The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-10 00:00:00

Louis Napoleon as a 'General,

Anxious, then, to do justice to 'Louis Napoleon's
tve
abilities, we must admit, after a "ducting the ad-
vantages he possessed in better tr )ops, better wog.
pons, more experienced generals, and irresponsible
authority, that he showed remarkable talent for
conducting military operations. His movements
Hweisre far fro
orderly and carefulpi d,
but a
d theynn
e w
on r
the 24th July, so different from the straggling
array of the Austrians, was a amain cause of the
victory of Solferino. And, setting aside the po-
licy of the flank march to th a Ticino, the
march itself, though not faultless , was reason-
ably well conducted, while the preliminary
feint and movement across the P o were exeel-
lently arranged. He showed, too,, a right judg-
ment in directing the mass of his fm!ce against Sol-
ferino. All these feats were surprisin gin a man who
not only then first held a command , but who then
first saw war, and who began his military career
with directing two great armies. lievertheless, we
think the march to Magenta fatal to his character
for generalship. We grant that at :any phase of that
movement, except when his army was astride the
Ticino, he had a reasonable chance of assembling
sufficient forces upon any point that Giulay might
attack, to have a fair prospect of victory. But a
gambler who should wager a hundred to one on an
even chance would be as likely to win as to lose ;
yet, if he did lose, his stake would be enormous com-
pared with his possible gain. Atrd this was the case
with the flank march; it was sh.owy, unexpected,
and therefore praised as brilliant ; but it was ex-
tremely perilous, and all the danger was run with-
out the prospect of a corresponding success. Nothing
bat the fighting of his troops, and the friendly aid
of that emissary from the Austrian Emperor to
Giulay, extricated him from a ponition that might
easily have been absolutely fatal. Neither was he
forced into this dangerous coarse ; on the contrary,
by moving on Mortara he would gain all that the
flank march could possibly give him, and without
risking his communications. We believe, then that
the sole reason for incurring the danger was the
hope of evading a battle. This is a very grave de-
fect in the character of a commander, who, though
he should, of course, be properly careful of the lives
of his troops, should never hesitate to gain an ade.
qaate advantage by fighting for it. Bat it is a
common thing to see generals, though regardless
of their personal safety, yet nervously alive to the
risk of engaging. Subsequent events seem to con•
firm this view of the Emperor's character. Oa the
sth June he hesitated, though with superior num-
bers and in face of a beaten enemy, to renew the
contest, or to pursue. Ho equally failed to
follow the retiring foe from Solferino ; and, lastly,
when another great pitched battle was imminent,
he made his overtures for pence, forgetting alike
his own proclaimed intention and the interests of
his ally. Should he, then, take the field in another
war, we should expect that his combinations would
be well calculated; his movements methodical and
accurate; bat we should doubt the resolution, not
of the man, but of the general, and we should ex-
pect that, opposed to a skilful and resolute adver-
sary, prompt and ready to fight, he might play for
a high stake and lose it.—Blackwood.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORFOLK CIRCUIT.—NORTHAMPTON, March 8.

Lord Chief Justice Cockburn and Mr. Justice Crompton
came from Leicester yesterday.
Thecae that has of late excited so much attention hail
gone off. It was a charge of wilful murder against William
Weekly Ball, a man 47 years of age, and described as a
butcher.

Mr. Sergeant Tozer, Mr. Douglas Brown, and the lion,
G. C. Vernon appeared for the prosecution ; aLd Mr.
O'Malley, Q.C., Mr. Keane, Q.C., and Mr. Metcalfe for
the prisoner.

In the year 1,',50 the deceased and supposed murdered
woman, Lydia Atley, was living at the village of Ring-
stead, in this county, where also resided the prisoner. For
some time an adulterous intercourse had been carried on
between them, the prisoner being a married man, and in
July of the year above mentioned the woman was near her
confinement. On the 22d of the month she was last seen
alive at about 9 at night, in company with the prisoner.
They were heard talking in his orchard, the witnesses who
heard the talk baying that she was refusing to charge any
one else with being the father of the child. Shortly after
groans were heard proceeding from the direction where the
talking had been going on, but no one seems to have at-
tempted any interference, or to have attached importance to
the circumstance. As we have before said, from that mo-
ment she was never again seen alive. Search was made,
but in a few days a letter arrived in the village from a man
at Northampton, saying that he had seen her walking with
a man in that town a day or two after the 22d July. This
being made public had the effect of to some extent lulling
the suspicion of the villagers, and ultimately, although
there was a very strong feeling that there had been foul
play, the matter was at rest. In the meantime the prisoner
removed to Thrapston, established himself as a butcher,
and at the time of his arrest was carrying on a good and
thriving trade. So many years had now passed that ho
might well have imagined himself safe from any accusation
in reference to Lydia Atley; but in the month of February
last some labourers were digging a piece of waste land by
the roadside, near the orchard before mentioned, and about
18 inches below the surface they came upon the skeleton of
a woman. It was lying face downwards. The bones were
collected, and on examining the jaw a tooth was missing
from the back of the mouth—a remarkable circumstance,
for but a few days before she disappeared a labourer, the
village dentist, had extracted ono at her request. No sign
of any child could be discovered. The man who wrote the
letter before mentioned now comes forward and says ho
wrote it at the request of the prisoner, and the story as to'
seeing the deceased in Northampton was utterly untrue.
It will be seen that the case is still only one of great
suspicion for beyond the tooth no further iudentification of
the skeleton can be arrived at. It now appears that where
the bones were found Gipsies have been in the habit of
burying, and, as if further to embarrass the case for the
in the same piece of ground, a
supposed remains of the woman
prosecution,
feet cution,
below last
where Saturday,
the
s
were found, another skeleton, that of a man, was found,
and yesterday two more were discovered. These are the
short facts of the case; and an investigation having taken
place before the magistrates, the prisoner was committed
for trial.
•

To-day a bill was prepared for the consideration of the
grand jury, but before it was sent to them
Mr. Sergeant Tozer stated that he had consulted with
the solicitor for the prosecution an I the counsel with him
in the case, and the result was that, seeing how incomplete
the case was at present against the prisoner, he should ask
that the recognisances of the witnesses be discharged and
no bill prepared. The effect of this would be that, in the
event of any fresh evidence coming to light, the prisoner
could again be apprehended.
Mr. Justice Crompton thought the course proposed a safe
and wise one, and mad an order accordingly.

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