The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-03 00:00:00

TH.E SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 2,186 g.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

SPARKENHOE FARMERS' CLUB.

NUNEATON, Wednesday.
The annual meeting of the Sparkenhoe Farmers' Club
took place this day in extensive grounds in the vicinity of
Nuneaton. The show of stock commenced yesterday, and
was one of the largest ever exhibited at the meetings of the
club. The whole place assumed the aspect of a fair. There
were trials of young hunters in galloping and fencing,
poultry and flower shows, exhibition of implements, compe-
tition in horse-ploughing, hedge-cutting and draining.
trials of steam ploughs, mowing and reaping machines, and
a general exhibition of corn, roots, cheese, vegetables, and
fruit. Prizes to the amount of £OOO were distributed, and
during the two days occupied by the show the grounds were
visited by many thousands of spectators. There were 400
entries in the live stock department ; 240 pens in the poultry
exhibition; and 350 entries in the corn, root, and vegetable
class. The proceedings were enlivened by the bands of the
Scots Greys and of the Nuneaton Rifle Volunteers, who
during the day performed selections of operatic music.

The annual dinner took place in a spacious pavilion, in
which about 1,000 of the gentry and farmers of this and
the adjoining districts dined together this afternoon. A very
large number of ladies attended the dinner.

The chair was occupied by Mr. Newdegate, M.P., the
lady patroness of the meeting being Lady Aylesford. Mr.
Newdegate was supported by Lord Leigh (Lord Lieutenant),
Lord Calthorpe, Mr. Caldecott (High Sheriff of Warwick •
shire), the Hon. Mr. Butler, the Rev. Mr. Quirk, the Hon.
E. Talbot, Earl Howe, Sir J. H. Crewe, the Hon. C. G.
Scott, Mr. Soden (Mayor of Coventry), Mr. Davenport, &c.
The usual loyal toasts having been drunk,
The toast of the " House of Lords" was proposed by Mr.
CALDECOTT, and acknowledged by Lord CALTHORPE, who
observed that he hoped that that house would never be un-
mindful of its origin and of the source from which it was
recruited. The House of Lords was, as they well knew, re-
cruited from the most intelligent portion of the middle
classes of this country, and it was one of the greatest boasts
of Englishmen that there was not a single person in the
realm, however humble he might be, but who by the exer-
cise of those talents which God had given him might be-
come a peer of the realm. (Cheers.)
The Hon. Mr. BUTLER then gave "The House of Com-
mons," observing that there was no class of men in the
kingdom who did more to promote the welfare of the coun-
try than the British House of Commons. There were very
few among them who had not the pleasure of associating
with their friend the member for North Warwickshire, and
it was therefore with great pleasure that they saw him oc-
cupy the chair on the present occasion. No doubt there were
some among them who thought that the privileges and ad-
vantages enjoyed by thellouse of Commons were very great,
but he assured them that the greatest privilege they en-
joyed was that of representing the people of England fully
and fairly in Parliament. (Cheers.) There were, in point
of fact, no men harder worked than were members of Par-
liament during certain months of the year, especially if
they did their duty honestly and faithfully to their con-
stituents. It might be said, as it had been, that very little
was done last session in the House of Commons, but he re-
minded them that on certain occasions silence was the
best policy which could be pursued, and there never had
been an occasion on which the silence of hon. members in
Parliament had been of greater service than during the
last session. A jadicial silence oftentimes did more than
long speeches, and it was so in this instance. Hon. members
had had a difficult part to play in the excitement of the
Session. They had to uphold the dignity of the nation, and
at the same time to mainta n its neutrality in the present
deplorable war. He thought that great praise was due to
them for the manner in which they had acted, and he be-
lieved that the Americans themselves in their ccoler mo-
ments admitted that we had honestly maintained our neu-
trality. (Cheers.)
Mr. HISBEED, M.P., replied to the toast.
Several other local toasts were given, and the proceedings
terminated.

A Policeman Severely Wounded in a
Poaching Affray,

On Tuesday, at the West Riding Court, Leeds, Thomas
James Handley, alias Towneley, alias Teasdale, and John
Thomas Hey, were charged with maliciously and unlaw-
fully wounding Isaac Waddington, with intent to do him
grievous bodily harm. Waddington is a member of the
West Riding Constabulary, and is stationed at Shadwell,
near Leeds. On the 31st July he was on duty at Roundhay,
the night being beautifully clear and the moon shining
brightly. Near the parsonage house he saw two men stand-
ing on the footpath, and Handley was one of them. They
passed him, and wished him " good night." This would be
about 10 o'clock. The officer then saw a man coming down
the field behind the parsonage, and carrying a dark coloured
sack under his arm. Waddington identified him as the pri-
soner Hey, and he said to him, " It's you, is it, what have
you got in that bundle ?" Hey replied, " What the is
that to thee ?" Waddington then seized the bag, and there
was a scuffle between them, in the course of which the offi-
cer tore the button off the bag and felt some nets in it.
Whilst the officer and Hey were struggling, the other two
men returned, Handley being armed with the barrel of a
gnu, and the other poacher with the stock. Handley
aimed a blow at the policeman's head, but the latter gave
way, and he was struck heavily on the shoulder. Hey
then got away, and running to a dross heap he picked a
great stone, and hurled it violently at the officer, who
was struck ever the month with the missile, and knocked
down. Waddington's lip was cut quite through, five teeth
were knocked out or broken, and the jawbone was fractured.
The policeman was stunned by the blow, and remained a
little time on the ground ; and as he was recovering, he ob-
served the three men running accross a field in the direc-
tion of Coble Hall Lane. He managed to crawl to the toll-
house, about 150 yards off, and there assistance was ren-
dered him, and he was under medical assistance for nearly
a month, and at one time his life was in danger.—Charles
Prestos, a blacksmith, residing at Moorton, near Leeds, met
the prisoners at four o'clock the next morning, or about six
hours after the affray. They were then near Moortown
church, and Handley was carrying a bag across his shoul-
ders which apparently contained game, and blood was run-
ning out of the bottom of it. " How far hest thou come ?"
Preston replied "From Moortown." Hey rejoined "Halt
thou seen ought of any policeman?" Preston answered in
the negative. He then asked if they could direct them a way
of getting into Leeds without passing through Chapeltown,
and he gave them certain instructions with that object.
There was a third man with the prisoner, and he was carry-
ing three sticks. The prisoners were apprehended by Super-
intendent Pollard and Sergeant Midgley, as they were
entering a beerhouse in Kirkgate, on the 25th ult. After
they had been taken before the magistrate for remand, Hey,
addressing the prosecutor,Waddington, said, "It's thee we
are taken for ! I wish the stone had knocked thy brains
out. If ever thou meets me again in that way, thou'l meet
nobody else." Superintendent Pollard, in searching Hey's
house, subsequently found 64 snares and wires, 49 purse
nets, four gate nets, three long nets and iron pegs, 53
wooden pegs, a gun, which could be taken in pieces, and
sporting appendages, 9 living wild rabbits, and 3 dead ones.
Three long nets were wet, as if they had been recently used,
and were hung up on the clothes line.—The prisoners were
committed for trial at the next West Riding sessions.

BALLOON ASCENT.—NARROW ESCAPE.—The
balloon ascent on Monday, by Mr. Glaisher, Mr.
Coxwell, the representative of the Netccastle Chronicle, and
others, was highly successful, though the descent was at-
tended with considerable delver, as the following report for
the paper just named will'show :—Mr.Coxwell, looking out
for a favourable position for the descent, thought at first to
pass a range of hills right ahead of us ; but, finding a
favourable field nearer at hand, he lowered its quickly, and
warned us how to avoid injury by bumps. In accordance
with his directions we cowered down in the car, and hold-
ing fast the ropes on each aide, were ready for the
bumps when they should come ; and come they did. In
avoiding the wires on the North-Eastern Railway we got
out of the pan into the fire, as the phrase goes, and caught
the telegraph wires on a waggon-way that had been
quite unobserved. The Mammoth, impatient of restraint,
swayed his immense bulk to and fro, and dragged most mon-
strously against the resistance of the grapnel on the wires.
" Bravo wires!" said one, and bump went we on the ground.
Up for an instant, and then down again with a bump
bigger
than ever, and most vilely stunning in its effects. The
huge balloon flapped and tore in front of us, and suddenly
carried us right off from our hold. Looking over the edge
of the car, it was seen that she had torn up two of the tele-
graph posts, and brought them over the hedge into the
field of shorn and sheaved corn. Worse than this, an ex-
clamation from Mr. Smith told us that the rope had broken
and that the grapnel was left hanging to the wire. Mr:
Smith shouted to the peasantry, who, like the Britons of
old, when alarmed at the appearance of Cmsar, had congre-
gated on the adjacent heights, and requested Lem to come
to our assistance and seize the rope. They came down fast
enough, but not understanding what was required of them,
and being perchance apprehensive of being carried off into
the heavens, did not seize hold of either car or rope. Mr.
Coswell, with a degree of promptitude and energy which
proved him to be equal to any danger,applied himself to tho
valve rope, and pulled with might and main. Neverthe-
less, the balloon had still power to drag the car and us
along the field of coin, first by slight and occasional
elevations, then by regular dragging. the car lying on its
side, and the monster balloon tearing along at an uncom-
fortable rate. Mr. Smith, taking the string, relieved Mr.
Coxwell, and, obeying his rapid orders, pulled with all his
strength, Yet on we went, the c
it, were
and strain-
ing heavily, while we, crouched in
. bumped
. and
knocked, and thumped. and once or twice fairly covered
in with sheaves. A thick and. high thorn fence was right
in front of and it seemed likely that we should be into
it, Mr. Caswell knew better, and through his generalship,
mad strength of Mr. Smith, aided also by
and
our ftrhi:nlitievfitt Y
he country, who had at length seized hold of
the car, we pulled up) ust at that point where a clever hun-
ter would' have risen at the fence. The balloon, indeed, was
quite over the hedge, the' car still on the right side, when
the people, seizing the net-work, helped to hold her back,
and so saved us from a scr,atching. Inquiries as to our
whereabouts elicited the intell.igence that we were near the
village of Pittington, and that %we had come to earth on the
farm of Mr, Newby,

Escape and Suicide of a Patient from
Armstrong's Lunatic Asylum,

Mr. Wm. Carter, the coroner for East Surrey,
held an inquest at Mr. Aylett's, the Crown Tavern,
Church-street, -T.ambeth, on the body of Sarah Jones,
aged 28, late an i'nmate of Dr. Armstrong's lunatic
asylum at Peckhavu.
Police-constable 184, of the L division, said that
on Monday morning last his attention was called
by a gentleman to something lying near Waterloo-
bridge, on the bed of the river. He went down,
and found that it was the deceased. He gave in-
formation to Mr. Adamson, and the body was taken
to Lambeth dead-house.

Ann Hailes said that she had laid out the body.
She found a mark on the back of the head, and
another on the left elbow, as if they were caused by
a heavy fall. In her pocket were two handkerchiefs
and a hnifpenny.

. _
Eliza Stallion said that she was a widow,
arid
had known the deceased for about seven months, by
reason of being employed at Mr. Armstrong's
lunatic asylum at Peckham. Witness was an at-
tendant in the asylum. The deceased was a lunatic
patient. She last saw h2r alive at three o'clock on
Sunday afternoon last, at which time she was
under the charge of Mary Ann Osborn, another at-
tendant, and also herself and Emma Marshall. She
last saw her whilst they were walking out, and
after passing Camberwell-green they turned, for the
purpose of going up Denmark-hill, when, at the
corner of Church-street, she was missed by Osborne,
wha ran back towards Camberwell Church. Wit-
ness did not see her again alive.
Nary Ann Osborne said that she was an attend-
ant at 1)r. Armstrong's. On Sunday afternoon the
deceased and other patients left the establishment
for a walk. There were 33 patients and three at-
tendants. On arriving at the corner of Church-
street, by the Green, she missed the deceased. She
left the other patients, and ran after her, but could
not find her, and she gave a description of her to a
policeman. She was not suicidically inclined, and
was a very quiet girl, and most amiable in her
manners. She had of late got much better in her
mind. She was entrusted with knives, and no fear
was apprehended that she contemplated suicide.
The delusions she laboured under were about religion.
Elizabeth Jones said that she was a widow. The
deceased was born 7 weeks after the death of her
father. Witness resided at 7, Gloucester-street,
Lambeth. She had been at Dr. Armstrong's esta-
blishment for 7 months as a pauper patient. She
never knew her to threaten to destroy her life. She
used to wander in her mind. She could not tell how
she got into the water.
The learned Coroner summed up; and
The jury returned a verdict that deceased de-
stroyed her life when of unsound mind.
The Coroner recommended the attendants to use
all proper vigilance in future, so that a similar case
might not occur again.