The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-28 00:00:00

VIE SUN, LONDON, .FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 28, 1862

have seen. The Government scheme, needs if any-
thing, revision backwards, to greater accordance
with its original form ; and the country will
certainly not thank the Government if it
surrenders any fresh points of importance. We
do not mind, for peace sake, giving a little more
time to those who think they deserve it, whether
we think so or not. But we do protest against
frittering away a bold yet valuable proposal, if the
truth must be spoken, merely to; buy a
few votes
at the next election.

The old adage that out of evil cometh good, has
been exemplified in the late investigation before
Mr. SAMUEL WARREN to prove the sanity of Mr.
WINDHAM. The absurdity and injustice of the
proceeding struck everybody. People asked why
should a man, possessed of property, be at any
moment liable to have his whole life reviewed before
a Master of lunacy, at the instigation of some friend
and interested relation, who desired to take the man-
agement of his affairs into their own hands, and con-
sign the unfortunate object of their affectionate solici-
tude to a private lunatic asylum, because forsooth
he had been wild and eccentric in his youth. Why
should the man of limited income or the pauper
have such an advantage over those more favoured
by fortune. Mr. SMITH, the eccentric baker, may
carry on business after his own fashion without
the intervention of his brother the chemist.
GILES JOBSON the beggar may prowl about
the streets, uttering unmeaning nonsense,
without the intervention of the parochial
authorities, but let the Hon. FITZ-FLUTTER, pos-
sessed of a rent-roll of £30,000 a year, commit any
particularly foolish act, and his designing relations
rakes up every peccadillo of former years, and forth-
with FITZ-FLUTTER has to prove himself sane.
In other words, no matter how unfounded
the charge, the whole evidence which can be
brought forward by the petitioners has to be gone
through, and not until the end of the examination
of all witnesses on both sides, can the alleged lunatic
be examined before the court and jury; and, if
proved sane, he has to pay the costs incurred
by himself in resisting an attempt of flagrant
injustice. The absurdity of this state of
the law has been brought so prominently
before the public in the late WINDHAM case, that
the Lord Chancellor last night brought forward a
bill for the amendment of the Law of Lunacy,
which amendment, but for the late celebrated trial,
might not have been forthcoming for many years.
Thus the misfortune of Mr. WINDHAM, and, in-
deed, of the whole WiriDuAat family, for we do
not envy the questionable notoriety of those who
brought forward this unjustifiable charge against a
weak-minded but harmless individual, has turned
out to be a public benefit, and caused one more
ncubus to be removed from what Englishmen boast
.0 be the foundation of their liberty—justice in
egal or criminal investigation.

The LORD CHANCELLOR, in bringing forward his
bill, expressed his desire that in future, to avoid
expenses which the present system entailed on all
parties concerned, two years should be con-
sidered sufficient for the investigation to extend
over, and that the writ should be directed
to a judge at Westminster, who was to pro-
ceed as in ordinary cases. In commenting on the
late case tried before Commissioner WARREN,
he said that "We have had a trial in lunacy ex.
tending over the unexampled period of 32 days.
The subject of that inquiry has vindicated his right
to be considered sane at an expense, I am credibly
informed, of not less than £15,000; and the expense
of the parties on the other side, the petitioners
must have equalled if not exceeded that sum.
That is an event which unquestionably suggests
that the rules which govern these trials
probably reqniro revision and alteration.
• * I therefore propose, in the first
place, in cases of lunacy, to substitute for the pre-
sent commission a writ to one of the judges in
Westminster-hall, directing these cases to be tried
precisely in the same manner as any other question
of fact, or as a criminal question would be tried,
according to the ordinary rules of evidence." Further
more he proposes that the number of the jury be
reduced to twelve, and that medical testimony
be not called in. This is as it shoull be : if it re
quires the expenditure of a small fortune and the
evidence of some fifty or sixty witnesses to prove
the possible insanity of a man, he cannot be very
mad. If the observation of twelve intelligent indi-
viduals and the evidence of two or three disinte-
rested witnesses be not sufficient to settle the
point, why, then, let the alleged lunatic have the
benefit of the doubt, as well as a criminal at the
bar of a criminal court. The science of medicine
has reached to such a nice state of uncertainty,
that in any case where the evidence of doctors are
required there are generally to be found six
on one side, and half a dozen on the other.
The Lord Chancellor states on this head
that—" It is a radical error to deal with these

cases as if the subject were to be inquired into phy-
siologically, and not like every other question, If
the inquiry were whether the brain is in a state of
disease, then it might be right to prosecute the
matter as a question of physical science, and to re-
gard it as we regard any other fact in philoso-
phy. But a jury should only receive evidence
by which ordinary men can arrive at the fact
of the state of mind as they would arrive at
any other alleged fact, such evidence as
every man can understand." Finally, after in an

able speech explaining the advantages to be gained
by the passing of the proposed bill, be sums up by
stating that the evidence should be " what
has been done or said, to prove conduct and de-
meanour, and ascertain whether the person is

competent or incompetent to manage his

own affairs." This is as it should be,
a step in the right direction ; and Sir
RICHARD BETHELL does not stop at an
amendment of law as regards the question of
sanity before a court of inquiry, but has made pro-
vision for the visitation of lunatics, under the juris-
diction of the Lord Chancellor, by their legal advisers,
and by medical gentlemen at least twice a-year,whose
visits should not take place at stated intervals, but
whenever the visitors deemed it fit, and without
previous notice to those who had charge of lunatics.
The Bill was supported by Lord ST. LEONARDS,
Lord CRANWORTH, and Lord CHELMSFORD, in its
main features, being objected to only in certain
matters of detail which will be discussed, of
course, in committee. Thus, although we pity Mr.
Windham on account of the vexation and expense
he has been put to, we congratulate
the country that so unjust, absurd, and one-sided a
law is about to be expunged from the British code
of law.

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, SOMERSET HOUSE.
Papers to be read March 5, 1862, at Burlington-huuse, at 8
o'c,ock. 1. On the glacical origin of certain lakes in
Switzerland, Wales, Scotland, and elsewhere, by Profes-
sor A. C. Ramsay, F.R.S., President Geological Society.
2. On the permian beds of 'W estmoreland, Cumberland,
and Dumfriesshire, by Professor R. Harkness, F.R.S.,
F.G,S.

THE BILSTON SAVINGS BANE.—At Birmingham
yesterday the Rev. Samuel Fletcher, late of Bilston, was
charged, with the sanction of the Attorney. General, with
appropriating several sums of money to his own use. Mr.
Tidd Pratt attended for the prosecution. The prisoner was
committed for trial at the assigs.

THE PRINCE OF WALES.—The Vienna Gazette
has the following :—" The Prince of Wales arrived at seven
on the morning of the 21st at Gravosa, on board the Os-
borne, coming from Pola. Leaving Gravosa at half-past
ten, the Prince arrived at Metelline about twelve, on his

way to Cattaro, whence he returned at half-past four to

continue his voyage to the south. At Pola his Royal High..
ness was received with discharges of artillery, and was
visited on board the vessel by the commandant of the town
and fortress, General Scudier, and the Maritime Prefect,
Captain Morelli. Tho Prince afterwards landed, and visited
the antiquities of the neighbourhood. In the evening the
amphitheatre was illuminated. The Prince warmly thanked
the two officials for the attention paid him."
RECEPTION OF MR. CONSUL PARKES AT DOVER.

—Yesterday the mayor and corporation of Dover gave an
official reception to Mr. Consul Parkes, the narrative of
whose captivity in conjunction with Mr. Loch and several
other English gentlemen, in the course of the late war with
China, excited the deep commiseration of their fellow-coun-
trymen. Mr. Parkes had arrived in England a day or two
previously, and was staying at the Lord Warden Hotel,
where the gentlemen of the town council waited on him
yesterday morning to congratulate him on his safe return to
his native land, after sufferings which had elicited the
strongest sympathy and indignation of every Englishman.
The Vaterland and Vorstadt-Zeitung of Vienna
deny, in the most positive manner, the report that Cardinal
Rauscher will negotiate a revision of the Concordat.

ETON COLLEGE.--A fellowship is now vacant
here through the appointment of the Rev. E. Balston to the
head mastership. It is expected that the Rev. W. L. Eliot,
many years one of the masters in the Lower School, will be
elected to this vacancy.

On the 11th of March Mr. Cowper will introduce
a bill into the House of Commons for embanking the north
side of the river Thames from Westminster bridge, and for 1
making new streets in and near thereto, and from Black-
friars-bridge to the Mansion-house.
THE SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY DIVIDEND.—
The directors of this company have resolved to recommend
the proprietors, at the ensuing half-yearly meeting on the
6th March, to order payment of a dividend of 15s. on each
£3O stock, being at the rate of £5 per cent. per annum.
FATAL LION FIGHT.—Fur the last few days of
Lynn Mart, Mender's menagerie of wild bea> is has been
exhibiting on the Tuesday market place. This menagerie
is well known by the accidents which have occurred in con-
motion with the feats of daring amongst the lions by
Maccomo. On Monday evening last a real lion fight took
place between the famous lion " Wallace" and a lioness.
It appears that the lioness had hitherto been kept separate,
in consequence of her not being perfectly tame. Hav-
ing recently shown signs of a quiet spirit, the proprietor
ordered the slide which divided her den from that in
which the other lion and lioness were confined to be with-
drawn. No sooner was this done than the lion' Wallace"
crouched down and almost instantly sprang upon the new
comer with the utmost ferocity, and seized her by the throat.
A fearful scene ensued, but it was of short duration, for
"iWallace" was assisted by another lioness, and combined
they succeedel in killing the lioness very quickly. The
roaring of the wild beasts during this struggle was fearful.
It is said that the lioness which was killed was worth
en Ley £2OO,
E
o vTi
dhe es
bill
brought
ut,
gohYt
nE NbTy OmFr WOMEN. Baxter
and ANDiviCr H.
Dunlopl CHILDREN.--The
D R E Np.
that from and after the Ist day of January, 1863, [in] any
building, buildings, or premises in one or more of which
any process previous to packing is carried on in the occu-
pation of bleaching, dyeing, or finishing of any yarn or
cloth of cotton, silk, wool, or flax, or any of them, or any
mixture of them, or any yarn or cloth of any other mate-
rial or materials, including that of bleaching by the open-air
process as defined in the act of the 23d and 24th years of
Victoria, cap. 23, and in one or more of which processes,
steam or water, or other mechanical power is used or em
ployed; k shall not be lawful to employ at any machine,-
females, young persons, and children, or any of them, during
the night, that is to say, from six of the clock in the
evening to six of the clock in the morning, excepting to
recover lost time in the manner provided by "The Bleaching
and Dyeing Works Act," 23d and 24th Victoria, c. 78.
The Bristol Daily Post mentions the following
incident of the Gloucester election :—At about 10 minutes
to 4 o'clock an elector, who was suffering from severe ill-
ness, was actually brought to the polling booths in his bed,
which had been transferred to a cab. He was carefully
attended by his wife; and, though strenuous exertions were
made to obtain the attendance of a deputy-sheriff at the
window of the cab to take the sick man's vote, the mob
closed around the vehicle and effectually prevented his
vote being recorded. The poor man was detained outside
the polling booths for upwards of ten minutes, when, the
poll having closed, be was driven home,
ANOTHER AREA ACClDENT,—yesterday morn-
ing, between the hours of three and four o'clock, the inha-
bitants in the neighbourhood of Waterloo-road were aroused
from their slumbers by a loud report, which turned out to ,
have been caused by another fall of the flagstones and rail.
ings in the front of the houses Nos. 195 and 196, three doors
from the scene of the late fatal accident. Information was
forwarded to the police, a body of whom were immediately
sent to the spot. Barriers have been placed in front of all
the houses since the late accident. Fortunately no persons
were injured.
A COLLIERY ON FIRE.—At Messrs. Lamb and
Moore's colliery, Pemberton, a somewhat serious accident
has occurred, one which, if, fortunately, not fatal to human
life, has caused the death of several horses, and must result
in considerable pecuniary loss. The colliery in question is
situated at Pemberton, near Wigan, and by the pit three
seams of coal are got, the Pemberton 4 feet, the
Pemberton 5 feet, and the Ince 4 feet. The second
of these is worked through the Ince mine, which is
the ()Le nearest the surface, and in it (the Pember-
ton 5 feet) a collier discharged a blast on Saturday. The
coal did not come down as it ought to have done, or as it
was expected, and the underlooker examined the spot, but
without seeing anything wrong. On Sunday the mine was
found to be on fire, there being no means of accounting for
the occurrence except by the supposition that the coal had
ignited after the firing of the shot alluded to. When dis
covered, the fire had not made much headway ; and though
five horses were in the first mine, it was not considered ne-
cessary to remove them, but every exertion was made to
block up the entrance to the mine on fire. This was done,
and all was progressing satisfactorily, when on Sunday even-
ing, an explosion took place which destroyed the barricade
that had been erected, and, of course, let in more air to feed
the fire and liberate the smoke, which soon became so thick
as to compel those in the upper seam immediately to return
to the surface, leaving the horses behind, All hope of res-
cuing the animals was now at an end, and all that could be
done was to block up the entrance to the shaft and await the
result. This has been done as securely as possible, but it
will be many days, probably a fortnight, before the fire will
be extinguished, even under the most favourable circum-
stances.

FATAL DUEL.—A letter from Kehl, in the
Courrier du Bas _Rhin, states that on Saturday, the 22d
inst., a duel took place in the forest which extends between
Korck and Legelshurst. The two adversaries were M. de
Bonin, a first lieutenant of the Dragoons of the Prussian
Guard, and M. de Roulet, of Neuchatel, formerly an officer
in the Prussian cavalry. It was agreed to plane the
combatants 15 paces apart, with the right of advancing five
paces to fire. The two shots occurred so simultaneously
that the seconds at first thought that but one of the par..
ties had fired, but at the same moment M. de Roulet
uttered a piercing cry, and fell dead, struck by the
ball of his adversary above the left eye. Immediately
afterwards M. de Bonin, with his second, Lieu.
tenant Risselmann, repaired to the tribunal du baillage at
Korck to make his declaration relative to the duel which
had just taken place, and judicial proceedings were at once
commenced. Two hours after the duel a relative of M. de
Roulet arrived at the theatre of the event, charged by the
mother of the unfortunate young man, a wealthy widow of
Neuchatel, to bring about a reconciliation between her only
son and M. de Bonin. M. de Roulet was a fine:young man,
26 years of age, and belonged to one of the most respectable
families of the canton of Neuchatel. The pistols were pur-
chased the previous evening at Strasburg. A French and
a Baden surgeon were present at the renconter. The body
of M. do Roulet was conveyed to Neuchatel.
" NEVER GO TO FRANCE UNLESS YOU LEARN THE
LINGO," &c.—Some time since (says the Greenock Adver-
tiser) three denizens of Dumbarton left on a pleasure trip
for Paris. After spending the first night in a hotel, one of
the party next day took a stroll alone in order to see the
sights of the city, but missed his way back to the hotel, the
name of which he had forgotten—a predicament rendered
worse by his ignorance of the French language. After
searching fruitlessly for it for some hours, he hit upon the
expedient of purchasing from an old fruitseller her stock of
gooseberries, with which he patrolled the streets, shouting,
" Gude Scotch grossets, a penny the pint." Words so
outlandish to Parisian ears soon collected a large crowd
round him, amongst which was a resident Scotsman, who
straightway accosted the amateur fruit-vendor, and after
learning the " fix" he had got into, piloted him in safety
to the hotel.
Fox HUNTING EXTRAORDINARY.—One of the
severest runs upon record came off on Monday. The Cum.
berland Hounds met at Bolton Park House, the seat of Mr.
R. Watson, and a fox was soon beaten from the cover of a
neighbouring wood. Setting off in gallant style, foxey
reviewed Lord Leconfield's vast inclosures in Westward ;
then, after putting the dogs in a fix, he crossed Mr. Wat-
son's domain over Snow-hill, thence through a heavy
valley, and up to Roughton Gill, or Silver Gill. Finding
that both dogs and horses kept close on the track, foxey
dashed tnatard to seek protection beneath the shadows of
mighty Skiddaw; but his remorseless pursuers went not to
be shaken off. When he reached the summit they bore
close in his rear, so, nothing daunted, he sprang in beauti-
ful style do.vn the beautiful slopes which overlook Kes-
wick. Still he went on, over field and hedge, past Mire-
ly,use, whose hospitable portals were closed to him. At
last atter a run of 30 miles, which he had spanned in the
short space of three hours and five minutes, poor Rey-
nard made ample atonement for all his life's sins, after
rucinin so far from his home. Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Turner,
and many others were in at the death, and the brush, so
hardly won, will of course, be dearly prized. In old John
Peel's day three foxes were chased over nearly_ the same
round.—Cumberland .Pacquee.

LATEST NEWS.

PARIS, FEB. 28.

The Noniteur of to day contains a decree, accord-
ing to which deep sea fishing, with nets and tackle
authorized by the regulations, may be carried on at
all times of the year, at a distance of three miles
from the shore.

MILAN, FEB. 28.

The Perseveranza denies the statement that a
coalition had been formed between Re.tazzi, La
Farina, and Miaghetti, in view of a Ministerial
crisis taking place.

MADRID, FEB:26.

To•day, in the Congress, Senor Salaverria stated
that the Government was examining the question
of the Passive Debt, but would come to no decision
without the concurrence of the Chamber.

It is, however, considered doubtful whether any
schem' fcr the settlement of this debt which might
be accepted by the Government will be ready for
presentation to the present legislature on account
of other urgent business.

The Government will respect the old law in re-
ference to the Passive Debt, by which everything
relative to the English coupons was settled.

The Minister of Public Works spoke in Congress
against the projected Alduides Railway line.
The Epoca of to-day says that this line would be
dangerous for strategic reasons.

ST. PETERSBURG, THURSDAY.

The Journal de St. Petersbourg of to-day pub-
lishes an article referring to the allusions to the
Polish question made in the French Senate during
the discussion of the Address.

This article says :—" The welfare and happy
future of Poland are assured should her reason and
consciousness of duty second the beneficent inten-
tions of the Emperor. It only depends on Poland
to attain the greatest possible prosperity. But
treaties and established rights must be respected.
This alone will bring about the progressive mea-
sures and improvements which are contemplated
by the Emperor. Otherwise Poland will meet
with cruel disappointments."

The Bank of Russia has reduced its rate of dis-

count to 61 per cent.

CONSTANTINOPLE, SATURDAY.

Fuad Pacha, Aali Pacha, and hushdi Pacha
have been nominated as a committee for the, pur-
pose of framing a scheme of financial reform.

The intention to establish a special currency for
the provinces has been definitively abandoned.
The payment of arrears by unnegotiable 12 per
cent. Treasury bills has commenced.

Great complaints are made of the oppression
exercised in collecting the provincial loan.

The project of building frigates for the Govern
went in England has been given up.

MUNICH, THURSDAY.
The following official telegraphic despatch from
Athens was published here to-day :

" The insurrection makes no progress. The
Royal troops have had three successful engage-
ments with the rebels."

THE BOMBAY AND MAURITIUS MAILS.
The Vectis and Delta, with the above mails left
Alexandria for Marseilles and Southampton re-
spectively at sunset on the 27th inst.
The Jeddo, from Bombay, and the Nepaul, from
the Mauritius, reached Suez on the 25th and 26th
inst. respectively.