The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-05 00:00:00

THAMES.

Arr IRISH ROW.—Catherine Briant, an elderly woman,
was brought up on remand, before Mr. Woolrych, charged
with violently assaulting and wounding Mary Leary.
The parties live in an Irish colony in Glasshouse-build-
ings, Rosemary-lane. On the night of the 25th ult., after
keeping up Boxing-day, Mrs. Briant invited Mrs. Leary
into her room, whch she had no sooner entered than she
called out " Take that you theiving w--," and struck her
a violent blow on the head with a poker. Mrs. Leary fell
senseless at her neighbour's feet, and was revived only by
finding her finger in Mrs. Briaut's mouth. The prisoner
was biting her finger and lacerated it.
William Brown, 82 H, said that when he was called into
the house where the parties lived Mrs. Leary was covered
with blood, which was streaming down her face from a
wound on her forehead.

Mr. J ohn Comley, surgeon, 71, High•street, White-
chapel, stated that at halt-past 12 o'clock on Saturday, the
26th, or rather morning of the 27th, he was called to the
poor woman Mrs. Leary. There was a wound on her fore-
head an inch and a half in length, and penetrating almost
to the bone. The woman had suffered a good deal since,
and there was a very great effusion of blood.
Mr. Woolrych again remanded the prisoner until Tues-
day next.

ATTEMPTED MURDER —Samuel Ford, who was re-
manded on the 28th ult. for attempting to murder a girl
named Margaret Mahoney, at a house in Burton-entry,
White Horse-street, Ratcliff, was again brought up.
Mr. George King said, when the girl was brought to the
London Hospital, where he was officiating as house sur-
geon, she was bleeding from a cut in the neck behind the
ear. It was between three and four inches long. The
patient was not in a fit state to be removed.
Mr. Woolrych again remanded the prisoner until Wed-
nesday the 13th inst.

MARKETS--This Day.

HAY MARKZTS.

SMITHFIELD.—Meadow hay, £3 Os to £4 10s Od ; clover,
£4 Os to £5 108 Od ; and straw, £1 5s to £1 10s per load.
Trade steady.
CUMBERLAND.—Mea4ow hay, £3 Os to £4los Od ; clover,
£4 Os to £5 lOs Od ; and straw, £1 5s to £1 108 per load.
A moderate demand.

WHITECHAPEL.—Meadow hay, £3 Os to £4 108 Od ; clover,
£4 Os to £5 108 Od ; and straw, LI 58 to LI 10s per load,
A fair inquiry.

COLONIAL.

During the last few days there has been very little busi-
ness transacted in Foreign and Colonial produce; no
public sales have been held, owing to the market being
closed for the Christmas holidays. Business, however'
will be resumed to day. In the tallow market there has
been a more hopeful feeling, and prices for both present
and:forward delivery have shown an improved tendency.

LUCIFER MATCHES vice FLINT AND STEEL.—
Looking back at the old tinder-box of our boy-
hood is like looking back at the old wheel-lock muskets
we see in the Tower. On one or two occasions when
starting by the mail, the miseries of making a fire—that
middle passage, to a desolate breakfast in chambers—was
indelibly imprinted in our memory. The difficulty of hit-
ting the flint against the steel with due accuracy and
force, and the chances of abrading the knuckles in this
act, in the darkness of a winter's morning, are things the
youngsters of this generation are charmingly ignorant of;
and then when the priceless spark was obtained, the un-
happy Prometheus either had the mortification of seeing
" people and parson going out of church," or of blowing
the light tinder into his eyes in his endeavours to make it
kindle. What a piece of barbarism was the sulphur-
match I There are old women now in the street who
tbrast these abominations, done up fanwise, in your
face, evidently with the idea of proving how old they are.
But these preliminary agonies were small compared with
the attempt to light the rough faggot-wood of a past age,
often damp, and always too bulky to seize and retain the fire
applied to it. When we recollect all these dismal prepara-
tions which Betty bad to encounter in years past, and then
compare them for a moment with the manner in which
things aro made easy to our Abigails, we see that civilisa-
tion is not confined to a class, and that science is at work to
lighten the drudgery of the servant as energetically as it is
to increase the comforts and enjoyments of the prince. Who
invented the first lucifer -match ? We do not mean that
abortive nitric acil bottle and phosporus match, that as
often burned everything about it as it produced a light, but
the clean little lucifer. How is it that we know nothing of
the 'man who save millions all over the world endless
trouble, whilst we are so eager to cumber our market-places
with statues of obese alderman and purse-proud bankers ?
Spectator. _ _

THE "GRAND PRIX CUVIER," founded in honour
of the illustrious naturalist, and which is given
triennially by the French. Institute, has been recently
awarded to Sir Roderick Murchison, Director-General of
the Geological Survey, author of " The Silurian System
of Rocks," &c., &c. This is the first occasion on which
that honour has been conferred on a geologist, it having
previously been granted for advance made in the other
branches of science in whice, as well us in gtology,
Cuvier was pre eminent.

On Saturday evening last, Police•offlcer Linfoot,
who was on duty in the Rodley district, Bramley,
called at one or two public-houses, where he asked
for s hisky, &c., tendering no payment in return for
it. He then proceeded to some of the shops in the
village, and at Mr. B. Gott's went behind the counter,
helping himself to figs, nuts, &c., in a most officious
manner. The night being very cold, the liquors
appear to have had a powerful and exciting effect
upon him, for he afterwards threatened to take
into custody nearly every person whom he met.
Between 10 and 11 o'clock he met Joseph 3arnes, a
wool scourer, of Rodley, who was quietly proceed-
ing home, and pounced upon him, and in a most
cruel manner felled him to theground with his staff,
cutting his head in several places,and breaking his
jaw-bone. Some persons residing in the neigh-
bourhood hearing a noise, went out to see what was
the matter. Barnes was crying out, "Lord have
mercy upon me, he is killing me," the officer at the
same time kicking him in the ribs with his heavy
shoes, and replying, "If I haven't killed him, I will
do so before I have done with him." The man was
bleeding most profusely, and the neighbours assisted
him into Mr. Tbackray's, shopkeeper, the officer
beating his staff against several doors, making ir.-
dentations an inch in diameter. He then went
into Mr. Thackray's and insisted on taking Barnes
a prisoner to the police station at Bramley, a dis-
tance of more than a mile. The neighbours remon-
strated with the officer, but to no purpose, the
brutal policeman asserting that, "If he (Barnes)
died on the road he would take him." They arrived
at the police station about one o'clock, and the ser-
geant was called up. Barnes was found to be in a
very exhausted condition, and some stimulants were
provided by his friends who had followed. Mr.
Laycock, surgeon, was sent for, and on examination
he found seven cuts on the head penetrating to the
bone, the lower jaw broken, and many severe bruises
,on other parts of the body. Under his direction
the injured man was removed sbortly afterwards to
the Infirmary, and Liufoot was taken into custody
esterday, and conveyed to the Town Hall, at Leeds.
Our correspondent adds, considerable dissatisfaction
exists at Bramley, in consequence of the overbearing
conduct of some of the police officers stationed there.
During the past week, a ratepayer, holding an
official position in the town went to the police
station to complain of the conduct of one of the men,
when the sergeant, without any just cause, forcibly
took him by the neck and shoulders and pitched him
out of the office into the street. Another account
states that Barnes was perfectly sober when Lin-
foot—who, it appears, had been teased just pre-
viously by some men, one of whom had escaped from
his custody—came up to him and at once felled.him
by a blow on the head with his staff, and then re-
peated the blows in a most determined manner
whilst the man was on the ground. There are
numerous cuts on the head, all reaching to the bone,
and in one place the skull is fracturea ; the lower
jaw is also broken. The man is in a very dangerous
condition, but was able yesterday (Sunday) to give
his evidence before the Mayor, who, with Mr. Barr,
attended him at the Infirmary.—Leeds Mercury.