The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-15 00:00:00

Eleven rail.

LATEST BETTING.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STAKES.
Bto lon the field (offered)
100 to 7 agst Verger (offered)
100 to 7 agst Huntsman's Daughter (offered)

CHESTER CUP,
10 to 1 on the field (offered)

Mysterious Affair at a Gentleman's House

Mr. Wm. Carter, the coroner for East Surrey, held a
painful inquiry at the Red Cow, High-street, Peckham, on
the body of a newly-born child found under the following
circumstances.

Mrs. Elizabeth Ruddeforth, of 6, Gunnersbury Villas
Peckham, said that she had a young woman, who had been
in her service for two years and a quarter, of the name of
Eliza Bullock. On Monday (yesterday) week, Mr. Lenton,
a surgeon, came to see witness professionally as she was ill,
when she asked him to see the servant as she had complained
of being unwell. After he left she found something which
she showed to the doctor on his visit the next morning.
Upon seeing which he said he had no doubt the young
woman had been delivered of a child. Upon his taxing
her she admitted that she had prematurely been delivered,
and that ittook place :a month before the expected time and
upon further interrogation, said the child was under the
bed in her closet. Upon looking there the doctor found
the child in a chamber utensil. She had no clothing pre-
pared for the child, and she told witness that she had in-
tended to have left her service to avoid any disgrace being
brought upon the house, but owing to the fact of her being
ill she had stopped longer than she intended. She also
said that, being taken suddenly ill in the night, she made
a noise for her to come up stairs, but as. she did not she
jumped out of bed, and the child fell upon the floor. Wit-
ness nor her husband heard the least noise during the
night. She had never noticed any difference in her bodily
appearance. She was in the habit of wearing crinoline
She saw no marks of violence upon the body, and having
put some clothes on the child she sent to Mr. Brown, the
undertaker, who took it away, with a certificate the doctor
had written.

Mr. Charles Sheffield Linton, surgeon, having given
similar evidence, said, that by the coroner's order, he had
made a post mortem examination of the body, and found no
dangerous matter in the throat or trachea. There were no
external marks of violence upon the body. He tested the
lungs and found that they floated in water and crepitated,
showing that respiration might have taken place. In his
opinion the child had not respired more than once or twice.
The statement she had made might have been true, and by
losing all consciousness, have let the child fall in the man-
ner she had stated. He had a similar case that morning,
where a lady, who had her nurse present, was suddenly
seized with labour, and the child was born 10 minutes before
he could get to her. The respiration he had spoken of
might have taken place during the act of parturition,
and he was unable to say whether the child had
actually been born alive or not. He had given a certificate
in which he stated that he thought the child had been
stillborn.

The Coroner said such a certificate was an improper one,
and, if the child had been buried, it would have had to be
exhumed, as the cause of death could only be settled by a
public inquiry. Medical men, by giving such certificates,
placed themselves in very unenviable positions.

Ebenezer Dunn said that he was sent for by the lady of
the house to take the child away, and when he saw the
nature of the certificate he took the child back again.
Mr. Woodman, the summoning officer, said that from
certain information ho received, he went and took posses-
sion of the child.

The learned Coroner having summed up, the jury re-
turned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.

Fatal Accident on the North Kent Railway.

Yesterday afternoon Mr. C. J. Cartthr, coroner for West
Kent, held an inquiry at the Crown Tavern, Erith, into
the circumstances attending the death of Richard Miles, a
gateman in the employ of the South Eastern Railway Com-
pany, who was killed on the previous Thursday night by a
passing train, at a level crossing near the Erith station of
the North Kent line. •

Mr. Freeland, solicitor to the South Eastern Railway
Company, attended to watch the proceedings on the part
.3-coons etphhe
preSayer,vi au
sc oTr nh
r- d es
da laeyr ,
nri residingt
aa tqPulaurresrtetaod,eisaghidt
o'clock, he was at the railway crossing, under the care of
deceased, with a horse and cart. The gate was shut, and
witness called out "Gate," when deceased came out of
his residence, and opened the gate nearest to witness on
the up side of rails, and he then crossed over and opened
the other gate. He said to witness, " Make haste, for the
train is coming," and witness then passed over the line at
a trot. Immediately after he heard the train came up, and
the gate smashed. He got out of his cart, and when on
the line he found the mutilated body of the deceased lying
about 40 yards from the gate on the up side.
Thomas Butcher, signalman at the Erith station, proved
that he signalled to the deceased that the up train had left
the Erith station at 7.45. . _ _

Mr. R. C. Taylor, station-master at Erith, said the whole
of the crossings over the lino at Erith were under his con-
trol. The deceased was a sober, well-conducted man, and
witness could not account for his conduct on this occasion,
as he7had acted in contravention to the rules three times
—viz., he had opened the gates when he ought not to have
done so, he had opened the wrong gate first, and he had
also shut the wrong gate first. If he had shut the up-gate
whose
want se
of evidencew
cautionen
first he would have left the red or danger signal on the
down gate exposed, and thus the accident would have been
prevented.
werentresulted from
examin
examined, hot
on
proveOthethr esawtitthneasceesid e
the part of the deceased.

A Juryman observed it cost the company about £l5O per
year for attention to one of those crossings ; and a good
bridge might be constructed for less than Xl,OOO.
Mr. Freeland said the cost was a secondary
consideration.
Engineering difficulties prevented the construction of these
bridges in all cases.

• The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, with a
recommendation to the company to substitute bridges, in
lieu of those level crossings, where it was practicable to
do so.

THE
A„
}-AN BILL TO ABOLISH ARREST ON FINAL
p ,
RocEss.—,ihis evening the Lord Chancellor's bill
to abolish arrest on final process, and for the amend-
ment of the law of bankruptcy in certain particulars, is
appointed to be read a second time in the House of Lords.
It recites that it is expedient " altogether to abolish arrest
upon final process in England except in cases where the
debtor is in the possession of property or in the receipt of
an income which cannot be taken in execution." There
are eight sections in thb bill, and it is proposed that the
law shall take effect on the 20th June next. No order of
discharge is to be granted, " nor shall the same, if granted,"
asincome, or salary which the
bankrupt any
uptmaeystaacqt%ilLroertupntir 557 in the pound is paid, unless
three-fourths of the creditors consent.

MITER' 31.1: PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS-LAST EVENING.

The LORD CELNCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at
the usual hour.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales was in the
House during the early part of the evening.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The Rosendale Union Gas Bill was read a third time and
passed.

BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY (IRELAND)

ACT

AMENDMENT BILL.

Earl ST. GERMANS, iu moving that this bill should
be referred to a select committee, said that it had been drawn
up by the Crown officers of Ireland, had received the sanc-
tion of the Lord Chancellor, and had passed the other
house. The object of the bill was to assimilate the law in
regard to railway and other companies with that of Eng-
land, and the greatest anxiety was felt in Ireland for the
passing of the measure.
The Marquis of CLANRICARDE having adverted to the
defective state of the law in Ireland in regard to railway
companies, said that the bill was not to be rejected merely
because it had a retrospective operation, because that would
refer to different acts of legislation by which different acts
of indemnity had been passed. The fact was that this
bill proposed to relieve shareholders from liabilities
which they had never intended to incur. An error
of a very serious character had occurred in their previous
legislation in regard to this matter in Ireland, and that
error they were bound to rectify.
Lord DONOUGHMORE objected to ex parte de facto
legislation, but had no objection to a measure assimilating
the law between England and Ireland, provided the rights
of existing creditors of railways were respected.
The bill was then referred to a select committee/.
BRITISH KAFFRARIA BILL.

This bill went through committee.
ELECTION PETITION ACTS AMENDMENT BILL.
This bill also went through committee.
THE CASE OF MARY RYAN.

The Marquis of WES MEATHcalled the attention of
the house to the papers presented in the case of Mary
Ryan. The noble lord said that this was a case which
required the fullest inquiry. A young woman was
brought to the pier of Dover in a straight waistcoat,
and she was ultimately placed in a lunatic asylum on the
continent. He contended that the capture and confinement
of the young person was most unjustifiable, for it appeared
that she had been taken away on the anthorfty of a Roman
Catholic clergyman, who designated himself the Vicar-
general, and two nuns, and placed in confinement, where
she was unable to communicate with any person who was ,
in a position to assist her or obtain her release. Such an
act was entirely at variance with English law and should
not be tolerated, at least without a stringent inquiry. He
referred to the letters by the Protestant Alliance on this
subject, and read copious extracts from those documents.
He strongly condemned the conduct of the Government in
not publishing these letters.
Lord RUSSELL said it was not unusual for nuns afflicted
with insanity to be removed to establishments abroad. But
the practice, though usual, was really illegal. In this case,
however, every facility had been given to the investigation
directed by the Government, and it had been fully ascer-
tained that the young woman was insane. She was well
taken care of, and, as the parties who had removed her did
not appear to have been actuated by improper motives, it
had not been thought expedient to prosecute them.
Lord MALMESBURY was convinced by a perusal of
the papers that Mary Ryan was mad, and that the Govern-
ment had done all it could to investigate the case. The
parties had no doubt acted in ignorance of the law of the
country, but in some instances, as when magistrates sent
persons to lunatic asylums without sufficient inquiry, such
ignorance deserved a public reproof from-the Home Secre-
tary. A private rebuke was useless. In this respect he
thought the case had been treated too lightly.
Their lordships adjourned at a quarter to seven.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—LAST EVENING.
The SPEAKER took the chair at 4 o'clock
PRIVATE BUSINESS.

The following bill was road a third time :—Chichester
and Midhurst Railway.
The following bills were read a second time :—Utiliza-
tion of Sewage and Land Reclamation (Ireland).
LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE, AND GREAT
EASTERN JUNCTION RAILWAY BILL.

On the motion for the second reading of this bill,

Lord GALWEY moved the rejection of the bill, because
it had been but very slightly altered in order to suit the
legislation of last session. The alterations in the bill had
been made to suit the convenience of certain landowners,
and ho was sure if those alterations were considered by a
committee they-would most inevitably lead to the rejection
of the bill. Ike did not take up the position he then occu-
pied on behalf of the landowners concerned, but he would
say at once that he did it on the part of the
Great Northern Railway. He thought that after
two companies had had a fair stand up fight, which had
caused the expenditure of a great deal of money, it was
unfair and unjust to allow the company that had been
defeated to again apply to J'arliament to sanction that
which was almost identically the same scheme which was
rejected in 1864.
Mr. CHEETHAM supported the bill, and said it was not
at all similar to the bill brought forward lastsession. If the
measure was sanctioned by the Legislature it would prove
of immense advantage in cheapening the charge for the
conveyance of coal, and this crcurnstance, alone ought to
be sufficient to secure the passing of the bill. All that the
promoters of this bill desired was that their case should be
heard. He appealed to the house not to allow the bill to
be defeated by a side wind.
Mr. MITFORD said he had gone through all the plans
in the Private Bill-office, and he felt bound to say that the
bill was practically the same as was before them last year
under the title of the Great Eastern and Northern Junc-
tion Railway Bill.

Mr. CHILDERS said the people of Yorkshire had peti-
tioned in favour of this bill, and he did think that, as they
only asked that the convenience offered by the projected
railway might be fairly considered, it would be unfair to re-
ject such a reasonable demand.

Mr. EGERTON opposed the bill. There were three rail-
way systems at present in existence, which he thought was
quite sufficient to meet the requirements of Lancashire
and Yorkshire.

Mr. BRIGHT thought the house was asked to reject the
bill on very insufficient grounds. (Hear, hear.) It was said
the bill was before Parliament last session, but was that
any reason for its rejection this year. He felt it was too bad
at this time of day to stand up for protection to the
Great Northern Railway, because if that system had been
adopted years ago wo should have had but very few long
lines of railway. If the present bill was agreed to it would
occupy five years in the construction of the railway. He
hoped the house would not reject the bill, but allow it to
receive that consideration to which it was entitled.
Mr. B. STANHOPE opposed the bill, because he consi-
dered the gradients were exceedingly objectionable. The
bill would interfere with the navigation of the river Trent,
and would entirely destroy a great extent of private pro-
perty, and on those grounds he hoped it would be rejected.
Mr. AYIITON should support the second reading of the
bill, especially as it was said the making of the railway
would tend to cheapen the cost of coal in the metropolis.
Mr. M. GIBSON said of course the matter of the inter-
erence with the navigation of the Trent would be care-
till considered and reported on, and the committee would
be made acquainted with the result, of the inquiry. Under
all the circumstances of the case, ho should give his vote
in favour of the second reading of the bill.

Mr. J. R. ORMSBY-GORE should vote for the rejection
of the bill.
Lord BURY, as a resident in the Eastern Counties,
should support the second reading of the bill, because it I
would tend to cheapen the supply of coal.
Col. JARVIS thought the details of this bill ought to be
considered in committee, and not discussed in that house,
and although there were so many gentlemen present he did
not believe there wore eight or nine amongst them that
really understood what they were talking about.
(Laughter.)
The house then divided, when thore appeared—
For the second reading l2l
Against it
Majority .--11
Tho bill was consequently lost.
SOUTH AMERICAN BEEF.
Mr. J. EWART asked whether any order had been
issued for the indiscriminate seizure of South. American beef
when exposed for sale to the public either in London or
Liverpool ?
Sir G. GREY said no order had been issued, or seizure
Mode of the description alluded to by the hon. member.
He made of
by the public newspapers that an application had
to?eeto the Lord Mayor by the sanitary inspectors
.° de coerndemna quantity of certain meat, not because it was
beef, but because it was unfit for human food. He
believed that certain country
auntry magistrates had recommended
the trial of jerked beef as article of food in prisons.
POOH THELAW COMMISSION.
Mr. O'REILLY asked whether it was the intention of
the Goverment to fulfil the promise understood to be made
u
by Mr. Secretary Cardwell that an Irishman and
a Roman Catholic should be appointed
to the first vacancy
not
e subject.
amongst the Irish Poor-law Commissioners.
Sir R. PEEL said he was sorry hecould
give the
t
hon. gentleman any positive information on h
CAPTAIN COLE'S CUPOLA.
Mr. DAMER asked the Secretary to the Admiralty
itwith
th
if
Captain Cole's cupola had been tested by firing
any heavier guns than those used in the experiments,
namely, 40-pounder Armstrong, on board the Trusty ; and
if not, whether it was the intention of the Admiralty to
make any further experiment before proceeding with the
further construction of vessels on the same system ?
Lord C. PAGET said no experiments had been made on
the cupola with steel 3001 b. shots. Some experiments had
been made with 100 and 68-pounder Armstrong guns, and
the result had been that the cupola bad been indented, but
the working of it had not been injured. At present it was
not deemed desirable to make any further experiments on
other ships.
• VOLUNTEER OFFICERS AS JURORS.
Mr. WA.TKIN asked the Secretary of State for the

Home Department, whether he had received any commu-
nication from the War Office on the subject of relieving
Volunteer officers from liability of service on juries; and
if he was prepared to take steps with a view so to relieve
such officers, in consideration of the time devoted by them
to their duties as Volunteers ? _ . _

The Marquis of HARTINGTON said a deputation had
been to the War-office on the subject, but no communica-
tion had been addressed to such officers, as it was not at
clear that such orders could be issued with advantage.