The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-19 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

RAID UPON BETTING-HOMES IN IVIANCRESTEP:—On
Monday night the Manchester police made a descent upon
a low quarter of the city, and arsprehended fifteen men,
several of whore were beerhouse-keepexs, on a charge of
keeping betting-houses, or permitting their houses to be
used for that purpose. Two men, who had been convicted
before, named Holt and Worsley, were fined £lOO each ;
ten of the defendants were severally fined £7s—three
months' imprisonment to follow in each case if the fine
was not paid ; and three were discharged.
THE MURDER NEAR GRIMSBY.—Two brothers, named
Traves, have been charged at Grimsby with the wilful
murder of Enoch Goldy, gardener to Mr. Thorold, of
Cuxwold Hall, on Sunday. They both declared they had
not committed the murder, and were remanded for a
week.

ATTEMPT TO MURDER.—At Birmingham, George Page
has been charged with threatening to kill his father, the
landlord of the Soho Tavern, Ifandsworth. On Saturday
last be came home the worse for drink and quarrelled
with his .father. Ile then E eized a large carving-knife,
and rushed at his father, who had just time to ruu into a
room and lock himself in. The prisoner burst open the
door as his father made his cacepe by the window, Ile
wa3 ordered to find sureties for six months.

THE IVOLTII NORFOLK ELECTION
PETITIOY.

Mr. Justice Blackburn opened the inquiry into 0113
petition on Monday afternoon. Mr. Serjeant Ballantine
and Mr. Littler appeared for the petitioner, Mr. Colman ;
Mr. O'lNlalley, Q.C., and Mr. Blofeld for Sir E. Lacon,
one of the sitting members ; and Mr. Rodwell, Q.C., for
the Hon. F. Walpole, the second sitting member. Mr.
Serjeant Ballantine, in opening the case for the petitioners,
said there were charges of intimidation, of bribery, and of
treating. There was also a question as to the employment
by the sitting members of certain persons (twenty-four in
number) who bad been scheduled by the Great Yarmouth
Election Commission as having been guilty of corrupt
practices. The result of the contest which took place
for the division at the last general election was that the
Hon. F. Walpole obtained 2,627 votes ; Sir E. Lacon,
2,567 votes ; Mr. C. Wodehouse, 2,232 votes ; and Mr.
R. T. Gurdon, 2,075 votes. Mr. Walpole and Sir E.
Lacon were the Conservative candidates, and Mr. Wode-
house and Mr, Gordon offered themselves in the Liberal
interest. The division comprised nine polling districts, and
the majority was in favour of the Liberals in
seven of the districts, the exceptions being
Ormesby and Great Yarmouth. The election was entirely
decided by the Yarmouth divisions, which comprised
between 1,400 and 1,500 of the electors. As regards the
sitting members, Mr. Walpole was the brother of the
Earl of Orford, and against him personally there was no
sort-of imputation. Sir E. Lacon stood in a very diffe-
rent position, and the whole burthen of the case would
fall upon him. Sir E. Lacon was a brewer and banker in
Norfolk, and a man of great wealth. He had been con-
nected for a great number of years with elections ; he had
been associated with the borough of G reat Yarmouth, and he
had undergone the ordeal of four petitions, in two of
which he had been petitioner, while in the other two he
had been respondent, so that he must have become per-
fectly acquainted with election matters. Sir E. Lacon
was returned for Yarmouth in 1865 with Mr. Goodson.
There was, as usual, a petition, and although the members
retained their seats, a royal commission was appointed,
the result being that the commissioners found that very
extensive corruptionhad existed. Mr. John Cooper, one of
the persons scheduled as abriber by the YarmouthElection
Oommissioners in 1867, was actively engaged on behalf of
'Sir E. Lacon in the North Norfolk election of November
1868, and he was implicated in some matters of treating.
Another of the persons scheduled by the Election Com-
missioners in 1867 was Mr. Preston. This gentleman
seemed to have been born in the midst of corruption, and,
from the time he was first able to move about,
to have been mixed up in corruption, in
probably the most corrupt borough in England.
Yet Mr. Preston was the gentleman selected by
Sir E. Lacon to second him at the North Norfolk nomina-
tion. He was also chairman of Sir E. Lacon's committee,
and took the chair at many of the Conservative meetings.
A gentleman of the name of Nightingale, an intimate
personal friend and partner of Sir E. Lacon, had been
involved up to the hilt in the most scandalous
bribery at Yarmouth, and at the North Norfolk
election he canvassed to a considerable extent for
air E. Lacon, and was engaged in a system of intimida-
tion from one end of the county to the other. 'The ex-
penses of Sir E. Lacon and Mr. Walpole were returned at
2,995. This was not an exorbitant amount if the state-
ment were true, but advertisements were charged for which
never found their way into the newspapers, while there
were two items of £2O and £3O, alleged to have
been paid to one "J. Kelf," for bill posting, although no
such person could be found to exist. Sir E. Lacon was
charged also with various acts of bribery and treating.
Evidence was given yesterday of the intimidation of a
voter named Isaac Edmunds, of Caistor, who bad for many
years been employed to cart malt and barley for Lacon and
Co. Mr. Nightingale asked him to vote for Walpole and
Lacon ; he did not do so, but voted for the Liberals, and
he was afterwards dismissed from his employment.
On Mr. Nightingale being remonstrated with, Le
said the Erna only employed their friends. Evidence
was also given as to the intimidation of a farmer and
shopkeeper named Grimes, living at Tuttington, who was
threatened by Mr. Postle, his landlord, that he would be
turned out of one small farm, and bought out of another,
if he did not vote for the Conservatives. The
witness did not vote, but he bad not yet been
either turned out or bought out. Grimes also stated in
his evidence that several persons were treated to break-
fast in his neighbourhood on the polling day, on the
understanding that they should vote for the Conserva-
tives.

RITUALISM IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA.—The South
Australian .Register of March 30 says that a memorial to
the Lord Bishop of Adelaide, praying him to adopt
stringent measures for the suppression of ritualistic prac-
tices in the English Church in the colony, is being exten-
sively signed.
NEW BRONZE FIELD GUN FOR INDlA.—Further
trials of the new bronze field gun for India were made on
Monday and on Tuesday at Shoeburyness, with a continua-
tion of very satisfactory results. The light iron carriages
are perfect in their endurance. Case shot was also fired
from the light Abyssinian steel gun at 200 yards, the
effects of the bullets being severe upon the wood targets.

The report is confirmed that the accident to the
mail t rain from Pelfast to Dublin was caused by a stone placed
acros's the track, which weighed 3 cwt., and 11.:d been so laid
with the intention of making sure that the train would leave
the rails. The engine and two waggons remained on the line,
however, and only the end of the train suffered. There
were eight passengers, none of whom m ere seriously in-

THE DROUGHT IN AUSTRALIA. —The Melbourne
Argus says that reports of the desolation occasioned in the
interior of the colony by the severity of the drought are
continually appearing. The line of road from Wagga
Wagga to Hay is said by a late traveller to be comparable
to nothing but the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It is
literally strewed with the skeletons or the decaying carcases
of wretched animals that have perished from starvation or
thirst. Horses, cattle, and sheep, and even the wild
denizens of the plains—kangaroos, emus, and turkeys—
are lying dead in all directions.
VELOCIPEDES FOR RURAL POSTS.—Huntly, as the
centre of a wide district, has a considerable number of
country post messengers in connection with its office.
Some of them have very long journeys to take ; and the
Forgue runner has taken the initiative in doing the
journey with a velocipede. Last Saturday he began his
journey in the new fashion, and did the distance (nine
miles) in about an hour. It is a double-seated conveyance,
very light, seems easily propelled by two persons (who
sit facing one another), and goes at a rapid rate.—
Scotsman.

HONOUR TO OLD AGE.—The Vord relates that a
fete took place a few days back at Charleroi in honour of
one Catherine Yernaux, who had reached her 100th year,
and had been long known as a schoolmistress. The street
was decked out with flags, and over the door of her resi-
dence was fixed a large placard with the inscription--
" Madame C. Yernaux, 100 years, May 13, 1869. Honour
to old age !" In the course of the day the venerable lady
was taken in an open carriage from her own house to the
parish church, where she was embraced by her relatives
amidst the acclamations of a considerable crowd, and a
service of thanksgiving celebrated. In the evening the
whole quarter was illuminated, and the 'cite terminated
by a public ball.
PLAYING WITH POWDER.--A most remarkable
occurrence has taken place en the premises of Penlyan
Ruabor. A young man named Freer, who assi,ted
the vro-:.m, had occasion to g' up into the granary, which
is over the coach-house, to fetch acme beans. Whilst
there be foolishly began to amuse himself with a barrel
of blasting pow•dler that Lad b_(a placed in a wooden box,
and actually threw a lighted in; on the top of 6,
barrel, thinking only to set fire to a small quantity of
powder which lay outside. All the barrel, however,
exp'.oded, blowing away the roof wid the s:des of the
room. The groom was clij ping a horse close to the stable-
door ; one of the beams of the roof came through the
window, but Wilcox happily escaped unhurt, and, acconi-
!._,anied by Mr. Scott, the bailiff, went up into the granary,
where they found Freer lying on the floor. As soon as he
heard them talking he rose, only having been frightened,
and not in the least hurt. Several pieces of the roof lay
near his head, but 4914 Aiwa jaituour

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

ItEVEEDY JOHNSON "s FAREWELL.

Mr. Reverdy Johnson will probably be known as
the " dinner-eating ambassador." His sojourn in
this country has been one series of banquets. He
has been made the means of drawing to no end of
charitable feasts ; hardly a public meeting of impor-
tance, but his Excellency the American Minister has
replied to toasts. Ho has, however, eaten his last
public meal with us. The people of Southampton
wanted to drink the farewell toast with him. He
declines the honour in almost precisely the same
terms as his first speech. There is just one differ-
ence. He no longer tells us that his countrymen
have that fervent love for Old England which he
made so much of in the early days of his mission.
But else his farewell epistle is after the same
fashion as his maiden spee_hes. He takes
credit to himself—and he is certainly entitled
to do so—for having from the first done his
best to promote friendly feeling between the two
countries. Ile says he has reason to believe he has
not failed. Perhaps he will come to a different con-
clusion when he meets with the feeling against Eng-
land which prevails in the United States. But he is
determined to go home with a different idei.
"I shall leave England (he says) with the conviction that
the people and her Government consider that a war
between the two countries would be as dire a calamity as
could befall them ; and this, I have no doubt, is also the
conviction of my Government and the people of the
United States. For a few days, owing to recentaccurrences
to which it is only necessary to allude, apprehensions were
entertained that such a misfortune might occur. These I
am gratified to find have already ceased to exist. I shall
return, therefore, to my home with the assurance that the
amicable relations between the two nations are not to be
seriously disturbed. This not happening, the career of
both will necessarily be even more prosperous in the future
than it has been in the past, and the cause of free govern-
ment be placed an a firmer foundation that ever."
It is noteworthy that Mr. Johnson even admits that
apprehensions were entertained that war might
occur.