The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-03 00:00:00

The Reform League.

A public meeting in connection with the above League
was held in Harper Twelvetrees' Lecture Hall, Bromley,
on Tuesday evening last, for the purpose of forming a
branch in this district. Letters of apology were read from
Harper Twelvetrees, Esq., John Hilton, jun., Esq., and
the Rev. W. H. Bonner. 11l health and absence from town
prevented their presence at the meeting.
Mr. Buffham was voted to the chair.

Mr. LEN() moved, and Mr. SuntmAN seconded, the fol-
lowing resolution :—" That this meeting pledges itself to
support manhood suffrage and the ballot, believing that,
Ist, That taxation without representation is tyranny;
and, 2ndly, That the ballot is the only safeguard against
intimidation and corruption."
Carried unanimously.
The second resolution was moved by Mr. HOWELL,
seconded by Mr. Taylor, and supported by a working man
from the body of the meeting, and was as follows :—" That
we, having heard the objects and principles of the Reform
League explained, recommend the formation of a branch
for the Bromley district."
Carried unanimously.
Several members were enrolled, and a committee formed
to work up the district.
The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks to Mr.
Harper Twelvetrees, for the use of his Lecture Hall free
of expense, and to the Chairman for presiding.

KING'S COUNTY ELECTION.—A Cork paper says:

—" It is almost certain that Mr. Hennessy will be the
member. According to a totting-up of the polling-books
at the Hanaper- office on Tuesday there is a clear majority
in his favour ; and this is corroborated by a telegram from
the King's County, which states that the majority will be
at least 12. If these statements, and they come from in-
dependent sources, bo correct, Sir Patrick O'Brien's
triumph' has by the Liberal papers been celebrated too

soon."

PORTUGUESE INTERNATIONAL EXIIIBITION.—Ar-
rivaIs from Oporto state that the crystal palace
building is fast drawing to completion, and the committee
having decided upon the inauguration taking place in Sep-
tember, everything is being pushed forward with the ut-
most despatch. The whale of the building is to bo lighted
with gas, the contract for which has been intrusted to
Messrs. J. Defries, and Sons, the eminent gas engineers
and chandelier manufacturers, of 147, Houndsditch, Lon-
don. And although they have but a very short time allotted
them to complete their contract for this gigantic work,
they have undertaken the responsibility with their usual
enterprising spirit that has always characterised th em on
occasions of like emergencies. The great facilities
which the Messrs. Defries command, and the large staff
of qualified workmen they employ, render their firm pecu-
liarly adapted for carrrying out the most extensive con-
tracts in the shortest possible time.

A DUEL WITH C I GARS. —The Union Bretonne pub-
lishes the following anecdote :—A quarrel took place
about some trifle between Sir Edward K—, an English
gentleman, very well known in Paris, and another sports-
man, not less famous, the Baron R—. The seconds had
in vain endeavoured to reconcile them, and it was neces-
sary to have recourse to arms ; but as both the principals
were first-rate shots and swordsmen, it was agreed they
should fight with—cigars. Two cigars, similar in every
external respect, but one of them prepared in such a man-
ner that it should explode and prove mortal to the smoker,
were placed on a table. The combatants drew lots for the
first choice. The novel weapons of war were then lighted,
and after a few puffs an explosion took place, and Sir Ed-
ward fell on his back. He, however, immediately got up,
and was surrounded by the seconds ; while his adversary
offered him his hand. " Gentlemen," said one of the
seconds, "you have both of you shown the greatest
courage, since you were both of you ignorant of the effects
of the explosion. M. H— (the other second) and I
agreed only to put a little gun-cotton in one of the cigars
and now let us to dinner. May such be the end of every
duel." The meeting is said to have taken place on the Bel-
gian frontier.

A CORPSE-UNBURIED FOR FIVE YEARS.—A most
extraordinary fact carne under the notice of our re-
porter last week at Colyton. From some very strange re-
marks made during a squabble between the landlord of a
public-house in the village and an obnoxious customer, he
was led to make inquiries which elicited the following
facts :—That the latter, who lives in Colyton, and who is
considered a most eccentric character, has actually in his
possession at the present moment the unburied corpse of
his mother, who died five years ago. At the time of her
death he had a leaden coffin made, in which the corpse was
placed, with a glass plate let in, leaving the face visible.
The coffin and its contents he keeps in a shed belonging to
him, to which he pays visits from time to time to see the
remains of his mother. This case affords the nearest
parallel ever heard of to the man in London who kept the
remains of his two wives in a similar way for many years
in a bedroom in his house in Portland-place. Can nothing
be done to put a limit to such unnatural proceedings
Tiverton Gazette.
Mr. CIIARLES SPRAGUE, the surgeon, who WO
charged with attempting to poison his wife and mother
and father-in-law at Ashburton, was tried at the Devoll
assizes on Tuesday. The three persons said to have boo!'
poisoned suffered severely after eating a rabbit and stett
pie, into which it was suggested the prisoner had Put
atrophine. On the trial, however, the case was not ulna°
out, and Ilr. Sprague was discharged from custody.