The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 2, 1864.

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soner was accordingly sent for trial by district court-martial.
The prisoner, on finding that lie was not to be tried by a
general court-martial, became exceedingly violent, his ob-
ject being to be dismissed from the service. Oa being
placed before the court his conduct and actions were out-
rageous. The guard who had hin in charge were over-
powered, and his conduct and language were so violent that
the trial had to be postponed and tae court adjourned. In
the meantime the accused tore up nearly all his clothing,
and, on being again placed before the court to undergo his
trial, Was only partially dressed. Although he was hand-
cuffed and in the custody of a strongguard, he was as violent
as on the former occasion of his being before the court, and
it was only by tying his legs togethlr and laying him on
the ground, with a guard over him, that his trial could
be proceeded with, the regulations requiring the prisoner to
be present. Throughout his trial be assailed the various
members of the court with the foulest abuse. The charge
against the prisoner was fully proved, and the court
sentenced him to receive 50 lashes and to undergo 336
days' imprisonment in the military prison, Fort Clarence,
Rochester. On the sentence being forwarded for approval
to Major-Gen. Eyre, the 60 lashes ordered by the Court
were remitted, the punishment of the lash being rarely or
never inflicted at Chatham. The major-general ordered an
additional term of imprisonment in lieu of the flogging.
After the sentence had been read the prisoner was handed
over to a strong escort and conveyed to the military prison.
At the expiration of his imprisonment he will undergo a
second trial for his conduct before the court-nartial.

Major Milward, for the past five years brigade major of
the Royal Artillery at Woolwich, yesterday assumed the
duties of Assistant-Director of Ordnance, at the War De-
partment, Pall-mall, to which he wad recently appointed in
succession to Major Freeth, ordered to rejoin his battery.
Major Milward was yesterday succeeded at Woolwich by
Major Hay, Royal Horse Artillery, as brigade major.
Another, of the huge Blakely cast-steel guns arrived at
Woolwich yesterday for the purpose of undergoing the re-
quisite proof test, which will probablystske place to-day.
On of the guns, which was proved lastVt,erprerlously W-
its being shipped for the Russian Government, cracked one
of its outer hoops at the back of the trunnions, as stated in
The Sun, and on the following day, by desire of Captain
Blakely, the charge was increased to 501 b of powder, and
the usual cylinder, viz., one of 3 cwt and 1 qr. Notwith-
standing the increased charge of 51b of powder and the in-
jury to the hoop, the proof was perfectly satisfactory. The
9-inch bore is surrounded by four tubes of cast-steel, each
nearly four inches thick, and appears capable of resisting
any amount of shock. The successful proof, after an outer
tube had split, shows that three of these tubes suffice to re-
sist the explosive force of any requisite charge. Great
doubts are expressed, however, whether these guns,
strong as they doubtless are, can resist the con-
cussion of gun-cotton, with which it is stated
they are intended to be charged. Orders have been
given by the War Department for the supply .of an 800-
pounder gun to be manufactured by Capt. Blakely, to be
fired at the Royal Arsenal butt with an increased charge,
and to be proved "to destruction." The experiment is
looked forward to with much interest.

Yesterday the examination of candidates for direct com-
missions, before the Vice-President and members of the
Council of Military Education, took place at the Royal
Hospital, Chelsea, Nearly 150 candidates attended, The
examination will occupy the entire week.

The Case of Alleged Poisoning in Cornwall,

The examination into the charge against Richard Oke
Millett, of Penpol, near Hayle, of poisoning his brother, J.
C. Millett, was resumed at the White Hart Hotel, Hayle,
on Saturday last.
The first witness examined was Henry Bedilla, formerly
a servant at Penpol. He went to the house about 9 o'clock
on the evening in question. He saw Miss Davy and
William Bryant taking tea in the kitchen. The servant,
Jane Teague, called his attention to the snoring of de-
ceased, which he could hear at the bottom of the stairs.
The next morning, about 9 o'clock, he saw the corpse. '
Honor Johns, who had been a servant at Penpol for 10
years, but had left some years ago, said she used to attend
upon deceased, whose sight was very defective. She saw
him last August at Hayle, and had a conversation with him,
during which he twice told her that he had made no will.
When ho did make a will he should remember his brother
William, his niece Ellen, William Oliver (an old servant),
and all those who had been kind to himself and his mother.
In cross-examination she said she remembered the late
Miss Kitty Davy, sister of Sir Humphry Davy,•being at
Penpol, but she knew nothing of the present Miss Davy.
Mr. John Stephens, who fume the estate of Penpol, said
he saw the deceased nearly every day in the fields, and saw
him the day prior to his death. He knew he had been suf-
fering from a oold about three weeks prior to his death, but
deceased told him he was getting better.

In cross• examination he said ho had seen deceased put
his hand to his forehead and rub it, but never saw his legs
or feet twitch,
James Williams said that in February last he was asked
by the prisoner to coma to Penpol, as the deceased was about
to make a will, and wished him to be one of the witnesses.
He went accordingly, and found the deceased and the pri-
soner there, as also Wm. Mitchell, the carpenter. A docu-
ment was brought into the room by deceased and the pri-
soner—it was signed bydeceased, witness, and W. Mitchell.
Before it was signed the deceased read it. After deceased
had signed he put his finger on the seal and said, " This is
my last will."
Philip Vincent said he was a surgeon, residing in Cam-
' borne. On Wednesday, the 20th January, he made a post
mortem examination of the body of deceased after it had
been exhumed. Dr. Montgomery, of Penzance, assisted.
They examined the body very carefully, The stomach, in-
testines, and, in fact, all the contents of the abdomen were
perfectly healthy. The kidneys were also healthy. The
lungs were a little more purple on the surface than is usually
the case, but were otherwise healthy. There was a little
clot of blood in the heart—the valves were quite healthy.
The membranes of the brain were natural. On lifting the
lobes of the brain about a pint of flaid escaped. The brain
was next examined, and they found that the deceased had
suffered from congenital hydrocephalus—the ventricles
were enortuously enlarged—the substance of the brain was
a pint of fluid in the stomach
and a small quantity on the
healthy, as was the windpipe and liver. There was about
cheek which had oozed from the mouth. There was also a
small quantity in the bladder, but the bladder was healthy.
The fluid in the brain came from the ventricles, and
he should say it would not cause. death. If de•
ceased had suffered from influenza and had had a harassing
cough for a fortnight or three weeks, he should have ex-
pected to find the thorax inflamed,
but there was nothing
more than natural. The water,
of course, must press more
or less on the brain, but it would not affect its healthiness.
Water
symptoms of deceased as detailed by the various witnesses
were
effusion on the brain. Could find
nothing
might produce headache. The
of the body to account for
any
natural disease which would
produce the symptoms referred to; SODA of them resembled
gastritis. Could not gay Whether deceased did or did not
die from natural'causes. According to' Dr. Taylor's works,
some of the symptoms resembled a case of poisoning. If
symptoms
death,
a e
notr
in
Didfcfrom
on thenisi
nots thet ventricles
knnt o appearance•
with
of
witness had been called in to the patient he should have
given brandy as was done.
By the Bench—lf deceased had taken mineral poison
alcohol would not affect it much, but it would act as a sol-
vent upon vegetable poison, and thus cause it to be more
readily taken up by the stomach. If he had suspected
Do.wning for upwards of four
poison he should have used the stomach-pump. Had he
supposed there was effusion Ma the brain he might have
applied leeches to the heath, ,
, hoetittr7sTeitlearolnlolintlg is the gist of the examination :—The
room in which the post mortem examination took place was
small. There were several persons present,
among whom
Did
not
notice any contraction
were the prosecutor, Mr. Fred. Edmonds, surgeon ; Mr.
Itoscorla, prosecutor's attorney ; and kr, Cornish, the
magistrate's clerk. bid not take notes of the examination
o
notes aredof the appearance
so healthy, and he
ed
ffi thed n
thee
tbbtorhda
think
nn
k,atwindpipe,
it first,ntdepe necessary,
pebse ea, cra
nayu,
dsbeu it t
took a pe p
stomach.
Saw Mr. Edmonds
writing something during the examination. Neither the
they were, on the
body
ynorthe
very
contrary, fresh tissues
indeed. were decomposed
of the limbs, nor any especial rigidity about the head or
neck. The hands were not clinched. Did not notice
whether the thumbs were turned inwards or not. The toes
were not contracted. No fulness of feature. Everything
quite natural. The body was fat and appeared to be re-
markably well nourished. No looseness about the integu •
ments. Eyeballs not sunk. Skin was white, except on the
back, where there had been pressure, No looseness about
the cuticle; it was not detached from the skin; it was dry.
There were no external marks. The body was very little
swollen. The fat was about a quarter of an inch thick. It
was the fattest body he ever saw; the colour of the fat was
yellowish white, Muscles firm, red, and very fresh. The
bones were very firm and not diseased. There was no swell-
ing of the eyelids, but there was a little discolouration. The
pupils of both eyes were semi-contracted ; there was no pre-
sence of the anus mills; no discharge of matter from the
ears. The fluid that was discharged from the mouth was
the same as that found in the stomach. He shaved the
fluid off along with the whiskers, and placed it in a paper to
be sent to Dr. Taylor. Could not say whether the paper was
furnished by the prosecutor ; wrapped it up and laid it on
the table while he went on with the other operations. For
all he knew, it was the same as was afterwards sent to Dr.
Taylor. There was no rigidity about the jaws; they were just
what might be expected in a corpse which had died from natu-
ral disease. The mucus membran e of the mouth was healthy.
The tongue did not show the slightest sign of poison.. Did
not look at the uvula ; an enlarged uvula would cause a
cough, which would last as long as the uvula was elongated.

A man suffering from influenza would be subject to elon-
gated uvula. Removed the heart before the brain was
examined. Did not consider that his doing so would cause
the blood to flow from the vessels of the head to the ether
parts of the body. There was no serum or blood under the
scalp. The skull was healthy. There was no fluid of any
kind between the skull and the dura mater. Did not notice
whether there was any diploe. Could not tell whether the
inner apertures of the ear were closed. Had expected to
find some fluid in the arachnoid, but found none. It did
not occur to him that removing the heart first would pre-
vent his finding fluid in the arachnoid. The colour of the
arachnoid was dirty brown. Treating the case as one of
chronic hydrocephalus, they expected to find fluid in the
ventricles of the brain, and they found it accordingly; there
was about a pint. The quantity of blood in the ventricles
of an ordinary brain would be about a teaspoonful. Tho
pia mater was natural. There was no fatty degeneration ;
no calcification, or calcareous deposits. Did not examine
it with the microscope. Could not say how low down the
spinal cord was cut, nor whether it was cut below the
medulla oblongata or not. Did not test the specific gravity
of the brain; it did not soften rapidly on exposure to the
atmosphere ; it was as healthy a brain as he ever saw in his
life. There were no tumours on the spine externally.
When they removed the stomach they placed it in a dish
in the window, while they proceeded to take out the entrails.
The lungs were a little more purple in colour than usual—
a sign of congestion. Never saw a healthier stomach or
entrails.

Re-examined by Mr. Roscorla—Neither the prosecutor
nor any one else interfered with the examination nor with
the contents of the stomach. Did not think that the
results of pisoning by aconite would be discernable three
weeks after death.

At this stage the case was adjourned to Wednesday. The
case has caused the greatest excitement throughout the

count

A Noble Tribute to Lacordaire,

(Fivm the- Uarehirfid &tete lieviesfo

Lacordaire is a name which already, little more
than two years after his death, has taken a distinct
and well ascertained place in the history of our
times. His character, as a whole, may be said to
be almost beyond the province of criticism, so fully
has it been understood and accepted by the public at
large. The ardent and confiding disciple of the
then dubious and afterwards heretical and sceptical
La Mennais, the eloquent and impassioned preacher,
who excited serious misgivings on his own account
in the minds of many of his older contemporaries,
has passed beyond these doubts. The words
which he spoke from the pulpit, and those which
he wrote to the young men who came to him for
counsel and:guidance, are now being collected with
pious care, and are not only treasured up by the
young hearts which he kindled by his personal in-
fluence, but are sent forth with the warm encomia
of the most eminent prelates of the French Church.
The Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, the able and
accomplished Dupanloup, Bishop of Orleans, and
other bishops worthy to bear them company, have
addressed to the Abbe Perreyve, the editor of a
volume of his letters, the strongest commendation of
the publication, which has already reached a fourth
edition.

We accept the public estimate of his great in.
tellectual, moral, and spiritual worth. We agree
with his friend, M. de Montalembert, that, after
Bcssuet, he was the greatest preacher that ever
adorned the French pulpit. We admit, as a
matter beyond dispute, that his aims and efforts
were singularly pure, lofty, and disinterested.
The foundation of the character and influence of
Lacordaire, the source of his power as writer,
teacher, preacher, guide, lay in the depth and reality
of his religions principles. Even in the school
which demands that the gateway to all genuine
piety shall be the crisis of a conscious conversion,
the spirituality of Lacordaire must pass unques•
tioned.

There is no reason to suppose that Lacordaire an-
ticipated the brilliant career which lay before him.
Although he had shown great powers of oratory in
defending himself, it seemed doubtful at first
whether he would ever prove a great preacher. The
sermon which he preached at the Seminary, in 1827,
before he was ordained priest, was pronounced by
the Superior to be one half nonsensical, the other
half unintelligible, and the whole ridiculous. His
first public sermon was at St. Roch, in 1833, the
very same church in which he preached for the last
time in Paris, He failed completely ; and his own
friends felt that his talents must be employed in
some other way. He was not unconscious of his
failure, but he at once decided that his powers of
speaking, of the existence of which he had before
given such convincing proof, mast be directed to
some special work which would be adapted to his
peculiar genius. Such a work soon presented itself.
He was invited to give aseries of Conferences to the
pupils of the College Stanislas, after the second of
which the chapel could not contain the crowds
which flocked to hear him. Even in these first
attempts the distinctive characters of the orator
of Notre Dame are said to have been
visible—." the striking originality, the penetrating
heartfelt passion, the impettoslty of speech and
thought, the tenderness, the irony." A sentence is
quoted which contains a thought which was often
reproduced by him in his later Conferences : " Dieu
vous a donn6 de l'esprit, messieurs, beacoup d'esprit,
pour vous montrer qu'il n'a pas peur de l'esptit des
hommes."

The difference between him and his former friend
La Mennais was brought out by the Archbishop of
Paris interdicting these Conferences. Without a
murmur he submitted to the imposed silence. " Obe-
dience costs something," he wrote to M. de Mon-
talembert ; " but I have learnt by experience that
it is, sooner or later, rewarded, and that God alone
knows what is suited to us." And again—" Light
comes to him who submits] as to a man who opens
his eyes." This was at the end of 1834. He had
not long to wait for his reward. In 1835 he had
all Paris crowding to listen to his words in the
vast church of Notre Dame. In some inex-
plicable manner Mgr. Qur-len, the same who
had put a stop to his preaching at the College
Stanislas, invited him to occupy the pulpit of
the Cathedral Church. His success exceeded all
that his most sanguine friends had anticipated. The
Archbishop on one occasion stood up in the archi-
episcopal throne) and before the immense auditory
pronounced the young preacher—he was still but
thirty-three—to be a " new prophet." For two
years he continued to deliver those famous Con-
fereneeg "on the Church" which are contained in
the second volume of his published works. Noto-
riety, popularity, glory, if these had been all he
wanted, he had them in abundance, enough to
satisfy or even to intoxicate. But these were not
the object for which he lived. The closing words
of his last Conference told that he felt the necessity
of withdrawing for a season from the brilliant posi-
tion to which he had attained—that he needed re-
tirement, solitude, and silence. "Un moment ce
double suffrage (du pasteur et du peuple) a bridle sur
ma tete; souffrez que je l'ecarte de moi-m6me, et
que je ma retrouve seul quelquo temps devant ma
faiblesse et devant Dieu."
In all his intercourse with his friends and fellow-
men, even in his Conferences, and more especially in
his letters, we find proof of the accuracy of the
judgment of M. de 11ontalembert, who says that to
him he seemed to realise his own ideal of the priest,
such as he had himself defined him : " Strong as a
*diamond and more tender than a mother."
O f his personal character, further than it has been
brought out in our previous remarks, we have left
ourselves little room to speak. We see no reason
to doubt the reality of his humility or the purity
of his motives. He considered himself to be unam-
bitious, and he has left a history which forbids the
most censorious to contradict him. On this point,
however, we must refer our readers to the seventh
chapter of M. do Montalembert's brilliant memoir.
It may be had in French or in English, and few
will regret the time dedicated to its perusal. The
remaining space at our disposal must be given to a
few remarks on his characteristics as a preacher.
In this point of view, wo have already said that he
is one of the foremost of all those whom the French
Church has produced, For this place lie is indebted