The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-07 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF

LEWES, Wednesday Night
At the quarter sessions, this day before the Earl of Ch
cheater and a full bench of magistrates, the matter of the
prizefighters committed by the bench of magistrates at Mark
Cross, for taking part in the recent fight at Wadhurst, again
came before the Court, the bench of magistrates here having
deferred giving judgment upon an application made yester-
day by Mr. Edward Besley.
The defendants were in attendance, and it may be advis-
able to give their names :
'1 homes King, John Carmel Heenan, Thos. sayers, John
Tyler alias Bos Tyler, John Calvin Noon alias Jerry Neon,
John Macdonald, James Mace, and Robert Travers, were
called upon to answer an indictment for " riotously assem-
bling, together with divers other persone, to the number o
500 and more, to disturb the public peace, and riotously as-
saulting and beating the said Thomas King and John Came
Heenan at Wadhurst, on the 10th Dec., 1863.
Mr. Roupell and Mr. Willoughby, instructed by Messrs
Stone, Wall, and Simpson, clerks to the Rotherfield bench
of magistrates, conducted the prosecution. Mr. Edward
Besley, instructed by Mr. J. G. Langham, of Ucklefield, de-
fended Thomas King, John Calvin Noon alias Jerry Noon,
James Mace, and John Tyler.
Mr. Besley begged leave, before the defendants were called
upon to surrender, to renew the application he bad made to
the bench on the previous evening. That application had
been for a postponement of the trial of those defendants for
whom he appeared, and his lordship and the bench had de-
ferred dealing with it, in consequence of the absence of some
of the other defendants. He (Mr. Besley) understood that
those parties were now present before the bench, and were
able, therefore, to answer for themselves. He did not know
that it was necessary for him to repeat anything that he
said on the previous day, but would press upon the atten-
tion of the bench the fact of the depositions having been
signed at such a recent date, and the prosecution being at
the instance of one of the magistrates of the county of Suasex,
The depositions had bean taken on the 22d of Dec , and he
(Mr. Besley) thought he ought to put the bench ih posss-
sion of the fact that from that time up to almost the last
moment, indeed up to Monday afternoon, the parties were
all represented by the same solicitor, Mr. Thomas Beard, of
Basinghall-street, London; but owing to some disagreement
amongst the defendants themselves, as to the mode of ar-
rangement of the issue of this writ of certiorari, that gen-
tleman no longer represented Mr. King, and the other de-
fendants, who had since they had been in Lewes em-
ployed Mr. Langham, a solicitor at Uckfield, who now re-
presented them, and had instructed him (Mr. Besley).
The noble Chairman—Who do you appear for, Mr.
Besley, because at present the bench do not hear of any one
except the defendant King ?
Mr. Besley—l appear, my lord, for Thomas King, Jas.
Mace, John Calvin Noon, and John Tyler. He (Mr. Bes-
ley) felt sure that his lordship and the bench would forgive
him for saying, that men situated as the defendants were
might well object to tieing tried in the county of Sus-
sex., especially when they knew that the prosecution had
been instituted by one of the magistrates on the very bench
that would have to try them, and who was himself a prin-
cipal witness against them. He (Mr. Besley) thought that
that might well account for the application to Mr. Justice
Shee for the removal of the place of trialt and those who art
around him, would rather prefer such a course being taken,
if they considered it consistent with their duty.
The noble Chairman made a gesture of dissent.
Mr. Besley continuing, observed that he did not know
whether the writ of certiorari would:be granted, inasmuch
as the recognisances had not been entered into, but Mr.
Justice Shee had intimated that it would be granted upon
the usual conditions. On his own behalf he (Mr. Besley)
begged to urge on the bench that it was only on the pre-
vious day, late in the afternoon, that he had received his
brief, and he felt that he should not be doing justice to the
case by going into it at present. He, therefore, asked the
magistrates to exercise the discretionary power vested in
them, and postpone the trial till the next sessions. Beyond
that which he had already stated he would press upon their
attention the difficulty he felt in taking up such an imper-
taut case, and he really bad not had the necessary time to
examine thoroughly the form of the indictment or the legal
effect it might have upon his clients. lie therefore respect-
fully asked for a postponement.
Mr. Roupell hardly thought it necessary to say anything,
but felt bound to notice that the grounds upon which the
application for a postponement had been based on the pre-
vious evening were essentially different from those just
urged on personal grounds, which he (Mr. Roupell) would
of course at once have acceded to; but his learned friend had
put forward, as a new reason, that a fair trial could not, or
had inferred that it could not, be had in the county of Sus-
sex, and yet asked for a postponement to a time when it
would come before identically the same tribunal. With re-
gard to the writ of certiorari the bench knew nothing of it,
as though it had been so reported in the newspapers, those
reports could not always be taken as exactly correct. If it
had been desired tc remove the trial the writ could have
been completed and served upon the Court, who could have
dealt with it. As to his learned friend having been so re-
cently instructed, that fault lay with the defendants' attor-
ney, who neglected his duty, or with defendants themselves,
who did not urge the matter on. The prosecution ought not
to be put to additional expense; nevertheless if the applica-
tion rested on the fact that the parties were not prepared to
go on with the trial, he felt, on the part of the prosecution,
that he could hardly resist the application.
The noble Chairman observed that the bench wished to
know whether those defendants who were not professionally
represented agreed in the request preferred by Mr. Besley
on behalf of the others.
A. consultation then took place between Mr. Charles Bush,
Mr. Coney, Heenan, Sayers, and the others, which resulted

Mr. Bosley informing the noble earl that all the defen-
dants agreed in the application for a postponement.
After conferring with the other magistrates,
The Earl of Chichester said—As it appears all the defen-
dants concur, the Court feel that that being the case, they
are justified in postponing the trial. For myself, I confess
I do not think the grounds are very strong ; but if they all
concur, we will grant it. Of course the parties must renew
the same recognisances.
The required bail having been renewed, the defendants
left the Court, Heenan and Macdonald returning to London
immediately,Tom Sayers betaking himself to Brighton,Tom
King remaining to indulge in a constitutional over the
downs, the invigorating air of which he had so much reason
to be grateful for in his recent contest. The crowd that
thronged the court quickly dispersed when the heroes of the
hour had vanished, and Lewes was left to its wonted quie-
tude.

LIIDGA.TEBILL.—A suggestion has been made in
the Builder for raising the whole line of street in the valley
of the Fleet from Blackfriars-bridge. The gradients of
Ludgate-hill and Fleet-street would be thus improved, and
it might be then practicable to carry the much-deprecated
rail gay under, instead of over, the main approach to St.

TIMES —ln the earlier period of the American
war the Federal land forces received very effective
support from the gunboats on the rivers. More
than once the flotilla that accompanied the march
of the troops proved of essential service. The cap-
ture of New Orleans and a full share of the other
successes of the Northern Generals on the Missis-
sippi were due to the co-operation of naval officers.
Bat of the later incidents of the war the Federal
fleet, though immensely increased in number, has
not borne so prominent a part. The blockade of
the Southern coast has been kept up strictly enough
to cripple the export trade of the Confederacy, if
not to close its harbours totally against contraband
enterprise. But of the combined operations of the
siege of Charleston the navy failed in the part as-
signed to it, and how complete the failure has been
the American public has only just discovered. The
truth has long been suspected from the inaction of
the fleet of ironclads throughout the summer and
autumn. It was, of course, folly known to the
heads of the Navy Department, but the Govern-
ment would not avow it, preferring to impute the
defeat of the Monitors by the land batteries against
which they were sent to Admiral Dupont. He was
recalled for not having succeeded, and insinuations
against his professional skill or capacity were re-
peated in the recent Report of the Secretary of the
Navy appended to President Lincoln's Message to
Congress. The admiral and the officers under his
command naturally resent the implied censure, and
appeal to the official returns of the condition of the
whole fleet after the engagement to prove that any
repetition of the attack must have resulted in its
total destruction. We have no interest whatever in
the dispute between Mr. Welles and the Admiral,
but very much in the question it involves as to the
power of land batteries to resist the attack of iron
ships. The first great experiment may not be
decisive, for we know that the American Moni-
tors were not the best possible vessels of the
kind. But it is the decided opinion of the
officers engaged that these irou:oased ships had no
chance against the concentrated firs of rifled artil
lery. From the first few minutes after the Monitors
came within range of batteries the result was evi-
dent. The ships could neither sustain the fire to
which they were exposed, nor return it with any
effect. The repulse was a severe disappointment,
for the Northern people had been assured, and were
very ready to believe, that the iron fleet was invin-
cible. The attack was made on the 7th April last,
and within a few days afterwards the return of the
damage sustained must have been in the hands of
the Secretary. But the facts were too discouraging
to be published. The truth was suppressed, and
the public assured that, with a few repairs, the fleet
would be in a condition to pass all the batteries and
steam "up to the wharves of Charleston." The
Monitors were not withdrawn, as it would have
been an admission of the defeat. They have re-
mained in Charleston Thly, useless for all the opera-
tions of the siege, which has been carried on ever
since the spring by the military engineers and the
troops. The snore batteries they have constructed
have demolished the external works of Fort Sumter,
bat this has not brought the assailing forces any
nearer the city. The failure of the Monitors was,
in fact, the failure of the biego. Of all the depart-
mente of the Federal Government, the administra-
tion of the navy is at present the most unpopular.
But we do not see why Mr. Welles should be blamed
for the miscarriage of the ironclads. The whole
fleet was only an experiment. The ships were has-
tily constructed, but on the model of a vessel that
had done good service. It was impossible to cal-
culate the power of the guns the Southerners
were placing in the forts. These have proved
heavier and of longer range than the Federal
shipbuilders anticipated. And it appears from the
reports that several ironclads manceuvring toge-
ther create difficulties not perceived in handling
a single ship. All the defects were discovered in
the two hours of trial. Unfortunately, they were
hours of battle, and what under other circumstances
would have been only the failure of an experiment
turned out a naval disaster. In BOOM of the details
the particulars of the damage sustained in the action
are instructive. We discover the weak points of the
invulnerable. They appear to be the " turrets" and
the " port stoppers." A single unlucky shot, even
if not heavy enough to crush the iron armour, may
indent the metal on which the turret revolves, and
stop its working. The ship is at once disabled, On
board several of the Monitors the turret thus " be-
came jammed" and immovaiele. The " port stop-
pers" were also frequently haenmered tight by a
shot, and could not be opened. A ball need not
pierce or smash everything in its way to inflict what
may be called a mortal wound on an iroeclad; a
comparative scratch " will do" if it reduces the re-
volving t urret to a fixture, or shuts its gun inaide.
Cnherwise the Monitors have greet powers of endu-
rance. Some of them received 30 and 40 shots in
the hull without material injury, though one blow
on the turret may disable the ship as a combatant.
Another defect discovered was that these monsters
are purblind. The captain of the Patapsco found
" the want of vision one of the most serious defects
of this class, making it impossible to fight them
advantageously, to avoid danger, or to make a 'satis-
factory reconnatssance." In different terms, other
officers make the same complaint, A good look
out is difficult. On board one Monitor the bell-wires
tb at communicated with the signal in the engine-
room were cut by a shot, and no orders could be sent
below. It does not appear that the heaviest hits do
the most serious damage, for there are portions of the
&tinge that cannot be protected, and if these are
touched the ship is practically useless. But in all uses
the safety of the crew is nearly complete. The loss
of life in the engagement was very trifling. Some
of the captains conclude the account of their da-
mages by a few general inferences on the efficiency
of the class of vessel they had fought under such
novel conditions. The commander of the Montauk
says, " After testing the weight of the enemy's fire,
I believe that Charleston cannot be taken by the
naval force now present, and that had the attack
been continued, it must have resulted in disaster."
Another captain thinks that Monitors carrying a
15-inch gun cannot attack batteries mounted with
heavy ordnance. The ships must come within a
range that would be fatal to them, Capt. Fairfax
"is convinced that although this class of vessel can
stand a very heavy fire, yet the want of more guns
will render them comparatively harmless before
formidable earthworks and fortE." He is " dis-
appointed beyond measure" at the result of this
experiment with the Monitors, but admits " it was
a fair trial." It is evident the new fleet of iron .cads
will do little more in the siege of Charleston.
POST.—The Chancellor of the Exchequer is a
ready, eloquent, and effective speaker on almost any
subject that comes before him. By none of our
great statesmen, Lord Palmerston excepted, has that
best gitt of oratcry which consists in the adaptation
of the speech to the audience been so remarkably
developed as by Mr. Gladstone. In a country
reading-room, as in the Imperial Parliament, be
carries his hearers along with him, fascinated and
spell-bound even when they are not convinced. The
earnestness of the man supplements the skill of the
rhetorician, and in the rush of words that dazzle
the senses there is a deep under current of thought
which penetrates to the understanding and asserts
an irresistible mastery over the mind. Mr. Glad-
stone is one of the greatest orators of the day, and,
happily, he is also one of the truest and most dis-
cerning of philanthropists. There is no clap-trap
in his "extra-parliamentary utterances;" nor does
he when he speaks to the labouring classes preach
discontent, or propagate agrarian theories, as is
the manner of some. He does not say one thing
is the House of Commons and another thing in
Flintshire, and that which he says every where is
practical and to the point, and it is said heartily,
kindly, and evidently with a desire to do good.
At Buckley, where he inaugurated a working
man's reading-room on Monday last, Mr. Gladstone
delivered an address which can be read with profit
in every similar institution throughout the kingdom,
any by all of the class to whom it was especially
spoken. It was exactly one of those plain, un-
adorned, yet always eloquent speeches which the
Chancellor of the Exchequer has the happy power
of making acceptable and agreeable. There was no
cant in it. It was not the speech of a Pharisee, but
of a man of the world. Mr. Gladstone did not run
down the publichouses ; but on the contrary, ad-
mitted that they had their uses, and that stimulants
taken in moderation were of the necessaries of life
to those who worked hard as he himself did. Nor
did he recommend reading-rooms as resorts in which
all the leisure hours of the working man were to be
spent; but, in pointing out that they offered faci-
lities for mental instruction which the men of this
class could not be expected to obtain at their own
homes, he took care to have it understood that home
duties were of primary importance. In short, be
took that view of the miesion, if we may so call it,
which he was advocating, that if taken more gene-
rally would, we are persuaded, tend to bring work-
ing men to a better appreciation of the benefits of
literary instruction than they appear now to pos-
seas. It is too much the fashion to speak of these
reading-rooms as if they were adult schools or
places of relaxation conducted on the " total absti-
nence principle." There is nothing human in the
manner in which they are commonly supported,
and the chairs and tables and second hand-news-
papers are all redolent of charity and direction.
They are not places in which the working man can
take his ease as he can at a pubtichouse ; and
t hough they seldom strive after it in the right way ,
there is nothing working men like better than ease
and independence. And it was to this feeling that
Mr. Gladstone principally addressed himself.
aking for his text-word economy, ho show,d, as
Pcmlab3iN 91 US cogently, that the working men had