The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-27 00:00:00

V
I

The Grand Duke

- hal; pro::ested

avinst

p;:tched copies
of his protest to all the Courts of Europe. Ihe
foreign diplomatic corps have all left Florence to join
the GRAND DUKE, who is at Villa Reggio.
The union of the Tuscan and Roman Republic
has been proclaimed, under the name of the Central
Republic of Italy. Rome is the capital of the new
Republic.
Toe Prince of CANINO has been named President
of the Constituent Assembly. in the rot.m of Signor
SAlrt. The li.,itiati Ministry preseoted, oo th- 17
a prograt:.me of their policy to the Assembly, of
which the following is an abstract :
The policy of the Republic should be in a frank,
eonciliatory, and worthy, anti truly democratic spirit;
ar,d, above ail things, they should promote the estanli.,h-
Went of the Italo..n Coustituent. In unison with the
Constituent they would c..irry on tin- war. and would not
cease to do so until they had brought it to a prosperous
issue. The) should, with this view, orgailze these gd-
lant bands who were ready to exhibit the valour anti
spirit of warriors and uatriuts in deli nce of their countrk
and in the sacred cause of liberty. The war ended.
the Government would do all in their power to
cherish the arts and sciences as the sure sources of na-
tional grandeur. Public instruction should be careful! \
given, but this should no longer be lett in the hands of
the clergy, who ought to confine themselves solely to the
discharge of their sacred functions. This conclusion
they had come to. as they were satisfied that the present
system was pregnant with evil. Social questions would
occupy a large share of their attention. That liberty,
they said, that does not ameliorate and comfort the
greatest number, is a bastard liberty. The poor,
that numerous class, who had been left in the
lowest degradation by the ancient society, should be
the objects of their assiduous care, and it would be
their especial duty to cure their physical ills and pre
pare them for a moral regeneration. Property should
be placed under the safeguard of the Republic. 'Liberty,
of worship, and perfect tolerance and freedom of opinion
should be granted, with security to person aad pro-
perty, even of those who were opposed to them in their
principles and views. Acting on these principles, their
Republic would be entitled to the regard of Italy and of
Europe."

The Risorgimento announces the occupation of
Ferrara on the 19th by a corps of 10,000 Austrians.

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY.)

OLD COURiI

(Before the RECORDER and Mr. Alderman Gums.)
Robert Duncan, a young man about 23 years of age,
Mary Duncan, described as a sit,gle woman, a few years
his senior, and Pierce Wall O'Brien, apparently about
45, surrendered to take their trial, on a charge of con-
spiracy to defraud the London and North-Western Rail-
way Company, with a view to obtain money by false
pretences. _ _

Mr. Clarkson prosecuted; Mr. O'Brien defended t} ,e
prisoner Mary Duncan; Mr. Metcalfe defended O'Brien;
and Robert Duncan was undefended.

It appeared from the opening statement of the counsel
who prosecuted, that on the sth of September last, very
early in the morning, the mail train from York to Lon-
don was travelling on the London and North-Western
Railway. O's the same morning the down train
coming up had arrived near to the Leigh-
ton Buzzard station, when a collision took
place between the two trains, which was fortunately un-
attended with loss of life. On the 26th of October
fol-
lowing a communication was received by the London
and North- Western Railway authorities, representing
that by the York mail train that came from York on the
morning of sth Si pt., one Mrs. Duncan, the prisoner, and
her brother, Pit me Wall O'Brien, another of the pri-
soners, haviste been in the same st cond class train toee
then coming from York had sustained very serious in-
jures, for which tin/ had been advised to apply nit
compensation. The prisoners, i❑ the first instance. had
put themselves into the hands of a .4r. Harrison, a soli-
citor. who had been imposed upon by the plausible story
which the prisoners related to him, but afterwards, sus•
peeling or discovering its falsehood, declined to prone d
further with their case. On the receipt of
the letter the railway authorities directed Mr.
Porter, their medical officer, to make inquiries
into the nature of the inju: ies alleged to have been sus-
tained by the prisoners, Mary Duncan and O'Brien; and
accordingly on the very day on which the letter was read
at a int-sting of the board of directors, on the 28th of
October, Mr. Porter made his appearance at the house
of Duncan, quite unexpectedly as it respects the latter,
for the purpose of ascertaining or inquiring into the
nature of the injuries stated to have been sustained.
W hen Mr. Porter entered the house he saw the male
prisoner, Duncan. " Oh," said the latter, on seeing Mr
Porter, " I expected to have seen a lawyer, not a medical
man ; Mrs. Duncan is ill at this moment, and you cannot
see her." Mr. Porter, at that moment, not being pre-
pared to anticipate any fraud, thought he heard some
rustling noise at the back of the shop in
which he was standing, talking to the male
prisoner Duncan, and after some further conversation
with the latter, Mr. Porter was ushered into the back-
room, where he found Mary Duncan, the prisoner, lying
in bed, and he was told of the nature of the injuries
which she had sustained by the collision. Among other
things Mr. Porter was told that the collision had brought
on premature labour, and that she had suffered a mis-
carriage forty-eight hours afterwards. He took it for
granted that this story was true, and from motives of
delicacy, did not make any examination of Mary Dun-
can's symptoms. Mr. Porter then asked to see O'Brien,
whom he found in another room up-stairs, and who
described his symptoms to him. Upon this Mr. Por-
ter reported the circumstances to the board of directors,
having first endeavoured to find a Mr. Hunt, a medi-
cal man, to whom O'Brien, the prisoner, had referred
him, as having been in attendance on O'Brien; but Mr.
Porter was not able to find the medical man, Mr. Hunt.
Shortly afterwards, on the 2d of November, a second
letter was written by the male prisoner, Duncan, to the
authorities of the railway, on the subject of the injuries
in question. The letter bore the address of 59, Great
George-street, Bermondsey, and stated that he, the male
prisoner, Duncan, was willing to accept 601. for the in-
juries done to Mary Duncan, the female prisoner; and
that the prisoner O'Brien was willing to accept other
60/. for the injuries which he alleged he had sustained,
provided the money was paid within a week. On the
7th of November the prisoners employed an attorney,
who proceeded forthwith to bring an action against the rail-
way company, to deliver a declaration, and so forth. In the
meantime the company had proceeded quietly, in conse.•
quence of the suspicions that arose in the mind of Mr.
Porter, to make inquiries on the subject matter of this
family; and then they found that the prisoner, Mary
Duncan, who was represented to have sustained all those
injuries by the collision, so far from having been at
York, or anywhere thereabouts at that time, that she
was at home perfectly well, that she was never in the
train at all, and never had sustained any injury by any
collision what• vet, and that it was altogether an inven-
tion from beginning to end. With respect to O'Brien,
the prosecutor was not in a condition ro show where he
was at the time of the collision, fruitless inquiries hay-
Mg been made with that view.

The trial was proce,thog when our report left.

.AEW COURT.
(Bcfore the COMMON SERGEANT and Mr. Alderman

MOON.)
A young woman, named Harriet West, was in kilted
with uttering a cuunlerfeit
It appeared that the prison. r, on the 7th February,
went into a chandler's shop, kept by a Mr. ficr4sw, at
Mount oreacent, Gray's Inn-road, and purchased an
ounce of tobacco and some other articles, amounting
altogether to 7d. She tendered a shilling in payment to
Mrs. Renshaw, who, on taking it to the light, discovered
that it was a bad one, and imnudiately gave the prisoner
into custody. Ou being taken hold of by the policeman,
she eudeavuured tl5 put her hand to her mouth, but was
prevented doing so, and in her hand were found four bad
shillings done up in a piece of paper.
The prisoner, in defence, denied knowing that the
shillings were counterfeit, and said that they had been
given to her by a man with whom she lived.
The COMMON SERGEANT—That is very probable.
The jury round her Guilty, and she was sentenced to
imprisonment for six months with hard labour.
Ann Smith, a young looking woman, dressed in
widow's attire, and having an infant in her arms, was
indicted with three distinct cases of uttering counterfeit
coin—on the 27th of January, of uttering a shilling,
upon James Grant, greengrocer, Clerkenwell; on the
Bth of February, of uttering a half-crown upon George
Reed, coal-dealer, Wilson-street, Clerkenwell; and on
the 10th of February, of uttering a sovereign upon a
Mr. Wiseman, a broker, in Clerkenwell. The latter
case led to her detection. She purchased a bedstead, and
gave the sovereign in payment. A man was waiting
outside, who carried the bedstead away, but some suspi-
cion having arisen in the mind of the broker, the woman
was pursued and taken into custody, The man suc-
ceeded in getting away.

Mr. PAYNE, for the prisoner, denied that her identity
i❑ the first two cases had been proved, and said with
respect to the latter case, that she was not aware that the
sovereign was other than a good one.
The COMMON SERGEANT having summed up,
The jury found a verdict of Not Guilty.
Mary Francis, a young married woman, was indicted
with uttering three counterfeit half-crowns.
The jury found a verdict of Guilty, but recommended
her to mercy on account of her previous good character.
A man, who called himself the prisoner's husband,
said, the witnesses had been entirely mistaken in her
identity.
The COMMON-SERGEANT.-Fully believing, prisoner,
that you were the instrument in the hands of another
I will not mention, but who, I am sure will be here one
of these days, and whom, if he does come, I assure I
shall take care of, I will only sentence you to three
months' imprisonment in the House of Correction.
The prisoner left the deck very much affected.
Several other minor Mint prosecutions were tried in
the course of the morning, but none of them possessed
any feature of importance.

LLOYD'S 6HIPPIN 6.—(THIS DAY.
LONDON, FEB. 27.—Wind E.S.E., light breeze, and
fine clear weather.
STATE OF WIND AND wEATIIER AT THE PROVINCIAL
PORTS THIS MORNING, AT 9 A.M.,
Colchester S. s' ~ fine.
Ghegow S, W. by W., frosty.
Glouces,tr N.N.E., frosty.
Gosport
Leith
Lowesteffe N. W., frosty.
Liverpool
Newcastle
Portsmouth
Yarmouth N.W., rule.

M. 2

:~~

DLAt., 26.—Wi
Castle, .Nladras; Pilgrim, Clark, Cuba, both for bul.,n.
Sld. Newcastle; Planet, ditto. Arrd. from the
River and ski., Lady Peel, Frawr, Sydney, New South
Wales; India, Campbell, Bombay; Surthatnby, Jenning,
ditto; Gratitude, Aden; Alexandrine., Fateo,er, Algae
Bay; Champion, Steel, Rio Janeiro; Qui en of the T)ne,
Clark, Buenos Ayres; Ruby, May, St. Vincent's; Prince
Albert, Meyer. New York.

LONDOND7ERRY, - FEB 23. --Amt. Java, Duffy, St.
B•unvwi k.

E PETE RHEA D, FEL 25. -S.O.
,I i TINe,

LIVERPOOL. FEB. 26.—Wind N.E —Sid. 21st. Red
130—, Wihningion, Cri.itert St aft.s , 26. re. ,Aiii,ruerce,
Sagua, La Grande; Saxony, New Orleans; Brandon,
d Ito; Ei!en, savant at]; Rob R y, Virginia; Franklin,
B iAiitnote; Ar.sbelh, Nk,,, York; Jonn S. de Wolf,
tato; Bellona, Halifax; Medora, ditto; Architned, 5,
Nevvfoun,iland; Roam', Senegal; Plyinou.h, Halifax.
26. Plata, Buenos; Ayres; Willi m Fisher, Janeiro;
E-irl of Durham. Bahia; Irene, Pernambuco; Sesustris,
Maranhatn; Jane, Antigua; Express, St. Thomas and
St. Domingo; Caroline, La Gila) ra; Buena Nista, New
Orleans ; Cornelia, Batavia ; Ann and Jane, Singa-
pore ; Courier, Calcutta ; Linton, Calcutta ; Bland,
Calcutta ; Duke of Lancaster, Bombay ; Robins,
Bombay; Belle Isla, Cape of Good Hope ; Belle, Africa;
Rothesay, Africa; Plata, Buenos Ayres; Wiltiam Fishatt
Rio Janeiro ; Dauntless, Apalachicola ; Cainiltus, Sa-
vannah ; Intrinsic, Savannah ; J. C. Calhoun, New
Yurk ; Jane, Wilmington, United States.
HULL, FEB. 26.—Wind N.N.E.—Arrd. Royal Vic-
toria, Hunter, Savannah.

SWANSEA, FEB. 26.—Wind E.N.E.—SId. Jenny
Jones, Adelaide, South Australia.
NEWPORT, FEB. 26.—Wind N.E.—Sld. 25th, Adolph
Werner, St. Thomas; Catherinde, Minde, St. Thomas
Apollo, Havannah.
GLOUCESTER, FEB. 26.—Sld. 25th, Emu, Calcutta.
PLYMOUTH, FEB. 26.—Wind E.—Sld. 25th, Ben
Accord, Calcutta.

SOUTHAMPTON WATER, FEB. 27.—Arrd. Severn
steamer, West Indies.

DEAL, FEB. 26.—511. Victor, Hobart Town ; Alice
Maud, Port Natal ' - Lalla Rookh, Demerara ; Superior,
Demerara ; Ellen, Trinidad.

OPEN-AIR MEETIN G in COVENT-
GARDEN.—(THIS DAY.)
An open-air meeting, which had been called by the
High Bailiff, was held this day in Covent garden, to
take into consideration the treatment of pauper children.
A platform was erected in front of Saint Paul's Church,
for the accommodation of the speakers and the re'
porters. There were more than 1,000 persons present;
The High Bailiff, Francis Smedley, Esq., presided, and
said he had convened the meeting in consequence of
requisition addressed to him by a numerous and most
respectable body of the rate-payers of Westminster, W
take into consideration the recent awful destruction o',
human life, resulting from the system of farm'
ing out the pauper children of the metropolitan parishes,
which, it seemed, had received the approval and sanction
of the Poor-law Board, and which had been acted upon
by the various boards of poor-law guardians. The
meeting had also been called for the purpose of eonsi'
Bering whether the present poor-law was or was n°l
suited fur this country.
Several rtsolutions, condemning the treatment to
which the pauper children had been recently subjected
at Tooting, having been put and carried, the meeting
separated.

WEST INDIA MAIL.
(BY ELEC TRIC TELEWtAPII.)
SOUTHAMPTON, TUESDAY MORNING.—The Rota
Mail steam-ship Severn, Captain Vincent, arrived her.
at 9 o'clock with a portion of the West India Mails'
principally from the Leeward Islands, &e. She bill
no mails from Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, or
klavannah, which were to have been brought up t°
Bermuda by the Forth. The Severn sailed from get
:
muds on the 13th in,t after waiting nearly eight dais
tor the Gult steamer. No intelligence of the Forth's le
had reached Bermuda; the fact, however, of the WO
being so long delayed is almost a confirmation of the ufr
favourable news.

The Severn was dispatched home, in consequence
of having broken her starboard paddle shaft between
St. Thomas and Bermuda. The Avon met with
,a
precisely similar accident near Demerara; she will
consequently be the next ship home from Chagre,
and Bermuda. The Severn came across the Deal
with only one paddle, and performed the voyage in 13
days; she has a very trifling cargo, and only 3,00
specie on freight.
There is very little news of importance from the
various islands.
At Barbadoes the weather was fine and the crops
vourable; business was dull. The fever had re-apper
in St. Ann's Garrison.

PENINSULAR, MAILS.
SOUTHAMPTON, TUESDAY MORNING*
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co
pang's ship Indus has just arrived with the heavy
tion of the Indian Mails, and &tea from Alex:taw"-
10th February, Malta 16th, Gibraltar 21st.
She brings seventy passengers; specie on freight'
value 24,3001., and a large general cargo.
Her Majesty's ship Gladiator had arrived at Gib'
raltar. A detachment of Marines were embarked °it
board seven of the steamers of Sir Charles 146;
pier's fleet, which sailed to the eastward °,
the 19th to chastise the pirates on the Moorish comet'
under the command of the Admiral. As, however, Re
boats or piratical vessels could be discovered, the 1111„
dron re. entered the bay without being enabled to Iwo'''.„
plish its design.
By the Atalanta steamer, which has just arrived bete
from Havre, we learn that yesterday the Cotton ID,O
ket opened very brisk, and sales amounted, up to .57,,
o'clock, to 1,256 bales, which were disposed of at
winced rates.
In other articles little doing.

RUMOURED LOSS OF H.M.S. ST. VINCENT'
A letter from Toulon, of the 23d inst., mentions $ re.t:
port of the loss of the British ship-of-the-line St. Vince°
off Tangier, bearing the flag of Admiral Napier.

nit THE CIRQUE NATIONAL DE PARIS AT Vigo
LANE THEATRE.—A morning performance takes P',lo
here to morrow, which will be attended by the wb.-og
of the Blue-coat boys, the proprietors hall of
kindly invited one thousand of the scholars,
the Christ's Hospital to be present on the ncessivei
The performances will be precisely the same as Iti
,0
were on the evening of Saturday last when her Ils.Vitol
and Prince Albert honoured the Cirque National aus
their presence. It is quite a treat to watch thei'',
countenances of the juventles at these delightful mortj
pertormanees, which are now fast drawing to a elose:vy
the pros...tit is the last week but two that the cotnr
remains in London. he
OPERA COMIQUE, ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.
first performunce of Richard Law. de Lion, and 6
Concert ala Cour, was actendi.d by a brilliant audit4jcio,
amongst whom we noticed—The Conde de MonterCo.,
her Serene Highness the Princess of Parma, the .si.ao
chioness of Downshire, the Earl of Kilmorey, the Bue'ide
Ambassador, and Baroness Brut now and Mdlle. 010 de
Lechuer, the Turkish Ambassador and suite, LaclYmp.
Dunaterville, Lady Louth, Cointesse de Lansfelotr
rain .Ryder But ton, Lord Cranhourrie, Baron Niel' :t1
Lady J. ddrtll, Sir George and Miss Talbot, LadY op
Miss. Goldsmidt, Sir Henry Webb, the Hon. F. By ri•
Mrs. and the Misses Standish, Mr. Henry Greville,
Dennistoun, and Sir William Haste.
ROYAL NAVAL SCHOOL, NEW CROSS. —Li h
Colonel Petit, C. 8., of her Majesty's 50th Regime"' ifs
presented the liberal donation of 50 guiut as to thiii.o.
Ntitution, a gratifying evidence of the good feeling ex r.
ing between the two services. We understand /bat
W. Drew, who was a pupil of the Royal Naval Se-lrer
came out as Eighth Wrangler at the last Cambride rb,4
amination, and that at the head of the list of 1,01
number of marine cadets, who last week received
1.11,
commissions as second-lieutenants in that valuable clot.
is Mr. de Courcy Meade, son of Commander .Ihit
Meade, who has just completed his education i“
school. lier
THE GUARDS.—The Ist battalion of Scots FLIII 00
Guards will be removed from Chichester to London
the eat of March next, and will be replaced by tbegee
battalion of the .same corps at Chichester on the s-
date.
eftlo4 MEETING OF THE UNEMPLOYED.—BIRMIN- Die
MONDA v.--An open-air meeting of the artizans of for
mingham was held on Gosta-green this afternocOthe
the purpose of memorialising the Government 000%
subject of the distressed state of the trading and w°or oe, b
classes of the town and district, and " requiring d,
diate measures for the employment of the poor:
0011
a population of about 200,000, from 400 to 400 reyero)
were present. The meeting was addressed by fle„ the
Chartists, and a memorial to the Home Secretary
effect above stated was adopted. 0
ATI t 4;
PLUNDER OF THE IMPERIAL ARSENAL AT • -bot-
-The Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police ye,
transmitted to the Commissioners of the Gusto:as bioli
partment a list of weapons, banners, models, ral'
have been stolen from the Imperial Arsenal at vie try
and which it is supposed will be brought to this Cou
for sale, and requested that the same may be Orf,rde
nicated to the several officers of the revenue, in -bee°
that, in the event of any of the said articles haring orfs'
landed, or being hereafter landed at their repectileP4ical
they may report the circumstances, for the infortaP
of the Commissioners of Police.
the
DARLEY MAIN COLLIERY EXPLOSION• rif
list of subscriptions for the numerous families berOloro
by the catastrophe at Darley Main Colliery, he
it are oe'
that upwards of 1,2001. has been put down for this
volent object.

BIRTHS.
On the 22d inst., at Eatington Vicarage, Warwicif'9biro,
the wife of the Hey. H. Wedgwood, of a daughter. T, .1,
On the 2d inst., at Northwicti, the wife of the Re..
M. Wilde, of a daughter. T., !IRO,
On the 23,i inst., at Haresfoot, the lady of A. S. 'IQ- ,
Esq., of a daughter. ....-0"--

rf .01!
DIED.
On the 2cth inst., at Dorking, Surrey, Gertrude Aue`li6
ici,
Hickman, widow of the late Lieut.-Colo el t7regorY
man, 01 the H 0... .Eat Indl,. G,lnpanv's Service. borof:
On the 22d inst., at the Rt,ciory., Ruan Llano)/ of 10'
Cornwall, the Rev. Richard Budd, in the 4t.th year
incutnheucy, aged 75.
London Printed and Published by MURDO y0t7D.0112
No. 112, 6lrand, Printer, at The Nun Office, 1'404 °
Strand, . •he Precinct a the Savoy, iu Sh.
. Tueadv, Filfruary 27, 1649

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