The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-08 00:00:00

TfO% lair LONDON TRIYANDAY NVIIWING FEBRUARY s, is

different statements that had been made relative to the
number of our troops before Sebastopol,
Mr. S. WORTLEY expressed his deprecation of a
repetition from day to day of statements from private
and other sources with regard to the melancholy and
desponding statements of the condition of our troops
before Sebastopol. He believed many of these state-
ments were greatly exaggerated, and we had yet
to learn that a single officer had written home in terms
of despondency, although it was true officers had re-
ferred in their communications to the sufferings of
their soldiers. Moreover, he did not see what
purpose it was to serve. On the other hand, if
another battle of Inkerman had to be fought, those who
reiterated those statements from time to time might have
to charge themselves with having, to some extent, in-
duced it. _ _

After a few words from Mr. BATLEY,
Lord J. RUSSELL said he was not surprised that
his hon. friend should have deprecated the making of
the statements he had alluded to ; but, at the same time,
it was not to be wondered at that hon. gentlemen
on the opposite side should wish for some explanation
of the apparent discrepancy in the number of our
troops before Sebastopol between the accounts given
in other quarters and the official enumeration given
in that house. It was a mere mistake to sup-
pose that 40,000 out of the 54,000 men sent out
bad perished. The latter number included the whole
mass of effective men whom this country had sent out,
but supposing there were 14,000 effective bayonets, ho
thought some 40,000 or 44,000 out of the 54,000 might
be very well accounted for ; and he believed that
there was an effective force of at least 80,000 men at
this time before Sebastopol. Alluding to the disgust he
had experienced at the personal attacks made upon
Lord Raglan, who, the noble lord said,,, was not only an
able and experienced soldier, but felt the deepest sym-
pathy with the sufferings of the troops under his com-
mand, the noble lord hoped that the gallant general
would not be in nay way affected by the inuendoes of a
ribald press.
Mr. Rica and Mr. VVINON also offered a few obser"
♦ations on the subject before the house.
Mr. GLADSTONE said he scarcely felt it necessary,
after what had fallen from his noble friend (Lord J.
Russell), is explanation of the discrepancy between the
official and other accounts of the number of our troops
in the Crimea, to add anything to clear up the
mistake, but he felt proud to assert that the 28,000
men whom he had referred to as being in the
discharge of actual military duty before Sebasto-
pol, did not include a single Turk or sick man.
He entreated hon. members to use the utmost caution in
making statements with regard to the army, and to place
as much restraint upon their feelings as possible, inasmuch
as statements which emanated from them were under-
stood by the country to carry with them some degree o
authenticity.

[LEFT SPEAKING.]

LETTERS FOR SALONICA BY TRENCH
MEDITERRANEAN PACKET.

GENERAL POST-OFFICE, Feb., 1855.

The French Government having established a branch
mail packet from the Piraeus to Satonics, (Turkey in Eu-
rope) to sail on the arrival at the Pirtuus of the mail
packets appointed to leave Marseilles on Monday, the
sth instant, and thenceforward on every alternate Mon-
day, letters and newspapers for Salonica may be for-
warded by that route, if specially addressed "By French
Packet vid Marseilles."
The postage upon letters for Salonica so addressed,
will be—Not exceeding 1 ounce in weight, ls. ; exceed-
ing 1 oz. and not exceeding ti oz., 2s. ; exceeding oz.
and not exceeding oz. 3s. ; exceeding oz. and not
exceeding 1 oz., 4s. ; exceeding 1 oz. and not exceeding
11 oz., 5e., and so on, increasing one shilling for every
quarter of an ounce.
Newspapers will be liable to a postage of 2d. each.
The postage both upon letters and newspapers for
Salonica, when intended to be sent by French packet,
via Marseilles, must be paid in advance.
ROwLA.ND HILL, Secretary.

NAVAL AND MILITARY MOVEMENTS

AT MALTA.

The various naval and military movements which
have taken place at Malta are described in the following
letters : _ _ _

" MALTA, Jan. 21.—A. motion was recently made and
carried before the Government Council of this island,
empowering the Admiral superintendent to act as a jus-
tice of the peace on occasions in which the transport
service required the interference of the magistracy. The
law has already been put into operation by the Admiral,
the Hon. Montagu Stopferd, on occasions in which
sailors have refused to do their duty. The advantage,
of investing the Rear-Admiral with judicial power con-
sists principally in avoiding that detention to the ship
which would ensue in case of an offence committed on
Saturday being deferred for judgment until the ensuing
Monday.
"We have had a great many arrivals of English aid
French transports since my last ; among them several
with railway plant.
26th—The Black Boy screw steamer, No. 178.
"The Prompt screw steamer, No. 1558, with ammu-
Woa and clothing.
" The Hydaspes, English screw steamer, from Mar-
seilles, with Commandant de Fontenoy, 9 officers, and
707 rank and file, French troops ; Mr. Pennington, an
interpreter; the Hon. A. Paulet, Surgeon Bain, and
Assistant-Surgeons Fraser and Cross,
"The East Anglian screw steamer, No. 163, with
ammunition and clething.
"23th. - The Hydaspes, French steamer, from Mar-
seilles, with 324 French troops.
"Die Alps, English screw steamer, from Marseilles,
with 302 French troops.
"The Carle Victorine, No. 523, French brig, with
22 horses and 16 rank and file.

The Nemade, French ship, No. 522, with 32 horses
and 20 rank and file.
"The Edward, English ship, No. 525, with 46 horses
and 47 French troops.
• "The Ernerld, English ship, No. 533, with 44 horses
and 46 French troops.
" The Assyrien, French screw-steamer, with 64
French troops and 72 horses and mules. General
Pelissier, to command the 2d Division of the French
army in the Crimea (General Bosquet is to command the
let Division), with his suite, and Generals Lafond and
Revitt.
"29th.—The Christophe Colonsbe, French steam-
frigate, with 21. officers and 1,000 French troops, under
command of Colonel Bronet, and 40 Artillery horses.
"The Bahiana, screw steam-transport, with the fol-
lowing strength of her Majesty's 82d Regiment, left for
Corfu :—Lieut.-Colonel Robertson ; Major D. Waston ; •
Captains Isaac, Marriott, Halliday, Wood, Collings,
Baillie, Gordon, and Barrow ; Lieutenants Warren,
Glynn, Biggs, White, Pilkiugton, Wilkinson, Hand,
Browne, and Hensley ; Ensigns Thompson, Dickson,
East, Marsh, and Spencer ; Paymaster Bernard, Quar-
termaster Clinton, Adjutant-Lieutenant Maule ; Sur-
geons Jacob and Peulden ; Lieut. De Vinues; Mr. Fer-
gusson, Rev. Mr. Crozier, aid Paymaster Cartmail, her
Majesty's 71st Foot ; 692 rank and file, 82d Regiment ;
with 2 officers' wives, 7 children, and 2 servant?.
" 30th.—The Argo, Freneh transport, No. 035, with
20 horses and 14 troops.
"Her Majesty's 'ship Bellerophon, from the eastward,
arrived on the 27th, and is still in port. She had on
board Assistant-Surgeon J. Moore, 6th Dragoon Guards;
Captain Rose, 30th Regiment ; Surgeon W. Agnew,
Lieutenants Blozam, RN., Dalby, R.M., and Lodder,
RN., and 132 rank and file, and 78 sailors invalided.
" Letters from Cerfu announce the arrival there of
the Medway transport on the 22d, to conveylLMA 71st
Regiment and the remainder of the 34th to the Crimea.
" The royal yacht schooner Ertninia, with the Hon.
E. Egerton, son of the Earl of Ellesmere, with stores
for the army in the East, has reached the island.
"Feb. I.—The screw-steamer British Queen has
arrived on her way to Liverpool.
"This afternoon the Clyde steamer arrived, bringing
mails from the Levant, the regular mail boat having been
sent with despatches to the Crimea, whence she had
not retnred when the Clyde left.
" Her Majesty's steam-sloop Spiteful sailed this morn-
ing for the Crimea, having on board Rear-Admiral H,
Stewart, as second in command of the fleet. Lieute-
nant-General Sir George Brown and his aide-de-camp,
Captain Jervis, Ma* Whitmore, Mk Foot, and Capt.
Hamilton, 49th, also return to their corps by the Spite-
ful.

"Among the arrivals by iho Clyde from the Levant
is Colonel Horsford, of the Rifle Brigade,"

MORTAR EXPERIMENTS.

Were you ever present, says a Mathematician, when
an Ordnance Committee were carrying on experiments
en great guns or the like I If so, you have probably
seen the said committee represented by two or three old
gentlemen who have long since [forgotten the little
"gunnery" they once read :—ene thinks it is a pity to
change what answered so well in the last war ; another
is opposed to improvements on general principles ;
while a third, worst of all, has a hobby of his own, to
which he is so attached that he can see no merit in any
rival plan. Now, sir, I do not begrudge any man his
hobby, but when I knew it to be a restive beast, and
when its owner insists on putting the kicking strap
under its belly, instead of its usual place, it seems time
for some one to tell him of his mistake.
These remarks are called out by the reports of certain
mortar experiments, in which blocks of indiarubber
were placed under the mortar-bed to do away with the
mischievous effects of the recoil. By this method the
vertical part of the recoil is undoubtedly much lessened ;
but any one with the slightest meehanical knowledge,
practical or theoretical, must know that, when a mix-
tar is fired on board ship at an elevation somewhat
without
under 45 deg , it is the horizontal part of the recoil
7hih so shakes the framework as to render it in a sLoit
timesurelrvicoahle.
.van_iantternpt to break the slioc7: of the recoil,
can only attganY attention to the horizontal action,
undertake to try experiAnt
cal principles. Trani ignorance of the simplest mcchani-
whothLtn understand what he sees and
ithen our governing bodies
Why, t:, an, is it,
ventions, they do not call 'll taheand test mechanical iti-
aid of some competent
Practical men may think lightly of talaile:ta,
quiexkceitettnent in
slYUchthmeatter is that in
In war_
scientific person,
and igno-
j report intelligibly on the merits of the
rant men may find some pleasure
as well
I agsr otlh) ien gs
ui
roe
s thet r do
a,criket„xopbesutilt.i,ceectietesrestaginiti:
ha
tuLin.h a
tisd .
which smile° and experience
like preparations particularly our country cannot afford
to neglect any element of success, and it would
. from be found
on trial that some advantage may
be derived tb,e
suggestions of such persons.

NAVAL AND MILITAPY INTELLIGENCE.

The Edinburgh, 60, Captain Hewlett, arrived at Spit-
head yesterday afternoon' at 3 o'clock, from Leith, to
be refitted at Portsmouth for the Baltic.
The Hastings, 60, Captain Caffin, will haul Gut of the
fitting basin at Portsmouth, and go into the steam-basin
to receive her boilers to-day.
The Pembroke, 60, Captain Seymour, hauled into the
steam-basin from Portsmouth harbour yesterday, and
the Blenheim, 60, Captain Hall, was taken cut.
The Crcesus, screw steam-transport, hauled alongside
Portsmouth dockyard yesterday, and commenced prepa-
rations for receiving troops for the Crimea to-day.
The Harbinger, steam transport, which left Ports-
mouth yesterday morning at 11, for Chatham, with in-
valids, put back to Spithead at 3 p.m. ; strong easterly
winds and heavy seas.
The Geyser, 6, paddle-sloop, Commander Dew, left
Spithead yesterday afternoon, at 3 o'clock, for the east-
ward.

The Falcon, 17, screw sloop, Commander Pullen, has
been rigged, and is nearly ready for swinging.
Tha Rhine, line-of-packet ship, from the Thames, ar-
rived at Portsmouth yesterday, and sailed with a fine
fair wind for New York.

The Ariel. 9, Commander Luce, is ready to-day at
Portsmouth to swing for the adjustment of her com-

passeß,

The transport Talavera, No. 93, Capt. Scott, in Ply-
mouth Sound, received orders yesterday (Wednesday) to
proceed to Chatham. General Eden, Commander of the
forces in the west, inspected the military invalids in
the course of the day, and is seeking permission to laud
and send on, at his own cost, 12 men belonging to the
Guards, to which the gallant officer is attached.

PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS.
Mate Henry Huxham (1852), to be Lieutenant, and
appointed to the Nankin, 50, at Sheerness.
Lieut. William Spratt (1854), from the Nankin, 50,
to the Cornwallis, 60, screw steam-ship, at Devonport.
Lieut. George Robinson (1855) promoted yesterday is
appointed to the Pique, 40, on the Pacific station. •
Lieut. Charles Waddilove (1849), Flag-Lieutenant to
Rear• Admiral William F. Martin, and serving in the
St. Vincent guard-ship of ordinary, at Portsmouth, is
promoted to be Commander for rank,

DEVONPORT, FEB. 7.

The greatest activity prevails here in preparing the
various ships destined to form part of the Baltic fleet of
1855. The shipwrights are working long hours, and
throughout the dockyard and steamyard at Keyham the
greatest bustle prevails. The Duke of Wellington will,
it is expected, arrive here early next week.
Lieut. Charles 'Wake (1846), recently serving as Lien-
tenant-Commander of the Bonetta, 3, brigantine, when
on the south-east coast of America station, is promoted
to be Commander for rank.
Lieut. Julian F. Slight (1852), serving as First Lieu-
tenant of the Royal Albert, 121, screw steam-ship, os
tke Black Sea station, promoted to be Commander for
rank.
Lieut. George T. Colville (1847), serving in the Rod-
ney, 90, on the Mediterranean station, promoted to be
Commander for rank.
The Prime Wardens of the Watermen's Company
have made a return of the number of free watermen
and their apprentices who are fit for the naval service,
with a view to the ballot, should they be called on to
furnish their quota of men to the Royal Navy, the com-
pany being bound by its charter to furnish 1,500 men to
man her Majesty's ships in case of war.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.--Feb.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCTI.

THE QUEEN V. RHODES AND OTHERS-RIOT AND ASSAULT.
Sir Frederick Thesiger, Mr. Bodkin, and Mr. Keane
appeared for the prosecution ; and Mr. M. Chambers,
Mr. Seijeant Wilkins, and Mr. Huddleston for the
several defendants.

The defendants in this case were indicted for a riot
and assault. They pleaded not guilty.
It appeared from the evidence adduced on the part of
the prosecution that an election for commissioners for
the ward of St. Mary Abbotte, under a local act for pav-
ing and improving the parish of Kensington, took place
on the 4th of October last, at the Kensington Vestry-
kall. Mr. Reynell, a solicitor, was acting as presiding
officer, and on the poll being losed at four o'clock, some
of the defendants demanded to know the state cf the
poll, to which Mr. Reynell replied that he could not
mention it then, the act of Parliament allowing him
until two o'clock the day following, the day after the
election, to do so, but he would get it done as soon as
ho could. Ho then endeavoured to get out of the hail,
when the defendants called out "Shut the door, and
don't allow him to go out until he has declared the state
of the poll." Mr. Reynell was then hid hold of by
them, and his coat torn, and ho was otherwise assaulted.
A great number of witnesses having been called on
the part of the prosecution,
Lord Campbell, at the close of the case for the prose-
futon, said he thought it would be difficult to deny the
assault after the great body of evidence which had been
called, although it bad been done under great excitement,
and it did not amount to a riot. He thought it would
be better that there should be a verdict for an assault.
Sir F. Thesiger said the oomnainsioners had not the
slightest desire to press the case against the defendants,
and if they would have absented to a verdict of guilty of
the assault they would only have been required to enter
into their own recognisances, the object being to protect
persons who were necessarily employed in the perform-
ance of a duty.
Lord Campbell eaid there was no premeditation, and
they all knew the excitement of an election. In his
opinion the commissioners had most properly directed
the inquiry.
Mr. Hall said he was the attorney for Mr. Rhodes,
who expressed a strong desire that the case should
go on.
ee Lord Campbell was of opinion that the best thing Mr.
Rhodes could do would be to accept the offer which had
been made to him.
After some consultation,
Mr. Serjeant Wilkins said Mr. Rhodes had left the
case in his hands, and of course he would accept his lord-
ship's suggestion.
A discussion having taken place as to costs,
Lord Campbell said no doubt the commissioners
would waive any item of that sort.
Sir F. Thesiger said if his lordship thought so he had
no doubt the commissioners would assent to-that.
•A verdict of guilty of an assault was then returned,
and the parties entered into recognisances to appear for
-udgment when called upon.

ARCHES COURT.
(Before Sir John Dodson.)
HART V. HART.-SENTENCE.
This was a suit of divorce, by reason of cruelty,
brought by Emily Jane Hart against her husband,

Francis 11-art.
Sir John Dodson, in giving sentence, said that the
marriage had taken placo on the 18th of September,
1847, and that the parties had cohabited together at
Tunbridge, Margate, Cheltenham, and other places,
until June, 1848, when Mr. Hart had deserted his wife.
A subsequent cohabitation took place in the month of
April, 1850, which continued until the following July,
when the defendant again deserted his wife at the White
Hart Hotel, Bristol. Since then they bad lived apart.
It was stated that Mr. Hart had concealed his resi-
dence' and that Mrs. Hart had thereby been prevented
from bringing her suit until October, 1853. A libel
was then given in on her behalf containing charges of
gross cruelty against her husband. No defensive alle-
gation bad been propounded by Mr. Hart, who had
contented himself with merely cross-examining the
witnesses. Mrs. Hart, in her evidence, had deposed
strongly in support of the circumstances alleged in her
libel ; but the court, without meaning to charge her with
wilful perjury, could not help thinking that she had
much too highly-coloured some of her statements. For
instance, her evidence contained an averment to the
effect that she had been ordered by her husband to write
to the trustee under her marriage settlement to send her
certain docnmeate relating to some houses settled upon
her ; that she had written to him accordingly, and that
upon his declining to forward her the papers, her hus-
band had behaved with great violence towards her.
She stated that he had clutched her so tightly by the
throat that she could not speak, but that being near the
bell she managed to ring it, and the servant who came
in removed her husband's hands from her, saying
that she would call a policeman if he did not de-
sist. This account, however, was scarcely consist-
ent with the deposition of the servant herself, who
stated that upon entering the drawing-room she
found her mistress sitting on the floor, with her back
resting against a chair, from which she appeared to este'e
slipped off. She was much agitated, and her master was
stooping over her with a glass tumbler containing some
liquid which smelt like spirits and water. Mrs. Hart ex-
claimed,"Look here, Mary ; he wants to strangle me," but
the witness deposed that at that time he was not touching
her. This showed that Mrs. Hart's account could net be
implinitiy relied upon. So again in the eighth article, which
referred to one of the earliest acts of cruelty alleged, it
was stated that Mr. Hart had violently assaulted her in
a garden at Margate ; and that Mrs. Killick, the keeper
of the boarding-house where this took place, ha-1 inter-
fered to prevent further mischief. But Mrs. Kiilick was
neither produced as a witness in the case, nor was it al-
leged that she was dead or unable to give evidence. It
was said that she might have forgotten the circumstance,
but surely if it had ever occurred that was not likely to
be the case. The court, however, westbound to say that
with respect to some of the acts of cruelty alleged there
was corroborative evidence. He (Sir J. Dodson) was
alluding to that which took place at the house of Mrs.
Hart's father at Hereford. Mrs. Hart had deposed to
acts of cruelty there, and she was confirmed by her
sister, who was present on that occasion. Indeed, there
could be no doubt that Mr. Halt had been guilty of gross
acts of cruelty towards his-wife—acts that would have
entitled her to a sentence of separation from him. So
again with respect to the midnight scene, which was
enacted at their house at Ladbroke-villas, Notting-hill.
Mrs. Hart deposed that she was obliged to fly from the
house and to take shelter in an outhouse or shed in
the gs,rden of a neighbour, Mr. Hinchcliffe ; and
that finally she bad obtained admission into 41r. Hinch-
cliffe's house, where she remained till the morning. In
her account of that transaction she was confirmed by
other witnesses, and the court was constrained to say,
that although she had gone beyond what the facts would
warrant in some portions of her evidence, she had satis-
factorily proved such acts of cruelty as would entitle her
to a divorce, unless her remedy was barred by what had
subsequently taken place ; more especially as Mr. Hart
had not given in any evidence to rebut the testimony
cffered on her behalf. The question, therefore, came to
this, namely, whether the malicious desertion of Mrs.
Hart by her husband, at Bristol, would revive the fer-
nier acts of cruelty which had been condoned by the
reconciliation and subsequent cohabitation which took
place about two months before that event ! That there
had been condonation in this case there could be no
doubt whatever. Not only had there been cohabitation,
from which condonation might have been presumed, but
there bad been an actual and formal condonation. There
had been a reconciliation at Mrs. Hart's own solicita-
tion and desire. It appeared that she had sent letter
after letter to her husband, begging him to renew the
cohabitation, assuring him that it would give her
the greatest pleasure and satisfaction to do so,
telling him how unhappy she was at living separate, and
using strong expressions of endearment towards him.
These letters failed, however, to answer her purpose,
and she they instituted a suit for divorce, on the ground
of cruelty and adultery ; but subsequently she called at
the house where her husband was living with the lady
with whom she had charged him with committing adul-
tery. She bad an interview with him, and being assured
that he was not guilty of that offence, she signed a sort
of confession, in which she admitted her faults of temper,
and declared that she would forgive and forget all that
had passed, and promised to live with him in future
quietly, soberly, and with a decent regard ta.hia.com-
fort. The question then arose whether the malicious
desertion subsequently acted as a reviver of the former
cruelty ! By the law of some countries malicious deser-
tion was of itself a ground of divorce. He (Sir John
Dodson) learned from the valuable and excellent work
of Mr. Bishop, of Boston, that such was the case in
several, though not all, of the United States. Malicious
desertion, however, was certainly not by the law of
England a ground of divorce ; and no case had been
cited to show that it would even operate as a reviver of
former cruelty. It had been argued, and no doubt it was
quite true, the lesser acts would suffice to revive former
cruelty, than to establish an original case ; but then
those acts must be ejusdem generis—of a nature to show
that the offending party still entertained the same cruel
disposition towards the party who brought the suit. In
this case no such acts had been proved. It had not been
shown that Mr. Hart, after the reconciliation, did any-
thing that would tend to establish a reasonable appre-
hension of danger to his wife, in life, limb, or health.
On the contrary, it was clear that he had throughout
manifested the strongest possible anxiety to get away
from her, and that she had always been the party who
was desirous of renewing the cohabitation. Under these
circumstances the court must pronounce Mr. Hart to
have been guilty in the first instance of such acts of
cruelty as would have justified it, if the suit had then
been brought, in granting a separation ; but it must
a'so decide that those acts had been condoned by Mrs.
Hart, and that they had not been subsequently revived
by the defendant's conduct in nialic:ously deserting her
at the White Hart Inn, at Bristol. He (Sir J. Dodson)
felt himself therefore bound to dismiss the parties.
Divorce refused.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS—Feb. 7.

___---- o---

James Mill, a man rather over the middle age, sur-
rendered to take his trial on an in,dietinent, in which he
age,who resides
was charged with having assaulteu Emma Pane, with
intent, &c.
Mr. Metcalfe appeared on behalf of the prosecution,
had
which was inbtituted by the parochial authorities of
Marylebone ; and Mr. 13allantine for the defendant.
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vTdb e
apsrosseecruvtariiixt wmr.a,si
ea gut
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eyf-eenayanotf
,n
Alfred-road, Paddington, she having been previously an
inmate of Marylebone Workhouse. From her evidence
in chief, and on cross-examination, it appeared that on
several occasions the defendant had been guilty of ha.

proper conduct towards her, by thrusting his hands into
her bosom, but that which formed the subject of this
prosecution took place on the Thursday preceding
Christmas-day. The defendant's wife was out, and the
girl went into a room whore the defendant was sitting
alone, for the purpose, as she at first stated, of putting
some glasses on the sideboard, but she afterwards ad-
mitted she had no necessity whatever to go to the room.
The defendant took advantage of the opportunity, and
pulled her clothes about in an indecent manner, and in-
vited her into a bed-room ; but suddenly he altered his
purpose, and said to her, " You ought to have checked
me at first. lam a married man, and ought to knew
better. Let this be as if it had never happened." He
then gave her Is., and she quitted the apartment.
There was something said about her being sent away
about ten days afterwards, and then for the first time
she charged the defendant with having improperly
behaved himself to her, and the first intimation of any-
thing of the kind was contained in a letter which she
got a person to send on her behalf to the master of
the workhouse. An entry of the matter was made
in the hooks, and a magistrate's summons was obtained
against the defendant. When it was served upon him he
said it was very hard, and that it was done with her
own consent. The defendant voluntarily attended before
the rotation committee of the board of guardians, and
saw Mr. George Poland, one of the members, to whom
be said, after the entry in the books conta;ning the
charge had beau read over to him, that he had been very
foolish, that he had kissed the girl, and that he bad on
the particular occasion in question treated her in the way
she had described. He was anxious that the committee
should hush the affair up, and suggested that it would
be better for bins to give her son ening by way of corn-
pen:Raton ; but Mr. Poland's reply was that it was a
magistrate's saes, and must be proceeded with in the
regular way. Consequently, after the evidence had been
given at the police-court, the defendant was held to bail
to answer the charge at this court, and the parish solici-
citor (Mr. Randall) was instructed to prosecute.
In her cross-examination, the prosecutrix answered
the questions with great reluctance, particularly those
relating to her having received a shilling from the de-
fendant, and net making the charge for so long a time
after the assault took place. She " thought" this was
the first charge of the kind she had ever made, hut after-
wards she recollected that she had complained about the
conduct of a gentleman who lived in a house where she
was formerly in service.
Mr. Ballastine made a short address to the jury, the
substance of which was, that though he must admit that
the defendant had been guilty of conduct which could
not bejustified, nor be regarded with anything but dis-
approval, yet it was quite clear that he had not rendered
himself liable to the serious charge in the first count of
the indictment ; and that what had taken place, it was
quite clear from her own statements and admission, had
been with her own entire willingness and consent. Re-
viewing the whole case, the jur:, he was sure, could
come to no other conclusion.
The Assistant Judge said there was no pretence for
the first count ; and if the defendant had conducted him-
self as the girl had stated, without her consent, he was
liable to the charge of assault ; but looking at the whole
of the circumstances, it would be for the jury to say
whether she did not consent to what took place. The
defendant's conduct could not be justified or excused,
but it appeared to have been that of a man who had had
a temptation held out to him, and encouraged by what
had before taken place with (as it appeared) the prose-
cutrix'z sanction; for though three times repeated, she
said not a word about it, though she had full opportu-
nity to do so if she had chosen ; besides which, she re-
ceived a shilling from the defendant, and said nothing
about his conduct on the moreparticalar occasion until
ten days afterwards, and not then till she was about to
be sent away.
The jury immediately acquitted the defendant.
The Assistant Judge said he entirely agreed with the
verdict ; but the guardians, as a body, had done per-
fectly right in instituting the proceeding, and not sifting
the evidence and deciding upon the merits themselves ;
because had they done so, they would have had the out-
cry against them that they were encouraging such con-
duct towards workhouse children., They had acted with
great propriety in the matter.
The Court then adjourned.

SURREY SESSIONS.—Feb. 7.

INCITING SOLDIERS TO DESERT—IMPORTANT CAsE.

Daniel Cummings, an Irishman, was indicted for un-
lawfully causing Thomas Horton, William Johnson, and
William Reynolds, privates ii her Majesty's Coldstream
Guards, to desert at Croydon, is the county of Surrey.
Michael Haley, police-constable 255 P, said that on
Monday evening, the 29th of January last, between
seven and eight o'clock, ke was on duty in Croydon,
when he saw the prisoner and Horton in Mr. Welt's
field. They had three bundles containing regimentals
belonging to soldiers in the Coldstream Guards. He
stopped them and took them to the station-house, when
he found that the prisoner had incited Horton and two
other soldiers to desert.
Thomas Horton, a private in the Coldstream Guards,
said he was a• tested at Sheffield on the Bth of December,
and on the 23d he came to Croydon Barracks. On 'the
29th of January be met the prisoner, and was induced
by him to desert. William Reynolds and William
Johnson were with him, and . they all deserted, and
Cummings said he would get them clothes. They all
wer,t to his house, and witness and Johnson paid 11. s.

fer private clothes, and Cummings brought them to
tern, and they
,put them on. Johnson and Rrynold,
left witut acid he had not seen then since. Witn&
was taken into custody by police constable Haley on the
same day.
John Ashley, a serjeant in the Coldstream Guards,
said that the clothing produc-d was the property of the
regiment, and was until recently used by William John-
son and William Reynolds, who had deserted.
The prisoner, in his defence, contended that he did
not incite the soldier to desert ; neither had he received
any money for the clothes. He, however, acknowledged
having the regimental clothes in his possession, but they
were left witCr
The jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict
of guilty.
The chairman said it was a very serious offence, espe-
cially at such a time, when her Majesty was in want of
soldiers to prosecute the war with Russia. He should
sentence him to three months' imprisonment in the House
of Correction ; but he was sorry to say the law did not
give him power to add hard labour with it.

TVESTMLNSTER COUNTY COUBT.