The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-05 00:00:00

SURREY THEATRE.

The winter season of this favourite theatre com-
menced on Saturday last, but during the recess
the spirited lessees, Messrs. Shepherd and James
Anderson, have worked a miraculous change in
the interior of the establishment. Every corner
has been rer,ovated, and the " front of the house"
and "proscenium" now presents a very striking
and brilliant appearance. A great improvement
has been made in the arrangement of the boxes,
the centre of the tier being converted into box
stalls, and in which the occupant is indulged wiih
one of the easiest of easy chairs and other conve-
niences that render this portion of the Surrey per-
fectly singular, Three rows of very comfortable
pit stalls have also been made, so that, for a very
trifling additional fee, the visitor to this portion of
the house can secure as much comfort as the most faa•
tidious could desire. The decorations are in the best
taste, and with the new act drop, the coup d'oeil
was really magnificent. The opening pieces were
Lover's laughable Hibernian farce, " The Happy
Man," the five act play "Civilisation," and Byron's
successful burlesque " Fra Diavolo." In the first
piece Mr Montgomery made a very successful debut
as Paddy Murphy. In " Civilisation" Mr James
Anderson assumed his favourite character of Hercule
the Huron, which he performed with such spirit,
fire, and intensity thit the audience was in ecstasy
of delight. In the burlesque Miss Jenny Willmore
made her first appearance here, and from the favour
with which she was received she will soon become
an established favourite. The evening's entertain.
ment gave the greatest pleasure to a very crowded
house, and the applause that testified their admiral
tion was general and enthusiastic.
Various novelties were announced as ready for
production, the first of which will be a new drama,
with extraordinary effects, entitled " A Fight with
Fate," in which Mr Shepherd we believe will sus-
tain the principal part.

THE ABINGDON PRINCE CONSORT MEMORIAL.
—The Albert memorial at Abingdon, the founda-
tion stone of which was laid last autumn, is rapidly ap-
proaching completion, and its inauguration is looked for-
ward to with considerable interest, The base is quadrangular
and there will be a medallion of the Queen in each panel,
with bands of loses on the points at each angle. It will
support four columns of red Mansfield stone, upon the
angles of which the British lion holding the quartered and
emblazoned arms of the late rrince Consort and of her
Majesty will be carved,

COURTS-MARTIAL IN THE FEDERAL ARMY.—In
the weekly returns of courts-martial in the Federal
army, two officers are sentenced to be cashiered for drunk-
enness, three officers aro sentenced heavily for disobedience
to orders, two for conduct unbecoming an officer and a
gentleman. Here follow some sentences which speak for
themselves :—" First Lieutenant Moses A Powell, Ist
Michigan Sharpshooters, to be cashiered, with loss of all
pay and allowances due or to become due, his shoulder-
straps and buttons to be cut off and his sword broken in
presence of his regiment, and that this sentence be publ'_,abed
in some newspaper in the county from which ha came, for
cowardice. Major James H. Lane, 31st tilted States
Coloured Troops, to be cashiered, with 'Ass of all pay and
allowances now due or to become dv his shoulder-straps
and buttons to be cut off and his sword to be broken in the
'co
presence of his regiment, and be confined at hard labour
at the Dry Tortugas or ot`.ter Government work, until the
expiration of his terr-, of service, for cowardice. Hard
labour at Dry Tortugas, &c., to be remitted.—. Army acid
Navy Gazette.

HORRIBLE DEATH. —On Saturday morning
Matt'aew Cornish, aged 18 years, son of a contractor
and builder at the Isle of Dogs, Poplar, met with his death
by falling into his father's lime-kiln while in the act of
supplying it with a fresh supply of atone and coals. The
fact of his not returning home the previous evening led his
father to suspect some accident had occurred to him, ar,,j,
upon examining the kiln, ho found the halt consurarA re-
mains of his son lying on the burning fuel. So r-ompletely
had the fire done its work that only a portion of the body
remained; the legs, arms, and head had disappeared, the
bones alone being left to tell the melancholy tale. The ac-
cident in all probability occurred from the inhaling of car-
bonic acid gas while stooping over the kiln.
CIIILD MURDER.-0a Saturday afternoon Dr.
E. Lankester held an inquest at th.e Walmer Castle,
Stingo-lane, Marylebone, on a ne,,,dy -born female child,
which was found wrapped up iu a parcel in the enclo-
sure of Bryanston-square. T',,e body was found by the
gardener, who stated that at,out half-past eight o'clock on
Thursday morning last b:d went round the garden to clear
is of anything that might have been thrown over the rail-
ings during the ni6af. He thought this parcel was a dog
or cat tied up, 13':a on undoing it ho found it was a child.
came across dogs and cats, which he buried
He frequentl-d
immediate',s% The coroner said it had come to his know-
ledge ttat some of the gardeners to the various squares
were, in the habit of burying the dead children as they did
the dogs and cats, and thus concealing the fact of the dis-
covery. He thought within the last two or three weeks there
had been a diminution in the number of exposed murdered
children, which he believed was attributed to the publicity
given to such cases, and the rewards offered by the parishes
in which the children were found. Mr Quinney said that in
the parish of St. Marylebone there were then four rewards
of £5O in each case offered for the discovery and conviction
of the murderer or murderers, A police-constable having
deposed to receiving the body from the gardener and con-
veying it to the workhouse, Dr. W. F, Fuller, resiaent
medical officer to Marylebone workhouse, deposed to ex-
amining the body of the deceased, which was that of a very
fine female child. It was firstly wrapped up in calico, and
then had an external covering of brown paper. Round the
neck of the child there was a piece of twisted calico about
a yard long, which was very tightly tied in a bow,
causing the eyes and tongue to protrude. The brain and
lungs were congested, and the right side of the heart
was full •Jf blood, the left lung empty, The lungs
were fallyiinflated:and floated readily in water, together
with the heart and thymous gland. The child had lived
an'l breathed perfectly. The cause of death was front the
r,ord round the neck producing suffocation by strangulation.
The jury returned a verdict of " Wilful murder against
some person or persons unknown." The calico and paper
covering, together with a milliner's bill head, which was
found on the thigh of the child, were then handed over to
the police, in the hope that they might be useful in detect-
ing the murderer.

THE COLLIERS' STRIKE IN SoUTEI STAFFORD•
SHIRE.—For more than two months a strike has
existed among the miners in the district west of Dudley, in
consequence of the coalmasters having given notice that
they intended to reduce the wages of the men from os a day
to 4s 6d. About a fortnight ago there were indications that
the strike was coming to a close, many of the men having
gone in at the reduction, and many more showing a dispo-
sition to return to their employment on the same terms. By
great exertions, however, on the part of the leaders of the
men not only were all those who had returned to work in-
clued to rejoin the strike, but many more who had up till
then been at work were persuaded to take the same course.
The result is that there are no fewer than 5,000 colliers on
strike at the present time ita the above district,