The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-13 00:00:00

ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY.

Yesterday, the half yearly general court of this insti-
tution was held at the offices in Trafalgar-square ; B.
Bond Cabbell, Esq., M.P., presiding.
The SECRETARY read the minutes of the several monthly
committee meetings held during the half-year, detailing
several cases in which persons had been saved from
drowning, and in consideration of which rewards and
medals had been awarded by the society. The secretary
also reported that the great proportion of fatal accidents
in the Serpentine occurred in the bathing
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the the following
mth
H.M.S. Megera, saved William Tizzard, A.B. at sea
Rev. James O'Reilly, curate of St. Peter's Walworth,
saved Mr. Jesse Oldfield, publisher, of Fleet-street, at
St. Paul's-wharf ; Master Herbert Campbell (age 12),
saved his brother, Sidney Campbell, off the Isle of
Wight ; Henry Bowden (age 17), saved James F. Cock-
burn, in the Thames, at Eton ; William Pope, (age 17),
H.M.S. Impregnable, saved two children, who had
fallen into the Regent's Canal ; George Webber saved
George Lowe in the Bristol Channel ; James Hearne
saved four persons in the river Suir ; Captain H. M.
Dougall, R.N., saved J. Swadle, at Dundee ; Edward
B. Reeves, quartermaster of H.M.S. Bellerophon, saved
William illiamson, A. 8., at sea, off Malta; E. V.
James and J. Quintin, saved Miss Baldock, off the coast
of St. Malo ; Commander T. W. Tarlton, of H.M.S. Fox,
saved C. H. Bath, painter, of same ship, at Rangoon—
Captain Tarlton had previously saved the life of a painter
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Ann Mellanby,.at Stockton-on-Tees ; and John Lee
Creak saved Miss Wilkins, off the coast of Brighton.
The total number of cases reported for the year was
successfully
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Thepersons,
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the Serpentine during the year had been 273,800 ; the
number of casualties 30, of Which 5 that had occurred
after the hour at which the society's boats were with-
drawn, had terminated fatally.
The financial statement showed receipts for the year,
including a balance left from the previous year of 941.
is. 5d., to the amount of 1,9951. 3s. 11d. ; and a total
expenditure of 1,9601. ls. 6d., leaving a balance of
351. 2s. sd. in hand:
Resolutions thanking and re-appointing the trustees,
committee, chaplain, and secretary were then passed,
and the usual compliments having been paid to the
chairman and acknowledged, the meeting separated.

SINGULAR CASE.—A very singular case has just been
decided by the Civil Tribunal at Paris. The circum-
stances, were these :—A young married woman named
Martin was in the service of a Madame Durand, of Mont-
martre, whose son Edouard had been for some time con-
fined in a lunatic asylum, but having apparently re-
covered, had returned home, and on the death of that
lady, she continued in his service. He had been specially
ordered
by a doctor to refrain from drinking spirituous
liquors, and as long as he did so he was reasonable
enough ; but in April last he began drinking, and he
became exceedingly excited, and after a while raving
mad. In the night of the 29th of that month he rose,
armed himself with a poignard, and going into the cham-
ber in which the woman was sleeping with her husband,
plunged the weapon into his throat, and wounded her.
The man died immediately. Durand then hastened to
his own chamber, and began crying from the window,
"It was a mistake ! I have killed a little girl ! Ah !
the bandits--the brigands He
But I have done ell, for
why did they rob me !" He also used other incoherent
expressions. The, commissary of police having been in-
formed of what had taken place, hastened up, and on
seeing him, Durand made a gesture of submission, and
presented him, with all the dignity of a vanquished
general, with a sword, which he had seized. The com-
missary proceeded to question him, but he could only
murmur a few unintelligible sentences, and then fell
dead ; he had stabbed himself with a poignard. Madame
Martin called on M. Charles Durand, nephew, and heir
of the deceased, to make her some compensation for the
death of her husband ; but as he refused, she brought an
action against him, and it was argued before the Civil
Tribunal on Saturday. Her advocate insisted she was
clearly entitled to compensation ; whilst the advocate of
M. Durand maintained the contrary ; because she,
knowing the state of mind in which the lunatic had
been, ought to have prevented him from taking drink, in
which case he would not have been insane. The tribunal
decided that damages were due, and, under all the cir-
cumstances, fixed them at 5,000 fr.
d. THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH ON THE CONTINENT.—A
tcbtoefae nn;
established un i er ru p uninterrupted
betweenline ofß e
relil electric t
andr i telegraph
Milan. I
Theias
first experiment was made a few days ago, a message
having been sent from Berlin, and in less than an hour
the reply, which was "Bravo Berlin() I" arrived. The
Russian Government has entered into negotiations with
justthirae
Petersburg rutsihsnieacfoforor the continuation of its line of tele-
graphsntier of Russia, in order to place St.
to
wattrmncemmunication with the German capitals
and