The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-07 00:00:00

TI114; SUN. LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 7, 1363.

INQUEST ON THE REMAINS AND
O n SaturdayAND SINGULAR
DISCLOSURES.
aafjteurrynooofnthMeri.n3h.abli phry, coroner of East
Inn,
Hi
inhabitants of St. Mary,White-
and
chapel, assembled at the Angel
High-street, for the
purpose of inquiring into the circumstances
Middlesex,
n h
-born children,
'connected with
g
the recent discovery of a number of
newly
_born
remains were stowed awayin
the bodies of 14 chil-
dren, in the roof and
belfry of Whitechapel Church.
rn but it was
It appears that, up to Friday
night,b
dren, apparently from the size of their remains,
three exceptions, stillborn, had been discovered,
mowith two or
reported that there had during Saturday in
dis-
covered the skulls and other remains of 11 more gbeen
e children,ae
well as fragments of coffins which had contained them.
The affair appears to have created much scandal ' m
neighbourhood, and the Rev. Mr. Cohen, the rector'
and
the
churchwardens, and other parochial authorities were not
present, but were represented by Mr. Farnham, from the
office of Mr. H. S. Mitchell, solicitor and clerk to the vestry
of the parish.
The bodies were ranged is a row in one of the corridors
leading to the gallery of the church, where they:were viewed
by the jury (one appeared to be that of an intent some two
or three months old), but they were all shrivelled up into
mere mummies. On returning to the inquest room,
The Coroners said although there were fourteen bodies
found he only proposed to inquire as to the largest child
and one or two other,, as they no doubt would give the clue
to the whole.
Joseph Cooper was first sworn, and said he lived at 10,
Shaftesbury-place, and is a carpenter. He was working at
Whitechapel Church, fixing ventilators, on Thursday morn-
ing. Was also at work there on Saturday, the 22d August,
in the roof. 'Whilst at work he discovered a coffin. This
tthhaeesesaoobinuotlinhtsaidqeuoafrttebreto nine in the morning. On opening
iledge how thee
he found the body of a child. The coffin. was on
beam,
and
on roof between the rafters, and on a tie
itness, corroborated his evidence es to the finding of this
Mr. Charles Blackymaairtt said he was a surgeon and regis-
fitrrasrt,
bodyand ozil:111 r
the
ethfree
believed
was called to examine the
child, of the probable are of
ied it to be the body of a female
dello
months. He judged so
from the skull and from t
cowl() state the cause of death, but process. Could not of
it had lived. There was no fracturetthere was no doubt that
had become converted into leather almostof the skull. The skin
Ile should imagine the child; had been iin
some parts.
in the roof of the church from one to two years. the
coffin and up
the body in conjunction with Mr. Liddell,re. Examined
medical officer
of health, and he agreed wi:h him.
By the Jury—l do not think that child had been
d
three or four years. The knees of the child are
drawneedp
and much contracted, but I can only account for that
from
the child dying in convulsions, or it might be from being
doubled up after death. There was a cap round the head,
but nothing whatever leading to identification. We give in
private practice a special certificate when a child is " still-
born," I think they will not bury " stillborns" at a ceme.

tery without a certificate, but the law does not compel one
to be given.
The Coroner said he would now take any evidence likely
to show how the body came there.
The inspector of police said there was one coffin that had
a name on it, and he had found the parties who belonged to
that child.
The witness Cooper was recalled, and proved that he
found the coffin which had the name on it with the other
bodies. The name on the coffin was " Mrs. Forster, 35,
Bedford .street."
Mr. Jchn Liddell sworn—Was medical officer of health
of the Whitechapel district. Had been called upon to exa-
mine some of these bodies, and examined, in conjunction
with Mr. Blackman, the child first found. He entirely con-
curred with Mr. Blackman in his evidence as to that child.
He had also examined the body of the child in the coffin
having an address on it. It was a full-timed child, or
nearly so, but was too much decomposed and destroyed to
discover the sex. He could hardly say how long the child
had been dead. Found no fracture of the skull or any in-
juries. He believed all the rest of the children were "still.
horns," so far as he could judge.
Sarah Allen said she resided at 27, Antliff-street, Cottage-
lane, Stepney. Had been married since the 21st of April,
1861.. In the year prior to that she gave birth to a child.
Mr. Mahoney, of the Commercial road, attended her in her
confinement, It was a stillborn and not a full-timed child.
For the purpose of burial Mr. Canham, an undertaker, of
the Mile-end-road, was engaged. He sent a man for it who
took it away. He charged 75., but gave no receipt.
By the Coroner—He told me that the burial or church
fees were 3s. 6d„ and he charged me 7s. That was on the
hhoeunseey.thels.haemme
aevnewnihneg,teelh gthote aehctelrdtiafiwcaaytetefreoh
23d March, 1860. It was born on that day, and left my
fihacartieedwlitwhashraim. aehls Vu
rhperni eld hea rd
Mr.
ct ha en
hcahrai I dh ha
da dg
enna
et
away
nithMatr.cel‘ritai--

for some time. I had seen the man who bad fetched the
body of my child away before. Mr. Canban has buried four
of my children, once since the child referred to by the jury.
Three children were illegitimate and one legitimate ; two of
the four were born alive. The same man came for the one
that has now been found, and one before that ; the other
that died was five days old. There was another one born
alive, and was five weeks old when it died. The child that
lived five days was born in May, 1860. I had a certificate
from Mr. Mahoney with all of them. I understood that
both the children were to be buried at Bow Cemetery. The
first child,: which lived five days, 1 paid £1 2s. 6d. to have
buried. I have not seen the man who fetched the children
away since 1361. The child that lived five weeks was born
on Sept. 12, 1858. I think I could tell the dress of the child
that lived five weeks, and aleo of the one that lived five
days. I followed the one that lived five weeks to the grave
at Bow Cemetery myself, but the one that lived five days
Mr. Canham's man took away.
The Coroner directed the witness to go with one of the
officers and examine the clothing found in some of the

coffins.
John Holley said he resided at Orange-row, Charlotte-
street, Whitechapel, and is an undertaker. Had conducted
funerals hi that parish many years, and was accustomed to
bury at Whitechapel Church stillborn children up to within
two years. When ne had a funeral of a stillborn he used to
consign the body to a man of the name of Smith, belltoller
and gravedigger.
Coroner—You don't call that burying them at White-
chapel Church ?
Witness—Smith used to fetch the bodies of stillborn
children from my place, and I used to give him the certifi-
cate, and 2s. 6d. to pay the sexton. I also gays him some-
thing for himself as porter or messenger. I don't know
whether the bodies were buried by Smith or not, I have
my suspicion now that they were not. I have sometimes
seen Wilkinson, the sexton, and he has sent Smith, the
gravedigger, to me for the booty. He has done so many
times. 1 have taken bodies to the church myself and deli-
vered them to Mr. Wilkinson, but more usually they were
delivered to Smith. 1 should say I have delivered them to
Wilkinson at the church about four years. I have not
buried other children at Whitechapel Church since the pass-
ing of the Interment Act, 6 or 7 years.
By the Jury—We paid 2s. 6d. at Whitechapel, and we
could got them buried at Whitcliffe Chapel for ls. 6d. We
have kept children, stillborn, sometimes 3 months. The
certificates are sometimes signed by midwives. We take
any woman signing a certificate as a "midwife." I think
the Legislature is very wrong with regard to the facilities
for burying stillborn children.
Sarah Allen re-called—Had examined the clothing, and
identified a piece of calico in the coffin which had the name
on it. The coffin for the one which had lived five days was
covered with cloth.
Samuel Wilkinson, the sexton, on being handed the book
to be sworn, appeared much excited, and said—l am inno-
cent of this charge, so help me God.
Coroner—Do not go on in that way. No one has charged
you, that I am aware of.
He was then sworn, and said—l have been sexton of
Whitechapel 27 years next January. I formerly, as sexton,
received the bodies of stillborn children for interment. The
last one, I believe, I had in the beginning of this spring,
which had a certificate signed by Mr. Blackman. I have
never been in the habit of receiving them from Mr. Willey
and other undertakers. I will swear I never received any
in my life from Mr. Willey. He never came to me to tell
me he had a " stillborn" to bury.
Coroner—Do you know Mr. Hicks, an undertaker ?
Witness—l cannot say I do. I knew Mr. Canham, but
I never had any thing to do with him. I mean he never
brought any stillborn children to be buried at the church to
my knowledge. I knew William Smith, who used to work
in the yard. He is dead. I never sent him to Mr. Willey's
to fetch the stillborn children. 1 never did so in my life
I should say that very few, not above 3 or 4, stillborn chil-
dren have been buried during the last five years at White-
chapel Church.
Coroner—You don't mean to tell the Court that you have
only had three or four during the last five years.
Witness—On my oath I have not.
Coroner—Where are the certificates?
Witness—l don't know. I don't keep them. I don't file
them. I don't know that Mr. Mahoney signed certificates.
When a child was brought to be buried there was always a
certificate that it was a stillborn child. I never received a
midwife's certificate in my life. I never buried a child with
a "female" midwife's certificate. (Laughter.) I might do
so now. I always buried the children in Whitechapel-
churchyard. The four or five I have alluded to have been
buried in separate graves. I receive as a fee half-a-crown
with each stillborn. I don't know how it is regulated or
who regulates the fees. If they are very poor we get ls. 6d.
I keep that fee, and do not account for it, or pay it over to
the churchwardens. As sexton it is my duty to keep the
keys and custody of the church and churchyard. I have
nothing at all to do with the key of the tower or steeple.
The keys of the tower are kept in the church porch going
up to the steeple. Others have a key of the churchyard
and not the church. The churchwardens have.
Coroner—There have been 14 remains of bodies found in
the church, and I want your explanation of how these bodies
could get there without your knowledge.
Witness—That is very easy. There are a great many
people come to chime the bells and practising. I am all
about the church, and persons might carry coffins up there
with children in them without my knowledge. I open the
church in the morning and close it at night. I know nothing
about these bodies which have been found in the roof. 1
have only one key to the church. No one could go through
the churchyard if the gates were closed without going
through my house, and [ should not let them do so without
my knowing their business. There are the pew-openers
cleaning there two or three times a week.
Coroner—On your oath you tell the Court you do not know
how these bodies came into the church ?
Witness—On my oath I do not. When the first coffin
was found and the man told me, I thought he was joking;
but when he showed it to me I told him to put it where he
found it, and I went and reported it to the churchwarden.
By the Coroner—l gave the other certificates when bodies
were buried to the clerk. I did not do so with regard to
still-borns. because there was no necessity for it, but I kept
money for them. (Laughter.)
By the Jury—l never was in the roof or belfry in the
church in my life till this discovery. My appointment is
an annual one.
Wm. Shipman said he has been steeple-keeper and bell-
man of Whitechapel Church since Prince Albert died. He
used to do a little work there prior to that in chiming the
bells. Had been a bell ringer there five years, and went up
and down there, when a boy, 45 years ago. Had had the
run of the church since Prince Albert died. Had a key of
the outer gate, which Mr. Corner, chief bell ringer, gave
him, and usually found the key of the belfry on a ledge in
the porch. When he used to go to ring what they called the
breakfast boll onSunday mornings, he had to go to Mr. Wi-
lkinson's for the key. He did not get up very early. Did not
suppose gentlemen like him did get up veryearly. (A. laugh.)
Knew Smith, the gravedigger, and rang a death peal for
him ; that was about two years ago. There had been no
gravedigger since been there, and would swear that, to his
knowledge, there had been no grave opened there either for
a still born or any other person since Prince Albert died.
By the Coroner—l have never seen any undertaker's
black bag with small coffins in it since I have been there. I
never saw the sight of a single one, and I never took in a
still born child to be buried. I have heard that bodies have
been foiled in the roof of the church, but I know nothing of
how they came there. I never saw Smith bring any bodies
there. I was connected with undertakers years ago, but
they paid so badly that 1 thought I might as well walk
about the streets for nothing as work for nothing. I used to
go for the key of the church to Mr. Wilkinson's back door,
and the servant sometimes gave it to me.
Walter Varcoa said he resided at 2, Spital-street, Mile-
end Old Town, and was an undertaker in the employ of Mr.
Holly and Mr Hanes, inllunt-street, and other undertakers,
for 30 years. It was the practice of some undertakers to
keep still borns till they got four or five, and sometimes as
many as a dozen, and then take them to be buried. He had
i known a dozen taken to Ilford at once. Whilst with Mr.
Holly he used to bury still borne at Whitechapel Church.
s°w
He left Mr. Holly two years and a half ago. He knew Mr.
_iWilkinson, the sexton. He never took still-horns there
himself,
msel.f. They were all taken away by a man named Smith,
Wilkinsonad. Never had any conversation with
on about still-borns being buried at Whitechapel
Churchs.
When he had still-borns he used to call on Smith

to see if he could find him about the ground, and when he
did so he used to tell him that there were some still-borns
waiting for him to fetch away.
The Rev. Mr. Cohen, the rector of Whitechapel, here in-
quired what was to be done with the bodies, as they wished
to get them removed, so that the church might be got ready
for the morning's service.
The Coroner said they might be removed into a vault or
up into the belfry again, but it was most essential that they
should be placed in some piece of security, as well as of
easy access ; or at all events tht.t those which had dresses
should have them handy, as they might lead to identify and
throw some light on who had charge of the bodies.

It was arranged that they should be removed, under su-
pervision of the police inspector present.
Evidence of Varcoe continued—l never saw Mr Wilkin-
son when I went to look after Smith. 'When Smith fetched

the "stills" he sometimes brought a black bag and some-
times a sack. I have seen him remove as many as four at
one time. I should say he could not smuggle them into
the belfry without being seen.
_

By the Coroner—lt is always usual to have a certificate
from a medical man or midwife for burial of a still-born
child. We should take it as a certificate from a midwife
whether it was true that the party signed it or not.

Coroner—ln your 30 years' experience do you know of it
being the fact, that bodies which are sometimes left with
undertakers for burial don't get buried at all ?
Witness—Such things might have taken place, but they
have not come under my knowedge personally.
Coroner—When a child is brought with a certificate as a
"still-born," do you or the undertakers exercise auy super-
vision to see if it is " still •born" or not
Witness—Sometimes people come and say they have a
"still-born" to bury, and they get the shell, and bring the
body back to be buried, and it is taken as a " still-born "
without any further inquiry.
By the Coroner—Supposing it is found not to be a "still-
born," then we should refuse to bury it without the regular
fees. It would be Os. 6d. at the Victoria, and 2s. 6d. if a still-
born, I have no doubt that many children are buried as
" still-born" which are not still-born.
Joseph Corner said he resided at 6, Newland-place,
Bishopsgate, and was a labourer. Had been employed as
gravedigger in several burial grounds. Never received any
still-born children at Whitechapel Church while he dug
graves there, which was about three years ago. All he had
to do was to dig graves in the ground.
The Coroner said they had now got as far as they could
with their inquiry that day, and he was free to confess the
evidence they had as yet heard threw but very little light
upon the fact of how these bodies got into the place where
they were found. The dresses, however, in which some of
the bodies were placed might, however, be identified, and
throw some light upon it, if they adjourned, and trace out
the party or parties who put them there. He proposed,
therefore, to adjourn fora week.
After some discussion the inquiry was adjourned till
Saturday next.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

Saran DAY RETIEw.--ihe extraordinary dulness
owfaastss whohdeoSubulmy insure t
Summer Assizes, was, to some extent, re-
lieved by the trial about Campden House—a
l trial of considerab:e interest to that numerous
c
interesting
r as houses andshowing
theirthe
sort fu o
r ni
f-
t .
furni-
ture. The case in itself was interesting, and it
grounds
insurance offices thought it right and decent to
on which the managers of two lead-
tpeeomploer,alnot
guiltl n eorfeal yt r
iwith m
murder
arson, 0
of the
mwithos
arson at
lrge committed under circumstances which in-
volved vo ved
the
,
horrible character., If Mr. Volley really converted
of the
his house into a sort of infernal machine, and set
fire to it without taking any precautions against the
what
common run of
destruction
having cleared
a crime '- es,
gut t, it becomes
his character
he undoubtedly com-
mitted
murders. infinitely morei,he
verdict
of tthhaen j theu ry
something .
character from this diabolical
matter of more than
• i -
curiosity to see were the grounds on which
amthpedemnu Houserning o between three and four
occurred the two companies in question considered themselves
warranted in imputing it to him. The fire at
inC
of the 23d of March, 1862, wyeb.aerne
the house itself and its contents were destroyed.
The tenant of the hoes; Mr. Wolley,
of age. In his youth he had been, as we learn
from the offensive and impertinent cross-examina-
tion to which the defendants thought proper to sub-
ject him, in what people call " an uncertain posi-
tion ;" that is, he had been something between a
waiter, a clerk, and an actor—a little of each. In
1847 he married a Miss Coape, who, as well as
her younger sister, had a fortune of £35,000. In
1854, he bought a 99 years' lease of Campden House,
and in 1855 he let it to ColoneaVaugh, and he went
himself to live at Tonbridge Castle. Whilst there,
his wife was accidently drowned during her hus-
band's absence, and after her death the younger
sister continued to live with her brother-in-law.
Each of these ladies appear to have entered fully
into Mr. Wolley's tastes. He laid out the whole of
his wife's fortune in buying, furnishing, and orna-
menting the house. Nearly £16,000 out of the
fortune of his sistetein-law, was spent in the
same manner. The family lived on the income
of the rest of her property. The house itself
would appear from the evidence to have been
a sort of old curiosity shop. It was full of
cut ious carvings, ornamental ceilings, pictures, rich
carpets, gildings, chandeliers, and all manner of
other things of the kind. Mr. Wolley carried his
taste so far that he once bought an estate in Essex
for £1,300, and sold it again for £9OO, merely for
the sake of being able to remove some rich carvings
which it contained, and which thus cost him £4OO.
In short the description of the house and its con-
tents is exactly like that which Balzac gives in his
novels of the dwellings of such monomaniacs as
Cousin Pons or Balthasar Claes. The use to which
this remarkable house was put was that of giving
lendid parties, at many of which amateur plays
were acted. Oae lady said, " There were large as-
semblies there very frequently, and theatrical en-
tertainments, perhaps 20 in the season." " There
would be sometimes 300 or 400 people there at as-
semblies and concerts." The plays seem, for the
most part, to have been for the benefit of charitable
institutions. The last season of the splendour of
Campden House wes that of 1861, after which Mr.
\Volley and Miss Coape went down to a small
house at Brighton, where they appear to have lived
like other people till the time should come round
again for a new set of festivities. Early in March
Mr. Wolley returned from Brighton to Campden
ptic fits. A carpenter and builder,
House with his servant Crozier, whom he was
whom Mr. Wolley had kept ob-
ligedcon-
to have constantly near le;m because he was
subjectnam e
d 'Temple,
e pi le
employ for many years, was taking
scareta n t
01 yf
thein
time, with his wife and son ;
and there, according to the theory of the defendants,
his
house at the
Mr. Wolley and Crczier spent three weeks in deli-
berately preparing to burn down the house, with
the Temples in it—a plan which, the Insurance
Company assert, was duly carried into execution.
Certainly all the antecedent probabilities of the
matter are flagantly opposed to this view of the case.
The particular facts which the defendants deemed
sufficient to support the theory that Mr. Wolley
did burn his house, notwithstanding all this, were
that he carefully prepared the house for burning—
that he hung the walls with paper, put tapestry
over the windows to conceal the flames during the
early part of the fire, varnished the wainscoting,
and laid out the books on the tables as if to dry.
It was admitted that there were plausible 4‘ pre-
texts" for all this—that the varnishing was natural
enough, that the paper was said to have been hung
up over the varnished wainscots for the sake at
keeping off dirt and insects, that the tapestry was
hung against the light in order that the holes in it
might be easily seen and conveniently mended, and
that the books might have been opened to dry. It
was said, of course, there would bo pretexts, but
here there were "striking coincidences. If it was
an accident, it was the most wonderful that ever
occurred ; there was the varnishing and repairing of
tapestry and the drying of books, and the covering
up of walls all happening at the same time." This
is the sort of argument which may be excused in a
counsel who has a weak case, bat it is astonishing
that cool men of business should act upon such
absurdly frivolous reasoning. There is about as
mach marvel in this coincidence as in the coinci-
dence between taking up the carpets, whitewashing
the ceiling, and putting brown-holland covers Oil
the furniture, which may usually be observed when
a family goes out of town. The simple fact is, that
each of these operations was connected with setting
the house to rights, and all, therefore, would natur-
ally take place at the same time. Besides this there
is something monstrous in the notion of a man carry-
ing out all these designs under the eyes of domestic
spies who would haae it in their power to boar wit-
ness against him, and whose absence he might easy
have procured. The presence of the Temples in the
house was barely consistent with the theory of the
defendants. This was (after recapitulating the
evidence) the substance of the case. It is curious to
see how little it comes to when it is put together.
y.
There is not in the whole range of the evidence a
single fact which really proves any one of the
elements of such a crime as was imputed to Mr.
Nolte There is no roof of motive, no proof of
preparation, no proof of execution. There are
isolated facts which, if you choose to begin by
assuming that there Was a crime at all, point out
the way in
which it was committed. Assume
that Mr. °He—
y did burn his house fraudulently,
and the different facts proved will no doubt bear the
A
construction put upon them by the companies ;
but there is nothing whatever to compel that con-
elusion, though they
might suggest it to persons
whose interest and, to some extent, whose duty it is
to be suspicious. The case is a good instance of the
nature of suspicion as distinguished from proof ;
and, we may add, it is a striking example of the

extent to which suspicion may be made to do duty
in place of proof. A Court of Justice was occupied
for a whole week in listening to " evidence" which
it did not need two minutes' deliberation to stamp
as utterly frivolous and worthless. The fact that
the jury found a verdict for the plaintiff on the
instant, without leaving their box, furnishes a suffi-
cient comment on a proceeding which is probably
unexampled, and which, it may be hoped, is little
likely to be regarded by Insurance Companies as a
precedent for imitation.
SPECTATOR.—The report, for it is only a report,
that the Czar is willing to reconstitute the Grand
Duchy of Warsaw under an Imperial Lieutenant, is
in itself an important testimony to the strength of
the insurrection. Three years ago the Poles only
claimed to be governed as an independent province.
Provided their religion were respected, the right of
educating themselves conceded, the relations of
nobles and peasants amicably settled, and industrial
enterpriz e encouraged, the party of progress, headed
les Count Andre Z imoiski, desired nothing more for
years to come. 'i hey knew Europe was weary of
the Polish question, they desponded of their own
strength, and in spite of the Czar's unworthy speech
atWarsaw—"l shall know how to be severe"—they
believed that the tyranny of Nicholas could never
be renewed. They had yet to learn that a weak,
well-meaning man, with such creatures as Wielo-
polski, Gortschakoff, and Mouravieff. might be more
fatal to his subjects than the sovereign whose sole
faith had been;his own divinity. Since the massacre
of Feb., 1861, when the Russian soldiers fired on a
peaceful and unarmed multitude, the Government of
St. Petersburg has pursued a relentless policy of ex-
tinction. It menaced the clergy, closed the churches,
suppressed schools, and made a state of siege the
police of the country. Under the Grand Duke
Constantine the last outrage on national self-respect
was perpetrated. It was resolved to press all the
energy and intelligence of the country into the ser-
vice of its oppressors. Then, and then only, it was
decided by the majority of a single vote in the
Central Committee of the National Government
that the conscripts had better die fighting against
Russia than in her ranks. No Pole at that time
expected the results which have actually been
achieved. The single hope that seemed probable,
that of foreign intervention, has been painfully
disappointed. But, through a number of unfore-
seen circumstances, a singularly mild winter, the
incredible negligence of the Russian generals at the
outset, the demoralisation of the troops, and the un-
precedented union of different classes iu Poland, the
insurrection has maintained itself and spread. Raesia
at this moment has 250,000 men in the kingdom
and the old provinces, has sent even the Guards
from St. Petersburg, and bas decreed a fresh levy
in the two-thirdslot her empire that can be trusted.
She has had from the first the cordial support of
prusEea, equivalent at least to an additional corps
d armee, and latterly something more than neu-
trality from Austria. Tier military governors, once
roused, have acted with vigour, and, setting aside
Lithuania as the theatre of an exceptional monster
—Mouravieff, the results of the last year are suffi-
ciently startling. In Warsaw, a fourth of the
population is said to be in arms, killed, or trans-
ported ; in the district of Lublin, one of the best
governed, one hundred gentlemen have been im-
prisoned, and iu Kalisch only a few are out of
prison. Confiscations,fiogging, hanging, sometimes
even burning alive, have been episodes in the ter-
rible struggle. At the end of eight months the
National Government is more firmly organised than
ever, dismisses officials, interrupts railway commu-
nication, forbids taxes to be paid except to itself,
and, unhappily, is even able to retaliate death on
the secret agents of the enemy. Its troops, in spite
of official bulletins, occupy the country, and the
Russians hold not an inch between Warsaw and
Galicia on which they are not in force
enough to give battle. The imperial trea-
sury is so nearly exhausted that silver is
nowhere seen except in Warsaw, and the salaries
of the chief official's have been unpaid for months.
Of course, this state of things may be altered at
any moment. Men without drill, without muni-
tions of war, without regular encampments, and
without hospitals, are at terrible disadvantage
against the chances of battle or disease. Neverthe-
less, the last reports say that the insurgents have
been victorious at .) anow and threaten Lublin. It
is at this moment that the Russian Government,
bankrupt of money and men, and painfully con-
scious of the loathing it excites in Europe, pro•
poses to quiet the revolt by an offer of provisional
independence. It is as if George 111. had proposed,
after the convention of Saratoga. that the Ameri-
cans should disarm on condition of being allowed to
tax themselves. The imprisonment or death of
40,000 men and women may seem a very small
thing to the Court of Peterhoff—bat it leaves memo-
ries that are not easily effeced among the suffering
people.
LONDON REVIEW.—It can scarcely be said that
the conquest of Mexico is yet complete, or the new
form of government fully established, or the future
Emperor irrevocably chosen. It may be that the
French may still find much work before them, ere
their self-imposed task be thoroughly accomplished.
Minor guerilla chiefs may refuse to submit, and
may continue to give considerable trouble—brigan-
dage, and faction may retard for some time longer
the final reduction and pacification of the country;
and it is possible, though not probable, that on
looking more closely at the prospect before him, the
Sovereign elect, the Archduke Maximilian, may be
induced to decline the Imperial throne. Still we
cannot apprehend that any of these possibilities will
materially affect the ultimate result. We may be
quite sure that Louis Napoleon will not draw back
from an enterprise which is now so nearly com-
pleted, and which cost him so much. France can-
not afford to be bafilad, and is not accustomed to
put up with failure and defeat, even in expedi-
tions which are not or were not popular ; and
if the Austrian prince should finally prefer a quiet
life at home to the splendid temptations of grati-
fied ambition, other less cautious, and perhaps less
eligible candidates, will no doubt be found. The
idea of erecting a monarchical government in Mex-
ico did not originate with the French Emperor.
More than twenty years ago it was felt by the
best and ablest dictator Mexico ever had, Santa
Anna, that the elements of a permanent and vigo-
rous democratic administration did not exist in
that country, and could not be created, and that
her only means of escape from ceaseless anarchy
and utter ruin would bitfound in the establishment
of an autocracy, and the selection of a European
prince. All that was sensible and educated among
the Mexican people felt as Santa did. A ne-
gotiation, with the view of bringing about such a
result was (about 1842, we believe) entered d into
with the chief powers of Europe, and theirr sanc-
tion and co-operation were requested. The plan
was favourably received, and matters even went
so far that the crown was informally offered to the
Archduke Frederick, and not refused either by
him or by the Court of Vienna. But the United
States threatened violent opposition, and the har-
mony which at one time had reigned among the
potentates of the old world was disturbed ; Santa
Anna fell from power; and the scheme fell into
abeyance. It was, however, in the main, too natu-
ral and judicious not to be sure of revival on the
first favourable opportunity ; and having been now
taken up and acted on by so
resolute a Sovereign as
we may fairly assume that, under
Louis Napoleon,
some modification or other, and under some chief
or other, Mexico will become a settled state, with
an imperial regime, and under the protection and
enforcement of a French army of occupation. It
remains for consideration how far and in what man-
ner this stupendous change affect the ulti-
mate position and policy of the two great
divisions of what was once the United States. In
the first place a crushing blow has been struck at the
Monroe doctrine," and that by the only Power
with which the propounders of that doctrine never
seem inclined to quarrel—perhaps bause it is the
only one which is always,ready to take up any
gauntlet.
. That insolent declaration, which assumed
to forbid not, only the establishment or intervention
of any European power, but the erection of mon-
archieal government, on
.any portion of the vast
continent of North America, was of itself preten-
tious in the extrem. e, and could find nothing either
in the claims ot justice or the ultimate welfare of
the human race to warrant or excuse it. It was only
a few years since European and monarchical autho-
rity had been compelled, in the era of its feebleness,
to relax its hold on some of the fairest and most fer-
tile and most extensive regions of that continent. It
became year by year more obvious that republican
institutions were utterly unsuited to the dwellers in
those countries which, though they had succeeded
in throwing off the yoke of Spain, showed them-
selves quite unable to utilise or to maintain the free-
dom they had gained ; and that the continued
attempt count only insure a long period of suffering
and turbo ence:eud a final result of complete degene-
racy and exhaustion. This, however, was of course
what the United States foresaw and desired. They
hoped, and with reason, that if they could only
warn off European aid and monarchical vigour long
enough from the emancipated colonies of Spain,
these would fall into their grasp as soon as they
indeed,
be ready to take possession, and would,
be so wretched in their existing condition as to wel-
come any foreign conqueror who would rescue them
and rule them. Mexico especially wasmarked
as
the first prey of the all-devouring Republic of the
West, which had already desolated her in two ware,
and snatched from her an enormous slice of terri-
tory by a shameless mixture of force and fraud.
The establishment of a :settled and strong Govern-
ment in Mexico, under the protection of a first-
class European power, to be recognised by the rest
of Europe as a matter of courtesy and right, as soon
as the establitAiment is complete, is therefore a