The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-14 00:00:00

RUSSIAN PREPARATIONS.

A letter from St. Petersburg of the 2d, in the Cologne
Gazette, says :
"People only occupy themselves here with the war-
like preparations for all eventualities by land or sea.
Twenty thousand pounds of gunpowder for the navy
have been sent from Cronstadt and St. Petersburg to
Petrozamock, and cannon and shells have been sent to
Cronstadt and Archangel. About 40,0001 b. of gun-
powder are to leave for the latter town. The war forts
are being fortified, and the coast batteries strengthened.
The Guards and Prince Paskiewitch are to leave us
shortly. The prince will first of all go to Warsaw.
Patriotic donations are continuing to be made. New
vessels are ready. The screw man-of-war the Orell, of
84 guns, and 500-horse power, is almost terminated.
The construction of the screw-frigate Maria, of 46 guns,
is rapidly advancing. These reinforcements for the
Russian fleet are worthy of remark, as it is not strong in
steamers. It is believed that Marshal Paskiewitch will
receive diplomatic powers, and Menschikoff also."
A letter from Cronstadt states that by order of the
Russian Admiralty another ship of the line of 120 guns,
the Empress Mary, has been fitted out. This will make
the Russian Baltic fleet amount to 28 ships of the line.
The Empress Mary is commanded by Captain Bondi-
scheft, and will form part of the first division of the fleet
now at Cronstadt.

SUDDEN DEATH OF MR. JUSTICE

TALFOURD.

STAFFORD, MARCH 13.

This day the two Courts sat for the despatch of busi-
ness soon after 10 o'clock ; but before half an hour had
elapsed the most painful sensation was created by tho
sudden death of Mr. Justice Talfourd, while on the
bench, and in the very act of addressing the grand jury.
So sudden was his lordship's death, that he was literally
carried out a corpse. The cause of death was an attack
of apoplexy, brought on, as it appeared, by the excited
feelings under which his lordship was addressing the
grand jury, in reference to the atrocious crimes by which
the calendar fof this county is stained on the present
even more than on ordinary occasions. His lordship, in
alluding to the state of the calendar, containing a list of
upwards of 100 prisoners, many of" them charged with
the most atrocious offences short of murder, called the
attention of the grand jury to the fact that there were
no fewer than 17 cases of manslaughter, and 30 cases
where persons were charged with the crime of high-
way robbery. These- crimes, his lordship observed,
might be traced, in a vast number of cases, to the
vice of intemperance, which was so very prevalent
in the mining districts ; and, while commenting
upon this state of things, his lordship feelingly de-
plored the want of sympathy which existed between
the higher and lower classes, and-urged the duty of the
superior ranks of society to take a more lively interest
in the welfare of those who were beneath them. While
commenting upon these topics, his lordship became con-
siderably excited and flushed in the face, and accurate
observers noticed that his voice became somewhat thick
and inarticulate. But, on a sudden, his lordship fell
forward with his face upon his book, and then swayed
on one side towards Mr. Sansom, his senior clerk, and
his second son, Mr. Thomas Talfourd, his lordship's ,
Marshal, who caught him in their arms. Dr. Holland;
and Dr. Knight, two magistrates who were on the
bench at the time, immediately rushed to his lordship's
assistance, removed his neckcloth, &c., and called for
water ; but it was of no avail. His breathing was ster-
torous and his face livid, and but a feeble action of the
pulse could be felt. Mr. Justice Wightman was hur-
riedly summoned from the Civil Court, and hastened to
the spot, but only arrived in time to see his brother
judge borne in mournful procession on the shoulders of
six gentlemen from the court in which but two or three
minutes before his voice had been heard. We ourselves
saw the late leader of the Oxford Circuit and the be-
loved and respected Judge still wearing his scarlet robes,
carried to the Judge's lodgings adjoining the court. On
arriving there it was found that life was quite extinct.
After a few minutes 111 r. Justice Wightman returned
into the Civil Court, but was so much overcome that he
could scarcely find utterance. At length he said, he
was grieved to have to communicate a most dreadful and
distressing occurrence—that his brother Talfourd was
no more ; while addressing the grand jury his lordship
was taken ill, and, according to the medical testimony,
he could not have survived five minutes. Under these
painful circumstances he felt it would be quite impos-
sible to go on with the court to-day. He would, there-
fore, adjourn both courts until to-morrow'. His lord.