The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-25 00:00:00

THAMES.

CRUELTY BY A CHARITY SCHOOLMASTER,—A tall and
powerful man named George Wilson, master of the well-
known Charity School of St. Botolph Without, Aldgate,
on Tower-hill, adjoining the Royal Mint, and distinguished
as the "First Protestant Charity School," appeared before
Mr. Partridge, on a summons, to answer a charge of as-
saulting John Edward Jones, one of his pupils.

The summons was taken eut at the instance of the
mother of the boy. She is a poor and industrious widow of
good character, and when she applied for the summons,
appeared in great distress of mind. Her son, a delicate boy,
only 9 years of age, had been most cruelly flogged, as was
indicated by the state of his person. His back and posteriors
were covered with bruises and discoloured, from the inflic-
tion of the dominie. It appeared from the evidence
that the boy had been severely flogged with a cane and a
strap on several occasions, and he had seen other boys
punished very badly by the schoolmaster. The complainant,
notwithstanding his tender years. had been chastised forty
times. His hands were mercilessly cut with a cane in June
labt, and the mother then complained to Wilson of his
brutal treatment. The boy's hand was cut with a cane a
fortnight ago. The last cruel infliction was on Monday
afternoon last, after school hours, The defendant pulled
down the blinds of a room, in which he punished the boy,
put a handkerchief over his eyes, made him pull down his
trousers, and then flogged him over his naked body
with a leather strap. The boy counted as many as
thirty blows. The defendant said he did not in-
flict more than twenty nor less than fifteen,
and produced the leather strap with which he inflicted the
punishment. It was by no means a heavy or formidable
weapon, but, in the hands of a giant like the defendant,
capable of injuring a child of tender years with a soft skin
like the complainant.
Mrs. Jones, the mother of the boy, said he had come
home frequently with his hands cut and his person bruised,
and she complained that it was not proper or humane to
punish a child so brutally.

The defendant made a lengthened exculpation, and denied
having punished the boy with unnecessary severity. The
inflictions were necessary for the discipline of the school,
Re punished the boy on Monday for telling a falsehood.
He put in a letter, of which the following is a copy :
"The Rev. Mr. Robertson, incumbent of St. Botolph,
Aldgate, begs to state that John Edward Jones is a boy of
bad disposition, that he has been reproved by the trustees
of the school for insubordinate conduct, and that he has
only been permitted to remain in the school on promise of
amendment. Mr. Robertson begs to state further that he
has reason to fear that the 13)y has been encouraged in his
bad conduct by his mother, who appears to have given him
injudicious advice, and that the trustees of the school have
the greatest confidence in the master, Mr. Wilson, and
believe that he would not inflict unnecessary or excessive
punishment.
16, Devonshire-square, Sept. 24, 1863."

Mr. Partridge said the statement in writing of the Rev.
Mr. Robertson was no evidence whatever, and be could
pay no attention to it.
The defendant said the Simmons had been served upon
him so recently that he had not had an opportunity of
calling witnesses, and wi:hel for an adjournment.
Mr. Partridge would certainly give the defendant an op-
portunity of calling any witness he thought proper. The
charge was a serious one. The defendant must recollect
that he was charged with flogging; the boy in private during
" play hour," as it was called, and that the punishment was
inflicted vtith a leather stiap on the naked person of the
child, after he had been blindfolded. The defendant would
also recollect what was the state of the child's body just
exposed to view; and that the mother said when the boy
came home on Monday theta were red and blue stripes on
his body, and that his hands were cut on a former occasion.
The case was then adjourned, to give th,:r defendant an
opportunity of calling witnesses to character.

" My Lord—ln a despatch from the Secretary of
State of the Confederate States of America, dated
4th day of August last, and now just received, I am
instructed to consider the commission which brought
me to England as at end, and I am directed to
withdraw at once from this country.
" The reasons for terminating this mission are set
forth in an extract from the despatch, which I have
the honour to communicate herewith.
" The President believes that ' the Government
of her Majesty has determined to decline the over-
tures made through you for establishing, by treaty,
friendly relations between the two Governments,
and entertains no intention of receiving you as the
accredited Minister of this Government near the
British Court. Under these circumstances, your con-
tinued residence in London is neither conducive to
the interests nor consistent with the dignity of this
Government; and the President therefore requests
that you consider your mission at an end, and that
you withdraw with your secretary from London.'
"Having made known to your lordship on my
arrival here the character and purposes of the mis-
sion entrusted to me by my Government, I have
deemed it due to courtesy thus to make known to
the Government of her Majesty its termination, and
that I shall, as directed, at once withdraw from
England.—l have the honour to be yours, &c.,
(Signed) " J. M. MASON."

The same journal makes the following comments
on the foregoing document :
" We are permitted by Mr. Mason to publish his letter
to Earl Russell, announcing his recall as special commis-
sioner from the Confederate States of America to England,
and the termination of his mission. It will be seen by the
extract given in the letter of recall that it is placed by the
Confederate President on the ground of the persistent re-
fusal of England to enter into the relations of amity usual
between foreign Powers—a condition of things which, in
the opinion of the President, would make the continuance
of the mission neither conducive to the interests nor con-
sistent with the dignity of the Government of which he is
at the head.' Mr. Slidell, we understand, will remain in
France as special commissioner to that Government, nor
is it at all contemplated to terminate that mission ; and
yet France, equally with England, has so far refrained
from entering into international relations with the Con-
federate States. All England will admit that the Govern-
ment of those States is in the hands of able, experienced.
and judicious statesmen ; and we are sufficiently conversant
with Southern circles and Southern men to know that, with
other marked differences between the sections North and
South in America, there exists this—that in the South the
general feeling to England bas been one of good-will and
respect. There must be, then, some over-ruling cause for
the difference thus made between France and England in
the termination of the mission to the one, and not to the
other. To those at all conversant with what is passing
in the Southern States this is no mystery. Mr. Slidell
has been received, and has been uniformly treated by
the Government of France, with every mark of con-
sideration
and respect for the Government he repre-
sents. There may be grave reasons regarding policy or
public law why France, like England, may not deem it in-
cumbent as yet to recognise those States asan independent
political power; but their representative has been freely
admitted to every form of intercourse with the Government
of France, to personal interviews with the Emperor when-
ever he asked for them, with immediate access to all or any
of the Ministry at first request. This would seem, indeed,
but an ordinary courtesy to a gentleman in his position—the
refusal of it would be more than a discourtesy, it would be
an actual indignity to those whose representative he is. In
England Mr. Mason has been held by the Government in
the very opposite position. His correspondence with the
Foreign Office, laid before Congress at Richmond, we
know from the Southern press, produced a feeling of
deep and universal indignation. It showed that, with
the exception of a single and formal interview with Earl
Russell on his first arrival, appointed at his residence, and
not at the Foreign Office, he had been admitted to no inter-
course whatever with any member of the Government;
whilst a second interview with Earl Russell, asked for some
months after the first, was by that Minister curtly refused.
It showed further that, to all outward or other manifestation,
the presence of a Confederate commissioner in London was
no further recognised than by brief replies to such commu-
nications as he was from time to time instructed to make
to the Minister of this Government. Whilst we sincerely
regret, therefore, the necessity which has
imposed on
President Davis the duty of terminating the Confederate
commission to. England, we are bound to admit that
his forbearance has been tested to the utmost.
Earl Russell has now succeeded in establishing absolute
non-intercourse with the Confederate States—those States
whore our commerce has found sources of incalculable
wealth and profitable employment for countless millions of
our capital, with like profitable employment for hundreds of
thousands of the people of England. We say absolute non-
intercourse, because we kno .v through the press that of the
three British cements who remained in the Southern States
exercising their functions by permission of the Government
there, Mr. Bunch at Charleston, and Mr. 3PGee at Mobile,
were recalled by this Government ; and Mr. Moore at
Richmond was dismissed by the Confederate Government
for contumacy. It remains to be seen hereafter what ad-
vantages France may derive from a course of policy more
consistent with her own self-respect and with national de-

corum."

METROPOLITAN RAILWAY, The Government
inspector yesterday approved of the works of the junction
lines with the Great Northern Railway at King's-cross,
and through trains will run betwent Farringdon-street
station and that line on and after the Jst October next.
"Striking a light" fifty yi ars since was done by a flint and
steel, and a inciter match was considered a physical impossi-
bility. Many are still sceptical of the fact, patent to thou-
sands, Of Herring's magnetic brush and comb restoring the
colour to grey hair, and curing the severest c sees of neuralgia
and nervous headache. Recent improvements prevent.the
possibility of their failure. N.B.—Counterfeits are being
made. Offices, i 2, Basinghall-atreet, London..

Edwin James is in deeper trouble for his slander
of the English widow. It will be a rich trial when
it comes on. Mr. James enjoys himself in the new
country. He is not an early riser, but sits up late
at nights to equalise it. It is asserted thst he will
soon lead to the Hymeneal altar a beautiful girl,
daughter of an ex-governor of this state, with in
her own right a million. When the marriage is
over the parties will probably go abroad.