The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-08 00:00:00

Desperate Encounter with Garotters,

At the Chesterfield Police-court on Monday, before Mr.
J. B. White, Mayor, Dr. Black, and Mr. G. Ileathcote, two
blackguard-looking fellows, named Walter White, alias
Bodney, joiner, and William Hood, collier, were charged
with violently assaulting and garotting Mr. J. E. Roberts,
postmaster, Chesterfield, a gentleman about sft. 3in. high.
The desperate encounter will bo best explained by the evi-
dence of Mr. Roberts, who deposed—l reside at Spital,
about a mile from Chesterfield, and left' the Chesterfield
post-office about half-past ten on Saturday night last to go
home. I reached the Horse Croft about five minutes after-
wards. I had a little boy with me carrying a parcel.
When about the middle of the field I heard footsteps behind
me, and the prisoner White put his arm round my neck to
garotte me. He pulled me to the ground by the throat, and
I recovered myself and knocked him down with my fist. I
had no weapon. I got my knee on his chest and got hold
of his throat with both hands. The other prisoner came
up and knocked me off him, and he gave me a blow on the
head, from the effects of which I fell. I immediately got
up and had a struggle with the prisoner Hood. I then had
them in front of me, and they both attacked me. I felt in
my pocket for a knife, but I had only a small 6d. one. I
threatened to put a knife into them if they came at me
again. I received a bruise on the forehead and the scratch
on my face during the scuffle. They came at me again and
I dragged them both to the ground. Hood got on the top
of me and forced his knee into my throat with all his
weight, which rendered me powerless. I was kept in this
position while White ransacked my pockets, and they tore
my trousers. After they had done this they gave me about
20 or 30 blows with their fists, and Hood took a running
kick at my head, but I received the blow on the shoulder.
They did not speak a word all the time. The boy ran away
after Hood had had hold of him, and he left his cap. The
prisoners then ran away, and I followed them towards the
town. They stopped short and came at me again, but I
turned towards home and they escaped. I had loft all my
money at the post-office, and had not a single article upon
me besides the pocket-knife which they took. In about
half an hour I returned to Chesterfield and gave informa-
tion to the Chesterfield police. The boy Spooner identified
White, but could not positively swear to Hood. Henry
Baskin saw White and a man like Hood in the field a
quarter of an hour before the robbery. White was appre-
hended in the town at twelve o'clock, Hood at his father's
house at four o'clock on Sunday morning.

The prisoners were committed for trial at the next Derby
assizes.

They were afterwards charged with stealing 2s. from a
little boy, a short distance from the same place on the same
night, and they wore committed on this charge also.

The Crops in Yorkshire,

The effects of the drought last year, and the scarcity of
fodder last winter, intensified by the backward spring, have
now passed away, and except in the price of stock the farmer
is tolerably well off again. The crops are all looking well.
The warmth and moisture of April and May have advanced
the clovers and grass so fast that the hay harvest will
certainly commence in ten or twelve days, or about a week
earlier than usual. Some of the crops are so heavy that
they were laid by the thunder-storm of last week, and
will consequently require cutting at once. Throughout
last season the great complaint of the farmer was
scarcity of meat and dearness of keep generally ; this
year he has to lament the high prico of stock and its
comparative scarcity. Last season the drought neces-
sitated the sale of many half-fed animals, and stores have
been much reduced during winter. The same cause led to
the short supply of stock in the markets during the spring,
and what is even now offered is comparatively poor and
enormously dear. There are very few farmers who have a
full complement of stock, and although well-conditioned
cattle are readily bought, prices generally deter farmers
from buying ; from this cause alone many go to market
buyers, but return without a purchase. The effect will be
that there will be a very large mowing of hay and a corre-
sponding dearness in the price of butcher's meat. The
cereal crops are very healthy. Probably in no former sea-
son wore the extremes of good and bad more apparent. On
poor pastures and on half crops of turnips the corn is wiry
and light, although healthy, but on lands where oilcake has
been liberally given as the full complement of stock has
been grazed, the crops are decidedly heavy. Although the
winter was so severe, the late forcing weather has so pushed
on the corn crops that harvest is generally looked for in
August. Rye is fully shot, and wheats are rapidly running
up into ear. There are considerable complaints about the
prevalence of fly upon the early-sown turnips, but only a
few cases of re-sowing are noticed, and the general crop is
being got in in splendid season. A very large breadth of po_
tatoes has been planted, but mangold-wurzel has almost
entirely gone out of use.

The biddings for £300,000 in bills on India took
place yesterday at the Bank of England. The pro-
portions allotted were—to Calcutta, £195,774, to
Madras £2,500, and to Bombay £91,500. The
minimum price was as before-Is. 10d. on Calcutta
and Madras, and ls. 10Id. on Bombay. All tenders
on Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay at above
ls. nid. will receive in full.
ARMSTRONG AND WHITWORTII.—The report of
the Armstrong and Whitworth Committee (whose
proceedings would appear interminable), which we have
already noticed, was based upon the experiments with the
field guns. That report, as we stated, somewhat inclined
towards the Whitworth principle, and was referred to the
consideration of three distinguished artillery officers. The
terms of the report of the committee conveyed to the minds
of the authorities to whom it was submitted a stronger bias
in favour of the Whitworth gun than the framers of the
report intended. The committee is still continuing its ex-
periments with the 70-pounders, and these will not be con-
cluded for several weeks. They go far to alter even the
modified opinion of the last report, and are substantially
in favour of Sir William Armstrong's system. No final
decision could ever be expected from a competition between
two systems only when so many inventors are in the field;
but the experience gained will be of immense value, and
will, with trials that are being carried on at Shoeburyness,
within no lengthened period give data to the scientific men
at the head of the manufacturing departments at Woolwich
for producing a gun combining to the greatest degree the
practical advantages obtained by a detailed labour and
expense which no other country has yet attempted. We
may also mention that Major Palliser's labours in the im-
provement of rifled ordnance have met with so much
success that Sir William Armstrong is considering how far
the system which he suggests is capable of practical
adaptation.—The Owl.
FATAL OCCURRENCE AND BRAVE CONDUCT.—
The Hurkaru of the 2d ult. has the following from
Bengal :—" On Sunday, the 23d April, a fine young soldier
of her Majesty's Regiment was drowned by the accidental
upsetting of a boat in the Ajmere lake, a magnificent sheet
of water over 7 miles in circumference. The accident would
have been attended with more serious consequences, but
for the praiseworthy conduct of one of the men who were
in the boat. It appears that four soldiers belonging to the
detachment of the regiment stationed at Ajmere had gone
out on a boating excursion, and on their return towards
the shore, owing to some mismanagement on their part,
the boat capsized, and all were thrown into the water.
One of the men, an Irishman named Doran, immediately
caught hold of his comrade and swam with him to the
shore, calling out to the others to 'cheer up.' Amither
man was seen perfectly exhausted, struggling hard to reach
land. This man also was assisted in by Doran, who then
threw off his clothes, plunged again into the lake, and swam
out to the overturned boat in hopes of rescuing the other
poor fellow who had been seen holding on to one end of
the boat, but he was nowhere to be found. Ho was unable
to swim, and it is supposed he was sucked in' under the
boat. Doran, swimming about for some time, returned to
the shore quite exhausted. The body of the drowned man
was not recovered for several hours. In England such
conduct as Doran's would have obtained for him a gratuity
and a medal from the Humane Society. The Hurkaru com-
mends Doran's conduct to the notice of the lieutenant
governor:"