impenslitaie, so far es is °evillest
with the maintains*, of our naval and military forces on
en Aden footing without eadenseriog oar colonies sad
sestospree." Ifs is sloe agrees* to the system
el centrali-
sation art favourable to load esifiloyetnmert. Kr. Brown-
Weaned, who reeidu in themes*, and who moistly sat
in Ink. bet yea defeated at tbs. general elastics, will,
it led=4 mine leeward in tbs liberal inttreet.
(e, PALACL O Minus* DAY.
VIIIDLT, NAMICII 9.—Admissions on payment, 738;
ditto by slaws Bushy 1,N7; total vidtors.l,9l.s.

JW. BENSON'4 STEAM FACTORY for
CLOW and WATCHES, 68 sad CO, LODOAtILRILL;
WEEP END MYTALEILUOIKENT, 11, OLD DOND4TILIGEL

(PRIZE ERDAL AWARDED.,
ALLEN'S PATENT PORTMANTEAUS and
ISAVILIMIG BAGS with
lAMBS WARDED/a TIMMS, TRZBVITAGS, vie
awe
DIRrAM BOXER mama and DRESSING CMS, and
WO other articles for Wee es oostineetel traveWoß, Muir&lid
MkLarne Poet tree.
Also Aiwa% Barna Pare Clabalesse 4:11 Portable Bed
lewd; Drawers. Lay Chairs, Neekhand-etends, Canteen', *a,
met tree.

*.aLLZII, Manotactarer sal Patiatem, 31, Wed 1113333,
inowlea. W.O.

IVIIRTLE, TURTLE, TURTLE.
1 Cr,le Thick. sad Invalid TURTLii SOUPS always ready,
at ST. JAILIDMILALL, itgOILNT-STRAIT. FIOCADILLt.
WIC DONALD, Proprietor.

eite eq:presgh•

TO 0011.11.1taPONDKNTS.
Avertiownowia Wooded for Th. impress " Leedom Rveabig
=, moat be at the 06oe, bonvertwelweet, by Two
It ow Oto day of pablkalike.

AIATIIAZIPTt

Tuzu Sava. A RaiWib ATELCHWIWI. Mesa% W.
Arran and °wanton . ID is Ada Cavandlal—nitUTlllll SAX.
Itaisom dotharu and tluwk ,cola; Mtaa ally SI oars —*MTH=
THB ILLYSLARSZT.—And HT HUSBANDS

P?.INCFIOB.

MS Tvliorife. QUIRT LODGINGS.—After wide& TT IS
MEWLS. TOO LATE TN MIND. Miura Vining, G. Ilelrlllis
T. Mewl. A Murray, tr. Calhoun; W. Villiers. J. 0. Shore, G. liar.
oh aid Y. Cidinart ;MI L Moore and I. Rodgien

LYCIUIdr.
Toil svmmio. m ILLIIS FEMUR STRANGER. Hr. H.
Wlddloomb.—niz II Alltgit or RAVICHSWOOD. Iliairs.
teainer. .1 ordta, Vean. lanery. Widdlconib, Iltapatrick. Lvass ;
liadiumass Thrum. Us worthy. lanai, C. Lactlereq.

KRITAWRIA.
Tim Vann, VIE CASUAL WARD.-11r. 1. O. Fordo.—
Mos Kama Keradge. - CINDIMILLA.-11. sad Madams
Bisitasabach.—aad nil CREOLE.

HIGH WATIIII AT LONDON-BRIDGE,
TIM DAY Maniac Id ISm.....Altrrfora. Th. Ili
TO4tollllolll Morals& ft. t7ca.....Aftervaaon, NA ask

LONDON, SATURDAY. MARCH 10.

ALTHOUGH Sir GEORGE GREY may be right in
holding that the cue of Mr. FERGUSON, who is in
the bands of the law for resisting a night attack
made on him by a policeman in disguise, ought
to be left to the tardy action of the courts,
there was no reason why he should not have given
the public the assurance it expects that the prac-
tice out of which the present difficulty has grown
shall be discontinued. In order that we may not
prejudge the case, we will assume as unquestioned
the correctness of all the statements which Sir G EORGE
GREY advanced on Thursday night on behalf of the
police and the magistrate. The case is that of a
gentleman going home from a party late at night
along a suburban road. He passes a man got up in a
roughish-looking dress for the purpose of conceal-
ing his real Ultarscter, and wishes him " Good
" night." A minute after he hears steps ;
the suspicious looking man is following bim ; he
quickens his pace, the straovr quickens his; the
gentleman runs, the strsoger does the same ; and
the latter having the advantage, tho gentleman is
overtaken and seized. He a.ruggles, but is over-
powered, and as a last resource draws a clasp-knife
and wounds his assailant, thereby releasing him-
self from his grasp. As soon as he has gained a
measure of liberty, and before he knows either what
injury he has inflicted, or how soon he may
be Attacked again, be offers the stranger—whom
he bad all the while believed to be a robber—his
watch and money, to be allowed to go without fur-
ther molestation. But another attempt is made
to seize him, and he shouts "Murder," and
" Police." At length the guardians of
the public peace appear, when the as-
saulted person, who has simply defended
himself, is made prisoner by the officers
whom be had summoned to his aid, and the assailant
is declared to be a detective policeman. There is,
we believe, no dispute about these facts, but
Sir GEORGE Garr urges, u if in deprecation of
Mr. FERGUSON'S conduct, that the policeman
" produced his staff as the symbol of his autho-
" rity," Suppose he did, what then t What
respect was due to it under the circumstances?
How can the staff be said to have authenticated the
verbal professions of its owner ?

The character of a policeman on ordinary duty
14 abundantly designated to the public by his uniform,
and, further, his persona: identity is ascertainable
by means of his number ; so that any one impro-
perly interfered with by him submits in the eon-

a ealv:l
res to slsti.
Nor he my**
imagtaid_
ela‘lll,l•Zuglis

fidenoo that he has to do with a

regulated by discipline and
rite, and, therefore, that for 1

tain he may expect redrew
the Home-office, or anywhere

will recognise in the production of a staff, such
as any garotter may carry in his pocket, a reason
why he should surrender his person to a stranger
?curefully divested of all the ensigns of a public
function, who stops him on the highway, in the
middle of the night 1 Sir GEoraz GUT knows
better.

, There is nothing to be said against Sir (holm
Gillreg statement that it was the duty of this po-
liceman to be where he was in plain clothes. Pro-
bably it was ; at all events, 00 one has objected to
the man's being there. It appears that a great
number of robberies had been committed in
the neighbourhood, and as the ordinary poliesinen
were watched on their beats, and robberies were
committed in the intervals of their appearances et
points on their rounds, detectives had been
stationed to try to discover the offenders. This is
all very well, and if by the employment of them
in plain clothes the police authorities can diminish
the number of robberies, the householders of
Sydenham and Norwood will be grateful, and no
one will have a right to complain. But it is neither
fair to the police nor to the public to set these
plain-clothes men to meddle with foot passengers
on the roads at night. That particular service
ought to be reserved for men whose uniform in-
spires confidence while it demands respect. No-
body can be expected to surrender himself into the
power of an utter stranger on his mere assertion
that he is a policeman, and on the bars chimes that
he may prove to be so. It is no doubt possible to
imagine a state of society in which no good citizen
need ever fall back on his original natural right
of self-defence ; but British law does not as-
sume that we are living in that millennial
condition, nor is it probable that we shall soon
attain to it. The spirit of our people will not
tamely submit to personal aggression in the hope
that the law will make amends for all they may
suffer. Nor is it desirable that they should, since
one of the most effectual checks to ruffianly
violence is the belief that it will be resented and
punished on the Ipot where it is offered. It will
be in vain for mistaken officials to disre-
gard this spirit, or act upon systems which
leave it out of the account. An Englishman,
whether he is dealing with negroes in Jamaica, or
Sepoys in India, or policemen disguised as foot-
pads at home, will always take his own part, and
the measures of the Government should be ad-
justed to that fact, or the agents of authority will
fall into disrepute. We should all of us, in similar
circumstances, do aa Mr. Fintousorr did. We
should be sorry in that case for the suffering police-
man ; bus our sympathetic regret would not be
mingled with self-reproach, and ear blame would
be reserved for those who had placed him in a
false position.