The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-31 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, AUGUST 31, 1863.

PF.rtieularly when this was coupled with the fact that it
'was proved that he admitted that on this night he was
" shied," and that he had only seen the backs of the persons.
Could they doubt for a moment what condition this man was
in when he was going home on the morning in question at
two o'clock or that even granting he did see two persons walk-
ing together, might he not have been very easily mistaken in
supposing they were Mr. Woolley and Crozier? The jury
would not forget that the witness Temple, his wife, and his
son were in Campden House at the time, and if Mr. Woolley
and
Crozierup to
bed,
had
wouldgonen outot
they after
have theyae
were
been
supposed
awareof
t o
have gone the
fact ? but yet they did not venture to say that the fact had
occurred. Both Mr. Woolley and Crozier were also well
known, and if they had been walking about Campden House
at this early hour in the morning would not some one have
recognised them ? It appeared to him, that after the con-
tradictions that were made by Ellis, and all the other cir-
cumstances, they ought not to place the slighest reliance
upon his testimony; and, while upon this part of the case,
he could not help thinking that it was rather a strange
thing that young Temple had not been called as a witness.
Ho played a rather prominent part in the proceedings that
took place after the fire was discovered. He was present
when his mother jumped out of the window; and the only
way in which he accounted for his absence was, by suppos-
ing that if he had been examined his learned friend was
afraid that he might have contradicted his mother and
father upon some important matter. He believed he had
now answered, in a most satisfactory manner, every fact
upon which the defendants relied to support the charge of
arson; and he asked the jury whether, if upon such facts
they had been called upon to convict Mr. Woolley of that
offence in a criminal court, and the present proceeding was
exactly the same, for they could not return a verdict tor the
defendants without virtually deciding that Mr. Woolley
was guilty of arson, they would not have laughed at the
idea. His learned friend had called a great number of
policemen as witnesses, but the contradictory statements
they made, and the confused character of their testimony,
appeared to him to render that testimony quite immaterial,
There was no doubt also that Mr. Woolley had complained
of their conduct, and without wishing to say a word in dis-
paragement of the police, who, generally speaking, were
undoubtedly a very useful body of men, still he could not
help remarking, with reference to this transaction, that it
was an admitted fact, that although a considerable portion
of the building was not on fire when they arrived, that with
the exception of a few chairs, not a single article of pro-
perty was rescued from the flames, and all that they did to
save life was to send for the fire-escape ; and he contended
that under these circumstances Mr. Woolley was quite jus-
tified in coming to the conclusion that they had not been
so active as they should have been, and that the Commis-
sioners of Police would have done well to have made some
inquiry into the matter, in order to ascertain how far Mr.
Woolley was justified in coming to the conclusion he had
arrived at.

One of the jury here inquired whether it was necessary for
em to hear any more of Mr. Bovill's address. _ _ .

Baron Bramwell eaid, if they were satisfied already, it
was, of course, not necessary to proceed further. The topics
that were urged by Mr. Bovill, however, appeared to him to
be perfectly legitimate ones, and to be well worthy their
consideration.

The foreman of the jury said that his lordship must un-
derstand that the juryman who had spoken was only ex-
pressing his individual opinion.
Baron Bramwell said if they were not all agreed, it would
be better that Mr. Bovill should proceed. He would, no
doubt, not occupy them very much longer.
Mr. Bovill said he would be brief, but the issue involved
was really such a fearful one to Mr. Woolley, that if he were
to run the least risk from his having neglected to urge any
topic that tended to show the utter groundlessness of the
charge, he assured them that he should blame himself for
the rest of his life.

Baron Bramwell said that the learned counsel was per-
fectly justified in the course he had taken.
Mr. Bovill then proceeded to say that the Sun Fire Office
had undertaken to prove that Mr. Woolley had committed
the clime of arson, but he hoped he had satisfied them
that they had not only failed to do so, but that every one
of what they called facts tending to support the charge
was entirely fallacious. Mr. Woolley was acting not only
for the vindication of his own character, but for the protec-
tion of the public generally, for the jury would recollect
that the object the Sun and the other fire-offices had in view
by making the charge against him, was to escape from pay-
ing the £29,000, the amount for which they had granted
policies. Whatever result was arrived at, it would not
remedy the pain and misery that had been occasioned to
Mr. Woolley by having such a charge preferred against him;
and he believed that when the directors of the Sun Fire-
office heard the verdict they would pronounce, they would
themselves regret having made such a charge upon such
shallow and unsubstantial grounds. The learned counsel
then proceeded again to comment upon the circumstances
connected with the fire, and he urged that every fact in the
case tended to support the suggestion that it was acciden-
tal; and he particularly remarked upon the fact that the
defendants, who through their surveyor ware well acquain-
ted with the nature of the building, treated it as one that
was likely to be destroyed by fire, and insisted upon being
paid what was called the doubly hazardous premium. The
most that could be said, appeared to be that no one knew
how the fire occurred, and he would ask them whether this
afforded the least ground for saying that Mr. Woolley did
it, and still less Crozier, for the charge, no doubt, equally
applied to him, who had nothing whatever to gain by such
case that
tt
hh
ee
ydefendantshadu
ph
,a du entirely i
he
eel ye
called
ei lde d
uponin
an act. He concluded a very eloquent speech by stating
tmakinghe jury otuo t
give the
the plaintiff the wholo amount of his policy and interest at
5 per cent.

Baron Bramwell then summed up, and he commenced by
observing that if the jury agreed with Mr. Bovill that the
defendants had failed in establishing the charge they had
made against Mr. Woolley, he was entitled to, and they
ought to give him, every farthing they could. The question
that had to be disposed of by the jury was undoubtedly a
most important one, not only to the public, but to the
plaintiff; and to the defendants it was probably of less im-
portance than to any one else, for to such eminently respect-
able and wealthy offices as the Sun, the Haad-in-Hand, and
Atlas the amount of money—which was the only question
involved, so far as they were concerned—was not the
slightest consideration. He thought it right to state, as the
result of his experience, that whenever an insurance office
defended an action of this description, they did not do so
unless they believed they really had a good case, and the
defence was, at all events, an honest one. The charge that
was made against the plaintiff by the defendants was no
doubt a most grievous one ; but the best proof that it was
not altogether so unfounded as had been represented was
that, after the jury had patiently sat for four days listening
to the evidence that had been adduced on both sides, they
still thought that they ought to go on to the end, and
this fact, as it appeared to him, acquitted the defendants
of having done anything improper in(defending the action
and if they should in the result believe they were in the
wrong. The public also had a great interest in questions of
this description, because if insurance companies were to pay
every claim when a fire occurred, although they might be-
lieve it was a wilful one, because by defending the action
they might bring discredit upon themselves and the public,
no one would be safe, as a dishonest person might take a
house next door to them with impunity and burn it down,
thus risking the neighbours' lives and property, upon the
assumption that the insurance company would not resist the
claim. If, therefore, insurance companies were merely to
consider their own immediate interests and to pay every
claim that was made, it appeared to him that it would be a
very dangerous state of things indeed, and it might be neces-
sary for the Legislature to interfere and take some steps to
ensure inquiry into all suspicious cases of this description.
It was hardly necessary for him to remind them that the
most innocent and useful institutions had by the ingenuity
of man been turned to instruments of serious mischief. He
might instance burial clubs, which in too many instances
had led to the commission of murder in order to obtain the
burial fees; and there was no doubt that insurance com-
panies were frequently called upon to pay claims where the
fires were wilful. To the plaintiff the issue on the present
occasion was no doubt all important. Ho was charged with
arson, perjury, and fraud, and also with an act which,
if it had terminated in the death of Temple or any of
his family, would have amounted to the crime of wilful
murder, and with an aot which at all events was very
likely to have led to their death. The case for
the defendants, no doubt, also was, that having
committed the act the plaintiff had stood coolly looking
on, taking no steps whatever to save the people
whose lives he had endangered. This was alleged to be the
conduct of a man of whom, from all the evidence that had
beat adduced, no worse could be said than that when he
was very young he was not quite so steady as many young
men who went into a merchant's office, and remained there
until ho worked his way up. It was then said that after
his marriage he had squandered his money away. Supposing
he had done so, he no doubt thought he had a right to do as
he pleased ; and if he were asked the question he would no
doubt justify the course he had taken. Ha had probably
squandered his in- ney, and had possibly got into a station
not quite his own ; and if upon these grounds and the other
facts in the case they should think that he had committed
the crime imputed to him, all he could say was that the best
thing he could do would be to go to some place where neither
he nor Campden House would ever be heard of again. He
must remind them that the burden of proof was upon the
defendants. It was they who had to make out that the
plaintiff had wilfully set fire to this house, and that Crozier
also was concerned in it; for it appeared to him that they
could not decide that one was guilty unless they were
at the same time of opinion that the other was also
concerned in the act. And the first thing in such a ease
would be to inquire whether there was any motive for
the commission of such a crime. They must not under-
stand him to say that the absence of any motive, or at all
events an adequate one, was a convincing proof that any
particular act had not been committed. They could not dive
into the hearts of mankind in order to discover the particular
motive that induced them to do an act; but the absence of
any apparent reasonable motive for the commission of a
great crime was always a material ingredient for the consi-
deration of a jury, and they would require stronger evidence
to show that the act was committed by the party accused.
The motive suggested in this case he couldhardlyquite un-
derstand. Re believed, however, that one suggestion by

the defendants for the commission of the act by the plain-
tiff was that he night get back the money ho had ex-
pended ; and another was, that not being able any longer to
keep the station he had up to that time moved in, he had re-
solved to burn down his house and quietly retire from the
stage, and thus relieve himself from being in a position to
invite his friends to the house and to give the expensive en•
tertainments he formerly had done : of course taking with
him the money he would receive from the insurance offices.
It was for the jury to consider how far either of these pro-
positions. was reasonable or probable. They must first con-
sul er the value of the property that was destroyed ; and
with reference to the furniture only, there could be very
little doubt from the evidence that, even if they believed
every word that Temple had said with regard to the articles
that were alleged to have been removed, the value of the
property that still remained in the house would have still
been considerably greater than the amount he would have
received from the insurance office for it. If he did set
fire to the house and destroy this property, he
also did a most cruelly ungrateful thing to Miss Cope,
who had behaved so kindly to him, for it was her only
security for £13,000 which she had advanced to him.
While at the bar, he (the learned judge) had had a good deal
of experience in fire cases, and he did Rot remember an in-
stance in which a man who played at the game of arson did
not do so with very long odds in his favour. A man would
readily, no doubt, burn £5O worth of furniture in the ex-
pectation of getting £l,OOO for it from the fire-office ; but
he never yet knew a man who had acted in a way the plain-
tiff was supposed to have done. ;He must have jeopardised
£20,000 or £25,000 worth of property at the very least by
his act, and there was nothing to show that he could not
have obtained the same sum, and probably more, by selling
the property in an honest and open manner. They started
then with these considerations ; and what was the case that
was sought to be established on the part of the defendants to
show that the plaintiff had committed the act imputed to
him ? The learned judge then briefly recapitulated the prin-
cipal points in the evidence they had brought forward. It
was certainly rather remarkable that the plaintiff should
have gone down with Crozier on this night to see him put
out the gas, and that he should have gone out of a warm
room and sat down on the stairs while he was so engaged.
The suggestion no doubt was, that having pretended to go to
bed, and being met by the Temples while he and Crozier
were going down stairs upon their horrible errand, it was
necessary for them to give some explanation ; and this was
a point for the conaideration of the jury. Tho act in it-
self, however, appeared of a trivial character, and possibly
might have been explained in the most satisfactory
manner. He must observe also, that if the plaintiff
had wilfully caused the destruction of the building, if the
account of his conduct afterwards was correct, he must at
the same time also have contemplated the needless murder
of three people. He himself, however, could not believe
this evidence; he could not believe that any man could be
such a fiend as to stand coolly looking on and not take any
steps to save the lives of the persons that were jeopardised
by his own act. Such a thing could not be. He now came
to the evidence of the man Ellis. It was impossible to sup-
pose for a moment that he was subpcenaed to tell an untruth,
and there did not appear to be any motive for his coming
forward to state what he had done. According to his evi-
dence he saw Mr. Woolley and Crozier walking together
an the morning of the fire; and he also declared that he
saw their faces, and spoke positively to their being the per-
sons he saw. Upon this fact, however, he was contradicted
by two people, and it appeared to him there were no grounds
for coming to the conclusion that he was wilfully saying what
he knew to be untrue, but that if the persons he saw were
not Mr. Woolley and Crozier, he was probably mistaken. If
the e jury should, however, be of opinion that this witness
did see Mr. Woolley and Crozier at the time he mentioned,
it was a matter well worthy of their most serious considera-
tion ; because it showed, at all events, that those persons
were not speaking the truth when they stated that they
never left the house ; and the jury would consider how far
this fact tallied with the other circumstances in the case in
support of the suggestion of guilt on their part. The next
evidence of importance was that given by Woolhouse, and
if they believed his story with regard to the finding of the
clothes in the passage was correct, it certainly involved a
very serious subject for inquiry. He must remark with re-
gard to this witness that he could not be mistaken with re-
gard to the fact that he deposed to, and he could not dis-
cover any grounds for imagining why ho should have come
forward to tell a wilful untruth, or what motive he could
have had for doing so. If he really did find the clothes there,
it was, as he before said, a most important fact. They could
not have come there by any rightful means, and the sugges-
tion no doubt was that the clothes were thrown down in
this passage after the act of setting fire to the house had
been committed, and that they were taken off there before
going out to the back of the house ; and the material ques-
tion appeared to him to be, whether they could place reli-
ance upon the evidence of this witness. The learned judge
then said that the question was purely one of fact for their
consideration. The burden of proof was on the defendants,
and if they had not satisfied them by the evidence they had
brought forward that the plaintiff had wilfully set this place
on fire, they were not entitled to a verdict. He repeated
that before they could come to this conclusion, they must
at the same time be of opinion that the plaintiff had been
guilty, not only of arson, but of perjury, fraud, and almost
murder, these offences being accompanied by dire ingratitude
to his best benefactor, Miss Cope. The point involved was
one of very great importance to the public generally, and
all important to the plaintiff. They would consider all the
facts, and say what conclusion ought to be arrived at.
The Jury immediately returned a verdict for the plaintiff.
Mr. Bovill said the amount of interest would be £277
16s. sd.

The jury said they gave a verdict for the plaintiff for that
amount also, making a total of £i,277 16s. Gad.
It was understood that this verdict would decide the other
insurances, and that the amount of the whole of them, with
interest, would be paid to the plaintiff.

Mr. Bovill, addressing his lordship, said it had been a
very long and arduous inquiry, and ho asked his permission
for the jury to be paid a guinea a day instead of the usual
fee of one guinea each for the trial. _

Baron Bramwell doubted whether he had the power to do
what was requested of him unless both sides concurred. 11e
remembered in one instance where it had been done a new
trial was applied for upon that ground.
Mr. Lush said ho was quite willing on the part of the de-
fendants to consent to the proposition of his learned friend.
The jury were consequently paid a guinea a-day for their
attendance, making a total of 60 guineas.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

SATURDAY RERIEW.—M, von Bismark has satis-
factorily explained that absence of Prussia from
the Frankfort meeting which required no explana-
tion. has, however, managed to draw the at-
tention of Europe to what might otherwise have
escaped observation, and has revealed the extreme
indifference with which the Emperor of Austria
regarded the opposition of a King of Prussia who
has fallen so low as William I. The Emperor, to
the delight of all Continental gossips, went spe-
cially and in person to Gastein. There he saw the
King of Prussia ,and:proposed a meeting ofSovereigns
for discussing Reform. The King, prompted by M.
Bismark, pointed out, in the most convincing way,
that it would never do—that there must be all sorts
of diplomatic conferences first, and that, at the very
least, it would be necessary to wait till October.
The Emperor seemed to acquiesce, and went away;
but a few days afterwards up rode an aide-de-camp,
and brought an official invitation to the King to
attend a meeting of Sovereigns in a fortnight. Di-
rectly the Emperor of Austria found out that there
was to be eel competition on the part of Prussia, and
that he was to have a monopoly of reform, he was
quite easy. The iron was so hot that he could not
think of waiting till October to strike it. He knew
that Prussia would be absent, but he thought that
it was quite worth while to try to lead Germany in
the absence of Prussia, Of course the King of Prus-
sia was not to be induced to attend, however
ardently the lesser Sovereigns might regret his
absence; wed unquestionably Prussia had excel-
lent reasons for keeping aloof from the
movement if she chose to do so. She can al-
ways urge, and M. von Bismark does urge on
her behalf, the unanswerable argument that no
mancouvres and shiftings of the Federation can bind
a member that is strong enough to act independently,
and chooses to exercise her power. Prussia an-
nounces that the Sovereigns may make any arrange.
ments, and pass any resolutions, and set up any
sort of sham authority they please, but that she will
go on just the same, and think only of her own in-
terests. It is also easy for Prussian statesmen to
pick holes in the Austrian scheme. The proposal
of Vienna is not half liberal enough for such zealous
Liberals as M. von Bismark and his master. They
cannot stand a House of Delegates from Diets—
they must have a real popular Assembly freely
elected by the people, and the number of represen-
tatives must be in proportion to the population.. If
such an Assemtly were constituted, Prussia, as M.
von Bismark hints, might be inc ined to respect its
decisions. The population of Prussia is rather more
than double the German population of Austria, and
M. von Bismark, therefore, means that Prussia
might act in harmony with an Assembly in which
her representatives were rather more than double
the number of the representatives of Austria. This
is quite in the established tine of Prussian policy.
The King and his Ministers have inherited a policy
which they did not invent, but which they cannot
abandon. It is very intelligible that Prussia should
say that all Federal Reform is moonshine until it is
settled who is to rule in the Federation : and that
Prussia, having double the German population of
Austria, and being in sympathy with the German
people, intends to rule. This is the line which all
Prussian statesmen have taken in recent years;
and M. von Bismark talks as his predecessors have
done. He maintains the pretensions of Prussia,
but then he has done all in his power to make
the pretensions of Prussia absurd. If Prussia
were really able to lead Germany in arms, and
were the fountain of domestic liberty, the Prussian
notions of Federal Reform would be very plausible.
And, in theory, Prussia is strong and liberal. M. von
Bismark always speaks, when he is not addressing
the Prussian Chamber, as if Prussia were very
strong and very liberal. But facts are stubborn,
and facts are wholly against M. Von Bismark.
Prussia is weak, timid,and contemptiblein its foreign
policy, shuddering at France, and catching con-
vulsively at the skirts of Russia ; while at home it is
reactionary and absolutist. M. Von Bismark and
the King, or the clique they both obey, have, for
the present, made the standing policy of Prussia in
Germany absurd and impossible. In words, they
are as brave as ever, and stick to the claims f their
country. But practically they have managed to
make Prussia and its opposition a nullity. The
statesmen of Vienna have seen this, and have taken
the opportunity of giving an accidental preponde-
rance to the influence of Austria. Everything
confirms the opinion that the project of Austria
cannot possibly be carried out, but that Austria has
set a real reform on foot which its promoters have
a fair chance of controlling. The sovereigns have
hitherto occupied their time in settling the constitu-
tion of an imaginary Directorate, and very subtle
provisions have been devised for the election of the
members of a board which has no chance of possess-
ing real power, and which, if it had any practical
control, would seriously endanger the independence
of the smaller States. Nor is it to be wondered at
that German reformers laugh at the eotion of a
Parliament which is only to meet once in three
years, and is to le composed in a great measure of
the nominees of the reactionary nobility. A still
more fruitful source of discord is the proposal of
Austria that the Federal Council shall determine
by a bare majority when the Confederation shall
defend the non-German possessions of any of
its members. It would be strange if Austria
could not command a bare majority, and
then she would at any time be able to bring the
whole force of Germany to guarantee her tenure of
Venice or Hungary. If there were any reality in
the details of the proposed reform, it would have
been a serious blunder iu Austria to have made a
proposal which seems as if her object in taking up
her new position in Germany were a selfish one, and
exposes her to the imputation that all this appara-
tus of reform is nothing more than a manoeuvre to
strengthen herself in the provinces where she is
conscious of weakness. It is inconceivable that
Prussia should ever acquiesce in a change which
would make her the slave of Austria and oblige her
to renounce all independent action in Europe. One
of the most sensible acts of the late Prussian parlia-
ment was its declaration that it was no concern of
Prussia to keep Austria safe in Venetia; and the
Prussian parliament, patient and long-suffering as
it is, would scarcely endure to have its decisions re-
versed by a body of which a very large proportion
would be simply nominated by Austria. Nor could
neighbouring European States regard with indiffer-
ence an alteration in the constitution of Germany
which would have an important bearing on the
t
balance of power. So long as the movement now set
on the
on foot can be regarded as solely intended f
defence of Germany, no one can complain; and if it
can be said to be directed against France at all, even
Frenchmen would allow that Germany is quite right
to take care of itself.
SPECTATOR. Whilst the Ultramontane faction
and its favourite organs, the Arrnoniu in Italy, and
Le Monde in France, endeavour to stir Catholic
faith by working on the superstitious feelings of the
fanatical and weak-minded, the liberal section
of northern Catholics resort to proceedings
more in harmony with the spirit of the age.
The Belgian archiepiscopal metropolis, Mechlin,
better known under its French denomination
Malines, has been the scene of a remarkable
gathering of renowned Catholics. The assembly
might well be denominated a council of the Church,
were it not for three reasons; it was not convoked
by the Pope, it had no dogmatic object, and, above
all, the majority was composed of laymen. Monte-
lembert, Albert de Broglie, and Prince Czartoryski
sat there, in company with Monseigneur Sterckx,
Archbishop of Marines, with the Papal Nuncio and
Cardinal Wiseman, The famous M. Veuiltot was
absent, and Le Monde scarcely deigns to mention
the important meeting; two circumstances which
alone would suffice to stamp the assembly with a
liberal character. Theology has nothing to do with
the Congress; and, in fact, if we accept the dogma
of the temporal power, scarcely any point of faith
was raised. The dignitaries, priests, and laymen
of the Church assembled together for merely poli-
tical purposes, and fall therefore legitimately under
newspaper criticism. Reserving and qualifying our
li approval, we must sympathize with many ad-
mirable words that fell'from the lips of the speakers.
It is a good sign of the times that even Roman
Catholic cardinals feel compelled to associate with
the laity in a public Congress, to listen compla-
cently to almost revolutionary appeals, and to
applaud with several hundred conscientious Church-
men, Montalembert's bold thesis—" a free Church
in a free State." The Congress;of Malinee lasted
five days, and there were several public sittings
hold in the Seminary of that ancient city. After
high mass was celebrated, the members went in
procession through the streets, headed by Cardinals
Sterckx and Wiseman in their red gowns. The
masters of ceremonies wore ribbons of the papal
colours, white arid gold, and the hall was orna-
mented with an ivory crucifix under a red canopy,
and a portrait of Pius IX. over it. The Archbishop
of Malines opened the proceedings by a short
speech, in which he maintained that " men must
associate if they wish that their labours may net
prove barren." It was certainly a startling though
gratifying fact to hear a cardinal of the Church of
Rome, the primate of a Catholic kingdom, conclude
with the generous words, "All honest opinions may
be put forward, all measures bent on propagating
good may be proposed, both may be supported, dis-
cussed, and refuted with the greatest liberty." The
Archbishop gave his blessing to the kneeling con-
gregation, in the sacramental words :—Benedietio
Dei omnipotent; s, et Filii , et Spiritus Sancti descendat
super ros, et muneut, and the real business of the
Congress was opened with a speech by the working
president, Baron de Gerlache, the. learned and re-
spected first president of the Belgian Cour de Cas-

station. His address was certainly eloquent and
stirring, but it would not serve our purpose to
analyse it. The first sitting was ended by the read-
ing of a telegram in which the Pope sent his
Apostolic blessing to the Assembly. At the follow-
ing meetings many more speeches were delivered.
Cardinal Wiseman spoke with his usual fluency
and strenuousness on the religious and civil con-
dition of English Catholics, and he certainly
gave an amazing account of the increase in the
number of his flock, the augmentation in the list of
bishops and priests, the multiplication of churches,
convents, and religious buildings, and, above all,
the extent of " conversions" from Protestantism.
It certainly seemed that the representative com-
ing from " heretical" England had fewer com-
plaints to make than his brethren who belong
to Catholic countries. After a glowing eulogy of
the mission fulfilled by the Sisters of Charity
during the Crimean war, the Cardinal ex-
claimed—" We rely on the power of opinion ; in
England the heart of the people is full of prejudices
against the Catholic religion ; but, nevertheless, we
have confidence in the justice of our cause, we
have confidence also in the justice of our country-
men." We dou.b'c the grounds of the Cardinal's con-
fidence; but, if well-founded, does it not prove how
infinitely better a creed will fare if it does not lower
itself to a political alliance with despotic powers?
French Catholics are wont to speak of their Eng-
lish co-religionists as if they were oppressed and
persecuted, end certainly for no better reason than
that they have not the power of the Government at
their disposal. We make bold to state that English
Catholics, who have only to fight against national
prepossessions, are freer, in fact and i❑ truth, than
their French brethren, who form a domineering
majority and surround the Imperial throne. But,
after all, the laymen played the principal part in
the Congress. There was Prince Ladislas Czartory-
ski, who wished to make it understood that Poland
had become a political martyr for the mere sake of
her Catholic loyalty, and who exclaimed," They
said to King Sobieski, Sire, save Christendom !' I
answer, if Poland could revive, the Church would
not be where she now is." The friends of Poland
will hardly thank him for the statement. There
was likewise Prince Albert de Broglie, who was
at a loss to describe the impression " which be felt
at the sight of that great, free, and religious assem-
hip in a free and religious country, a sight which
must strike a Frenchmen as if he came suddenly out
of darkness into the full rays of light." Last, but
by no means least, we have to mention M. de Mon-
talembert, who was greeted with deafening cheer-
ing and the cry " Honour to the son of the Cru-
saders!" This does not infer that the eloquent
Catholic lineally descends from these ancient
knights—it is but a delicate allusion to one of his
famous phrases, " The sons of the Crusaders
shall not retreat before the sons of Voltaire."
M. de Montalembert read his speech sitting, saying
that twelve years of silence had deprived him of the
habit of speaking, and that he was not only
able to read in his chair, as before the French Aca-
demy.

EXAMINER.—We have been charged with unfair-
ness for not having noticed a letter in the limes,
signed " An African," in reply to M. Jules Gerard's
account of the King of Dahomey, and in vindica-
tion of the character of that respectable monarch.
We confess to some neglect, for the thing is a curio-
sity in its way. The King of Bonny had a poet-
laureate in Mr. Close, and the King of Dahomey has
possibly an official champion in the correspondent of
the Times. Not, indeed, that such an officer is
necessary, for never was there a character so de-
praved as to want an advocate and approver.
Robespierre has had many admirers, Nero is pro-
nounced more sinned against than sinning by a his-
torical critic of the day, and we are in hourly expec-
tation of seeing some apologist of Nana Sahib arise.
To wash the blackamoor white was a foolish at-
tempt, but the better plan practised now is to
whitewash the blackamoor. Begin with the postu-
late that the Devil is not so black as he is painted,
and you may end with exhibiting an angel of light.
And this is the method of "An African.' M. Jules
Gerard he charges with having exaggerated vastly
everything connected with the King of Dahomey,
and immediately after this assertion we era told
that those human sacrifices regarded by the French-
man with so much abhorrence, " come under the
same sort of inspiration as that which leads us to
bend the knee in prayer." This comparison of the
very worst impulse with the best is worthy of the
champion of the blood-stained King of Daho-
mey. "An African" next proceeds to show
that a certain officer, who is a sort of
black keeper of the King's conscience, and
who is put to death upon the demise of the
Crown, has not the least objection to having his
throat cut, and would not survive his monarch if
he could. Well, if it be a condition of office for the
Ocrah to go out, as it were, with the King, we will
give up that point to "An African," but what is
one voluntary sacrifice amongst cold-blooded mur-
ders of prisoners out of number ? "An African"
consistently prefers the narrative and conclusions of
Commodore Wilmot:to the opposite account of M.
Jules Gerard. One would indeed almost think "Au
African" and the credulous Commodore one and the
same. The champion of Dahomey then endeavours
to show that African kings are in advance of their
subjects, but that their power is limited; and the
king alone is unable to do what he likes, There is
a bold homely saying, that "any stick is good
enough to beat a dog," and it seems no less true
that any figment is good enough to flatter a king,
even one of barbarians. So just after" An African"
had exculpated his Dahomean Majesty by asserting
that he could not do as he liked, his power being
limited, he hazards the opposite proposition, that
he has power in his hands verging on despotism,
but nevertheless is served more from love than fear.
Now which of " An African's" stories are we to
believe ? Is his admired monarch in advance of his
people, but obliged " to let I dare not wait upon I
would," and having the will, to want power, or is he
to be next to a despot ? If we adopt the latter of the
two conflicting propositions, how are we to account
as 4, An African" voucchaepsafeoitryhfiosrsguopltferrionr.
for his sable Majesty not doing what seems good
to him,
intellect, and extraordinary
ment ? With power almost despotic, an intellect,
to wield it to the best advantage, and dispositions
in the right direction, how is it to be explained
that no improvement takes place, no abandonment
of barbarous usages ? Simply by the fact that the
King has the power but none of the will for good
attributed to hire by "An African," who in the
next breath admits that he is a bigoted Conserva-
tive, attached to himself more than to anything in
the world. Imagine the Christian Government of
England addressing itself to the satisfaction of the
self-interest of a king delighting in human sacri-
fices, and paddling a pleasure-oat on a lake of
blood, in token of his glory and might. Is it not
somewhere written that we may not league with
evil that good may come of it ? And in this case
what would be the probability of future good, what
the certainty of the horrors of barbarism mean-
while ? The pitch is not to be touched without de-
filement. But we we have no doubt that Commo-
dore Wilmot's views will find supporters, and "An
African" rivals in glorifying the King's talents and
virtues. And before the next session of Parlia-
ment we expect to see Bolingbroke's " Idea of a
Patriot King" eclipsed by a portrait of the real
excellencies of his Majesty of Dahomey. To
describe a female paragon Pope wrote :
Nareissa's temper tolerably mild,
To make a wash, she'd hardly stew a child.

What the King of Dahomey with his mild temper
would hardly do in the way of torture and destruc-
tion it would tax poetic invention to predicate.
LONDON REVIEW.—When a man has lost his
life by his foolhardiness, it seems cruel to arraign
him for an offence which has cost him and his
family so dear. And, perhaps, if there were
nothing more concerned in the fatality than his
own imprudence, it would be as well to let the
matter pass without: comment. But it rarely hap-
pens that we may not learn something from what
we call fatal accidents, which may prevent their re-
currence. Bather more than twenty years ago
Miss Moir threw herself off the Monument, and the
authorities were content to regret her folly and hope
that no one would imitate her example. Not long
afterwards, some one did imitate her example, and
then the authorities thought that it might be as
well to put a stop to this mode of suicide, by erect-
ing a railing which would render it impossible. No
one has thrown himself off the Monument since.
We hope, too, that, for a time at least, we have seen
the last of these constructive suicides against which
the Queen has protested in language which, we
trust, will live in the memory of her subjects. But
there is always some gap to stop. On Monday last
a man met his death by a balloon accident, under
circumstances which, from the beginning, promised
danger, and which only by something short of a
marvel could end happily, There was a " grand
fete" given in the park of Mr. North, at Basford,
near Nolthighatu, for the benefit of the General
Hospital ; and part of the day's pleasure was to
see Mr. Coxwell ascend in his balloon. The bal.
loon was small and new ; and when "the accorn..
plished aeronaut" had inflated and tried it, he found
that it would not carry his weight. Thrice he got
into the car, but the balloon, even without
ofout the
ballast,gas
would not lift him. The specific
gravity
was three times greater than it should have been ;
and as the ascent could not be made without Six
bags of ballast, one of the bystanders recommended
that the balloon should be packed up and the ascent
relinquished. Mr. Coxwell, however, was in a
difficulty, There was the balloon ; and
there
was the mob expecting; to see it fp up. The
per-
formance was part ci the consideration for which
they paid their maney ; and if they were disappointed
Mr. Croswell feared that they might tear his air-ship

to pieces, and perhaps offer Violence to himself. In
this difficulty, a man named Chambers, lighter than
Mr. Coxwell, stepped forward and offered, and ho
had had some experience in such matters, to go up
if the balloon would raise him. Coxwell consented ;
and, with two bags of sand, the volunteer started,
and the crowd were satisfied. But the difficulty,
removed from Mr. Coxwell's shoulders, now took
up its position on those of Chambers in a greatly
aggravated form. The lifting power of the balloon
had not been sufficient to raise Mr. Coxwell with-
out any ballast. He weighed list., Chambers
Nveighed, 9st ; but he took up two bags of ballast with
him. Their weight is not mentioned ; but, sup-
posing them together to have weighed 201bs. the
lifting power of the balloon when Chambers made
his ascent would have bean so small, that the addi-
tion of 8 pounds' weight must have brought it to the
ground. So that, if by an escape of gas, or an addi-
tion to the weight of the balloon by its being wetted
in passing through a cloud, the sustaining power
was overbalanced by the load the balloon had to
carry, the chances were a thousand to one that the
resalt would be fatal. Now, both these conditions
took place, and they were aggravated by the fact
that Chambers, immediately after he began to
ascend, threw out a portion of his ballast, Shortly
after it rose the balloon entered a heavy cloud, and,
breaking from that into the clear sunshine; the gas
expanded and escaped through the neck, which is
always left open, of course, at the bottom. This
might have been prevented by Chambers opening
the upper valve, at the top of the balloon, in time.
He failed to do this till too late. The gas rushing
from the lower valve appears to have stifled him,
and he was found, on the fall of the balloon, lying
dead at the bottom of the car, with the valve-
cord round his wrist; so that the upper valve must
have been kept completely open, utterly reversing
the slight balance between the weight the balloon
had to carry and its power to carry it. This easily
accounts for its collapse ; and on a review of the
evidence given at the coroner's inquest, it is but
just to Mr. Coxwell to say that the circumstances
which at starting rendered the ascent so perilous do
not seem to have constituted the proximate cause of
the fatality. But we cannot acquit him of blame
in handing over his balloon to an amateur, of whose
ability as an aeronaut he had no personal knowledge.
Of course, from the moment the balloon left the earth
the error was irreparable ; but the proof that it was
an error became at once apparent. His ballast is the
aeronaut's only hope, when the weight and the lift-
ing power are so nearly balanced as they were in this
case. Chambers at once showed his ignorance by
throwing it out. From that moment he was doomed
should the balloon become wet by passing through a
cloud, and its weight increased beyond the power of
the gas to sustain it. Even if he had not been suf-
focated—and this is only .Mr. Coxwell's surmise,
though a probable one, as the man was found with
his handkerchief stuffed into his mouth—there is
every reason to believe that his fate would have been
the same. The manipulation of the balloon in the
untoward circumstances under which it started re-
quired a skill and delicacy not to be expected from
any but the most experienced aeronaut. No doubt
Mr. Coxwell felt the pressure of the consequences
to be expected from a disappointed crowd. He had
had his balloons torn in pieces before by an enlight-
ened British public which had come to see them go
up, and would take no excuse, not even the proba-
bility of the owner breaking his neck to please them.
It is due to him also to say that he cautioned Cham-
bers not to go either high or far. But it would have
been better, wiser, and far more satisfactory if he had
let the mob wreak their vengeance on the balloon
rather than permit an ascent which this very cau-
tion shows he considered unusually perilous.
ATEIEN:EUM.—After waiting more years than a
man of middle age likes to own for a public sight of
the four lions commissioned from Sir Edwin Land-
seer by Lord John Manners for the monument in
Trafalgar-square, we are assured by a writer who
has been favoured with a peep, that a model of one
lion has actually been finished, and has been shown
to " a few friends and critics in a private studio in
Brompton. The model is small—and the real
working model has still to be made. This real
model, we are told, can now be fashioned by in-
ferior hands. When it is likely to be done, when
it is likely to be ready for the caster, when the
bronze is likely to be set up in Trafalgar-square,
no hint is given. Of course, the " friend and
critic" speaks in raptures of the lion thus shown to
him. The public who care for Art will wait until
the work is publicly shown before accepting as
serious an announcement that the Landseer lion
beats all other lions, ancient anal modern, the
Egyptian lions of the Campidoglio, the lions of the
Assyrian frieze. the great lion of Cnidos, together
with the lion of Canova and the lion of Lucerne,
completely out of the field. The world will judgo
of that by-and-by. Meantime it will notice, with
surprise, that it is now proposed to give us only
one lion for our money—one lion, four times
repeated, with such simple variations of attitude as
a turn of the head or a wag of the tail may produce.
We cannot pretend to think that this is a satisfac-
tory announcement. Rightly or wrongly, the world
believed that it was to have four lions for the Nelson
Column—four distinct artistic works. It has paid
for those four lions a very large sum of money. It
has waited for them a great many years. Will it
be content to know that a small model of one lion
has been finished, and that the artist proposes to
cast from this model four copies, with such unim-
portant changes as the shifting of a paw or the
turning of an eyeball may effect in the character of
the group ?

COUNTRY MARKETS.

►-
NOTTINGHAII-SATURDAY.

There was a fair show Oi;l.leatto:cia;:ftncl the demand
was moderate, at late rates. There were' several samples
of the new crop of barley shown, but business was limited,
as hblders demanded extravagant prices. Oats were dull.
—White wheat, from 47s to 50s ; red wheat, 40s to 47g.
Barley—malting, 38s to 41s ; grinding, 30s to 325. Oats,
old, at 24s to 31s Od; new, 22s to 275. Beans sold at 383
to 43s per qr, ; new, 388 to 425.