Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-02-13 00:00:00

FATAL POISONING AT NEWCASTLE.

An inquest was held at Newcastle-on-Tyne on
Thursday night, on the body of William Bates, aged
35, who was suspected of having died through poison
being administered to him as a medicine. Margaret
Bates, the wife of the deceased, stated that the gene-
ral health of her husband was not good. On the
evening of the 28th January he was in his usual health.
He was in the habit of taking medicines and some
pills, which he made himself. He got the medicines
at Mr. Wood's, a botanist, in Trafalgar-street, and Mr.
Sewell's, in High Friar-lane. All the things were
bought at one or the other of these places. On Sunday
morning, when seized with cramp in his legs, deceased
took some of the composition powder. On taking it he
vomited, and said the cramp went through him like a
" shot." There was a continuation of the vomiting till
he died. Deceased had been in the habit of taking these
medicines for nearly three years. The composition
powder was got from Mr. Sewell. Witness mixed
the powder for her husband, and gave him about
two-thirds of a tea-spoonful. Dr. Heath described
certain experiments he had made upon animals with
the matter vomited by the deceased, the contents of
the stomach, &c. A little more than a teaspoonful of the
extract of the vomited matter was injected into the
stomach of a rabbit two months old. In ten seconds
after the administration the animal sprang up into the
air and dropped upon the floor dead. The second ex-
periment was made with the contents of the stomach.
Half a teaspoonful of this in a liquid state was injected
into a second rabbit. Two similar doses weresubsequently
given, and in an hour and a half after the administration
of the dose the animal died. The third experiment con-
sisted in trying the extract of the composition powder
that was got at the house of the deceased upon a third
rabbit. About 36 grains were injected in a fluid state
into a rabbit. A second and third dose of the composi-
tion powder were given, and in a few minutes the rabbit
died. The fourth experiment was from a powder labelled
" Lobelia seeds." Half a teaspoonful was injected into
the stomach of a rabbit; the rabbit fell over on its side
dead before the syringe could be removed from its mouth.
The result df all his experiments strongly confirms his opi-
nion that deceased died from the effects of_ a vegetable
poison, very probably lobelia, or a mixture of it and cayenne
pepper. The coroner did not think that in this case there
was sufficient evidence for the jury to find -a verdict of
Manslaughter. He thought they would be of opinion
that the deceased had died by the administration to him-
self of these'drugs, which he had purchased elsewhere,
and that his death had not been produced by natural
means, but had been, at all events, accelerated by the
injudicious use by himself of these medicines.—The jury
returned a verdict accordingly.

RIFLED CANNON.—A Berlin letter says :—" The
manufacture of rifled cannon continues on a large scale;
the works of M. Freund furnish six every week to the
commission of revision. Some cast iron cannot arc also
being made at the same works on a new model, and if
the result of the trial of them answers to the expectation
of military men, 600 will be made."
BAD MANNERS IN FRANCE.—Although smoking in
railway carriages is rather generally practised, it is
contrary to the railway regulations, and in case of com-
plaint subjects persons indulging in it to a fine. The
Tribunal of Rethel, in the Ardennes, a few days ago,
tried four persons for having, on different days, smoked
in third-class carriages on the Ardennes Railway, and
fined two of them 50f. each, and the other two 30f. and
16f. respectively.
FLOGGING IN THE ARMY AND MILITIA.-,-There has
just appeared a return of the number of persons who
underwent the puniskment of the lash in the army and
militia of Great Britain and Ireland in the year 1858.
The number of lashes amounted to no less than 9,338,
and the number flogged to 218 ; of whom nearly 400
belonged to the militia. Fifty lashes was the number
usually inflicted, although in some cases only 2.5 were
administered. The militia regiments in which flogging
was inflicted were—the 4th Lancashire, the North Lin-
coln, the Northampton, the 2nd Stafford, the 2nd
Warwick, the Dublin City, the (County) Limerick, and
the Louth.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC PRELATES.-It appears from ,
official returns, in the Almanack for 1860, which has
just appeared at Rome, that the number of Roman
Catholic bishoprics in the world amounts to 850, exclu-
sively of ninety apostolic vicarships and several prefec-
tures. Pius IX. has created eighty new dioceses. Be-
sides those in Holland and England, he has created
eleven in the United States, one in California, one in
Newfoundland, two in Canada, one in Mexico, three in
Brazil, two in other parts of South America, two in
Naples, one in Hungary, one in Tuscany, two in the
French Antilles, at Martinique and Guadaloupe, one at
Reunion, and onerat Laval in France.
nine
EXTRAORDINARYiNnDe
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Leipsic-road, Camberwell, committed suicide by shoot-
ing himself through the breast, in one of the the pri-
vate bath-rooms of the above establishment. It appears
that the deceased had occupied the bath considerably
beyond the prescribed time, and upon the attendants
calling to him and receiving no answer the bath-room
door was forced, and the body of the deceased was dis-
covered, which was removed to the Lambeth work-
house to await a coroner's inquiry. The circumstances
that actuated the deceased are supposed to be monetary
affairs. We regret to say that he has left a wife and
large family. The most extraordinary circumstance con-
nected with this lamentable affair is, that none of the
bath attendants heard the report of the pistol.
A VALUABLE GRIST.—A few days ago as Mr. W.
Cotton, miller, of Cestersover, was grinding a grist of
barley, which he had recently received from one of his
customers at Shawell, a village about three miles
from Lutterworth, he was surprised to find that
something had stopped the grain passing from the
hopper to the stones. He at once went to examine
the spout, and to his great surprise found a bag or
purse lying across the medium of communication,
which completely cut off the supply of grain. On
taking out this obstruction, and examining it, fancy
the miller's astonishment when he found it to be an
open purse containing one hundred sovereigns. Mr.
Cotton and his man now set to work to examine the
grain still in the hopper, and found thirteen and a half
loose sovereigns amongst the barley. Of course the
money was taken proper care of; and in a short time
the owner of the lost treasure came trudging down to
the mill, full of anxiety, to inquire if any good tidings
could be obtained about the lost money, when to his
joyful astonishment he was told his precious hoard was
all safe. flow the inadvertency occurred, or, by what
meanf the pnrse got into the barley sack, we have not
heard; suffice it to say, Mr. Cotton got an old hill paid
on delivering up the cash, and his man the present of a
sovereign.—Leicester Mercury.

COURT AND OFFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.

On. Saturday afternoon, at half-past four o'clock, the
Queen and Prince Consort arrived at Buckingham
Palace, from Windsor Castle, haying travelled by a
special train on the Great Western Railway.
Their Royal Highnesses the Princess Alice, the
Princes Arthur and Leopold, and the Princesses Helena,
Louisa, and Beatrice accompanied her Majesty.
The ladies and gentlemen of the court comprised
Ladies Churchill, and C. Barrington; Hon. Misses
Kerr and Bulteel ; Lord Camoys, Hon. Colonel Liddell,
Hon. Major-General Grey, Lord Charles Fitzroy, and
the Hon. Lieutenant-Colonel de Res.

A detachment of Light Dragoons escorted the royal
party from the Paddington railway station.
The Prince of Wales, who arrived at Windsor Castle
on Friday, returned to Oxford University on Saturday.
Soon after eight o'clock her Majesty and his Royal
Highness the Prince Consort left the palace to honour
with their presence the performance of " The Jealous
Wife," and the pantomime "Valentine's Day," at the
Haymarket Theatre. Lady Churchill, Lady in Waiting,
the Hon. Miss Kerr, Maid of Honour in Waiting, Lord
Camoys, and the Equerries to the Queen and Prince were
in attendance.

The Queen's First Levee this season will be held by
her Majesty, at St. James's Palace, on Wednesday next.
The Second Levee will be held on Thursday, the 23rd
instant.

The Court for the reception of the Officers of the
Volunteer Corps will be held by the Queen, at St.
James's Palace, on Wednesday, the 7th March.
Iler Majesty's First Drawing-room this season will
take place on gaturday, the 24th March.

CABINET CouNett..—A Cabinet Council was held at
Lord Palmerston'sresidence in Downing-street, on Satur-
day, at which the Lord Chancellor, the Dukes of
Somerset, Newcastle, and Argyll, Lord Palmerston,
Lord John Russell, Sir C. Wood, Lord Granville, Mr.
'Milner Gibson, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Villiers, and Mr.
Cardwell attended. The Council sat in deliberation
until half-past four o'clock.
Sir George C. Lewis, the Home Secretary, has been
suffering from indisposition since Friday last.
INTENDED ROYAL MARRIAGR.—The Brussels journal:Fs
contain the following :—" The project of marnage be-
tween the Prince of Orange and the Princess Alice of
England appears to be fully decided on, as well as the
visit which the young couple will pay to King Leopold,
the great uncle of the bride, when their royal highnesses
leave England for Holland. The marriage will, it is
thought, take place on the 24th May, the anniversary of
the birthday of Queen Victoria. The Princess Alice
Maude Mary was born on the 25th April, 1843 ; the
Piinee of Orange, Rear-Admiral, and Major-General
and Commander of the Brigade of Reserved of the Dutch
Army, on the 3rd September, 1840." -
The new titles to be assumed by Lord Ward will, we
understand, be Viscount Edenham and Earl Dudley.

55gorting 3vttiligetirt.

RACING FIXTURES FOR 1860.
FEBRUARY.

Lincoln Spring l5 Derby Spring 23
Nottingham Spring 2l °inane 25

MARCH.

Liverpool Spring Meeting.. 6 Warwick Spring 2O
Shrewsbury Spring , 8 Northampton ' 27
Coventry Spring l4 Croxton Park 3O

APRIL.

Newmarket Craven 9 Thirsk Spring Meeting l3
Catterick Bridge ll Epsom Spring Meeting l9
Abergavonny l2 Newmarket F.S.M 23

Chester Spring Meeting .... 1 Harpenden lB
Doncaster Spring Meeting.. 8 Epsom Summer Meeting 22
Salisbury. lO Manchester SO
York Spring Meeting lO liungerford 3l
Bath