The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-13 00:00:00

Intr ',sok, her face coversd with blool, and several
sou ds en her head and feoc, apparently inflicted by a
ehorp slotie or heavy shoe; she was insensifis, and so re-
mained for two days, when sit- died from a fractured
tie ear was nearly severed from the head. The
pris nee, who was a blacksmith out of work, bad been
st en lonsin rsha 11, about a mile and a halt off; shortly
before the body of the deceased was fbund. He was ask-
ing fur work. anti hsd 4 long conversation with a black-
smith, at whose house he was sating bread and ehecze;
there was nothing then in his manner to attract attention.
Shortly after this murder must have been committed,
the prisoner went to the house of the Itcv. Mr. Harlon,
at Everleigh, and asked for work. Mr. Hadon told him
he had no work to give him. The prisoner then threw
two stones. which he had in his hands behind him, at
Mr. Hadon's head; fortunately they only struck him on
the arm. Mr. Haden was alarmed and ran into his
house for a minute, and on his return to the door the
prisoner was gone. At the time he came up to Mr.
Hadon's house the prisoner appeared to be much out of
breath, and was trembling all over. Mr. Hadon thought,
from his state of excitement, that he was ill. Mr.
ilsdon, finding the prisoner had left his premises, sent
sod went himself in pursuit of him. He overtook him
and nld him he was determined to take him into cus-
tody. The prisoner then took three stones from his
Docket and hurled teem with great violence at Mr.
Radon, aiming at his head; they, however, passed with-
,ut doing injury. Other persons then came up and seized
the prisoner. One of them asked him if be was not
ashamed of himself, for he might have murdered the gen-
tltrnan? The prisoner replied, "I do not care if I had,
for I have murdered one person this morning already. I
did not care what I did, for lam tired of life." He was
asked where? He said," You will soon know." When
being taken to gaol, subsequently, he said he knocked
her dovt,ii with a stone, and then kicked her about the
toad, but had not otherwise assaulted her. The prisoner
was tried at the last summer fiSSiZE,'S for this county for
the assault on Mr. Hadon, and was sentenced to be trans-
ported for seven years. The surgeon of the gaol in
which the prisoner had been confined since his convic-
tion stated that he had paid particular attention to the
prisoner's conduct, and he had not seen anything to in-
duce him to believe that the prisoner had been, or was,
insane. He had a perfect knowledge of right and
wrong. Ile had been in the habit of seeing him twice
or thrice a week.

In the course of the cross-examina.ion of the medical
witnesses, the following testimony was given:—That
persons had delusions. There was a disease called "is-
sane impulse, or instinctive madness," the predominant
character of which was to commit acts of violence;
there was an irresistible desire to destroy human life,
it to commit a theft ; the latter as regarded ladies, be-
rause there could be no reason for their committing a
theft. Persons might know they were doing wrong, but
the impulse was so strong that they could not resist it—
rheir will was not under their control.
_ _

Mr. SMITH made a most eloquent and dispassionate
address to the jury on behalf of the prisoner, reading to
them the observations of Dr. Pritchard and Professor
Winslow, &c.

Lord DENMAN, in summing up, observed that the of-
'ence of unsoundness of mind was to be proved by the
isont,r; and the question was, whether he had proved
it to the satisfaction of the jury.
The jury considered for a few minutes, and then re-
turned a verdict of Guilty.
Lord DENMAN then passed sentence of death upon the
prisoner.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF COMMONS, March 12.
Mr. BROWN presented a petition from Liverpool
erasing that the navigation-laws might not be repealed
until the duties on timber had been abolished.
NAVIGATION LAWS.—ADJOURNED DEBATE.
(Continued from our Third Edition of last night.)
Mr. ROBINSON contended that the navigation-laws
not had the effect of giving the shipping interest
an extravagant rate of freights, and he proceeded to
-thow that the increase of their colonial trade, which
had been adverted to by the Right Hon. Gentleman the
Vresident of the Board of Trade, arose from the fact of
hit trade being confined to British shipping. For his
ewn part, he would much rather see the navigation laws
sbrogatcd by one short code, than vote for the second
reading of the Bill now before the House, relying on the
Government to indemnify the shipping interest by a
removal of their existing disabilities. Would the Go-
vernment before the Bill passed into law, if indeed it
ever became the law of the land, consent to take the
duty off timber, remove the duty on marine insurances,
modi'y the apprenticeship clause, and allow them to man
their ships with the sailors of any country they
ply-ased? Since 1837 the rates of freight had been
so low that the shipowners had more reason of com-
plaint than had the shippers of goods for want of com-
petition in order to reduce those freights. He did
not deny that some of the colonies might ask
change in those laws, but what he asked, particularly
in regard to America, was, that the navigation of the
St. Lawrence might be thrown open to foreign vessels.
That might be a good enough argument for a Canadian,
but so far as the interests of the empire at large were
concerned, he could not agree to its justice or policy.
The Hon. Member for Westbury (Mr. Wilson) said the
ether night, that were any great rise of rates in ships
ping to take place, the shipbuilders and shipowners
would ruin themselves in building vessels, in order that
they might profit by such rise. But did Hon. Gentlemen
think that the shipowners were so mad as to throw out
their money on any suchenterprise without a good pros-
pect of a sufficient return for it? But in regard to
that lion. Gentleman's speech, he must say that unless
Government had stronger reasons for repealing the na-
vigation-laws than he had urged, their case was weak
indeed. Nothing, in his opinion, could be more
improper than the conduct of the Government
in regard to this question. What was the use
of appointing Committees of Inquiry both in that
and the other House of Parliament, if, as the Noble
Lord stated to the London deputation, who waited upon
him the other day on this subject, the Government had
made up their mind upon it, and that no opposition
could sway the conclusions they had come to regarding
it ? The letter sent from the Foreign-office to the other
powers, respecting the change they meditated in those
laws, was also most reprehensible, and without entering
into the merits or demerits of the free-trade polio',
either of this or of the last Government, he felt bound
to say that by exposing this country to the unlimited
competition of foreigners, they were doing that which
would paralyse both the commerce and the enterprise of
the people of this country. There were two circum-
stances which ought to influence every Government in
this country in dealing with public questions; these were
the state of the labouring classes and the financial affairs
of the country. Now, he would ask the Noble Lord at
the head of the Government, when the shipping interest
was ruined, when commerce was crippled, when the la-
bour market was; glutted up—where, he would ask, were
the labouring classes to be sustained, or bow were the
finances for the carrying on the affairs of the country to
be provided? Under the navigation laws British ship-
ping had increased to a large extent. Do away with the
navigation laws, and British shipping would greatly de-
crease. Let the House consider what a disadvantageous
position this country would be placed in were such
measure carried. America at the present time was a for-
midable rival to this country, but he believed, were the
navigation laws repealed, that in the course of ten years
they would have to sustain a conflict with America for
the maintenance of their West India colonies. Even now,
the colonists were discussing whether it would not be
better for them to throw off the yoke of this country, and
league themselves with the United States; and, as con-
nected with those colonies, he would not say, but that
treated as they were by this country, it would be better.
What had this country to do with the colonies, after they
had given up trading with them? All connexion
with them after that was useless and expensive,
entailing upon this country the expense of a
large army for the protection of those colonies, and
having abandoned them, there was certainly no use of
putting the country to that expense. But as to Ame-
rica, and the position she held in a maritime point of
view; at the present time the amount of the tonnage of
shipping employed by America in the British colonial
trade was 670,000 tons, while the tonnage employed iu
the same trade by all other nations, this country in'
eluded, was 500,950 tons. In the Cuba trade the Ame-
rican tonnage was double that of this and other nations-
In the East India trade it was also larger, while the
whole tonnage of American shipping was within 600,000
tons of that of the shipping of this country. In such
circumstances they ought not to pass such a measure se
the present, which would be the means of increasing the
advantages of America and other countries, while it
operated ruinously upon this country.—(Hear.)
Mr. JAMES CLAY had never, so far as the debate
had proceeded, been able to gather from the President of
the Board of Trade, whether he meant still to consider,
under the present measure, that the commercial marine
was the most fitting nursery for seamen for the navy.
If he did so, what was the use of ordaining each British
vessel to be commanded by British captains, and manned,
for the most part, with British crews? And if he did
not do so, why should he deprive the commercial marine
of all remuneration for raising those seamen, as was done
by the present measure? It, however, he had no other
objections to the measure than those, they might be re'
medied in Committee; but he had another objection to
the measure, and that was, it was unaccompanied bar
other measures necessary for the shipping interest of this
country, to act their part in the race of competition to
which the measure, if passed, would subject them.
Among the measures which ought to have accompanied
it, he might mention one for the reduction of the light
dues, another for the abolition of the duty on marine in-
surance, and a third for the total abolition of the duty
on timber for shipbuilding purposes. He should there'
fore vote against the second reading of the Bill.
Mr. fIORNBY said that though he had voted in fa'
your of the free-traders before, yet on this occasion be
felt bound to give his vote against the party, because
they were opposed to reciprocity; and expressed his sr
tonishment that the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Glad'
stone) should have expressed his resolve to support the
second reading with an intention to oppose the coasting
clause in Committee. He next animadverted on the ob.
jection raised by the Hon. Member for Westbury (Or'
Wilson) against reciprocity, and contended that the or
deuce of Sir J. Strickland was opposed to this Bill, be-
cause he stated before the Committee of the House of_
Lords that there were 102 to 76 men from the mercbaei
service in the Royal Navy, though he had previously!
before the Committee of the House of Commons, said
that those of the merchant service in the Royal Ne_vle
were only 5 per cent.; also, that the evidence of
Thomas Byrim Martin, of Sir Thomas Cochrane, sod of
Captain Berkeley, were against this measure. Ile nxZ
adverted to the uselessness of the peti,ions of 29,oeouu_
pet st,ns in the city of London, and of other peti"n
irom various seaports, against it, and contended that
British captains and British shipwrights and seamen
were t qual, if not superior, to those of any other court
try. Finally, he considered that it was nothing more