The Sun.
London, England, 1851-12-29 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF RANKIerIPTCY, Dec. 27.
(Before Mr. Commiss3o, ner GOULBURN.)
IN RE WILLIAMS AW)) MAILCIIAIiT.

The bankrupts in this case were railway contrac-
tors, and the messenger of the a ourt had been intrusted
with a warrant to seize certain property upon the Ox-
ford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton line. Having
obtained possession, he was, 1 towever, subsequently
ejected by Mr. C. Blatchley, th e engineer, and a body
of workmen in the employ!, tent of the company.
Under such circumstances Ai :r. Terrell obtained a
rule calling upon Mr. Blatcbl ly to show cause why
he should not be committed :for a contumacious dis-
obedience of the authority of ti 'le Court.
Mr. Bramwell and Mr. Qt tam now appeared for
Mr. Blatchley, and Mr. Terra! l represented the assig-
nees of the bankrupts.
On behalf of Mr. Blatchleis it was contended that
the original seizure was not valid. The warrant of
the Court authorized the mesa anger to make a seizure
of all property belonging to cit on premises in the pos-
session of the bankrupts. Let this instance the pro-
perty was neither the propetly of the bankrupts, nor
were the premises on which. it was seized in their
possession.
For the assignees it was submitted that the pre.
wises on which the seizure was made might legally
be said to have been in posses sion of the bankrupts.
They had contracted to per Form certain works, and
possession of the premises rof erred to had been given
in order that their contract might be performed.
They were as much in possession of the premises
as a tenant could be said to be in possession of a house.
Mr. Commissioner GOLIL 8-URN said it was of great

importance that the officers of this court should re-
ceive due protection in the discharge of their duties ;
at the same time, it was beet right that the Court
should carefully guard itsele against unduly interfer-
ing with the rights of other persons. The messenger
of the Court, it appeared, heed obtained the possession
of the property by a seizure* at the hour of one of the
clock in the morning. Thene were peculiar reasons
for this step, and he did not .feel that he could blame
the messenger for his conduct.. By bis warrant the
messenger was authorised to seize the whole of the
property in the bankrupts' house, or in any other
place in their possession. Ile did not think the
bankrupts could be said to ha-ee been in this posses
sion. The bankrupt Williams was performing a
contract, but it was upon th a company's premises,
and ho could not agree with ;the argument that pos-
session of these premises waz in the hands of the
bankrupts. The agent of the company resided there-
upon, and Mr. Blatcbley had said to the messenger
that the works could not be mopped, and that there
would be danger even to life ;by such a stoppage. He
did not think that Mr. Bruned, the responsible party
in the matter, bad taken the best course that could
hare been adopted in direcing Mr. Blatchley and
others to eject the messenger'by force. It might have
been better if he had been content to 'abide by a de-
cision of this Court on the legality of the seizure. He
could not, however, hold that. Mr. Blatchley bad been
guilty of a contumacy towards the Court that would
warrant him in committing bim to prison. The rule
would therefore be discharged,.
Mr. BRAMWELL applied for the costs attendant upon
resisting the rule to show caus e.
Mr. Commissioner Gounerraredeclined to make any
order on the subject, considering that the messenger
had not acted with any impropriety that would render
it necessary to saddle him with costs.
The rule was therefore discharged, but without costs.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
GUILDHALL.
Mrs.:Dawson, alias Phmbe Blakeney, was brought
up before Sir P. Laurie for further examination.
Miss Georgina Elam: was now cross-examined—
She said she lived at 3, Torrington-street, Torring-
ton-square, in the house of a Mr. Pelligrine, a solici-
tor. She meant by living there that she had her let-
ters addressed and passed the daytime there, but
slept at 40, Keppel-street, kept by a Miss Barrow.
A Monsieur Tutrice lodged in the same house, and
was a friend of hers, and was the same person she bad
before spoken of as the gentleman she was engaged to
be married to. She had known him about a year and
a half, and left Mrs. Dasyson's house in his com-
pany when she went to France, but left him in
London when she started. for Boulogne. She slept
at an hotel near London-bridge for one night, because
the train did not start at the time she expected. On
the day she left Mrs. Dawson the latter said she
could do as she liked, ss she was of age, and
advised her to " make her bed as she in-
tended to lie in it." Mrs. Dawson afterwards
wrote to her telling her she did not approve of her
leaving. She left London Alone, and did net see M.
Tutrice for nearly four .months after. She never
lodged with him in France, and saw him very seldom
there. She did not give her address in Keppel-street,
in the information, because young ladies like to keep
such things to themselves, and she thought it was not
necessary, and would not have given it at all if the
question bad not been asked. M. Tutrice was not
supplying her with funds to carry on these proceed-
ings. Mr. Pelligrine prepared the instructions, and
she employed him because it was he who first drew
her attention to the advertisement in the Times in-
quiringifor "Georgina Elam, who would hear of some-
thing to her advantage by applying to Mr. Lane,"
&c. She was staying with the family of the brother
of M. Tutrice, at Rouen, when she first heard of this
property, and immediately came to Boulogne (for the
purpose of proceeding to England to be married to M.
Tutrice), where sbe saw Mr. Pelligrine. She stayed
at Boulogne several days. Mr.Pelligrine took the lodg-
ings in Keppel.street for her because be had not
room in his own house, with his family. She went
to school in France in 1839, and remained till 1844.
She knew a Mrs. Caldwell, and suspected she was
the person who inserted the advertisement, but that
lady denied it. She did not know anything of the
advertisement until nearly a year after its appear-
ance. Mrs. Dawson knew where she was residing
while in France. The eight before sbe went to
France she slept in the hotel alone, and M. Tutrice
had his hotel separate from hers. M. Tutrice lived
in Boulogne, and she Went direct from London to
Rouen, where his brothers family resided. She had
received about 201. front Mrs. Dawson while in
France, which came through her solicitor, as Mrs.
witihnegr 201. per year until
any letters. Mrs.
she got into business. M. Caldwell had nothing to do
Dawson Dawson hcaadrepfurollmy
with her employing Mr. Pelligrine, and she could not
tell whether Mrs. Caldwell was or was not also a
iasevdoidteodauowr
mistress of the late Lord Portarlington. She had
never heard so from MO- Dawson.
Mrs. Mary Anne Robinson Was then called, and
said she was at present residing with Dr. Nicholas,
her son-in-law. In 18$3 she kept a young ladies'
school at Ealing, and in the February of that year
Mrs. Dawson placed her three eldest daughters with
her, the eldest of whoro was seventeen years of age,
and the youngest fourteen, Mrs. Dawson subse-
quently introduced a Mrs. Elam, who brought Miss
Elam, then a child five years old. Mrs. Dawson said
Mrs. Elam was her (Mrs. Dawson's) mother, but she
(witness) very much doubted it. She thought Mrs.
Elam did not look like the mother of a woman of Mrs.
Dawson's age. Miss %lam stayed at the school until
Midsummer, and then Mrs. Elam took her away and
paid the bill. Mrs. Elam said she was going to take
her child to Brighton. Miss Elam did not return at
the end of the holidays, but Mrs. Elam and Mrs.
Dawson called before they went on a journey they
intended making, and the former was very particular
in recommending Miss Elam to her care, and ob-
served that " it was her darling child, her own
dear child." About a month after that the Earl of
Portarlington called, in company with Colonel
Darner and Mrs. Dawson, and informed her (wit-
ness) of Mrs. Elam's deaih. She knew Lord Port-
arlington, as he had since called to arrange about
his daughter Phcebe's marriage. Phoebe Dawson was
Mrs. Dawson's youngest daughter. Miss Elam shortly
after came back fora few weeks, and Mrs. Dawson
directed that the child should be called Georgina
Dawson, and Miss 1 lam had ever since called Mrs.
Dawson " Mamma." Mrs. Dawson was equally par-
ticular with that child as her own. At Christmas
the children were all taken home for the holidays,
but were brought beck on the same evening by Lord
Portarlington, as Mrs. Dawson was then in her con-
finement with her youngest daughter Eleanor. This
was in 1835. Mrs- Dawson had told her that she
was within a year or two of witness's age, which was
not 65. She never heard Mrs. Elam's age, but
thought she might be a year or two older.
Mrs. Dawson, Who really looked about ten years
younger than Mrs. Robinson, was then put by her side
for the purpose of contrasting their ages by their ap-
pearance, but Sir Peter declined to admit such evi-
dence or to give an opinion at this stage of the case.
Mr. Huddlestone said he was about to apply for a
subpoena to obtain the attendance of Colonel Close,
who was a witness to the marriage of Mrs. Elam with
Lieutenant Elam, and who positively refused to ape
pear in the matter at all unless compelled. The name
of Colonel Close appeared on the affidavits of their
marriage sent into the War- office by Mrs. Elam, at
her husband's death, to claim her pension.
Mrs. Eliza Simpson was then examined for the
defendant, and said she was the wife of John Simpson,
a master saddler in the Carbineers, at present sta-
tioned in the county of Cork. Her former husband's
name was John William Hammond, and he was the
nephew of Mrs. Elam. She was first acquainted
with him in 1827. At that time Mrs. Darn wag
living in Park- street, Grosvenor-square, with Mrs.
Dawson. Mrs. Dawson was apparently the mistress
of the house. Witness remained on a visit about a
fortnight with them, and at the first introduction to
them after her marriage with her husband they
passed as mother and daughter. They were, in
fact, introduced to her as such, and she heard Mrs.
Elam call Mrs. Dawson " her bsen.ife.l, Lsr
obild." She thought Mrs. glara was 55 years of age

about that time, and Mrs. Dawson not more than 25.
There was no indication in Mrs. Elam's appearance at
any time of her being in the family-way. Witness
had seen her several times undressed, and could swear
she was not in that peculiar state at the time the child
was alleged to have been born. From Mrs. Elam's
age, she believed such a thing impossible. Mrs. Daw-
son was a most beautiful woman, and lived with Lord
Portarlington. She first saw Georgina Elam in
1832,. in Curzon-street, Mayfair. She believed it
was in Halfmoon-street she first saw the child, and
not in Curzon-street. Had never heard of Miss Elam
before. Lieutenant Elam died in 1829, and Mrs.
Elam told her (witness) that she had purchased the
ehild to impose on a' nobleman as his child. Mrs.
Elam then told her it was the Earl of Portarlington.
Whenever Mrs. Dawson called the child was sent
out of the way, and locked into a bedroom till
Mrs. Dawson left. She had taken the child away
herself on such occasions, and knew that Mrs.
Dawson was never allowed to see it. Mrs. Elam
never lived with Lord Portarlington, but intrigued
with him while he was living with Mrs: Dawson.
This intrigue was carried on both in England and
Ireland, and under the same roof with Mrs. Dawson,
who was entirely ignorant of it. Mrs. Elam was a
very beautiful woman, and looked much younger
than she really was, and endeavoured to make
herself look still younger. In January last a Mrs.
Caldwell called at Mrs. Dawson's while witness was
there, and alluded to these proceedings as about to be
taken. Mrs. Caldwell was her (witness's) husband's
half-sister, and was the daughter of Mrs. M'Car thy,
Mrs. Elam's sister. Could not say that Mrs. Cald-
well was a mistress of Lord Portarlington. Her
husband was brought up with Mrs. Dawson by Mrs.
Elam. She did not know exactly that Mrs. Elam in-
trigued with Lord Portarlington, but she suspected it.
She had frequently spoken of the purchase of the child
to her husband's other half-sister, Eliza Pine.
She accounted for the difference in the
names of her husband and his half-sisters by
the fact that his mother had had three hus-
bands. She never told Lord Portarlington or Mrs.
Dawson, but allowed the imposition to go on, al-
though the latter was her most particular friend. When
Mrs. Elam died witness advised Mrs. Dawson to ad-
vertise, offering a large sum of money for the parents
of the child, but Mrs. Dawson refused, as the child
would probably be deprived of many comforts she
then enjoyed.
Mrs. Robinson here stated that since the last exa-
mination a woman, refusing her name and address,
called upon her and said she had seen her (Mrs.
Robinson's) name in the papers as being about to
appear against Mrs. Dawson, and intimated that if
she did appear it would be very much against her
interest, which would be greatly injured by so doing,
and further added, that Mrs. Dawson never knew of
the child until Mrs. Elam's death. Mrs. Robinson
told her it was a falsehood, as she had seen Mrs.
Dawson with Mrs. Elam and the child, and then re-
quested her to leave the house.
Mr. Robert Samuel Palmer, of the firm of Palmer
and Nettleship, solicitors, of Trafalgar-square, said
he first became acquainted with Lord Portarlington
in 1830, and acted as his Lordship's solicitor for 12
or 13 years. He first saw Mrs. Dawson in 1830, and
Mrs. Elam in 1831. He had frequently occasion to
see Lord Portarlington'a younger brother, the Hon.
Lionel Dawson, who, in consequence of a remark
made by him (Mr. Palmer) about the connexion be-
tween Lord Portarlington and Mrs. Dawson, express-
ing his astonishment at his Lordship's cohabiting
with Mrs. Elam, said, " Yes, my brother is fool
enough to believe he has had a child, and he says he
has had the clearest proofs of it." Witness observed
that Mrs. Elam was long past the usual three of child-
bearing, in which Mr. Lionel Dawson fully con-
curred. A Mr. Francis Harvey, whose name ap-
peared in the administration bond, was very intimate
with Mrs. Elam, and repeatedly told witness that the
child had been palmed off as his Lordship's. He
never had any conversation with Mrs. Dawson upon
the subject of this child until after Mrs. Elam's death.
Mrs. Elam died at Manchester, while on a tour with
Lord Portarlington and Mrs. Dawson. By his
Lordship's directions Mrs. Elam's remains were
brought to town and interred in Kensal-green. His
Lordship directed the burial, and the statement of her
age being only forty-eight was some whim for which
Mr. Palmer was unable to account. At her death
Lord Portarlington requested him to act for Mrs.
Dawson in taking out letters of administration to
Mrs. Elam's property. Lord Portarlington acknow-
ledged to witness that he had had intercourse with
Mrs. Elam as well as Mrs. Dawson. Independent
of what Lord Portarlington had stated, Mr. Palmer
required Mrs. Dawson to give him some corrobora-
tive testimony that she was the daughter of Mrs.
Elam, and she accordingly brought forward Mr.
Francis Harvey, who bad known her from a child,
and became co-surety with Mr. Palmer for the full
amount of 5,0001. administered to.
Sir P. Latraxe said the case bad taken a very dif-
ferent turn to what he had expected, but be would
adjourn it to allow Mr. lluddlestone an opportunity
to complete the case for the prosecution.
Mrs. Dawson was then remanded, and immediately
liberated, on Mr. Palmer pledging himself that she
should be forthcoming at the next bearing of the case.

WRECK OF THE TYENDENAGA.
A few days ago we briefly reported the loss of the
Tyendenaga, Mr. Lewis E. Rudolf commander, while
on a voyage from Quebec to London. We have since
received the details, from which it will be seen that
the wreck, which was of the most appalling character,
took place on the Caribou island, near Point de Mont,
and ended in the loss of 17 of her unfortunate crew.
The ill-fated ship left Quebec about the 12th ult., but
in consequence of some misunderstanding with the
crew she was detained until the 17th., when other
hands being procured, she set sail with a light favour-
able wind from the westward, which continued with
her down the St. Lawrence to the Golf. On the
evening of the 21st Point de Mont was observed
bearing N.N.E. ten miles disrant, and in the morning
Cape Chat was sighted, distance ten miles S.S.E.
The wind then sprang up, and gradually increased,
and on the evening of the 221 it blew a violent gale.
The sea was running very high, and to add to the
difficulties of the crew, the weather was exceedingly
cold, with a heavy fall of snow. Several poor fel-
lows were sent aloft to furl the foretopsail, but the
gale having increased to a perfect storm, and the fall
of snow, h tit, sled sleet becoming thicker, they, after
two hours' struggling, were compelled to abandon
the task. The fury of the gale and sea then threw
the ship on her broadside, and the waves snaking a
clean sweep over her, the crew suffered severely from
the intensity of the cold. As the night advanced
their sufferings became more severe. The storm in-
creased in violence, and for several hours the ship
lay on her broadside, with the sea breaking
over her. About two o'clock in the morning an at-
tempt was made to wear her. In doing so, however,
the rudder was rendered unmanageable, and ere the
injury could be made good a heavy sea struck the
vessel and hurled her on her beam-ends. An order
was then given to cut away the topmasts, but the tools
had been washed overboard. The master and five of
his men who had sought refuge in the main rigging
were carried away by a sea which dashed over the
vessel. The master was thrown on the lee side of the
poop, and succeeded in regaining, the wizen-rigging,
but nothing was afterwards seen of the five men, who
unhappily perished. By this period the ship had
struck heavily. Several of the crew secured them-
selves to the fore and main rigging, and others lashed
themselves to the mizenmast. Some ten minutes or
so after she had struck the mainmast was carried
away close to the deck, forcing with it in its fall
the mizentopmtst, foretopmast, and jibboom, when
all the unhappy creatures who had secured themselves
on those spars were thrown overboard, and as quickly
perished. No attempt could be made to preserve
them. Daylight disclosed the position of the wreck.
The decks had been completely swept, bulwarks,
stanchions, 14pars, bolts, &c., being all gone. The
master, near whom a poor creature had perished
in the rigging in the course of the night,
could not see any of the crew, but the
sea somewhat moderating, he contrived to get to
the poop, when he observed a man lashed to the
mizenmast, and the two mates near him. They then
secured themselves on the lee side of the mizenmast,
and at low water they got to the topgallant forecastle,
and discovered there sheltered two men and a boy.
There they remained for two or three hours, and at
the flow of the tide the sea again began to beat
over the wreck. They then removed themselves
to a more safe position outside the rail, when
the ship began to break up. Her bottom was
knocked out and larboard side carried away, with
portion of the poop, &c. Some of her cargo was also
being washed up. The preservation of the remainder
of the crew, who were clinging to the wreck, then be-
came somewhat doubtful. At length some of the
natives (Indians) of the island, who had apparently
observed the poor creatures, made two large fire• on
the coast and gave other signals for them to leave.
They accordingly determined upon making a desperate
effort to reach the shore, and although much exhausted,
they jumped into the sea and struggled as well as
possible towards the beach. The surf carried them
inwards, and the Indians being prepared to meet
them, they were all dragged ashore. As it was,
however, one of the men and a boy nearly perished
from the exhaustion, and but for the aid of the natives
they would have been lost. The survivors were then
treated in the most friendly manner on the island,
the natives furnishing them with dry clothes, hot
tea, and such refreshments as they had. On
the following day it was learned that the
bodies of twelve of the unfortunate creatures who had
perished bad been washed ashore some three cr four
miles from the place of the wreck. The master
with the remainder of the crew, and a party of In-
di MS rrOPPPdPfi
grave, the bodies were duty interred. .Nottnng, how-
ever, was seen of the other eve. The natives de- I

scribed the gale to have been one of the most severe
that had been experienced there for some time. The
sea, it seems, was so high as to break over the tower
of the lighthouse at Cape dig Mont. The survivors
were taken off the island by a schooner which hap-
pened to touch at the place of wreck, and were
conveyed by her to Quebec. The Tyendenaga waa
a new vessel. The following are the names of those
who perished :—John Smith, George Percy, Joseph
Nicholson, Thomas Templeton, John M'Neilly,
Richard Wilmot, William Ghinville, John Smith,
William Paterson, Edward Bailey (coloured), Robert
Robertson, Robert Thackard, Thomas Luckham,
James Beals, seamen ; Frederick Pahl, carpenter ;
James Sweeton (coloured), cook ; and Robert Flaw,
steward. Survivors :—Lewis E. Rudolf, master ;
Lewis Hodge, chief mate ; Robert Heron, second
mate; John Vaughan, John Gray, James Crawford,
seamen; and Charles Williams, boy.

HER MAJESTY'S SIIIP CALLIOPE.

PRESERVATION FROM LIGHTNING.

The Admiralty is in possession of dispatches from
her Majesty's ship Calliope, at Sydney, up to the
21st of July last. The ship, on her passage from
Hobart Town, was assailed on the evening of the 16th,
at six p.m. by a most fearful stroke cf lightning,
1at.:29 S., long. 152 E. It had blown strong in heavy
squalls from west all the day ; but, towards evening,
moderated with heavy black clouds and vivid light-
ning in the S.W. Captain Sir Everard Home, who
commands the ship, states in his letter that, being
below, he was suddenly startled by what appeared to
him a mass of fire in the fore part of the cabin, and
an explosion as loud as if the nearest gun to the cabin-
door had been fired. The whole was instantaneous.
The electric discharge had struck the mainmast, and
passed by the conductors through both sides of the
ship. It does not appear that any lightning touched
the fore or miaenmasts, so completely had the fluid been
conducted into the water that although the captain
went immediatelylinto the midshipmen's birth, through
which one of the side branches of the conductor
passed, yet not the least evidence of what had taken
place was apparent, except that a portion of the copper
outside the ship covering the bolthead by which the
electric fluid was conducted, and in which the branch
of the conductor passing through the berth termi-
nated, was found raised off the side. The copper
spindle at the truck was slightly fuzed ; and such
was the terrible force of the lightning, that the con-
ducting plates bore here and there strong marks of
violence, the plates being in several places forced up-
wards from the groove in which they were confined,
and the tumblers on the caps thrown back wards. In
the midst of all this the mast and ship with all on
board remained uninjured. A strong smell of fire in
the air was perceriele upon the quarter-deck, under
the hood spread to keep off the rain.
Thu following extract from a letter written by the
chaplain of the Calliope on board the ship, three days
after this occurrence, cannot be read by any one con-
nected with maritime affairs without interest. The
letter is dated—

"Calliope, at. Sea, about 50 miles from Sydney,
July 19, 1851.
_ _

" Whilst sitting in the gun-room we were startled
by a blaze of light and then a most terrific explosion,
as loud as the report of a 64-pounder. We had been
struck by lightning; fortunately, the mainmast
conductor had received the shock, and the electric
fluid passed clean through the ship. Had we not
had the conductor the Calliope must have been
shattered into a thousand pieces; even after the ex-
plosion our fears did not subside, as there was a strong
smell of burning sulphur all around. The pumps
were rigged, and a strict search made, but the con-
ductor had done its work effectually, and here we are
once more safe, and thankful fur our escape ; not oue
of our crew ever experienced so fearful a crash."

As usual in all cases in which large quantities of
electricity are in operation by explosion through the
air, the mass of the atmosphere in contact with the
surface of the earth and sea was effected electrically,
so that, independently of the electrical discharge, se-
veral luminous phenomena presented themselves. It
is not uncommon in thunder. storms on shore to see
the whole pavement of a street luminous. In the
case of the Scylla, saved by the same means from
lightning, in 1843, in the West Indies, electrical
sparks were observed on various parts of the deck. In
this; case of the Calliope many of the seamen for •
ward thought they saw lightning pass out over the
chain-cable. The peculiar smell attendant on violent
electrical discharges, usually causing an alarm of fire,
bears ample testimony to the force of the shock to
which the Calliope was exposed.
Oa a review of these phenomena, we cannot but be
struck with the complete security afforded by the new
lightning-conductors with which, in common with
every ship in the navy, the Calliope is fitted, and
which we owe to the unwearied labours of Sir
Snow Harris, whose several works on this
branch of science are well known to the public.
It is difficult to estimate at the real value these con-
ductors to the navy and the country, practically con-
sidered. We recollect, in 1828, during the wars
between the several South American states, two of
our fleet sent on that station for the protection of our
trade, being completely disabled by lightning—the
Thetis frigate and the Heron corvette. Both lost
their foremasts, and remained long under refit, so
that convoys could not be afforded. The Thetis,
being a large frigate, could not obtain a foremast for
some time, and then only at a great cost. To recur
in detail to the loss to the country, in past times, in
men, money, and ships, would be to write a volume
of most a=t tctiog narrative. In the ca.e of the Sultan,
74, struck by lightning in 1808, seven were struck
dead on the spars whilst furling a sail; another 74,
the Repulse, whilst in pursuit of the French squa-
dron under Gantheaume, in 1810, had eight men
killed outright and ten more so dangerously hurt that
several of them died soon after ; the ship, therefore,
lost the services of no less than 18 of her crew, and
was besides so crippled in her spars that no sail could
be carried on her mainmast. The ship suffered more,
as appears by her log, than if she had been in a ge.
neral action. The British squadron in this case lost
the service of one of its fastest and best ships. The
case of the Trident in the East Indies, in 1803, is a
somewhat similar case. The ship was obliged to be
taken in tow for two days by the Tremendous, 74.
The last remarkable case of this kind which we find
(incurring in the royal navy was that of the Rodney,
90 guns, struck by lightning off Syracuse, December,
1838.

The unlearned bigotry and prejudices of a few
influential persons were at that time busy in retarding
the progress of everything like science in the Queen's
naval service. Mr. Harris's proposal for a systematic,
capacious, and permanent defence of the royal navy
from lightning were, as is well known, most vexa-
tiously opposed. The consequence was that the
Rodney, fitted cut at Plymouth in 1837, was sent to
the Mediterranean without the sure means of parrying
the electric discharge, which had proved 50 successful
in other ships. Tne result was that when struck by
lightning the most terrible consequences, as usual,
ensued. The main top-gallantinast entirely disap-
peared, and covered the sea with chips. The main-
topmast was ruined, and the maimast so dealt with
that it was found charred to the heart. Seven of
the iron hoops were burst open ; two men killed
aloft, and two dangerously hurt; the ship was on
fire for half an hour, and in imminent peril, and
was subsequently laid up at Malta under a
costly refit. This disregard of science by
those upon whose responsibility such things rested
did not cost the country certainly less than 4,000/,
besides the loss of the services of the ship. The
case created at the time a great sensation, and formed
the subject of a report by M. Arago to the Institute
of France. It subsequently led to a debate in the
House of Commons. Since the question whether the
navy of the country was, or was not, to continue ex-
posed to the ravages :of lightning, and the Treasury
to a large annual expenditure, merely to gratify the
prejudices and personal animosity of a few persons,
could not but be of vast moment to the vital interests
of the country—more especially as the greatest sciens
tific authorities of which this or any other country
can boast were on the side of Mr. Harris. The re-
sult was a general order in 1842 to fit every ship in
the Queen's service with the new conductors, since
which time, although we have made very critical in-
quiries, we cannot find that any ship of the royal nary
has suffered from lightning, aithough, as it appears
by official returns to a precept of the House of
Lords in June, 1849, her Majesty's ships have been
exposed to the destructive agency of lightning in the
ail parts of the world. From 30 to 40 of the Queen's
ships certainly have been saved by Sir Snow
Harris's conductors from the destruction formerly
attendant on lightning in the navy. The cases of
the Fisgard, Scylla, and Constance must he fresh in
recollection of naval men ; end hence, as we have al-
ready observed, the beneficial results of Sir Snow
Harris's system of conductors to the interests of the
country generally, and to the royal navy especially,
cannot be too highly estimated. Had the Calliope
lost her spars, and been crippled on a foreign etatiae,
perhaps some of the
people either killed or hurt, as
was commonly the case in times past when a man-of-
war was struck by lightning, the country would have
lost the services of the ship for the time; the Trea-
sury must have paid cost of art expensive re-tit.
Pensions would have been justly awarded to those
crippled or hurt, and in cese of a critical emergency
occurring serious inconvenience may have arisen.
From all this the country is now free; and we are
compelled to admit, that in awarding the first medal
of the Great Exhibition to Sir Snow Harris for his
invention of a permanent system of conductors for
ship; scientifically disposed throughout the vessel, the
fury on naval matters, of which we believe Baron
Lupin was the president, made a fair and honourable
award.

Colonel R. W. Story lha accepted the (ace of high
sheriff for the 994hty of Leitrim for the eiabNiug year.