The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-02 00:00:00

—when foe is opposed to foe, and on the point of striking
his antagonist, any friend who interposes would only
fare the worse for his interposition, but would not
avert the blow levelled by the one against the other. I
think the people of the United Kingdom have judged that
their Government has determined rightly in not attempt-
ing intervention. A great and most estimable part of
our population has been suffering deep distress. That
distress has been less, perhaps, among you in Scotland than
in the districts south; but even here, inlGlasgow, and in
other places great misery has been experienced by the ces-
sation of the supply of the great staple of our industry. But
if we had attempted by forcible means to bring that supply
which, owing to the contest, has been withheld from us, I
am convinced that, instead of dimin shing the pressure we
should have increased it, and should very much have in-
creased the evil which we intended to alleviate, and the re-
sult would have been that the country would have blamed
us for having taken a wrong view, and having adopted a
policy ill-suited to the circumstances. I trust still that this
calamitous war may soon have an end. I cannot but think,
when the passions which excited that war have had their
vent--and all passions must have their vent—and when the
results of that war shall press more and more heavily upon
both parties engaged in it, that without intervention, which
they would resent as an affront, their own good sense and
their own proper feelings may lead them to peaceful inten-
tions, and that arrangements may be made which will put
an end to that dreadful bloodshed and that wide- spread de-
solationof which the American continent has now for nearly
two years been the scene. Gentlemen, I can only assure you
that the policy which we, the present Government, pursue
is founded upon our belief that we are the faithful expon-
ents of the feelings and sentiments of the English peeve. I
believe, and all indications have c mfirmed the conviction,
that in that judgment we are not much mistaken—(cheers)
—and I will say this, speaking as i now do to an assembly
Lot composed entirely of men of one political parcy—l will
say in the spirit of an Englishman—that I am convinced
that if circumstances should lead to a chance in those who
administer the affairs of the country, and that if the men who
now sit opposite to us, and are politically our antagonists,
though not personally our enemies, should take the places
which we now occupy, they would, both from their per-
sonal feeling, but, more than all, by the effect and pressure
of public opinion in this country, pursue a course much
the same as that which we ourselves pursue. (Cheers.) I
say it not to their disparagement, but to their honour, for I
hope, and trust, and believe that the honour and interest of
the country would be safe in their hands. Ido not, at the
same time, tell you that I look forward with any great or
particular impatience to the moment when they will be put
to that which, I trust, would not be to them a severe trial.

(Laughter and cheers.)
'Tie noble lord concluded, amid loud cheers, by
repeating his grateful acknowledgments for the
kind reception they had accorded to him, and sat
down amid loud cheering.

The other toasts were " Her Majesty's Ministers,"
proposed by Lord Dalhousie, acknowledged by the
Duke of Argyll ; the " Two Houses of Parliament,"
by the Solicitor-General for Scotland,acknowledged
by the Duke of Argyll and Sir W. Scott, M.P. ;
" The Clergy of all Denominations," by Bailie
Cassels, responded to by the Rev. Dr. Lee and the
Rev Dr. Guthrie; " The Lord Provost and the
City of Edinburgh," by Lord Palmerston, and re-
sponded to by the Lord Provost ; " The University
of Edinburgh," by the Earl of Airlie ; "Lady Pal-
merston ;" " The Members for the City," responded
to by Mr. Black, M.P. ; " The Ladies," by the
Right Hon. W. Cowper, M.P. The company did
not separate till a late hour.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE,

NORFOLK ClRCUlT.—Nonwics, April 1.

CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Williams.)
SINGULAR CHARGE OF ABDUCTION.
Frederick Burrell, 21, a clerk in the Royal Arse-
nal at Wooiwich, was charged with having on Jan.
20, from motives of lucre, fraudulently allured,
taken away, end detained Jane Burrell, a person
under 21 years of age, she having a present legal
interest in certain real estates in Norfolk, out of the
possession and against the will of her mother, Mary
Ann Hyder, and of her guardian, William Silver
Hyder, with intent to marry or carnally know her,
the said Jane Burrell ; and Henry Richard Burrell
was charged with aiding the said Frederick Burrell
to commit the aforesaid felony.
Mr. Bulwer and Mr. Sims Reeves appeared for
the prosecution ; and Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. Drake
for the defence.
This was a very singular case. It appeared from
the opening statement of the learned counsel for the
prosecution that the young lady's mother had, since
the death of her first husband, married Mr. Hyder.
The girl was sent to school at Norwich, and when
she returned home to Fakenham for the last Christ-
mas holidays—when she was between 15 t:nd 16
years of age—she went to the house of the elder
prisoner, Henry Richard Burrell. She remained
there several days against the will of her mother
and Mr. Hyder. On January 16 Frederick Burrell
came down to Fakenham, and on the 19th of the
same mouth Mrs. Burrell, the wife of the elder pri-
soner, Jane Burrell, and Frederick Burrell left
Fakenham for London. Only one through ticket
was taken for London, but two other tickets were
afterwards procured for London at Dereham sta-
tion, a little farther on. The party reached Lon-
don on the evening of Jan. 19, and on the following
day the prisoner, Frederick Burrell, was married to
Jane Burrell,she being his own niece by blood, both
the prisoners standing in the relation of uncle to
her. On Jan. 6an affidavit had been made by the
prisoner, Frederick Burrell, for the purpose of
obtaining a marriage licence, in which it was con-
tended on the part of the prosecution that he had
made two false statements, as that the young lady
was 19 years old, and that she had no parent or
guardian living. The case against the second pri-
soner, Henry Richard Burrell, was that he had
taken the parties to the railway station, that his
wife went to London and witnessed the marriage,
and that he was fully cognisant of and assisted in
the whole transaction, of which Mr. and Mrs. Hyder
were kept in complete ignorance, although Mr.
Hyder was the young lady's legal guardian.
Evidence was adduced in support of the prosecu-
tion at great length, the cross-examinatien being
directed to show that the young lady had not been
very comfortable at home.
The points insisted on for the defence were that
the prisoner Frederick Burrell had not been actuated
by any fraudulent intention in carrying away his
niece ; that the young lady had passed out of the
custody of her mother in consequence of her telling
her that she could not remain at home, and that she
was not in the care and custody of her guardian.
The jury, however, found the prisoners guilty.
Judgment was reserved in order that the opinion
of a court above might be taken upon the points
raised. In the meantime the prisoners were ad-
mitted to bail.

Richard Roberts, who pleaded guilty to a charge
of attempting to murder Eliza Hunt, at North Lop-
ham, was sentenced to five years' penal servitude
The prisoner, who seemed much affected, had to be
assisted from the dock.

CIVIL SIDE.
(Before Lord Chief Justice Erle.)

COE V. WISE.-THE RECENT GREAT FLOOD IN THE

FENS.

This was an action brought against Mr. F. T.Wise,

in his capacity of clerk to the Middle Level Drain
4g e Commissioners, to recover compensation for in-
juries sustained by plaintiff on the occasion of the
recent great flood in the district traversed by the
Middle Level Outfall Cut. The declaration stated
that the Middle Levei Commissioners were charged
with maintaining certain cuts, and embank-
ments, and were negligent in that respect, the
result being that the lands of the plaintiff became
submerged, and remained flooded for some time.
The defencant pleaded not guilty, and that the
plaintiff was not possessed of the said lands.
Mr. Keane, Mr. Douglas Browne, and Mr. Phear
appeared for the plaintiff; and Sir F. Kelly, Q.C.
(specially retained), Mr. O'Malley, Q.O , Mr. Met-
calfe, and Mr. Newton for the defendant.

Mr. Keane, in opening the case on the part of the
plaintiff, said the substance of the complaint was
that last year lands in Marshland were invaded by
water flowing through the middle level drain to the
Ouse, that they remained submerged for a long time,
that great injury was done, and that the cause was
the neglect of duties imposed upon the commis-
sioners by their acts of parliament. The middle
level is part of the great level of the Fens, and is
hounded on the one hand by Mort.,n's lane, on the
other part by the Bedford River; on another part
by the river Ouse, and on the other part by Marsh-
land, a district about nine miles in width. The
attention of the Court in the present case would be
occupied with Marshland and the river Ouse, which
fell into the sea below Lynn by a great number of
,inuous courses. The Ouse is the natural channel
of the middle level, and for a longtime the drainage
of the middle level found its outlet into the Ouse by
means at one period of Salter's Lode, and at another
by another drain. It was conceived that it would
be greatly to the advantage of the middle level it
one straight cut was made across Marshland for the
purpose of conveying down it to the river Ouse the
waters which were in the course of nature seeking
the river, and thence to the sea, from the whole of
the middla level, which comprises 140,000 to
170,000 acres, and received a vast mass of water
from up-I tnds, perhaps to the extent of 200,000
acres more. As this enormous body of water so col-
lected was to be discharged into the Ouse, and as
this was the problem which was lo be solved by the
commissioners, the mosteffectual way of accomplish-
ing the task was the construction of a continuously