The Express.
London, England, 1868-02-11 00:00:00

THE REESE MTSTERT.

The Star observes that the Hey. Henry White seems a
very martyr to mysterious messages ; and there are plenty
of other stories in the papers which have even less to do
with the Speke mystery than his. If a tithe of them be
true, it ix plain that London is in a far worse condition
than any part of Alaatia or the Mint was in their worst
days; and the disappearance of Mr. Space, or of fifty
other men equally respectable, is no more to be won-
dered at than the capture of a traveller by the bri-
gaod■ of the Abruzzi or Thessaly. The Star must confess
that it is rather sseptical about this state of things,
and still thinks Mr. Speke's disappearance a strange and
startling mystery. It is characteristic of the manner in
which public and even official attention is occupied in such
cues by irrelevant matter, that while we were being
treated to stories of what might, could, or would have
happened to various persons at divers times and in all parts
of London, the fact that there is a house in Queen's-square
to which the missing gentleman might naturally have been
Igoing, and not far from where hi. bat was found, only
transpired two or three days ago, and had not before been
heard of by the police.
A contemporary h►s given circulation to the ingenious
surmise that Mr. Speke has been carried off by the
Fenian., in mistake for Mr. Gotham* Hardy, to whom
the miming gentleman is said to bear a striking resem-
blance. Unfortunately, remarks the Tel the Home
Secretary was born in 1814, and is therefore 54 years of
age, whereas Mr. Spoke was only about 33. Now, even
assuming that Mr. Spoke and Mr. Manly were originally
I as like in form and feature as the Siamese twins, twenty
years must make sufficient difference between them to
render it impossible that even the most foolish of Fenian.
could carry off the one for the other. The Celtic con-
spirators may be affected with judicial blindness, but
there is no reason to suppose they have not the use of
their eyes.

CABllfri COCNCIL.—A cabinet council is ap-
pointed to be held this afternoon at the First Lord
of the Treasury's official residence in Downing-
street.

We are authorised to state that her Majesty's
stay at Osborne being unavoidably prolonged, in
consequence of the late illness of his Royal High-
ness Prince Leopold, the Court which was an-
nounced for Tuesday, March 3, is postponed till
Friday, March 6.
Among the numerous tributes paid to the genius
and labours of Sir Charles Wheatstone. the Italian Scien-
tific Association of the Forty lately forwarded to him,
through the British Legation in Florence, its annual gold
medal for the greatest discoverice in physical science, a
medal founded by its president, Professor Matto:loci, end
I which the society naaniroonsly •Ijudged to Sir Charles In
acknowledgment of his oontrilmtioos to the *dem of
, electricity.

RU

Y 11

POIDENT.) • .3
MONDAT 1b1.10,,
leenir National, sur-

undergo at Sainte-
Pelagic the month's imprisonment to which he
was lately sentenced by M. Delesvaux, the Presi-
dent of the Correctional Chamber. _ _

,~. # :,

M. Cretzulesco, the diplomatic agent of the
Roumanian government in Paris, had a long inter-
view with the Marquis de Moustier this morning
at the Foreign-office. The object of the confe-
' rence was to offer explanations on the part of
Prince Charles on the subject of the bands which
are preparing an insurrection in Bulgaria." If,
as some of the latest telegrams affirm, these bands
are a nonentity, • long interview could scarcely
have been necessary.
The Austrian and English ambassadors have had
several interviews with the Marquis de Moustier
lately, to talk over the threatening aspect of the
"Eastern question."
It is stated that after his marriage Prince Hum-
bert will reside at Naples. Is this a confirmation
of the views that he was to be made a sort of Lord
Lieutenant of Southern Italy ?
It is rumoured that the Pope hesitates to grant
the dispensation necessary, according to the rules,
of the catholic church, to enable Prince Humbert
to marry his cousin. En voila du noisteau.
At Caen, on Feb. 27; at Alenoon, on March 18 ;
and again at Caen, March 26, there will take place
under the patronage of General Fleury and the
Prefect of the Department, extremely interesting
competitions for equine prizes, which are neither
races, trotting matches, steeplechases, nor horse
shows. A sum of 34,000 fr. is to be distributed,
not to the fastest galloppers, the fastest trotters,
the best leapers, or the best looking horses, but to'
the bast " broken " horses—the horses which,
whether in double or single harness, or the saddle,
do their work in the manner moat creditable to
their trainers. A variety of qualities most desir-
able in the family horse, which never could
be tested by ordinary racing, will thus
be encouraged good stepping, a good
mouth, a right carriage of the head and
tail, and what Mr. Turveydrop would have
called in general "deportment,' are the things
which will be looked to by the judges. The French
term for this novel hippie sport is Prix de dressage.
The Minister at War is said to be hard at work
upon a " vast project " of colonisation in Algeria,
due to the " initiative " of the Emperor.
The purchaser of the Bteuf -Gras of this
year is not the butcher Flechelle of the Rue
Gaillon, who has had them very many times in
succession, but M. Duval, of the Rue Tronchet, the
successful founder of the numerous cheap soup
houses in various quarters of Paris.
There has been a further rise at the Bourse. The

money article of the Pala says :—" Poople arc
buying with a view to the loan ; all kinds of securi-
ties rise—even those whose position offers no pre-
text for higher quotations." It is said on all hands
that groups of small capitalists have clubbed to-
gether and formed what are called " syndicates"
to keep up prices to an unnatural height until the
loan comes out, when they hope to be able to turn
round and sell at the expense of the ignorant
public.
The fall of in Consols produced no effect

whatever. Rent. rose 15c. for cash and 10c. for
account, closing at 69fr. and 68fr. 85c. Italian
rose 20c. ; Credit Foncier, 3fr. 76c. ; and blobi-
lier, Ifr. 25c. Comptoir d'Escompte fell 2fr. 50c.

1.

MUS DAY.)
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
inp at Nisi Prius in IfidcUwx.—(Betor• Lord Chief
Justice Bovill sad a Special Jury.)

ITELLICIENCB.

HOGG T. ?HI ST. GILES'S 1110-AID OP WOW

The plaintiff in this case was a licensed victualler and
kept the Red Lion, in Southampton-row, Bloomsbury ; and
he claimed damages for injuries to his property suffered
during the construction by the defendant of a sewer along
Southampton-row.
Mr. Field, Q.C., and Mr. Philbrick appeared for the
plaintiff ; and M.. D. Keane, Q.C. ; and Mr. Pearce for
the defendant.
It appeared that the houses in Southampton-row had
fellers which extended under the footpath, and also under
a portion of the roadway. The cutting for the sewer was
shout 18 feet dsep,and the soil was sand and gravel. Along
the course of the cultinEse a water main, and this was
I supported at intervals chains which passed under
the main sad over of timber, which rested
len the roadway and craned the cutting. On the Bth of
May the sewer had been built opposite to the plaintiff's
hones, and the outing wee about being filled in when the
able gave way, the mein sunk and burst, and the water
rushed into the cutting. Over the crown of the plaintiff's
cellar there was loose earth to the depth of three or four
feet, and the top of the cellar fell in, and the bottles and
barrel' there were crushed. The plabitiff's case was that the
cause of the accident was that the workmen were carelemin
knocking away the timbers which supported the aides of
the cutting.
Mr. Geo. Shirley, a near neighbour of the plaintiff, said
that the accident happened about 11 o'clock in the morn-
ing. He wen at the time asking Mr. Hatter, the foreman,
when the loose earth would be removed from in front of his
house. He saw workmen move cross pieces of timber, and
the used for siding fell. He saw a crack come in the
opposite the Red Lion gateway, and called the
attention of the fireman to it. The foreman exclaimed,
" Good God, it is all going in !" and called upon the men
to get out of the cutting very quickly after the water-pips
broke, and the water rushed out. Directly after the I
earth, all along the side of the cutting, fell in, and next
Ihe saw the gravel that was on the top of the plaintiff's
cellar rolling down, and the people call d out Hog g's
cellar is all going in !" and in another minute it went in.
The crack in the earth was not a foot from the balk that
gave way, and so let the water-main sink.
Evidence was given that the proper course would have
been to leave in all the timbers except those which
belonged to the upper " form," and that in more than one
instance men were seen to knock away the timbers in the
lower forms.
On the other side it was stated that no such timber hail
been removed, and that nothing that took place in the cut-
ting caused the accident. That a private pipe draiu was being
carried from the houses to the public sewer, at the expense
of and by men employed by the parties interested. That this
pipe drain was carried through an old cesspool, and so
close under one of the walls of the plaintiffs
cellar as to lead to the accident. The true cause
of the accident was shown by the way in
which the cellar wall had sunk, and also by these circum-
stances. In addition to the water pipe suspended in the
cutting there was another water pipe with earth nearer
the plaintiff's house, and it was this pipe that first burst,
for the teen in the cutting found water coming from the
side of the trench before the suspended pipe had broken.
Both pipes were broken in almost the same line of fracture.
The case occupied the whole of Saturday and Monday,
and in the course of yesterday his lordship suggested that
it was very desirable that the whole matter as to how the
accident was caused should be referred to an engineer
who could have the ground opened at various points and
see whether any timber had been improperly removed
though at the point immediately in question it was ad-
mitted that the timber had all been washed away.
The same suggestion was repeated this morning and
after some waiting to hear bow a committee of the Board
of Works would determine, it was arranged that a verdict
should be taken for the plaintiff, subject to a reference to
Mr. Grey"—

regory.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER

EXTRAORDIVART SCENE.
The inadequacy of the courts at Westminster for the
business they have to transact was forcibly exhibited
this morning by a cireumetance which is probably unpre-
cedented. In the Exchequer there were sittings in
banco and two separate courts for the trial of cues at
nisi prius. All the common law and equity courts Is well
as the Admiralty Court being in use, Barone Bramwell
and Chatinell, who had to sit in banco, could find no place
for that purpose except the Queen's ltemetubrancer's room,
a very small chamber with only one window, in which the
learned judges, the masters, counsel, solicitors, and
others were huddled together in unseemly confusion.
Ilut that was not the worst of the matter, because, there
being no ventilation, the door had to be kept open ; and
as it led to a public passage filled with people moving to
and fro, the noise was ao great that the learned barons end
the counsel addressing them could scarcely hear each other
speak. _

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.
(Before Mr. Commissioner Holroyd.)
IN CC HALLETT AND OHNIANEY.
This was an application on behalf of Mr. Bonn, a mer-
chant, who claimed to be a creditor in this matter for the
payment of dividends to the amount of 904 under a deed of
inspectorship executed by the debtors, who were the well-
known bankers and navy agents, in Great George-
street, Westminster. The application was resisted
upon the ground that the inspectors had a claim against
Mr. Boors in respect of a debt incurred by his son, and
for which they contended he was responsible. An action
had been brought which Mr. Lours was defending, and it
was arranged that the application should stand over until
after the trial of the action.
Mr. Bagley and Mr. R. Griffiths appeared.

THE POLICE COURTS.

(THIS DAY.)

EAII4V
TUESDAY EV . FEBRUAN
mintriAcii .. EXPRESS FROM PARK'
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PRIAM, AUBTBL4, /Il ,. tssonlfrown cosaurounkirr.)
We". ~,, . . —if ' •
4.. - PARIS, MONDAY llh
hat distress of the inmest kind M. Peyrat, the editor of the Aeenir Natior
, of the two greet monarchies 1 rer.dered himself today to undergo at
. . .. . r. .