The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-08 00:00:00

fiiE SUN, LONDON, FIIIDAY EVEAING, DECEMBFE 8, IEEL.

LAW INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

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COURT OF EXCHEQUER.
(Before the Lord Chief Baron Pollock and a Special Jury.)
WARD V. THE GAS LIGHT AND COAL COMPANY.-THE FIRE AT

SAVILLE HOUSE.

This was an action brought by Mr. Ward, the occupier
of the lower portion of the building lately known as Sa-
ville House, which was destroyed by fire, to recover for
special damage, on the ground of the carelessness and
negligence of the defendants.

Mr. Bovill, Q.C., who appeared for Mr. Ward, said
his client wus the well-known easy chair manufacturer,
and formally carried on this business in a building in
Leicester-square, which was destroyed by fire on the
28th of February, and the whole of the contents destroyed.
The action was brought to recover the amount of
damage he had sustained: The plaintiff was partly insured
in the Commercial Union, and the money sought to 'oo re-
covered was the amount uncovered by the insurance.
Also the insurance company were parties to the suit to the
extent of the amount they had paid the plaintiff. The
jury would not be troubled with assessing the amount of
damage in the case, because it had been agreed by all
parties that, if the defendants were found to be liable, then
the amount to be paid by the company was to be settled by
arbitration. It was alleged that the escape of gas was caused
by the servants of the gas company, the question of liability
was the only one they would have to try. The defendants
supplied the gas consumed on the whole of the building,
although the music-hall saloon and other rooms in Saville
House were occupied by a gentleman named Bloom. There
was a metre in the passage of Saville House, which sup-
plied a portion of Saville House in the occupation of Bloom,
and it was the matters that occurred at that particular spot
that caused the destruction of the building, The servants
of the defendant came on the early part of the day, of the
28th day of February, to remedy some defect in the supply
of the gas. After examination the man decided to put up
a new metre, and the old one was at once removed.
Having proceeded to the length of removing the metro
the men, instead of proceeding with their work, went on
indulging themselves in the kitchen, eating pancakes
in !the kitchen—(laughter)—it being Shrove Tuesday.
The pipes were disconnected, the metre was taken down,
and the men said they would not be able to bring a new
one for a week or a fortnight. They ought, therefore, at
once to have formed a connection between the inlet and
outlet 'pipe, but such had not been done ; and whether they
intended to do so he did not know. But he thought it
would be beyond dispute that they took down the metre,
and at the time of the explosion such connection had been
made. The men had turned the gas off at the inlet pipe
previous to commencing their operations, and having done
so they proceeded to discuss their pancakes. The gas'
was, of course, wanted to light up the house, and when
the tap of the inlet pipes was turned the gas would not
light. One of the servants went to ascertain the cause that
prevented the gas lighting, and when near the place where the
metre was situated with a light an explosion took place,
and the whole of the building and contents were entirely
destroyed. The cause of the explosion he attributed to the
servants of the gas company leaving the pipes in an inse-
cure state. It was said, on the other side, that the pipes
were not left in a dangerous condition; that after the metre
was removed a bung was placed in the inlet pipe ; but he
thought it more than likely that the gasmen having taken
down the metre were only too anxious for their pancakes
—(laughter)—that having shut the gas off from the main,
by turning the tap attached to the inlet pipe, and leaving
the key in the usual position, they left the work without
properly securing it by placing a screw cap over the aper-
ture. That was the ordinary way of securing an open
pipe, and not to trust to pushing a bung into the pipe,
supposing such a thing to have been done. He should
call witnesses to prove by their evidence the facts he had
stated to the jury, and having done that he felt that they
would have no difficulty in arriving at a verdict.
William Larven said he was in the employ of Mr. Bloom
in February last. He occupied part of the premises known
as Saville House, Leicester-.:quare. Ho occupied the music
hall and saloon ; he had let the billiard room. He knew there
was a complaint about the gas, and the company's inspec-
tor and his men attended to remedy the defect. The in-
spector asked for a hammer to open the metre box ; it was
given him, and he believed the metre was removed.
After taking the metro down he saw the men eating
pancakes in the kitchen, they remained about half an
hour and then went away. They never told him he
could not use the gas to light the hall, saloon, and nas-
sage. He went out for about half an hour, and when he
returned the house was on fire. Ho did not know that
there had been any escape of gas the day previous.

From the great number of leading counsel engaged,
and the number of witnesses to be examined in the case,
it is not expected to conclude to-day.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE,—This Day,

MARLBOROUGH-STREET

A MASQUERADE IN THE HAYMARKT.—Margaret An-
derson, a young woman, wearing the costume of debardeur,
was charged before Mr. Knox with disorderly conduct in
the Haymarket.

Police-constable 51 C said that about a quarter past six
o'clock that morning he saw the defendant running up and
down the Haymarket screaming at the top of her voice
He advised her to go away, as she was likely to cause a
crowd to assemble, in consequence of the dress she was
wearing, when she exclaimed " I'm a man," and refused
to leave, but after a time did so. About an hour after-
wards he found her at the door of Walker's tavern, near
the Haymarket, with a crowd of about 50 persons, most of
them men going to their work, around her, and as she re-
fused to go away he took her to the station.

Mr. Knox inquired whether anything had been going
on the previous night, and the constable said there had
been a bal masque at the Alhambra Palace, and the defen-
dent had been there.

The defendant, who hung down her head, said she had
only been a short time in London. She came from
Liverpool.

Mr. Knox said he wished she would return there. She
did not appear to have done any harm, and would there-
fore discharge her.

The defendant left in a cab brought to the rear of the
court so as to prevent a crowd collecting.
UNPROVOKED ASSAULT.— Minnie Dunn, a young woman,
was charged with assaulting Elizabeth Susan Cossins, re-
siding at No. 9, Spring-gardens.

The complainant was passing along Regent-street, when
the defendant went up to her, and asked her if her name
was Minnie, and, on her saying it was not, gave her a blow
on the mouth, no provocation whatever being given by the
complainant.

Allred Warwick Shill, a labouring man, passing at the
time, proved seeing the defendant assault the complainant
and seeing her mouth bleeding.

The defendant said the complaint pushed against her,
but this was denied by the complainant and her witness.
Mr. Knox remarked that he did not see why inoffensive
persons should be outraged in the streets, and fined the
defendant 205., or 14 days.

take him into custody. The prisoner struck the con-
stable and threw him, and when he was down kicked
at his temple. The rim of the policeman's helmet saved
his head. A tremendous struggle took place, and Free-
man was nearly overpowered, and called for help. A
young man named Liggins, of 45, Wellington-
place, went to the aid of the constable, and
he was assaulted and kicked by the prisoner;
other help was at hand, the fellow was secured, and his
ravings were loud and incessant for some time.
Inspector Griffin said the prisoner was sentenced to one
month's imprisonment for assaulting a constable in the
early part of the year.

Mr.Paget said the prisoner had committed a most violent
and dastardly assault on the constable, who was doing his
duty in a forbearing and proper manner, and he had also
beaten and kicked a respectable young man. If he did not
protect constables in the execution of their duty no decent
man would enter the force. It was equally his duty to
protect orderly and respectable people who assisted the
police. He sentenced the prisoner to be imprisoned for
one month and kept to hard labour for the assault on Free-
man, the constable, and another month with hard labour
for the assault on Figgins.

Mrs. Castle, the prisoner's sister, implored of the magis-
trate to inflict a tine only, and said her brother was not
right in his mind. .

A beershop-keeper, who bailed the prisoner, believed
him to be of unsound mind.

Roche, the gaoler of the court, was of a similar opinion.
Many years ago an ex-sergeant of police, named Murray,
obtained 3s. 6d. per week of him under pretence of giving
him a good education. The case was investigated in that
court, and by some technicality the alleged offender
escaped.

Inspector Griffin and others said the prisoner was a per-
fectly sane man when he was sober.
Mr. Paget, after investigating the matter at considerable
length, came to the conclusion that the prisoner was an-
swerable for his actions, and refused to alter his sentence
or to inflict a penalty.

THE FENIAN TRIALS,

DUBLIN, Wednesday.

At the sitting of the court this morning Judge
Fitzgerald delivered his charge to the jury in the
case of the prisoner O'Leary, in whose behalf Mr.
Dowse had addressed the court on the preceding
day. In the course of the charge the learned Judge
said :—" It has occurred to me, and possibly it has
occurred to you, in the course of this investigation,
to ask yourselves the question, What did these par-
ties want who were enaged in this Fenian movement?
What did they want, if the object at the bottom
was not the redistribution of property in this Coun-
try ? I hope you will agree with me in this, that
we can boast of possessing an amount of freedom,
and a constitution unrivalled iu Europe, or in the
wide world." The overt acts charged against the
prisoner were 30 in number, consisting mainly
of articles in the Irish People, and acts done in con-
nection with the confederacy, and proof of any one
of them, as performed in advancement of the crimi-
nal conspiracy, would be enough. The judge did not
think the Fenian society was merely playing with
treason—a sham or pretence ; there was not a
shadow of ground for alleging that the prisoner was
base enough to be a party to anything of the kind.
"It may have been that in this country, or in
America, there were engaged in the movement
schemers and swindlers, whose principal object was
the raising of funds with the intent to appropriate
them to their own purposes. But that at least the
prisoner would be acquitted of." The Law of con-
spiracy was to be jealously regarded, but it was on
the other hand essential for the protection of society
that such a law should exist, as otherwise a person
might set on foot an organisation of an illegal kind,
keeping in the background and leaving his agents
and dupes to bear the responsibility. Judge Fitz-
gerald also referred to the remittances from America
for Fenian purposes. The Solicitor-General had
estimated them at £7,800 ; in one year certainly
£5,000 had been sent to O'Leary's orders. The
funds came through the hands of John O'Mahoney,
and it could not now be doubted that the money
was remitted for the treasonable purpose of further-
ing the conspiracy to overthrow the Queen's autho-
rity. If the prisoner knew from whence it came he
was guilty, and if he had distributed it knowing the
intent, then he was not only a leader, but in a cer-
tain sense the leader of the conspiracy.
The jury were an hour and a half absent, and
when they returned into court with the verdict of
" Guilty on all the counts of the indictment,"
the prisoner addressed the court coolly, and with
deliberation. He said—" My lords, I was not
unprepared for this. I felt that a Government which
had so safely packed the bench would not be un-
likely to obtain a verdict." (Judge Fitzgerald here
intimated to the prisoner that, while the court were
willing to hear anything he had to say, language of
that kind could not be permitted.) O'Leary re-
sumed—" Very well, my lord. Mr. Luby declined
to touch upon this from a very natural fear that he
might do harm to some of the other political priso-
ners, but there can be little fear of that now, for a
jury that could be found to convict me of this con-
spiracy will convict them all. Mr. Luby admitted he
was technically guilty according to that highly elastic
instrument, British law, but I did not think that those
men" (here the prisoner pointed to the benches
where the Crown counsel sat) " could make that
case against me. And this brings me naturally to
a subject on which there has been much misrepre-
sentation in Ireland—the subject, I mean, of in-
formers. Mr. Justice Keogh said, in his charge
against Mr. Luby, that men would always be found
ready for money to place themselves at the dis-
posal of the Government, and make known the
designs of the conspiracy. No doubt men will
be found for money so to place themselves at
the disposal of the Government ; but •I think
it is agitators, and not rebels, who have been
generally bought in this way, who have cer-
tainly made the best bargains. And now
I come to speak," added the prisoner, " of the
moral assassination of me, for which that miser-
able man" (pointing to Mr. Barry, Q.C., law ad-
viser to the Irish Government) "is mainly respon-
sible." Here the judge again interrupted O'Leary,
and the prisoner said he would not pursue that tone
of observation. He, however, continued—" He
did not mean to defend himself or others now, but
he would denounce the moral assassin. Mr. Justice
Keogh had administered a lecture to Mr. Luby
about the consequences of revolution, but he should
like to know whether the same consequences did
not follow war. Only one word more would he
say. He had been found guilty of treason—
treason-felony they called it—and no doubt it
was a foul crime. The poet Dante placed
traitors in the ninth or lowest circle of his ' In-
ferno.' But what traitors? Traitors against king,
country, friends, and benefactors. England was
not his (the prisoner's) country, and he had betrayed
no friends or benefactors. Hampden and Sidney
were traitors, and JeffreyS and Norbury were loyal
men. He would leave the case there." Except in
the closing passage, the speaker was calm and un-
impassioned.

Judge Fitzgerald immediately, in a short sentence,
awarded him the punishment of 20 years' penal
servitude—the same term as given to Luby.
While the jury were out of court considering
their verdict in O'Leary's case, O'Donovan (Rossa)
was put forward and addressed the court himself,
stating that he had got papers from America which
would contradict the testimony the detectives in-
tended to offer against him, and show that he had
been in that country carrying on a legitimate busi-
ness ; but that when he had been removed with the
other prisoners from Richmond Bridewell to Kil-
mainham, those papers had been taken from him by
the governor of the latter prison, and probably had
been since in Dublin Castle. The governor of the
prison was sent for, and stated that he had only
acted according to the rules of the gaol. He was
ordered to give the prisoners the papers, and the
trial was postponed until that of Moore, the man
charged with making the " rods," or pikes, to
Stephens's order, had been finished. Moore was
then arraigned, and his trial proceeded with.
DUBLIN, Thursday.
_

The Fenian pike-maker, Moore, was found
guilty to-day, and sentenced to ten years' penal
servitude. The evidence exclusively established a
contract between him and Stephens for the making
and distributing of pikes. It was also proved that
he had been sent back from America by O'Mahony in
oder to make these weapons.

Tie gilcsed he had only been pursuing his trade
as a ca-,-,on working man, and denied he was guilty
of conspiracy. He asked that some trifling articles
seized by the Crown sho,,"1(1- be given to his wife,
and this was agreed to.