The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-21 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

MANCHESTER, Feb. 20.—1 n yarns there has been
rather more business doing, chiefly for India and
China, and some few contracts have been entered
into for delivery up to three months hence. This
shows rather more confidence than we expected to
meet with, though the prices are low. There has
also been a good inquiry for twist suitable for the
Levant markets, and rather more inquiry for the
home trade. Altogether the market for yarns closes
firmer, and with a more cheerful feeling. There is
to some extent an impression that the prices for the
present have touched the lowest point. Spinners,
however, are rather disheartened, and complain
that the prices at present obtainable leave a loss
upon production, and we have heard this loss
stated at something like lid. per lb. The cloth-
market is reported a little better also in
some quarters to-day, though from Tuesday to
yesterday business was exceedingly flat. Some
encouragement has been given to-day by the fact
that some of the old and well-known standard
buyers, whose faces have been rarely seen lately,
have been making inquiries, and that these inquiries
in some few instances have led to rather considerable
purchases, which it is believed have been of a bona
fide character, and on behalf of their constituents, to
use a term somewhat common to the trade here. It
seems to have excited observation, however, that
wherever inquiries are made it is found that stocks
of cloth still exist in abundance far beyond what
was generally expected, though, considering how
little shipping has been done for some time past,
this ought hardly to be the case. Some large pur-
chases have been made from time to time, but it was
generally understood that it was not for immediate
shipment. Apart from the operations above referred
to the market has been rather quiet. Prices are
generally rather firmer, but there is still irregu-
larity, and manufacturers desirous of selling do not
press for full rates.

- NOTTINGHAM, 30th.—At this exchange.hall to-
day there was a moderate attendance. There was
a slow feeling in the yarn-market, and the business
done was at quite as little money as on Tuesday.
There was not much doing in silk. A fair trade
could have been done in brown nets, but the prices
offered were too low to induce manufacturers to
effect sales.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

TRAFFIC RECEIPTS FOR THE WEEK.

Miles Opened.

Railways.

Receipts.
1863. 1862.

. _
1863. 1862.
Belfast and N. Counties 136 136
Belfast and Comity Down 49 49
Blyth and Tyne 2B 28
Bristol and Exeter l2ll 107
Caledonian
Cockermouth & Workington Bl 81
Cork and Bandon 2O 20
Cork, Black-rock, & Passage 6l 61
Cork and Youghal 321 27
Cornwall 531 531
Deeside
Dublin & Belfast Junction 63 63
Dublin and Drogheda 63 63
Dub. & Wicklow and Woad 4Bl 481
Dundee, Perth, & Aber. Jun 3l 31
Edinburgh and Glasgow 1691 1691
Forth & Clyde Junction 3O 30
Furness, &c 5O &)
Glasgow & South-Western
Gt. Eastern,Nrik.,&E.l.lnion
Great Northern
330 330

1-,712 1,735

-60 S '5.57
1,459 1,512
5,268 5,173
14,757 14,218
258 259
293 319

151 199

317 240
1,008 1,101
220 214
1,258 1,287
1,521 1,631
1,4,33 1,318
1,005 1,079
6,630 6,547

2,691 2,256
7,884 6,198
27,240 24,542
24,919 2',4,837
1,602 1,634

Great North of Scotland 5B
Gt. Northn. & Westn. (Irel.) 7ll
qt.Southn. & Westn.(lrlnd.) 329
Great Western 992

68
451
329
9641

Inverness & Aberdeen Juno 734 731
Irish North-Western 145 130
Irish South-eastern 251 251
Lancashire & Yorkshire 3954 395*
Limerick and Ennis.
Limerick and Foynes 26i 26
Llanelly 46 4
London & North-Western
London and Blackwall 6l 51
London & South-Western
Lond. Brighton, &S. Coast 2474 2014
London, Chatham, & Dover 724 72*
Lond., Tilbury, & Southend
Man.,Sheffield,&Lincolnsh
Manch. S.Jun.& Altrincham 94 94
Maryport and Carlisle
Metropolitan 3l
Midland (incl. N.-Western) 630 6144
-4 Gt.Weofn ,sr r-- - 2497 192
714

489 291
6,993 7,168
51,096 48,202

787 749
1,638 1,727

Midland dt.Westn. of Irind -di
Monkland 714
Monmouthsh. Rail. & Canal 44
North British, Edin., Perth
and Dundee
N-Eastern and New. & Car B9lf
North London 9
North Staffordshire 254
Oswestry and Newton... 42
Rhymney 194
St. Helen's Canal & Railway 52
Scottish Central
Scottish North-Eastern 132
Somerset and Dorset 394
South Devon
South-Eastern.
Stockton and Darlington
Taff Vale 5l
Ulster 6l

Vale of Clwyd
Vale of Neath 2.5}
Waterford and Kilkenny 3l
Waterford and Limerick 77
West Cornwall 27}
W. Hartlepool Harbr. &Rail.
W'haven,Cleator,&Egvnant 7
Whitehaven Junction..-- l2
Whitehaven & Furness Jun 35

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.
Antwerp and Rotterdam 52 52
Austrian B2B 828
Belgian Eastern Junction 26} 26i
Buffalo and Lake Huron l6l} 161}
Detroit and Milwaukie lB5 185
Dutch Rhenish lost 1081
Eastern of France lO7B 1060
East Indian
Grand Trunk of Canada lO9O 1(.90
Great Indian Peninsula 1.95 437 f
Great Luxembourg 134 134
Great Western of Canada 345 345
Madrid, Saragossa drAlicant
Northern of Canada
Northern of France 7Ol 680
Norwegian Trunk
Ottoman
- -

Paris, Lyons, & Alediterrn 1491
Paris and Orleans 1340
Pernambuco 7l

Royal Danish 69
Sambre and Meuse 6B
South Austrian
Southern of France ........ .• 777
Welland
West Flanders 75
W. and N.W. of France 758

287 367
31,150 29,525
175 168

The Mysterious Death of a City Merchant•

Yesterday Mr. H. Raffles Walthew, the deputy
coroncr for Middlesex, resumed the adjourned in-
quest et the White Hart Tavern, High-road, Tot-
tenham, relative to the death of Mr. Benjamin
Baker, aged 60 years, a wholesale boot manufacturer,
lately residing at 4, Whitehall Villas, Tottenham,
and carrying on business in Basinghall•street, City,
who it was alleged died under very suspicious cir-
cumstances.

It will be remembered that the deceased had been
married to a third wife, who died a few months since,
leaving one child aged six months. He had carried
on business for many years at No. 80, Basinghall-
strcet, and his lifo was insured for £BOO. He had
made three wills, and always seemed lost as to the
manner in which he would bequeath his property.
He was also in the habit of taking a tonic called
mandrake to relieve a spasmodic affection of the
chest. On Tuesday morning, the 3d inst., the sister
of the deceased's third wife went into his bedroom,
when he exclaimed, "Maly, I feel very ill, take my
will out of the cupboard." Deceased expressed a
desire to alter some portion of the document, when
he began to vomit violently. His attendant became
alarmed, and sent for a medical gentleman, but be-
fore his arrival deceased expired. He had been
quite well on the previous evening, when he had a
few friends to visit him. After the deceased's death
a relative called and took away the three wills,
which were given up by Mrs. Spurgeon, the sister-
in-law.

Mr. John Pennyfather, surgeon, of Tottenham,
said that he was called to the deceased, and found
him dead. Witness was shown a bottle containing
a dark-coloured liquid with a sediment at the bot-
tom. He could not account for death. He had since
made a post mortem examination of the body, and
he was prepared to give the result.
The Deputy Coroner said he would first take the
evidence of

Henrietta Green, of No. 5, Hoxton-square, who
said the deceased was her father, and he was in good
health the day before his death, when he left the
City. There had been a little difference in the family,
and she did not visit him. The deceased had mar-
ried witness's cousin, which she objected to. The
deceased was her father by the second wife, and he
had had three children by the first wife ; but they
were dead. There had been also two children by
the last wife. The first one died, but the other
child was living, and in charge of the witness,
who had not visited the deceased at his house
since Christmas, 1862. Witness's husbaxd worked
for deceased in Basinghall-street, City. The de-
ceased had insured his life for £BOO, but that sum
had been mortgaged. There had been three wills,
and the last one was executed six years ago. De-
ceased talked about leaving the child who is now
living 10s. per week for life. Since the deceased's
death her uncle (one of the executors) had called at
the house and taken the last will away. Deceased's
last wife wished to have £1 per week, but the
deceased objected to that amount. She never told
any one that the deceased had been poisoned, and it
was a false report. Had said that she would like
to have her father opened to see the cause of death,
as they could not get a certificate for the burial.
By the Coroner—l do not believe that the de-
ceased has been poisoned. Mr. Schoons, the
executor, had taken the last will away, but he had
done wrong. Mr. Sleigh, her solicitor, had informed
her that Mr. Schoons had acted illegally.
Mrs. Spurgeon, the first witness, was recalled,
and said, in reply to the Coroner, that what she
had said was what Mrs. Green had told her, and
she believed, from what Mrs. Green said, that the
deceased had come by his death unfairly,
Mrs. Green denied this, and said that she only
wished her father to be opened to satisfy her.
Various reports had been circulated round the dis-
trict of Tottenham, but they were all. vague.
By the Coroner—After deceased's death I searched
the house, and found £l5 in gold, three cheques,
£l5 in Bank of England notes, and some silver. I
have been living upon a small portion of the money
and supporting the child.
By Mr. Vann—l saw the last will, and the one
produced is the same. It was entirely in favour of
the child, and not of any other person.
I _ _

The Deputy Coroner said that Mrs. Spurgeon
had better take charge of the house and property at
present.

Mr. Green said that she was the party who ought
to have possession, and Mr. Sleigh had told her so.
Mr. Vann said that since the death an attempt
had been made to clear the house.

Mr. John Penny father, surgeon, said that he had
found the heart and lungs perfectly healthy. The
stomach and intestines were placed in a jar for
analysis. The brain was very vascular, and there
was blood effused on the surface. The effusion was
sufficient to account for death. Some poisons might
produce that effect.
Dr. Letheby, the chemical lecturer of the London

Hospital, said that he had received a quart bottle
tied over and sealed. The bottle contained 23 oz.
of a pale sherry-coloured liquid ; no particular
odour, tut was very bitter, with a slight sediment,
which he examined with the microscope, and found
to be vegetable matter. He submitted it to various

tests, and had found about 19 grains of a poisonous
character, which be found to be the active principle
of bryony root, a substance sold by herbalists, but
it was not mandrake, as it was sold for. The sub-
stance was poisonous in its nature, and had caused
death on several occasions. It would cause great
sickness, and as a narcotic would act upon the brain.
Witness had examined the contents of the stomach
and intestines, and similar appearances were pre-
sented from the effects of the same root, which grew
wild in the hedges.
Mrs. Spurgeon said that the deceased had kept the
root in the house several years, and had bought it
of a hawker in the street.
Mrs. Green said, in reply to the deputy coroner,
that the wills were in the possession of Mr. Sleigh,
who would keep them for the present.
The jury returned a verdict, that the deceased
died from poison, called bryony root, taken acci-
dentally.

Course of the Exchange—Yesterday.

Amsterdam
Ditto
Rotterdam .. 11 174
Antwerp.. — 25 42±
Brussels — 25 42±
Hamburgh — 13 7
Paris
Ditto
Marseilles
Frankfort on Maine — 119±
Vienna
Trieste
Petersburgh
Berlin —
Madrid . • .• 49 49±
Cadiz
Leghorn ... ..... 25 52± 2.5 60
Milan — 25 52± 25 60
Genoa — 25 521 25 60
Naples
Palermo .. 25 60 25 65
Messina — 25 60 25 65
Lisbon — 521 52±
Oporto —62 t
Foreign Gold in Bars (Standard), per oz .. £3 17 g
Mexican Dollars ,.
.. 0 5 5i
Silver in Bars (Standard)
South American Doubloons 0 0 0

11 16
11 17/
11 171
25 50
25 50
13 7f
25 25
25 50
25 52f
ll9a
li 90
11 90
35,1-

RAILWAY COLLISION NEAR BRADFORD.—On
Wednesday night, as the 8.10 passenger train from
Leeds to Manchester was nearing the Bowling Station of
the Leeds, Bradford, and Halifax Junction Railway, it came
into collision with an engine which was employed in shunt-
ing some trucks on to a siding. The driver of the engine
perceived the train approaching, and reversed his engine in
order to get out of the way, but before he could do so the
train came up and caught the buffer of his engine, throw-
ing it off the rails and seriously damaging it. The passen-
gers in the train were more or less severely shaken, but no
lives were lost or bones troken.
ATTEMPTED MURDER IN THE COUNTY OF
LIMERICK.—The Cork Examiner of Wednesday
announces that Mr. John Cussen, a gentleman residing at
Rockhill, near Bruree, county Limerick, was fired at
through his parlour window on Tuesday evening, while
sitting down to dinner with his family. Four large slugs
lodged in his right shoulder, and one entered the right
rs
side
of his mouth, breaking one tooth and injuring others. The
wounds are not considered fatal. The police were immedi-
ately on the alert, but have obtained no clue to the perpe-
trators of the outrage. The motive for the act s utterly
unknown, as Mr. Cussen was neither an agent nor a land-
lord, and was much respected in the neighbourhood,
. ARRIVAL OF THE LADY JOCELYN FROM THE
CAPE.—The steamer Lady Jocelyn, from the Cape
of Good Hope on the 25th December, passed Plymouth
yesterday. Her machinery being disabled she came home
under sail. She left the Cape only four days after the mail
steamer which reached Plymouth Jan, 24, and her news is
unimportant. The mails were sent ashore when off Schilly
on Monday, and one passenger was landed here to-night.
A letter from Warsaw of the 14th inst. says
that a journal has just been issued by the Polish insurgents,
entitled News from the Theatre of War. A preliminary
announcement states that the object of the publication is to
give reliable news of the insurrection, the Russian journals
not being trustworthy. It is to be issued at irregular inter-
vals, as occasion may arise.

NEW ZEALAND.—A letter just received by our
correspondent at Plymouth says :—" The Maoris
have consented to allow a steamer to be placed on the
Waikato. A tribe has also offered for sale to the Govern-
ment 50,000 acres of land, with five miles of the most dis-
affected district. This is an evident proof that the forbear-
ance and firmness of our Governor, Sir George Grey, is
working most powerfully. The first-named concession is
considered to be a greater victory than 10,000 soldiers could
have ITOU is 12 raoutlo."

THIRD EDITION

SUN OFFICE, SIX O'CLOCK.

AMERICA.

REUTER'S TELEGRAM.
PER AUSTRALASIAN,

QUEENSTOWN, FEB. 21.

The Royal Mail steam ship Australasian, from
New York en the 11th inst., arrived here at noon
to-day. She brings 23 passengers, and 388,117
dols. in specie. She landed the Irish portion of
the mail, and proceeded at 12.30 p.m. All well.

NEW YORK, FEB. 11, MORNING.
A successful reconnaissance has been made upon
the right wing of the army of the Potomac.
Preparations are progressing at New Orleans for
the attack upon Port Hudson.

The Times correspondent asserts that a disorderly
and mutinous spirit has manifested itself among the
troops at Ship Island, owing to the arrival there of
a coloured regiment.

A barque-rigged steamer, supposed to be the
Alabama, was off South-West Pass on the 23d ult.
Several pilots have been arrested for commnnicat-