The Sun.
London, England, 1840-07-20 00:00:00

EVENING ED MON.

„;.
ti f~ ..:., u.i°.. vii i;L .il”. i,:~..::il .I<tliCiii.YiG~i,

oit-dti•:;inci. having the ;at gest prtyrt,:.,,
of acquittals in that )ear, fire of the same counties still
appear in the same situation.
The number of offenders tried before the differen •
Courts has been calculated, and shows that the numbera
tried in the Central Criminal Court were nearly as great
as those tried in the Circuit Assiz. Courts, and much I,ss -
tl,an the numbers tried in the Local Borough Courts. -
'file centesimal proportions were—County Sessions, 53.8;
Circuit Assize Courts, 14 6 ; Local Borough Courts,
17.4 ; and Central Criminal Court, 14-2. The following
are the comparative numbers committed f r trial at these
Courts:--

1839 1837. 1835.
County Quarter Sessions' Courts 13,151 13 044 10 737
Circuit AAsize Courts , 3,557 3,466 3 408
Local Courts
Central Criminal Court

The calculations which have for several years been
made as to the ages and degrees of instruction of criminals
exhibit a very great uniformity of result During the la,t
four years nearly 41 p ,r cent. of the criminals do no. exceed
twenty-rme years of age ; and in the next division ot the
tables, those not exceeding thirty years. are included 71
per cent. This would give criminals but a short career,
and may in a great measure be attributed to the numbers
annually removed from the country by transportatimn.
The centesimal proportions are :-
Ages. 1839 1838 1837 1836 1835
12 years and under 174 1.58 152 1.84 1.67
16 years and above 12 lO 08 9'92 9'72 971 9.70
21 years „ 16 2B 07 29.13 29 23 29 03 29'65
30 years „ 21 3112 31.24 31 74 31'42 31.92
40 years „ 30 14'94 14.75 14'56 14'43 14.01
50 years „ 40 6'97 7.02 665 6.76 6'60
60 years „ 50 3'23 300 3'24 3.33 3.24
above 60 years 1.55 1.58 1.55 I'4o 1.30
unknoAn 2.30 118 1 79 208 1.91
Degree of Instruction. 1839 1838 1837 1836
Unable to read and write 33 53 34.40 35'85 33'52
Able to read and write im-
perfectly 53'48 53 41 52'08 52.33
Able to read and write well
Instruction superior to reading
and writing well 032 0'34 0.43 091
Instruction could not be ascer-
tained
With respect to the sexes of criminals, it is worthy of
remark, that for several years the proportion of females
has been increasing. Comparing the number of males
and females, the centesimal proportion of the latter was,
in 1834, 18.8; in 1835, 20.0 ; in 1836 and 1837 it was
the same, 21.6 (though the fraction, if tarried further,
still shows a small increase iu 1837); in 1838, 22'1 ; and '
in 1839, 23'2.
Home Office, Whitehall,
11th June, 1840.

CORONER'S INQUEST.

(Abridged from the Brighton Herald.)
DEATH FROM AN ANTELOPE..—An inquest was
held at the County Hospital on Wednesday evening, on
the body of James Lulham, a boy of ten years of age,
who came to his death by injuries inflicted by an ante•
lope belonging to Mr. Bailey, of the Swiss Gardens.
Jesse Lulham, the father of the deceased, stated-4
am gardener at the Swiss Gardens, New Shoreham.
The deceased was my son, and used to assist me about
the grounds. We have had a male antelope there for
the last two years. It is kept chained on the bowling-
green at night, but is confined in a cage during the
day. On Sundays it is usual to let it remain sett
longer, in the absence of visitors. At three o'clock on
Sunday last it was feeding on the green, and I told
my eldest son, Benjamin, to go and put it in. The
deceased was not present when I gave this order, nor
did I know that he meant to accompany his brother,
as he had frequently heard me say he was not to
2o near the animal. My eldest son was to lock it up
and bring me the key. About twenty minutes after
had gii7en the order, the deceased was brought into this
house in a gore of blood. He said the antelope had
run at him and poked him in the thigh. I immediately
sent for Dr. Pinnock, who examined the wound in reY
presence. He said he thought it was a slight wound,
and that it would be better in the morning. Ho
ordered it to be washed and poulticed. This was done
as he directed, and the deceased went to bed. He
passed a tolerably quiet night, but towards morning
complained of thirst. I sent again for Dr. Pinnock.
When he carne I told him I thought the boy was more
injured than he expected, and wished him to look at
him again. He looked at the wound and said he could
do nothing for him, but that I had better take him CO
the hospital. We brought him here about three
o'clock that day, and he died about one the next (Toes- -
day) morning.
By the Jury—The animal has been somewhat vicious
this year. It is nearly as big as a deer, and the horns
are sharp and smooth. This is the first year it bas
had horns.

Benjamin Lulham—l am son of the previous wit-
ness, and have been employed in the Swiss Gardens*
Between two and three o'clock on Sunday my father
gave me orders to go and put the antelope in his cage,
as I had frequently done before. I went by myself,
but the animal was so strong I could not manage it. I°
ran at me, knocked me down, and poked me in the leg*
When I had been nearly half-an-hour, my brother came
and helloed to know whether he should help me. I said
" yes." When he came, he got on the top of the car' •
and pulled the chain, and the antelope went in of itself.
shut the gate, but before I could lock it he rushed at
it and got out again. My brother then jumped down+,
and the animal hooked his horns round his legs, and.
threw him on the ground on his face, pushing him alorAg
with his horns for a distance of four yards. I went And.
got a stick and pulled my brother away. Deceased
cried out a great deal about five minutes after Jo had
got away, but was able to walk home.
The Jury returned a verdict of " Accidentd Death,•
with a deodand of 1/. on the antelope, and a recom
mendation to Mr. Bailey that it should be defAroyed.

INFLUENCE OF WHOLEF3OME I
FOOD.

It cannot be questioned," says Dr. Wilson, in a
well-written introduction, " that the abundant a•ad
cel!ent provisions supplied to ships of war, crJntribute
largely to the high degree of health now enkled in the
Royal Navy. Formerly a ship of war was, on many
accounts, an object of aversion ; dest'euctive disease,
under various forms, being one. Ficur vy, putrid ulcer,
malignant dysentery, and fever allied to that of gaols:
suddenly swept off the greater portie ns of many ships
crews, and well nigh depopulated fleets. Mauy causes,
no douiat, concurred to occasion hose maladies ; het
in the production of the first end morst, the most fertile
:Ind constant, was insufficient nearition, resulting from
scanty and unwholesome food. It is matter of surprise
not less than of regret now, that the pervading agencY
which led to such disastrous Itesults on health in those
days, should not have been k-aown, or, if suspected, Wits
not counteracted. Till the. year 1796, scurvy conti-
nued to infest the fleet, to cripple its power by the
number it affected, and in many instances to produce
a large amount of mortality. In 1797 the victual-
ing was changed, greatly improved, and strictly
regulated ; and consequent, immediately to the
change, the health of seamen improved strikine•
Scurvy, typhoid fever, dysentery, and ulcer, which UP
to the period of change had produced great havoc, be-
came comparatively rare in occurrence and light in
th
. ilia-
—son Some ships in particular circumstances tug-
z __ 6
fered from one or more of those diseases. ; 1
sweeping epidemics of former years, which often rely'
dered individual ships, and sometimes entire fleets to-
tally ineffective, became unknown. Since 1797, various
improvements have been introduced into the victual-
ling.of the navy; such as giving cocoa instead of gruel
(burgoo) lor breakfast, issuing salt meat at a much ear-
lier period alter using cured, the supply of better er-
tides, and the substitution of tea fo r the afternoon al-
lowance of spirils ; and with every improvement in
these respects, as a general result has there been fur-
ther improvement in health, till the four forms of die-
ease, at no distant date so destructive, are scarcely
known except by name."—Report on the Health of the
Navy.