The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-06-09 00:00:00

2=;=!. .M=ILIIII

of counterpoise to the Western influence which he
dares not oppose openly.

THE CONVICT PALMER

•

STAFFORD, JUNE 6.
Since William Palmer has been in Stafford Gaol, a great
many statements have been made public with regard to
his conduct that are entirely without foundation, and

THE CRIMEA.

The accounts brought by the Hydaspe from the
Crimea are to the 22nd. The English, who had up
to the present got on very slowly with the evacua-
tion, were now proceeding with greater rapidity,
and embarking from 6,000 to 7,000 men per day.
In order to be ready to leave, they had lately
employed four divisions of their army in collect-
ing the.balls and material which fall to their share.
They have completed their task, and the number
of shot they have collected is incalculable. Mr.
Deans, the celebrated English diver, had explored
that part of the port of Sebastopol which had been
commanded by the English. In the Artillery
Creek, at the Karabelnaya, sixteen bronze cannon,
in excellent condition, have been f ound. Two of
them had the ammunition waggons and the horses
attached to them. The bodies of several artillery-
men were seen near the spot.
The third Divison of the British army has been
broken up, and the Mediterranean stations will
soon be filled with regular troops. This week the
30th Regiment, 55th Regiment, 92nd Regiment,
89th Regiment, and 28th Regiment have embarked
for their destinations, and Mercer's Battery,
together with other portions of the artillery, have
been embarked and despatched from Balaklava.
The Great Britain received two regiments, the
30th and 55th. The others are embarked in large
steamers, such as the Queen of the South, the
Indiana, the Sarah Sands, and Perseverance.
The departure of General della Marmora and
the Sardinian staff was marked by every demons-
tration of the regard and esteem in which they are
held by our army. The ships in harbour hoisted
the Sardinian flag, the yards of the Leander were
manned, and the General set his foot on the deck
of the vessel amid enthusiastic cheers and three
rounds of English hurrahs.

Isome of them, for the sake of the authorities of the prison,
require contradiction. Since he has been brought back to
Stafford no one has seen him—of couse with the exception
of Major Fulford, the governor, and the Rev. H. J. Good'
acre, the chaplain—but his three brothers and his sister.
He has not even been seen t y Mr. Smith, his attorney.
According to the provisions of the gaol act every prisoner
under sentence of death is ordered to be placed in some
secure confinement, apart from all other prisoners, and
no one is allowed to see him, except by an order of the
visiting justices. This rule has been most strictly en-
forced, and, with the exception of those above mentioned,
no person has bee❑ admitted to see the prisoner except
Mr. Wright, a gentleman who, from philanthropic motives,
visits the different prisons, and who has a special order

from the Secretary of State to visit every prison in the
country. Having referred to the number of false state-
ments that have been made public in reference to this
notorious culprit, it may be observed that the facts about
to be stated were communicated by Major Fulford, the
governor of Stafford gaol, personally, and their authenti-
city may therefore be fully relied on.

It would appear that ever since the prisoner has been
in the gaol since his conviction, he has presented the same
cold and unmoved appearance that has characterised him
throughout the whole of the proceedings. The/.e appears
to be good grounds for believing that a good deal of this
has been assumed, and that those entrusted with hls
defence have instilled into him very strongly the necessity
of making as much show of indifference as possible, as
being the most likely course to assist them in their

foe.' "

endeavours to obtain a commutation of the sentence. He
has paid very little attention to the exhortations of the
worthy chaplain of the gaol ; and although he seemed to
be a little moved by the conversation of Mr. Wright, who
entreated him, in the most earnest manner, to repent, and
endeavour to make some attonement for his crimes by
admitting the justice of his sentence, it was very evident
that the effect soon wore away, and he speedily resumed
his callous and indifferent appearance. Before his re-
moval to Loudon to take his trial he constantly attended
divine service in the chapel, a seat being provided for
him, in which he was screened from the observation of all
the other prisoners, but since his return he has never
once visited the chapel. It appears, however, that he
devotes a good deal of his time to reading the religious
books that are provided for him, and also the Holy
Scriptures, in his cell.

Palmer very seldom alludes to his trial, and when he
does so he appears principally to complain of the summing
up of the Lord Chief Justice. He has also stated that he
entertained the belief that he should be acquitted all the
time the jury were engaged in deliberation, but that when
they returned, and he observed the countenance of the
foreman, he was at once aware what the decision was that
they had arrived at. It would seem that Palmer himself
did not desire to have the case removed out of the county
of Stafford, but that he consented upon the representation
that he would have a better chance of acquittal if the case
was tried in London.

Major Fulford has received a number of letters in refer-
ence to the prisoner, and some of them are of a very extra-
ordinary character. The following is a copy of one
received on Thursday, It was dated from Stafford, and
addressed to Major Fulford

" Sir,—Let me acquaint you that it is the intention of
Palmer's relatives to get something conveyed to him to
destroy himself, and it is believed that his son will be the
instrument for so doing. Should that not be accomplished,
he will try throwing himself off the gallows. I believe his

friends rely upon him ' squaring' one or more of his

keepers

This was signed " An Inhabitant of Rugeley, and posted
at this town for fear of its being known." Another
communication of a curious kind has also been received
from a man at Newport, who expresses au anxious desire
to be allowed to act as the executioner, and who states
that he shall be " proud" of being the executioner of

Palmer.
The prisoner is never left a moment alone. Two of the
principal warders of the prison are engaged in watching
him alternately day and night; so that even if he enter-
tained any intention of destroying himself, or even had
the means, there would not be the slightest opportunity
for his carrying it into effect. A variety of absurd
suggestions—such as his having poison concealed in his
ears, that he had sharpened one of his nails sufficiently
to open a vein, and thus bleed to death—have been made
to the governor of the prison in reference to this subject.
Among the not least remarkable features of this extra-
ordinary case is the publication of a pamphlet by Palmer's
brother, a clergyman. The pamphlet bears as a motto'
" Now, let Reason, not Passion, be thy Guide," and it is
entitled, " A Letter to the Lord Chief Justice Campbell,
containing Remarks upon the conduct of the Prosecution
and Judges, with Strictures on the Charge delivered to
the Jury, illustrative of its dangerous tendencies to the
long enjoyed rights and privileges of Englishmen. By the
Rev. Thomas Palmer, brother to the prisoner, William
Palmer. Together with an Appendix of documents." The
following is an early extract :
" After a struggle with internal emotions too dreadful
to be described, amid the tears and lamentations of my
family, the bereavement of a household knit together in
bonds of strongest love and amity, and the smothered,
not wholly concealed indignatian of relatives and friends
—I address your lordship, not only as the man who has
sealed my brother's fate and borne him to the foot of the
scaffold, but as the judge who will have to render an
account to your fellow-men, to posterity, and to God, of
your dealing towards'a human being whose fate was, to a
certain extent, placed in your hands, and on whose destiny
you operated in a manner hitherto unknown, at least in
our days. The law, with bitter irony, propounds it as an
axiom, dear to Englishmen, that a magistrate, invested
with powers like your lordship, is counsel for the pri-
soner ; ' but every one who witnessed the late mockery at
the Old Bailey in which you played so prominent a part,
confesses, to his own heart, at least, whatever he may
own in public, that a more infamous delusion has never
been solemnly enacted before a British audience since
those days of shame when Jeffreys went forth upon the
bloody assize,' and, in the name of justice and the law,
consigned the young, the innocent, the helpless, and the
stricken with years, to the dungeon and the gallows, pro-
fessing, all ,the white, to be but actuated by a sense of
duty to the Crown and to the people."

THE NORTHERN TIMES.---LIVERPOOL, MONDAY.

defence ; and that when they were wanted by Sergeant
Shee they could not possibly be found. These witnesses
would, if called upon, have thrown important light on
what had become of the strychnia.

" Had Cockayne been called, as he ought to have been
called," writes the Rev. Mr. Palmer, "he would have
proved that he kept a gun loaded in the stable, by order of
my brother, to shoot the (lags that worried his brood mares ;
that he had also threatened to poison them, that the strych-
nine was purchased for that object, and that he had missed
dots since then, which had been in the ha' it of prowling
about the paddock and hunting the mares. That my brother
left poisoned food about the place is a matter which can
be proved only by himself, for these things are not always
trusted to servants ; and, as it is a positive medical fact that
animals to which this poison has been given go away into
secret, concealed, and quiet places, where they die undis-
covered, and would be mortally attacked in so short a time
that they could not get to their own homes. Is it not almost
demonstrated that this has been the case here, and that my
brother is thus made the victim of circumstances, harmless
in themselves, but which, having occurred at this precise
period, tell now with fearful weight upon his unfortunate
case ? The Crown may cry out, ' Produce the dogs, and show
us the strychnine in them.' With how much more freedom
may the condemned man say, Produce the poison from
Cook's body before you hang me, to satisfy a medical theory
invented for this trial, and broached against me by a deadly

The writer adds, " My lord, since this conviction of death
has been recorded, I have seen William Palmer. I have
visited him in his condemned hold. I have beheld that
darling brother, the playmate of my infancy, the companion
of my youthful sports, in whom my heart's-blood circulates,
and with whom my love is entwined. And how did he
present himself ? And how did he bear our presence ? I
say, like Socrates in his cell ; I say, like Sidney in the
Tower ; I say, like Calas before the wheel. He preserves
a cheerful, an undaunted, an English heart and spirit. and
lam proud of him, even in his death doom. Your lordship
has not crushed or trampled my brother's soul. He main-
tains his energy and his hope in justice, nut, indeed, from
men, for he was condemned long since, but in the course of
events, in the discoveries of science, in the confession or
conviction of those perjured witnesses against him ; or, these
all failing, in the God of Truth. Though I never doubted
his innocence, yet I did resolve to make all certain and
positive before I hazarded this letter. I fell on my knees
before him. I implored him, by our past love and kindred,
by our early recollections and hopes, by our common faith,
by all the duties which he owed to man and God, to disbur-
,
then his conscience if he were guilty, and not to enter before
the presence of his Creator with a falsehood upon his lips •
I abjured him to say if he were guilty or not guilty. Oh,
my lord ! he did not wince ; he did not change his noble
composure ; he spoke and looked all innocence. Calmly,
earnestly, and solemnly he answered, and the seriousness of
his words went into our hearts with the fullest per-
suasion of his perfect guiltlessness of blood ; the most com-
plete reliance on that dying tongue, which never spoke
falsely to one of us, but to whose language we listened ever
with full assurance in its integrity and its faith."

ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC FANCY DRESS BALL.

The ball for the benefit of the Royal Academy of Music,
under the special patronage of her most gracious Majesty, took
place on Friday night at the Hanover-square Rooms, and was
upon the whole one of the most brilliant assemblages of the
present season.
At nine o'clock a guard of honour, composed of 100
men of the Scots Fusilier Guards, with band and colours,
arrived at the rooms, and took up a station along the
front of the building in Prince's-street. Almost imme-
diately afterwards the company began to set down, and in a
short period the ball-room assumed a very gay and animated
appearance.

The directors of the Royal Academy, among whom were
the Earls of Westmoreland and Wilton, Lord Wrottesley,
Sir George Clerk, and Mr. John Laurie, arrived shortly
after nine o'clock, and prepared to received the Queen
on her arrival. The Duchess of Cambridge and Princess
Mary arrived at ten o'clock, attended by the Lady Ger-
aldine Somerset and Major Home Purees. They were
received by the directors, and conducted to an apartment
adjoining the royal box. The Duke of Cambridge, in
full military uniform, next arrived. The company then
came in rapid succession. The costumes of many of
the ladies, and some of the gentlemen, were of remarkable
splendour, and attracted universal admiration. The Duchess
of Manchester represented " Cybele," in a dress of the finest
white barege de cashmere, embroidered with gold in a Greek
pattern running round the bottom of the skirt and at the top.
Round the centre twined a wreath of myrtle leaves in gold
embroidery. The waist was gathered in by a golden band
engraved with lions, an emblem of Cybele, and the sleeves
were hoped with six golden fibulae, from a Greek model. A
crimson scarf was fastened on her left shoulder with a gold
brooch, copied from the antique, and its rich deep colour was
finely brought out by a broad band of gold embroidery, in that
Greek pattern which is supposed to have been suggested by the
waves of the sea. She wore on her head a crown of golden
towers, and bore in her hand a golden sceptre and key—the
emblems of the goddess.
The Countess Constance Grosvenor, as Blanche of Castile,
identified herself with the character by the correctness and
elegance of her costume. Lady Adelaide Curzon was one of
the first to exhibit the powdered headdress and the embroidered
skirt of the Watteau style. Lady Ulrica St Maur was among
the earliest to give an illustration of what might be expected in
the costumed quadrille of the Countess of 'Westmoreland, en-
titled, " The Elements." As the representative of " Water,"
she wore a dress of silver tissue, trimmed with coral and sea-
weeds. The headdress was a wreath of coral, from which
sparkligg pearls or beads depended, in imitation of water-drops.
Lady Mary Yorke, as the representative of " Fire," in the
same quadrille, attracted especial observation by the eccentric
elegance of her dress, which consisted of a black costume with
flames marked upon it in streaks of red foil. This was
chastened by a veil and drapery of black net, brightened up by
golden sparks. The headdress was a flame of red foil, which
shone and glared from the centre of her ladyship's forehead,
rising above the head. Lady Catherine Grey Egerton, Miss
Sheridan, and Lady Georgiana Lygon supported this division
of the quadrille. The Countess Helene Kielmansegge, the
daughter of the Hanoverian Envoy at this court, personated
" Air" in the same set. Her costume was a white dress of
tulle, so lightly made and full in flowing draperies as
to give the effect of clouds. Butterflies and birds of every
colour were spotted on the dress ; and upon the centre of
the forehead was also a butterfly, with extended wing.,
in bright enamelled colours. The hair was pendant down
the back, and studded with tiny birds of the gayest hues
and butterflies. The costume was also worn by Lady Cecilia
Gordon Lennox, Lady Louisa Hamilton, and the Hon. Miss
Montague. Lady Edith Somerset represented " Earth," in a
dress consisting of a brown under-skirt, over which was one of
green areophane gauze, trimmed with garlands of fruits an d
flowers. A veil floated about her in draperies of green with
flowers. On her head was a gold cornucopia, with fruit and
flowers falling from it. Lady Rose Fane, Lady Arabella
Sackville West, and Miss O'Hara, also wore this costume.
The French Ambassadress wore a costume of the time of
Marie Antoinette. The hair was powdered and turned up in
front with a chaperone of roses on the left side, and an aigrette
feathers on the right side, with a loop of hair hanging down
e back. The Countess of Jersey, as the leader of her own
tadrille of " Night and her attendant Stars," wore a dress
dark blue and silver. On her head was a wreathe of diamond
The Duchess of Wellington as " The Moon," wore
a white dress over silver tissue. A cloud of tulle floated
about her form, and almost surrounded the head, from
he centre of which rose a diamond crescent of surpassing bril-
ancy. Lady Clementina Villiers as one of the stars—wore
light blue tulle dress, spangled with silver stars, and a large
iamond star on her forehead. A blue veil, also spotted with
lver stars, floated from the back of her head. Among the
,dies who wore this costume, were—The Marchioness of Ely,

the Countess Somers, the Viscountess Villiers, Lady Manners,
Lady Julia Hay, Lady Emma Stanley, Lady Gertrude
Douglas, Lady Sarah Spencer, Hon. Miss Rice, Hon. Flora
Macdonald, Miss Baring, Miss Macgregor, and Hon. Miss
Ellice. The Marchioness of Stafford adopted a dress of the
Louis Quine fashion. Lady Agnes Grosvenor appeared as
Anne Boleyn.
At twenty minutes to eleven o'clock, the shouts of the
crowd outside, and the striking up of th• National Anthem,
announced the approach of the Queen, who was accompanied
by the Prince Consort, th• Prince Frederick William of
Prussia, the Regent of Baden, and the Princess Royal.
Her Majesty was received by the Earl of Westmoreland and
his co-directors, and, preceded by the Lord Chamberlain, the
Vice Chamberlain, the Master of the Horse, and the Lord
Steward, entered the building. She wore a supurb dress of
white glace silk, with painted flounces of the most elegant
design. Her corset blazed with a mass of diamonds, and the
heavy tiara on her brow sparkled with the richest jewels of the
crown. The Princess Royal wore a simple dress of white
muslin, with flounces edged with pink, reaching up to the
waist. The Duchess of Sutherland was in special attendance.
The royal party were at once conducted to the box, on enter-
ing which the orchestra played " God save the Queen," her
Majesty remaining standing in the centre of the box, with the
Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Mary on her right
hand, and the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Sutherland
upon her left. _ _

That portion of the saloon immediately in frent of the royal
box was then cleared, and the Lord Chamberlain intimated her
Majesty's desire that the ball should commence. The
orchestra still playing the national anthem, the personages
forming the two quadrilles, led by the Countess of Westmore-
land and the Countess of Jersey, entered from an adjoining
apartment, and, bowing as they passed in front of the royal
box, ranged themelves in position for the dance.
The Countess of Westmoreland's quadrille of " The Ele-
ments" was thus formed :

Lady Cecilia Gordon Lennox ----
Earl of Dalkeith.
Lady Louisa Hamilton Mr. A. Lumley.
Countess Helene Kielmansegge Lord Charles Bruce
Hen. Miss Montague.. Captain Lyon.

WATER.
Lady Ulrica St. Mary . Hon. Seymour Egerton
Lady Elizabeth Yorke.....
Lady Elizabeth Craven Mr. George Russell.
Miss Barrington Captain F. Cud.

Lady Edith Somerset...... —Lord Ashley.
Lady Rose Fane
Lady Arabelle Sackville West, Mr. Craven.
Miss O'Hara...... • • • • Captain Bateson.

FIRE•
Lady Katherine Grey Egerton Viscount Grey de Wilton.
Lady Mary Yorke Comte de Jaucourt.
Lady Georgina Lygon Mr. Frazer.
Miss Sheridan ... .. Mr. Herbert Cuninghame.

The quadrille of the Countess of Jersey, " Night leading her
attendant Stars," was supported by the following ladies and

gentlemen :
Duchess of Wellington....
Marchioness of Ely
Countess 50mer5..........
Viscountess Villiers__
Lady Manners
La'iy Susan Innes Kerr..
Lady Julia Hay
I ady Emma Stanley
Lady Gertrude Douglas...
Lady Sarah Spencer
Hon. Miss Rice Trevor...
Hon. Flora Macdonald....
Miss Baring
Miss Macgregor....
Hon. Miss Ellis
Lady Clementine Villiers.

Marquis of B ith.
• Lord Raglan.
.Col. Hamilton.
Sir James Ferguson.
.Mr. Graham Vivian.
. Viscount Bangor.
Viscount Bolingbroke.
Earl of Belmore.
_Earl of Annesley.
. Viscount Caitierosse
.Mr. Augustus Paget.
Jim. Somerset Calthorpe.
. Mr. Bulkeley.
. Hon. T. Stonor.
.Hm. G. Heath cote.
. Lord Cavendish.

When it is remembered that thirty-two ladies of surpassing
loveliness, costumed in the manner described, and thirty-two
gentlemen of distinguished appearance, many of them wearing
the very handsomest fancy dresses, were standing in the
presence of royalty, backed by about seven hundred others, all
in gay costume, it can readily be imagined that the scene was
one of interest and animation.
The Lady Kenyon's and Lady Welby's quadrille was thus
formed—English, French, Sardinians, and Turks. The dress
of the four ladies representing England, united the three
kingdoms. The body was of white glace, trimmed with
thistles, &c.; a poinseau scarf, fringed with silver, was
fastened on the shoulder with a jewelled agraife. The upper
tunic was of white glace, looped round with bouquets and
wreaths of red and white roses, and the under skirt was
of green glace, trimmed with bouquets of silver sham-
rocks. A wreath in the hair of red and white roses, and
silver shamrock and thistle; the shoes trimmed with the
rose, shamrock, and thistle, completed the costume. The
ladies representing France wore tunics of white tarlatane
striped with red, white, and blue satin ribbon, looped on each
side with gold beads. The under skirt was of white glace,
ornamented with meads of white ribbons and gold beads, the
body of blue satin, with a stomacher trimmed with red and
ornamented with gold beads and bees. The hair was dressed k
l'itnperatrice, with a coiffure of white feathers and gold beads,
and the shoes were trimmed with the tricolour. The Sardinian
dress was a white glace skirt and blue tunic, with a broad gold
border edged with black velvet ; a crimson velvet jacket with a
gold border, fastened with the ensigns of Sardinia ; a gossamer
veil with a gold border, fastened back with turquoises ; red
stockings, and black silk shoes with red rosettes, completed the
costume. To complete the effect, the badge and order of
Sardinia were worn on the left arm: The Turkish dress con-
sisted of a tulle tunic, embroidered with gold and coloured
flowers; the under skirt was of a white glace striped with light
blue ; a scarlet velvet jacket richly embroidered with gold and
pearls, and muslin scarf round the waist, embroidered with gold
and flowers. The hair was dressed in long plaits, with a scarlet
velvet cap, having on one side a rose. Blue satin boots,
mbroidored with gold, were worn. The gentlemen who
assumed the Vrench costume wore that of the Zouave, Who