The Sun.
London, England, 1852-11-01 00:00:00

Ann

LONDON, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1852.

"Extreme cases make bad precedents." The apoph-
thegm is well founded, more especially in relation
to the criminal law. Justice should be administered
without passion or excitement. Judges and jurymen
should, so far as practicable, divest themselves of the
ordinary feelings of humanity—not suffering them-
selves to be influenced either by compassion for a
prisoner, or horror at the offence with which he is
charged. In the olden time frequent appeals were
made to juries to interpose between the stringent
severity of the law and the prisoner. The act with
which he was charged might have been committed
under what our continental neighbours term " ex-
tenuating circumstances," which, although they could
not justify, might materially lessen the grasamen of
the crime. The skilful advocate would create a deep
sympathy for his unfortunate client, who had perhaps
previously maintained an exemplary character. Every
peint that could be urged was strongly insisted on,
and acquittal was often the result, although totally '
opposed to the evidence, and despite the salutary
warnings of the presiding judge. The consequences
of this undue leniency were of a serious description.
It is the certainty rather than the severity of punish-
ment that strikes terror into ofienders, and thus re-
presses crime. The chance of acquittal served in a
great degree to remove the wholesome terror that
should ever be maintained, and a great increase of
the chess of offencee in which the " humanity" of
juries was usually called into operation, was the re-
sult.

It is needless to cite examples of teis fact. For-
gery—so long as it continued to be a capital felony,
In which the extreme sentence of the law was almost
invariably carried into execution, and homicides by
duelling, may serve as familiar instances. Numerous
cases occurred in which the injured parties refused to
put the machinery of the law into operation, declining
to prosecute or even forfeiting their recognizances,
rather than place the life of a fellow creature in jeo-
pardy. While verdicts in direct opposition to the
facts of the case, were by no means uncommon. A
prosecution was rarely instituted against any of
the parties concerned, in a fair duel, sometimes when
the survivor had evinced a great want' of discretion,
offering grcsa provocation to his opponent, or refus-
ing a reasonable apology. A verdict of manslaughter,
3
returned in obedience to the lair of honour, rather
than to the laws of the land, might mark the indigna-
Lion of the jury. As a general rule, however, the
Oleic() WAS sanctioned, and it consequently became
a fashionable amusement. Scarcely a week elapsed
in which accounts did not appear in the public jour-
nals of some " affair of honour" that had been con-
ducte l to a satisfactory conclusion, while a person
Who bad just been committing a capital felony, by
firing at a fellow-subject with intent to kill, strutted
along the streets and highways as if he had been en-
gaged in a most laudable transaction. If the duel
terminated fatally, the party might possibly go out of
the way for a time, until the views of the family of
the deceased were knownrand it had been ascertained
whether they would act in a gentlemanly lugener

There was, however, but little if any search for the
delinquent, and the required assurance was rarely
long withheld. It is needless to say how completely
matters have been changed, by a few stringent
verdicts. There has been a complete revolution in
public opinion, and the man who at the present day
sent or accepted a challenge, would be exposed to ge-
neral censure, in place of the party who neglected
what was termed " the vindication of his honour" by
a personal encounter with his adversary.

But if in these instances " hard cases made bad pre-
cedents," and that the results were exceedingly inju-
rious to the best interests of society, much more per-
nicious would be the straining of the law beyond its
legitimate bounds, for the purpose of ensuring the
punishment of some unmitigated ruffian, whose atro-
cities had excited the just indignation and disgust of
all to whom they were revealed. There might be no
doubt of the moral guilt of the party, or that he had
richly merited the most stringent punishment; but it
should be inflicted in strict conformity with the law,
and a precedent should not be established that might sub-
sequently be made available in cases of a very different
character, and against comparatively innocent persons.
Better that the greatest ruffian that ever disgraced
society should escape with comparative impunity, than
that the law of the land—the great palladiums of our
national liberties—should be in any degree strained.
If necessary, a special statute might be enacted, as in
the case of JONATHAN WILD, but there should be no
tampering with the existing law.
The case of JAMBS CANNON,' the chimney sweep,
who was on Wednesday last, capitally convicted at
the Central Criminal Court, for a brutal and unpro-
voked assault on a police constable, named DWYER,
affords a strong illustration of this principle. No
person could feel sympathy or compassion for the
truculent scoundrel. His previous atrocities consti-
tuted him the terror of the neighbourhood in which
he resided. There was a reckless ferocity exhibited
on many occasions, more particularly on that which
formed the subject of the indictment, that placed him
beyond the bounds of civilized society. his very
name was a byeword and reproach—notorious in
every police court and station in the vicinity. He
habitually yielded to his ungovernable temper, and
was indifferent to the consequences either to himself
or others. No penalty could be too severe for such a
wretch. He was just the sort of person that a despot
might order for instant execution, without exciting a
feeling of compassion for the sufferer, or regret at the
occurrence. The exemplary conduct of his latest
victim, poor DWYER, too, increased the horror felt
against his ruthless assailant. He was affording
assistance at the moment of the savage onslaught, and,
though so severely injured, he exhibited a degree of
forbearance beyond all praise. It was, indeed, an
extreme case in every sense of the phrase, and it is
not from any sympathy with the convicted monster,
but in order to prevent a dangerous precedent from
being established, that we consider it an imperative
duty to direct public attention to the subject. It
must be borne in mind, that CANNON was not de-
fended by counsel—an omission that should never
take place in capital felonies. Thera was,
therefore, no opportunity for any person of com-
petent ability commenting upon the language of
the statute, or explaining the nature of the " intent,"
and the overt acts, by which that " intent" could be
determined.

The circumstances of this case are so fresh in the
public recollection, that it is quite unnecessary now
to set them forth. The counsel for the prosecution,
in opening the case to the jury, declared that it " was
one that would ordinarily have been prosecuted in the
form cf an aggravated misdemeanour, and he dwelt
some time on the conduct and declarations—exclama-
tions might have been a more correct phrase—" of the
prisoner during the time of the occurrence," to show
the spirit by which he was animated, and to establish
the criminal intent laid in the indictment. The
Learned Judge who presided laid the case very fairly
before the jury. He explained the nature of the
Statute 7 WM. IV. and 1 Vic., c. 85 s. 2, which was
to the effect, that if any person should administer poison
or other destructive thing to another, or.stali, cut, or
wound any person, or by any means whatever cause to
any person bodily injury, dangerous to life, with intent
to commit murder, such person should be guilty of
felony, &0., and, being convicted, should suffer death.
Now, it appears to to that the cns,e is question did
not come within the provision of the statute—that the
" means" resorted to should be gasdean gencris, with
those previously referred to, such as poisoning, stab.
bin,, cutting, or wounding, or that, at least, acme
instrument or weapon dangerous to human life, and
likely to prove fatal, should be resorted to. His
Lordship declared, that " it was the first time in his
experience that an indictment had been framed on that
statute (or, we venture to assert, on any similar one),
in which no weapon had been made use of. On the
4th section of the same statute it was considered ne-
nessary that some instrument should be used ; so that
when the defendant bit off the prosecutor's finger, it
was held not to be a wounding within the statute (R.
v. Stevens, 1 Mood, c. c. 409 ; R. v. Harris, 4 Carring-
ton and Payne, 446.) It is right, however, to add, that
the words " other means " are not included in the 4th
section.

If the jury could have convicted of a minor offence,
we have little doubt that they would have availed
themselves of the privilege ;' but, unfortunately, the
difficulties which arose in the case of the BIRDS had
led to an enactment which prevented such a crime.
They should either find him guilty on the full charge,
or acquit him altogether ; and hence the verdict of
which we cannot help complaining.
It would be impossible, within the compass of an
article, to point out the consequences that may follow
from this novel interpretation of the law. We may,
however, illustrate it by saying that in every prize-
filht or pugilistic encounter, where death results, the
parties may be capitally convicted, and that the use
of the knife and other deadly weapons will receive
great encouragement from this verdict of an English
jury.

On the part of Lord DERBY and the present COk •
servatians Administration;we beg permission to return
sincere thanks to the Edinburgh Review for its last
article on Representative Reform. It appears that
the obsequies of Protection are to be celebrated prior
to those of the Duke of WELLINGTON ; that the
QUEEN herself, indeed, is to be chief mourner, im-
diately followed, of course, by her PRIME MINISTER
and her CHANCELLOR of the EXCHE4.2UER, and a very
large accompaniment of mutes; and although a
little uncontrollable grief is feared on the part of
sonic country cousins, it is nevertheless fully expected
that the grief will be interred with the remains of the
deceased. No party strife can of course be tolerated
daring the two funerals; but these being over, Lord
DERIAY'S campaign will begin in earnest. Now as
he will be able to choose his own position, and as he
has defences which can long withstand a pretty vigo-
rous opposition, we do not see why be should not
make the best of his advantages. It will be impos-
sible for the EX-PREMIER to summon the League to
his rescue, if the Queue's Speech, and the movers
and seconders :of the Address, do really dispose of
the question of Protection. The leaders of the
the League, to do them justice, have never
shown the least solicitude for office. They were ready
to back any statesman, Sir ROBERT PEEL or Lord
JOHN, indifferently, if either would carry their object
for them. Their first hot zeal against Lord DERBY
was due entirely to the belief that he would try to
unsettle, as far as he could, the;results of their seven
years' labours; or that he might be compelled by his
supporters to do it. In proportion as they saw that
he was sincerely determined to abide by the vote of
the country on their one question ; saw too that the
Genius of the Cabinet was availing himself of the
Budget as a magic spell to silence the last hopes of
Anti-Free-Traders,—they became less and less fiery
in their opposition, and some of them, to the great
dismay of the Whigs, began to talk of giving the new
Government a fair trial. The former, no doubt,
hoped as soon as they had opened their eyes from
their "Resignation fit," to see the,Treasury benches
all ready cleared for them by the Free-traders. The
Free-traders felt, however, no particular interest in
the family clique. They had been expecting security
against a reversal of their policy, by a large extension
of the suffrage to the classes most interested in
cheap food, and a sweeping eeinolition of their
enemies' strongholds, the nomination boroughs; utterly
disappointed in this, they
naturally lost all confidence j
iu the Whig Dliniger who deceivedha

and were quite content to go on with practical legisla
tion, and to bide their time. They have much of that
feeling still. We expect that the great meeting at
Illaikchester will show considerable unanimity of feel-
be slow to trust in Lord Joule's hands. They
ing amongst the Reformers, on points which they will
will
want a vary large and real extension of the suffrage
an easier node of registration ; a fairer apportioument
above all, they are determined to
otoflreerpatreesnenotnaietivewßgeform Bill without the Ballot; am?
on most of these points, especially the last, and the
one preceding it, Lord Jones, notwithstanding all his
declamation at :Perth about democracy, is as they, and
we too, believe, r, o more inclined to concession than
the PREMIER himaelf. Lord Joins has not often, so
far as we can remember, transcended the Edirtburgh
Review and we feel little doubt that the writer of
the late article on our representation was aware in
generals, and perhaps in details, of what the Noble
Lord would like to offer to Reformetrs. Some becom-
ing differences, deducted to save the
credit for inde-
pendency of the writer and the statesman,. And we fancy
the reviewer is not far from the meaning of the Perth
laudations of Democracy. If so, we again toy that we
think the Earl of DERBY is much indebted to the re-
viewer. Ile, too, will know what to offer to Reorm-
ers. Mr. DISRAELI has declared himself friendly Eo
including intelligent operatives within the limits of
an extended suffrage. Mr. Wanrons, we know, would
have no personal objection to giving votes even to
militiamen ; and Lord DERBY may well believe that
to stem democracy the best course may be to enfran-
chise the elite of the masses. If so, the Edinburgh
Rceiew will furnish him with some useful hints. A
main object of the article we allude to is, to show that
the middle classes are the chosen constituency of the
Reform Bill (Lord DERBY'S own Bill, be it remem-
bered, as much as Lord Joins's) ; that by cutting off
gradually the old freemen and potwallopers, and
abolishing so many nomination boroughs, it diminish-
ed the power of the aristocracy on the one hand, and
of the populace on the other ; while by enfranchising
the ten-pound householders, it created a large middle-
class constituency. Nov, this was Lord DERBY'S
work. This work he could consistently carry on ;
and the reviewer contends that another Reform Bill
ought to move in the ruts (we will not say on the
rails) of the old one. Moreover, the reviewer shows
how this may be done. He selects various classes of
persons, against whose admission to the franchise
we believe that the greater part of Lord DERBY'S
supporters would raise no objection whatever.
He proposes to enfranchise all the members of the
three learned professions, all officers in the army and
navy, all schoolmasters, all who pay, or may have to
pay, direct national taxes ; all these classes but the
last would be, of course, an education suffrage, one
which the most Conservative member of the present
' Cabinet would hardly object to; while most per-
sons paying direct taxes are already included
in the present constituency ; it would merely fa-
cilitate, in some cases, sustaining a claim to be on the
register. The reviewer goes, however, a little fur-
ther; he would put on the register all persons who
could prove satisfactorily to the Revising Barrister that
they were possessed of the clear sum of 501. invested
in Government securities, in a savings' bank, or in the
purchase of annuity. He would not, indeed, object
to 501. worth of property, in any form, conferring a
vote ; but he thinks the above-mentioned form the
only ones susceptible of easy verification ; and as 504
invested in a freehold gives a vote, there appears, he
truly enough conceives, no reasonable objection to its
giving a vote if invested elsewhere. Here, again, we
think Lord DERBY would be as liberal as the Whig
organ. Men who had saved and invested SO/. would
at least approximate very closely to the class Mr.
DISRAELI declared himself willing to enfranchise.
The reason which the reviewer appears to assign
for preferring the extension he advocates, is one too
which must find favour with the head of the present
Ministry, and the part author of the Reform Bill.
The voters thus created will be, he observes, of the
class most resembling the middle classes, even such of
them as belong nominally to the working classes ; on
the same :ground he suggests the enfranchisement of
all managers and superintendents of labourers, over-
lookers and foremen, &c., in factories. Ho discussed
the propriety of a small number of members elected by
working men exclusively, as their representatives, but
thinks they would prove a knot of obstructives ; ales
whether by double election workmen might net elect
electors, and these again the members of Parliament
(as in Norway), the fatal'objection with the reviewer
is, that there is but one step between this and the
awful abyss of universal suffrage ! In both these
views Lord DERBY will agree with him. We have
no doubt, moreover, that his Lordship and Mr.
DISRAELI still more, would look favourably upon the
suggestion which first appeared in the Spectarlor, and
is much approved by the reviewer, of a certain num-
ber of nation* represent.t2i#es, to be elected by per-
sons who shall request the Revising Barrister to
strike the name out of the local list, and insert it in
the national list ; the object being to provide an
opening for that superior class of candidates, who,
though all intelligent persons wish to see them in
Parliament, are not popular with any constituency,
because, as independent thinkers, they cannot swallow
the entire creed of any party. For ourselves, we
frankly own that there have been many indi-
viduals excluded from Parliament, whom, in a local
election, we could scarcely have supported, but whose
absence from Parliament we deeply felt, and for
whom, as national voters, we could have given our
suffrage gladly.
We must pass over the reviewer's redistribution of
the franchise. Again, the Conservatives are much in-
debted to him for his ingenious special pleadings for the
Arundels and Honitons, and other little places, called
indeed towns—but, in fact, nothing better than large
agricultural villages. Places, for the moat part, with
a lord or a squire, and a clergyman ; but no library,
no news-room, and no mechanics' institute. " They
are places having a peculiar character."—Yes, that of
insignificance. The Ballot, though he thinks it pru-
dent not to be too contemptuous, he evidently dislikes
as much as the W. 8., who wrote to FRAIL, of Shrews-
bury, for
ago,
manfovir D.hiecrhbyiloWweomuledn tsiounpe,edr,sead short
oi rt
its
time
a fethsaeplan by
necessity. lie would send round to all the electors
an officer, attended of course by the agents of the
candidates, to receive in a box, with a slit in the
top, voting papers left at least 24 hours previously
(the plan adopted in nUoting Poor-law Guardians
in Sectland.) This, he shows, would prevent a good
deal of the bribery, which gots to its worst about
2 p.m., on the polling day, and prevent also much of
the excitement and drunkenness. Be it so. Yet, since
the papers are signed with the name of the voter, and
published in the poll-book, can it prevent that cruel,
that guiltiest of bribery—intinaidaticr.. We have:
known such numberless cases in which the most
estimable members of society have been compelled to
violate their religious or conscientious convictions by
a barbarian, a political Laoner, under the name of a
landlord, or a master; we have :seen their mental
anguish sometimes, with such sorrow, that nothing
can satisfy us but the protection of the Ballot for
those who are commonly the beet voters in the whole
community. The mercenary and the indifferent, who
cares about them ? but the conscientious man who
thinks for himself, ought to be surrounded by j every
safeguard the Legislature can furnish. Lord JOIIN
and his reviewer must add to this pretty little sub-
terfuge two things. One, that the voter is not to sign
his name to the voting paper; another that he is to
inclose it in an adhesive envelope, before he puts it into
the box. Then, my Lord, we may begin to think of
asking you back, that is, provided you pledge your-
self more surely than you did to the Appropriation
Clause, to carry the Ballot, or to resign office.
Meantime we see at present no reason why Lord
DERBY cannot offer us nearly as good a Reform
Bill as Lord Joins and his reviewer ; and, if so, we
also see no reason why, after completing their legal
and other reforms, they should be driven from office
on the Reform question. The reviewer has furnished
what Lord DERBY at first appeared to wish for, a
check for Democracy only, and it will suit Lord
DERBY better, for the very reason that it will be held
to be a liberal thing from him, while it is in reality
nothing but a spring buffer to save the Parliamentary
train too violent a shock.

A remarkable paper of a political character adorns
the current number of Blacku•,ood for November. It
has especial reference to the state of parties during
the lapse of the recent "Holidays." The writer

oexf ualuttstivinenry_nceetiuerbarlaltyinogveirts tmherritescoallseettLir
inotferthamel lulleaof
tl
nually set apart by general consent as a ti v
1 national relaxation. He has, generously enough,,
however, a commiserative glance at those unfortunates
who are necessarily compelled to " remain in bond-
age " while the rest of the world are recreating
themselves on the sea-shore or upon the continent,
compelled by an inexorable destiny to perform tasks
which are wholly indispensable, Feelingly does he
e ma as
nit though
h.s3oY;owleietlfiroamn esyoemteo ur
lojnog• pnaasltisbm; bfietetleirnlgylyr
eisscpweorries;encte—"
than Tunisian iulniwsirsinteslleaavdreerys.,,dung the
Hrieigh-hol deg-daysß
But
then the people have this satisfaction in the circum-
stance that there are AROUS eyes ever on the watch,
even when the walls of Parliament are as silent and
as desolate as those of OPIAN'S " Old House at
llome " Balclutha. Reverting to the consideration
of more tranquil regions than the offices of the daily
newspapers, the writer in Blackwood talks to us
rather distractingly of the luxuries of a stroll over
the heather, away from the roar of politics and even
the thought of the Legislature. He reminds us plea-
santly of the only two notable interruptions to the
pervading stillness immediately after the general
elections were completed. Lord Joust RUSSELL'S
movements in Scotland, when he went about recently
pscking up stray burgess tickets" in his progress
from Cart to Stirling, and from Stirling to Perth—
are duly noticed with a sort of " aside " lamentation
that no letter WAS written this time by the Whig
leader from the good old city of Edinburgh. Prince
Louis NAPOLEOWS movements in Southern France
areithen referred to in terms worthy in their elevation
of tho serene And stately judgment of our contempo-
rary. This reference is acknowledged by MAGA to
be " a practical rebuke to the blindness of those who
could see in this extissordinary man nothing more
than the feetures of a common adventurer." We can
perfectly well Understand, by the way, the feelings of
exaltation prompting the monthly organ of the Der-
byites to "have at " the various discomfitted mem-
bers of her MAJESTY'S Opposition. We have before
now expressed our doubt, however, of the policy, to
say nothing of the indecorum, of pouring cut invec-
tives upon.the head of a defeated antagonist. Fortu-
nately, we observe in the present strictures of our
contemporary a certain degree of moderation both in
tone and in treatment. Instead of noisy vituperations
as in October, we have little more than sly badinage
in November. Sir JAMES GRAHAM is no longer
railed at like a political pick-pocket. He is simply
bantered, as though the satirist were not altogether
unconscious that he was treating of a distinguished
statesman and an illustrious administrator. Lord
JOIiN RUSSELL is not soundly " rated " as you
might reasonably expect to be rated yourself, sup-
posing you were brought some fine morning into
sudden collision, cheek-by-jowl, with one of the
delicate purveyors of fish at Billingsgate. The
ex-Premier is satirized, it is true ; but the sati-
rist does not appear to be altogether unconscious that
he is directing his jibes at one who not long since di-
rected the affairs of the Government of the British
SOVEREIGN. We rejoice over this change in the man-
ner of our esteemed contemporary. We rejoice o'er
the abandonment of a style of abuse which derogated,
in no inconsiderable manner, from the dignity of its
reputation. The article upon which we are here
commenting, for instance, contrasts agreeably enough
with the stormy diatribes which not long ago dis-
graced the pages simultaneously of both B/ackwood
and the Quarterly. As to the former of those two
periodicals, its present tone, we take it, is rather more
in accordance with what might but reasonably he
looked for in an organ presumed to express the senti-
ments actuating the leaders of, or at any rate the
sympathizers with, a dominant Administration. Not
thus vociferously and coarsely, we have been gratified
to observe of late, has argued the daily organ of the
DERBY Government. Indeed, the tone adopted during
the lest few months by the 21Iorning Herald, cannot
but have struck the attention of the more dispassionate
class of observers, as contrasting honourably for that
journal with the virulent antagonism and blustering
vituperations indulged in by some amongst its Tory
contemporaries. Happily, however, Blackwood seems
to be at last tardily repentant. It no longer throws up
the mudiof gratuitous insult in the:direction of Netherby :
what though it still amuses itself by casting a slimy
pebble or a casual potsherd in the way of jests and
insinuations towards the constituency of Carlisle, for
inasmuch as it chances to have become the consti-
tuency of the Right Honourable Baronet the ex•ex-
Home Secretary ! Our contemporary, again, no
longer condescends to hurl the brickbats of person •
ality at Mr. COBDEN, or at Mr. BRIGHT, though it
appears to compensate itself for this tardy not of self-
denial, by flourishing a bunch of stinging nettles in
the shape of cooked statistics before the eyes of those
who are the moat unlovely of all politicians in his
estimation, the school of economists generally nsso-
elated in the Tory mind with the people of Manches-
ter. Even when alluding first to the arch-enemy
among all on the side of the Opposition—late the Prime
Minister of England--th© writer contents himself
with mentioning him humorously as one whom the
Derbyite3 have long come to look upon as "a choleric
fellow, who would take his own way in spite of every
remonstrance." So far good. The change is un-
questionably, in every respect, a change for the
better. And we rest satisfied that it is one, moreover,
more acceptable to those prudent rulers whom the maga-
zine is avowedly desirous of maintaining in authority;
more welcome to the heart of Lord DERBY ; more
agreeable to the wariest of his colleagues ; and cal-
culated, in fine, much more effectively to secure the
realization of the chief of the popular wishes—not those
of party squabblings or of factious contention, but
rather those evolved by the genius of patriotic states-
manship in the blessings of a good, and the advanta-
ges!of an energetic, Government.

ECCLESIASTICAL COURT.—The Law Times says
that the Government intend to bring in a measure for the
entire reform—if not for the abolition—of the Ecclesiastical
Courts, so far as respects all their jurisdiction that is not
strictly ecclesiastical.

SWEARING IN OE LORDS JUSTICES ON SATURDAY.
—A privy council was held in Dublin Castle yesterday, when
the Lord Chancellor, the most Ilea. Dr. Whately, Archbishop
of Dublin, and Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Blakeney,
commander of the forces in Ireland, were sworn in lords
justices during the absence cf the Lord-Lieutenant, which,
it is said, will extend to three or four weeks. The sudden
visit of his Excellency to London at the opening of Parlia-
ment has given rise to various rumours and conjectures here.
THE NEW LEGAL YEAR.—Term begins on 111195-
day, and with it all the interest that will result from the first
trial of the new procedures, both in law and equity. The
common law courts commence the legal year with the
smallest list of arrears ever known. Altogether there are but
forty-seven, distributed thus : —ln the Q.B. 24; in the C.P.
;in the Ex. 17. Of those in the Q.B. 16 are especial cases
and demurrers, 4 are new trials, and 4 appeals from the
county courts. In the C.P. there is one demurrer, 2 are en-
larged rules, and 3 are new trials; and in the Ex. the spe-
cial paper has 5, the peremptory paper 3, and the new trial
paper 29, including one that stands for judgment. Of course,
the beginning of the term will produce some motions for new
trials growing ont of the last assizes, but beyond these there
is no prospect of business to occupy half the term.—Lard
Times.

FINE AND LOSS OF LIFE AT Pilmurs's Fs
ANNIHILATOR WORKS.—YeAerday the premises of the " An-
nihilator" Company, in Battersea-fields, were ravaged for
two hours by a destructive fire. Air. Braidwood last night
drew up the following official report of the occurrence:—
" Oct. 31, 1852,111 a.m., called to fire in Battersea-fields,
near the Workhouse. On arriving found tho premises known
as the stores and even houses of Phillips's Patent Fire An-
nihilator Company on fire. The flames were extinguished
by firemen. Engines that attended : Five Brigade, one of
the parish, and that of the West of England Office. The
premises and their contents destroyed. Cause of the fire
supposed to be from a defective flue." Unfortunately it is
to be added that a poor woman, named Garrard, aged 54, the
wife of the watchman, lost her life in the flames. She had
gone to a cupboard for some domestic purpose, when she was
overtaken by the flames, the outbreak of which probably were
accompanied by the generation of some suffocating gas, which
disabled her from retreating in time to save her life. When
found after the extinction of the fire the body was shockingly
disfigured. A largo number of " annihilators" were en the
Premises, which were not long ago the scene of a number of
experiments designed to exhibit the efficiency of the inven-
tion in cases of fire.

SINGULAR ACOIDENT—Mr. G. S. Brent, the
deputy-coroner for Middlesex, held an inquest, on Saturday
!fist, at the Led Lion public-house, Twickenham-common,
Twickenham, touching the death of Thomas Finney Pichols,
aged twenty-eight, which occurred in the following singular
manner:—lt appeared from the evidence that the deceased
was a milkman, and resided with his father, who keeps a
small market-garden in the above village, and on Wednesday
afternoon last he got on a ladder for the purpose of repairing
the roof of a pigsty which let in the rain, and being subject
to epileptic fits, when, having taken off a considerable por-
tion of the moiling, he was suddenly attacked by one of the
fits, by which he fell off the ladder through the roof, pitching
with his head into a small pot, containing about three-quar-
ters of an inch depth of water. Being stunned by the fall,
and as no assistance was at hand, he turned with his face
downwards into the water, by which the passages of the
mouth and nose were stopped, and the deceased was soon
suffocated, in which position he was found by his father, who,
not hearing him at work, was induced to go cut to look for
him. Medical assistance was immediately obtained, but life
had bean gone some time. A verdict is gcco.liinvi with the
above evicivace WM returned,

7710.41-AS _HOOD'S GRAVE.

THOMiS HOOD —the gay, the gentle, the bright-
eyed, and large-hearted _THOMAS HOOD—is at last to
have raised over his mouldering dust some token of
the popular gratitude. NERO, monster as he was,
had flowers scattered over his grave by some unknown
hand as the sign of affectionate remembrance. Why,
therefore, should not HOOD, the poet of humanity—.
eshy should not HOOD have his monument ? Happily,
that question has lately been asked by one whose
voice has not pleaded in vain. The goodly work
has been projected by a woman, and a kindred spirit ;
and perhaps, among the list of living poets, none
could have more zealously and gracefully effected
it than &ma. COOK. A short time since a few
simple and graphic verses from the pen of this
lady, written from the heart, told us that not
even the commonest memento—a slab or a head-
stone—marked the spot where HOOD is reposing at
length in deep and everlasting tranquillity : scarcely a
fortnight has passed by since a committee was orga-
nized to redeem the admirers of genius from that
lamentable charge of negligence—and already nearly
two hundred pounds have bee❑ collected to defray the
expense of erecting some tardy tribute of recollection.
Cordially, and with unaffected emotion, do we rejoice
at this, because THOMAS Hoop was, to our thinking,
one of the truest and noblest samples of human nature
—ea brave heart beating warmly through a weary
life—the energy of a man and the sensibility of a
woman, audible to the world in every pulsation !
There is scarcely a man of letters recently deceased
whose name is cherished more generally, certainly
none more deservedly, with such genuine and earnest
feelings of endearment. OLIVER GOLDSMITH IS re-
merabered even now, it is true, by a generation sub-
sequent to thatiof the JOHNSONIAN era, with kindred
sentiments of tender and yearning admiration. But
we can never forget with poor NoLL his babble and
his gaucheries. The popular affection for THOMAS
HOOD has none of these drawbacks to enthusiasm.
We are required to make no allowances while we
commend in his instance the sparkle of the wit and
the music of the poetry—we think of him merely as
of one whose writings have called forth alike so often
our tears and our laughter. As such we remember
him with gratitude, no less than with admiration.
Here, at the grass-mound under which he lies in
liensal-green Cemetery, he commands our homage,
for in his life did he not command our sympathies ?
Every one who has listened to the melody, and the
pathos, and the sweetness, and the solemnity, and the
benevolence of his "Bridge of Sighs," will answer, Yes.
Every one will reply in like manner, who has loved
(and who has not ?) that wonderful lyric of his" The
Song of the Shirt," who ha-, listened to the chimes
of the " Workhouse Clock," or has glanced over the
grotesque and innoeent humour of the " Annual," or
lingered among those quaint but exquisite conceits
which he showered about with equal prodigality in
prose and in metre, through the wide range of cur
periodical literature. Happily, in this matter, the
majority of tho world thinks with us ; and we may
now look forward with confidence to the successful
completion of the enterprise upon which a few ear-
nest admirers of THOMA.S HOOD have recently adven-
tured—that of raising over his honoured dust some
appropriate evidence that he is borne in the national
recollection. Already, nearly half of the sum pro-
posed to be collected to this end, has been subscribed
with the most , gratifying promptitude,—insomuch,
that we rest assured the remaining amount must
be very speedily forthcoming. Those who have
participated in the undertaking when it shall
have attained its intended consummation, will
recal the fact of that participation with no un-
enviable emotions--emotions only subordinate to those
which cannot fail to be experienced by the fair and
rarely-gifted originator of the enterprize. They will
remember that they at least have offered to the noble
and beautiful memory of THOMAS HOOD, the posthu-
mous panegyric of an epitaph carved upon no mean
or fragile monument.

AMERICAN Mau..—The United States mail steam-
ship Atlantic, West, commander, will sail for New York on
Wednesday next, with the mails, &e.
STEAM BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND LISBON.—
Messrs. W. Wilson and Son have announced their intention
of running a line of first-class screw steam-ships the Cormo-
rant, the Gannett, Albatross, and Pelican, between this port
and 1.6b0n. The nrdt steamer will be the Gannett, Capt.
Sullivan, which sails on the 13th inst.
GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA.—It was rumoured
to-day, in Liverpool, that Lord Ragland (Lord Fitzroy
Somerset), the present Master-General of the Ordnance, will
be Lord Dalhousie's successor as Governor-General of India.
THE CRYSTAL PALACE OF 1851.—The ploughman
is busy at work in Hyde Park, where the palace stood, pre-
paring the ground for grass seed, which will be sown in a
few days. Except some pillars of granite and lumps of coal,
upon which the ominous word " Lot" may be seen, nothing
remains of the structure or its contents. Will there be no
memorial erected to mark the spot where it stood ?
TERMINATION OF THE BOOTMAKERS' STRIKE.—On
Saturday, the unfortunate dispute between the masters and
men in the " Strong Bootmakers' Strike," which has existed
since the 18th of October, when about 900 men struck, was
amicably settled. It appears that a meeting of the masters
and men, twelve on each side, took place, and the confer-
ence lasted fourteen hours. Both sides appear to be satisfied
with the arrangement that has been entered into between
them.

THREE MALE PERSONS FOUND DROWNED.--On
Saturday morning, shortly after 11 o'clock, the body of a
young man, apparently about 19 years of age, was found
floating in the river off Limehouse Hole, in the parish of All
Saints, Poplar. About noon, information was received by
the summoning oflicer of the same district respecting the dis-
covery of the body of a man named Edward Skinner, aged
34, in the import basin of the East India Docks. A third
body was picked up the same morning in the Limehouse cut
of the River Lea.
THE LATE Duna.—As a striking proof of the in-
terest created by this sad event in this locality, we may men-
tion that her Majesty the Queen and his Royal Highness
Prince Albert, in one of their recent drives, proceeded to
Priest Hill, and stopped for some time in their carriage
while the spot where Cournet fell was pointed out to them by
their attendants. The field where the duel was fought is
the second from the road, and is close to Runnymede, where
the Egham races are now held. Until within the last day
or two, a small heap of straw marked the spot where the un-
fortunate victim fell. The place selected for the fatal ren-
centre was a deep deli, completely shrovded from public view,
except at one particular spot. had the whole of the sur-
vivors fled, the body might, in all probability, have remained
undiscovered for months.
Tun TURF.—No less than 313 horses passed the
judge's chair at Newmarket last week.
DEATH OF SIR EDWARD STANLEY. Sir Edward
Stanley, the premier knight of Ireland, expired at his
residence, Groat Brunswick-street, on the 27th instant.
Sir Edward was knighted in the year 1809, on the occa-
sion of the jubilee, when the late King George the Third
attained the 50th year of his reign. He took an active
part in the proceedings of the old corporation, by which
he was elected one of the sheriffs of the city, and sub-
sequently selected for the lucrative office of inspector of
city prisons. Sir Edward acted as the friend of Mr.
D'Esterre, in his fatal duel with the late Mr. O'Connell.
Sir Edward was also, for many years, a leading member
of the Royal Dublin Society, and was, it is said, the ori-
ginator of those periodical exhibitions of arts and manu-
factures, which have led to such important results both
in Ireland and other countries.
BRIGHTON RAILWAY.—It is rumoured that Mr. Laing
intends to resign the managing directorship of the
Briehton Railway, but not to leave the board.—Hera-
path,
DIRECT TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION BETWEEN
ENGLAND AND EUROPE.—The establishment of direct
telegraphic communication by means of the Submarine
Telegraphic Compeny's land line from Cornhill to
Dover, and thence by submarine telegraph to Calais and
Paris, and 200 of the principal cities of Europe, is to
take place on Monday next.
EFFECTS OF FREE TRADE: The expenses of the
Banbury Union have been greatly reduced since the
year 1845, when they were in round numbers 17,0001.
This year they have been 12,0001., the reduction on the
year being 1,6001.
DEATH OF A JOCKEY IN IRELAND.—An inquest was
held last week at Cashel, on the body of Christopher
Colgan, a jockey, who was killed the preceding day
while riding a steeple chase at the races in the vicinity
of that town. The horse struck a fence with his chest,
and fell back over the unfortunate rider, breaking the
spine of his neck, his jaw-bone, and two ribs. The ver-
dict was acoidental death.
DETERMINED SUICIDE BY A WAITER.—On Satur-
day Mr. Wakloy held an inquest in St. Mary's Hospital,
Paddington, on Joseph Turncock, aged 31, late a waiter at
the Bell, Kilburn. On the 14th inst. he was found lying in
a pool of blood, in the long room of the tavern, and a knife
and razor beside him, with which he had cut his throat from
ear to ear. He was sensible, but could not speak. The Jury
returned, in the case of Turncock, the following verdict :
" Deceased committed suicide, but what was the state of his
mind at the time there is no evidence to prove."
f 'FORTUNATE ESC APe.—Saturday afternoon, between
four and live o'clock, a young French lady, attired in a riding
habit and hat, mounted on a spirited horse, riding through
Regent-street, accompanied by a gentleman, and followed by
a groom, had a narrow escape of her life, as the horse, be-
coming restive, reared suddenly and threw his rider. She,
fortunately, escaped with a slight bruise and a torn and soiled
habit. The gentleman, having seen that his fair companion
was unhurt, changed horses with her, when the lady, nothing
daunted, remounted, and rode away laughing at her disaster.
SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY.— Mr. Wyndham
Harding has resigned his office of secretary to the
South Western Company, and it is not at ail improbable
that other changes in the management and direction of
the affairs of the company will shortly take place. The
traffic on the trunk line is at present so large that the
greatest difficulty is experienced in keeping pace with
the increased requirements of the public, and it will re-
quire all the energy of the company to carry out the
mimeo requisite for this purpose.

MONEY AND COMMERCIAL N 72

CITY, Twr, o,CLocir.
The sales of cotton at Liverpool on Saturday,
amounted to 12,000 bales. The, market was quiet,
but closed firmly at full prices. 'Of American 1,000
were taken for exportation, anr7., 2,000 ditto and 100
Egyptian on speculation. The sales consisted of
9,000 American ; GOO Pern'am and Merenhain Gid. to
71c1.; 100 Bahia at 11. to 7d., 1500 Egyptian at
6,1,- to €qel. and GOO Surat at 4d. to 51d. Railway
shares were dull but firm.
The state of the Manchester market is thus de-
scribed by Messrs. M'Nair, G-treenhoes, and Irving:—
Coincident with the transactions in Cotton may be
said to be those in the manufactiered article. Seldom
or ever have we known them to have been of greater
extent at this season of the year, or indeed at any
other. The demand has been increasingly progres-
sive ; and though occasional comparative quiet char-
acterized the action of the market for a while, that
appeared to be on ty the result of heavy preceding
spurcetl ions. Stocks, of either cloths or yarns, wore
y ever lia,:eter at the close of the month than
they are at tFeis moment; and notwithstanding the
great advane:o which has taken place upon many de-
soriptiont of twist and cloth, the great bulk of the
spinnfers and manufacturers aro under contract until
the end of the year, and even beyond that period in
many instances.
The express in anticipation of the American mail
has arrived, and the advices she brings appear to be
satisfactory in respect to mercantile matters. The
letters are not yet delivered.
The Amsterdam stock market on the 80th inst.
was dull for Dutch stock, but at previous rates. In
Foreign very little was done.
The Conversion of the Spanish Debt Is open one
month longer to the holders.
The Stock Exchange being closed as usual on the
Ist November for a holiday, the halfayearly balance
being taken at the Bank of Engla'ad. Consols are
nominally 104 I. Turkish Loara are at about 3/ to
4 premium.
Railway shares are consielered firm, but no bar-
gains of sufficient rnagniti7.ae to establish prices have
been entered into.
The following let per respecting the Sambre and
Meuse Railway, is in reply to a special inquiry and
may be.interestiN to many, although, of course,••, to be
taken as the opinion of a party having a stake in the
concern:—.
" I hasten to answer your request for information re-
specting. the Sambre and Mouse Railway. When the
first steps of this line were made by the Belgian engi-
neers, in 183.5, they estimated the traffic at 500,000 tons
to a line of 5,000 metres. The development of industry
since this period proves that the calculations are below
the reality. To instance a single fact, I will only speak
of the traffic with France. The Belgian engineers have
estimated it in 1835, at 125,000 tons, that is to say, in
wines and heavy goods coming from France, and in coal
exported from Belgium by the means of the railroad.
But in this instance, the sole department of the Ar-
dennes takes 90,000 tons of coal, and the town of Rheims
50,000 tons. The cost of carrying these coals to Char-
'ovine and Meziers at present is 25 frs. the ton, and the
railway now proposes to take them there at the price of
18 to 19 frs. the ton. This reduction in price will double
the consumption of the Usines M6tal:6igues, which still
use wood.
" The heavy gocds and the wines will in all probability
increase 10,000 tons, so that the actual traffic by this
lino will be 150,000 instead of 125,000, which was the
estimate of the Belgian engineers. Relying then upon
these facts and comparing them with what has occurred
in all the Belgian railways, whose original value has
been estimated at 75 per cent, below their return, I be-
lieve I can bring, without any exaggeration, the traffic
of the Sambre and Meuse Railway from its opening to
six millions of tonnage, by reason of 40 centimes or 8
centimes the kilometre, this traffic will produce 2,400,000
frs. of teceipts. Calculating the cost of transit, &c.,
at 40 per cent., au estimate too large for the trawl-
port of merchandize, there remains a net- annual
return of 1,440,000 or 6.80 per cent. of capital on
21 millions employed for the principal line, and
its branches, The shares at 10/. per share will
produce then 13.60 per cent. This plain relation of
facts tells you, that I consider that the shares of the
Sambre and Meuse Railway will speedily reach 16/. per
share, and even par. If there is an excess of expendi-
dure in the construction, there is compensalion in the
surplus of the receipts, assured by the general move-
ment of traffic, which the opening in Franco of sevoral
lines we did not expect, promizes.
The railway meetings announced are the following :
—East Indian, Nov. 2, 50 Old Broad Street ; Leeds
Northern, Nov. 2, Leeds; Loudon and North IVest-
ern, Nov. 3, Euston Station ; Midland, Nov. 3, Darby;
York and North Midland, Nov. 2, York; York, New-
castle, and Berwick, Nov. 2, York.
The railway calls for this month aro as under :
Date duo. "Call."
eDijon to Besancon 1 42 0 0
Dundee and Arbroath, thirds 1
Fleetwood, Preston, and West Riding l5 ...... 010 0
Maryport and Carlisle, 4 p. cent. Prof~
*Namur and Li6ge, Prof 1
Norfolk Debenture Shares. 2O
Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton,
Pref. (2d
......... 30
*Paris and Lyons, Bonds, ................. 1
*Sambre and Meuse, 51 per cent. Pref. 1
*West Flanders, 5i per cent Pref............ 15
°The proportion called by foreign Companies is 466,6151.,
but the holdings of English proprietors aro net known. The
total:is about 614,000/. making 7,252,0001. this year.

The arrivals of beasts fre:th up from the norther°
grazing districts were seasonably extensive, though
somewhat less numerous than on this day se'nnight'
The primest Scots, &c., owing to their extreme scarcq:
sold readily, at an advance in the quotations of 2d Pn
81bs. In all other breeds, a fair average business vw,
trarmeted, although the weather was unfavourable, and
late rates were well supported.
From Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, and NorthamPten;
shire, we received 2500 short horns; from other Pal
of England,
400 Herefords, Runts, Devious, la.; en
from Scotland, 40 horned and polled Scots.
There was a further decrease in the supp 4 19f .0
breed; of Sheep,
especially Down qualities; h care, 0
demand for that description of stock ruled steady,
rise in prices of 2d
per sib. The primest old 1)0113i
were worth 4s 6tl per 81bs, and a good clearance
effected.
We had a steady, though not to say a brisk. inquiry
for Calves, at full rates of currency. The top 613 S"re
was 45 per 81bs.
The Pork trade was less active; noverthele3s"ricei
worn well supported.
IMPORTS INTO LONDON IN THE PAST WIWZIC. Pi
From Beasts. Sheep. Lambs. Calves.
Ilamburgh l7 . 372
Ostend ....... :.. .. 176
Nieu Diep 69
... 1,180 ••••
Antwerp
Amsterdam 7 ... 974 39
Dordt
Tonningen 7OB . 112
Bremen
55
Harlingen
26 1.5,0
Rotterdam
MI01..•• 79
Total 1,;361 .. 6,719 319 ••• 10
The Yearfy comparison of the weekly imports ~
under
1851, Beasts. Sheep. Lambs. Calves. Pig'
1,411 ... 7,037 ... ... 402 "a,*
ISSO 1,367 ... 5,419 ... ...295
184. J... 1,149 2,615 107 •••
1848. ....... .1,222 ... 5,247 ... 326 .•
1847

....
sk,toso
'
• vi ~, -.
.r-44.:
. . ._,,kr,roe,-: . c
~...e...2r, -...z AV •' 1