The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-04 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 4, 1870.

THE VIVIAN-WATERF ORD AFFAIR.

TUESDAY.

This case came before the Court again to-day. Captain
Vivian petitioned for a divorce from his wife, on the
ground of her adultery with the co-respondent. The
decree was made as long ago as last July, but there
having been an intervention by Colonel Leslie, the rule
absolute stood over until last week. When the case
came on, Colonel Leslie withdrew, and an adjournment
for a week was ordered, to give the Queen's Proctor time
to decide as to the necessity of his intervention, the con-
dition being that if such intervention was not made the
decree would be made absolute to-day. Mr. Archibald
now appeared for the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-
General (Sir J. D. Coleridge, Q.C.) and Mr. Prentice,
Q.C., on behalf of Captain Vivian.
Mr. Archibald said he had to ask on behalf of the
Attorney-General that a further period of a fortnight
should be given, in order that other inquiries might be
made. The order was made on the 26th April, and the
notice had only been served on the Queen's Proctor last
Thursday. He had since made inquiries, and had re-
ceived information which led him to the conclusion
that it was a case in which he should intervene, but he
had not yet had an opportunity of completing those
inquiries, or of makingc, a thorough investigation
of the case. The Queen's proctor had had
the information in his possession before the
Attorney-General, who had directed him to
make this application. His lordship would remember
that there had previously been an intervention, which
was only withdrawn on the 26th April, when the order
was made, and by which the rule would become absolute
to-day, if Queen's . Proctor did not intervene.
. .

The Solicitor-General said it seemed to him that
this was a matter which must be left to his
lordship's discretion. Appearing as he did for
Captain Vivian, it would ili become him to do anything
to shirk the fullest possible inquiry. At the same time
he thought there should be a limit to these things, and
when his friend said that the intervention of Colonel Leslie
was not likely to attract the attention of the Queen's
Proctor, he should have thought the effect would have
been quite the reverse. The very circumstance that a
person in the position of Colonel Leslie was intervening
he should have thought would have led him, knowing
that he was a relation of the co-respondent, to have made
inquiries which would have compelled him one way or the
other—either to have intervened to have decided to ab-
stain from doing so. There was no suggestion that these
inquiries or the information which had reached him
was not precisely the same as that which had
been open to him for months, or that it was
not exactly the same as that which was in the
possession of the person who had previously intervened,
and who on the last day, and without assigning
any reason, withdrew. The only suggestion which
was made was that more time should be given, in order
that. this same information might be considered in
another point of view, and his client was to have the
misery of going through this over and over again. Added
to this, there would be the additional expenses, because
the costs of the Queen's Proctor would be paid by
the country, and whatever might be the result
not one penny of Captain Vivian's costs would be paid.
The whole case was a very clear one, and there really was
nothing in it which could not have been mastered in a few
hours.

After some further discussion, his lordship intimated
his opinion that, in the interests of all parties, the appli-
cation should be granted.
Sir J. Coleridge thought that, at any rate, a week's ad-
journment would be long enough.
Lord Penzance said he thought perhaps that would be
long enough, but at the same time, if the Queen's Proc-
tor was not clear as to what was his duty, at the end of a
week he would of course intervene, and they would be
brought to the same position as they were in now.
Sir J. Coleridge said he supposed he must consent to
any time they asked for, if it was for six months. (A
laugh.) If he did not he should be under an imputation.
Lord Penzance : No, not an imputation.
The adjournment for a fortnight was then agreed to.

CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE.
TUESDAY.

A council meeting of this body was held to-day, at the
Salisbury Hotel, Salisbury-square, Colonel Tomline, M.P.,
in the chair. There was a large attendance. The principal
business of the meeting was to consider " The
proposals of the Government with reference to
Local Taxation," and upon this subject the
business committee had drawn up resolutions
In the first place protesting against the present unjust
exemption of personal property, secondly that no read-
justment would be acceptable not provided by a thorough
inquiry whether the objects now locally provided for or in
contemplation are of local or of national obligation. The
third resolution protested against any such measures
being accepted as a settlement of the grievance to which
both land and house property are now subjected.
These resolutions were discussed at considerable length,
all the speakers agreeing that the burdens of local taxa-
tion pressed very unjustly on real property.
Sir GEORGE JENKINSON, Bart., M.P., moved, and Mr.
WEBB seconded, as an amendment —" That although in
view of such taxation as must always remain strictly local
taxation, it is undoubtedly advisable to widen the limits
of the rateable area by including woods, mines, and Go-
vernment property, as proposed by the Government ; and
even supposing it be found expedient also to charge some
portion of the rates on the owner, nevertheless
this Council still enter their protest against
any such measures, taken alone, being accepted as a
settlement of the grievance to which both land and house
property are now subjected, and which grievance will
remain a standing injustice until all property is made to
contribute its fair share towards local taxation."

The amendment was negatived, and the original resolu-
tion was carried unanimously. It was also agreed that
the resolutions should be forwarded to the Government.

The next subject was the further consideration of the
provisions of the Elementary Education Bill, but it was
deemed advisable again to postpone the discussion.
It was agreed that a petition, signed by the Chairman,
should be presented to the House of Commons against
the abolition of hawkers' licenses, proposed by the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer in the Budget.

Another petition to the House of Commons was like-
wise agreed to, in favour of retaining game certificates,
and against the imposition of a tax on guns, which
farmers and market gardeners found it necessary to use on
their premises for the protection of their crops.
A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the busi-
ness, and the Council adjourned till the 31st instant.

THE MURDER OF A. RUSSIAN NOBLEMAN.
After several lays days examination of the witnesses the
trial of the murderers of M. de Zohn was been brought to
a conclusion at St. Petersburg. The Attorney-
General Bajenoff, who conducted the prosecution
summed up the chief facts elicited, and said it
was undeniable there had been an attempt to poison the
unfortunate councillor, though it was evident he could
not have swallowed the poison. There was then an attempt
at strangulation, when the murderers saw the poison was
too slow, and finally they resolved to kill their
victim by beating him on the head with irons. The object
of the crime was theft, as M. de Zohn, who was a visitor
in Maxime Ivanof's house, had a large sum of money
with him, and was intoxicated. Ivanhof himself was
the principal criminal, though the other prisoners were
accessories. The cause of the prisoners was powerfully
defended by their counsel. The advocate for. Maxime
Ivanof was one of the most talented of Russian barristers,
and the comae' for Alexandra Ard6lef, the miserable
woman who played the piano and sang to drown the
victim's cries, rested his defence on . her ignorant
and degraded condition. Four of the prisoners, including
Alexandra Ardeletwere minors,the youngest being only 16.
The defence was concluded at ten in the evening. The
president then summed up, and at midnight the jury-
men retired, returning at three in the morning. They.
found that Maxime Ivanof was the author of the murder
without premeditation, and the others were accomplices.
The court, after having deliberated nearly twohours, pro-
nounced their judgment. Maxime and Alexander Ivanof,
John Fendrof, and Alexandra Ard6ief, were sentenced to
forfeit all their civil rights, moreover, Maxime Ivanof was
sentenced to twelve years' hard labour in fortresses;
Alexander Ivanof and John Fedorof to four years'
hard labour in the mines ; Alexandra Ard6ief to be de-
ported to the most distant region of Siberia ; Anthony.
Gratchef to three years' imprisonment; and Daria Tour-
bine to eib,Tht months. When the judgment was pro-
nounced Maxime Ivanof was very pale and nervous ; the
other prisoners heard their sentences with calmness, and
said they acknowledged the justice of the verdict. Thus
ended a trial almost without precedent in the criminal
annals of Russia, and which has excited throughout its
course the liveliest interest.

Lord Garvagh, a Conservative, will, it is said, be
offered the Lord-Lieutenancy of Derry county, vacant by
the death of the late Mr. Acheson Lyle, Q.C.

LADY MORDAUNT.—The Lancet, referring to Dr.
Tyler Smith's report as to the health of Lady Mordaunt,
says :—" In an evening contemporary, Dr. Writer con-
firms our statement that Lady Mordaunt has been for the
last three weeks under his immediate care' and ' constant
inspection ;' while Dr. Tyler Smith must excuse us for
saying that the opinion we have expressed as to her
ladyship's mental condition was derived from sources
whose authority we decline to supersede by his own.

THE CATHOLICS OF HUNGARY.—The Not-tit-East
Correspondence says that the Archbishop Primate of Hun-
gary will summon from Rome to Pesth the Catholic Con-
gress, which will be a sort of constituent assembly, to
organise the autonomy of the Catholic Church of Hun-
gary. Mgr. Simon will be present at the opening, but he
will return to Rome as soon as the works of the Congress
shall have been distributed among the special com-
mittees.

AN INGENIOUS 'APPARATUS.—During his lecture
at the Royal Associatior Professor Tyndall made use of
a curious apparatus to Jew the lengthening of a bar of
iron when magnetised. The apparatus consisted of a bar
of soft iron, standing vertically upon a block of stone,
and surrounded by a helix of insulated copper wire.
The top of the bar pressed against the short end
of a lever arm, and the opposite end of the arm
transmitted its motion to a small axle, on
which was mounted a mirror. Thus when the bar elon-
gated, the motion was multiplied many times before it
turned the mirror. A ray of light from the electric lamp
was thrown upon the mirror, which reflected the beam
across the theatre of the institution, and threw a round
spot of light upon one of the walls ; hence the slightest
motion of the mirror would make the spot of light move
a foot or two up or down the wall, and consequently shew
the iomotlok tif the maguetled bar,_
-