The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-29 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE—Sept,. 28,

MARLBOROUGH-STREET,—Mr M. C. Rogers,
dentist, 18, New Burlington-street, appeared before Mr
Tyrwhitt to answer a summons taken out by Mr Tall(
salicitor, of Deaconfield, Buckinghamshire, on behalf of the
Council of Medical Education and Registration, for wil-
fully and falsely taking and usingltho name of " surgeon,'
implying thereby that he was registered under the Medical
Act.

Mr Lewis, jun., of Ely-place, appeared on behalf of Mr
Rogers.
Before the case was gone into MrTyrwhitt inquired if Mr
Bearnard, chiropodist, of No. 39, Regent-street, was
present.

Mr Lewis, jun., replied that he was in court.
Mr Tyr whitt said he gave his opinion on the case of Mr
Bearnaid last week, and ho then thought that Mr Bear-
nard was liable to a penalty, and granted a case for the
superior courts. Since that time he had found a case which
might or might not materially bear on Mr Bearnard's case.
He felt, however, that there was so much doubt about the
matter that ho should not enforce the penalty of £2O until
compelled to do so by mandamus, His own opinion was
against Mr Bee rnard.

Mr Lewis, sun., said, on looking over the law, he found
that it was in a very unsatisfactory state. In the reported
case referred to there appeared to be a want of evidence, as
there had been in Mr Bearnard's case.
Mr Tyrwhitt said ho would not advise Mr Bearnard to
alter his plate, and he would recommend Mr Talley to take
some advice, and also to consult the council. If Mr Talley
chose to take proceedings against Mr Bearnard on some
future occasion he would then grant a case.
Mr Lewis said ho believed that Mr Talley would admit
that Mr Bearnard did not in any way practise as a sur-
geon. He considered if Mr Talley was well advised that
he would not take any further steps in the matter. He
saw Mr Bowen May in court, and if that gentleman, who
formerly represented the Medical Council, would give Mr
Talley proper advice, there would be an end of the pro-
ceedings.
Mr Talley replied that he did not want the advice of any
one.

Mr Bowen May, as amicus curia, would state that he
formerly acted for the Medical Council, and had always felt
great difficulty in such cases, as he was unable to prove that
persons calling themselves doctors acted as doctors.
The summons against Mr Rogers was then called on.
Mr Talley said he had given notice that ho had with•
drawn the summons against Mr Rogers.
Mr Lewis, junior, said, as Mr Rogers had been charged
in the summons with " falsely" pretending to be a surgeon,
it was of the utmost importance to that gentleman, as it was
known in his neighbourhood that he had been summoned, to
have an opportunity of stating that he had a diploma as a
duly qualified surgeon. Ile had in his hands other certifi •
cates to prove that Mr Rogers had passed the hospitals in
Paris as a qualified surgeon. The Medical Council had
ignored these proceedings against Mr Rogers, stating that
they were not taken by their advice nor at their expense.
Under these circumstances it was but fair that Mr Rogers
should be put to n 5 expense in attending the court, and as
Mr Talley had been ordered to pay costs at the Marylebone
Police-court, he hoped the magistrate would direct Mr
Talley to pay Mr Rogers's costs. He might further state
that the reason why Mr Rogers was not on the register was
that he only practised as a dentist, and not as a surgeon,
though a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
Mr Tyrwhitt said it was perfectly clear that Mr Talley
ought to have ascertained whether Mr Rogers was a surgeon
and had a diploma before taking proceedings. After seeing
Mr Rogers's diploma, it was impossible to doubt that he was
a surgeon, and he should therefore order Mr .Galley to pay
costs. To summon Mr Rogers was really too bad.
The next summons was against Dr Kahn, of Tichborne-
street, for wilfully and falsely taking and using the name
and title of physician, implying that he was registered
under the Medical Act.

Mr Edward Lewis, of Great Marlborough-street, appeared
for the defendant, and stated that the summons had never
been served on Dr Kahn, who had been absent from Eng-
land for some time. He must complain of the course taken
by Mr Talley in applying for summonses apainst profes•
sional men without sufficient grounds for legal proceedings.
Mr Talley did not represent the Medical Council, as he pre-
tended, but had made himself the champion of the medical
profession from motives that he could not define. If Mr
Talley was only acting as a solicitor in these cases, he should
be glad to give the name of his client, in order that parties
who were compelled to appear in a court of justice on vexa-
tious pleas under a stringent Act of Parliament might know
against whom would lie their remedy. Mr Talley had
asserted in the summons that Dr Kahn had even practised
as a physician, whereas he would show that Dr. Kahn was
duly qualified under Section Aof the Medical Act. Had he
beea in England he would have been fully prepared to meet
the allegation.
Mr Talley said he represented the woman of England.
Mr E. Lewis did not think that most estimable body had
a very judicious representative.
Evidence having been tendered to prove the non-service
of the summeal, :the case was dismissed.

MARYLE BONE.—Henry Hamilton, alias Dr Henry
Scott, was summoned for a breach of the Medical Act, in
having issued advertisements offering to treat the complaints
of females, and describing himself as a doctor, when, in
truth, he was not a physician.
Mr Sleigh, who appeared for the defence, said his client
was not guilty of the offence imputed to him.
Mr Talley, who had taken out the summons, and who
was seated at the solicitors' table, said this was ono cf the
most painful cases that ever ho had the honour to present
before a magistrate. It was a charge he had against the
defendant fur unlawfully, wickedly, and designedly pub-
lishing in one of the daily papers an advertisement, ad-
dressed to ladies only, and calling the attention of ladies to
it, and he (defendant) represented himself as duly qualified
to act as a doctor. no said he could act as such, and led
people to believe that ho was duly qualified. In the first
place he was certain that defendant was no doctor at all.
Females who were in a delicate way were lured to him by
means of his advertisements, and (holding up his arm, and
bringing his fist down with a thump upon the table) all this
done by a man who has been convicted at Newgetc--
Mr Sleigh—Really, sir, I must call on your worship—
Mr Talley—Sit you down, sir, and I will wring your
heart. A tale that will bring tears from you. (Thump on
the table.) _

Mr Sleigh—lt is sadly to be deplored that the valuable
time of the court should be taken up by this person.
Mr Talley—l am a member of the legal profession of 12
years' standing.
Mr Sleigh—l am sorry that you are.

Mr Talloy—Sir,l do not know you. You may be eminent,
but I know you not. lam an honourable member of the
profession, and you----
➢lr Sleigh—Don't address yourself to me. (To the ma-
gis`rate)—l wish to come at once to the case and to the
matter at issue.

Mr Mansfield (to Mr Talley)—You charge the defendant
with a certain offmcc—let us have the evidence upon it.
Mr Talky—l will, sir ; but I must tell you that this man
has been convicted,

Mr Sleigh—There must be a check to this man's conduct.
Mr Talley—Sir I
Mr Mansfield—Go on with your evidence.
Mr Talley—You must listen to me. I can say that this
man has been convicted--
Mr Mansfield—Stop, stop; don't talk so. If you can
produce evidence about the conviction do so, but do lot us
get on.

Mr Talley (greatly excited)—Sir,
I take up a news-
paper from my breakfast table, and there what
do I find ? (Thump on the table.) Why, I find this, that
my wifa is invited to pay a visit to 15, Renr:etta-street,
Cavendish-square. (Defendant read an advertisement,
which had Leen set forth in the summons, and tearing the
paper up, explained, "Bah I Horribly disgusted am I that
such vipers should be allowed to crawl about. Notice has
been given--
Mr Sleigh—Really, sir, it is to me—and I am certain it
must be to you—painful to listen to this 1 ersou.
Mr Talley (thump)—Sir, you shall listen to me. I will
not be put down by you. I will not. (Thump on the
table). I have yet to produce to your notice the real Dr
Scott, whese name this man filches. This is (the right arm
raised on high) one of the most painful cases that I ever had
the honour to appear in. The law enacts, and clearly, too,
that there is a penalty for any one calling himseif doctor
who is not so. (Emphasis.) And, sir, I must ask and de-
mand of you to commit this man. He gives the public to
believe that he is a doctor of medicine.
Mr Sleigh—l wish your worship would not allow your
time to be wasted in this manner.

Mr Talley—l care not who you are—
Mr Mansfield—l must stop this. The only thing I have
to go into is whether Dr Scott, as you term him, has vio-
lated the law.
Mr Talley here became excitsd in the extreme, and taking
up another newspaper tore it into shreds, exclaiming, " I
am disgusted I"
Mr Mansfield (with great warmth)—I do not know whn
you are or what you are. But this I do knew, that you
have charged a person with a certain offence. You have
made a charge. Produce evidence to substantiate your case
if you can.
Mr Talley— Substantiate my case I I can, sir, with hosts
of witnesses.

Mr Mansfield—Will you go on with your case ? I won't
have this court of justice made a farce of.
Mr Talley—Sir, lam seriou'. I now find I have one of
the most eminent members of the bar opposed to me.
(Pointing to Mr Sleigh.)
Mr Sleigh—l will not have you refer to me.
Mr Talley—Won't you ? You must abide it—that I
tell you, sir. Sir, Ido net know whether you know me,
but I can tell you I have been in the profession 12 years.
To prove what I assert ie correct, I have my certificate
here, and ready to be produced.
Mr Sleigh—l wish you would not waste the time of the
court. It is distressing for me to sit here and listen to you.
Mr Talley—Sir, 1 am hero as a champion in a just cause,
and I defy your powers.
Mr Mansfield—l must put a stop to this, and proceed to

business. You have preferred a charge that the defendant
has done a certain act or deed contrary to the Act of Par-
liament. You charge him with pretending to be a physician ?

ikr- ,r,-.11,,,,____T TIT; I 1 air T Irtnir I, vnrii as a fa+har—au n

child ehould look to ite parent. I will call before you evi-
dencc, to convince you (thump on the table) of the way in
which the public are imposed upon; and, sir (i hrowing
down a book ha had in his hams), I will show you that
this ought to be cauterised from--
Mr Sleigh— Oh dear I oh dear ! that the time should be
wasted like this I

Mr Talley Waked I Time wasted, my learned
friend—

Mr Sleigh—l wish you would not address me as your
friend. I have no wish to know you.
Mr Talley—lt is a grievous matter that they come here
to qualify their crimes. I will call a gentleman whom I
have ordered to be here. There has been a great mistake
under the Act, and if such mistakes are allowed to go
by uncorrected, then the Act might just as well be null
and void. The son ct the late Baron Nicholson might
just as well be in your position on this bench. No, sir,
we are not to be put down in this way. Under Lord
Campbell's Act—
Mr Sleigh—He has had at you, sir; now he is going to
sh3w that the judges are wrong.
Mr Mansfield—We had better go on and see if there is
any law in which this can be made an offence,
Mr Sleigh—That will be the proper course to adopt, and
I humbly submit that on the point of law there is no case
made out for me to answer. The statute was never passed
to meet any such case as this. The learned counsel ad-
dressed the court, and was quoting cases on behalf of his
client, but could not get clearly on through the interruption
of Mr Talley.
Mr Mansfield—There is no necessity for you to go on any
further. Mr Sleigh. The summons must be dismissed.
There is no evidence whatever to show that he practises
under the title of a physician or doctor of medicine. He
(Mr Talley) will have to pay costs.
Mr Talley then repacked the books in his enormous trunk,
locked it, and paid £2 12s 6d, the costs, got assistance, and
vanished with the portmanteau.

The Murder at Chadwell-heath,

ILFORD, Wednesday.

This afternoon the inquest on the body of Amelia Blunt,
who was murdered under circumstances of great atrocity on
last Saturday morning, was resumed in the Sessions House
adjoining Ilford Gaol, before Mr C. C. Lewis, coroner for
the county of Essex.
The case appeared to have created a great sensation in
the district, and the court room was crowded by persons de-
sirous of obtaining a view of the prisoner and of hearing the
evidence against him.
Superintendent Howie had the management of the case
for the Commissioner of Police.

The prisoner, a large, heavy, morose looking man, was
brought up and placed in the dock. He listened with a half
contemptuous indifference to all the evidence.
James Warren, a labourer, living at Dagenham, said that
he was 7S years of age. He knew the deceased since she was
a baby. She lived with him for the last 11 weeks as house-
keeper. She was a widow, about 44 years of age. She had
been living with Francis Wane before she came to live
with witness, She had lived with Waine about three
years. On last Saturday morning witness left his cot-
tage at Chadwell-heath, about a quarter past ten
o'clock to fetch some beer for the deceased while she was
washing, He left her in the wash house at the end of the
cottage. He returned within half an hour, and when he
went in at the front door he called out "Milly, here is your
beer, dear—come and have it.'' She mado him no answer.
He went in doors, and sat down at the table. He then again
called out to her, but hearing no answer he went into the
wash house. She was resting with one arm on the copper,
and the other on a sieve. He went up to her and said
"hilly, why don't you give me an answer," but' she gave
him none. He put his hands round her to lift her up, and
he found his hands wet with blood. He said, "Oh, Milly,
Milly, what have you done ?" but sho wade no answer. He
lifted her up, but she fell, and so did he, she being heavy
and he being weak. He got up and looked at her, and saw
that she was a dead woman. He ran out and told Mr.
Archer, and he then ran across the common to make an
alarm, and he met his granddaughter, who said, " What
have you done with your hands ?" They were smothered
with blood. Several persons, and the police-constables were
at once on the spot. Witness knew the prisoner all his life,
and he knew the mother that bore him before she was
married. Seven or eight weeks ago witness was at the
White Horse public-house, and he saw the prisoner there.
Deceased was there also, and she sat by the side of witness
in the tap room.
Coroner—What conversation passed ? _ _ _

Witness—The prisoner said, "hilly, I own myself in
fault, and if you go with me out of doors I will tell you where
you will find those clothes and things that I took away from
you." Ile said, " I own myself in fault tor breaking up your
home." He asked her to go out of doors along with him,
but she said to witness, "I am afraid to go." She did go.
however, but only went as far as the taproom window. She
returned in a minute and sat down. Ho came in and sat
down by the side of her and said, " Milly, is there a chance
for you and me to come together again ?" She said, "No,
there never will, Toddy." He was usually called Toddy.
She said to him, "You had your chance to make me your
wife if ou had used me well ; but you broke my home up,
and now I will have no more to do with you," He replied,
" Milly, you will have to die," to which she said, "Toddy,
if I die you will have to die too.'' She jumped up and went
home, and witness went home also. Witness heard him
make no statement since, nor did he see him on the pre-
mises. Witness had a son John, aged 49. An intimacy
had sprung up between him and deceased, and the banns
were published at Dagenham Church on Sunday week.
Coroner (to the pi is mer)—DJ you wish to ask the witness
any question ?
Prisoner (sullenly)—l do not want to ask him any ques-
tion.

Francis Archer, the wife of a labourer living on Chadwell-
heath, said that on Saturday morning she was at a short
distance from Warren's hous3 when her children came
running to her and said, " Oh, come down ; Mr Warren
has come, and something has happened at his house." She
ran in the direction of the place and met Warren, who told
her that Milly was dead, She wont into the little bakehouse
or washhouse at the end of the cottage and saw deceased
lying in a pool of blood, and quite dead. Witness knew
prisoner ever since he was a boy. Deceased lived with him
for three or four years.

The prisoner said he did not want to ask any questions of
the witness.

Mr C. Fitch, landlord of the White Horse, Chadwell-
heath, said that he knew the deceased for three years. She
was in the habit of charing at his house for three months—
ever since she had been with old Mr Warren, The prisoner
was in the habit of coming to the White Horse frequently,
and he used to be there with the deceased. :Since deceased
had been living with Warren witness had several times
heard the prisoner and her quarrel. On two or three occa-
sions she got up and left the room when he came in, 'Wit-
ness several tires heard the prisoner threaten to kill her.
He said that so often that he ceased to take particular notice
of it. The prisoner threatened her 12 months ago.
Coroner—Did you hear him threaten her recently ?
Witness—lle said he would cut her throat about a month
or six weeks ago ; but he was then the worse for liquor.
Coroner—l did not ask you that. If a man says such a
thing when drunk, he is responsible for it when sober. Did
he make any other threat ?

Witness—When she was living with the prisoner the
lattor had threatened to knock her brains out. A fortnight
ago I forbid the prisoner my house for making use of bad
language and falling out with old Mr Warren about this
woman. I was in the bar and heard him swearing at Mr
Warren in the parlour. I went in and said, " Waino, you
are like a dog in the manger ; you won't live with the
woman yourself, and you won't let her live quiet with any
one else." He swore at me, and said ho would punch my
head. I told him to quit the house, and he did so.
Coroner—Did you see him since ?

Witness—On Saturday morning, about 5 minutes to 10.
I saw him coming by Mr Moss's mills, about 400 yards
from 'Warren's cottage, and he appeared to be going from
Chadwell-heath towards his brother's house. His brother's
house is a quarter of a mile from the cottage, I did not
speak to him nor he to me. I heard of the murder about 10
minutes to eleven o'clock. My wife told me poor old Milly
bad dropped down dead. I went to the cottage and saw her
lying on her left side in a pool of blood. There was a great
wound on the side of her neck, and I said, " Bless me, she
has been murdered." I sent far a police constable.
Coroner (to prisoner)—Do you want to ask the witness
any questions P

Prisoner—l do not. lie can say more if ho likes. He has
been telling a parcel of lies, and he can tell more of them.
_ _

•
Dr Robert A, BAmers said that on Saturday morning he
was called to the deceased about half-past 11 o'clock. She
was dead, but was still warm. He examined her and found
three severe wounds on the aide of the neck. They were so
deep that with the finger the vertebra) of the neck could be
touched. Such wounds could not have been inflicted by her-
self. 'rho wounds were from the right to tha left, one was
from the centre of the throat to the right aide behind the
ear; another of them ran in an oblique direction towards
the shoulder, the third seemed to have been a stab more than
a cut. There was also a wound on the knuckle of the left
thumb. All the organs of the body were healthy. The
immediate cause of death was loss of blood from the severance
of the blood vessels of the neck. The knife produced would
most decidedly have caused such wounds.
The knife in question had a sharp blade about six inches
long, and was such as are usually used to kill pigs. Hair
was found adhering to the handle.

After some further evidence, which was occasionally con.
tradicted by the prisoner,
The Coroner asked him if he had anything to say.
The prisonex shook his head.
The Coroner then summed up, and the jury returned a
verdict of " Wilful murder against Francis Waine."
The Coroner then issued his warrant for the committal of
the prisoner on the capital charge.

THE MIDDLESBRO' STRIKE.—We are happy to
say that the Middlesbro' turn-out is now at an end. The
person whose conduot so deeply offended the workmen has
resigned his situation, thus removing the matter in dispute.
There is, therefore, every reason to expect that the men
will at once resume work. The charge against the ten
men found guilty of desertion has been withdrawn,—Leeds
71e-

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TlMES.—Thepoliti3al prospect in America is
confused and shifting in the extreme, but if we may
assume that the Presidential contest will be go.
verned, even at the eleventh hour, by the events of
the war, we may conclude with almost equal pro-
bability that these events must be looked for exclue
sively in Virginia. General Sherman's success in
Georgia is already exhibiting that barrenness of re-
sults which is characteristic of Federal victories, and
he has himself announced that for the present he
contemplates no further operations. It is impro-
bable that Admiral Farragut has resigned himself
to a similar inaction, but the mere occupation of the
town of Mobile, even if it should be achieved, will
not exert the requisite influence on the popular
mind. In the Shenandoah Valley two armies,
which for magnitude and efficiency might almost
be matched with those of Georgia and Virginia,
after confronting each other for a while, have just
met in a conflict in which the Federals claim the
victory. But it is from Petersburg, if from any
quarter, that decisive intelligence may be antici-
pated. The partial success or confirmed failure of
Gen. Grant's operations would act with immediate
effect on the temper of the North, and the expects.
tions of the Federals are heightened by the report
that a great battle in those parts is actually immi-
nent. Recent information has revealed, with more
clearness than formerly, the purpose of Gen. Grant
in his late proceedings. After a fortnight of pro-
found inaction, he suddenly massed a heavy force on
his extreme left and threw it across the Weldon
ailroad, a few miles south of Petersburg. There he
immediately intrenched himself, and though he has
suffered some reverses and lost a certain portion of
ground, he has never been dislodged from the position,
or compelled to quit his hold on the line. With
this exploit he has been apparently content, as if the
possession of the reilroad on this point would sooner
or later compel his adversary to come out of his
intrenchments and venture an attack under certain
disadvantages. The manoeuvre, in fact, somewhat
resembled that of Sherman's at Atlanta, though it
has not yet been productive of similar results. Sher-
man, by occupying the railroad between Atlanta
and Macon, cut off the supplies on which the gar-
rison of Atlanta depended, and compelled General
Hood to sally out with his whole force in the hope
of dislodging him. But this hope was vain—
Sherman held his ground against ail attack—and
while Hood was thus expending his strength, a
Federal corps, left in observation before Atlanta,
marched in and occupied the empty city. At Peters-
burg none of these consequences have hitherto fol-
lowed. The supplies of the garrison have not been in•
tercepted, and after the lapse of nearly a month, the
" military " situation remained substantially un.
changed. The important point to be now ascertained
is the force of the stress which is thus put upon
Petersburg and Richmond, for on this would depend
the tactics of the Confederate commander. The
railroad running due north from Weldon through
Petersburg to Richmond is not the only line by
which these towns can b 3 supplied. The Danville
line enters them from the west, and itis also obvious
to suppose that the rich crops of the Shenandoah
Valley protected by the Confederate force under
General Early would find their way down from the
North. Still, the Weldon line is a most important
one, for it connects Richmond and Petersburg with
Wilmington and Charleston, and thus enables
General Leo to draw munitions from those ports
for the use of his army. At present this resource
is not indeed lost, for the Weldon line is still open
to the station at Stony Creek, about 20 miles south
of Petersburg, and from that point supplies are
brought up to the town under strong escorts of
Confederate cavalry. Nevertheless, the inconve-
nience must be considerable, and though the
Northern people seem to attach singularly little
importance to Grant's position, there are not want-
ing indications of a different opinion on the part of
General Lee. Not a word was said at Chicago or
New York about the occupation of the Weldon line
as constituting or prognosticating a Federal suc-
cess, and Grant's name was left almost without
mention in electioneering speeches, But Lee has
twice attacked the Federals with his usual vigour,
though less than his usual success, and it seems to
be anticipated that he will take the initiative once
more. In this case Grant's strategy would certainly
have been in some degree successful, but there are
circumstances which require attention before the po-
sitions of the two armies can be properly appreci-
ated. Grant's army is strongly intrenched on the
Weldon line. No sooner had the Federals seized
the position than, as described by an observer on
the spot, they " worked like beavers" to protect
themselves against attack, and they have since had
a month's time to strengthen these defences. If,
then, Gen. Lee becomes the assailant, he may run
the risk of fighting under those disadvantages which
have so often proved fatal in the campaigns of this
war. " Whoever attacks," said Sherman, at Atlanta,
" is beaten." But it is not absolutely necessary that
Lee should attack in this fashion. Grant in wheel-
ing round Petersburg has described about a third
of a circle's circumference, from a point in the north-
east to a point due south. But the north-eastern
point is one of great importance to him, for it is on
the James River, by which supplies reach him easily,
and across which by means t f pontoons he can at
any time throw his whole army and menace Rich-
mond instead of Petersburg. It was at this point
that the right of his army was stationed, a con-
eiderable force being also encamped on the northern
side of the river, but his left, under these circum-
stances, did not rea within five or six miles of the
Weldon Railroad. For the sake of occupying this
railroad, he massed his army, as we have said, on
his left—that is to say, he withdrew the troops from
the north side of the James, and then pushed his
left, thus heavily reinforced, on to the Weldon line.
He did not, however, withdraw his right from City
Point, and therefore, by extending his left so far, he
proportionately lengthened his whole line insomuch
that his army, which was formerly stretched over a
position of 12 miles in length, now covers a line of
18 miles. That such an extension could have been
effected without weakening the line at some point
or other is hardly to be supposed, and the oppor-
tunity would not be lost on so able a commander as
Cteneral Lee. It is obvious that he may leave
Grant's intrenchments untouched, and content
himself with piercing the Federal line at some
point betsceen its two extremities. If such an attack
were successfully executed, Grant would find him-
self with his army cut in two, and his communicae
tion with the James River intercepted. Perhaps,
also, the notorious straits of the Federial armies at
this moment may induce General Lee to turn the
occasion to advantage. Sherman and Grant make
no secret of their losses or of the urgency of their
needs, and the draught, it seems, is to be enforced
in pursuance of their reiterated demands. The latest
advises, too, represent Sherman as on the move to
reinforce Great. The Confederate commander may
prefer, therefore, to attack his adversary before he
is reinforced, and to profit by the weakness which
has been openly confessed. Otherwise it was appae
rently his best policy to leave Grant unmolested,
and to allow him to retreat at his own time with the
discredit of failure when the visitations of the
season rendered his position untenable. If Grant has
now compelled his antagonist to move, it is his first
success in the campaign, and the only wonder is
why he did not try the experiment, as lie might
have done, before he had wasted an army in efforts
which were hopeless. What events may be now
impending it is impossible to predict, but it is at
this point that the interest of the war is concen-
trated for the present.
POST.—We notice with regret the reappearance
in the columns of the local journals of those out-
rages upon the persons and property of others
which are usually headed " desperate poach-
ing affrays." That the preservation of game, espe-
cially upon a very extensive sc Ile, has its draw-
backs as well as its advantages no one will deny
who is really conversant with all the ins and outs
of a confessedly difficult problem; But the real
evils of high preserving lie in a very different
direction from those R hick form the stock.in-trade
of a certain class of sentimentalists, who are not
without their mouthpieces even in the Legislature,
As between tenant and landlord, there is often a
good deal of real hardship inflicted, for the most
unintentionally, in getting up a " good head of
game." Where lands are avowedly let at a
" game rent" there is, of course, no ground for
complaint. Where they are not, the matter
frequently resolves itself into a direct conflict of
testimony between the tenant and the keeper, each
strongly prepossessed in favour of his own view
of the case, and tolerably confident in his own
assertions. Sometimes, there is no doubt, the fare
tner hardly gets fair play, and suffers serious losses
in a bad year by damage which, even it be not dis-
puted, it is next to impossible to estimate accu-
rately. In the great game preserving districts the
question is better understood, and therefore more
easily arranged. But it is not so everywhere, and
real hardships are often suffered upon a property
where a change of system takes place, and a
squire who cared for nothing but the hounds is suc-
ceeded by a son who has a decided penchant for
battues, or, still more so, by a man who has no taste
for shooting himself, and lets his covers and stubble
fields to some city magnate, whose object is to do
the greatest possible amount of execution in the
shortest time. As, however, between the preserver
of game and the poacher the case stands very dif-
ferently. Of course we are all familiar with the
conventional type of the latter interesting indivi-
dual, as he appears in the pages of the cheap press,
and even in the works of some authors who, like
Mr Kingsley, ought to know better. But the real
Simon Pure differs widely from his sentimental re-
production. Far from being a struggling
-,:11:

the capture of au occasional hare among his "7n
„.
cabbages, he is, in nine cases out of ten, either the
ii
ptofessional bandit of his vicinity or a well'Pelu
operative from a neighbouring town. Of the former
class there is really little to be said. Unwiliiug to
work, but not ashamed to beg or steal, they bell
to a clan which is always in trouble. They have
just as great a penchant for the farmer's hen roost,,
as they have for the squire's hares and pheasant!,
and will take whichever are to be obtained a Ito
least trouble and least risk to themselves. Tuei
are men almost invariably well known, both to the
local police and to the officers of the county gaol. la
which they spend a considerable part of their leisur3
time. Now and then they plan a regular expedition,
with a few others of the same kidney. But
is
general they are not gregarious in their habits, and
prefer poaching when they can, alone and upon the
sly, to coming across men by every one of whom'
they are well known, and, if not captured on the
.
spot, are certain to be marked down within the neat
twenty-tour hours. They are a class with whom!.
troublesome and in some respects even dangerous ae
they are, the law is quite competent to deal, and
with whom poaching is merely an alternative forc
some other unlawful pursuit in which they would
be otherwise engaged. The real disturbers of the
public peace are the organised gangs which exist la
all great towns for the especial purpose of plan,
dering the neighbouring covers, and which do not
necessarily draw all their recruits from those who
are known to the police under the general none
clature of the " dangerous classes." These ra.ey,'
there is no question, would, many of them, shrin't
from the idea of theft or .of highway robbery, but
have no scruples on the score of a moonlight exPern
dition for sweeping the covers of any large pro
1
prietor, or even of grossly maltreating those whose
duty it is to protect their masters' property
Their assailants are not unfreqnently men in the
receipt of excellent wages, who go out in most in-
stances for a lark, and, perhaps, occasionally te,
gratify some personal spite against an individual
game preserver or gamekeeper. The ruffians who
are now in custody for well-nigh beating to death
two of Lord Derby's keepers were miners froth
St. Helen's, who, after having spent a wet
night" at the public-house, sallied forth to plunder
and to maltreat any one who opposed thencl,
In many instances their cupidity is stimulated by a,
promise on the part of some notorious receiver 01
stolen goods to dispose of their ill-gotten booty et
a good price. In such cases the expedition is COo'
ducted on a more business-like footing. Scouts are
previously told off. It is arranged beforehand who
are to fight and who to run, while a light cart,
well horsed and judiciously posted, is in readiness
to receive and carry off the spoil. The gang them'
selves are under some sort of rude discipline, are
infinitely better armed than the keepers, are
troubled with no scruples about using their guns at
a pinch, and, having come from a distant locality,.
are, with few exceptions, not easily recognised, it
not taken in flagrante delicto. Such expeditions 85
these are, accordingly, entirely removed from the
conditions which can entitle those who take part
in them to take shelter under the plea of extenuat'
ing circumstances. They are simply freebootiog
raids, carried on in defiance of the law, and with
the premeditated intent of resisting to the utter:
most if any opposition is offered. So general is this
evil, and so serious are the effects of it, that it is
becnming quite worth while to consider whether
the old English legal doctrines with regard toierci
naturce be not susceptible of important modifiea"
Violas, and whether game should not be at once wade
property, and the theft of it treated like any other
theft. This, and such a trespass act as it would he
necessary to pass were the present game loc e
abolished, for the protection of property, would, to
all probability, be found even a more efficient check
upon the proceedings of the evil disposed than We
at present possess. Considering that, upon a rough
estimate, every pheasant which is killed costs its
owner at least 10s. per head, and often a much
larger sum, while they are in many cases literally
as tame as chickens, there can be no great hardsh;P
in securing the property in them to those at whole
expense they have been reared. With gratin'
game the case is rather more difficult. But even,
hares and rabbits are not in the habit
straying far from the covers in which they
f
were bred, and are fed either at the expense
their owner or of the cultivators of the adjoin"
ing lands. The latter, accordingly, are the 0019.1
other parties to be considered in the matter;
the question is one which ceases to concern that
portion of the public to which they cannot by all
possibility belong. It is high time that the whole
question should be put upon a satisfactory footing'
The idea that there is no particular crime in poach'
ing already obtains too widely, and is unhappily
fostered by many who ought to know better, Were
the egis of the law removed from game-preserving:
as such, and the poacher treated as a simple thiell
or, if he injured his captors, as guilty of an aggre;
vated assault, the temptation would be removed
which romance and a love of adventure have thrown
around what, after all, is, like smuggling, only a
nefarious trade.