The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-01 00:00:00

SHEDDEN LEGITIMACY CASE.

The case of W. P. R. Shedden and Annabelle Jean Retston !
Shedden v. the Attorney-General and othe:s again came be-
fore the House of Lords on appeal yesterday. The argu-
meats were resumed, Miss Shedden again al pealing before
their lordships to continue her opening address, which
occupied eight days before the Whi!suntide recess. The
present appeal is from the Court of Divorce and Matrimonial
Causes against a decree pronounced Ly the full Court, con-
sisting of the Lerd Ordinary, the late Mr. Justice Witht-
man, and Mr. Justice Vaughan Williams, who decided that
tne elder petitioner (the father d Miss Shedden) is not legiti-
mate, and therefore is not a natural born subject.
Miss Shed,!eu now made au application that counsel might
be heard to ague the legal points of the case.
Lord Chelmsford—When your case was first before their
lordships, the Lord Chancellor was not a member of your
lordships' house, and therefore I have felt myself round to
take the initiative The greatest possible indulgence Las been
shown throughout the proceedings to Miss Shedden, which
she has not failed to take advantage of. She has already
cccup'ed eight days, and I think it would be trilling with
your lordships if counsel wcro now to be heard.

Miss Sheddeu then procotded with her address.

Mr. Mellish, Q.C., Mr. J. J. Powell, Q.C., and the lion..
Mr. lieLloy uppottrod fur the respondents.

FOUR MEN KILLED BY A BOILER

EXPLOSION.

On Monday morning, according to intelligence from
Aberdare, a boiler explosion, attended with most serious
results, took place at Aberaman, South Wales. About
half•past six o'clock in the morning a number of men were
waiting round the Plough Pit, a colliery belonging to the
Powell Duffryn Company, when suddenly a rumbling noise
was heard, and a large boiler, bursting into three pieces,
shot into the air. A piece weighing three tons was carried
away nearly 100 yards, and fell on the side of the Taff
Vale Railway. Another and smaller piece flew into the air
almost perpendicularly. The flying el6bris was the chief
cause of the fatal consequences, the massive pieces of iron
being injurious only to property. Huge stones, pieces of
timber, and fragments of metal fell among the men who
were sitting clown. A terrible havoc was the result. Of
the four men that are killed the heads of three are cola.
pletely smashed, and the other, the stoker, was found
standing underneath where the boiler had been, as though
he had gone to light his pipe. He was up to his knees in
boiling water, and when found was stiff and rigid, and had
evidently been scalded to death.

The names of the deceased are—George Rose, stoker,
32, single man ; David Richards, collier, 16, single ; David
Lewis, labourer, 22, single ; Daniel Griffiths, collier, 32,
married; the last of whom has left an invalid wife and a
very large family.
Several men suffered from skull wounds caused by fall-
ing atones. Two are so seriously injured that their
recovery is doubtful. Several miraculous escapeswere ex-
perienced. A large piece of timber about fourteen feet
long, and weighing two or three hundredweight, had been
torn from the roof of the engin e-house,carried over the adjoin-
ing buildings, and hurled with a force that must have been
tremendous through the roof of a house 200 yards away.
It pierced the roof in a slanting direction, and struck swell
a few inches above a bed on which a child was sleeping,
thence it rebounded, and fell just on the side of the bed,
leaving the child unscathed. A large stone, after
crushing through the roof of another house, was caught
by a rafter and suspended by it over two men who were
lying in bed.
For some time it has been thought that the boilers were
too weak for further use, and others have been in course of
erection in another part of the works. No cause can be
assigned for this sad catastrophe.

AN ACTRESS ON TIER PROFESSION.—An American
actress, who has retired from the stage, writing to one
of the New Y ork papers, says :—" When a girl goes into
a theatre to apply for a situation now she finds that the
requirements of managers are expressed in the follow-
ing questions Is your hair dyed yellow?' Are your
legs, arms, and bosom symmetrically formed, and are
you willing to expose them?' Can you sing brassy
songs, and dance the Can-can, and wink at men, and give
utterance to disgusting half words which mean whole
actions?' Are you acquainted with rich men who will
throw you flowers, and send you presents, and keep afloat
dubious rumours concerning your chastity?' Are you
willing to appear to-night, and every night, amid the glare
of gaslights and before the gaze of thousands of men, in
this pair of satin breeches ten inches long, without a
vestige of drapery on your person?' If you can answer '
these questions affirmatively, we will give you a situation.
If not, there's the door.'"
ROYAL DRAMATIC COLLEGE.—The annual meet-
ing of the governors and subscribers to this institution
was held on Monday afternoon, in the saloon of Drury.
lane Theatre, Mr. Benjamin Webster, the Master of the
College, occupying the chair. The report acknowledged,
with pride, the continued patronage of her Majesty, the
Prince of Wales, and other members of the Royal
Family. No vacancy had occurred in the College
during the year, thus sustaining the opinion that it
was situated in one of the healthiest lccalities of
the kingdom. Including a brought forward balance of
£633 Bs., and a legacy of £lOO from the late Dr. Eldred,
the receipts of the year had been £1,613 ls. 7d., the
whole of which with the exception of £177 17s. 2d. had
been expended. The Master and Mr. T. Stewart
having moved and seconded the adoption of the report,
Mr. C. L. Gruneisen urged the necessity for endea-
vouring to create an endowment fund, without which
the College could not be satisfactorily maintained. The
Master replied that everything that could had been done
in that direction. Lords and gentlemen might promise
subscriptions, but there was no means of making them
pay up, and the theatrical, like almost every other pro.
fession, had failed to subscribe annually to the institutions
founded for their benefit.