The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-23 00:00:00

~.~~0,1

_ ..._ I
hood, avoided the taint find ignominy that Nona :be' 0.1-10*F.,:
upon them all by a conviction for an offence of this seriph4-
description. Under ordinary circumstances if Krhappl-' Et
would be deemed impertinent for him to have madelhestr' 'l'
observations ; but, in a case like the present, he considered
ho was perfectly justified in making them, because his ob-
ject was to show the extreme improbability that any one
would sacrifice so great a name to obtain what might be
considered some important advantage, still less that such a
sacrifice should be made without, as he considered, the
slightest assignable object or motive whatever. He asked
the jury with great confidence whether it was possible,
unless the prisoner was a lunatic, that she should have
utterly sacrificed her character and position by committing
a crime of this description, when she would not have ob-
tained the least benefit or advantage by it. The learned
sergeant then said he should show the jury by evidence
that the prisoner was not under the slightest pecuniary
pressure ; that she was in the receipt of nearly £4OO a year
from different sources, and did not owe £lO in the world ;
and as to the amount of the insurance, it would not have
covered the value of the property that would have been
destroyed. He next proceeded to comment at considerable
length upon the evidence that had been adduced in sup-
port of the prosecution, and argued that, with reference to
the periods of time that had been spoken to by the diffe-
rent witnesses, it was physically impossible that the pri-
soner could have committed the offence, and that, even
according to the theory of the prosecution, a space or two
or three minutes at most was allowed to her to have been
the cause of the six different fires in different parts of the
house that had been spoken to by the witnesses.
Miss Jenny Elizabeth Grant, the daughter of the pri-
soner, was then examined in her behalf.. Her evidence
went to show that her mother had a pension from the
Indian Mutiny Fund of £BO, another of £65 per annum
fram the Government, and private property besides which
produced £230 per annum—her total income being about
£375 per annum. Her mother, she said, lived in moderate
style, and did not spend more than £250 per annum.
Mr. Denman submitted that evidence of the pecuniary
position of the priioner at the time of the alleged offence
was inadmissible. He said that he was induced to take the
objection in consequence of an observation that was made
by Mr. Baron Martin on a former occasion, when an ap-
plication was made to postpone the trial.
The Lord Chief Baron expressed his opinion that Baron
Martin must have been misunderstood if he was supposed
to have said that evidence of this character was not re-
ceivable. It was a matter of every-day occurrence in cases
of robbery to produce evidence to show that before the
robbery the person accused was in a state of destitution ;
and surely the contrary was important to be proved, to
show the absence of motive for the commission of a crime
like the one imputed to the prisoner.
Evidence was then given that at the time of the fire the
prisoner had money at her command at Cox and Co.'s, the
army agents; and Captain M'Dinough, Major Gordon, and
Major Burnside, brother officers of the husband of the pri-
soner, and Mr. Cord), Burrows, one of the magistrates of
Brighton, were also examined as to the character of the
prisoner, and they all concurred in stating that it was irre-
proachable in every respect.
The Lord Chief Baron summed up the whole case with
very great care and minuteness, and in the course of his
observations he said it appeared to him that the prosecu-
tion had not by any means negatived the supposition that
some mischievous person had got into the house and set
fire to the different portions of it that had been spoken to
by the witnesses, and that it was a more likely solution of
the affair than that the prisoner should have told the per-
sons about her where she was going, and then have deli-
berately committed such a serious offence, at a period of
the night when the fire must have been immediately dis-
covered.

The jury almost immediately returned a verdict of not
guilty.
There was a burst of applause in the court when the
verdict was returned, which was with difficulty repressed
by the officers.
The prisoner was ordered to be immediately discharged,
and left the court accompanied by a number of her friends.

Journeyman Bakers' Home, Reading-room,
and Library,

A public meeting, chiefly composed of operative
bakers, was held last evening at the Whittington,
Club, Arundel-street, Strand, for the purpose of
adopting the requisite measures for the establish-
ment of an institution in the shape of a home,
reading-room, and library for the use and benefit of
operative bakers.
The meeting was presided over by his Grace the
Duke of Argyll, who was accompanied on the plat-
form by Lord Ebury, Mr. A. H. Layard, M.P., the
Rev. H. Solly, and other friends of the working
classes.

The noble CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings,
remarked that they were assembled to express their
sympathy and to give their support to the operative
bakers of London, who were associated in developing
certain schemes having for their object the improve-
ment of their condition and their intellectual ad-
vancement. Their meeting together had not, strictly
speaking, anything to do with the shortening of the
hours of labour, while at the same time, in discussing
any question connected with the advancement and
improvement of the operative bakers it was impos-
sible to keep that matter out of view, as unless the
hours of labour were considerably shortened the
operative baker would have no time to take advan-
tage of the measures adopted for his benefit. (Hear,
hear.) The hours of labour of the London journey-
men bakers were well known to be extravagant, and
he could not see why, by voluntary effort and
friendly communication between the men and the
master bakers, a considerable reduction of them
might not be effected. Such had been done in
Scotland, where the hours of labour were now from
five in the morning to five at night ; and although
it was said, and perhaps with some truth, that the
bread baked in Scotland was not so good as that
baked in London, still he did not believe that well-
baked or bad-baked bread had anything to do in
the matter. He therefore most cordially sympa-
thised with them in their efforts to improve their
condition, and he considered it an honour, conferred
not only upon himself, but upon the order to which
he belonged, at being called on to preside over so
interesting a meeting.

Mr. JAMES TAYLOR, the secretary; then read a
report detailing what had been done in furtherance
of the object for which they had assembled. It
stated that the trade generally was 25 per cent.
better than it was in 1860. Wages had been in-
creased ; many masters had abolished night-work,
while not a few closed their shops on Sundays,
which had done away with Sunday bakings. In
regard to the establishment of a home and reading-
room, something had been done in that respect. A.
room had been procured at Rolls-buildings, Fetter-
lane, and fitted-up for that purpose, but some £250
was required to place it in proper working order.
They had already a library of 140 volumes, and they
had expended £2l in furniture ; but as their funds
were nearly all expended, it was hoped that the
general public as well as the trade would come
forward and aid them.
Lord EBURY then moved a resolution to the effect
that the meeting, after hearing the report, was of
opinion that there was much need of a home or club
and institute for the unemployed and young men in
the baking trade, in order that a better system of
obtaining employment might be established. The
noble lord expressed his satisfaction at the success
which was attending the movement, and trusted that
they would receive such support as would carry it
to a successful issue.
The resolution having been seconded by Mr.
BONTHRON, master baker, was cordially adopted.
Mr. A. H. LAYARD, M.P., next moved that the
meeting was of opinion that the journeymen bakers
were justified in using all moral, legal, and consti-
tutional means to abolish the pernicious system of
night-work and unlimited hours, in order that they
may have a better opportunity for improving their
intellectual capabilities, and to afford time for a
little rational recreation and amusement. In sup-
port of the resolution the hon. gentleman com-
mented on the benefits which had resulted from the
act recently passed for the regulation of bakehouses
and the employment of young persons in them. The
only objection to it was that the inspection under it
was not made compulsory, and he had no doubt but
that that defect in the Act might yet be remedied.
The resolution, having been seconded by the Rev.
H. SOLLY, wan adopted nevi. con.
The meeting then adjourned.

"And then he drew a dial from his poke,
And looking on it with lack lustre eye,
Says very wisely, It is ten o'clock:
Thus we may see,' quoth he, ' how the wosrHAld
KwsargEsAßE."

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