The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-23 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 23, 1862.

so deliberately planned, and the plan itself to have
been so cunningly carried out, thht the recollection
of the feet that the perpetrator had all her life pre-
vioushibeon known as a good sort of an honest,
steady, even apparently religious woman, merely
serves to enhance the atrocity of the deed of blood
now brought home to her with the most damning
distinctness. Yet beyond all these considerations
enhancing our horror at the guilt of this miserable
criminal, beyond the falsification, by that one act, of
all her previous lifetime, beyond even, it might
almost be said, the infamy of the deed of blood
itself, was that appalling incident which marked
the last day of this deplorable trial—an incident
sufficient of itself to blacken the memory of it in-
delibly and conspicuously upon the bloody roll of
the Causes Celebres.

And that incident ? It occurred immedi-
ately after the Foreman of the Jury had
returned (after no more than twenty minutes'
consideration) the very emphatic and uncompromis-
ing verdict—" The jury are unanimously of opinion
that the Prisoner is Guilty of both Charges of
Murder and Theft, as libelled." During the deli •
very of that verdict the Prisoner, JESSIE
APLAUCHLAN—then pronounced Guilty of Theft
and Murder under circumstances of especial atrocity
—though paler, if possible, than previously, re-
mained tearless and apparently perfectly self-pos-
sessed. Thereupon, while the Clerk of Court was
writing out the formal sentence—Mr. CLA/tK
(holding in his hand a tolerably large
manuscript) addresses himself to the pre-
siding Judge, Lord DEAS, requesting permis-
sion, in the name of the miserable woman
at the bar, that a written statement of her's as to
the crime might be there and then read in open
court before sentence should be pronounced. Per-
mission is graciously given to have this document
read, and it is at once read accordingly. This state-
ment (a very long one) giving an entirely new
story of the whole circumstances connected with
this atrocious murder, a narrative of circumstances
wholly different from those put forward as a
simple relation of the facts in all her pre-
vious declarations. The drift of this New
Confession going directly to throw the whole guilt
of the crime upon o'd Mr. FLEMING, a hale and
vigorous old man, but very little short indeed of
ninety years of age, and a man whose innocence
has been, as already intimated, clearly, and fully,
and irrefragably established. Upon this point
what says Lord DEAS immediately before pro-
nouncing Sentence of Death upon the murderess ?
Addressing himself to the wretched creature, his
lordship observes—" Your statement does not con-
vey to my mind the slightest impression. It con-
veys to my mind the impression of a tissue of as
wicked falsehoods as any to which I ever listened ;
and in place of tending to rest any suspicion against
the man whom you wished to implicate, I think
if anything were awanting to satisfy the public
mind of that man's innocence, it would be that
most incredible statement which you have now
made." Shortly after comes the awful Sentence of
Death, during the delivery of which the murderess
sheds, we are told, an abundance of half-strangled
tears—gasping out now and then, " Well, my lord"
—only to stop, however, as if unable to complete the
sentence. Before her infamous statement is read,
she cries out, " I am as inno cent as my child,
which is only three years old !" The little child
with which she had slept the night after this
appalling murder 1 As she is being removed from
the Court she exclaims, in a voice barely
audible (echoing one word of the sen-
tence just pronounced)— "Mercy ! aye, He'll
hae mercy, for I'm innocent." One reparation the
ti:‘iserable wretch may yet make. For her own
sours sake lot us hope she will do—what is superflu-
ous for the clearing of the reputation of the aged
man whom she has accused—exonerating, that is
to say, old Mr. FLEMING from any share whatever
in her own brutal murder of poor JESSIE MAC-

COURT CIRCULAR.

REINHARDSBRUNN, SEPT. 18.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales arrived at half-
past four o'clock yesterday. His Royal Highness was at-
tended by Colonel the Hon. Sir Charles Phipps, Lieuten-
ant-General Knollys, and Lieutenant-Colonel Keppel,
A.D,C.
Earl Russell had an audience of the Queen, and took
leave upon his return to England. Ho will be succeeded
by Earl Granville, as Minister in attendance upon her
Majesty.

Earl Granville left London yesterday afternoon
()r Gotha. _

- - -
The Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin has
bQen pleased to confer the civil medal of merit in gold upon
Mr. Siegerich Kreeft, his royal highness's consul-general
in Great Britain.

The Duke and Duchess of Somerset have left
town for Maiden Bradley, Wilts. His grace will return
to town in a few days to transact business at the Ad-
miralty.
The Duke of Beaufort arrived at Gopsall, the
Earl Howe's seat in Leicestershire, from Doncaster, on
Saturday last. The noble Duke and Duchess leave Gop-
sall to-day for Badminton, Gloucestershire, where they will
receive a succession of visitors.
The Duchess (Dowager) of Sutherland, who has
been visiting Lord and Lady Blantyre at Erskine House,
has left for Roseneath, the seat of the Duke and Duchess
of Argyll.
The Earl and Countess of Westmoreland will en-
tertain a large circle of friends at Apthorpe, Northampton-
shire, during the present week.
The Earl and Countess Delawarr have arrived at
Oakley Park, Bedfordshire, from Buckhurst Park, Sussex,
on a visit to Mr. and Lady Elizabeth Russell.
The Earl of Chesterfield has arrived in town, and
will leave to-day for his seat in Derbyshire.
THE LATE FIRE AT THE LIVERPOOL WORKHOUSE.
—The suggestion which we threw out in our last impres-
sion that the fire originated among the soiled clothes be-
longing to the children, and which was all but proved to
be correct at the adjourned inquest on Wednesday, has
since received additional corroboration. On clearing away
the rubbish from the floor of the schoolroom, it was disco-
vered that the portion on which the clothes had be en de-
posited, and that immediately adjoining it, were the only
parts of the floor which had been burnt in any considerable
degree:--Lit•erpool Albion.
The Moniteur des Soies, a new commercial organ,
publishes a statistical table of the price of silk in the Lyons
market since 1843. As the prices of all kinds of silk,
wherever produced, have followed nearly the same move-
ments upwards and downwards, the Lyons market may be
safely taken as a standard for all. It appears from this
table that organzine sila in 1843 was worth 82f per kilo-
gramme at Lyons; 103 f in 1844, and 108 f in 1845. Owing
to political events in 1846-47 it fell to 57f, but rose again to
95f in 1849, and to 100 f in 1850. In 1851 it fell to 86f, but,
owing to a bad crop, rose to 108 f in 1853. The war in the
East brought it down to 86f in 1855, but in 1856 it ad-
vanced to 139 f, and to 140 f in the following year. In
January, 1858, it declined to 101 f, but after the treaty of
Villafranca it again reached 130 f, and 132 f in 1860. The
American war bad an unfavourable effect, and the price
fell till, at the beginning of the present year, it was 105 f,
but has since recovered a little, and is now 115 f. It is very
remarkable that all these fluctuations very nearly coincide
with those of the Three per Cents., which shows that the
demand for silk is greatly dependent on the political secu-
rity and commercial prosperity of the country; so much
so, indeed, that the fluctuation of the Paris Bourse may be
regarded as a tolerably accurate indication of the rise and
fall in the price of silk.
THE TEA TRADE.—The deliveries in London
estimated for the week were 880,0101 b,, which is a decrease
of 54,1001 b. compared with the previous statement.

GLASGOW, - SEPT. 20.—Cotton.—The cotton-
market has been very dull this week, with little doing at a
decline of id. per lb. Goods and yarns.—The market has
been very quiet during the week without change in prices.
Iron--A large business has been transacted in the pig iron
market this week, prices touching 575. 6d. for warrants,
prompt sellers; buyers, 575. 41d. ; No. 1 Gartsherrio,
58s. 6d.

THE COLLEEN BAWN.—It may be interesting to
the public to know that the name of the dramatized
" Colleen Bawn" was Ellen Hanly. She was murdered,
by drowning, near Foynes, either on the 14th or 15th July,
1819. The chief conspirator of the brutal deed, highly
connected in this county and city, was executed at Gallows
Green on the 16th Marh, 1820, and Sullivan (dramati-
cally represented as " Danny Mann," the summer of last
year). The body of the " Colleen" drifted into Money
Point, and was interred in Burrane churchyard, where
Robert W, C. Reeves, Esq., upon whose property the
bnrial ground is situated, has erected a tombstone upon
which is inscribed the simple epitaph,—" The Colleen
Bawn.''--Limerick Chronicle.

DE&TEE OP S MITER JOHNNIE'S SON.—Many of our
(A yr Express) readers will regret to observe in our obituary
this morning the familiar name of the venerable Mr. John
Lauchlan, Deacon of the Incorporated Trade of Shoe-
makers in Ayr, who died on Wednesday in his 86th year.
He was the son of Burns' " Souter Johnnie," famed by the
marvellous poem of Tam o' Shanter. When a mere lad he
enlisted in the first Ayrshire Militia, along with many
others belonging to the county, and served in the regiment,
a faithful soldier, for a long period of years, and was dis-
charged at the peace, when he assumed his original
trade of a shoemaker, which he carried on success-
fully, and saved sufficiently to enable him to enjoy, in
a moderate degree, the good things of this life till the day
of his death. He was, from his youth, a wiry, healthy
man, full of energy and activity, which in a measure con-
tinued with him to the last—for he passed away without
pain or suffering, and breathed his last like a child going
to sleep. The Deacon was a famed Freemason, and died
the oldest member of the Ayr St. Paul's Lodge Like
others of his day, he was a jolly boon companion when
occasion required, although far from being a habitual
drinker. It is related of him that he was one of
three who consumer;, at one sitting, no fewer than
eight choppins of rum—as mi1,1:1_1 as would floor as
many dozens of Forbes Mackenzie's pale disciples of the
present day—yet this large quantity must have done no
injury to his constitution, for hence his great age and pain-
less death. In his official capacity he was much and justly
respected by his fellow .craftsmen, over whom he reigned
by prescriptive right with a mild sway, having dispensed
the business of the Incorporation with an ardent desire for
its welfare, and enlivened the meetings with many a joke
and story. As one of the most genial and amiable of all
our local worthies he died, as he had lived, in the cordial
esteem of the entire community, among which he has left
not a single enemy.

EXTRAORDINARY DESCENT OF A BULL INTO
Tut, MAIN DRAINWM—Last evening, between eight and
nine o'clock, the neighbourhood of Leather-lane and Back-
hill was thrown into a state of excitement and alarm by the
sudden appearance of a bull at large, and whose exercita-
tions were of a most amusing, but at the same time of a
most formidable nature. After leaving the drove, which
was on its way to Smithfield, the infuriated Taurus rushed
right and left up the steep declivity of Back-hill, and after
baiting at sundry shops on the byway, plunged headfore-
most into ono of the huge main-drainage shafts at the top
of the hill, falling a depth of 42 feet down into the excava-
tions below, Here he lay bellowing and snorting for full
three-quarters of an hour, without apparently having
broken any bones, seeing that it was ascertained by the
workmen by the aid of lights, that having recovered from
his exhaustion the brave beast was again upon his legs.
The question then presented itself how to extricate him, and
it was determined on, as the only means of delivering
Bully from his savory limbo, that he should be killed upon
the spot, and then slung up by means of the ropes and
buckets used by the men at work tJ bring up the excavated
material. Subsequently, and after consulting the owner
of the animal, it was determined to try the experiment of
extricating the bull alive, and a strong force of Reid's stal-
wart brewers in the neighbourhood volunteered their assist-
ance for th© purpose. Bringing their tackle from the
brewery, the other sewage men descended with it into the
shaft, and having secured it round the neck, legs, and hind
quarters of the bull, succeeded in about half an hour or so
afterwards, by means of the windlass, a long pull, a strong
pull, and a pull altogether, in bringing the bovine burden,
of some 100 stone weight, safely and amid the cheers of the
assembled crowd to the surface, when the animal, marvel-
lous to say, was found only to have sustained a fracture of
one of the fora legs, and was able to wilk a distance of 100
yards down hill to a neighbouring yard in Saffron-hill,
where he was housed for the night. The value of the ani-
mal was estimated at between £3O and £4O, and will make
as good butcher's meat as ever.

The News, insurance journal, furnishes the sub-
joined statistics with regard to the winding-up of insurance
offices during the last 15 years. Some of the vacancies
thus created have been met this year by the creation of
large new establishments :—" In 1841, tour insurance com-
panies ceased to exist ; in 1848, seven ; in 1850, three ; in
1851, none; in 1852, two; in 1853, eight; in 1854, six; in
in 1855, ten ; in 1856, sixteen ; in 18.57, thirty-four ; in
1858, twenty-five; in 1859, fifteen; in 1860, six; in 1861,
ten ; while during the year 1862, so far as it has gone,
eleven have disappeared, or are disappearing."
DARING BURGLARY AND ROBBERY OF SILK NEAR
NorriNottAm.—On Saturday morning a man named Wm.
Spencer was taken before Lord Belper and the county bench
of magistrates at Nottingham, charged with being con-
cerned in a serious robbery of silk. The prisoner up to a
short time ago was in the employ of Mr. Fletcher, lace
manufacturer, Hyson-green, near Nottingham, and a few
days after his discharge Mr. Fletcher's warehouse was
broken into, and silk to the value of £6O stolen. The pri-
souci' having been twice previously cony! ted suspicion
fell upon him, and he was apprehended. Os house was
searched, and some labels belonging to the prosecutor's silk
were found; hut none of the stolen property teas yet Leen
discovered. Thebeacil remanded the prioner until Wed-
nesday.

ROYAL ENGLISH OPERA.

MISS SARA DOBSON.

What are we to say of the young lady, whose
first appearance in " Lurline," we had the pleasure
of recording the other day, and whose claims were
further tested at our national opera last evening in
the far more arduous effort of the dream-haunted
Amina. We confess to no little difficulty. If the
trepidation which marked her debut, and hung
like a veil over all her merits, has been
sufficiently removed to enable us at least
to see and speak of her musical pretensions
—how in respect to her dramatic ? Is her ex-
treme youth, including her obvious unacquaint-
ance with the stage—which explains her want of
adequate emotion, as well as ease and self-
possession—to be viewed also as a veil that
conceals her dramatic power, and which as
it is thrown aside is destined to reveal quali-
ties as commendable as those which denote her
vocally. Who shall say ? INe confess we attach
but little importance to the recommendation of some
of cur contemporaries that she should have re-
mained longer in the country and thereby acquired
a proper mastery of stage expression before she
appeared. In the first place there are no schools
of operatic training in the country. There is as
little provision in our provinces to make a singer
as an actor, In the next place there can be no
question that if a singer be only endowed with the
requisite vocal and dramatic gifts, as well as adequate
musical culture, he or she will grow as much under
the inspiration of a London audience in two seasons,
as in the country, they would in five. London favour
has a warmth that is tropical, and does its ripening
in a night. We can have no better proof on this point
than the career of Mr, Santley, who on his first ap-
pearance at Covent Garden was certainly as desti-
tute of dramatic expression as any singer of our
time, and who has so rapidly developed into one of
its most striking exemplifications. That it is the
destiny of Miss Sara Dobson to rival his notable
expansion is, of course, impossible for us to say;
but we see nothing, at the same time, in
the utmost of her deficiencies which for-
bids us to indulge the hope of it. Whilst
we must admit, therefore, that this young
lady is wholly unequal at present to a dramatic
interpretation of such a character as the Sonnam-
bula, and more especially in the presence of its
realisation on other boards, we can readily admit
the claims of much of her vocal qualification, which,
if not extraordin iry, are at least sufficiently praise-
worthy and pleasing to account for the marked
satisfaction which she communicated to the
audience. Miss Dobson is possessed of a pure
soprano voice, very delicate and melodious in
quality, which she exerts with a taste and firm-
ness that testify to the very careful and judicious
training she has received—but her voice at the
same time has neither the power nor flexibility
which would enable her to hold a first position at
this theatre. She has neither the vigour nor the
brilliancy which prima donnas now require to
satisfy the tastes that have been formed on modern
standards. She has a tenderness and delicacy
which must always please, and when further de-
veloped—in combination with her youth and en-
gaging appearance—can scarcely fail to delight,
but which at the same time can as little hope
either to impress or to electrify. Her execution of the
music of Amina may be inferred from these re-
marks. Its characteristic was great tenderness,
which in the music of the sleeping scenes deepened
to a point of genuine pathos that rendered her
impression very favourable in the finale of each
act—however wanting the usual aids of the pathetic
fervour which we have so long been accustomed to
in the one, or the burst of vigorous brilliancy
which mostly concludes the other. Miss Dobson was
warmly called for at the close of the first act (the
second of the English version), and Just as heartily
at the end. The Elvino of the evening was Mr,
George Perren, who, unfortunately for Miss Dob-
son, being a novice like herself, was unable to sus-
tain her in her arduous endeavour. His charas-
teristies also, like her's, are tenderness rather than
power, and an excellent musical style; whilst his
dramatic quality, in like Manner, time, has
yet got to decide. His singing had
great earnestness and tastefulness throughout ;
his delivery of the " Tutto e Sciolto" almost win-
ning an encore. Strangely enough, however, he
omitted with Amine the duet of the "Son geloso,"
one of the loveliest pieces in the opera, and which
is so adapted to their respective sty!es, it could not
have failed in a due impression. One of the best
features of the night was the Rhodolfo of Mr.
Santley, whose superb voice and finished style lifted
a character that is little thought of into absolute
importance. His delivery of the "Vi ravviso" was
a gratification rarely afforded to the bearers of this
opera. Miss Thirlwall, we must also notice, as a
very superior Lisa, her rendering of her two airs be-
ing equally distinguished by facility and sweetness
Mr. Rouse also was a valuable accession as Alessio,
his humour and vivacity, tending greatly to relieve
many of the slower portions of the story. To the
band and chorus, under Mr. Mellon, only our old
praises can apply—nothing could possibly exceed
their vigour, lightness, and exactness. The house
was very full.

MR. KENNEDY'S SCOTTISH ENTER-

TAINMENT.

A worthy successor of the late Mr. Wilson, the
celebrated Scottish vocalist, has at last appeared
in the person of Mr. Kennedy. Last night this
gentleman made his first appearance in London,
at the Queen's Concert Room, Hanover-square,
and met with the most enthusiastic success.

The programme of his entertainment was most
judiciously selected, and well calculated, not only
to gratify that part of the audience, " native
and to the manner born," but also to delight
the ears of the Southerners wits the
music of Scotland in all its pleasing varieties.
Mr. Kennedy was particularly successful in the
well-known dialogue song " Come under my
plaidie," and also " Tak yer auld cloak aboot ye ;"
but his crowning triumph was " Scots wha hae,"
which was given in a most telling and exciting
manner. The result was a rapturous encore ; in-
deed, the audience seemed very much inclined to
encore everything, but a little consideration, we
suppose, for Mr. Kennedy induced them to have
mercy on their new entertainer.
Mr. Kennedy repeats his entertainment on Mon-
day next, when he doubtless will meet with another
hearty reception.

ARRIVAL OF PRINCE ALFRED.

PORTSMOUTH, TUESDAY MORNING.

Her Majesty's ship St. George, with Prince
Alfred on board, accompanied by the Chanticleer,
has arrived at Spithead from Kiel.

MISS LOUISA PYNE.—This distinguished vocalist
bas been seriously indisposed, having been attacked with
gestric fever, but her numerous friends and the general
public will be gratified to learn, that she is now approach-
ing convalescence, and will soon be enabled to resume her
professional duties both as manageress and artiste at the
Royal English Opera.

GROCERS IN THE CIVIC CHAIR.--The grocers
were at one period the foremost men of the City of London.
During the 367 years that elapsed from 1231 to 1.598, no
lees than seventy. three times was the civic chair occupied
by members of the Grocers' Company. Since 1757, when
ldarsh Dickenson was Lord Mayor, no other has ever at-
tained that very enviable dignity. Again, in 1379, when
a compulsory roll of the trading guilds and fraternities of
London was made, the first on the list is the Grocers'.
This, too, be it remembered, at a time when the most fre-
quent cause of riot and bloodshed in the streets and market-
places was a jealous pride that stirred up all the principal
guilds to contend for the most honourable place at the
great public feasts and spectacles, which then, as now, but
with far greater consistency of time and circumstances,
characterised the barbarous splendour of a Lord Mayor's
show.—The Grocer.

EXPORT OF COAL FROM GREAT ORIMSBY.—Return
of coal exported from the port of Great Grimsby during the
month of August, 1862:—T0 France, 3,314 tons; Prussia,
2,487 ; Russia, 1,319; Hansoatic towns, 483 ; Canada, 600;
West India Islands 351 ; Norway, 1,153; Spain, 1(5:
,
Mecklenburg, 245. Italy, 217, total foreign, 10,254; total
coastwise, 898; grand total, 11,152. :.lorresponclingialoutu
of 1861:—Total for?igla) 11,454; total coastwise; wai
grand ta4, 12,10

LAT Es r NEWs

must be boldly met, and the present is one of them.
It is impossible that M. Conforti can continue to
form pact of a cabinet from which he is separated
by such a divergence of opinion.