The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-12 00:00:00

THE CROYDON MURDER:

At Guildhall on Thursday, before Mr. Justice Blackburn;
John Carpenter Carver, at Croydon, 36, was indicted for
the murder of his wife, Mary Carver, at Croydon, on the
afternoon of the 26th of May. Mr. Lilley prosecuted ;
Serjeant Sleigh and Mr. Croome defended the prisoner.
The prisoner, who is a cabinetmaker by trade, kept
a shop, at Southend, Croydon. On the afternoon -in
question he returned home about three o'clock to get his
dinner. It was alleged that, amongst other things, there
were some mustard and cress for dinner, and that the
wife placed this before him on a dirty plate, off which the
servant-girl had previously dined. A witness overheard
the prisoner say, " You dirty -, you have iven
me my dinner upon that girl's dirty plate ! " Next the
sound of crockery dashed against the wall was heard,
and shortly afterwards the prisoner went into
the shop of a Mrs. Morgan, who resided next door, and
he asked her to send for Dr. Cole, as he believed 'Mrs.
Carver was dead. Thereupon Mrs. Morgan entered the
prisoner's house, and, in a small parlour.behind the shop,
communicating with it by a glass door, the wife was
found lying upon her back, quite dead.
The prisoner's statement was this. He said, " I have
killed her,- but it was ari an accident. She and I had had
a dreadful quarrel at dinner-time. She gave me my dinner
on a dirty plate, and I threw three plates against the
wall. My wife became terribly irritated. At the instant
I was standing at the table cutting some bacon, and I had
a knife and fork in my hand. My wife rushed at me,
and pushed me back upon a chair immediately behind.
'rho chair got between my legs. My right elbow rested
against the wall. My wife followed me up, and threw
herself upon the knife. I did not know it had entered
her. She sat upon a chair, and in three or four
minutes she fell. I thought e was in a fit, as she
sometimes was. I lifted her up and kissed her. I laid
her down, and found she was dead. I put my finger into
a wound near her left breast, and then I went into Mrs.
Morgan to send for a doctor." This statement of the pri-
soner was consistently persisted in by three or four wit-
nesses, including the police, and was reduced in writing
by himself, and handed to the superintendent. On dis-
cc vering that,his wife was dead, not only had the prisoner
asked that a doctor should be sent for, but he likewise
asked for a policeman.
A man named Miller was the principal witness. He
said that on the afternoon in question he had come to the
prisoner's house to ,get a bath chair for his wife, and that,
as he stood in the doorway, he saw the prisoner through
the glass door leading from the shop into the little
parlour, elevating his right hand, and, as it were, in the
act of striking three or four blows. He could not, how-
ever, see that the prisoner had anything in his hand.
The chair on which the prisoner represented that the de-
ceased had seated herself after receiving her death-blow
was found standing ; but another chair, which the
prisoner said he pushed against, was found upset. The
theory of the defence was that the minor abrasions dis-
covered upon the deceased, which were all upon her right
side, were inflicted by her coming in contact with the
fork.

➢lr. Justice Blackburn distinctly told the jury that, if
the prisoner was guilty of killing his wife under the cir-
cumstances charged, it would athount to murder, and
could not be brought in as manslaughter. In the present
instance there was clearly no evidence of any such provo-
cation ; and therefore the verdict of the jury must either
accept the case for the prisoner, that the deceased met
her death through an accident, or pronounce the prisoner
guilty of the full offence.

Alter a short consultation the jury asked permission to
be allowed to retire to consider their verdict. In about
half an hour they returned into court, and pronounced a
verdict of guilty.
The Foreman : My lord, we at the same time desire
strongly to recommend the prisoner to mercy.
The learned judge said the intimation of the jury's
wishes should be, forwarded to the proper authorities.
The prisoner having been asked whether he had any-
thing to say why sentence of death should not he passed
upon him, proceeded to make a rather lengthened state-
ment. In a calm and impressive manner he said he was
perfectly innocent of the charge. He declared that the
lastwitness, Miller, had given false evidence against him;
still, he was quite prepared to die—prepared to die as his
Lord and Saviour had been before him, and innocent as
he was. He could say that, standing before his God, if
matters had been properly explained, it might have been
shown that the evidence of Miller was false, and also that
of the policeman, who said lie (prisoner) had declared he
had killed his wife. His wife and he had been as
fond of each other as husband and wife could
be. It was quite true that she was in the habit of
having fits, and he could have proved it. He wanted to
call evidence as to that, but his solicitor had •dissuaded
him from doing so. He could have shown also that he
was in the habit of bringing his earnings every week to
his wife' and that every penny he spent—even the penny
which bought him a glass of beer—he had to get from
her. He could defy any one to say that during the 12
years they lived together he had ever walked out on a
Sunday—with the exception of a single occasion—with-
out taking her with him. Neither did he ever leave home
or return back again without kissing her. The prisoner,
having again asseverated his readiness to die, concluded
his address.

Mr. Justice Blackburn then passed sentence of deathin
,he usual form.

ROYAL VICTORIA YACHT CLUB

I{EGATTA.
The business for Thursday was for prizes of the value of
£lOO, open to all yachts belonging to any Royal Yacht
Club. The first vessel in to receive a prize of £75, the
next yacht in of any other rig to the winner to receive a
prize of £25. A time race. The course was from Ryde
to the Noman Fort, to the Nab Light Ship, to the S.E.
Princessv. Buoy leaving it on the starboard hand ; on to
the Nab Light Ship, leaving it on the port hand ; thence
to the Noman Fort, leaving it on the port hand, on to
Ryde, and back, a distance of 50 miles. At ten o'clock
precisely the starting gun was fired. Immediately the
Oimara and Egeria set flying canvas, the Oimara taking--
the lead, followed close on her weather by the Egeria,
and she continued in that position up to reaching the
Norman.

Having rounded the Norman Fort, it was a fine run
down to the station vessel, and nothing could be more
beautiful than the appearance of the Guinevere as she
came hand over hand, with all her sails full. The time
on the completion of the race was as follows :--
H. H. S.
Guinevere ... 424 45
Oimara... ... 428 0
Egeria ••• ... 429 20
Rose of Devon ... ... 430 30

Vanguard ... ... 441 30
Christabel ... 4 53 50

Upon a working out of the times it was found that the
Fiona takes the first prize, beating the Egeria by 32
seconds, and Egeria takes the second prize, beating the
Vanguard by two minutes.

Her Majesty the Queen has subscribed £5OO to
the fund for. the relief of the sick and wounded in the war.
THE FOREIGN OFFICE.—The Assistant Under
Secretaryship at the Foreign Office, vacant by the death
of the. Hon. Charles Spring Rice, has been offered to and
accepted by Mr. Odo Russell, up to the present time em-
ployed on " special service" at Rome. Mr. Odo-William
Russell is the youngest son of the late Lord George
William Russell, (brother of the late Duke of Bedford).

His Royal Highness the `Prince of Wales has sent
a donation of £lO5 towards the building fund for the new
church for the deaf and dumb.

At Townsend Lane, West Derby, one of the
suburbs of Liverpool, a number of Germans have recently
been engaged in preserving the intestines of cattle with
a view to their exportation abroad. The process, how-
ever, creating a nuisance, the proprietors of the factory
were summoned before the county magistrates, under the
Public Health Act, which describes the taking out of a
license for such trades, and they were fined in the full
penalty of £5O.

PARIS NOTE.—WEDNESDAY.—The son-in-law of
Count Darn was to leave at the head of between 2,000
and 3,000 men for the camp at Chalons. This body
is entirely of the Rochefort division. They declare
" They will fight for the Republic, but that
they will not fight for the Emperor." " Then,"
said the commander of the division, "Go
and fight as though you were fighting for the
Republic, and mind you do it well." From accounts
received in Paris, it appears that the Emperor has been
grossly deceived as to the commissariat preparations for
his army, and that the original delay in the advance may
be attributed almost solely to this cause. One divi-
sion is said to have been left for twenty-four
hours without any supply of biscuit. When
the Emperor inquired into the reserve of arms, it was
discovered that the supply was totally insufficient. Now,
they are turning them out of the workshops by hundreds
each hour. The loss of the Trench army up to the present
time is estimated by the best authorities at 18,000 men.
Preparations for war are being actively carried on, and it
is stated that the Bois, which has been the special care
of the present Empire, is doomed to destruction.—Daily
Telegraph.

- -
THE SALE OF MR. DICKENS'S PROPERTY.—ThiS
sale commenced on Wednesday. It is more fully given
by a contemporary as follows :—There was not a large
assemblage, but those who were present bade high
for what was offered to them, The day's sale com-
prised the articles taken from the yard, meadow, gar-
den, vinery, conservatory, coach-hourse, harness-room,
stable and Chalet—upwards of 277.10 ts in all, Ainofigst
the lots were such as the following :—",Thelve spring
mousetraps and long-spouted waterpot ; " " twelve paving
stones, old tub, sundr3rwoOd, old stable dour, and quan-
tity of bricks ; " six birch brooms, five flats, and two
flower-boxes." Flowerfi in pots, worth a few pence, sold
for as many shillings, and garden implements, much
damaged, brought more than their original cost. Some Chi-
nese lanterns which hungin the conservatory fetched high
figures, the purchaser in one case being a butcher. The
old grey cob, Trotty Veck, brought 20 guineas ; and the
brougham by Offerd, 34 guineas. A smart competition
took place for the possession of a set of horse-bells, five
in number, affixed to a piece of leather. They were ulti-
mately knocked down for £3 10s.; but there was a dis-
pute even then about the bid. When the miscellaneous
articles had been disposed of, the auctioneer
proceeded to the Swiss chalet in the shrubbery.
and the competition'for the tables, stools, and chairs was
very keen. A bird's-eye maple cane chair which Dickens
used realised £11; the oak table, four feet by two feet, on
which he wrote, brought £5 ; the stools from 14s. to 18s. ;
and the looking-glasses,. thirty-six inches square, in
maple frame, prices varying from 325. to 365. An empty
oak tool box, which was in the lower room, and which
happened to have " Charles Dickens " on the lid, sold for
£3 6s

THE SECRET TREATY PROJECT - TIIE

EUROPEAN CRISIS.

It is an old saying that when " rogues fall out honest
men come by their own." It is not the less true that when
rogues fall out honest men become alive to their danger.
This secret treaty affair does certainly suggest the idea of
roguery. It places both Bismarck and Napoleon in a bad
light. Their falling out has opened the'eyes of the world
but particularly the eyes of Europe, to the fact that
two men did wickedly conspire against the
welfare of certain nations, against right and jus-
tice, and in favour of oppression and wrong. It is now
no longer doubtful that the obnoxious proposition was
formally made by Napoleon to Bismarck. The proposed
treaty has been religiously preserved by Bismarck, It is
now to be seen in the War Office at Berlin. Prussia has
told us that such was the fact. A correspondent of the
Independance Beige has seen the original document in the
handwriting of the Count Benedetti, late French Minis-
ter to the Court of King William. It is said that Napo-
leon has repeatedly demanded the document, which
Prussia has persistently refused to give up. This
secret proposal on the part of France to
Prussia gives an
_entirely new aspect to the war
situation, We are not of those who blame Napo-
leon alone in this matter. It is not conceivable that
Napoleon would, without first sounding Count Bismarck,
send any such document to Berlin. As we have said
before, the proposed treaty owes its origin to the Biarritz
meeting, when the two wiliest statesmen of the day tried
to reshape the world and to over-reach each other. Every
word in the obnoxious document must have been spoken at
Biarritz. Bismarck, it is not impossible, was more sug-
gestive than Napoleon. The Prime Minister has got
the better of the Emperor ; but success neither justi-
fies ' nor mitigates the villany. It is undeni-
able, however, that Bismarck has outwitted Napo-
leon, and that the publication of this document by
the London Times has proved to Prussia as great a gain as
a great victory on the battle field. Morally Prussia has
won already. Great Britain is red hot with rage. By
every journal which at all expresses the popular senti-
ment Napoleon is bitterly denounced. The sentiment of
the more solid weekly journals is as fierce as the Times
and the Telegraph. The Saturday Review, the Spectator,
the Economist, and the Examiner use language which
makes it abundantly plain that it will be difficult
for the British Government to keep out of the
strife. The British lion is roused, and when
he is roused he is not backward to fight. If Bel-
gian neutrality is violated by France, British troops
are on Belgian soil, and another Waterloo may lead to
another occupation of Paris, another abdication, and
another restoration. Spain is angry with France because
Spain begins to feel that she more than Prussia has been
insulted in the premises. Spain, however, may fret and
fume as she pleases. She can do nothing unless the war
becomes general. In that case she may take pleasure in
teaching France that she has the right to choose for king
whom she will. Perhaps the most important piece of
news is that which announces the intention of Napoleon
to withdraw his troops from Rome. It is evidently Napo-
leon's intention to win over Italy to his side by this
movement. Will the evacuation of Rome by the French
troops make the Italian people the allies of France ? At
one time it would. Will it now? Time must be allowed
to tell. Rome is one of the biggest questions which
Europe has to settle. Turkey and the far East enter
into the growing complications, and it is difficult to say
where or how the war is to end once it has begun.
Earl Granville stated the European situation to the
British .House of Lords the other night during a
scene of intense excitement. He 'pledged England to
neutrality. The most important point of ' his Lordship's
address was made in his official declaration that " no in-
sult was intended to. King William" by Benedetti at Ems.
The British frigate Warrior is to convey the Princess
Royal of England, wife of the Crown Prince of Prussia,
home to her mother„ in England. Another Napoleonic
paper has been brought to light, in which the Emperor
asked Switzerland, " Where does France end, and
where does Italy begin ?" Look at the situation
from what point of view we may, we can arrive at no
other conclusion than this, that Europe has been on the
eve of no such crisis since the wars of the First Napeleon.
We do not wonder that men given to the study of the
Apocalypse should recognize in the approaching conflict
the battle of Armageddon. It would be strange—would
it not ?—if the year which has been specially honoured by
the proclamation of Papal infallibility should witness the
downfall of the Bonaparteg, the extinction of the Moham-
medan power in Europe, the removal of the Pope from the
chair of St. Peter, and the final destruction of the tem-
poral power. Strange certainly, but who shall say—
impossible ?—Nero York Times.

BANK OF ENGLAND RETURNS.

An Account, pursuant to the Act 7 and 8 Victoria,' cap. 32,
for the week ending Wednesday, Aug. 10, 1870.
ISSUE DEPARTMENT.

Notes issued £33,230,325

£33,230,325
BANKING D.

Proprietors' Capi-
tal
Rest 3,453,559
Public Deposits
(including E-
xchequer, Sav-
ings' Banks,
Commissioners
of National
Debt, and Div.
Accounts
Other Deposits 20,695,765
Seven Days and
other Bills 682,997

£44,991,388