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

turn from the Staff in China, by Liout. General Hon. Sir
James Yorko Scarlett, K.C.B.
Mr. Reginald F. Saunders, H.M. Bengal Civil Service,
by the Secretary of State for India.
Lieut. C. C. Saxton, Royal Artillery, on return from
India, by Colonel G. Gambier, C.B.
Lieut. Robinson G. Scott, Royal Engineers, on appoint-
ment, by Col. F. E. Ohapman, C.B.
Capt. C. F. A. Shadwoll, C. 8., Royal Navy, on appoint-
ment as Superintendent of the Royal Clarence Victualling
Yard and Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar, by the Duke of
Somerset.

Lieut. U. 31. Smith, Royal Artillery, on appointment, by
Col. G. Gambier, C.B.

Sir Wm. Snag, Chief Justice of Antigua, by the Eight
Hon. E. Cardwell, M.P.

Major Gen. Steuart, C. 8., on promotion, by H.R.S. the
Duke of Cambridge.

Capt. Charles Strudwick, London Artillery Volunteers,
by Lieut. Col. I. R. L. Walmisley, Ist London Artillery
Volunteers.

Lieut. George W. Tisdall, Royal Engineers, on appoint-
ment, by Col. F. E. Chapman, C.B.
Capt. G. B. Train, Royal Horse Artillery, on return from
India, by Col. G. Gambier, C.B. _

Capt. C. Lennox Tredcroft, on reappointment to Royal
Horse Artillery, by the Duke of Cambridge.
Ensign H. Willoughby Trevelyan, 32d Regiment, on
appointment, by his father, Col. Trevelyan, C.B.
Major F. S. Vacher, on appointment as Deputy Assistant
Quartermaster General, by Lieut. Gen. Sir R. Airey,
Capt. Ferdinand Vigors, by Lieut. Col. J. R. L. Walmis-
ley, Ist City of London Artillery Volunteers.
Lieut. Ralph Vivian, Scots Fusilier Guards, on appoint
ment, by Gen. Sir Alexander Woodford, G.C.B.
Major Gen. Sir Robert Walpole, K.C.8., on appointment
to command of ChathamDistrict, by the Duke of Cambridge.
Lieut. Stanier Waller, Royal Engineers, on appointment,
by Col. F. E. Chapman, C.B.

Lieut. Nathaniel Westaway, Royal Engineers, on np
pointment, by Col. F. E. Chapman, C.B.

_ .
Sir Thomas B. Western, Bart., on being created a
baronet, by Viscount Palmerston.

Mr. Wingfield (of Onslow), on his marriage, by the Earl
of Fowls.

Capt. Willis, 33d Regiment, by Lieut. Gen. Knollys.
Capt. Robert C. Wintour, East and North York Artillery
Militia, on promotion, by Lieut. Col. Fyers, Commanding.
Lieut. Col. E. Wray, C. 8., Royal Artillery, on appoint-
ment as C. 8., and return from India, by Col. G. Gam-
bier, C.B.

Lieut. John T. Wright, Royal Engineers, on appoint-
ment, by Col. F. E. Chapman, C.B.

Lieut. G. C. Wynne, Royal Artillery, on appointment,
by Col. G. Gambier, C.B.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT.—LBW S, March 22.
(Before the Lord Chief Baron.)

EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE OF INCENDIARISM AGAINST A LADY.

Mrs. Margaret Grant, aged 35, described as a widow, who
was fashionably attired, surrendered to take her trial upon
an indictment which charged her with having wilfully,
maliciously, and feloniously set fire to a dwelling-house,
with intent to injure Charles Field.
In other counts of the indictment the prisoner was
charged generally with committing the same act with in-
tent to defraud.

This case appeared to excite a good deal of interest, on
account of the position of the defendant, who is said to be
very well connected, and who is the widow of Major Grant,
of the Indian army. _ _ _

The Hon. G. Denman, Q,.C., was specially retained,
with Mr. Roupell, to conduct the prosecution on behalf of
the Corporation of Brighton ; Serjeant Ballantine, Serjeant
Parry, and Sir G. Honeyman were specially retained for the
defence.

The prisoner was placed in the dock appropriated to or-
dinary prisoners, and she was seated during the trial.

Mr. Denman, Q.C., in opening the case for the prosecu-
tion, said that although the prisoner at the bar was a very
different person to the ordinary class of prisoners charged
with the offence of arson, he was afraid that the evidence he
should have to lay before them in support of the present
indictment was of such a cogent character as would require
their most serious consideration. The learned counsel then
proceeded to state that the prisoner was undoubtedly a lady
by birth, and she had been with her husband in India, and
after his death, which took place in that country, she re-
turned to England and took a house belonging to a gentle-
man named Field, in Chesham-road, Brighton, in the be-
ginning of the year 1864. She was to pay a rent of £2B a
year, and the house was taken for a period of two years ;
but it appeared that shortly after the prisoner went into
possession she was dissatisfied with the house, and made
an arrangement with Mr. Field to give up possession of it,
and she was originally to have left on March 18, but the day
was afterwards altered to the 19th. After this arrangement
had been made, the prisoner took apartments in Broad-
street, Brighton; and it seemed that she had made arrange-
ments with an upholsterer, named Holden, that a portion
of her furniture should be left in his charge. The prisoner
was engaged on the 17th and 18th in her removal, and on
the last-mentioned day these operations were nearly com-
pleted, and the prisoner appeared to have left about seven
o'clock in the evening, in company with her servant, a
young woman named Holmes; her daughter, a young
lady about twenty years of age, who completed the esta-
blishment., having previously gone to the new residence
in Broad-street. At the time the prisoner and Holmes
left the premises they were quite safe, and there was not
the slightest appearance of fire ; and it appeared that
after the prisoner arrived at Broad-street she had her
dinner, and a little before eight o'clock she stated that
she had either left her purse behind her at Chesham-road,
or had lost it, and that she must go back and look for it,
and she requested the servant girl Holmes to accompany
her. They accordingly left together, and were about to go
to Mr. Holden's to obtain the key of the house, but they met
him and he gave the prisoner the key. Shortly after this
the prisoner appeared to have sent Holmes back to the
house in Broad-street, giving her directions to inform her
daughter where she was going ; and it appeared that she
then went to a tradesman named Parsons, and asked him
to give her a piece of candle and a few lucifer matches, and
he did so, and the prisoner then appeared to have proceeded
to the house in Chesham-road. From this time nothing
seems to have been positively known of the prisoner's pro-
ceedings until she returned to her new residence in Broad-
street, except that immediately she came back she is said to
have stated that the house was full of smoke as usual. The
fire appeared to have been discovered about 20 minutes to 9
o'clock on the same evening, and the first person who gave
the alarm was a woman named Kirwen, who, it would seem,
had been in the habit of stopping at the house as she was
passing to hear Miss Grant, prisoner's daughter, who, it
was stated, was an accomplished musician, play upon the
piano. Her attention was attracted by seeing the house
shut up, and while she was looking at it she saw a blase,
and discovered that the house was on fire. Assistance, of
course, quickly arrived, and the first thing that appeared to
have excited attention was the fact of the house being
completely and securely fastened, and it was necessary to
force open the door before an entrance could be obtained.
Upon the police and others entering the premises they dis-
covered that the gas had been left turned on, and that there
was a crate full of paper in the back parlour, which had
been partially burned. There also appeared to have been a
fire burning under the stairs, another in a wardrobe and in
a chest of drawers in the prisoner's bed-room : and, accord-
ing to the case for the prosecution, there were six distinct
fires in different parts of the house, but the whole of them
appeared to have gone out, and no material damage was
done to the premises. Very soon after the discovery took
place the prisoner Nyas told what had happened, and she
at first appeared to be very much alarmed, and afterwards
exclaimed, "Oh that horrid house ! it has been a trouble
to me ever since I have had it." The learned counsel for
the prosecution, in the course of his address to the jury,
admitted that he was unable to show any motive for the
commission of sueh a serious crime by the prisoner ; and
although it transpired incidentally in the course of the in-
quiry that an insurance had been effected to the extent of
£5OO upon the furniture, it seemed to be admitted that this
was by no means an excessive sum, and that the portion
of furniture that was removed had been openly taken away
by the tradesmen who were employed, and that every one
in the neighbourhood was aware that the prisoner was
about to remove. It also appeared that although the house
was a small house, the prisoner was in possession of a num-
ber of :rare and curious Indian ornaments, which were of
considerable value, in addition to the furniture, and that
the property altogether was worth much more than £5OO.
A great many witnesses having been examined to prove
the foregoing statement,
Sergeant Ballantine proceeded to address the jury for the
ago the lad
most
at
defence. He saidthatsixorsevea ea
the bar accompanied her husband duyringraone of the
momentous struggles that had ever taken place in the his-
tory of this country. Her husband formed a portion of that
noble army by whose gallant conduct the integrity of the
kingdom was maintained, and a mighty country preserved
to the dominion of the British Crown. She had undergone
with her gallant husband all the perils of the memorable
siege of Delhi ; and although her husband had succumbed
to the hardships he had undergone, she still remained one
of that noble band of women who, during the terrible
struggle, had exhibited instances of self-denial and
heroism that had given to the women of this country a
name that would never die. If he could for a moment
suppose it possible that the jury would give an adverse
verdict to the prisoner, he would only observe that it
appeared to him that
.it would have been well for her if
she had died with her gallant husband, and had thus,
with her child, a young lady just outoriug law Inman-