The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-18 00:00:00

2
99 8 xd

7HE 2ICEE7.OF•LEAVE SYST,

A large and influential meeting, presided over
by the Mayor, was held in the Town-hall, Liver-
pool, yesterday, for the purpose of concerting
measures for urging upon the Government the pro-
priety of adopting either the system which has been
so successful in Ireland in reference to the convict
establishments, or such other as may be expected to
produce the like results. Amongst the gentlemen
present were Mr. T. S. Raffles, the stipendiary magi-
strate ; Major Greig, the chief constable ; Rev. Mr.
Carter, gaol chaplain ; Mr. Jamieson, governor of
the Borough Gaol, and most of the resident magi-
strates and merchants. After a few remarks
from Mr. William Earle and Mr. James Aikin,
both of whom pointed out the necessity for a prompt
change in our present ticket-of-leave system, Sir
Walter Crofton, C. 8., director of the Irish convict
prisons, addressed the meeting at great length. He
said that the English system of treating convicts
was confessedly a failure, as he prophesied in 1858
that it would be, while a lengthened experience of
the Irish system had most satisfactorily proved
beneficial alike to the criminal class and to the
public at large, What was wanted in Engiti,nd
was a careful system which would both punish
and amend the criminal, and a systematic regis-
tration of his offences, so
that of crime would at oneeiantvoelvveeray
efurtnesuhlaotuivte-
punishment. He wouti advise and specially stria gent b. special prison,
punishment for the hardened
criminal class, and a system of voluntary transpor-
tation for those anxious to amend. Ultimalte.lyThthaet following resolutions were agreed to
in the opinion of this meeting the notorious and in-
creasing insecurity of life and property in England
proves the existence of some vital defect in the
present system of dealing with offenders." "2.
That the encouraging results which have followed
upon the adoption of the convict system now in
operation in Ireland determine this meeting to urn e
upon her Majesty's Government the expediency of
giving that or some similar system a fair trial in
England, under the management of men friendly to
its principles." The meeting was also addressed by
Mr. Raffles and Mr. W. Rethbone, who spoke in
favour of the Irish system, and by Mr. J. J. Still,
who urged several objections against it.

EXTRAORDIN..4RY SCENE AT THE
.DU.N.DEE THEATRE.

On Saturday night, an episode not set down in the bills
was presented on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Dundee.
Mr. Gardener Coyne was acting the part of Jamie Fitzpa-
trick, in " The Bleak Hills of Ireland." Several of the
audience were thinking, from the manner of the perform.
ante, that all was not right behind the scenes; and at last
there was an explosion that showed their surmises had not
been unfounded. In the second act, immediately after the
changing of the " wings," Mr. Coyne came forward and
said,—" I must stop the performances. Ladies and gentle-
men, I am sorry to interrupt your pleasure in any way; but
as Mrs. Caple has not, as usual, and as she has done every
night this week, given a statement to my agent of what is
in the house, I cannot go on with the piece. This is my
fourth engagement in Dundee, and I have always done well,
and I am sorry that on this occasion we should have to part
in a way that is not quite regular." Tremendous applause
and hooting followed this short statement, the house being
well filled in all parts. Miss Goddard, lessee of the theatre,
had followed Mr. Coyne on tae stage, and for a minute or
two after he had finished she patiently waited till the audi-
ence would give her a hearing. On the noise subsiding
somewhat, she said she had never before been accused either
in the profession or out of it of not having met all demands
properly made against her. (Hear, from several gentlemen in
the boxes.) With regard to Mr. Coyne, she said an en-
gagement had been entered into with that gentleman to
perform for 12 nights in the theatre under her management.
In the early part of the week the houses had not been so
good as he had anticipated, and ore Wednesday morning he
had complained of them, She understood that the com-
plaint was made only as a pretext fur his breaking his en-
.gagement with her, in order that he might fulfil one he had
entered into since he came to Dundee. (Several voices in
the pit—"lt's false, it's false.") Hissing and applause en-
sued for some minutes, and when Mr. Coyne was again heard
he was speaking of the previous success of his perform-
ances in Dundee, and at the same time denouncing the
stinginess (as he called it) of the present management,
which refused him on Wednesday night 21d. to buy three
slices of ham for his performance of " Handy Andy."
Roars of laughter followed this sally, one gentleman asking,
" Were you worth it ?" and another inquiring whether
Mr. Coyne had not got his stumpy hPfnra ha nnirn to th.
theatre. The scene that ensued almost bailla description.
The whole house was in an uproar, Miss Goddard and Mr.
Coyne remaining on the stage confronting each other like
two combatants, only waiting the opportunity of finishing
their fight, while all sorts of questions were being
put to each of them, and counsel of various kinds addressed
to both. Mr. Harris, the stage manager, afterwards came
forward, and there was somewhat of a lull till ho asked to
be allowed to say a few words " in behalf of Miss Goddard,"
when the uproar began afresh; and, though Mr. Coyne
again appeared, this time in deshabille, the matter in dis-
pute was not in any way cleared up, as none of the expla-
nations offered would be received. In .a few minutes the
curtain was raised, and the performances were brought to a
conclusion without Mr. Coyne's assistance, and amidst a
good deal of noise.—. Dundee Advertiser.

Lord Clyde has arrived from London in Paris,
and alighted at the Hotel Mirabeau.

SPOILT STAMPS.—An application was this morn-
ing made to the Commissioner of the Bankruptcy Court for
a certificate relative to the return of the price of a stamp
which had been fixed on a document which had not
been acted on. The commissioner refused to interfere in
the matter.

A RELIC OF THE PAST IN HYDE •PARK.— Perhaps
few of the many who visit this park are aware that on the
right-hand side of the carriage drive, between the Receiving
house and the bridge, there still remains an interesting relic
of the Stuart period. It is a tree, one of two planted by
Charles 11. from acorns taken from the Boscobel oak in
Somersetshire, in which his father successfully sought re-
fuge, and were planted here to commemorate the event.
They have both been dead some years, and one, much de-
cayed, was removed in 1854 ; the other, beautifully clothed
with ivy, which gives it the appearance of life, still remains.
In common with all the other old trees in the park, it is
protected by a fence of iron hurdles, but surely a relic like
this deserves a handsome and appropriate railing, with a
descriptive brass plate affixed to point out to strangers this
historical antiquity, now known only to local historians.
MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF A GENTLEMAN AT NOR-
WOOD.—Yesterday morning a report was current in the
village of Norwood that a gentleman had been found dead
under the following circumstances. Some persons passing
through the wood observed a gentleman on the ground in a
pool of blood, and, calling the police, had him conveyed to
the Beulah Spa Tavern, where medical aid was procured,
but life was found to be quite extinct, death having been
caused by a deep wound in the body. The following de-
scription has been issued by the police :—About 55 years of
age, six feet in height, grey hair, grey eyes ; wound in the
body four inches long ; dark coat, tweed waistcoat, white
shirt, Wellington boots, white stockings. On his person
were found a pair of steel spectacles, 31d. in copper, powder
flask, four bullets, a duelling pistol loaded with ball, and a
dagger in a sheath.iThe name of the deceased is supposed
to be Hurley.

ANOTHER OF OUR BULWARKS GOING.—What is
the use of a jury ? it may possibly be asked, when nearly
every week one sees that the ♦erdict of a jury, by appeal to
thellome Secretary, has been set aside. 'We used to boast
that trial by jury was one of the chief bulwarks of the Bri-
tish Constitution; but while Home Secretaries pooh-pooh
our juries as they do, we think that such a bulwark is at
best a rather shaky one. Serving on a jury is not a plea-
sant occupation, and is quite a waste of time when verdicts
are ignored as they recently have been. If further evidence
be furnished, to prove the innocence of a prisoner, the new
trial should take place before the jury who found guilty :
so that they, if they think proper, may themselves reverse
their verdict. Trial by Sir George Groy is not trial by a
jury: and it is by jury trial that all persons who are
charged with being felons should be tried. 'We Britons
often boast about our " twelve men in a box"—but while
their decisions are pooh-poohed by higher powers, twelve
men in an omnibus might talk about the case, and their
verdict in the matter would do every whit as well.—
Punch.

EXTRAORDINARY EXIIIBITION.—The dividend of
three per cent. that has just been declared by the Crystal
Palace Company, making not less than eight per cent. for
the entire year, will shortly be exhibited at Sydenham.
The court, selected to display it, will be the Alhambra, es
being best adapted to the marvellous nature of tho exhibis
tion. Mr. Bowley, the sleepless secretary, says it will be
the greatest novelty ever yet shown within the walls of
Penge Palace. He doubts whether Blondin ever would be
able to mount as high as this dividend in safety, or with-
out running imminent risk of falling half way in the
perilous ascent. There will be an additional attraction
about this extraordinary exhibition consisting in the fact
that very few shareholders will believe it until they see it.
The thousands that will bo thus attracted by curiosity to
the spot, it will be impossible to calculate. We only hope,
for the benefit of an institution which is most admirably
conducted, and that should be a source ofhonest pride to
the country which has produced it, that a like exhibition
may be repeated for many lustres to come, aad that the
shareholders may take a deeper interest in it every year..—
.1104.