The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-22 00:00:00

:pARTMENT.

Government securities

(includg.DeAd Weight
Annuity) .......... 9,789,376
Other securities...... 18,360.761
Notes 6,556,625
Gold and silver coin,. 643,353

£35,340,115
&. MARSHALL, Chief Cashier.
,5,

AVERAGE PRICE OF SUGAR.

The Average Price of Brown or Muscovado Sugar, com-
puted from the returns made in the week ending Dec. 18,
1855, exclusive of the Duties of Customs paid or payable
thereon, on th© importation thereof into Great Britain :
From the British Possessions in America 3ls. 104 d.
Muscovado, the produce of the East Indies ... 36a. 114 d.
Average of the two foregoing descriptions

THE SUSPECTED POISONING CASE AT
IRUGELEY.

Mr. William Palmer, surgeon, of Rugeley, who was
arrested on Saturday evening last, on the cwroner's war-
rant, for the wilful murder of Mr. John Parsons Cook,
of Lutterwortb, Leicestershire, by poison, was removed
to Stafford Gaol on Monday last i❑ a post-chaise. The
accused, who has been suffering from illness for upwards
of a week, was allowed to recline on pillows, and he was
in the custody of the chief constable, John H. Hatton,
Esq., and Superintendent Wollaston.

A large crowd of persons asseinbledvround his house
at Rugeley to see him leave, but in consequence of the
chaise being driven through the back streets of the town,
the majority of the crowd was disappointed, although
numbers followed the vehicle to the outskirts of the
town. On arriving at Stafford the same anxiety was
manifested to get a sight of the prisoner, but the chaise
was driven rapidly through the huge
.folding gates into
the yard, instead of stopping at the lodge entrance as
usual. The prisoner took but little notice of the specta-
tors ; and since his confinement in goal he has preserved
the same determination to abstain almost entirely from
food as he did during the lengthened proceedings con-
nected with the inquest.
The bodies of Ann Palmer, wife of the prisoner, and
of Walter, his brother, were exhumed yesterday (Fri,i ay)
and conveyed to the Talbot Arms, where a jury of 23
persons had assembled to inquire into the cause of their
death. A post morterrt examination was made, and :he
intestines were forwarded to Professor Taylor for ana•
lysis.

T. SLOW POISONING CASE AT
BURDON.

BARON MARTIN'S CHARGE.

We understand a correspondence has passed between
Baron Martin and Dr. Jackson with reference to the
closing remarks of the learned baron in summing up the
Burdon poisoning case.
Dr. Jackson complains that, inasmuch as Mrs.
Wooler was proved to have been scientifically poisoned,
his lordship's" surmise" must first affect the medicalmen,
and he therefore earnestly asks for an explanation in a
matter affecting his character, welfare, and happiness.
His lordship, writing on the 19th (Wednesday last).
says—" I think that, under the circumstances, I ought
to depart from the usual and almost universal rule
among judges, not to notice such a communication.
Your complaint is confined to the expression which
you describe as the closing expression of my sum-
ming up, viz., that there was another person
whom I would be inclined to find guilty rather than
the prisoner.' I am certain I never made use of such
an expression or anything tantamount to it. It is
impossible for me to state with verbal accuracy what I
then said ; I can be certain of my meaning only. The
substance of what I meant to say, and believe did say,
was this—•that in a case of presumptive evidence, imput-
ing the guilt of murder, the law required the presump-
tions to be the plain and natural consequences following
from the facts proved, and that it was not to be made
out by fancy, or surmise, or suspicion, but by facts
that amounted to proof; that I bad endeavoured in
my own mind to arrive at some conclusion on the
subject, and th it it appeared to me there wa, no
proof against any one, but that if I were to indulge in
mere surmise and fancy, not the prisoner, but some
other person, would first occur to mind. If the entire of
what I said upon this subject had been reported, I can-
not but think it would have been obvious to any one
that I did express what I intended to express, namely,
no imputation of guilt upon auy one, but a strong illus-
tration of the extreme danger of convicting Mr. Wooler
upon any fancy or surmise from the facts and circum-
stances proved, by suggesting that a fancy or surmise
more plausible than could be entert►ined against
Mr. Wooler, though equally insufficient to bring home
guilt or the suspicion of it, might be directed again,t an-
other person.—Your obedient servant,
" SAMUEL MARTIN.

" Thomas Hayes Jackson, Esq,"
Dr. Jackson's letter specially requested leave to pub-
lish the correspondence, and it is now in the hands of a
printer.

RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS.

TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE PAST WEEK.

Mlles t4eceipts.
opened, NAME OF RAILWAY.
1855, 1854. 1855.
-- - - ----
BRITISH. .f Z
11 Aberdeen ~ .......... ...... •,- • • • 2,890 2,644
37% Belfast and Ballymena •••••••• • • • • •• 675 631
17 Belfast and County Down•• •••••• • • • • _ -
33 Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire
14:991803 51,393445
12176 % Bolton,
Bristol
fiull
eta ck
Exeter b u n, *.n.d.
.W. eBt . . .
.Yo.
.. r.k ....
... . . -
191 Caledonian.... ...... •• • •••••• •• • • • • 11,293 10,717
94'4 Chester and ...........4,391H01yhead....... 4,391 4,762
6 Cork, Blackrock, and Passage • • .... 137 147
20 Cork and Bandon .. • • .............. 200 190
56 Dublin and Belfast Junction ••••.•.. 841 1,121
63 Dublin and Drogheda...... ........ 1,251 1,362
7% Dublin and Kingstown -• • .... •• •• .. 552 564
16% Dundee and Arbroath ...• .......... 416 456
31 Dundee, Perth, and Aberdeen Junctior. 869 1,002
33 Dundalk and Enniskillen.......• • • - - -
i 4
67% East Anglian.... •• ••••••.• • • - • • • •
900 Brs
93 East Lancashire • • • • .. .. • . •• •• •• • • • 4, 5.19
417 Eastern Counties and Norfolk ...... 1 1_49:71.2126 242:179456
Eastern Union • • . • 3
142 Edinburgh and Glasgow .............
78 Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee-- •.2,02 2,788
6 Exeter and Crediton.. • • .. • . • • .• • •
22 Furness Railway •• • •• .. ••••• • • . •
18314 Glasgow, and South-Western.. ......• 5,-114 6,629-
283 Great Northern and F.. L......... „ 23,619 25,0 7
20334 Great Southern and Western (Ireland 5,773 6,801
35934 Great Western .................. • 23,273 26,954
25% Irish South Eastern ••• •••.. •. ,•. _ _ -
90 Lancaster and Carlisle ••.•.. • .
270% Lancashire and Yorkshire.... .. ~.... 18,393 19,595
- Leeds Northern .. • • ....... .......
~
16k Liverpool, Crosby, and Southport- - -
653% I London and North Western,
534 London and Blackwa 8."...
183% London, Brighton, and South Coast.. 10,746 10.636
267 London and South Western. -
60 Londonderry and Enniskillen ....... 590 783
- Manchester, Buxton, and Matlock, &c - -
173 4 Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshirt 3.662 9,020
934 Manchester and South Junction -- .. (27 648
28 3Ltryport and Carlisle .............. 820 956
498% Midland ...... ...........• •• .. • 36,714 28,010
126 y 4 Midland Great Western (Irish) ...... 3,071 3,300
37 Monklands - -
..
7834 Newcastle and Carlisle.. •.• • • -.. • • -
149 North British --- .. .............. 4,527 4,836
North Staffordshire - •... - .. • • • • • - -
47 North-Western •• .••• •• •••••••••••. 883 760
82341 SoOttish Central -................ •• 2,231 2,491
32 Scottish Midland •••••••• .. • . • - -
29344 Shrewsbury and Birmingham ...... 1,041 1,418
48 Shrewsbury and Chester ........... 1,910 2,479
SO Shropshire Union ---.. .. •• •• • , 797 818
.57N Mouth Dev0n...................... „ 1,837 2,191
239 South Eastern.• ...................• 13,470 15,058
16234 South Wales .................... 4,408 5,700
97 South York., Doncaster, and Goole .• - -
39 Taff Vale •• •• •• •••••• • • - .......... 2,856 2,962
- -
77 Waterford and Limerick • • ........ •• 785 1,126
2734 West Cornwall ...... • .... .... - 350 310 441 463
12 Whitehaven Junction ......... •.• • •
••
652 York and Newcastle, and Berwick 14
York and North Midland & Leeds.. _ -
FOREIGN. - -
89 Dutch Rhenish ••••••••• • •• •• " - • - "`- Lyons and Mediterranean •• •• ••• • • - ._...
- Montereau and Troyes •• • • .• •• • • " •: -
- ' Namur and Liege .. •••••••• •• • • - ' -
- Northern of France ••••••" • "• '• ' _
-
- Orleans and Central ~ •• ••• • • • • "• . -
_
- Paris and Lyors .• •••••"••• • • •• • -
_
- Paris and Rouen • • • • •• •• ° • " "• • -
- Paris and Straiburgh •• ••"• • •• • • • - -
- Rouen and nATre • • • • .. • .....
--
i
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