The Sun.
London, England, 1860-06-06 00:00:00

THE' -617N,'LACIONDON:-! WEDNESDAY EVENIN% JiTNiji 0, Mo.

was this ; that these gentlemen ought not to be discouraged,
but encouraged in their difficult task. (Hear, hear.) But

what time had his bon. friend chosen, to make this motion ?
lie had tried to forco them to iaterfcre withthis system at the

very moment when they had recently appointed a committee
to examine it—when the commit tee had nearly concluded its
labours,and was preparing its report, but at a time when they
were entirzly ignorant of thenaturc of its report. Thus, in the
first place they appointed a committee to examine the sub-
ject, and then at the instance of his hon. friend they pro-
ceeded to prejudge a most important matter. (Hear, hear.)
Nothing could be more, he would almost say, irrational cn
the part of the house, and nothing certainly less in confor-
mity with its usual mode of proceeding, thanto have selected
a body of men in whom they had confidence to look into the

whole matter, and report their opinion as to the nature of

the system, and just at the moment when within a few weeks
or days the house might expect the result of those inquiries,
they should on the speech of his hon. friend proceed to an-
ticipate them, and possibly to cross and contradict what
they would recommend by the adoption of this motion. For

these reasons, and if time were not valuable for many rea-
sons which could be given, ho trusted the house wouli not

agree to the motion of the hon: member, if it were too late
to express a hope that the hon. gentleman himself would
not press his motion to a division.
Sir F. SMITH said that he had been for five years a pub-
lie examiner at Addiscombe, and he quite concurred with
what had fallen from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with
one exception. Th re was no doubt that if the examination
papers were published continuously it would have the effect
of enabling the era . ming schools to prepare the necessary
questions. But there was one point on which he differed
with the right hon. gentleman. He saw no harm in putting
on the examination papers of the day the number of marks
to be assigned for each answer. It would enable the candi-
date to complete the number of marks necessary for ills
examination and to apply himself to those questions which
would give him the greatest chance of success in the depart-
ment he aimed at. That would guide and properly guide the
candidates. With regard to examinations by competition he
had seen enough to know that they would do great good in
the civil and military services. There eves no doubt that
at competitive examinations they could not test the quali-
ties of the candidate, but tkcy tested his knowledge and
his power to be useful in same particular branch. They
could not test the ceurage of the young soldier, but they
could test his mind and his general fitness f r the service.
He hoped the house would not accede to the motion of his
hon. friend; but, at the same time, he trusted they would
concur with him in opinion that the number of marks on
each, question should be laid before the candidates at the
time of examination. (Hear, hear.) .
Mr. 11. BENTINCK said it appeared to him the speech
of the right hon. gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer
was quite as remarkable as many other speeches which they
had heard from hint iu that house. The first thing the
right hon. gentleman complained of was the animus of his
hon. friend (Mr. B. Co. lirane) to be discovered in his speech.
That appeared to him (Mr. 11. Bentinck) to be a eulogy
rather than the reverse. He had often listened to many
speeches in that house, and the complaint was, that it
would be impossible to understand what was the animus of
those speeches. Now, if what the right hon. gentleman
said were true, he could not see why the system should not
be applied to the Treasury bench—(a laugh)—because its
application to that bench might be most beneficial to the
public service. The right hon. gentleman went on to say
that prior to the establishment of this system many offices
were miserably filled. That seemed to him a sound reason
why the system should be applied to the Treasury bench,
because many offices on the Treasury bench had been mise-
rably and ruinously filled, and if we had the benefit of the
system of competitive examination that might have been
prevented. (Renewed laughter.) The right hon. gentle-
man asserted that the effect of the system was to establish
the general knowledge of the applicant, but the object of
his hon. friend was to establish the fitness of the candidate
for the particular office which he might have to hold, and
not his general ability. One of the complaints against the
system was that the examination had no reference to the
fitness of a candidate for any particular office. The right
hon. gentleman had mercy on the shelves of the house, and
spoke of the inconvenience of having piles of figures, but it
would be well for some hon. gentlemen if their figures had
no record, and were blotted out from the memory of man.
(Laughter.) The right hon. gentleman had complained that
his hon. friend (Mr. B. Cochrane) had treated the house to
a few scraps from the examination papers. Now he (Mr.
H. Bentinck) had understood his hon. friend to say that he
had in his hand numberless instances of the absurdity of
the questions, but that in deference to the time of the house
he would abstain from quoting many of them. Since the
right hon. gentleman complained of these few scraps he (the
hon. member) would take therliberty of offering him a few
more, and would quote some questions put to candidates fur
commissions in the army.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—The civil
service commissioners do not examine for the army. (Hear.)
Mr. H. BENTINCK—It was the system of competitive
examination which he wished to show up. The following
were some of the questions asked, "Make a sketch of a cliff,
a quarry, or a railway cutting, and mark the line of bed-
ding, and the courses by which the layers of rock are di-
vided ?" (Laughter.) Would any It n. gentleman on the
Treasury bench who might take it into his head to give up
his seat there and go in a commission in the army be able
to answer that question ? (Laughter.) " What arc the prin-
cipal data for determining the geological age of a stratified
rock ?" "What are the colonial possessions of Spain and
Portugal—describe the political constitution of any ono of
them ? Point out any permanent traces of Napoleon's con-
quests on the map of Europe, and is the present Emperor
his legal representative ?" (Laughter.) The latter part of
this question was very wisely omitted by the commissioners
in the publication of their report. In an examination which
lasted four hours the candidate was asked to discuss the
most important political questions which had agitated Ire-
land for the last 30 years.
The CHANCELIe JR of the EXCHEQUER—Is that
question in the report ?
Mr. H. BENTINCK—It was in the paper from which
he read, and which wasa correct copy of questions by a very
high authority, who had been called upon to examine into
the system. But the worst feature of all was the utter want
of confidence which the system had created in the mind of
the public. Nothing could induce persons who were not
conversant with the manner in which the system was con-
ducted to believe that whatever amount of jobbery existed
before it was instituted, the jobbery now was not much
greater; and it would be impossible to do anything effectual
as long as the system of irresponsibility prevailed, and there
Was a total want of check upon these gentlemen. He had
heard this feeling expressed only the other day in very
homely but not very classical English ; but it conveyed for-
cibly the general opinion which prevailed on the subject. A
person who laboured under tho mistaken impression that
members of the house had no difficulty in getting Govern-
ment situations for applicants came to him, and asked him
`to befriend bis son. He told hint that he must qualify
his son for examination in the subjects specified for candi-
dates for employment ie the particular department which
he wished to enter, and that when Ile had passed his exa-
mination he would do his best to have his "name put
down," adding that beyond that he could do nothing. The
applicant scratched his Lead, and hesitating for a mo-
ment, said, " It's all very well what you say, but I have
• inquired about it, and Hal is the way. Them as competes,
when they have competed, if they ar' n't no friends they
gets nothing." (Laughter.) He repeated that the one great
insurmountable objection to the system was the irres onsi-
bility of the commissioners, which no Minister, however in-
genious could venture to defend. They were not responsible
to public opinion, nor open to the censure of the house ; and
so long as the public knew that, and justly felt that they
had the control of the entire patronage of the country, what-
ever might be their attainments, their character, or their
intentions, stelong would there be dissatisfaction, and a re-
opening of the whole question by motions similar to the one
now before the house. (Hear, hear.) .
Lord STANLEY could not help thinking that the very
fact of the competitive examinations under the civil service
commissioners being now the subject of debate was a suffi-
cient proof that those commissioners were responsible to the
house and the public, to whom, through the medium of the
house, they presented their annual report. (Hear.) It was
said that the amount of jobbery under the present system
was greater that that which existed before, but it was a
well-known fact that the system made a candidate inde-
pendent of the power of friends in or cut of that house, and
dependent alone on his own merits. (Hear, hear.) It was
a mistake to suppose that the patronage of the Crown, re:
the hon. member (Mr. Bentinck) had stated, was transferred
to irresponsible persons. It would be as consiseeet to say
that a judge who decided a right of ownership to an estate
possessed patronage with respect to that estate. The civil
service commissioners were simple judges, and nothing
more, as to the fitness of a candidate to fill a certain appoint-
ment. They possessed no power to appoint. (Hear, hear.)
The hon. member would no doubt be happy to hear that
he wag also incorrect in stating that the subjects for exa-
mination were proposed by the commissioners, and not
by the heads of d:partnients. (Hear, hear.) It rested
with the heads of departments to furnish the commis-
sioners with a statement of what were the branches of
knowledge in which they required a candidate to be com-
petent, and the commissioners decided which candi-
dates were most competent. Mule had also been said
about the supposed over-strictness of the examinations, and.
the strange and out-of-the-way questions which were put
to the candidates, but it was not dealing fairly with the
subject to select out of a list of some hundred questions one
which well might be considered strange or out of the way,
and to take it as a sample of the whole. (Hear.) Such a
mode of proceeding involved this fallacy among others—
that it presumed that a candidate was necessarily required
and expected to answer every question. Such was not the
fact. In examining men or lads from all parts '.f the world,
and who had been educated at different universities and
colleges, it Was necessary to make as large an allowance as
the subject would admit of for such diversities of training.
The object was not merely to ascertain the amount of
knowledge possessed by a candidate, hut to give him a
chance, if he possessed more information than usual on any
one subject, of displaying his knowledge in that particular.
So far from candidates being required to answer all the
questions proposed, it was a plain fact that an enormous
majority—speaking off-hood he would say four-fifths of tLe

whole—lltiled, not in the more obtuse, but In the mos
siniple branches of education, yiz , arithmetic and spelling.
(Hear.) Was it.then or hot beneficial to the public service
that 400 out of 600 candidates for appointments being unable
to spell or do a sum should be excluded by the civil service
examiners:? (Hear.) Ni) person looking at the subject
dispassior ately could possibly- give any-Other biit cite 'answer:
He hoped. therefore thlit the house would not consent to the
motiyn. lie objected to it also for another reason, namely,
that a ccanmittee of which he was a member was now sit-
ting upon the whole question of civil service examinations.
They had concluded the evidence, and he hoped that before
hag their report would be laid before the house. The result
of their labours, he believed, would throw some light upon
the subject, and although he was not permitted by the
rules of the house to refer to any portion of the evidence,
he might say that, whatever inconvenience and disadvan-
tages might attend the present system, they were light as
compared with the total absence of check on the admission
of unqualified persons to the public service which previously
existed. (Hear.)
Mr. BOWYER objected to the character of the exami-
nations as being inapplicable to the duties of the depart-
ment which the caudidates were expected to discharge.

Sir G. LEWIS said tho Civil Service Commission had
no authority to make a report to any one but the Crown,
and objected to the motion.
After a few words from Lord R. CECIL and Sir S.

NoIiTIICOTE,

Mr. COCHRANE consented to withdraw his "notion,
but the house negatived it without a division.
TRIALS FOR, FELONY AND MISDEMEANOR.

Mr. DENMAN obtained leave to bring in a bill for the
amendment of the proceedings on trials for felony and mis •

lemeanor.

WAKEFIELD ELECTION.

Capt. JERVIS moved "That whereas by the act 17 and
18 Viet., c. 102, s. 14, it is expressly enacted that no person
should be Hebb to be prosecuted for any offence committed
against the said act unless such prosecution shall commence
within one year from the date of the said offence, this house
is of opinion with reference to certain prosecutions com-
menced at common law against divers persons at Wakefield,
for offences committed at the late general election against
that act, but which prosecutions have not boon commenced
within the time prescribed-by that act, that such prosecu-
tions should be abandoned." As the hon. and gallant
I member was proceeding to explain his object in bringing
forward his motion, an hon. member moved that the house
be counted.

The houso wa.s counted accordingly, when it was found
there were just forty members present—the number requi-
site to constitute a house—and

Captain JERVIS resumed—He said he had tried to
make himself acquainted with this subject, although
he was no lawyer, and since the; reign of George 11.. al-
though many persons had been prosecuted by the Attorney-
General for bribery, he had been unable to discover a single
instance of any person being so prosecuted unless he had
been served within a year after the alleged offence was
committed with notice of the intention to prosecute him.
4u How. MEMBER here moved that the house be counted,
which was done, and there b ing only twenty-sine members
present,

The house adjourned at twenty-five minutes to eight
o'clock.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.—June 5.

VICE-CHANCELLORS' COURTS.
(Before Vice-Chancellor Sir J. Stuart.)
, NOTTIDGE V. PRINCE.

The hearing of this cause was resumed.
Mr. Malins, for the plaintiff, said that the defen-
dant Prince was educated at Lampeter College, in
Wales, with the view of becoming a minister of the
Church of England, and he had been accordingly
ordained deacon and priest. In the year 1840 he
became the curate of Mr. Starkey, then rector of
Charlwich, in Sotnersetshire, and continued such for
about two years, when, in consequence of his inter-
ference with neighbouring parishes, he was deprived
by the Bishop of the diocess of his licence. He
then obtained a curacy at Stoke, near Clare, in
Suffolk, in the neighbourhood of which place the
late Mr. Josias Nottidge lived. Mr. Prince there
became acquainted with that gentleman and his
family, which consisted of his wife and four daugh-
ters, and succeeded in acquiring great influence over
the daughters. Of that curacy likewise Mr. Prince
was deprived by the Bishop of Ely, at the end of
1842, or early in 1843. From Stoke Mr. Prince
went to Brighton, where he took a chapel, which
he called Adullam. Thither he was followed by
the four Misses Nottidge, Louisa Jane, Harriet,
Clara, and Agnes, with whom he had in the mean-
time kept up •his influence by means of letters
written as well to them as to servants of his own
whom he had left at Stoke, the letters to
his servants having been written by him with
the express view of their being read to the
Misses Nottidge. He remained at Brighton until
May, 1845, when he persuaded the you've
ladies, whose father bad in the meantime died,
leaving them sums of between £5,000 and £6,000
apiece, to leave Brighton for the purpose of accom-
pany him to Charlwich, where he contemplated
opening a new chapel. In- the course of their
journey to Charlwich the whole party went to
Taunton, at one of the inns of which place the
Misses Nottidge lodged, Mr. and Mrs. Prince and
Mr. Starkey lodging at an adjoining inn. All the
expenses, however, of the whole party were, at .the
express direction of Mr. Prince, defrayed by the
young ladies. On the morning of June 10, 1845,
the party being still at Taunton, Prince sent a' mes-
sage from his own inn to Miss Harriet Nottidge
requiring her presence, and upon her entering the
room in which he and Mrs. Prince and Starkey
were sitting he informed her that she would give
ePI
weireri.letdei ael
senyetdecs,ode
nes
.dtttiecimtlsi
sews, iNshoaonagtstetei
donhgftasodihmt aopivlawiasnrist
great glory to God by marrying his friend, Mr.
arpeaaoet:
vn.ti
waioenabi
dts-.
geihdadl
ttinoa Lewisit
kne
ree
immediately after received by Miss Agnes Nottidge,
and when she got into Prince's presence he told her
that God was about to confer on her an especial
blessing, which the Spirit directed him to make
known to her, but that, before hearing what that
blessing was she must make a solemn promise to
do whatever was required of her. After some reluc-
tance on her part Miss Agnes Nottidge gave such
promise, and was thereupon informed that the bless-
ing in question was that she would be married to
Brother Thomas in a few days. Miss Nottidge ob•
jetted to the marriage taking placebefore a settlement
should haNT been made for the purpose of providing
for any family which she might have. Prince and
Starkey immediztely replied, "There will be no
need of anything of that kind. You will have no
family. It will not be in accordance with your
:present calling. Your marriage will be purely
spiritual, to carry out the purposes of God." Miss
Agnes Nottidge then withdrew. On the same day
Prince dined with the young ladies, in company
with Messrs. Price and Thomas, and during dinner
informed those gentlemen that Harriet and Agnes
Nottidge had, in obedience to the will of God, con-
sented to become their wives. In the course of the
same afternoon niece informed the two intended
brides that it was the will of God their marriages
should be solemnized at Swansea, and proposed
that tLey should all at once proceed thither for that
purpose. The young ladies demurred to this course,
upon the ground that it would cause great sorrow
to their mother if they were to be married without
first returning to see her. Prince, however, told
them that they must not allow any such feelings to
divert them from the path marked out for them by
God, and that if they read the Book of Jonah they
would see the t ffect of acting contrary to God's
commands. Two days after Harriet and Agnes had
consented to marry Thomas and Price, Prince ex•
totted from Clara a promise to marry William
Cobbe, another of Prince's followers. Qn the 9th
of J aly, 1845, the three marriages took place in the
parish ehurch of Swansea, Starkey giving away
the brides, who by Prince's express directions
were all married in black dresses. Prior to Mrs.
Thomas's marriage she received a letter from her
intended husband rslative to her propos:el that her
property should be settled upon her, from which
the following is an extract :
"2, Windsor-terrace, Brighton, June 21, 1815.
"My beloved Agno ,—I must write to you just what the
Spirit leads me to do; this I do wi;h the more confidence,
because I believe you have an ear to hear what the Lord
!nay say unto you through him that loveth you. You men-
tioned your de!,ire to have a settlement of your property
upon yourself • this, I assured you, would be very agree-
able to my feelings, and is so still, but last evening, in
waiting on Gud, this matter quite unexpectedly was brought
before me. I had entirely put it away from my thoughts
—leaving it to take its course as you might be led to act ;
but God will not have it so. He shows me that the prin-
ciple is entirely contrary to God's word, and altogether at
variance with that confidence which is to exist between us,
wko are one spirit. This desire on your part must be aban-
doned Give it up to God, and show that you can trust His
faithfulness, and I can assure you the confidence you re-
pose in Him will not be disappointed. I knew God, and I
know that none who trust iu Him shall ever, can ever, be
confounded. He that hath au ear to hear, let him hear,
As regards t7le promise )ou made your parents, I would
merely say that any promise made when you were uncon-
verted, and which was not in accordance with the Word of
God, you are not hound, neither would it he right in you,
to adhere to. I must bid you farewell, and believe me to
abide, in much love,—Yours affectionately, in the everlast-
ing covenant, tt Thalia. THOMAS "

No settlement was made of the property of
Harriet and Clara, any more than of Agnes's
property. When the marriages took place
Thomas and Pea • were in •indigent eircurr,
itanees, and Cobbe had a sum of his own of about
£l,OOO. E ►riy in August, Ma, Prince left Swan-
sea and went into Somersetshire, leaving Thomas
And kis wife at Swanica. After a short interval
Nit. and Mrs. Tnomas went to Ilfracombe, where
the former reeeivul a summons from Prince as fol-
lows:

" Brother Thomas—l command you to arise and come
to Weymouth. Amm,"

Thomas at first, at the instigation of his wife, le-

trayed some backwardness in joining Prince, but he
ultimately .did.sn towards the close of 1840, accom-
paniedby Mrs. Thomas, Prince having sent one of
his emissaries to bring Mr.-and-Mrs. Thomas to him •
-at Way rao•!;th. After Mrs. Thomas had arrived at
Weymouth, Prince, who was stepping at the same
house with her, remonstrated with her en the subject
of having dissuaded her husband from obeying his-
(Prince's) commands, and said " If ever you dare at-
tempt to influence your husband again in acting
contrary to my commands, God will crush you out
of the way," accompanying these words by extend-
ing his clenched fist towards her. In November,
1845, Mrs. Thomas learned that Prince was corre-
sponding with her sister Louisa Jane, to induce her
also to come and reside at Weymouth, 'and was
writing a letter to her to dissuade her from
doing so, when one of the so called brethren, Who
was staying in the house, looked over her shoulder
and read what she had written, and then, snatching
it away, took it to Prince; and that evening, when
she was proceeding to the bedroom usually occupied
by her and her husband, the latter forbade her to
go, saying, " In writing that letter you have deeply
sinned against God's Holy Spirit. I therefore
care nothing about you, nor what becomes of
you. The room adjoining this is empty. You can
go there if you please, so that you may not he near
me," and from that day, which was a Friday, until
the Wednesday following, Thomas slept in a diffe-
rent room front his wife. In February, 1840, Prince
became aware of Mrs. `Thomas being pregnant, and
he thereupon, and in consequence thereof, expressed
great anger with her. Thomas was then at Bridge-
water, away from his wife with Prince, and ad-
dresed to her the following letter :
"My best beloved,—l herewith enclose you a small por-
tion, eat, drink; yea, drink abundantly; and let your soul
delight in fatness ; let the will of God be your home and
resting-place. Out of His will there can be no happiness,
but in His wilthere is life, and joy, and peace. 'The ser-
vant of the Lord' told me that, you would not be in your
present state unless you had rebelled months ago; and thus
you will 'Ara. for it, in not being able to go about with her
as you otherwise would ; but when I see you I will tell you
all about it."

Two or three weeks afterwards Mrs. Thomas had
directions to leave Weymouth, and she accordingly
did so, being at the same time forbidden to join her
husband at Bridgewater. She then went to reside,
first with her mother-in-law, and afterwards with
her mother, and in 1859 an attempt had been made
by her husband to take the child, which was born
to her in June, 1846, away from her; but this at-
tempt was defeated by an application, in. 1850, to
Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce, who appointed Mrs.
Thomas and her mother guardians of that child.
In December, 1815, Miss Louisa Jane Nottidge, who
was then about 41 years of age, went to reside in
the neighbourhood of Weymouth, in order to be
near Prince, and under whose influence she then
placed herself. After some difficulty her brother
and brother-in-law succeeded is taking her to her
mother's, and, as she appeared to her friends to be•
tray symptoms of insanity, they called in medical
aid, and the result was, that in November, 1846,
she was, upon the usual medical certificates, placed
in confinement. She remained in confinement
until the 15th of May, 1848, when she was released
by order of the Lunacy Commissioners, those
gentlemen being of opinion that, although she
laboured under extraordinary and irrational notions
on the subject of religion, she had exhibited no
other indications of insanity, and that her bodily
health would suffer by her confinement being pro-
longed. In the meantime—viz., in 1847, Prince
and his followers had taken up their abode at the
Agapemone, at Spaxton, near Bridgewater. On
the day of Miss L. J. Nottidge's release she was
met by Thomas, who brought and took her on the
same or the following day to Prince's broker, with
a view of making a transfer to Prince of the stock
then standing in her name, about £5,728 Three per
Cent. Annuities. Not knowing the amount of
stock standing in her name she was then unable to
make the proposed transfer, and went with Thomas
to the Agapemone on the 16th or 17th of May,
1848. About a fortnight after she made the
transfer of the above amount to Prince, having
in the meantime ascertained the amount of stock
to which she was entitled. In July, 1858, she
died intestate. The defendant, in his answer,
said that he was not the founder, but that
Mr. William Cobbe and the Rev. George Robin-
son Thomas were the founders of the institu-
tion or establishment called the Agapemone, and
that its members professed certain religious tenets,
being those of the Church of England, with certain
further opinions to the following effect :
" The object of all God's dealings with man, even from
the beginning, has been the development of His name to
make himself known. This is His glory. The way in
which God in His wisdom has clusen to make himself
gradually more and more known to roan, as well as to
develope his opening counsel and purpose concerning Him,
has been by raising up from time to time from among men
certain individuals prep'ared and appointed by Him for the
special end he has in view. These have been His wit-
nesses, inasmuch as they have borne witness, or testified to
the true character, the name of God, or to the particular
mind or purpose of God, which they were appointed to
develope. Moreover, they have been living witnesses—that
' is, what they lived, not merely what they said, made mani-
fest the character or mind of God. It is plain from the
Scripture history of God's dealings with mankind that He
has from time to time entered anew into covenant with man,
and that on such occasions He has had one way of de-
veloping and carrying out His counsels and purpose, and
that that way has been to select and appoint one man as
His witness thereto. The first time God entered into a
covenant with man was at the creation of mankind. Then
Adam was his witness. The second time when God is
recorded to have entered into covenant with man was at
the destruction of mankind by the deluge. Then Noah
was His witness. The third time when God is recorded to
' have entered into covenant with man was after the disper-
sion of mankind at the time of the building of the tower oft
Babel, when he left them to their idolatry. Then Abra•
ham was His witness. The fourth time was at the redemp-
tion of mankind by the Gospel. Then Jesus Christ was
His witness. God, in Jesus Christ, has again entered
into covenant with man at tho resurrection of mankind.
This is the first resurrection, and now I am His witness.
This ane roan, myself, has Jesus Christ selected and ap-
pointed his witness to his counsel and purpose, to conclude
the day of grace, and to introduce the day of judgment to
close the dispensations of the spirit—the Gospel, and to
enter into covenant with flesh ln each in-
stance where God entered anew into covenant with man
it has been in connection with the falling away from God
of the children of the former covenant, that is, of the pro-
fessing- people of God, and also of their being left or for-
saken of God lt is a most remarkable fact
in the Scripture history of mankind that in every dispensa-
tion, so soon as any one has been found dispensationally
perfect, that dispensation has closed, and made way for
another. . . . . . Tho dispensation under which tho
immediate descendants of Adam lived closed as aeon as
there was one found perfect therein, perfect in his gene-
ration—Noah. The dispensation under which the imme-
diate descendants of Noah lived closed so soon as one was
found perfect therein—Abraham. The dispensation under
which the descendants or seed of Abraham through Isaac
and Jacob lived, that is the law, closed so soon as one
was found perfect therein—the Lord Jesus Christ; and in
like manner the dispensation under which the spiritual
seed of Jesus Christ lived, that is the Gospel, closed so soon
as one was found perfect therein—Brother Prince. As it
has been God's way in the history of mankind to open a
new dispensation by means of him as Jlis witness, in whom
He had mate perfect the former one, so now He has intro-
duced the day or dispensation of judgment and the first
re-urrection through Brother Prince as IL s witness, in whom
; he had by His spirit fulfilled the dispensation of the Gos-
pel, and so closed it."
With reference to the Agapemone itself, the in-
mates of which were between 50 and 60 in number,
the evidence of the defendant described it as fol-
lows :

"The establishment of the said Agapemone consists of a
large mansion-house, havint, attached thereto extensive
gardens, conservatories, hothouses, pleasure grounds, and
a farm, of which the defendant is the proprietor in fee
simple, consisting of about 200 acres of land, occupied by
a person who cultivates and manages the same for the bene-
fit of the members of the Agapemone. The produce of the
garden, hothouses, and farm are applied to the purposes of
maintaining the table, and other occasions of the members
of the Agapemone, and the residents in the establishment
enjoy every kind f comfort which such establishment can
afford. Tn addition thereto carriages and horses are kept.
There are numerous horses of greevalue, both for driving
and riding, kept for the use of those resident at the Aga-
pemone, and they occasionally ride out in a carriage
drawn by four horses."
Other persons besides Miss Nottidge bad given
the. defendant large sums of money. Starkey
said be had given Prince £l,OOO, and his
wife had given him an annual income of £BO.
Price and his wife had given £6,000 to the de-
fendant, and Mr. and Mrs. Cobbe the same amount,
and Mr. Hotham Maber and his four sisters had
given Prince £lO,OOO. The learned counsel said he
had gone into the circumstances connected with Mrs.
Thomas's marriage and her treatment, in order to
show the ascendancy which Prince had acquired
over his people, and.he contended it was clear that
at the date of the gift Miss L. J. Nottidge was
under the spiritual, ascendancy of the defendant,
and that she laboured under gross delusions respect-
ing him. •
Mr. Bacon (with whom- was Mr. Smale) com-
menced his address for the defendant shortly before
the Court rose.

The Mysterious Power of the Magnet is most beautifully
'developed by Mr. F. 3E. llEnnis°, of :32, Basinghall-street,
in his Patent Magnetic Brushes and Combs, which are the
remedy for grey hair, weak or falling hair, neuralgia, nervous
headache rheumatism, stiff joints, &c. His Teazle Brushes
for cloth, velvet, &c., are admirable; they not only cleanse
but preserve the fabric in a remarkable manner. The public
are cautioned against counterfeits.—[NovT.]
[AnvEwrisExt:NT.]—Holloway's Pills and Ointment.—
Exercise your Judgnient.—For purifying both the solids
and fluids comp•.sing the human body; for regulating the
functions natural to each corporeal organ; fur strengthen-
ing digestion and invigorating the nervous system, the
powers of Ifolloway's remedies have been acknowledged
for the last quarter of •a century. They are composed of
the finest balsams without admixture with any mineral or
poisonous ingredient; consequently the use of Holloway's
purifying preparations, while wonderfully efficient in sub-
duing disease, can never act wrongly, or do mischief to the
weakest constitution. No well. conducted hou>•ehold should
be without a supply of these excellent family medicaments
at this season of the year when the blood and body gene-
rally more especially require cleansing.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE-.1-7.iit; 5.

MARYLEBONE.—EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE
OF CONCEAL3IENT OF Btirrm—Sarah Gough, 30,
housA:ceper and cook to Mrs. MirchouL,e, Upper
S~yrnour street, Portman-square, was brought up
oa remand, charged with having concealed the
birth of her female infant.

The particulars of the first inquiry have already
appeared, and it will be remembered that, in conse-
quence of information received from Mr. O'Neill,
an inspector of the Berks constabulary at Clewer,
Inspector Stear, of the 1) division, Went to the resi-
dence of Mrs. Mirehouse, and there saw the prisoner,
who admitted having recently given birth to a child,
and sending it off in a box by the Great Western
Railway to the "Lady Superior of the Sisters of
Mercy," at Clewer, near Windsor. It was further
shown that, upon the box being opened, the body
was found, with several napkins, and an apron and
a shift. There was also a sheet of paper in the said
box marked " Mirehouse."
Some additional witnesses were now examined
in proof of the box being the same as that forwarded
to the Lady Superior of the institution alluded to
(it was produced by Inspector O'Neill).
The prisoner, who was in tears On
ceedings, had nothing to s)v,
for trial.

.1' pro.
14u. Ns as committed

SHOCKING CHIT Cv"ro A SII El:P.—Henry
Sparkes, a rufli.suiy•looking young fellow, a drover,
was broughL up in custody, charged with cruelty to
a sheep.

The evidence went to show that, on the previous
morning, the prisoner was driving a flock of sheep
along the Hampstead-road, when, as they did not
go on to his satisfaction, he rushed in amongst them
and inflicted upon one of them a tremendous blow
upun the head, which caused it to bleed profusely.
The poor animal fell to the ground, apparently in
an almost lifeless condition, and was carried away
in a cart. The prisoner was taken to the station-
house.

The stick, a most formidable one, was shown by
Mr. Franklin, the chief usher, to the magistrate.
Mr. Seeker, after commenting upon the brutality
of the prisoner, inflicted upon him a 'fine of 205., or
in default of payment, 21 days in the House of Cor-
rection.

OUTRAGE ON A TRADESMAN AND CONSTABLES.
—George Knight, late in the service of Mr. W. S.
Cook, cheesemonger, &c., Hampstead-road, as por-
ter, was charged, with the following ruffianly as-
saults :

It appeared that the prisoner was dismissed from
his situation, and that on the previous day he called
for his clothes, which he had left behind, and by
permission obtained them. On leasing the shop he
abused Mr. Cook to such a degree as to compel him
to thrust him out, when he (prisoner) grasped him
tightly by the throat and tore his waistcoat and
shirt ; a great crowd collected at the spot, and on
assistance arriving the prisoner was, after a despe-
rate struggle, captured. On the way to the station
house the prisoner attacked Madgett, 83, Kingdom,
173, and White, 290, all of the S division, two of
whom he bit and tore their clothes. He (prisoner)
was much the worse for drink.

The prisoner's answer to the charge was that he
had served as a soldier in the Crimean war. He
received a wound in his head, and that when he
took a drop too much it completely got over him.
He had no recollection of having assaulted any one.
For the various assaults proved the prisoner was
convicted, and in default of payment of the fines
inflicted, together with costs for damage he had
done to clothes, &c., he was sentenced for different
terms to imprisonment in the House of Correction.

SOUTHWARK.—EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY
OF EXTENSIVE FRAUDS ON CONTINENTAL MER-
CHANTS BY A GANG OF LONDON SWINDLERS.—
Cornelius Reding, 35,, a fashionably-attired man,
who described himself as a leather merchant, of 6,
Southampton-terrace, Pentonville, and Pierre Har-
douire, a Frenchman, also stating himself to be a
leather merchant and commission agent, of 7, Long-
lane, Smithfield, were brought before Mr. Combe
by Serge int Hewlett, one of the officers who was on
duty at the Paris Exhibition, charged with attempt-
ing to obtain property of the value of £2OO, from
the Bricklayers' Arms Station, of the South-Eastern
Railway Company. They were also charged with
forging the name of Mr. William Stockil, tanner
and currier, 37, Long-lane, Bermondsey, to various
documents.

The circumstances attending this case are of a
very singular nature, showing a novel way of rais-
ing the wind by victimising foreign merchants by
false and fictitious orders from London. Mr. Wm.
Stockil, tanner and currier, of 37, Long-lane, Ber-
mondsey, has for many years carried on business not
only in England but in all parts of the Continent,
having agents at Park and elsewhere to transact
his business, consequently the firm is well known
in every capital of Europe. He obtained a prize
medal at the Exhibition of 1851, and a first-class
medal at the Paris Exhibition in 1855. The pri-
soner Reding was aware of his extensive transactions
abroad, anti by some means he, or some of his com-
panions, had a pc simile almost of his bill-
head engraved, with the London Exhibition on the
the left and the Paris Exhibition medallions on the
right, making it appear as the genuine bill-head of
Mr. William Stockil, the only difference being in
the address. The genuine one being 37, Long-lane,
Bermondsey, and the fictitious one, Long-lane, E.C.
The latter have been printed on fly-sheets, on which
orders were written for goods of considerable value,
and forwarded to the Continent. It is strongly
suspected that the gang have succeeded in defraud-
ing a number of Paris and other Continental houses,
through the well-known name of Mr. Wm. Stockil ;
but a few days ago it came to the knowledge of the
latter's agent at Paris, and hence the discovery of
this extraordinary attempted fraud and forgery,
and the apprehension of the prisoner.
Mr. William Stockil, on being sworn, said he was
a tanner and currier, of 37, Long-lane, Bermondsey,
and the Bermondsey New-road, and he dealt largely
with merchants at Paris and elsewhere. He had an
agent at Paris, through whom all his foreign busi-
ness was transacted. He knew the prisoner Reding,
he having been a customer to some extent, but he
knew nothing of the other prisoner, and he never
authorised either of them to order goods in his
name, or signed his name to any document. A short
time ago witness received information from his
Paris agent that he understood he was buying
goods in Paris, and he was rather surprised that
the orders were not sent through him. Witness
instantly sent him word that he had sent no orders
to Paris for goods, r..nd if orders had reached there
in his name they must be spurious. In reply to
that his agent forwarded him one of the fictitious
bill-head circulars, purporting to be written by
witness, inquiring about a certain quality of goods.
He then had some suspicion that a gang of
swindlers were victimising foreign houses by the
use of his well-known name, but still he could ob-
tain no further facts at that tune. However, a few
days ago be accidentally heard that a ease of goods
was lying at the Bricklayers' Arms Station of the
South-Eastern Railway with his usual marks on it,
from Paris, and it was to be kept till called for. He
immediately went to the railway station and saw the
case marked "W. S., Long-lane, E.C." The clerk
told him that a man had been there a day or two
before representing himself to be Mr. William
Stockil, and seeing the case he had signed an order
for its being detained until called for. That order
was signed W. Stockil, and was a forgery. The
police were communicated with on the subject, and it
was decided that a constable should watch the rail-
way station and apprehend the party who claimed
the case.

Mr. Combo asked whether any goods had actually
been.obtained through those means.
Mr. Stockil replied that goods valued at £2OO
had been obtained in his name already, and no
doubt, if publicity was given to this case, the police
would be able to find several other instances.
William Hem y Foster, a clerk in the goods de-
partment of the South-Eastern Railway Company
at the Bricklayers' Arms Station, said that a week
ago a case game from Paris, marked " W. S., E.C."
and addressed to Mr. William Stockil. On the
29th ultimo the prisoner Reding 5.,;(1 his
name was William Stockil, T., claimed the case.
He signed an order for its il..,(ention until called for.
The order was sig.a.d. " W. Stockil." On Monday
afternoon Ttc..iLg came for it, and was taken into
custody.
John Marsh, police-constable 184 M, said he was
instructed to watch at the goods station, and on
Monday afternoon he saw the prisoner Reding come
there with a horse and cart and two men. Ile then
demanded the case. Witness went up to him and
asked him if he was William Stockil. He replied
No, he was not, but he was Mr. fStockit's agent,
and lie had employed him to take the case away,
and dispose of the goods." Witness then took him
to the police station, where he was detained.
Sergeant Hewlett, who had been specially engaged
in the case, said that from information he received
he went on the previous day to No. 7, Long..
lane, Smithfield, where lie saw the prisoner Pierre
Hardouire sitting in an office writing. Witness
was in private clothes, and. he asked him
if his name was Stockil. He said his name
was William Stockil, and that was his office. lie
also said he received all letters for IV. Stockil.
Witness then told him he was a police officer, and
that he apprehended him for being concerned with
others, in obtaining goods of considerable value
under false and fraudulent pretences. 'Witness
found on him a number of blank bill-heads, copied
from Mr. W. Stockil's of Bermondsey„ and a num-
ber of letters showing his connexion with the
frauds. -Witness believed that it would be neces-
sary to proceed to Paris and other places on the

Continent, for the purpase, of obtaining further
evidence, therefore he should ask for a remand.
Both prisoners declined to ask any questions or
make onv defend, Avi)en
Mr. Combo remandcd them until Monday next.