The Express.
London, England, 1861-08-15 00:00:00

CUTTING DOWN TELEGRAPH POSTS.

In the town of Beaconsfield, in the county of
Buckingham, on Monday, the magistrates in petty sessions
had to adjudicate in • seas where a solicitor and one of the
coroners for the county, Mr. Frederick Chartsley, of Nissen-
den, was charged with aiding and abetting several labour-
ing men to cut down one of the posts recently erected in
Beaconsfield by the United Kingdom Electric Telegraph
Company. The case was beard before J. On Pre, Esq.,
chairman ; James Palmer, Esq., and R. R. Clayton, Esq.
The court was held at the Saracen's Head Ina,
the large room of which was literally crammed.
The defendants were Henry Rolfe, George Rolfe,
Richard Bernard Bulk, and Robert Butting, who
were charged with cutting down the poet, and Frederick
Charlaley charged with aiding and abetting them to com-
mit the act. Mr. Tindal Atkinson appeared on behalf of
the Telegraph Company ; and Mr. Keene on behalf of the
defendants. Mr. Atkinson said that the facts of the ease
were simply these:—On the 4th July last the defendant,
Mr. Char ley, who was at the White Hart Inn, Beacons.
field, with the other defendants, offered to eve any one hail'-
s-crown who would climb to the top of the telegraphic post
erected in the public highway opposite the White Hart Inn.
As this offer appeared to be insufficient, Mr. Charlalsy
said he would give 10e. 6d. to any one who would
fetch an are and saw, and cut the post down. This had
the desired effect ; the saw and sae were fetched, and the
post was cut down by the defendants, Mr. Chorister stand-
mg by sod abetting them. In addition to this Mr. Charlaley
had previously said that he would have • mile of the tele-
, graph down. The effect of cutting down this poet was that
all communication was cut off, and the wires were throws
in front of the premises of Mr. Harding, a chairmaker. Ad-
mitting, for the sake of argument only, that the post was&
nuisance, the onlinary remedy was by public indictment,
and a man had no right to take the law into his own hands
and remove it. Mr. Atkinson having called a
number of witnesses in support of his case, Mr.
Keene maintained that the post in question was
a nuisance, and • dangerous nuisaDoe, as he
should prove by evidence, and that he had a right to re-
move it. He denied that the Board of Health or the Read
Trustees had any power to give permission for the erection
of these Ss as
e the right was vested in the lord of the
soil, Mr. ves, whose consent had not been asked, nor
had say • eons been adduced to show that the plaintiffs
had obtained the consent of any party. The land was given
up for the benefit of the highway, and not for the benefit of
say speculating telegraph company. The magistrates,
without requiring the room to be cleared, said that they
were of opinion that there was not sufficient danger caused
by this post to justify Mr. Charlsley in employing persons
to cut it down ; at the same time they would inflict only
such • penalty as would meet the ewe. The defendants
were then convicted in the penalty of ls., and ordered to
pay the damage, X, and all the costa in the case, which it
is estimated will amount to about SW,

SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINsr IRISH GOVERN.
HIRT OFFICIALS.

At the bead police-alce, Dublin, on Tuesday,
Hamilton Connelly and John the former de.
scribal as an officer of Engineers in the War Department
and the latter a builder, were charged with having con-
spired to defraud her Majesty's Secretary of State of sums
of money to the extent of 100,000/.
It appeared from the statement of the case for the prose-
cution by Mr. Serjeant Sullivan that Mr. M'Elwain was
the contractor over the Ordnance Department for the re.
pairs of the barracks and other Ordnance stores in the
Dublin district. Mr. Connelly was the chief clerk in the
Ordnance Department in that country, and it had been
discovered that frauds d• very serious character had been
perpetrated in relation to the moneys of that department
for several years past. The course of business in the office
was this :—Mr. as contractor, from time
to time, sent in his bill, in which he stated the amount of
week he bad dam for the preceding quarter. That bill,
when examined in the head office of the department, was
certified by the commandaatengineer, and he stated at
the bottom of it the sum that was payable to Mr. M'El-
waio, as contractor, and accordiugly lie signed his name
as vouching that sum to the heal office in LOW.
don, which authorised them to direct the Pay-
master-General to transmit money to the amount
certified. It appeared that in several instances these
certificates had been forged that is subsequent
to the authentication of the same the sums were
altered, and increases to a large amount were made. The
whole accounts bad been here and there remodelled, and
different items were so inserted as to make them seem all
square. Theme forged accounts were transmitted to London,
and the officer there, seeing the signature of the comman-
dant officer of the Engineers in Ireland still authenticating
the document, and never suspecting for a moment,
directed the money to be paid to Mr. M'Elwain.
The inforniatioiu likewise set forth that the items fraudu-
lently iuserted in thine bills from time to time were all in
the handwriting of Connelly, and in one instance Colonel
Durnford's name was forged. Their worships could well see
it was a case requiring the utmost and most careful inves-
tiption. The facts stated in the information he (Serjeant
Sullivan) believed raised a sufficient case for asking the
bench to remand it for the present. He would ask for as ad-
loaroment to that day week, so that the authorities in
London might be communicated with, and the crown would
then be in a position to lay before them the whole facts.
On searching amongst the papers of Mr. Connelly several
most important document were found, of vital consequence,
and which connected him still men closely with this very
serious crime. After going into some evidence the ester
was adjourned for a week.

THE CARDROH CAEL—A private meeting of the
Commission of the Free Church was held on Tuesday night
in the Free Assembly Hall, Edisburzb, to consider what
steps should be taken kr the church in consequence of the
nicest decision by the First Division of the Court of ....tendon
in the Cardrom case. Dr. Candlish, Moderator of the Gene-
ral At,embly, presided, and there wax a large attendance of
smeruber".
rot= tree and harmonious interchange of
opinion is to have taken place, and ultimately it
was t tin the meantime there should not be an
appmt to the Home of Lorda.--ticoreinon.