The Sun.
London, England, 1851-11-28 00:00:00

FRIDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 28, 1851.

ings and other equally indispensable articles of cloth-
ing, yet they do not in themselves furnish up the
whole man.—(Hear, and cheers.) Now, I have ob-
served that a most accomplished and able person—l
may call him a fellow-lecturer of my own—Dr.
Lyon Playfair, i❑ a lecture which he has recently de-
livered, gives it as his opinion with respect to the
modes of education pursued in this country, that in
our schools and colleges enough attention has not
been given to scientific) instruction and regular in-
dustrious training.—(Hear.) He complains that too
much labour may have been bestowed on classical
studies, on dead authors, and bygone poets, and that
the faculties have not been enough exercised on the
open page of nature, and the living wonders which
are around and about and beneath and above us.
Now, I think probably he is in the right in this ; but
at the same time lam convinced that almost every
prevailing direction, both of the individual mind and
of society at large, ought to have administered, always
to be ready to have administered to it something in
the way of free action and of a corrective.—(Hear,
hear.) It may be very well in the quiet of academic
bowers—as my friend Mr. Heywood may probably
remind me—it would be well that the stern cloisters
of Oxford, and the still shades of Cambridge—re-
taining, as I hope they will • ever do, their old appro-
priate sources of learning, not ignoring—to use a
modern phrase which I may probably be told in :hose
classic precincts is a barbarous one—but not ignoring
the accustomed voice of their muses, yet it might be
well that they should reflect still more, as I believe
they have begun to do, of the aspect of the century,
and of the society in which they are placed.—(Hear,
hear.) But on the other hand, it is no less desirable
that, in a district like this, where the pursuit of wealth
is the habitual rule ; where the recurring routine of
labour is the daily life, where the steam-engine and
the power-loom, and mechanics and machines seem to
be the lords of time and space, of the body and of
the mind—(A voice—" No, no.") —it is well where
there is such a tendency, I say, that without neglect-
ing, on the contrary, while you directly encourage
those subjects and inquiries which are congenial to the
place, while you promote the study of the laws of nature,
or inquire into the properties of matter, at the same time
means of access should be given, an opportunity of
hearing, at least, should be afforded to the claims of
general literature—to the sober muse of history—to
the fervent accents of oratory, and to the sublime in-
spirations of song.—(Hear.) And, first, ladies and
gentlemen, as it is the boast of our country, England,
that it is the same country which produced our New-
ton, who has laid down the positive and ascertained
laws of other worlds and of other systems ; and our
Shakspere, whose imagination peopled worlds almost
as numerous and quite as bright ; while these
mingling characteristics, however, distinguished our
countrymen, at once the most sober-minded and the
most adventurous race which the world has known,

so let it be the aim and glory of our own times, on
the one hand, to make the study of the recluse and the
vigil of the student still more available for meeting
the wants of the present time, and for the mastery
over nature, still more useful, still more practical,
still more suited to the age in which we live, than
they have yet been; while, on the other hand, we
should aim to throw around the dry monotony of toil,
and the plodding perseverance of labour, charms and
graces which are not their own.—(Cheers.) And for
this reason I rejoice that such an institution as has
already existed—and which it is now proposed to
extend and to diffuse, to embody in a more worthy
home, and to diffuse further in its genial influences
all around you—should exist in your town. I rejoice
to hear that it is proposed to combine with it lecture-
rooms and class-rooms for drawing and music, classes
for languages, and a well-assorted library. I rejoice
to hear that it is not to be wanting in the graces of
external architecture ; and I trust that you will show
yourselves alive to the occasion which opens itself
thus before you ; and that when the form has been
moulded, when the bricks and mortar—l beg pardon,
I believe you have excellent stone of your own in
Burnley—when that has all been brought together,
and a goodly edifice has been reared, you will show
that it has the support of the inhabitants; and the
mind that is to be developed within will make the real
glory and honour of the building.—(Hear.) I know
that, in addressing you in Lancashire, I am among
a community which has shown a great and growing
interest in ,the cause of popular education in all its
directions. Into the merits of any particular direc-
tion which that interest may assume, this is not the
place or the opportunity to enter ; but I feel most
glad and triumphant to think that the time has come
when the education of the people must spread wide
and strike deep, and I have faith that the wisdom and
puvdic spirit of all classes in this country will be
exerted to give that impulse the right direction.—
(Hear, hear.) I feel that there is someting large and
expansive in the bodies of men which in this portion
of the country are brought together upon occasions
like the present. Why, in the very place in which
we are assembled—in the very person who laid the
first stone of your new building—we have living and
patent proof that there is nothing exclusive or repel-
ling in the assistance and energy which have been
brought to bear upon it; and, as I have referred to
mechanics' institutions as comprising in their aim the
cathedral towns of Lincoln and the factories of Burn-
ley, so we have seen to-day that they may unite in
their service the oldest and most ancestral modes of
faith with the least fettered and the least hierarchical
forms.—(Hear, hear.) And from my heart, ladies
and gentlemen, I join in the wish which I feel sure
animates all who have this day and this night been
brought together, which has already found eloquent
expression in the mouths of preceding speakers, that the
institution of which, amidst so many demonstrations of
good will and concord, the first stone has been laid this
day, and of which we are now holding this commemora-
tive assembly, may, in its future development, with re-
spect to all who may be brought within its walls, or be
made partakers of its benefits, never suffer them to im-
bibe any lesson or influence that is inconsistent with
their duties as good citizens, good subjects, good men,
good Christians—(Cheers)—that they may within and
under its roof find much to instruct, much to amuse,
much to refine, but nothing to corrupt, nothing to
sully, nothing to sap the wholesome foundation of
morals or impair the sacred principles of religion—
(Cheers)—but that, while they derive largely, and in
ever-increasing measure, opportunities for useful in-
struction and for rational recreation, they may at the
same time be imbibing lessons which shall stimulate
and sweeten their daily toil, and make their homes
and firesides honest and happy. (The Noble Earl
retired amid much cheering.)
Several other speeches were delivered ; among the
rest, a short and somewhat humorous one by the Earl
of Sefton, the Lord-Lieutenant of the county, who
denounced the gin-shops and gin-bottles, and affirmed
as a fact that no drunkenness ever disgraced Heaton
Park Races, because no gin-booths were ever admitted
within the precincts of the Earl of Wilton's domain
while those sports were kept up there.

the latest specimen of barbarism with which they had
become connected, there had been sent clothes,
arms, and domestic instruments ; from the wild
regions bordering the confines of our vast
Indian empire had come examples of the rich
and varied products found there. Sumatra
sent her lacquered work, and less cultivated races
sent their warlike weapons and fishing materials.
There was one reflection which suggested itself on
viewing these specimens of the industry of nations
who stood so low in the scale of civilization. It is,
that man is by nature and universally an artificer, an
artisan, and an artist. They called the nations from
which such specimens as he had mentioned came,
rude and savage ; and yet how much of ingenuity,
induction, and practical knowledge of the properties
of vegetable textures, did they not exhibit, how much
manual dexterity, and that, too, of a very high order,
and how much neatness, prettiness, and even beauty,
although the work of savage hands ! Even we,
while looking down from our lofty summit of
civilized skill upon the infancy of art, might learn
from it lessons of taste. When they came to the
higher specimens of art, the work of nations which
had long been in a state of civilization, though in•
ferior to ourselves in mechanical power, how much
was there to admire, and even envy, in the
beauty and taste they displayed ! The tissues
and ornamental works of Persia and India had
beauties which Europe could not surpass. Our
superiority over them rested on a very different basis.
In those countries art was employed to gratify the
wants of a few, while with us it is used to supply the
wants of the many. There was another view of the
bearing of the Exhibition on art and science less ob-
vious than those to which he had already referred,
but not less important, he meant the results obtained
by the classification of the articles exhibited. To
those who had not made the attempt, nothing might
appear more easy than to classify any collection of
different objects, but in truth it was a task surrounded
with almost insuperable difficulties. In the various
French expositions of art and industry since 1823,
every species of classification had successively been
employed, and all had beenfound unsatisfactory, which
showed the difficult nature of the task. He thought
the plan adopted at the Great Exhibition of this year,
though far from being perfect, was yet the best that
could, under the circumstances, have been adopted. Dr.
Whewell then described, at great length, the system
adopted in classifying the object exhibited. Now, the
advantage of obtaining a permanent classification of
all the objects of men's skill and industry were very
great, as it gave the manufacturer, the man of science,
the producer, and the artisan, a settled common lan-
guage in which they might speak of the objects with
which they were connected. But it was not only ne-
cessary that things should have one name, but that
they should have a settled form and application. Thus
it had been suggested that in wheel work it would be
very convenient that all wheels of a certain nature
should be toothed exactly in the same way, and, to a
great extent, the Exhibition would lead to that result.
After some further remarks on the advantage which
could not fail to flow from the greatly increased in-
tercourse between men of skill and knowledge which
had been caused by the great gathering of the Ex-
, hibition, the lecturer concluded amid general applause.
Mr. DILKE then moved, and Professor PLA.YrAIR
seconded the thanks of the society to Dr. Whewell
for the lecture he had delivered, and the proceedings
terminated.

well's notes it appeared that at the former trial the de-
fendant swore that he was present, and saw his wife pay
the money.] Defendant's mother-in law was also called,
and swore that the saw the plaintiff on the 9th of
April at the defendant's house ; and a man who was
also called swore that he had some beer given to him
that day, but said that he did not know who paid for it.
Mr. Sergeant BYLES, in reply, contended that as there
was only a balance of 111. due to the plaintiff on the
9th of April the defendant at,empted to account for a
receipt for 11/. 2s. (which had been given in respect of
the money previously paid by instalments) by the im-
probable story that it included 2s. the defendant's wife
had given for beer for the men, and he called upon the
jury to disbelieve the defendant and his witnesses.
The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE, in summing up, said the
object of the Legislature would not have been obtained
in this case if the counsel for the plaintiff had not waived his
objection to the evidence of the defendant's wife; for the
law, contemplating that a wife would be liable to be under
her husband's influence, had not made her evidence ad-
missible, and yet in this case if she had not been called the
plaintiff would have had it all his own way, there being
no one else to contradict him. His Lordship then read
over all the evidence, and lef; the matter to the jury.
The jury were locked up from a quarter past four
o'clock in the afternoon until nearly twelve at night,
when they returned into court and delivered (t'a the
Associate in the absence of the Chief Justice) a verdict
for the plaintiff.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE.
A young woman of respectable appearance was
brought before the Lord Mayor, under the following
circumstances:—
Isaac Isaacs, shopman to Mr. Jacobs, of No. 4,
Houndsditch, said the prisoner came to our warehouse
yesterday, at a quarter past four o'clock, and said that
she wished to look at some shawls. I pointed out to
her the part of the warehouse to which she was to go.
She went there and looked at some shawls, and she
selected two, and she left 11. 7s. 61, and said she would
call again with the rest of the money, and she went out.
Mrs. Isaacs immediately came to me, and said the pri-
soner had taken a shawl with her, and I followed the
prisoner and said to her that I wanted her, and she must
come back. I told her she had stolen a shawl. I saw a
part of a shawl hanging from her at the time. She said
to me, "For God's sake take the shawl, and let me go."
I sent for a policeman, but the shawl was not found
upon her, and we let her go. Afterwards the shawl was
found by one of the warehousemen. The place was
dark at the time, and I suppose that was the reason it
was not found when she was in custody. It was found
near the door. She afterwards came with some person,
and began to kick up a disturbance, and was given into
custody.
A policeman said at a little after four o'clock I was
sent for to No. 4, Houndaditch, to take a woman into
custody for stealing a shawl. The prisoner was the
woman charged. I asked Mrs. Isaacs about it, and she
counted over the shawls, and said she could not tell
whether one was gone or not; but the female had left
11. 7s, 6d. on a shawl or shawls, and it would remain
till to- morrow, when it would be ascertained whether
the shawl was lost, and the female was to bring the re-
mainder of the money this (Thursday) morning.
The LORD MAYOR—Did you look round the place for
the shawl? Policeman—l did, but not particularly, as
the lady said she did not know whether a shawl was
missing.
The LORD MAYOR—Did Mr. Isaacs tell you at the
time that he had seen part of the shawl hanging from the
prisoner's person? Policfman—He did not.
The prisoner appeared to be very anxious to speak,
but his Lordship said there was no occasion for any ob-
servation from her, and that she was discharged.
A man, who stated that he was the prisoner's hus-
band, said, in an angry tone, that the witness for the
prosecution bad grossly perjured himself.
The LORD MAYOR—There is no necessity for any re-
mark here. I dare say you know what to do. The
young woman is discharged.

MURDER AT TOLLESBURY.
(From the Chelmsford Chronicle.)
With feelings of humiliation and sorrow we have to
add the details of another atrocious murder to the blood-
stained deeds which have blackened the criminal annals
of the county within the last few years. The scene of
the horrid tragedy in this case is Tollesbury, a consider-
able fishing village, lying upon the marshes of the Black-
water, and close to Tiptree-heath; and the victim is the
wife of an oyster dredgerman, named James Cobb, 33
years of age, who was murdered while asleep in her
bed, after her husband had left her, early on Tuesday
morning. Cobb was employed in the oyster layings, of
which there is a considerable extent in the neighbour-
hood, and it appears left for his work about six o'clock
in the morning, a lodger having previously quitted the
house; the wife being at the time awake. A
little girl, seven years old, whom they had adopted,
having no children of their own, slept in a crib
close to their bed. Other houses adjoin, but nothing
was heard to create alarm or excite surprise till eight
o'clock, when the little girl awoke, and finding the woman
dead, gave an alarm, and admitted the neighbours • the
victim was then found lying in the bed, apparently in
the position in which she had been sleeping, with an in-
dentation in her skull, several other wounds on her head,
and her throat cut, life being extinct. The object of the
murderer was clearly plunder, and the presumption is,
that having entered by the window, he proceeded up
stairs, struck his victim with a hammer on the bead as
she lay asleep, and having rendered her insensible, cut
her throat with a razor, thus effecting the murder with-
out waking the child, who lay slumbering within a few
feet, and who, if she had been disturbed, would pro-
bably have been silenced in the same summary manner.
The murderer then appears to have ransacked the boxes
in that and another room in search of money, but he
did not succeed in finding more than 12s. belonging to a
lodger, which was taken away; a tea-caddy, containing
about the same sum, standing close to the bed of the
murdered woman, having escaped his search.
The dreadful deed produced awful excitement through-
out the village and the adjacent parishes; the police
were early on the spot, investigating all the circum-
stances, and suspicion soon pointed to Henry Harring-
ton, a young man about twenty years of age, who lodged
in a house adjoining, as it was ascertained he had not
quitted his house till after Cobb and his landlord had
gone, and the same morning proceeded to Wivenhoe.
The evidence against him at first appeared exceedingly
slight, but the officer felt it his duty to lake him into
custody. and facts have since come out that tend strongly
to fix him with the guilt. A hammer belonging to the
person at whose house he lodged has been found exactly
to fit the indentation in the head of the deceased, and on
Wednesday a labourer, at Salcot, two miles off, found
near a stile in the direction the prisoner went to Wiven-
hoe, a handkerchief and a razor in a case, both bloody,
the former of which has been identified as belonging
to Harrington, and the razor is the property of Wash,
with whom he lodged, and who, on going to look
for it, found it was gone. It was further found that the
prisoner's trousers were marked with spots of blood,
and it appeared that he had endeavoured to hide some
by putting ink over them. lie has been sometimes em-
ployed as a labourer on a farm, and at other times as an
assistant at dredging. The husband of the murdered
woman, though in humble life, occupied a respectable
position in the village.
On Wednesday an inquest was held at the Queen's
Head Inn, Tollesbury, before W. Codd, Esq., coroner,
and a respectable jury, when, after viewing the body, a
number of witnesses were examined, who deposed to the
facts above given. The medical gentlemen agreed in
opinion that it was impossible the wounds on the head of
deceased could have been inflicted by herself. Harring-
ton made the following statement, atter being duly cau
tioned
I live with my sister, Mrs. Wash, and opposite to
Cobb's house. On Tuesday morning last (the 25th inst.)
about six o'clock, I got up and lit my pipe, and went
up the yard towards the privy, when I heard some
one in there. I went indoors and began my break
fast, and in about ten minutes afterwards I again
went to the privy, and met a man named
James Coates, who lodges with me, coming from
it. I shortly after returned into the house, and made a
fire and finished my breakfast. Coates bad then gone
to his work. I left home before seven to go to Saleet to
see Abraham Emmeny, who was going along with me
to Wivenhoe to get a boat, and he and I went to Wi-
venhoe the same day. Jeremiah Ketley, Abraham Em
many, and I had paid down a pound amongst us for the
boat about a month ago, and were to pay the remainder,
151. 10s., by weekly instalments of ss. amongst us. We
went to the owner of the boat, Mr. Barton, of Wiven-
hoe, and he told us the boat was ready; but when we
went to look at her we found the well had not been made
high enough, and we came away the same day without
the boat, and reached Salcot about seven that evening,
when I slept that night at the Rising Sun with Em-
many. I did not come on to Tollesbury, as I heard
Policeman Fox was after me, and I was told that he was
coming to Salcot for me. I was apprehended by Po-
liceman Fox at Tollesbury this morning. When I
left home yesterday morning, I had 3s. in shilling
pieces. I had two shillings of it from Rallinson,
Mr. Fairhead's looker, and the other shilling from Mr.
Wyatt, a bricklayer of Tollesbury. The coat which I
now have on is the same coat I wore the whole of yes-
terday (the 25th instant), from the time I got up. I
have only two other coats, and both of them are at home.
b
I have no razor of my own, but always use John Wash's
razor where I lodge. I believe it was a black-handled
one, but am not quite certain. I think I should know it
if I was to see it again. I have not shaved with it for
the last fortnight. I think I got to Salcot about eight
o'clock. I went by the road as far as Old Hall Chase,
and then went along the path by the fields. I did not
leave the path at all. I have one handkerchief only, and
that is at home. I should know it again if I was to see
it. I have had no other since I have been at Tollesbury.
I very seldom use it. I did not use it yesterday morn-
ing. I kept the handkerchief at the head of my bed.
James Coates and bis son slept in the same room with
me, and did so on Monday night last. Coates and his
son, aged about twelve years, left home before me about
half as hour.
The inquest was adjourned to Tuesday.
Yesterday, a post mortem examination of the body of
the deceased was made by Mr. Dawson and Me. Smith,
when it was found that the injuries from the blow on
the head were much more extensive than had been at
first supposed, and were sufficient of themselves to
cause death, inasmuch as the whole of that part of the
bone on which the hammer fell was shattered to frag-
ments.
It is a little singular that when the crime was dis-
covered the general feeling of the inhabitants of the
village was one of suspicion against the prisoner, this
being in part produced by the general cherecter which
he bore. The prisoner, it is stated, had on former oc-
casions been heard to give utterance to threats against
the deceased. It is also added that Cobb was to have
been a partner in the boat alluded to in the evidence,