The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-24 00:00:00

THE CASE OF TEE HON. MRS. NORTON.

In the Times of to-day there appears a letter, two
columns in length, from the Hon. Mr. Norton, the ma-
gistrate of Lambeth Police-court, in reply to the state-
ments made by Mrs. Norton, and Mr. Leman, her
solicitor, in letters which were published in the same
journal on Saturday last. He says :

" I seek this public channel of vindication from the
false allegations there made, as I have a public character
to sustain—my private one is safe in the hands of those
who know me. It is as a magistrate, an administrator
of justice (according to my ability), that I come forward
in the present matter with a plain statement of facts, to
prove that I have striven to be as just in my private
affairs as it is my aim and desire to be in my public
capacity. It is with pain that I feel myself compelled
to break that silence. which the forbearance of 17 long
years has made habitual to me ; but I feel I must now
speak out, and that it would be treason to my character
and fair fame to leave al). these accusations un-
answered."
In another part he observes :

"Unhappily, the judge and every one engaged for
or against her in the cause seemed overpowered by Mrs.
Norton's demeanour, and those who had a turn for the
drama (of whom, unfortunately, my own solicitor was
one) were suspended in breathless, helpless inaction.
None who witnessed that scene can forget it to their
lives' end—all must remember it as the most splendid
piece of acting ever exhibited, however much the sober
mind of England must revolt against the disgrace of a
court of justice being turned into the stage of Drury-
lane."

After entering into details to show that he had posi-
tive denials from Mrs. Norton that she was in the receipt
of an annuity from Lord Melbourne, he goes on to
say :

" It is true that in 1837 we contemplated a reunion.
She had assured me that she had taken the sacrament in
attestation of her innocence of all criminality; that as-
surance, and other circumstances' induced me to believe
her innocent of the last offence ; but of the impropriety
of her conduct and total disregard of outward appear-
ances, by which alone society can form its opinion, no
one who moved in our circles could doubt. My own con-
duct, I admit, at that time was weak and vacillating in
the extreme. I had loved her to madness for three or
four years before I married her, and after we were
united she had all power over me. But all idea of
reunion was abruptly broken off when certain tidings
reached me of her sejour in the Isle of Wight. From
that moment my honour was outraged, and our reunion
rendered impossible. Judge, then, of my surprise within
the last three or four years to receive hints from her as
to our living again together ; one of these I can dis-
tinctly remember. My son Fletcher was seriously un-
well at her house, and I went there to see him. I was
remarking to him that I was about taking a new lease
of my house, when she said, What nonsense, when
there's a room for you here.' Would any one believe
that in 1849 such a proposal could have come from the
person who, on Thursday last, denounced me in the way
she did ?"

In another part of his communication, he gives the foi-
-1 lowing history of the action against Lord Melbourne :
"I had observed from the time of their close intimacy
Mrs. Norton had taken less interest in our then only
child and in myself. On one occasion I had seen her
arm round his neck, and when I remonstrated with her
she said, "'Yell, and what if I had my Melly round the
neck—what was it ?" I was jealous, and mentioned the
subject to Mrs. Sheridan, who quite lulled my suspi-
cions by telling me that he had been her father's friend,
and other circumstances ; and on the morning of
the 30th of March, 1836, I had no suspicion what-
ever that their intimacy was anything more than pla-
tonic. On that morning Mrs. Norton left her home,
leaving her letter bureau by accident open, and I saw
piles of Lord Melbourne's letters lying in it. She never
showed me his letters, saying letters were not meant for
two ; and, knowing her particularity about her letters,
without looking at one, I locked the door of the room in
which they were, and, giving my servant Fitness the
key, gave him the most positive orders that no one
should enter the room until Mrs. Norton returned, in
order that she might see that they were untouched, and
just as she had left them.
In reference to the action against Lord Melbourne,
he observes :

"It suited the defendant's counsel in that action to
give it a political complexion, but I solemnly declare,
upon my honour, that not a single person of the Tory or
any other party persuaded me to bring it, and no com-
munication whatever had I with Lord Wynford or any
other person connected with politics about it until after
the trial was over, Mr. Currie, my solicitor for the
action, will vouch for this, and he is also aware of cer-
tain solicitations made by both parties in politics that I
would not proceed with the action ; he is aware how my
witnesses were molested and tampered with in town, and
that it was at their own request some of them were sent
to the country, where they were nevertheless followed
and persecuted."
He further adds :

"Lord Melbourne promiied me the appointment of
police magistrate before he visited at our house, or
before, I believe, he even knew Mrs. Norton. Lord
Eldon had appointed me 'Commissioner of Bankrupts
in 1827, and when such appointment was abolished by
the construction of the Bankruptcy Court in• 1830 or
1831, I considered that I had some claim on the Home
Secretary, having received no compensation for the loss
of my situation."

REPEAL OF THE HOP-DUTY.---The Chancellor of the
Exchequer in reply to a deputation of the Weald of
Kent Planters, on Saturday, observed that they were
for a total repeal, whereas other and not unimportant
bodies among their brethren were for an acreage duty—
a plan to which he (Mr. Gladstone) admitted he had
been favourable, as preserving a portion of the tax and
equalising the pressure now complained of as unjustly
bearing upon the different hop districts. Parliament
had evidently not been disposed to accede to the views
of the total repealers, whose demand was in fact a dead
blow at the excise generally. With respect to Mr. Dis-
raeli's plan of leaving half the duty as at present im-
posed, Mr. Gladstone stated that he disapproved of that
mode of dealing with the question, since it left in full
operation the inequality now complained of by different
districts. The right hon. gentleman promised to give
the subject his earnest attention.
COKE.—Owing to the increased production of coke,
the price of Brancepeth coke is advanced to 11s, per
ton, but for quantities of 1,000 tons and upwards the
price will still be 10s. 6d. Preparations are making to
sink a new pit at Brancepeth, which will enable about
2,409 tons of coals to be raised daily, which, by in-
creasing the number of ovens to 1,000, nearly 6,000
tons of coke weekly may be made by one firm alone.—
Railway Times.

FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE HULL AND BRIDLINGTON
RAILWAY.—A fatal accident occurred on Monday, on
the Hull and Bridlington Railway, near the Cottingham
station, by which two women lost their lives and several
are reported injured. It is stated that the tyre of one
of the wheels came off, and the carriages ran off the
line.

FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—On Monday, the 22d
inst., a fatal accident occurred to one of the guards of
the York, Newcastle, and Berwick Railway Company.
At the time the accident happened, the deceased, whose
name was William 'Wright was on the government
train from Newcastle to York. It is supposed that he had
been inside his break-van, between Sessay and Dilmoor
arranging the luggage, that when he found the train
was approaching the junction he came out, and was
making his way to his seat outside, for the purpose of
applying the break, and that in his progress he had
missed his grasp at the handrail, and so fallen back-
wards from the train, which, being in rapid motion at
the time, would, of course give an increased impetus to
the force with which his head came in contact with the
ground, and where, from the injuries he sustained, he
expired shortly after he was picked up.
DEFACING AND BENDING THE COlN.—Yesterday the
new act to prevent the defacing of the current coin of
the realm was printed. It declares that a practice has
arisen of defacing the coin of the realm by stamping it
for advertising purposes, and bending it. It is now en-
acted that if any person shall deface any of the Queen's
current gold, silver, or copper coin by stamping thereon
any names or words, whether such coin shall or shall
not be thereby diminished or lightened, or shall use any
machine or instrument for the purpose of bending the
same, every such offender shall in England and Ireland
be guilty of a misdemeanour, and in Scotland of a crime
or offence, and, being convicted thereof, shall be liable
to fine or imprisonment, or fine and imprisonment, at
the discretion of the court. The second provision in
the act is of such general importance that it is given in
the very words :—" No tender of payment in money
made in gold, silver, or copper coin so defaced or stamped
as aforesaid shall be allowed to be a legal tender ; and
if any person shall tender, utter, or put off any coin so
defaced, stamped, or bent, as aforesaid, he shall, on
summary conviction thereof before two justices, be liable
to forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding 405., provided
always, that it shall not be lawful for any person to pro-
ceed for any such penalty as last aforesaid, without the
consent (in England or Ireland) of her Majesty's Attor-
ney-General for England or Ireland respectively, or (in
Scotland) of the Lord Advocate." The act took effect
on the 20th inst., when it received the royal assent.
THE HARVEST IN IRELAND. Since this day week
there has been a run of uninterruptedly dry weather.
Harvest operations are being carried on with great
vigour, the scarcity of manual labour, especially in some
of the western counties, being the only drawback to their
speedy completion. The reports of the condition of the
potato crop continue most satisfactory. In Clare, where
a fortnight ago the disease was thought to have set in
with a good deal of its old virulence, all the fatal symp-
tonis have disappeared.

CLITHEROE ELECTION.— The poll commenced yesterday
morning, and went on but laituidly, or the 460 voters
might soon have decided the contest. The borough had
been unusually quiet during the night, and there were
no attempts at "bottling," or other of the more bold
and strategic proceedings which are usually resorted to
in places like these on the eventful night preceding the
poll. The presence of the police was no doubt calcu-
lated to prevent any course which might be likely to
endanger the peace, and as large bodies of either party
were posted about the streets keeping watch, proceedings
of this kind would have been very likely to have called
forth resistance. The first return was issued at 9 o'clock,
when Mr. Peel Was declared to have only 45 voters to
57 for Mr. Starkie. At a quarter past 10 the numbers
stood—Starkie 118, and Peel 89. At 11 o'clock, Starkie
157, Peel 148 ; at 12 o'clock, Starkie 204, Peel 176.
The close of the poll was aE follows :—Starkie, 216 ;
Peel, 205.