The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-23 00:00:00

DISPOSAL OF OLD SHIPS OF WAR.

We have been put in possession of a correspondence
which has passed between the Admiralty and Mr. James
Shaw, of 150, Leadenhall-street, on the methods
of disposing of old ships of war and anchors.
Mr. Shaw endeavoured to prove to the Admi-
ralty that it is a mistake to sell these ships, that if they
were broken up in the yards, 750 to 1,000 shipwrights and
labourers would probably be employed for the next four
years. The offer he made on behalf of his firm, to
guarantee a realisation in the yards of 10 per cent. more
than the highest price obtainable at public auctions,
would be equivalent to a saving of £IO,OOC a
year, as without any difficulty
£lOO,OOO worth of
old ships could be broken up in each year by using one
dock only at each yard. An interview having taken
place between Sir Spencer Robinson and Mr. Shaw—the
latter noticing that two ships were advertised for sale, the
Algiers and the Caesar, at Portsmouth, offered to take the
ships where they lay, tnr,age and pay all the labour,
and -he would undertake that the net result
of the realisations which they would pay on
the Government behalf into the Exchequer should be ten
per cent. above the highest bid which they would get for
these ships at public sale. After much discussion and
correspondence (which, being regarded as private by the
Admiralty, cannot be published) the Board eventually
decided not to adopt the suggestion Mr. Shaw made.—
Globe,

THE POST OFFICE ROBBERY AT DUBLIN.
The frauds upon the Dublin Post Office, just brought to
light, were of a remarkable kind. Ellison, the person
charged, had sent in on Monday a medical certificate
stating that he was suffering from disease of the ear, and
the necessary leave of absence was granted to him. On
Tuesday morning, at an early hour, he came to the sorting
office, where the alleged robbery (to the amount of
£1,500) took place. The prisoner was arrested in
the evening by detective officers Doyle and Gannon,
and the bag and property were found with him.
Mr. Thomson, solicitor to the Post-office, stated the
case. He said he appeared on behalf of the Post-
master-General. The person in custody was charged
with having stolen forty-nine letters containing
remittances. The remittances were from different post-
masters in Ireland. They arrived at the General Post-
office about five o'clock on Tuesday morning, and were
afterwards taken to the registered letter office, where
they were counted. They were subsequently placed in
a register book, and properly sealed. This book
was then put into a safe. About nine o'clock
Ellison (who at that time was supposed to be
absent on sick leave) was in the Post-office.
He was seen by the hall porter to leave at
a quarter-past nine, having a brown parcel under his arm.
Shortly afterwards Mr. Thorpe, one of the officers, went
to the safe, and finding it had been opened and its con-
tents taken away, gave information at the detective office.
When Ellison was arrested, he appeared to be under the
influence of drink, and had with him the bag with the
money. The prisoner was sent for trial.

The military expedition to the Red. River is ex-
pected to leave in the first week in May.
Many of the workmen from the foundries and
metal works in Paris have struck, and up to the present
time the masters manifest a determination not to yield.
RAILWAY SPARKS.—In the Court of Queen's Bench
a motion has been made to set aside a verdict
for £315 damages done to the premises of a
VI.. Davis at Whitmore, through a fire caused by
sparks from one of the engines of the North-Westersi!
Railway Company. It has been decided that railway
companies are not responsible for such accidents provided
they have recourse to the best apparatus for their pre-
vention. The jury at Stafford held that the North-
,
Western had not done this, but a rule nisi was granted I
afatney.
rarguments had been heard on behalf of the com-'
p
to ctßenfeohr
steht e C
asideo t o f
aQ's u
ve
ee
rnd a AmeFt
iAoTnA LwAaseCinMaEdN'er
three hundred pounds given at Liverpool in:
the case of Cox v. the Furness Railway Company.
The plaintiff and his sister after leaving the railway
walked along the platform to embark on a steamer is
connection with the line. They stepped on a gangway',
which was left protruding over the sea, thinking
they were walking to a steamer. It gave way,
and both fell below, the lady being instantly killed,
and the gentleman much injured. It was sought to set
the verdict aside, as everything in reason had been done to
prevent accident. The Chief Justice did not think so.
The gangway should not have been left protsudi_ng in
such a manner. They would consult Mr. Justice Willes
(who tried the case at Liverpool), before coming to a
decision.

A PECULIAR BREACH 010 PROMISE CASE.—In the Court
of Exchequer Mr. Powell, Q.C., moved for a new trial in,
the case of " Frost v. Knight," which was tried at the last'
Stafford Assizes before Mr. Baron Martin. The plain_ tiff
who is a young woman about 25 years of age, had
been some time in the service of Mr. Knycht,
tenant farmer, and in 1863 his son promised to;
marry her on the death of his father; and several years
having elapsed, plaintiff got tired of her celibate state, i
saand id adsplied to
d
father
hadefenndaotn t
died
edo
ycarry
et.
She,out promise.
however,
brought
an action against him at the assizes, and the jury
awarded her a verdict for £2OO damages. It was now
alleged that the fact of the father boing still alive exone-'
rated the defendant. The court granted a rule for a new
trial to determine this question.
ASSAULTING AN EDITOR.—At the Leith Police-court,
a plumber and gasfitte ,r named MacCallum, has been
charged with assaulting Ebenezer Drummond, proprietor
and editor of the Leith Herald. Mr. Drummond received;
a message that a gentleman wanted to see him. He was
directed to AlacCallum's shop, when he attacked him
violently respecting a criticism on his singing at a choral
concert, ana finally kicked him out of the shop. The
Bailie, after hearing the evidence, thought the assault had
been proved, but was not so violent as was represented.
He fined the offender 7s. 6d.

THE BURGLARY BY DAM—Harold Herring, aged 16,j
and Cuthbert Herring, aged 12, were charged at Rich-
mond with being concerned with their brother Sidney
Herring, 13, in entering the house of their next door neigh-
bour, and stealing therefrom a quantity of jewellery value
253. Sidney, the boy first charged, said at the police-station'
that his elder brother, Harold had prompted him to
commit the robbery, and said he could dispose of the
jewellery in the Kew-road. His ynunger brother, Cuth..
bert, went with him into the house they robbed through
the trap, The prtuners wep 41 remanded.

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