The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-28 00:00:00

FREE TRADE WITH INDIA.
On Tuesday evening a public meeting was held in
the Eastern listitution, Commercial-road, for the
purpose, as announced by advertisement, of affording
an opportunity to Mr. George Thompson, M.P., of
delivering to the electors and non-electors of the
Tower Hamlets, and all others interested in the
manufacturing, commercial, and trading prosperity of
the country, an address on the important subject of
free trade with India, in connexion with the condition
and prospects of Great Britain. The chair was taken
shortly before seven o'clock by Mr. Francis Carnac
Brown, a gentleman well acquainted with the affairs
of India, and who has a large estate on the coast of
Malabar. Rungo Bapojee, the agent of the deposed
Raja of Sattara, was present on the platform.
After a brief introductory speech from the CHAIR-
MAN,
Mr. GEORGE THOMPSON said he thought it right to
admit, in the first instance, that he had sought this
opportunity of addressing them on this question.
Recently sent by their suffrages to the House of
Commons, he felt it his duty to ask for an occasion
of bringing before them the nature of a question,
in which he had for many years taken a deep in- i
terest, and one which he should feel it his duty
in the House to which they had sent him, and
out of doors, to make it the subject of public
discussion. He entertained but little doubt
he should receive their approbation of the
course he proposed to pursue, and he was
- equally certain that, before they separated that even-
ing, they would share in his convictions of the in-
terest to the world at large of the question he was
about to bring before them.—(Hear, hear.) The
subject they had met to discuss was free trade with
India, in connexion with the condition and prospects
of Great Britain. That text might appear to be a
restriction of the topics usually embraced under the
name of free trade ; but the subject, as it had been
announced, extended to another result, viz., the at-
tainment of the overthrow of slavery and the slave
trade, an effect following naturally, necessarily, and
inevitably, from the attainment of the former object.
A few words on the subject of slavery, though this
was not an anti-slavery meeting exclusively, would
bring him naturally to the objects of their discus-
sion, and enable them the better to trace out for
themselves the true bearing of the several topics to
which he had referred. In the United States of
America—a country boasting the excellence of its
political institutions, its doctrines of equality, its
religious freedom, and its powerful organizations for
the propagation of the gospel—in that country every
sixth person was a slave. In that country sixteen
millions of free men had banded themselves together
to hold in hopeless bondage three millions of their
fellow-subjects. The case was the same in the em-
pire of Brazil. Spain had another million, and
France and Holland, in their colonies, parti-
cipated in the tyranny. Notwithstanding the
abolition of the slave trade in the year 1808 by
England and America, on the authority of Buxton,
which never yet had been called into question, a
thousand human beings were slaughtered in the
African trade, in their own villages, or died on their
way from the interior to the coast, or expiring on the
middle passage, were thrown into the deep ; or sur-
viving all those dangers, were employed in the sugar
plantations of Cuba and Brazil. In that way Africa,
at the present day, was annually plundered of 400,000
of her children.; Slavery began from the hope en-
tertained by avaricious men of obtaining the products
of the earth free of all charge of labour. Animated
by that motive, the Spaniards enslaved the Mexicans,
to employ them in their mines. The Caribs were
enslaved from a similar view, and the prospect of em-
ploying them in the cultivation of the sugar-cane,
led to the enslaving of the Africans. The Hon.
Gentleman then referred to Mr. Carnac's pamphlet on
India, from which he made several extracts alluding
to this portion of the subject as regarded India.
There would be hope for the slave, he continued, if
England would only be just and wise; but inactivity
and supineness only operated as tacitly sanctioning
the most cruel outrages on the unalienable rights
of humanity, and the statutes of the Almighty.
Having given a brief sketch of the Indian em-
pire geographically, politically, and socially, the
Honourable Gentleman proceeded to explain the
natural facilities of the soil of the country for
the production of cotton, and the capacity of the
population for preparing it. He showed, from the
evidence of Mr. Rickards, a member of the Council
of Bombay, and others, that if the cotton-grower of
India had not to yield one-half of his crop to the Go-
vernment, he would be satisfied, as he was now
obliged to be, with far less than he was compelled to
ask. It was therefore evident that but for the chartered
monopoly of the East India Company, taking,
the cotton crop at its entire price, and return-
ing one-half op account of land-tax to the
proprietors, the price of the best Surat cotton in
London would, up to this time have been 2id.
per pound. It had varied, however, fr3m 11d. to 13d,
notwithstanding that enormous price for the un-
manufactured article, if the several items of its prce
auctions were deducted, it would be found that the
grower did not realise more than a halfpenny in the
pound. It was impossible for Great Britain to look
to India for a supply of cotton, whilst these heavy im-
posts remained in force, and Gen. Briggs said he was
prepared to demonstrate that proposition on official
evidence. The cultivation of cotton was no mystery.
In all America only half a million of slaves were
employed in producing it. Only give men the pro-
spect of gain, and they would produce it from a
piece of fine land, as large as Yorkshire. There was,
in fact, monopoly in it, but not mystery ; and
the organized exactions in India of collector
after collector, only showed how a country could
be desolated by the tyranny of a man. The con-
nexion between this subject and slavery was obvious,
and, had time permitted it, he was prepared to show
that the planters of New Orleans had declared the
cotton tree to be the palladium of slavery. The sub-
ject was a vast one, and of vast importance to the
interests of the kingdom. It was connected, more-
over, with the liberty, happiness, and activity of
200,000,000 of their fellow-subjects, and with their
leave, he would bring it prominently before the public
and the Parliament, and do his best to procure re-
dress for the injustice and hardships to which he had
called attention, trusting to their assistance and
encouragement in prosecuting that glorious object.—
(Cheers.) The Hon. Gentleman concluded by moving
the following resolutions, observing that he had no
doubt of the concurrence of the meeting in the several
propositions there laid down :
" That it has been demonstrated to this meeting
that India, a vast British possession, peopled by mil-
lions of peaceable, intelligent, and civilised British
subjects, has been gifted by nature with the capacity
of producing every tropical raw commodity, which
the capital and industry of England require for the
constant and profitable employment of her population,
or for the supply of any of their other wants.
" That it has been further demonstrated that Eng-
land, although the mistress of such a possession as
British India, is rendered year by year more depen-
dent for the supply of raw cotton, which is the staple
of her principal manufacture, and one of the main
supports of the public revenue, upon the United States
of America, a foreign country ; and that England is
also dependent upon the same country for the supply
of the tobacco demanded by her population—both the
cotton and the tobacco being the produce of slave
labour. That, consequently, the domestic peace and
prosperity of this country, and the stability of a large
portion of the public revenue, are made dependent—
first, upon the vicissitudes of the seasons, to which
the cotton and tobacco plants, in common with all
other productions of any one country, is liable ;
secondly, upon the maintenance of amicable relations
between this country and the United States, and be-
tween the United States and other countries; thirdly,
upon the submission of a numerous and increasing
servile population, and the continuance of internal
peace among the slave States of America.
" That this exclusive, unnecessary, and unnatural
dependence perpetuating as it does the slavery
of millions of men—is the source, to a great extent,
" is now experienced, of existing calamities, and
manifestly pregnant with future evils to the best in-
terests of England. That the free agricultural popu-
lation of
of British India would be the natural cus-
tomerswould, if thispermitted,
countrytt in the exact measure that they,
for the become the producers of commo-
ditiesclearly shown thates
wants
tlEngland. That it has been
British subjects are rendered
intelligent and deserving
incapable of competing
with the produce of the United
the burdyns imposed upon their States, by reason of
s.i3til and industry :
" Therefore resolved—Tha
peopie of England, for the sake alike the duty of the
of England, of
India, and of the enslaved throughout the world, to
require of the Legislature the immediate
removal
all impostsimpostswhich depress the agricultural energies of
the native population : and the institution of a strict
of
and impartial inquiry in India into the condition of
the natives, and into the conduct and the acts arising
out of the peculiar government ruling over them,
which affect their well-being and retard their pros-
perity."
Mr. WILLIAM OWITT having 5( condei the reso-
lutions, the question was put, and the resolutions
unanimously adopted.
A rote of thanks was
uthen passed to the Chairman,
=ad the meeting broke

SOUTH WALES RA.ILWAY.OPENINd A RAILWAY
CHAPEL AT GATCOMB.—This interesting ceremony
E
took place on Sunday, the 17th thankinstan
giving for the day
appointed by her Majesty as a day of'
She late abundant harvest. The Lord BishoP of Glou-
cester having granted a license, the service was per-
formed by the Rev. W. Ma!pass, curate of Blakeney.
The situation of the building is most picturesque, being
inaNdet bay, close under a high rock, crowned with
1'o1okt; while the Severn rAls rapidly by and spreads
diataent and very beautiful scenery of Stroud, Berkelty,
&c.—Gloucester Journal t

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.
EAST-AN GLIAN.—FURTHER OPENING OF
THE LYNN AND ELY LINE.
This line, which has been for some time past at
work for a portion of the distance, was on Monday
opened throughout, so that, in connexion with the
Eastern Counties line, there is now a direct commu-
nication from London to the port of Lynn. A brief
history of the line may not, on the present occasion,
be uninteresting to our readers, although, of course,
sufficiently familiar to the shareholders. The com-
pany originally consisted of three distinct companies,
the Lynn and Ely, the Lynn and Dereham, and the
Ely and Huntingdon, the whole of which were
projected towards the close of 1844, just as the
railway mania, the consequences of which so many
have had occasion to deplore, was beginning to take
root, and obtained their Bills in the session of
1845. The Lynn and Ely line, with a branch
to Wisbeach, was originally laid out so as to be
constructed both cheaply and expeditiously ; when,
however, the Bill got into Parliament, the pro-
moters found themselves opposed by those power-
ful bodies, the Bedford Level, the South Level,
and Middle Level Corporations. It may be here
explained that these level corporations are, in fact,
drainage companies, and the ground of opposition
was, that their drains might be obstructed by the
bridges of the railway company, and a clause was
obtained from Parliament to the effect that no bridge
should be built by the railway company which should,
not be approved by the levels corporations. The re-
sult of this was, that although these corporations
have no bridge themselves between Ely and the sea
with a greater opening than 40 feet, they compelled
the railway company to build one with a span of 121
feet 6 inches, and with openings of 30 feet on either
side, by which means the originally estimated expen-
diture has been considerably increased, what was
originally estimated to cost 300,0001. having actually
cost 420,000/. With regard to the bridge across the
Ouse, although the levels' corporations have a bridge
of their own of 40 feet span on the level, they com-
pelled the railway company so to raise theirs as to leave
a clear way of six feet from the underside of
the bearers above the level of the banks, which
has caused not only great expense, but great delay,
as the land, being of a particular spongy description,
considerable trouble has been incurred in obtaining a
firm foundation for the superincumbent mass of earth
necessary to form the embankment, almost as much
having sunk out of sight as is now visible. On the
Wisbeach branch, not yet opened, a bridge, which
was estimated to cost 10,0001., will actually cost
37,0001., viz., 7,0001. for a temporary bridge, and
30,0001. for the permanent one. This expense is
caused by the opposition of the Middle Level Corpo-
ration, who only obtained their Act of incorporation
about twelve months prior to the railway company,
and who, while they have absolutely fourteen bridges
of their own, with three arches of about forty feet
span each, have compelled the railway company to
build a bridge in one arch of 100 feet span on the
square, or, as the bridge at the point in question is
on the skew, on an actual span of 120 feet. Nor
has the company alone had to suffer from the oppo
sition of the levels' corporations, but, in consequence of
the passing of the Clauses Consolidation Act, which
prevented the company from summoning a jury to
decide on disputed cases of compensation, but to go
to a referee, the most frightful sums have been de-
manded, and in many instances obtained. In one
case, a proprietor of draining mills made a demand
for 1,900/. for " loss of wind," from obstruction by
the embankment of the railway, which is only eighteen
feet high, and the nearest point of the embankment
being 150 yards from the mill ; and not only was the
demand made, but, on a reference, 1,0001. were
awarded against the company. At the close of 1845,
or early part of 1846, the three companies agreed to
amalgamate, but in consequence of its being too late
to go through certain Parliamentary forms, the Bill
authorising the amalgamation was only obtained in
the last session. Subsequent to the agreement for
amalgamation, but prior to the Bill being obtained,
an agreement was also entered into for leasing the
lines to the Eastern Counties Company, but the Le-
gislature refused to sanction it.
Yesterday, the line from Lynn to Ely being com-
pleted and approved by the Government Inspector, a
dinner was given by the inhabitants of Lynn to the
directors of the line and various friends. In order to
meet the inhabitants in a becoming spirit, the direc-
tors started a special train of upwards of thirty car-
riages, which conveyed about six hundred of the in-
habitants of Lynn and the surrounding districts to
Ely, where a promenade luncheon was provided at the
Bell Inn. Having joined the special train on its re-
turn from Ely to Lynn, we had an opportunity of
inspecting the line, which is almost a dead level, and
appears to be extremely well constructed. The most
noticeable work of art on the line, and which a large
number of the guests alighted from the carriages to
view, is the bridge across the Ouse, which, as we
have before observed, in consequence of the oppo-
sition of the Bedford Level Corporation, has added
much to the expense of the line, while it has
delayed its opening nearly twelve months. The
viaduct is 150 yards long, and consists of ten
side openings of 30-feet span each, with a span over
the water way of 121 feet six inches. The method
adopted to support the roadway over this great space
is by suspending the platform from three timber bows,
each formed of three-inch deals, united by oak
trenails ; the suspension rods are of wrought iron ;
each rod has been proved to be equal to a strain of
20 tons, and as there are 72 of these rods, the weight
they are capable of supporting is 1,440 tons ' • but the
greatest weight which they will be required to carry
will not exceed 310 tons, of which the platform is
160 tons, and the greatest load which is ever likely to
be placed upon it is about 150 tons, On Saturday
the bridge was tested with this weight before Captain
Wynne, the Government Inspector, when we are in-
formed it sunk five-sixteenths of an inch, and it is
stated that it will not sink under any circumstances
more than about one-eighth of an inch further. The
train which started from Ely shortly after three
o'clock arrived at Lynn, where it was received with
the spirit-stirring strains of a military band, the firing
of cannon, and the cheers of the people, shortly after
five o'clock.
At half-past six o'clock about 150 gentlemen sat
down to an excellent dinner in the Town-hall, the
Mayor, T. A. Carter, Esq., presiding. Mr. George
Hudson, M.P., Mr. David Waddington, M.P. (the
chairman and deputy-chairman of the Eastern
Counties Company), Lord George Bentinck, M.P ,
Viscount Jocelyn, M.P., Mr. Abdy, M.P., and others
were expected to attend, but were prevented from
doing so from a pressure of business or illness.
Amongst those present we observed Mr. H. C. Lacy,
M.P., the chairman of the company ; Sir W. Foulkes,
Bart., late chairman of the Lynn and Ely Company ;
Mr. C. P. Roney, the secretary to the Eastern Coun-
ties Company ; the Rev. J. Edwards, Mr. J. S.
Valentine, C.E.,
and Messrs. Le Strange, B.
Whiting, F. Cresswell, R. Pitcher, R. Cruso, sen.
and jun., William Armes, George Hogg, Edward
Everett, F. Ingle, F. ;Cushman, F. H. Patten, G.
Upham, J. Upham, J. Robertson, C. E. Plaistow E.
Self, F. R. Wilson, H. V. Partridge, J. W. Howlett,
G. B. Nevvmarch, &c.
The festivities of the evening were much enlivened
by the presence of an excellent military band, which
played various favourite airs during the dinner, and
of the choristers from Ely Cathedral, who sung va-
rious glees and choruses with much taste.
The cloth having been removed, " The Queen "
and the usual loyal and patriotic toasts were duly
honoured.
Mr. ARMES rose to propose a toast which he was
sure would be most warmly responded to. Before
doing so, however, he might perhaps be allowed to
make a few observations. He had witnessed that day
the opening of the railway throughout from Lynn
to Ely, and he had no doubt it would be productive
of great benefit to the port of Lynn. In proposing
the toast he held in his hand, he would state that, in
his opinion, the directors of the East-Anglian Com-
pany had done themselves great honour by the way
in which they had carried out the line. The scheme
had not been got up with the mere view of
putting money into the pockets of needy specu-
lators, but with the laudable object of at once
benefiting those who invested their money and the
town of Lynn, and in that spirit he was happy to
say it had been carried out.—(Hear, hear.) The di-
rectors of the company had always met the inhabi-
tants of Lynn most cordially, and whatever they had
had occasion to ask for had been most promptly ac-
corded. It was first proposed to have the station a
mile from the town, but a meeting having been held
in the Town-hall and a communication made to the
directors on the subject, they at once determined to
bring it further into the town. They had also un-
dertaken to ask Parliament for power to construct
wet docks, which he believed were indispensable for
the prosperity of the town. The Hon. Gentleman
then went into some details relative to the Norfolk
Estuary Company, which he strongly recommended
to the support of the gentlemen present, and said that
oclfu isfsion7
he had no doubt that if they assisted themselves they
In
also have the support of the railway company.
, the
LHon.ae
y Gentleman,m .
pand
the
d proposeddirectors
t o"Thers
healthe°u
of
the East Anglian Railway p ny C°lll
a •
The toast having been drunk with three times three
and one cheer more,
Mr. LACY said he rose t
for the honour conferred uponoriel.turn his best thanks
He could not, however, consider the
and colleagues.
due to them that the directors a eth:ozapsliment as
Company had been invited to that splendid East-Anglian
ment, given voluntarily and unasked by threi
inhabi-
tants of Lynn, but he looked upon it as marking
their approbation of the great system of railways.
He believed that it was unparalleled that the inhabi-
tants of any town should invite the directors of a
railway company to such an entertainment; at least
he did not recollect a similar case.—(Cheers.) He
could assure them that it was the wish of the di-

rectors of the railway company most cordially to
unite with the inhabitants in promoting the welfare
of the port of Lynn—(Hear, hear) —and any sug-
gestion the inhabitants had to make at any time
would be most respectfully attended to ; and with
respect to the advantages he expected the railway
company would confer on the port, they would en-
deavour so to accommodate the traffic that it might
become the leading port in that part of the coast for
the commerce of the world. That company owed its
existence to the desire of the people of Lynn for
such a means of communication, and it was taken up,
not as a means of making individual profit, but with
the view of benefiting the district ; and so well had
Ithat view been carried out that, notwithstanding the
extraordinary times which they had had to pass
through, they had never had the slightest difficulty in
getting money to proceed with their works.—
(Cheers.) He did not believe that there was a single
director in the East-Anglian Company who did not
wish to confer the greatest possible good on the town
of Lynn, and by doing so, the company would be
promoting their own interests—and they might
always trust to parties going the right course when
it was their own interest to do so.—(Cheers and
laughter.) He felt that that day the town of Lynn had
made a great step on the road of improvement. The
opening of the railway was the first step ; the new
estuary, when they got it, would be the second ;
their wet docks would be the third ; and indeed he
could see no end to the prosperity which awaited
them.—(Cheers.) He hoped that ere long they
would be enabled to obtain their Estuary Company,
and he could assure them that it should not
want for any assistance the railway company could
give them. It was much the fashion at the present
time to decry all railway companies as mischievous.
Now he did not think there was any reason for such
a course. He was not going to defend what gamblers
or needy speculators had done with respect to rail-
ways; he had no doubt there had been great suffer-
ing by some parties, but there never yet had been a
good from which a partial evil had not arisen.-
-(Hear, bear.) It was not in nature that they
should be wholly free from evil; and if men proposed
good projects they could not always help a few shares
getting into doubtful hands. The charge which had
been made against the railway companies was, in
fact, more justly due to the Legislature itself, which
had caused a great portion of the mania of 1845 by
the encouragement it gave to competition.—(llear,
hear.) That was a system which could never exist
among railways, for there was nothing to prevent
companies which were competing to- day becoming
united to- morrow. Now the result of that encou-
ragement of competition was, that a large portion of
the great companies, in order to secure their traffic,
were obliged to apply in 1845-6 for lines which,
under other circumstances, would not have been re-
quired before 1855-6, or even 1865-6. Then, again,
there was a certain great man, who, having taken a
spade in his hand to cut the first sod of a railway,
made a speech in favour of direct lines, and that
gave rise to a mania in favour of direct lines.
(Hear, hear.) Now, direct as their line was, he
had no doubt that if any one had brought out a di-
rect Lynn and London line to save one mile, that it
would have been eagerly sought after.—(Laughter.)
It had been said that the railways had disarranged
commerce and made England poor. Now, he could
not see how that could possibly be. He could not
see how a country was made poor by a system which
gave to a large body of the people good employment,
good wages, and good food.—(Cheers.) Poverty
arose not from people being employed in the pro-
duction of capital, but from their injuring capital.
When he spoke of the poor as injuring capital, he
meant to express that any man injured capital who
lived, and ate, and did not work.—(Cheers.) Now,
the great fault was the idea that money must be
represented by gold. Gold was no more use to
ninety-nine out of one hundred than any other con-
vertible medium would be. Two pounds and a half
of iron, in the form of an axe, was of more use to
many than the same weight in gold would be. The
great cause of the present difficulties was the exist-
ing currency laws, which were radically wrong, and
must be altered.—(" Hear, hear," and " No, no.")
They were told that their currency rested on a broad
basis of gold, but that was a gross error. If that was
the case, they ought to have gold to 'represent the
14,000,000/. which had been lent by the Bank to the
Government. Now, he could recollect that, in 1825,
only 1,300,000 sovereigns were in the Bank of Eng-
land. Now, when they declined so low, they surely
did not represent the currency of the country. What
had happened before might happen again ; and, sup-
pose the gold in the coffers of the Bank got down to
fifty or one hundred sovereigns, how could they say
that the 14,000,000/. was based upon gold ? The
law, it was evident, was bad, and it must be altered.—
(" No, no ;" "Yes, yes.") He had merely given his own
opinion on the matter. He believed that railways
conduced to the prosperity of the country, and,
hoping that brighter times would arise, he trusted
the great companies would do everything in their
power to show the futility of the argument that the
commercial distress was caused by them. After
apologising for the absence of some of his colleagues,
the Hon. Gentleman again returned thanks, and pro-
posed " The Mayor and Corporation, with prosperity
to the town and trade of Lynn."
The CHAIRMAN returned thanks for the compliment,
and expressed the gratification the corporation felt at
the opening of the Railway.
Mr. WiLsoN proposed " The health of Sir W. B.
Foulkes and the ex-directors of the East-Anglian
Railway Company."
Sir. W. Fonixes acknowledged the compliment,
and begged to be allowed to explain why he had re-
tired from the direction. He had never been a rail-
way speculator, and had only joined the Lynn and
Ely for the purpose of benefiting the port of Lynn.
When the amalgamation between the three companies
took place it was necessary to reduce the number of
directors, and he retired, foreseeing that he would be
succeeded by Mr. Lacy, who was so much better ac-
quainted with railways than he was. The Hon.
Baronet then alluded to the necessity of the people of
Lynn doing everything in their power to promote the
interest of the Estuary Company, and stated that
arrangements were making which he believed would
insure its success.
The next toasts were, "Mr. J. C. Williams and
his colleagues, the solicitors of the East-Anglian Rail-
way Company ;" " Mr. W. Williams, the secretary of
the East-Anglian Railway Company ;" and " Mr. J.
S. Valentine, the engineer of the Company ;" the
whole of which were appropriately acknowledged.
Mr. IViesoN said the next toast had reference to a
great company with which the East-Anglian Com
pany were about to work in connexion. That com-
pany had been long in operation, and it was well
known did everything they could to promote the 'in-
terests of the district with which it.was connected. He
begged to give " Mr. Roney, the secretary of the
Eastern Counties Railway, and the directors of that
company."—(Cheers.)
Mr. RONEY rose to return thanks for the honour
conferred upon the company with which he had the
pleasure of being connected. In doing so he had to
apologise for the absence of Mr. Hudson and Mr.
Waddington. The former gentleman was engaged at
Sunderland on particular business, otherwise he would
have been present. Mr. Waddington, he knew, had
bheaednbn:eons t
ma na
dx
ei o us
for thoisbe e
mp riensge nd to,
vtann d b
yer
specialr a nge m
train,en t
s
but as he had not arrived he (Mr. Roney) supposed he
was detained by business, which he was sure he would
deeply regret. He (Mr. Roney) felt great pleasure
in having had the opportunity of being present at
that entertainment, which reflected credit alike
on the inhabitants of Lynn and the directors of the
East-Anglian Railway, in whose honour it was given.
He begged to assure them that the directors of the
Eastern Counties Company had desired him and the
other officials to give every facility to the traffic of the
East-Anglian Company, and nothing should be want-
ing on their part to carry out the wish of the directors
in that respect.—(Cheers.) It was the first time he
had been in Lynn, and he felt extremely gratified,
both at the events of the night and the flattering re-
ception he had received.—(Cheers.)
" The Press," "The Ladies," &c., having been
given, the chairman vacated his seat about a quarter
to twelve, when a number of the company returned
'o Ely by a special train.

AMBERGATE, NOTTINGHAM, BOSTON,

AND EASTERN JUNCTION.
A meeting of shareholders in this company was
held at the London Tavern yesterday, in consequence
of an advertisement having appeared from the direc-
tors calling a meeting for the sth of next month, to
consider an offer made from the Great Northern
Company to lease the line at a guaranteed dividend
of five and a half per cent. upon its cost for three
years after its completion : and the option to each
shareholder of exchanging for Northern stock at par,
after the line from London to York has been
opened, or else five per cent. in perpetuity—some por-
tions of the Ambergate line being abandoned, and
the shares reduced from 201. to 81. each. In their
advertisement calling the meeting, the directors, how-
ever, state they cannot recommend the adoption of
the offer. Mr. Mitchell having been voted to the
chair, a letter was read from Mr. Badger, a gentle-
man who was elected to the direction at the last
general meeting, recommending the adoption of the
offer repudiated by his co-directors, and resolutions
were carried thanking him for the trouble he had
taken, and declaring it to be the opinion of the meet-
ing that it is in every way legitimate and desirable
to reduce the magnitude of the undertaking within
the limits presented by the financial capabilities of
the present proprietary and the actual requirements
of the district for railway accommodation ; that it is
far
preferableNortheroCompany a accept ptt an h
epr i
na
cl liipalnec e
of withan
xpen
dGa i
true
ret
reduced by three-fifths, the abandonment of a heavy
and needless section, the security of a guaranteed
minimum dividend, and the option of great pro-

spective advantages, than to remain committed to
much larger responsibilities, with returns altogether
unsecured; and that the shareholders be requested to
support personally, or by proxy, an alliance with the
Great Northern Company, in the absence of any
more eligible offer from other companies. The meet-
ing concluded with a vote of thanks to the chairman.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
OLD COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice CRESSWELL and Mr. Justice
MAULE.)
THE TRIAL OF JOHN OVERSTON FOR
SHOOTING AT MR. CRAWLEY.
(Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.)
Mr. CLARKSON then addressed the jury for the
prisoner. He said the question for the jury to de-
cide was not whether the prisoner was a person of
sane mind at the present time, for that he admitted,
but whether he was of sane and of sound mind when
he fired off the pistol at Mr. Crawley. The fact of
his having taken two pistols with him and trying to
destroy his own life, after attemping that of the pro-
, secutor, and the circumstance of his having written
the letter which was produced in the Court relative to
the disposal of his affairs after his death, were the
main reasons upon which the medical men he should
call founded their opinions as to his sanity. In
cases of insanity,. it was generally found that the
attack was immediately preceeded by some vexation
and disappointment occasioned by family misfortune
and pecuniary distresses, and in the present case
there could be no doubt that the prisoner's mind was
worked up to a state of insanity, in consequence of
the proceedings which were taken against him by
Mr. Crawley. The Learned Counsel, after dwelling
upon some of the particulars in the case, read extracts
from a work on insanity, published by the Society
for the Diffusion of Knowledge, and also from other
works, for the purpose of showing that insanity arose
in most cases from moral and not from physical
causes. lie then concluded by an urgent appeal on
behalf of the prisoner, and proceeded to call the fol-
lowing witnesses :
Sir John Easthope, examined by Mr. HUDDLESTONE
—He said, I have known the prisoner for twenty
years, and whilst I considered him a very sensitive
man, I always found him very kind, humane, and
obliging.
Mr. Tite, architect of the Royal Exchange, who
was deeply affected whilst he gave his evidence,
spoke highly of the prisoner's character, and stated
also that he had known him for a considerable num-
ber of years. He saw him about two months before
the unhappy occcurence, and he noticed a change in
his manner.
Mr. W. John Hall gave similar testimony, and
said he considered him quite incapable of managing
his affairs when he saw him shortly before the oc-
currence.
Mr. Tillard, solicitor, gave evidence to the same
effect.
A clerk in the office of Messrs. Parker, solicitor,
stated that he had noticed a great change in the pri-
soner's manner, arising from the state of his affairs.
He was the most docile client he ever was acquainted
with, and it appeared to him that his memory had
greatly failed him.
Mr. Henry B. Hall, accountant, who had known
the prisoner twenty-two years, said he saw him on
the morning of the 14th of August about nine o'clock,
and he appeared to be in a very excited state of mind.
During the last three years he had lost about 3,8001.,
and to that and other misfortunes he attributed the
great change which had lately been observed in his
conduct.
Several other witnesses were called who had known
the prisoner for many years, and they concurred ge-
nerally in the foregoing evidence.
During the examination of the sisters of the pri-
soner he wept much, and appeared greatly affected.
Dr. Connolly, chief physician of Hanwell Lunatic
Asylum, stated that he bad for many years directed
his attention to cases of insanity. He had had an in-
terview with the prisoner, and had read the deposi-
tions and heard the evidence given, and his opinion
was that the prisoner at the time of the occurrence was
not of sound mind. In innumerable cases he found
that pecuniary and domestic troubles had deprived
persons of their reason. He had known several cases
analogous to the present. This opinion was subse-
quently confirmed by the interview which he had
with the prisoner.
Cross-examined—l am of opinion that the pri-
soner was not aware he was committing a guilty act
at the time of the occurrence.
Mr. Winslow and Mr. Strette, surgeons, stated
they were of opinion, for the same reasons given by
Dr. Connolly, that the prisoner was of unsound mind,
and incapable of knowing the moral nature of the
act when he committed it.
The case for the defence having been concluded,
Mr. LAURIE was heard in reply.
Mr. Justice MAULE summed up and explained the
law to the jury.
The jury retired to consider their verdict, and after
an absence of three- quarters of an hour, returned
into court with a verdict of Not Guilty, on the
ground of insanity.
Some persons applauded in the gallery, but it
was immediately repressed.
The prisoner will be confined during her Majesty's
pleasure.
,Hannah Williams, aged 20, was indicted for cut-
ting and wounding James Newbold, with intent to
do him grievous bodily harm.
Mr. Clarkson defended the prisoner.
The prosecutor, who described himself as a hammer-
mwithfoundry in Rotherhithe, said that for
September last he had been
some
keeping prisoner, but he had broken
off
On the 13th of September, as he
ae npt ihne atg
monthsconnexion. anc o ironpa
company
i:n ry
prior
t
was going to his work along Rotherhithe-street, the
prisoner came up to him and said she understood he
was going to be married to another young woman,
and he replied that he was. She then said that if he
did she would he reveuged either upon the girl or
upon him ; to which he rejoined, that if she attempted
to harm either of them he would knock her head
off; and upon that the prisoner cut him in the neck
with a knife.
trpon being cross-examined, the prosecutor ad-
mitted that the prisoner was a girl of good character,
and it appeared that he had seduced her while in a
respectable situation, under a promise of marriage.
He also said that when he was out of work the pri-
soner had given him 'money and clothes, and that she
had also provided him with food when he was in dis-
tress; but notwithstanding this it appeared that he
had abandoned her and formed a connexion with
another girl, to whom he was about to be married
The injury inflicted upon him by the prisoner was of
a very trifling character.
Mr. CLARKSON, in addressing the jury, commented
with appropriate severity upon the base and unmanly
conduct of the prosecutor ; and he said he was sure
they would not convict her of the felonious portion of
the charge, even if they should feel themselves com-
pelled to find her guilty of an assault.
The jury returned a verdict of Guilty of a common
assault, and at the same time recommended the pri-
soner to mercy, on account of the previous provoca-
tion she had received.
Mr. Justice CRESSWELL, in passing sentence, said
he quite concurred in the opinion expressed by the
jury ; and there was no doubt that the conduct of
the prosecutor had been most base, profligate, and
disgraceful. Still, however, it was impossible to
overlook entirely the use of a deadly weapon ; and
he therefore felt compelled to sentence her to a further
term of imprisonment of one month.
Upon the application of Mr. BODKIN, the trial of
the charge of manslaughter, arising out of the ex-
plosion of the Cricket steam-boat, was postponed to
the next session.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
G UILDHALL.
Robert Smith, a young man of respectable appear-
ance, was brought before Mr. Alderman Sidney for
final examination, charged with stealing three um-
brellas from the shop door of Mr. Williams, a manu-
facturer on Ludgate-hill. Henry Barnard, a shop-
keeper, near the Elephant and Castle, was also put to
the bar, on suspicion of having purchased them
knowing them to be stolen.
Another person was apprehended on the spot as the
thief, upon the testimony of a stranger who was
passing, and he would have been in great peril of
being committed for the offence had not the real
thief surrendered himself to the police on the follow-
ing evening, not because he was aware some inno-
cent person was in jeopardy, but because he had
failed in the object with which he committed the
offence. The innocent man was discharged.
Mr. Elliott, a medical student, of North-place,
West-square, identified the prisoner as the personwho
snatched up some umbrellas from Mr. Williams's
door and ran off with them. The shopman speedily
rushed out, but he seized the wrong man, and this so
engrossed his attention that the prisoner got clear off.
The shopman proved that three umbrellas were
stolen, and one now produced was one of those three.
It occcurred about a quarter after seven o'clock on
Saturday evening.
Henry Mills, a City policeman, stated that the pri-
soner came up to him on Sunday evening, and asked
him if he was on duty there the night before, and had
heard of three umbrellas being stolen. Witness told
boa he had. The prisoner then said that he was the
person who stole them, and he wished to surrender to
justice. Witness said he might then walk with him
to the station. Going along witness asked him what
was his motive in surrendering. The prisoner said
he hoped to be sent out of the country, as he found
he could not get a living here. Witness asked what
he had done with the property. The prisoner de-
scribed Mr. Barnard's little shop in Surrey-place, and
stated that he sold the three to him for ss. Witness
went over to the shop, and Mr. Barnard stated that
he had only purchased two for 3s. 6d. Lie produced

one, and said he had sold the other. On account of
this discrepancy in their statements, and the low price
he had given, witness took him into custody also.
Barnard protested he had only bought two, giving
2s. for one, and ls. 6d. for the other, which had been'
used. He put one at the door and one in his window.
Mr. Alderman SIDNEY inquired what was the
wholesale price, and whether journeymen did not oc •
casionally make up goods and hawk them at lower

prices ?
Mr. 'Williams said the wholesale price would be
33. each, but they might be hawked at a lower price
in the mode the Alderman had supposed.
Barnard said he could get them up at 2s. himself.
Mr. Alderman SIDNEY said he should discharge
Mr. Barnard. The price given was not so low that
a guilty knowledge must be inferred, and the fact
that the umbrella was exposed in the window without
the least attempt to alter or disguise it, was opposed
to the presumption that Mr. Barnard was conscious
he had bought stolen goods.
Mr. Barnard was then examined as a witness, and
confirmed on his oath the statement he had made
before. _ _ _

The prisoner re-asserted that he bought the three
umbrellas for ss. _

Mr. Aldergran SIDNEY questioned the prisoner as
to the cause' of his singular conduct.
The prisoner said he was a single man. He was a
tailor. He came up from Birmingham a fortnight
ago to find work, but he found it impossible to do
so, and he had no friends who could help him.
Mr. Alderman SIDNEY said there was sufficient
evidence, without his confession, that he had com-
mitted an impudent theft in a great thoroughfare, and
he therefore committed him for trial.
BOW- S 7'REET.
John Quail, described in the charge-sheet as a
surgeon, of 52, Howland-street, Fitzroy-square, was
charged with having attempted, by forcible means, to
obtain an audience of the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer, in Downing-street.
From the statement of a messenger in the Chan-
cellor's office, and police-constable 101 A, it appeared
the prisoner had acquired a notoriety among the Go-
vernment officials for the frequency and intrusive
character of his visits to Cabinet Ministers during the
past four years, with the view of representing his
alleged claims upon the country, and requiring of the
State a just recognition of them, and a speedy liqui-
dation thereof in the current coin of the realm. On
some former occasions he had been fortunate enough
to get an interview with the Chancellor ; but, as his
claims were repudiated by the Government, they
had since declined having any conference with
him upon the subject. Not long ago he presented
himself at the door of Sir Robert Peel's residence,
in Whitehall-gardens, and, forcing himself into
the hall, demanded the immediate presence of
the Right Honourable Baronet ; upon which
the porter, it seems, of his own responsibility, ejected
him from the mansion. On that occasion he applied
to the magistrate at Bow-street for some means of
redress ; but his worship advised him, if he really
had any claims on anybody, to adopt the usual legal
remedy. Yesterday, however, he called again at the
Exchequer-office, and requested to speak with the
Chancellor; and, on being refused admission, became
so violent in his language and behaviour, and tried
so hard to effect an entrance by forcible means, that
the messenger and assistant-secretary, Mr. Trevelyan,
were compelled to hand him over to the care of a
police constable, who conducted him to Bow-street.
The prisoner declaimed against the advisers of her
Majesty for having so long resisted the just demands
of an injured subject upon his country's bounty. His
claims, he said, had been admitted by the Right lion.
Chancellor Baring, but the State, unhappily, had not
the honesty to meet them. When he came to that
court for magisterial advice, he was referred to the
" usual legal remedy." Surely, he contended, he was
not acting inconsistently with that advice, when he
quietly applied at the Exchequer• office for a personal
interview with the Chancellor. The fact was, he had
to endure more than human patience could, bear up
Against. His demands upon the state had been esta-
blished beyond dispute, and its refusal to liquidate
them reflected discredit on the nation.
Mr. JARDINE would not discuss the justice of his
claims. If they were genuine, the law afforded him
ample means of redress. At any rate, it was quite
clear that Ministers of State, if they repudiated such
claims, had a right to be protected from the annoy-
ance of his importunities. He should therefore re-
quire him to enter into his own recognisances in
.00/., and to find two sureties in 501. each, to keep
,he peace for three months.
MARY LEBONE.

Shortly after the disposal of the night charges, a
considerable degree of excitement was caused in the
vicinity of the court, owing to it having become
known that the father of Anne Simmons was to be
brought up for examination as a receiver of a large
excited
Ta
ehgoeaui
prnars ienins
amount of property, forming a portion of somewhere
about 2,0001. worth, which, he alleged, had been
stolen by his daughter from Messrs. Marshall and
Co., Vere-street, Oxford-street, in whose service she
had held a situation as shopwoman during a period
of nearly three years. The particulars of what tran-
spired, on Tuesday, when Anne Simmons was examined,
were inserted in our paper of yesterday, and it will
be remembered that a large quantity of silks, satins,
lace, and other articles of a most costly description
were found in the boxes of the prisoner at her em-
ployer's dwelling ; and that Allison, 88 D, the
officer engaged in the case, discovered amongst some
of. her papers the address of a gentleman named
Hickman, occupying chambers in Lincoln's Inn-
fields ; a large amount of property being discovered
therein, the greater part of it was identified by Mrs.
Marshall, and he (Mr. Hickman) admitted that he
had been on terms of intimacy with the accused
woman, with whom he had slept at his chambers on
the night of Saturday, the 16th inst. It will also
be borne in mind that Mr. Hickman was present
during the proceedings at this court on Tuesday, and
that, from what transpired in the course of the in-
vestigation, Mr. Broughton, at the conclusion thereof,
ordered him to enter into his own recognizance in
200/., and to procure two sureties in 1501. each, for
his being forthcoming at the next inquiry;
.he
.as-
serted that he should be able to prove his entire in-
nocence, and the required recognizance having been
given, he was liberated.
At two o'clock yesterday Benjamin Simmons, the
father, 60 years of age, was placed at the bar, charged
as a receiver of a large portion of the plunder. He
was brought up from Market Ilarborough by. In-
spector Tedman, of the D division. His residence
was at a village called Gumby, near the. place. first
alluded to, and it appeared that, from information
received by Mr. Marshall, he and the inspector pro-
ceeded. to his (the prisoner's) dwelling. On. being
made acquainted with their business, the prisoner,
after some hesitation and denial of guilt, delivered up
•t large hair trunk and a wooden box,
.which were
round to contain an immense amount of silks, satins,
&c., which were identified by Mr.. Marshall as be-
longing to him and his partner. Prior to these things
being given up a search warrant had been. obtained
at a late hour in the night from a magistrate living
near the spot, and he (the prisoner) had previously
declared, on Mr. Marshall's name and that of his
daughter being mentioned to him, that he knew no-
thing about the boxes, nor was he at all aware of
any robbery having been committed.
goyrn e, e
is
ruoo. fpfHp interest,oihisHickman
ke Isupposed
gat,,noi
Mr. Lloyd, NI ilk-street, Cheapside, was the solicitor
for the prosecution, and a clerk from the office of Mr.
Humphreysnext
oxfn. arteatertT:
few
than
eed,
astenidddn a
acting
yon,
upon
potaoohnnrneod
whichtti
hhnprisoner.eea another
ordinary
suggestioneddre
sa
The investigation, which lasted nearly two hours
arising from the magnitude of the robbery.
adviser, reserved his defence, and he will be brought
has been bailed to appear. It was rumoured that in
up
pe
be implicated, will be in custody.
W OR SHIP- STRE ET.

Yesterday a young fellow of notorious character,
named William Maize, was charged with assaulting
and seriously injuring Julia Rose, a girl fourteen
years of age, the daughter of a fruiterer at Cambridge-
heath, Hackney.
The girl, who was obliged to be supported into the
witness-box, stated, that while watching a stand in
front of her father's shop on the preceding afternoon,
the prisoner came up and in the most daring manner
began helping himself to the fruit, and upon her re-
questing him either to return, or pay for what he had,
he struck her such a violent blow upon the temple
that she was sent reeling a considerable distance, and
fell down in the road. Before she had time to rise the
prisoner renewed his attack upon her, and kicked her
about the body so savagely that she became insen-
sible, and then attempted to effect his escape, but was
pursued and secured by her father, who sent for a po-
liceman and gave him into custody. She had since
been in a state of acute suffering from the effects of
the prisoner's brutality, and was then under medical
treatment.
ratTedkethsius
upon for his defence, having confined himself himo a
general denial of all that was alleged against
rsgt ea ot
ent
nceanl d a
ei nd, at
hn
ed the policeman
eer, whe
nc o r r
calledtob o-
_ll ,
of 51., or in default to undergo t
ment in the House of Correction.
ai ,'d the prisoner was re-
The penalty not being p Mr. HAMMILL sentenced him
wtoopmayehtthhe feuimppernisaelnty.
moved in the

BdL ocondemnedp
otios
odnei
na tgh
hisin uJnuellye
wasast
executed at ,
Montargis on the morning of the 16th inst.
He was brought from the prison of Orleans at daybreak,
and placed in safe custody, accompanied by a priest,
who had come with him from Orleans. It was said that
since his condemnation he had become calm and repen-
tant, and his conduct on the scaffold would seem to imply
at the u asini
as much. When brought out he paid no attention what-
ever 40 the crowd, but seemed absorbed listening to the
sZ e whos
oof thew a s
words of the ecclesiastic. Just before being affixed to
the fatal plank he kissed the crucifix with fervour ; a
moment after he had ceased to exist.