The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-24 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

PENAL SERVITUDE.—SamueI Lyons, who was convicted
at the last Middlesex sessions of stealing a gentleman's
watch, at the Great Western Station, Paddington, has
been sentenced at the Middlesex sessions to seven years'
penal servitude, previous offences of a similar kind being
on record against him.
OMNIBUS DRIVERS.—Seven omnibus drivers in the ser-
viee of the London General Omnibus Company have been
charged, at Worship-street, with conspiring to injure a
small proprietor, by preventing him from running his vehi-
cles on the road. He began running two omnibuses between
Old Ford and the Bank, and for a week met with no
opposition, but in the second week the General Company
put on six omnibuses to oppose him. These followed him
up and down, preventing him from taking up passengers,
and carrying on a system of " nursing." The case
was adjourned till August, when it will be sent before a
jury.

SERIOUS CHARGE OF STABBING A HUSBAND AND SON.

-Sarah Clarke, aged 59 years, of No. 47, Morris-street,
St. George-in-the-East, was brought up on remand before
Mr. Lushington, at the Thames Police-court, charged
with feloniously cutting and wounding her husband and
son. The prisoner was in a state of intoxication on the
night of the 9th instant, and without the semblance of
pi-ov9cation made an attack upon her husband and stabbed
him in the left breast, inflicting a dangerous wound, two
inches in depth, perforating the lung tissues. The
prisoner's son, hearing the noise, went into the room
and said, "Oh mother, you have stabbed father," when
she immediately attacked her son and stabbed him with a
penknife .in the thigh. The prisoner was described as a
very turbulent woman, and had often threatened to
murder her husband and son, especially when drunk.
William Leapingwell, house surgeon of the London
Hospital, said that the father and son were brought to
the hospital, the one suffering from a wound two or three
inches in depth on the left breast just by the joint, and the
other had a wound on the left thigh about an inch in
length, taking a slanting direction. The wounds, he should
say, were inflicted with the knife produced. Theprisoner
was fully committed for trial.
A LITIGIOUS SPIRIT.—The House of Lords has been
engaged in hearing an appeal from the First Division of
the Court of Session in Scotland. The simple question
raised by this appeal is whether a triangular piece of
ground, about eight square yards in extent, is the
property of the appellant or of the respondent, both
being proprietors of coterminous field, on the
northern side of Kinnoull-hill, in the neighbourhood
of Perth. The boundary is a straight line ; the ground
falls within the property of the respondent. If it diverges
to the west at a certain point and runs along a certain
line it falls within the appellant's property. It is stated
that the land in question is not of the value of ss. per
annum, but the object of the appellant, however, is to
have a line of road leading to his property of the uniform
width of ten feet, otherwise the entrance to the appel-
lant's land will not allow of the free ingress and egress of
waggons, &c., belonging to him.

THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE AND HIS LONDON MANSION.

—The case of "Davis v. Sir E. Antrobus, Bart., Lord de
Talby, the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, and others "
has been before Vice-Chancellor Sir W. James. The
defendants are trustees of the late Duke of Newcastle,
who by his will left the London family mansion, situated
in Carlton-house-terrace, to his trustees, with directions
that the• use and occupation of it shoUldbe offered to his
son, the present duke, during his life, on condition that
he paid the rent and observed all the covenants apper-
taining thereto. The mansion had been offered
to, and accepted. by, the present duke; but
his lordship having omitted to pay the rent, it
was contended by the trustees that a forfeiture of
the tenancy had taken place, and the mansion passed to
remainder. After arguments had been heard pro and con,
it was stated that another case bearing on the same
property was now pending in the Rolls Court ; and under
those circumstances the Vice-Chancellor declined to give
any decision on the question which had been raised,
intimating also the desirability of both causes being
brought on for investigation before himself simul-
taneously.
A CURIOUS INSURANCE QUESTION.—The Court of Com-
mon Pleas has given judgment in a singular case arising
out of the construction of a policy of insurance. One
Thomas Humphrey was assured for £3OO in the Accident
Insurance Company, payable, in the event of death, within
three calendar months, from accident, such death to be
the result of accident or injury by some external and
material cause. Mr. Humphrey went into the sea to
bathe at Hastings, and fell in a • fit in
about a foot of water, where being unable to
help himself, he was drowned. His executor,
therefore, sought to recover the amount of
the policy from the company, who disputed
their liability on the ground that the cause of death was
the fit and not the accident. An arbitrator, to whom the
matter had been referred, found that the cause of death
was "suffocation by drowning," but stated a special case
for the opinion of the court on the question of liability,
After hearing the arguments, their lordships gave
judgment in favour of th plaintiff; who will thus recover
£3OO for an accidental death. •

Sir Joseph Neale Maenna, in reference to the
statement that bills had been filed in Chancery against
him and other former directors of. the National Bank,
writes to say that he is prepared to prove the proceedings
understood to be complained of to have been strictly cor-
rect, and that he undertakes to shew that every act of his
in connection with the bank has been done for its benefit
and protection, and will bear the test of investigation
before any court in any proceedings to which he is made
a party.