The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-19 00:00:00

THAMES•

A MOST INCORRTGIBLE THIEF.—:Margaret Dattskin, a
most wretched looking woman, 52 years of age, who ap-
peared to be 80, was charged with stealing a waistcoat, the
property of Henry Hopkins, of 58, Cburch•lane, White-
chapel.

The prisoner entered the prosecutor's house, the street
door of which was open, and went into the yard behind. A
waistcoat, which had been recently washed, was hanging
on a line to dry. The prisoner removed it, and was leaving
the house with it, when the prosecutor's wife and another
woman saw her and gave her into custody.
Roche, the gaoler of the court, said the prisoner had been
a great many times in custody, and
shheeweaosum lay
afraid to
hersay
how many times she had been convicted. She had for many
pooryearsp
been in
andthe practiceatealtng oafnystnheiankging into the houses of
hands on. She was no sooner out of prison than she was
in custody. He believed nothing would ever stop her from
picking and stealing when she was out of prison.

An officer said the prisoner had been found In singular
positions in the houses of the poor. At one time she was
discovered at daybreak by a poor woman, seated on the tor
of a copper in the wash-house. She had been in this pee-

tion, and nothing could induce her to move until she was
taken down and removed by the police.
The magistrate said the prisoner was a dangerous old
woman, and committed her to the House of Correction fur
three months, and to be kept to hard labour.

The Suspected Murder by a Wife in Lambeth,

Last evening Mr W. Carter, coroner for Surrey, held an
inquiry at the Spanish Patriot Tavern, Lower Marsh,
Lambeth, touching the death of Stephen Weston, aged 34,
who was alleged to have been murdered by his wife on
Sunday last.
Mr Edwin appeared for Mrs Weston; and Inspector
Edmonds had charge of the case for the police authorities.
Elizabeth Sweetman was the first witness called—She
said that she was the mother of the deceased's wife, and she
lived with the Westons. Deceased was a tripe dresser and
dog's-meat seller. Ho occupied the house, 1, Johanna -
street, Lambeth. His wife, Sarah Weston, and four chil-
dren, the eldest nine years of age, lived with him. 'Witness
had lived with them three or four years.
Samuel Samuels, a cooper, was called, and he gave the
same evidence he had already given before a police-court.
He said that on Sunday morning he was in the street looking
on at a fight between two women, when he heard a cry of
"Murder," proceeding from 1, Johanna-street. He climbed
up on the ledge of the Spanish Patriot, and thus got on
the top of Mr Weston's shop window. A girl opened the
window and he put his head in. He saw by the light of
a candle Mrs Weston holding deceased's head and knock-
ing it against the handles of the chest of drawers. He was
partly on the floor and partly on the bed. He was trembling,
but not struggling. She knocked his head twice. Witness
said, "If you don't leave go, you coward, I'll knock you
down with this flower pot." She let go, and deceased's
head fell. Witness said ho is dead. She said to witness
" You have got up there to rob the place." She left the
room, and witness got down. She came to the door with
side spring boots on, and said, "I have get his boots
on now." She said she would lock witness up, and that he
had no business to interfere between her and her husband.
Witness had known them both to be of drinking habits.
She said one night last week that she would do for her
husband one of these days. She was drunk then. Witness
had heard her threaten him, and show him a knife at other
times when drunk. Deceased had only a shirt on as he lay
on the floor when his wife was beating him.
Mrs. Sweetman, re-called, said that she was at home on
the morning of the occurrence. The front room was the
sitting-room, but witness and three of the children slept in
it. Deceased and his wife occupied the back room. De-
ceased had been in and out of bed all day on the Saturday.
He had not been to business, for, witness thought, he was
out of his mind, 'Witness asked a policeman to come up on
the Sunday morning, but the officer would not. Witness
did not see him struck. She saw some one come to the
window. She had not called any one. She went to the
door, but it was only to get some one to put deceased into
bed, as he was out of his mind. Witness went upstairs,
and saw the poor man lying on the floor on his face. She
did not know whether he was then dead. He had jumped
out of his own bed, and come into the front room. 'Witness
did not call out "murder," nor did any one else. When a
person was in a deranged state, it would be natural to wish
some one to assist. She only wanted the police to keep
him in bed. Deceased had drunk two half quarterns of
sherry that day.

Elizabeth Frances Weston, an intelligent little girl, was
then sworn. She said she lived with her father and mother
at No. 1, Johanna-street. On Sunday morning all the
family were in the front room. Deceased had come in out
of the other room. He fell across the bed. Witness did
not see what caused him to fall. He was noisy, and he had
been out of his mind all day. Nothing was done to him as
he lay on the floor. Some one came to the window. Wit-
ness did not know why. Witness's mother was trying to
pick him up then. She did not strike him. She did not
beat his head against anything, His head was not near the
chest of drawers, but was right away from it. It was not
true that she struck his head against the drawers. No one
told her what to say,

The coroner said that great difficulties were caused in
this case by the arrest of the wife. This court had the
power to examine any one as to the cause of a death; but
by the wife's being taken into custody no statement could
be obtained from her. It was possible that she might be
able to explain how the matter really stood.

Dr, J. Wilcocks Wakens said that on Monday he made a
careful examination of the body of the deceased. There were
35 marks of violence. There were bruises such as a blunt
insrrument—a poker for instance—weuld have made, There
were other marks of injuries inflicted some days previous,
The injuries were principally on the limbs. The head
was puffy externally. The post-mortem examination
showed that the bruises on the limbs were superficial, and
not sufficient to ,effect vitality. There were the marks of
_ _ _

five or sis blows on the head, and blood was effused under
the scalp. The blows had been inflicted with a blunt

instrument of small superfices. Blood was effused on the
brain. Witness was decidedly of opinion that death was
attributable to violence inflicted on the head by a blue t
instrument; but the deceased was so diseased that very
little violence would have been sufficient to produce death.
In answer to the Coroner,

Dr. Wakem said that a person struggling violently in
delirium tremens might, if forcibly held down, sink back
and die of exhaustion. The two blows seen by the witness
Samuels were not in themselves sufficient to cause death.

There had been general violence. Witness considered i

impossible that the injuries could have been self-inflicted
in knocking about under the influence of delirium tremens.

After some further evidence, the court was cleared, and

the jury having deliberated for nearly two hours, it was

decided to adjourn the inquiry until Monday nest.

A fatal accident occurred two days back on the
Lyons Railway, at Saint-Romain-la-Motte. A
goods train, consisting of 80 trucks, ran off the line, and
about 24 of them were thrown on to each other by the shock.
he guard received serious injuries and died a few hours
later, but the breaksman jumped from his seat and was only
slightly bruised. Eight other persons were in the train,
but all escaped unhurt. The accident is supposed to have
occurred from a horse having broken through his box and
fallen on to the line. The poor animal was almost ground
to shreds, as traces of its blood were found between the
rails for a distance of nearly a mile and a half. Two other
horses were killed.

The Marquis de Turgot, the French Ambassador
in Switzerland, has returned to Berne, and re.
mined the duties of his pest.
" Austria," says the France, " has just met
with a financial check which has produced a
certain sensation. She wished to contract a loan
of 77 millions of florins (nearly 193 millions of
francs), and has only been able to obtain 23,500,000
thalers (a little more than 58 millions of francs.)"

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES
is to take the chair at the lecture to be delivered at the
Royal United Service Institution by Capt. H. W. Tyler,
R.E., on the subject of " Railways strategically consi-
dered."

THE KING OF PRUSSIA is going to Gastoin, in
the Tyrol, to take waters for the benefit of his health.
THE DANISH WAR.—A subscription opened in
Denmark for the widows, orphans, and wounded of the war
produced in a single day at Copenhagen alone upwards of
300,000 f. The King put his name down for 12,000 f. a year
durinea period of ten years.

The shock of an earthquake was felt on Thorne's
Creek, three miles east of Fort Langley, Fraser River, on
the 28th of February, at half-past seven in the evening.
It was accompanied by a hoarse, thundering rumble, and
lasted for about 30 seconds. The sky was at the time
clear and brilliant, and the atmosphere calm and mild.
So frightful was the commotion of the quick and awful
rockings as to make it a moment of great suspense as to
whether the beholder would be buried with the log shanty,
which cracked, rolled, and tottered around him, in a conglo-
merated mass of heterogeneous ruins.—British Columbian.
THE ALPACA IN AIISTRALIA.—The last accounts
from Australia state that the hopes which had been
entertained of the naturalisation of the Peruvian alpaca
have been disappointed, Of the 300 introduced by Mr.
Ledger from Peru, five years ago, and purchased by the
Government of New South Wales for £15,000, the whole
have died off, and their progeny, numbering 330, are in
an unhealthy condition. Some persons throw the blame
on Mr. Ledger for inefficient management, and others con-
sider that the mistake was in their having been kept all
together at one locality under Government care, instead of
their having been distributed among individual settlers,
some of whom would probably have discovered the precise
districts most suitable to them. During a discussion on
the subject in the Colonial Legislature nearly every speaker
was in favour of the Government immediately getting rid
of the cost of keeping them, and of having to maintain a
staff of officers to ittend to them, and a resolution was ac-
cordingly adopted that they should be disposed of as soon as
possible, either by auction or in any other way that might
seem expedient.

THE MINERS' STRIKE IN SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE.
—Yesterday an open-air meeting of miners was
held at Bilston, to receive a report from a deputation of
men who had been appointed to wait upon the masters
who had given notice to about 1,000 or 1,50 men
in the Bradley district for a reduction in their wages of 3d.
a day. Between 1,000 and 1,500 men were present; and
the deputation reported that those of the masters whom
they had been able to see all objected to withdraw the
notice, some of them saying that before they would do
so they would blow ou their furnaces. Several speeches
were then delivered, the burden of the whole being that
the masters were trying to oppress the men, but that the
men were determined that to the uttermost they would
resist the effort. Aid, it was stated, would be forthcoming
from every other mining district in the kingdom ; and
other trades' unions, it was added, had offered assistance.
The struggle would be the stronger because it was felt
that if the masters succeeded with this notice they would
give one all through South Staffordshire for a reduction to
3d a day. Similar views were expressed at three other
meetings.

Naval and Military Intelligence,

THE ARMY.

His Royal Highness the Field-Marshal Com-
manding-in-Chief will hold a Levee at one o'clock
on Monday next.

Major-Gen. Sir R. Dacres, K.C.8., accompanied
by Brigadier Major Hay, Assist.-Quartermaster-
Gen. Capt. Nangle, has just made his half-yearly
inspection of the troops at Warley barracks, near
Brentwood. The troops, to the number of 700,
executed several manoeuvres in a creditable manner.
At the close they were formed in close column and
addressed by the gallant majcr-general, who en-
forced the advantages and importance of temper-
ance. The general then proceeded to inspect the
hospital, married men's cottages, schools, barracks,
&c., all of which were declared to be in a satisfac•
tcry state, while the arrangements in the new block
of buildings, including the reading and recreation
rooms and sergeants' mess, were specially com-
mended.

The Woolwich division of enrolled pensioners, in
command of Major Mackinnon, yesterday went
through their annual official inspection on Wool-
wich-common by Col. J. Travers, R.A. The drills
commenced on the 6th inst., since which time the
whole force has been through a course of exercises
and manoeuvres in separate companies, in which
they acquitted themselves with great credit. They
yesterday mustered at the review ground in full
force, numbering 375 strong, and fired 10 rounds
of blank ammunition. The inspecting officer ex-
pressed himself highly pleased with the appearance
of the veteran soldiers and their steadiness under
arms, remarking that in case of emergency they
would form a most formidable auxiliary to act with
the regular troops. Their arms, clothing, and
accoutrements, be added, were all in good condition,
for which and for their correct manoeuvres he gave
them great commendation. He said he should not
fail in making a most favourable report of his in-
spection to the Horse Guards. The men were all hale
and active-looking, varying from 40 to 60 years of
age, 55 being the maximum age for their being re-
tained on the enrolled list of the corps. The majority
of the men are employed as mechanics and labourers
in the Arsenal and dockyard. Each man is allowed
a compensation for lost time—namely, as enrol-
ment money, and at the rate of 2s per day during
the drills to privates, 2s 6d corporals, 3s ser-
geants, and 3s 6d sergeant-majors. Their cloth-
ing is renewed every seven years. Major Mackin-
non formerly belonged to the 16th Lancers, and
is a most zealous staff officer. He has seen many
years active service, having been, as appears from
Hart's list, 10 years in India. He served through-
out the campaign of Affghanistan under Lord
Keane, and also in the campaign of the Sutlej in
1846. During the inspection yesterday the death
,of the late superintending officer, Sir Alexander
Tulloh was announced. He resigned the post on
attaining his rank as Major-General, and died on
Monday last at Winchester of inflammation of the
lungs. The announcement was received with much
regret.