The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-19 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 19, 1863.

ADVANTAGES OF COMBINATION.

Towards the conclusion of this document Sir Richard
points out the ad vantages which would result from a com-
bination of the City and Metropolitan police forces. He
says:—" I beg leave, in conclusion, to state that the exist-
ence of a detached police force in the heart of the metropolis
is at variance with the principle on which the police is esta-
blished in every other town in the kingdom. The continu-
ance of such an extraordinary exception in the metropolis
has, after lengthened inquiry and careful considers ion,
been condemned by two select committees of the House of
Commons, and by two Royal Commissions appointed to
inquire into the state of the Corporation of the city of Lon-
don. On the last occasion, in the year 1854, the commis-
sioners, the Right Hon. 11. Labonchere (now Lord Taunton)
the late Sir George C Lewis, and Mr. Justice Patteson, in
their report to the Queen, thus express their deliberate
opinion with regard to the police :—' We believe that the
incorporation of the City with the larger district by which
it is surrounded is a measure recommended alike by consi-
derations of efficiency and economy.'

The Charges of Indecent Assault against

Clarke.

William Henry Clarke, 17, painter, was indicted yester-
day at the Central Criminal Court for committing an inde-
cent assault upon Mary Ann Baxter, for a like offence upon
the person of Sophia Allen, and for a third and similar
assault on the person of a young girl named Lambert.
Mr. Clerk, specially retained on behalf of the Government,
assisted by Mr. Orridge, appeared to support the prosecu-
tion ; Mr. Dickie defended the prisoner.
The court was densely crowded during the hearing of the
trial, and the utmost interest was manifested in the pro-
ceedings. It will be fresh in the recollection of our readers
that the prisoner was first arraigned at the Clerkenwell
Police-court on the charge of murdering a little girl named
Elizabeth Hunter, whose remains wore found in a nursery-
ground at Islington a short lirne ago, but the case being one
of very great suspicion only, that charge was abandoned
and the present one brought forward.
The whole case having been so recently and so fully re-
ported, it will be unnecessary again to give the evidence in
detail, as the facts of the case will he found fully narrated
in the opening speech of the learned counsel for the prose-
cution.

Mr. Clerk, in his opening, said that though the case as
read from the indictment did not appear to be so serious as
some which had been tried before it this session, yet it
would be found to be the most important of any which has
as yet been brought before them. In each case the prose-
cutors were little girls, all under the age of ten when the
offences were committed ; and by the indecent conduct of
the prisoner towards them, he was guilty of a crime which
might have the effect of ruining these young children for
life by corrupting and tainting their whole existence. For
certain reasons he (the learned counsel) would not refer to
the charge out of which the present case arose, as by so
doing he might infuse a certain amount of animus into the
minds of the jury, which he was most desirous of avoiding,
The first charge to which he would refer occurred some
considerable time back, and was one of indecent assault
upon a young girl named Mary Ann Baxter, who was
only about nine years of age when the occurrence
took place. About the end of September, 1861, she was
going down a street in Heston, when the prisoner met her,
and asked her to take a letter to William-street, in which
is situated the nursery-grounds where the prisoner was
was employed. He then took her by the hand, telling her
that he would get her the letter, and led her through the
nursery-ground to the toll-house at the bottom of the
garden, where he was guilty of very indecent conduct. He
took her on his knee and put his hand up her clothes, when
the child screamed out. He gave her a fourpenny-piece,
but she threw it down, and cried to go home. He then took
her to a place where glass was kept, and tied a handkerchief
over her mouth, and told her if she screamed out he would
murder her. He continued to keep her some time longer,
when he let her go, and she ran home and told her mother
what had occurred. The latter afterwards went to Mr. Roe,
and the child at once pointed out the prisoner as the men
who assaulted her. At first he denied all knowledge of the
child, but afterwards, under a promise, he made a statement
to his master which he (the latter) took down in writing.
All this occcurred as long ago as September, 1861, but it
was not the only case where the prisoner had been guilty of
this kind of conduct ; fot some time in the January follow-
ing he met a little girl named Mary Ann Lambert, not
more than eight years old, and to her he made exactly the
same proposal as ho had done to the other girl, telling her
he would give her a penny to take the letter. He did not,
however, give her a letter, but took her by the hand to the
nursery grounds, and when in the glass-house told her to lie
down, but ske said she could not, " as her mother told her
not to dirty her frock." The prisoner then took his coat off,
and forced the poor child to lie upon it, and then in spite of
her screams he behaved in a most indecent manner towards
her. They could not tell whot had been done to the poor
little thing; but when examined by a surgeon she was found
to be very much injured. The same little girl had after-
wtnahnaaemradpusrdiiitsdienlntified him from a number of other men as the
person who ha assaulted her. Besides these two cases there
was a third charge against him. This time the little girl,
al
est
rue ,
accostedy wt
took
os
k her
walkinge hr,e
irt
tgo alongea tniinto
te
oße
shop when
conversationS
wg aht
ee
n•
he street,twher,hi,ok heenr
on his knee, and put his hand up her clothes till she
screamed out and ran away. The whole of these cases
would be distinctly proved before them, and it was by order
of the Government that he was there that day, as it was a
cruel and a monstrous thing that any man or lad should
act in such a corrupt and debasing manner towards poor
little children, who were quite unable to protect themselves.
A large number of witnesses were called to prove the
statement of the learned counsel, atter which
Vickie addressed the jury on behalf of the prisoner,
contending that the children were all mistaken with regard
to identity,as he had several witnesses who would prove an
alibi on two out of the three occasions referred to. At first
the prisoner had been suspectedof
thatmu that charge hadrder,and the llovern-
ment hat prosecuted; but finding
anldl tchoen
vevidence
the prisoner they could possibly
soner on these
paltry charges. lie did not
think the Government stool
thus
scrapef ailed theyteg
together
rr raked up
try and
less boy, who had already suffere
ble some other person,
who unfortunately bar pened to resew
in any very enviable light in
dparloosnegcuitminpgriasopnoomrefnatt,heenrd-
for whom he had been mistaken.
to the effect that the prisoner was with
i
A number of witnesses were calledh, wt
hheon asvn ed ei
nv i dtehnect er
and that he could not possibly have been n
houses on two of the occasions referred to evidence,tinhethreeen-house
and committed the assaults imputed him.
a rd
t 0
Ihreit
. thenw repliedwas
ht
naturalupon t the e
thatwhole
fr
friends
Band erelationsg
.
should try to screen the young man at the bar. It was a,
most difficult thing to prove an alibi to the sa'isfaction or
a jury "o lcug a time after the assaults took place.
The Common Sergeant then summed up the whole of the
CYiatuce, putting the. points with great cicazacsa before the
With
r

jury, telling them they must not be prejudiced against the
prisoner because he was first apprehended upon a more
serious charge, but must look at the case as it stood before
them according to the evidence. With regard to the con-
duct of the Government, he thought it had been very fair
throughout the whole proceedings.
The jury then retired, and in a few minutes returned into
court with a verdict of guilty on the two first counts.
The Common Sergeant, addressing the prisoner, said he
had been convicted after a most patient hearing, and he
certainly concurred in the verdict. His conduct throughout
had been most infamous, and there was only one thing which
could be said in palliation, and that was his youth. Tha
Common Sergeant then sentenced him to two years' impri-
sonment with hard labour.

The prisoner in the most cool manner in the world then
asked whether he might be allowed to see his legal adviser,
to see what steps could be taken on his behalf, as he was
quite innocent.

The Common Sergeant said ho had nothing to do with
that.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—LIVERPOOL, AUG. 18.
CRIMINAL COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Blackburn).
Jose Maria Alvan z, a Spanish sailor, aged 22, was in-
dicted for having, at Liverpool, on the 12th May, feloniously
and of his malice aforethought, killed and murdered one
James Harrison. Ho was also charged with feloniously
wounding one Henry Cohen, with intent to murder him.

Mr. Conway and Mr. A. Pent appeared for the
.prosecu-
tion ; Mr. Charles Russall defended the prisoner.

It appeared from the statement of the learned counsel for
the prosecution, and from the evidence of the witnesses
called, that on the evening of the 12th of May, about a
quarter past nine o'clock, the unfortunate deceased man, in
company with two other men, named Cohen and Howell,
was proceeding down Old Hall-street, in the direction of
the Exchange. They had been together about a quarter of
an hour in a publichouse, and, according to the evidence of
Cohen and Howell, they were perfectly sober. When nearly
opposite Fazakerley-street they met the prisoner, and
Cohen accidentally jostled against him. There was no pre-
tence for saying that there was an assault on his part ; it
was purely accidental, So far from being intentional, or im-
plying any wish to offend, the moment he had done it
Cohen turned round and begged the prisoner's pardon.
The prisoner said some words in Spanish, and immediately
pulled out a dagger and stabbed Cohen twice—first in the
breast, and afterwards, Cohen turning round to escape from
him, he stabbed him again in the back. The prisoner then
went across the street, and Harrison, the deceased man,
immediately followed him. Harrison caught him somewhere
near a breadshop kept by a person named Simpson, and
then the prisoner stabbed Harrison twice, inflicting the two
stab wounds, one of them mortal, in the belly. There could
be no question that in this case Harrison was perfectly jus-
tified, because all he did was his bounden duty to do.
When he saw the offence which had been described com-
mitted on Cohen it was his daty, if possible, to arrest the
offender, and therefore any act done to him in the execu-
tion of that duty was clearly unjustifiable on the part of the
prisoner, i.nd would be no defence to the charge of murder.
Harrison fell down. and the prisoner then crossed the street
andand having
made for Fazakerley-street. There were three women
standing there. One of theta called out to him, "Y, u
villain, what have you done?" He made no reply, but
walked up to another woman who was standing close by,
said in Spanish, "Come here," he took hold of
her
apron and deliberately wiped the bloody dagger on it,
after which he walked down the street. The learned coun-
sel felt it his duty to call the special attention of the jury to
the act, because it appeared to him to show very great cool-
ness and very great deliberation on the part of the prisoner.
He was followed down Lancelot's-hey, and was there lost
sight of. It appeared that be went to the hoarding-house
where he had been in the habit of stopping, kept by a Spa-
niard and his wife, named Antonio and Maria Bargus. The
prisoner there entered in an excited state and changed his
dress. When asked what was the matter with him he said
he had fought four Englishmen in the street and had used
his knife. It seemed that the prisoner left the boarding-
house about 7 o'clock that evening, and returned, appa-
rently very much out of breath, a little after a quarter past
9. In point of fact, the time of his return exactly coincided
Bwiatrliguthseintismpanetibsah, A
that the murder was alleged to have taken
n
place, He had on at the time a blue shirt and a scarf or
muffler, which would be produced before them. Ho said to
patrhdo roonmatetefror; wanhdatthlehparvie
done." Bargus asked whatt°lli° was '
.
sener replied, "I have come from Oldhall-street, after
having stabbed one Englishman." Bargus said, " Have
you used your knife ?" He replied, " Yes." " Have you
killed him ?" inquired Bar us to which the prisoner re-
plied, "I don't know." He added that he had fought with
four Englishmen, and wounded four of them. He then took
off the blue shirt and the muffler, which would be proved
by several witnesses to have been the dress in which he was
at the time the offence was committed. He went away with
his dress so changed, saying that " he would go to his girl."
It appeared that he did go to a girl of whom he had some
knowledge, and he was taken into custody on the following
day. When arrested, he said that he had been at a coffee-
house from 5 o'clock that evening until 11 o'clock, and
that he was not the guilty party. Now, that was clearly
untrue, because, as had been already stated, it
would be proved by the evidence of the boarding-
housekeeper that he only left their house at 7 o'clock, and
returned immediately after the time when the offence was
committed. There would be some slight discrepancy—as
might be easily expected, considering the time of night and
the natural excitement which would exist among parties wit-
nessing this dreadful transaction—with regard to the dress
cap
T ho
o n
learned with
sa
e and d
s anotherai
dthat
the prisoner was wearing at the time. One witness would say
that he was wearing a blue, another that it was a blue and
twhhaitt shirt;eheh a d onnoe
capthaton
hadhe a
at
all.
he would 11 able, however, to prove the identity beyond
all doubt. It appeared to him that the real question for
them ro consider was not whether or not the prisoner com-
mitted the deed, but what was the quality of that deed, as-
suming it to have taken place. The deceased was picked up
and taken into Simpson's shop, and thence removed to the
hospital, where his wounds were examined, and where he
died. The medical man who attended the deceased would
be called before the jury, and he would giv; a description
of the nature of the wounds, and would state that beyond
all question those wounds were the cause of death. The
learned counsel then submitted tbat in point of law the
homicide of the deceased, committed under these circum-
stances, amounted to the crime of murder, and was not
manslaughter-
They learned counsel for the defence, contended, first, on
the evidence,
hadevi densctae,bbthedattthhee
deceasedidentity h
ofatdhenportisboneeenr wsaitthisfiahcetomrialyn
w
original establishedq
n;a
quarrel
and, secondly, that all the circumstances of the
l
re probably not before the jury,
and it
was difficult to say how far the prisoner had
been provoked
before he used the knife he wore, and, as a foreigner,
igno-
rant of ourlarguaget he was probably not able to understand
the conduct of the men who jostled him, or their apology.
wsee

His Lordship, in summing' up, having directed the jury
as to the distinction between murder and manslaughter,
directed them to take into consideration the circumstances
attending the first part of the quarrel, and also how far they
foefreoiugr, eePlnepre, might unacquainted with our language
perhaps be more dis-
posedg thet k
ttohtaneitkbeoeffence, and to fancy himself endangered, than
andm might think
a
might under the same circumstances have been the case with
an Englishman. His Lordship remarked, however, that the
law, though lenient to human frailty, was not so to human
ferocity ; and if they were of opinion that the provocation
was not sufficient to reduce the crime to manslaugter, then
it was their duty as ajury to find a verdict of murder, and not
of manslaughter. Of course they would have first to satisfy
themselves as to the identity of the prisoner as the person
who committed the offence charged in the indictment ; and
with regard to that they would have to weigh carefully the
evidence of the various witnesses. It they were satisfied
that the prisoner knew that he was about to inflict a wound
under such circumstances end with such an instrument as
to show that he contemplated doing grievous bodily harm,
and was reckless as to whether death ensued or not, then
the crime could not be reduced to manslaughter. In con-
clusion, he would say to them that they should perform
their duty carefully, and, while they were called upon to do
their duty firmly to justice, they were carefully to consider
if there was anything in the case which led them to think
that it did not amount to murder, and give the prisoner the
benefit of it. Were they satisfied that the prisoner inflicted
the wounds, having received such provocai ion as might take
away from the act what the law called malice, and reduce
the crime from murder to manslaughter ? The jury would,
he hoped, consider the question calmly and carefully, with-
out thinging of the consequences, but honestly doing their
duty, for the consequences were the act of the law, and
not their act. If they thought the prisoner had not been
made out to be the man who had inflicted the wounds, then,
he need scarcely say, they would acquit him altogether ;
but if they thought he was the man, the question lay be-
tween murder and manslaughter.
with a verdict of guilty, coupled with a recommendation to
The jury, having retired, returned shortly before 5 o'clock

mercy.
Lordship—Upon what grounds, gentlemen ?
Tho Foreman--On account of his being a foreigner, and
not understanding the English language.
His Lordship--I understand you to mean, gentlemen,
that although you do not think that sufficient to justify you
in saying
that it mitigated the offence from murder to man-
slaughter, yet it is a matter which somewhat palliates the
offence?

ri
s o
n Lordshiper,
said,
The Foreman—That is so, my Lord.
assume
The pbrlaoccklameaapti,oannhd,avadindgrebseseinngmtandeep, his
—You have been found guilty by the verdict of the jury,
alter a patient consideration, of the crime of wilful murder,
and it now only remains for me to do that which the law ins.
poses upon roe to do—to pass sentence upon you. The jury
have recommended you to mercy. That recommendation I
will forward to the proper authorities; but from the nature
of the crime you have comusit;ed, I would not recommend
you to entertain any hopes that that recommendation will
be carried into effect by her Majesty's Government. Upon
that I have not the power to decide, and I must now pass
upon you having no other alternative—the sentence of the
law to wul warder, J i J.49r1512ip tlie4 svcC*4 to

pronounce the sentence of death in the usual form; and, at
its termination, directed that his remarks should be trans-
lated to the prisoner.
This was done by the Spanish Consul,who occupied a seat
near the dock during the trial; and the prisoner, who did
not seem to be at all moved, then lefr the dock.
Esau Wilcox, aged 16, was indicted for the wilful murder
of Mary Cullen, at Manchester, on the 28th of March last.
Mr. Sowler (Q.C. in the County Palatine), and Mr.
Leresch appeared for the prosecution; Mr. Hopwood de-
fended the prisoner.
The prisoner, a stupid-looking youth, appeared to have
been playing with some children and young girls in Bar-
ton .street, Liverpool-road, Manchester, on the evening of
the 26th March last, when the prisoner was observed to go
to the light of a shop window and charge a pistol which he
had. Shortly afterwards he was seen to advance towards a
girl named Mary Cullen, who was about 16 years of age,
and when about eight yards from her he pointed his hand
towards her, and immediately a loud report was heard, and
Mary Cullen fell. She was found to have a wound in the
forehead, and was lifted up and carried to the Infirmary,
where she die:i six or seven hours after from the effects of
a wound in the forehead, which had penetrated her skull
and entered the brain. When she fell a boy present said,
" That was Esau Wilcox," to which the prisoner cried,
" Hush I" The prisoner was observed to go towards
an ashpit near his father's house, and was afterwards taken
into custody at his father's. On searching the ashpit a
pistol, which appeared to have been recently discharged,
was found there, and on searching the prisoner some gun-
powder and a leaden pellet were found in his waistcoat
pocket. A post snortein examination of the deceased disco-
vered that a small triangular piece of bone had been driven
into the forehead, and a wound large enough to admit the
surgeon's finger had been made in the substance of the
brain. A very small piece of lead was found in the brain,
but nothing which could have made such a wound. There
did not appear to have been any motive to induce the pri-
soner to commit the offence charged, and his Lordship inti-
mated to the learned counsel for the prisoner that he should
confine himself to the charge of manslaughter.
The defence urged was that there was no intention by
the prisoner to injure any one, but that he had discharged
the pistol in frolic, and that the paper wadding had proba-
bly inflicted the wound. The boy was a quiet and inoffen-
sive lad.

His Lordship in summing up directed the jury that, if
in their opinion the prisoner had fired the pistol with cul-
pable negligence, that would constitute the offence of man •
slaughter, if his act had caused the death of the deceased.
The wound probably might have been inflicted by some-
thing in the nature of a ramrod being left in the pistol, but
of that there was no evidence.

The jury found the prisoner guilty of manslaughter.
His Lordship sentenced him to be imprisoned, with hard
labour, for two calendar months. He did not think the
circumstances of the case called for any severe punishm-nt,
and he thought he might well have been spared the pain of
the charge of wilful murder which had been preferred
against him.

The Hun. A Liddell, Q.C., and Mr. Price, Q.C., have
each been sitting as Commissioners assisting in the trial of
prisoners.

In the Civil Court a long mining case, as to the getting of
a quantity of coal, which was commenced yesterday, has
occupied the day. It possessed very little public interest.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMEs T. •
• aside all party aspects, the war
in America, looked upon simply as a war, ought to
put human nature in this 19th century to shame. It
is not even war on modern civilised dimensions; it
is war upon a barbaric scale. It is ancient war re-
vived. Its carnage, its devastations, its famines, its
pestilences are barbaric. Its battlefields are upon
an old plan, in which the slaughter is out of all pro-
portion with the strategy. The engines of war are
modern, but the angel of destruction which fires
them is the same destroying angel which laid low
Assyrian, Chaldean, and Persian armies. Milton has
given us a picture of ancient war conducted with
modern instruments, and he has boldly introduced
the thunders of field guns into the very earliest
fights on record. This war combines the newest
military inventions with the oldest type of horror
and destruction. If any one was not satisfied of this
from former descriptions he might have been from
the results of the battle of Gettysburg, as just now
more fully and accurately reported. We call it the
battle, because it was to all intents and purposes
one battle. We have there in one battle 40,000
killed and wounded—i. a., a whole army put hors
de combat. Of these 10,000 are killed on the spot.
Fancy such a solid mass of slaughter to be the work
of one battle. Ten thousand dead bodies on one
field ! Is it a scene of a civilised, mercantile, cotton-
growing, cotton-spinning age,—an age which boasts
itself a peaceful age, an age which has discarded
the pride of the soldier for the triumphs of the social
improver, and adopted " Exhibitions" -as its victo-
ries ? Or is it a scene of the age of Alaric or Attila ?
We need not take our readers through the inter
minable rows of the hospital. It is impossible for
any one to realise what the effect of the sight of
thousands of gashed and disabled men is, unless he
does actually see it. Indeed, all these accounts are
mere words to many, without the aid either of the
eye or of a vivid imagination. Reason, however,
must come to the rescue if imagination fails, for it
is nothing less than a duty for people to endeavour
to enter into these facts, and take in the dreadful
amount of human misery which is comprised in
these scenes. It is a revolting idea that these
frightful events should be taking place, and that
they should pass over us without creating even
the sense of a contrast—the contrast of our
situation with that of these unfortunate cousins
of ours. Here we are in this island of ours,
—we never look on war; we do not know
what war is as a spectacle. We are at war, indeed,
sometimes—we make war, but we never see it—we
do not catch a glimpse of it—we are never touched
by the faintest stir of its most distant skirts. Our
troops know what war is, but we only know it by
our pockets being a little lighter than usual. We
pay for war, but we keep our creditor at a distance,
and send him his money by check. What a differ-
ence it would make if war made his appearance
among us, not in the shape of a Chancellor of the
Exchequer's budget, but in propria persona ! How
would his rugged visage horrify us! Cannot we
guess how we should feel at passing through " the
lines," at catching sight of a battery on the brow of
the next hill, at meeting files of troops and trains of
artillery and military baggage as we went to pay
our visit of business to the next tawn, or our call of
condolence upon some mourning relation ? At the
first sight of a sentinel pacing on some hitherto
tranquil rural path our whole image of comfortable,
secure, ploughing and sowing England would crum-
ble into fragments, and we should feel ourselves in
another country. We should feel that a tie had
broken, and that we had lost the England of our
birth. Can we fancy the rails torn up between
Slough and Reading, or between Rugby and Lei-
cester, or between 50 other couples of towns? Can
we raise an image of bridges, which had spanned
the Thames or the Trent or the Alton from time
immemorial, blown up, of telegraph wires cut, and
of the communication both of persons and news
changed from its present likeness to a law of nature
to the irregularity of chance and luck? If we can,
we can see what a very extraordinary England that
England would be, and how difficult to recognise
under its altered look and circumstances. Or can we
picture to ourselves what the news of a battle would
he, fought at Maidenhead or Dorking, on Salisbury
Plain, or on the Hog's Back, and how strange the
very announcement would sound to our ears, as if a
law of nature had been broken in the fact of an en-
gagement between two armies having really taken
place on English soil? If we can, then we may feel
how striking is the contrast between the situation
of the Americans and of ourselves, and what the
miseries and horrors are from which we are hitherto
preserved. In parts of the United States the popula-
lation is being literally fed on " rations." Between
Vicksburg an Jackson " the country is completely
devastated." No subsistence of any kind remains.
Every growing crop was destroyed where possible.
Wheat was burnt in the barn and stack, wherever
found. All subsistence was brought offor destroyed.
Live stock was used or brought away everywhere.
Thousands are applying for food to sustain life.
(Jen. Grant is opposed to all opening of trade for
the present. His experience has been that trade
retarded military operations." The Battle of Gettys-
burg does indeed appear to have presented some of
the grandest scenes of the horribly sublime kind
that have been seen in any war. Our Correspon-
dent, describing the charge of the Confederates up
the Cemetery Hill, held by the Federal centre,
writes : should have fancied that no such scene
had ever before reached mortal eye or ear. A thick
canopy of smoke, constantly rent by bright, dart-
ing flashes of flame, cast its dense pall over the
struggling, bleeding thousands who toiled and died
in its centre, while out of the opaque gloom, as
though from the bowels of the earth, one deep, pro-
longed, bellowing roar never ceased to issue.
Through the deepening twilight, and on far into
the night, the fierce struggle continued, unit in
the gloom the dazziing paranole.s of flame, bursting
into sparkling jets and coruscations, as the shells
cracked and exploded, made a ghastly pyrotechnic
display." The first day, however, was exceeded by
the second. " The thundering roar of all the accu-
mulated battles ever fought upon earth, rolled into
one volume, could hardly have rent the skies with
fiercer or more unearthly resonance and din. Far
back into the mountains the reverberations rolling
from hillside to hillside startled strange and un-
musical echoes. Vast cumuli of cloud, such as
would have shrouded 10,000 Homeric goddesses. .
• . floated over the strife ; horses, the suffering
and tortured ministers of man's fury and wrath, I3V
thickly dead or horribly mutilated upon the ground;
cou4aratly iroak out of tho white 1)14 of vapour

issued wounded and mangled men, and rumours
that this or that General was killed, that this or
that regiment was reduced to a corporal's
guard, traceable to no authentic source, neither
believed ;nor disbelieved: by the listeners, rose,
as it were, out of the ground." Such is war,
and, with this before them, there is unquestionably
an appetite for fighting which the continuance of
war produces. There can be no doubt, according
to our correspondent, that it was "the cry for im-
mediate battle" which impelled General Lee to the
attack of the Federal position at Gettysburg that
ended so disastrously for the Confederates. "A cry
for immediate battle, louder and more peremptory
than ever ascended from the Highlanders of Claver-
house or Montrose, swelled the gale—timid and
hesitating counsels were impatiently discarded,
and, as it appeared to me, the mature end cautious
wisdom of General Lee had no choice but to float
-with the current." In the thick of the fire General
Longstreet was obliged to silence the cheering of
his men, and from the very "ambulances, bearing
their ghastly loads of wounded mei,r_ to the rear,"
there issued the loudest hurrahs as General Lee
passed. War certainly does bring out a class of
flue qualities in human nature, and brings them out
in a way in which no ocher life can. Unfortunately
in the great mass it produces a counterbalance.
The very man who is a hero on the field is a brute
when the battle is over. H 3 is insolent, arrogant,
and selfish, and his government is a curse to the
soil he has won. And that is the curse under
which a large part of the United States now groans.
There is a flesh of heroism while the storm of the
battle lasts, but the steady. temptations of every-
day life in a hostile country sap a moral foundation
which was never strong, and make the soldier too
often
,a grasping tyrant. Unfortunately America
now feels his iron grasp, and it may be long before
she is released from it.
PosT.—We have little doubt that there will be as
emany projects as princes at the Frankfort Confer
ence. The Emperor of Austria leads off the dance;
but there will be many ready to figure in it be-
sides Francis -Joseph. But we may for the
moment content ourselves with the Austrian propo-
sitions. They form an indication of the direction
which the attention of the Conference will first
take. The dispute of the different German news •
papers in regard to the precise detail of them is not
important. All we require at present is their general
tenor, and on that point there is a pretty general
agreement. The Emperor of Austria's proposals
appear to concern—first, the organisation of the
Federal Diet; and, secondly, its powers. We must
acknowledge that they seem to point very much in
the direction of a re-establishment of the old Ger-
manic Empire. They form, in effect, the machinery
of the old Imperial Diet, to a great extent at least,
with the artificial substitution of a Directory for an
Emperor. The Executive is to consist of a Direc-
tory, to be formed, according to one account, of five
representatives, and, according to another account,
of seven. Austria, Prussia, and Bavaria are to be
represented singly and severally. The minor Ger-
man Powers are then to elect either two or four
representatives to act conjointly with the Austrian,
Prussian, and Bavarian delegates. Such is the
proposition of the Emperor Francis Joseph for the
constitution of the Federal Executive. We next
come to the legislative part of it. There are to be
two Chambers, according to this proposition. The
Upper House is to be a Chamber of Princes, an
aristocracy limited to that rank. Whether they also
are to be representative. or to embrace the whole
number of their order, does not directly appear ;
but the absence of a limitation of number inclines
us to the supposition that this aristocratical element
is to coincide with the total number of Princes
throughout the Confederation. We then turn to
the Lower House. These ere to be professed dele-
gates. It is not proposed that they should be
directly chosen by ordinary constituencies ; but
they are to be chosen by the different Diets of the
different States of the Confederation. This regula-
tion
i
would, it is obvious, involve some difficulty n
regard to such States as have not at present repre-
sentative legislative assemblies. But at the same
time it would tend no doubt to operate as a whole-
some premium upon constitutional government
throughout the Confederation, inasmuch as the ab-
sence of it in any one State would diminish the
voice and importance of that State in the Federal
Assembly. This Lower House of the Federal As-
sembly is to be composed of representatives from
both Houses in each of the State Diets. Thus the
Lower House in each State Diet is to elect two-
thirds, and the Upper House one-third, of the aggre-
gate of the Federal Assembly. The Lower House of
the Federal Assembly would therefore be, on this pro-
posal, of a highly composite character, as well as
very indirectly elected. It would comprise both
the popular and senatorial element in each German-
State-constitution ; and even the popular element
would be chosen, not by the usual constituencies,
but by representatives already chosen by such con-
stituencies. As it is not proposed to render the
designed Federal Assembly for Germany a highly
popular body, we do not know that there is any
sound objection to raising this broad interval between
its members and the action of public opinion in Ger-
many. But the disproportion between the popula-
tions of the leading States and the comparative num-
ber of representatives whom their respective Parlia-
ments are to send to Frankfort is rather marked. It
is said that Austria and Prussia are together to send
one half the members of the Lower House of Fede-
ral Assembly to Frankfort, and that the minor
States are to send the other half. Now, Austria and
Prussia, reckoning, of course, only the Germanic
territory of either, present a proportion of fully
three-fifths of the population of Germany, we might
almost say two-thirds. There are fully 25,000,000
Germans in these two States against under 15,000,000
in the minor States. At first sight this would look
like remarkable moderation on the part of Austria.
But it is a moderation in which Prussia would have
to join, for the German population of Prussia is
fully as large as the German population of Austria.
To say the truth, the proposal seems to be so designed
that that Power which promises to possess the
greatest influence with the minor States shall,
through them, rule the Confederation. We need
hardly observe that, as matters at present stand, that
Power is Austria. We must confess that we look
with greater distrust to the operation, or rather to
the feasibility of the laws which are here put for-
ward to govern the powers of this Federal Assembly.
As to the proposed power of determining a general
right of domicile, we see every ground to applaud it.
Few practical matters of German law have been
beset with greater intricacy, from their very variety,
then the law of domicile. But when we come to
the question of a " general press law," which the
.Emperor of Austria proposes, we have at once an
infrin,ement on the municipal rights of sovereign
States, which a jealous and powerful State such as
Prussia is certain to resent. We readily concur in
a general law of domicile, because it was a matter
of international concern, and even of international
law ; and it is one, therefore, on which all States
may be expected to agree and to consent to a com-
mon compact and arrangement. Of course, if a
general press law could be passed and be submitted
to in practice, there would be every occasion to re-
joice at it, though an infraction of the sovereign
rights of single States. The objection is that
powerful States are likely to resist the infraction,
and possibly to resist the whole measure, on the
ground of its inroad on their domestic sovereignty.
The same, too, muse be said of the scheme of a set
of supreme Federal tribunals, that is to do away
with the judicial sovereignty of single States—and
yet more, to do away also with the Sovereign's pre-
rogative of clemency and mercy in criminal cases.
Of course, if all the States approximated in power,
it
would be practicable to substitute for the exist-
ing Confederation of States a Federal State, Ench
as the Helvetic Republic, or what the United Pro-
vinces used to be. But we gravely doubt whether,
if the present King of Prussia will not submit even
to a Prussian Legislature, any King of Prussia
would submit to a German Legislature controlling
his own internal sovereignty. And we venture to
entertain some doubt whether even an Emperor of
Austria would either, if the machinery of the pro-
posed Federal constitution were not to promise him
a substantial indemnification in the shape of Ger-
man"supremacy.
HERALD.—As if the love of enterprise were only
another name for the equally restless love of noto-
riety or fame, M. Jules Gerard, the lion slayer, is
just as busy in chronicling the achievements
which remind us of his model Hercules, as in per-
forming them. The labours which carried the con-
queror of the Nemean lion from the Pillars of Her-
cake to the Mountains of the Moon seem to have
tempted M.Gerard into an even wider search of fame;
and the last of our news consists of a couple of
letters, siddressed to the Duke of Wellington and
M. H. Claudet, from points near the western coast
of Central Africa. He is purposing, he tells us, to
make his way by Tinabuctoo to his former haunts in
Algeria, and allows himself twelve months for the
adventurous journey, and writes under a confidence
of success which has a better foundatio. n in the well-
known courage and self-
possession of the traveller
than in the character of the country which he pro.
poses to traverse. There are a great .many hazards
against oar having a Gerard as a gift from nature,
and still more that we shoulo have him safe and
sound for the conveniences of a London summer
season after going through so long a series of perils ;
and as we hear of the drawing-room hero of two
great countries risking among. remote savages so
precious a life for tho satisfaction of a travelling
whim, it is hard not to fear that the nulls vestigia
retrorsum may stand between this new visit to the
arida matrix leonum uhd the reoirn we shall be glad
to weeeenis as tee, sensation of a ereson. In the
meantime we receive from him a pen and ink sketch
of the txst African... huh, Ina in his traVuL%

It is our old friend the King of Dahomey who ob-
tains this advantage from the hand of the French
lion-hunter, and we are pained to find that the
Gallic view is even less favourable to Dahomean
Royalty than our own. It requires a very modest
amount of Conservatism to be restrained from enter-
ing a caveat against the contemptuous standpoint
from which M. Gerard looks down upon a King.
Evidently he is no fit person to edit the " Court Cir-
cular," if Dahomey shoulfl betake itself to one. He
describes his Majesty as well built, with a head
like a bulldog, illustrated by an expression of
mixed cunning and cruelty. The divinity that cloth
hedge in a king demanded surely a more courteous
detail of the facts. We are told that his black Ma-
jesty retains his fanaticism for old traditions and
customs; continues his old love for slave-dealing
and sanguinary spectacles; and his moral quality,
in keeping with his physical conformation, is by no
means the better for being seen close. This is what
the painters would call hard, matter-of-fact, dry,
physical handling of a subject. It shows how little
of the genuine feeling of loyalty exists in modern
Frenchmen, and sets us thinking what the country-
men of M. Gerard would have thought of a sketch
in the same style of a Louis XIV. or a Louis Napo-
leon. The biting cynicism of the Frenchman actu-
ally luxuriates when it brings into play the singu-
lar accessories by which the King endeavours to
give effect to his court grandeur. The palace is com-
posed of huts, and the two columns which help to
make the gateway to it are so many chaplets formed
by human heads. M. Gerard was assisted to a very
lively comprehension of the power of his Majesty
by the exposition of a pool of blood two yards in
width between chaplet and chaplet. The Daho-
mean ideas on taste seem equally primitive and
original on other matters. The music which deaf-
ened the Frenchman delighted his Majesty, and the
distaste of the polite Frenchman is all the more
extraordinary that the Ministers of State and the
members of the blood royal shared in grotesque
dances and joined in playing an African pantomime
in his honour, to the accompaniment of " the most
infernal" noise. A royal procession got up in hon-
our of the French visitor did not win a more fav-
ourable acceptance. A thousand women, some
carrying bottles of water on their head, others car-
rying a brass foot-bath consecrated for the reception
of the blocd of human victims, others baskets full of
human skulls, others the drum of death, varied by
processicnists bearing images cf St. Lawrence and the
King, with certain old carriages and Bath chairs, the
King himself bearing the emblem of Christ on his
breast, formed what is called " the spectacle of the
royal wealth." The scene was not precisely the sort
of thing which the ceremonial of "Le Grand Abner-
que" would have provided to astound the imagina-
tion of a traveller from foreign parts. But then it
was his taste, which was of course the taste of his
kingdom ; and why should not the rule "De
Gustibus" be as appliable to a king or kingdom in
Africa as to a king or kingdom in Europe, where it
is less needed ? M. Gerard is too polite a French-
man not to have had a word for the King's Amazon
army. They are twelve thousand strong, he tells
us, and " manoeuvre with the precision of a flock of
sheep." But if their movements are somewhat wild,
their courage is beyond dispute, and they have
helped their Sovereign to some important acquisi-
tions of territory. The Mahee territory has been
his Savoy, and, thanks to them, the King of
Dahomey now reigns over a population of a quarter
of a million. Let us add, to cover a multitude of
sins and to supply a defect of M. Gerard, that he
reigns over one of the best-cultivated and the richest
agricultural countries on the whole continent of
Africa. He may black his face with coal and
dance in mad revelry with his soldiers at one of his
country's feasts—but then he encourages agriculture,
' and farms are met even in the far interior, where
our civilisation has rarely been ever heard of, that
would do honour to many a country in Europe.

COUNTRY MARKETS.

4,

LE E D S-TUESDA.Y..

New wheat is in good supply to-day, and, though offered
at 3s to 4s per qr lower, meets only a partial sale. Other
articles not materially altered.

LIVERPOOL-TUESDAY.

At our market to-day there was a small attendance of
country millers, and wheat experienced a fair business at
a reduction of ld to 2d per cental on the week. Indian
corn was less pressed, and the reduction of 3d per quarter
bn Ftiday was fully recovered. Barley and peas fully as
dear. Oats and oatmeal negl.cted, and nominally without
change in prices. Beans dull. Flour a moderate sale, and
3d to Ed per brl decline,