The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY, MAY 24, 1841.

THE CORN-LAWS, kc.

The Government scheme for beginning a new
commercial policy, which Ministers have cast
upon the waters of public opinion, expecting to
have their bread returned to them after many
days, is now fairly afloat; the agitation which
the spell was intended to raise is sufficiently ma-
tured for ajudgment. The Ministerial stratagem
has succeeded in producing a commotion in which
there is much that is genuine. The offered gift,
indeed, is received with distrust; it is even appre-
ciated below its value, because it is offered by
those who have so frequently dealt in counter-
feits. But it seems to be considered that the
Whigs are committed to their new doctrines ;
that the doctrines themselves are of too great
weight to be lightly treated; that the people of
England, stimulated by the indefatigable Free-
traders, are not likely to be so subservient as
the Irish with their Appropriation-clause,
broken as the spirit of that people was by
the " seven centuries of wrong;" and thus
it is concluded that the Whigs must move
on with the stream for which they have
opened the sluices. Several parties have there-
fore united to accept the instalment" of
free trade offered by the Whigs ; and to that
sense, at several of the most influential public
meetings,- their acceptance has been limited.
This is perhaps the most remarkable feature in
the present behaviour of that part of the people
who have adhered to the cause : there is a popu-
lar recognition ofa policy as distinct from a prin-
ciple. That discipline in the conduct of public
affairs, thus forced upon heterogeneous and irre-
sponsible popular assemblages, is a striking test
of the forces of the two causes to which it is due
—mistrust of the motives and capacity of the
Whigs, and an earnest desire to seize everything
which will bring us nearer to free trade. In this
way, some of the obstacles to the advance of a
comparatively abstract question have been par-
tially removed; even the obstructive Chartists
have in few instances offered a successful
or even an active opposition to the agi-
tation : it is plain that the most intelli-
gent and most numerous portion of that party ta-
citly sanction an agitation in which they cannot
believe, though they cannot conscientiously resist
it. The degree, then, to which popular influence
has been made to bear upon the question has
been considerable. It will be remembered that
both the Anti-Corn-law agitation and the Im-
port-duties agitation had been commenced oefore
Ministers endeavoured to turn them to their own
purpose ; still the Reports of the Committee of
the House of Commons on Public Petitions show
a great advance. The following figures are taken
from the last three Reports
:
May 7. May 11.
Pets. Sigs. Pets. Signs.
For Corn.law

May 14.
Pets. Sigs.

Repeal 334 126,755...748 304,420...1,607 474,448
Against it 285 13,519...409 21,845... 540 30,934
For Revision of
linportDuties 77 35,402... 87 36,957
For the Go.
80 31,462
vernment Mea.
sures of Reduc.
tion. lB 1,632.. 296 68,617
For proposed Sugar. Duties 20 1,628
Against proposed Timber Duties 7 161

Here is indicated not a little public activity
and interest; though those who remember the
Reform Bill agitation will smile at any attempt
to compare the two. Now, however, the con-
centration and expression of public opinion are
impeded by a variety of causes. When " Re-
formers" are no longer in office, shrouded by the
doting reminiscences of "auld lang sync," the
Spirit of forbearance, which now hampers many
in their endeavours to support a . Government
with which they do not thoroughly agree, will
'nave disappeared : when Whig-Ministerialists
tre merged into the general crowd of free-traders,
the position of the more zealous agitators' will
have a less questionable aspect, than now while
every talk of " Liberal measures" is con-
strued into a sneaking support of ." the Liberal
Ministry." When that source of mistrust is re-
moved, the free-trade party will become larger,
more compact, and more united. Thus, Sir R.
Peel, who takes office against alteration of the
Corn-laws, will encounter an opposition, on that
score, differing very materially in strength and
energy from the precarious support which Mi-
nisters now derive from the same source. But
while he will sustain a more strenuous attack
when he has passed to the other side of the
House, he cannot get rid of his landect-interest
iiiends; he would find even more difficulty than
the Whigs in playing them false. Between two
such fires, it is not surprising that the Treasury
bench should possess but doubtful attractions for
Sir Robert.

If, however, he cannot whistle off his landed
friends, so neither can any party do so at once,
3r for some time to come : the Whigs have too
carefully prepared, in the construction of the Re-
form Act, to maintain the Pro-Corn-law charac-
ter of the House of Commons, for the cause which
they have newly espoused not to be defeated in
its first stages. This House will never repeal the
Corn-laws; nor will any exertions at the hustings
make the next House repeal them. Immediate
success is impossible. The means to that end
must be the bringing of a far more overwhelming
force of public opinion to bear upon the elections
than is indicated by the half-million Anti-Corn-
law signatures, infinitely diluted with non-elec-
tors, women, and infants. Success, therefore, is
a question for the future : it will be attained most
speedily by cool, careful, and exact preparations
for it. One is offered by the approaching elec-
tion : never was question more thoroughly teazed
and winnowed than the Corn question will be in
the conflict of every opposing interest at public-
meeting discussions, hustings discussions, New-
Parliament discussions—in votes at public meet-
ings, at the poll, and in the next Session. The
discussion will be most effectual in proportion as

it is divested of fraudulent and Claptrap pre-
tences. Not that it will be possible to purify the
hustings of a vast amount of humbug; but zealous
and sincere men, anxious to promote real commer-
cial reforms, will not hold out foolish expectations
of " cheap bread"—a boon which does not come
in question under the proposition at present sub-
mitted to the country. Nor will they be content
with exacting a pledge to vote on this single
question. The nom de guerre of" Reformer" sent
into the House of Commons some of the most
servile of patronage-hunters. A single pledge
once being literally fulfilled, the representative
who seemed most bound takes his degree as an
irresponsible legislator. Honest Free-traders,
therefore, will seek to send, not mere voting-ma-
chines, set to one tune and convertible to any
other purpose, but strong-headed, intelligent, self-
relying men, who will be able to enforce that
sort of policy in all things which will tend to
advance this one cause with all cognate mea-
s uses.--Spectator.

simplicity with which great purposes have been signified
by the liberal chiefs, in contrast with the proud boasts
and the contemptuous menaces of the champions of the
monopolists, reminds us of the fine passage in Scripture
descriptive of David's preparation for the combat with
Goliath—

" And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five
smooth stones out of the brook, and put them into a shep-
herd's bag which he had, even in a scrip ; and his sling
was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine."
We shall see anon how the first smooth stone from the
sling will smite the broad forehead of the giant.
With prophetic bodings, Sir Robert Peel concluded
his speech with this admission of the potency of the ap-
peal of Ministers to the country—
" He did not deny the power of such arguments; and
that the use of such appeals coming from men in the po-
sition and with the authority of the Noble Lord, would
give them an overwhelming potency. Yet, at the same
time, it could not be denied that such arguments might
easily be prostituted in a conflict between opposing in-
terests. By such arguments, it might be easy to rouse
I the excited passions of a populace against what were
called class interests ; and very possibly in the collision
which took place between opposing interests, men might
be able to gather up the fragments, and to combine them
into the elements of an increased party strength."
The question now is, how will the Tories meet
the motion of Monday! Will they, in 'order to
cut off the Government from the succonr of a ge •
neral election, and in the hope of breaking it up
at once, oppose the Sugar Duties Bill, which they
themselves, if in office, must pass as a matter of course ?
To oppose the renewal of the sugar duties would be
nothing less than refusing the supplies, an extreme step,
which the whole of the Tory party are surely not reck-
less enough to be prepared for, and which would cer-
tainly re-array, on the side of Ministers, the "Whig
Members who have deserted it on the question of the
reduction of the foreign sugar duties. The consequence
would be, the restoration of the Ministerial majority.
But let us for a moment suppose the contrary event—
that the supplies are refused ; the Government, inspired
with a courage equal to the rectitude of its course, should
not be daunted or deterred by this blow of the monopo-
lists ; it should, in default of a Sugar Duties' Bill, sup-
port the national credit by an Order in Council levying
the duties, and then confidently appeal to the country
against the faction which both refuses relief to the suf-
fering people, and the necessary supplies to the State.
This would doubtless be a strong step, but it
would be called for by an extreme necessity,—it
would be the extreme resource of a just Govern-
ment against the extreme violence of an interested fac-
tion. The idea of a coup d'etal is startling, we know, but
for what do the prerogatives of the Crown exist if not
for exercise upon such an occasion as that imagined, in
arrest of the factious triumphs of the banded mono-
polists, and in protection of the most important interests
of the people ? The country, in a general election, would
give judgment on those who had combated so resolutely
and so boldly for its good, and on those also who had
gone to the extremity of refusing the supplies, and leav-
ing Ministers no other choice than recourse to an Order
in Council or the surrender of the country's cause to the
monopolists who happen to have a majority in the exist-
ing Parliament. .
But we cannot believe that the Tories as a party will
venture to go the length of refusing the supplies. They
will hardly dare to place themselves in the double odium
of starving out the Government, in order to continue
starving out the people and the manufactures. They
will surely not be frank enough to raise the standard of
starvation in all its branches—starvation of the Govern-
ment for the starvation of the governed. They cannot be
so very candid as to adopt means so congenial to the
end, so accordant with the object.
If they do not attempt this mad forlorn hope, which
would shock the best ideas and the prudence of the best
men of their party, the field is open for the discussion of
the whole project of Ministers, which should be fully ex-
pounded, and made thoroughly understood, before a dis-
solution, and then it will be for the country to give judg-
ment on the great cause of the public versus the mono-
polists. _ _ _

Upon this all-important appeal the lines of Swift may
be addressed to the people—
" If, then, oppression has not quite subdued
At once your prudence and your gratitude ;
If you yourselves conspire not your undoing,
And don't deserve, and won't draw down your ruin;
If yet to virtue you have some pretence ;
If yet you are not lost to common sense,
ASSIST YOUR PATRIOT IN YOUR OWN DEFENCE,
That stupid cant, ' He went too far,' despise,
AND KNOW THAT TO BE BRAVE IS TO BE WISE."
Examiner.

THE LATE MURDERS AT SEA.
It is to be regretted that the pressure of poli-
tical circumstances on the public mind during
the last fortnight has diverted attention from one
of the most awful crimes committed within the
memory of man—we mean the murder of six-
teen unoffending British subjects by a portion of
the crew of the American emigrant ship William
Brown. It appears that this ill-fated vessel,
freighted with our own poor people, and bound
from Liverpool to Philadelphia, fell in with an
iceberg on the night of the 19th April last, in
lat. 43 deg. 30 min. N., lon. 49 deg. 39 min. W.,
and sunk in about two hours after. She struck
at ten by the log, and being stove in, filled and
settled, and went down about midnight. Pre-
vious to her going down the captain, the lieute-
nant, a lady, and five sailors took to the jolly-
boat; and the mate, eight of the crew, and
thirty-three of the passengers embarked in the
long-boat. Three-and-twenty persons went down
with the ship. Peace be with them. In the
course of the night the captain bore off for
Newfoundland, and the mate steered for the
south. What became of the cowardly captain,
who took so much care of himself as only to re-
ceive a sufficient number of hands into the jolly-
boat to man her, is not clearly stated; but it is
supposed he perished, together with those in
that boat. But in the long-boat a tragedy was
enacted that sickens the heart to think on.
" Finding she was likely to sink," say the ruf-
fians who survived, " the mate consulted with
the crew;" and the result cannot be more
strongly stated than in his own words—the cold-
blooded villain. "On counting the passengers
sixteen' were missing." Sixteen ,had been mur-
dered dtiring the night—thrown overboard by
the mate and the crew, after consultation—for
murder it was, and nothing else. The survivors,
consisting of a few helpless women and the mur-
derers, were rescued the next morning by the
Crescent packet ship, from New York to Havre
de Grace, and brought to the latter port, where
they were placed in the hands of the police.
But here comes the most strange part of the
transaction. The murderers, for we can call
them by no other name, were taken before the
American and British Consuls, and being ex-
amined privately-, were discharged—free men. By
all the laws of nature and nations homicide is jus-
tifiable only when an aggressor is on the point
of taking away the life of the party assaulted;
and it has been held by the ablest jurists that
not even the prospect of starvation at sea is a
sufficient plea for taking human life, though the
form of ballot may have been gone through be-
fore the sacrifice. According to Puffendorf (Law
of Nature and Nations, book 2, chap. 5), " the
time of making an unblameable self-defence is
set within such very narrow bounds as to be re-
duced almost to a point or instant :" and yet self-
defence is the only ground that these wretched
ruffians could rest on. It is surprising that Mr.
Gordon, the English Consul at Havre, and Mr.
Beasley, the American Consul, should, in the
first instance, have conducted the inquiry with
closed doors; and in the second, that they shOuld
assume not alone the functions of Judges in the
matter, but also of Jurymen. It was decidedly
the duty of the former to make an effort to bring
the mate and crew to trial, if not in England, at
least in France, the hapless victims having been
our fellow-subjects. But what did he do instead?
He wrote a letter to a. Havre newspaper—a
French newspaper be it bornei n mind--and. in
conjuction with Mr. Beasley, made the following
stateMent

"In all this affair we have not been able to
disc Over any act deserving censure upon any per-
son whatsoever."

Gracious God ! not " any act deserving cen-
sure" in the wholesale murder of sixteen innocent
helpless persons, who, in strict right, had never
ceased to be under the protection of those that so
inhumanly destroyed them ! "No act deserving
censure 1" Does Mr. Gordon mock us ? Does
he think to bolster up such a sacrifice of human
life by a few fine words? Does he think the
people of England will be satisfied with his ipse
dixit? or that he will not be held accountable by
public opinion for the escape of the cowardly,
cold-blooded assassins? Do we live in the 19th
century, and in a Christian country ? In all this
affair, forsooth, he is not "able to discover any act
deserving of censure." On the part of the survivors
and friends of the unfortunate creatures immolated
to the ease of a crew of ruffianly Americans—
on
nt hde
ofpart
tie Gv
i of thee rtanent
hn-
mediate inquiry into this terrible tragedy, and
that justice be done to all parties. It may be
convenient for the American Consul to screen
opeople of England, we de-
that it institute an
those of his own nation ; but what could be the
motive of Mr. Gordon ? Doubtless he is a mer-
chant, and, as far as we can learn, engaged ex-
clusively in the American trade ; but we cannot
for a moment suPP°se 'a bias on that account.
At all events, the case is one which cannot be
p assed over and we, therefore again repeat our
demand for justice. We want no more; and the
people of this country will be satisfied with no-
thing less.—Observer.

ELECTIONs.--N- -nw that a diSsolution is placed
beyond a doubt, we are gratified to announce to our friends
that Southampton is in a condition to bear her share in the
approaching conflict, and ifinformation,on which we
perfectly rely, is correct, this rising and intelligent town
will not be disgracedbp3.l.4. be its representatives.—
the infliction of the slip-slop
~.
'Tory imbeciles, who as
Hanmshire Independent. - .. .. ,

HUNGARIAN ROBBERS.

In the midst of the steepest heights of the
Krapach mountains, accessible but to the eagle,
the roe-buck, and the mountaineer, has dwelt
from time immemorial a mountain-tribe called
the Opreychki. This tribe, in point of fact, is a
mere band of robbers, living entirely at the ex-
pense of travellers, and of the neighbouring
countries, into which they make frequent incur-
sions. The Oprychki are all vigorous moun-
taineers born in the Krapachs, and are armed
with mall hatchets, cutlasses, guns, and espe-
cially pistols; of these last many of them wear
no less than four pair in their. belt.
The organization of these banditti is quite mi-
litary; they blindly obey their. Chief, and the
least act of insubordination is punished with death.
The Chief divides the booty, and settles all dis-
putes. Hungary, Gallicia, and Transylvania, are
the principal theatres of their incursions, and
woe betide the travellers who fall into their.
hands. The Oprychki are nevertheless jovial
fellows, ready to do a service, very hospitable,
and capable of great devotedness; but they are
very cruel in their revenge, and recoil from no
crime in attaining it.
For some years back the Oprychki had been
commanded by Alexis • Djuk, whose energetic
courage and prompt resolves bad spread dismay
throughout the adjacent districts. The authori-
ties of Hungary, Gallicia, and Transylvania had
long united their efforts, but in vain, to destroy
Djuk's band, which consisted of from 400 to 500
men. Considerable forces have been sent against
this band, which, however, took care not to come
to a pitched engagement, and carried on with
success a species of guerilla warfare. At length,
by dint of perseverance, the Austrian Govern-
ment succeeded, last January, in arresting 26 of
these banditti, and their trial took place on the
27th of February before the Criminal Tribunal of
Peteravaradin.

The aspect of the Court, on this occasion, was
bigh)y picturesque andinteresting. The walls were
covered with the olden portraits of the Kings of
Hungary and Transylvania. Around an

mmense table, covered with black cloth,
were seated 12 Judges and a President, wearing
long floating scarlet mantles over their Hunga-
rian costume, and having on their heads the
doctoral cap. Behind the President sat the impe-
rial Attorney-General attended by two deputies,
and six lawyers, all in black gowns. Another
table was occupied by the two clerks of the
Court, while six heralds or judicial criers stood
betwixt the tribunal and the bench of witnesses.
The prisoners' bench was filled by the twenty-six
Oprychki guarded by a detachment of pikemen,
while the issues of the Court were occupied by
three battalions of Hungarian infantry. Close
to the witnesses' box was a stool, near which was
seated a priest in his sacerdotal robes, for the
purpose of administering oaths to each individual
who comes forward to give evidence.
The auditory consisted of gentlemen and ladies,
admittance having been denied to tradesmen and
peasants, lest some of the Oprychki might ven-
ture into the Court in disguise, to endeavour to
rescue their captive associates.
The first witness called in was a bel-esprit, an
ex-hussar of Schekler's regiment, acting as
steward to the Lord Kyraby (owner of the village
of Hamka), when the poetical fit was not on him.
This singular personage expressed himselfthus :
" It was in the middle of the night of the 4th
of October, with your permission, Illustrious
Lords, the oble Lady Kyraby was in the pangs
of child-birth, and I was reposing after the
toils of the day, when a servant came to tell me
that the Lord, Kyraby wanted me. I hastened
to obey, and on entering the court I saw with
surprise my noble master's carriage and eight
large waggons, horsed, and ready for starting.
Having been introduced into the bed-room of my
noble mistress, I heard that noble lady say to
her husband, while tears flowed down her beau-
tiful cheeks, You are determined on going,
Andrew ?" I must,' replied my Lord, ' it is our
only chance of safety, for they are going to
come, and if they found me, God knows
what the consequence would be. In my ab-
sence, I am sure, you will receive no insult, pro-
vided they be received without hostility, and I have
given necessary orders to that effect.' His Lord-
ship then turned towards me, and added, 'Djuk
and his followers will soon be here. I order you
to receive them, and to refuse them nothing.'
This said, the Lord Kyraby got into his carriage
and drove off towards Korol Bator, accompanied
by the eight waggons, and a part of his servants.
His Lordship had not been gone an hour when
we heard a hissing noise. ' They are coming,'
said a servant, who knew their signal. At that
very moment, sixty Oprychki entered the main
court. I went instantly to meet them, and ap-
proaching their chief, Alexis Djuk, I saluted him
respectfully, by touching his knee with my left
hand, as is usual towards persons of distinction.
He appeared satisfied by this mark of deference,
and ordering his men to remain in the court, he
entered the castle, holding a pistol in each hand,
and saying as he ascended the flight of steps, Woe
betide you if you have here a single schla-
pack' (this word means hack, and is a term
usually applied to the Austrian soldiers). He
hastily visited the lower story, and seeing the
table of the vast dining-room well spread with
eatables and drink, he called in his men. They
all ate with good appetite, after which Djuk,
taking from his cap a string on which were
strung a great many ducats, gave some of them
to the maid servant, who had served him as cup-
bearer during the repast. In the meantime the
noble Lady Kyraby had given birth to a male
child, and Djuk, hearing the cries of the babe
from the dining-hall, went into 'her Ladyship's
bed-room, and taking the infant into his arms
with great care, said—' Madame, you have no-
thing to fear, either from me or my men. Per-
mit me to solicit a favour—it is to call this child
Alexis, in remembrance of me.' ,/,` Her ladyship
promised that the child should bear the name of
the chief, and the band departed, without carry-
ing off a single article."
rhe Lady Kyraby confirmed the preceding
statement, and added that the child had been
called Alexis,-as she had promised the leader of
the Oprychki.
The Lord Kyraby deposed, that one evening
as he was returning from visiting a friend, he was
accosted by a man on the high-road, who said,
" Alexis Djuk and his companions will visit you
to-night; mind you receive them well."
The President addressed some remarks to the
witness on his pusillanimity, but he was inter-
rupted by the prisoners, who exclaimed with one
voice, " He would do well to go; if he had re-
mained, he would not have been alive now."
The savage shouts, the menacing looks and
gestures which accompanied the words, made a
deep impression on the Lord Kyraby, an old and
brave captain in the Ausirian army; the old vete-
ran fainted, and was carried out of Court.
The next witness called was a venerable priest,
called Philarete, attached to the church of St. '
Nicholas, situated on a steep rock, half a league
distant from Bolsche, a village belonging to the
Lord Ravitchak, formerly a major in the huzzars
of Djulaj. The priest deposed as follows :
" On the 15th of July I was returning from the
Lord Ravi tehak's, when I was accosted by a
man, who said, ' Alexis Djuk orders you to pre-
pare supper for him and thirty of his comrades.'
When I reached home, I ordereci the supper to
be prepared, but at the same time I took care to
inform the Lord Ravitchak, who came with fifty
huzzars and concealed* himself in the environs of
the church. An hour had not elapsed ere an im-
mense flame was discovered in the direction of
Bolosche. ' My castle is on fire,' exclaimed the
Lord Ravitchak, and he started immediately
with all his men, leaving me alone. At midnight
Djuk arrived with his thirty followers. They
supped famously, and withdrew, after having
completely pillaged my house, putting a ducat
into my hand, and telling me ironically to pray
for the Oprychki who had been slain in the fight."
Lieut. Rouhka deposed—l was guarding, with
six men, the castle of my cousin Ravitchak, and
went up to a belveder to try and see what was
going on in•the direction of the church, when I
beheld a band of Oprychki advancing with
blazing torches in their hands. I hurried down
to place myself at the head of my men, but was
unfortunately wounded at the first fire of the as-
sailants, and with great difficulty succeeded in
faking refuge in the brushwood, whence I saw the
castle in flames.
The Lord Ravitchak then came forward, and
deposed to the following effect, mixing every
phrase with a military oath to give it greater
weight, " Damn it," said I to myself; "shall I,
who was not afraid of those devils of Frenchmen
when led on by Napoleon, recoil from a robber ?
I will hang him up before the windows of my
bed-Nom, to teach him that bears are more ter-
rible than the Oprychki. You must know that
bears form part of my family arms. I was con-
sequently lying in ambush near the church of
St. Nicholas, when I suddenly beheld my castle
a prey to .flames. I soon hastened to the spot,
and securing my wife and children, allowed the
castle to burn, in order to hasten after the rob-
bers. The rascals were supping at the Reverend
Father Phelante's, while I was seeking them
elsewhere. Nevertheless, I swore that I would
lose my name of Ravitchak, or I would extermi-
nate the villains who had reduced my castle to
ashes—but I have rope enough left to hang them
all. Knowing that the Jew, Abraham Lenoir,
had often something to do with Djuk, I called
on him,
and took himbyhis weak side—giving
him money, and promising him more. I then_

I learned that Djuk had a mistress, called Martha
Marabak, living at Tijak, about halfa league from
, I the church of St. Nicholas, to which church her
husband was attached, and that Djuk always
visited her on Saturday night when her husband
had left home to be ready next morning for his
. I occupation at St. Nicholas. Having assembled
• sixty hussars, and forty peasants, and placed
I them both under the command of Djebaka,
I steward to the Lord Kyraby, I went to Irjak
early on Saturday morning. We seized Martha
and her husband; the latter on learning the in-
fidelity of his wife swore revenge, and promised
to help us against the Oprychki. Convinced of
his determination, I gave him a pair of pistols,
which he loaded with silver bullets, assuring us
that Djuk belonged to the devil, and that leaden
bullets would not harm him. Our men being
properly placed round the house, we waited—but,
my Lords, the steward Djebaka had better tell you
the rest—he saw all that took place, and can ex-
press himself better than I."
The steward consequently came forward and
spoke as follows :—The commandant and twelve
men were concealed in the house with Marabek
and his wife. Every part was carefully closed,
with the exception of a window, near which
Martha was placed, after having previously
threatened her with the most dreadful punish-
ment if she made any sign to Djuk of the recep-
tion which awaited him. For my part, I went
and hid myself behind a hedge. As soon as the
sun went down, I heard several whistlings, and
soon after heard Djuk's voice at a short distance,
saying, " Here, my brave fellows, load your
guns with two balls, and watch over me. We
are going to pay a visit to the pretty Martha
Marabek." When they were close to the house,
Djuk said, " Remain here—l enter alone." He
then approached the window, and said, " Good
night, Martha—good night. Is supper ready?
Martha, are you asleep ? why don't you answer
your beloved Djuk ?" Martha replied, with a
trembling voice, " I am not asleep, but I cannot
receive a robber into my house." "If you will
not open the door I will force it open ;" and,
suiting the action to the word, he gave it a vio-
lent push, and the fastening gave way. A shot
was immediately heard, and Djuk fell into the
arms of two of his companions, who at the sound
of the gun had run to his assistance. The whole
of the band then came out from their place of
ambush, and a desperate combat ensued, which
ended in the capture of thirty.six of the brigands.
Marabeck, on being called on for his evidence,
declared that he felt no resentment against his
wife, because Djuk was not a man but a demon.
"It was I," he said, " who fired on him, but I
certainly should not have killed him if I had not
taken the precaution to put into my pistol a silver
ball, which had been blessed by the reverend
priest of St: Nicholas."
Martha was afterwards called in. She was a
woman of a most prepossessing beauty. Sheicon-
fessed, with a blush on her cheek and a downcast
look, that six days after her marriage she met Djuk
in the forest, where she had been to gather a
bouquet of wild flowers. She was then only 17
years of age, she was now 22, and, during these
rive years uk every Saturday night came to
visit her. She added, in a timid voice, but still
with an accent of firmness, that, if she could
have cautioned her lover of the trap which was
laid for him, she should not have failed to have
done it. She retired, endeavouring to restrain
her tears, which, in spite of her efforts, might
be seen forcing their way through her black eye-
lashes. Marabeck, her husband, was perfectly
unmoved.

The examination of the witnesses being finished,
The President questioned the prisoners, and
demanded of them who were their accomplices.
Their answers were to the same effect—" Our
companions, our brethren, are in safety, in a
place where none has ever penetrated save
eagles, goats, and hardy and intrepid moun-
taineers."

" You are very guilty," interrupted the Presi-
dent, "you might, however, gain the clemency
of your judges by frank and unreserved confes-
sions."

" No! take our lives ; the Oprychki have an
inclination to be silent—a neck for the hang-
man."

A. number of other questions addressed to
them by the President were unanswered by
them, and the jury immediately declared the 36
prisoners guilty.
Four of them, Jean Goula, Ebenna Skiliba,
Marie Doik, and Stanislas Sava, four lieutenants
of Djuk, were sentenced to be hanged, and the
other 32 to hard labour at the hulks for life.

No sooner had the officer whose duty it was to
read the sentence finished that ceremony, than
the whole of the prisoners, with a spontaneous
movement, commenced singing one of their
beautiful mountain chorusses, which made the
very walls of the Court echo. They were then
re-conducted to prison.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.
__ EPSOM RACES.

SATURDAY NIGHT.-The following are the fixtures for
these races, completed with the entries this afternoon :
The Craven Stakes of 10 soya. each, for three years old, 6st
81b four, Bst 101 b, five 9st 41b, six and aged, 9st 101 b, Craven
Course.
Colonel Wyndham's b c Father Matthew, 3 yrs; Mr. West-
brook's b c Mobarek, 3 yrs ; Mr. Mostyn s .br f Birthday, 3
yrs; Lord Lichfield's b h The Corsair, 5 yrs; Mr. Dixon's ch f
by Saracen, out of Delightful, sister to Deception, 3 yrs.
The Woodcote Stakes of 25 soya each, 10 ft for two year old
colts, Bst 71b, and fillies fist Mb from the Roads in, less than

half a mile.
The Shirley Stakes of 25 sovs, each, fir three years old colts,

Bst 71b, and fillies, Bst 41b., one mile.
Captain Ridge's b c by Y. Wanderer, out of Monody ;
Lord Albemarle's Minaret ; Lord Exeter's Syria, by Sultan,
out of Marchesa ; Duke of Grafton's b c Mosque.
Sweepstakes of 5 sovs. eash, with 40 sovs. added ; three yrs.
old, 7st., four, Bst. 21b., five, Bst. 101 b., six and aged, 9st..
21b., mares and geldings allowed 31b., the winner to be
sold for .4.150 sovs. New T. Y. C., three quarters of a mile.
Mr. Greville's ch c Perseus, 4 yrs ; Mr. Walter's ch c Sir
George, 4 yrs ; Col. Anson's nd ch c All Fours, 5 yrs ; Mr.
Westbrook's ch f Division, 3 yrs ; Wr. Wright's eh m Folly,
4 yrs; Mr. Balchin's Dromedary, 4 yrs; Mr. Dixon's Came-
lino, 5 yrs ; Mr. Lichtwald's br c by Augustus out of Courte-
san, 3 yrs.
Fifty Pounds, for three yrs old, 6st 91h, four, Bst 61b, five, Bst
121 b, six and aged, 9st 21b ; the winner to be sold for 250
soya. Entrance 1 soy. to go to the second horse. Heats
two miles. Three to start or no race.

Mr. Hornsby's ch g Whalebone, aged ; Mr. Booth's br m
Isabella, 6 yrs ; Mr. Lowerby's ch f Pbingari, 3 yrs ; Capt.
Pettat's br h Caliph, aged ; Mr. Goodman's br c Mungo Park,
4 yrs ; Mr. Wright's br m Camille, sister to Pickwick, 5 yrs ;
Mr. Stirling's br c The Pocket Viper, 3 yrs ; Mr. Shackell's
ch c Cantle, 4 yrs.