The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-29 00:00:00

THE OUTFALL INTO THE GERH<LV OCEAN.

The subjoined letter from Sir S. M. Pete, directed to
the clerk of the board, and dated " Somerleyton Hall,
Suffolk, Nov. 24, 1856," was read by Mr. Woolrych :
"My dear Sir,—l am most anxious that before you
finally decide upon the outfalls for the metropolitan sew-
age you should have all the points of Mr. M`Lean's plan
before you, and I shall jo greatly obliged by your allow-
ing me to attend you with that gentleman to afford you
the necessary explanation. The imperative importance of
the subject will, I trust, be considered a sufficient excuse
for thus troubling you The whole of the plans and sec-
tions of the proposed outfall sewer to the German Ocean
being now completed, you can have all the necessary in-
formation with accuracy, so that your decision may be
taken without delay. The levels taken show such a differ-
ence between the height of the top water of the aqueduct
at West Ham, as shown in the sections of the engineer of
the Metrop litan Board of Works, and the level of the
spring tides of the German Ocean at the point of discharge,
as will admit a velocity of nearly three feet per second.
The sewer will be capable of discharging the whole of the
sewerage and rainfall estimated by the engineer of the
Metropolitan Board of Works, without auy additional
pumping, in a continuous stream, and at all times of the
tide. With the assumed velocity of three feet per second,
there will not be any deposit of sewerage except at places
selected specially for that purpose ; and this velocity is not
only sufficient to prevent the deposit of any soil, but is equal
to removing broken stones as large as those generally use,lfer
metalling roads. As regards estimates, the sum of 1,600,0001.
will be sufficient for executing the works, &c., between
West Ham and the sea. The locality of the outfall is ad-
mirably adapted for chemical works of every description, if
requisite, in connection with the sewerage, and is so far
removed from habitations, or places where houses are likely
to be built, that such works could never became a nui-
sance ; and it has the advantage of close proximity to the
rivers Crouch and Blackwa.ter, both of which form excel-
lent harbours. From the beat data I can obtain, lam led
to believe that the, proposed outfall at B in the metropo-
litan plans will cost (the writer here enumerates the seve-
ral items) 1,140,356/. The comparison will therefore stand
in outlay at 1,600,0001., as against 1,140,356; and in
making this comparison I assume that the cost of convey-
ing the sewage from the south side, including the sewage
of Greenwich and Woolwich, to the outfall sewer of the
north side, will not be greater than the cost of the pro-
posed outfall sower on the south side. Indeed, instead of
a difficulty in adopting the system of sewage proposed by
your engineer for the south side, it will much simplify the
work of collecting the sewage at Southwark-bridge instead
of at Deptford Creek, as it will not be necessary to make
any portion of the sewer below low water, as at present
proposed by the engineer of the board. You will, by the
adoption of Mr. el`Lean's plan, entirely get rid of all re-
servoirs and pumping at the outfall, and the Thames will
be left perfectly clear of sewerage matter; and the pro-
prietors of land in South Essex, by the memorial so exten-
sively signed, showed their great anxiety for the adoption
of the plan, so that no opposition of a local nature need be
feared by you, if after deliberation you should approve of
the plan. I have no desire in any way to be connected
with the execution of these works, my only object being
that the plan should have ample consideration given to it.
I feel a deep interest in the subject, from having
sat two years in the Sewers Commission ; but, that you
may feel the difference in expense is not an insuperable
barrier to the execution of these great works, I am willing,
with my friends, if you will pay, by way of a rent in per-
petuity for the use of the outfall sewer to the German Ocean
an interest of 5 per cent, per annum on the cost of your own
outfall and the works connected therewith, to construct
the outfall to the sea, and that you have the free use of it
for the rent so paid. I make this offer that the subject
may be treated on its own merits, an advantage fully
equivalent to any difference being obtained at the outfall
into the sea; for, outside the present sea wall, and lying
between the rivers Blackwater and Crouch, is an exten-
sive foreshore, capable of being reclaimed ' • and there is an
area of about six miles long and one mile broad, or nearly
4,000 acres, which might be at once treated in this way ;
and there are upwsrds of 20,000 acres more which might
be similarly treated, from time to time, by sewerage, not
otherwise utilised, being discharged over it. Thus, that
which will, in the ease of the Thames outfall being adopted
(treat it as you will), become a nuisance on the south Essex
shore, will become a public benefit and a source of income.
It appears to me that this great subject should be grasped
with a determination so to treat it that the works executed
should be sufficient for all time, and able to meet the con-
tingency of any future increase of the metropolis ; and any
little delay at the present moment in coming to your deter-
mination would be far more than counterbalanced by the
right conclusion being arrived at."
Mr. DIFFANGICR, after a few laudatory remarks upon
the character and standing of Sir S. M. Peto, but with-
out, as he said, committing birnself to the plan pro-
pounded, moved that the letter be acknowledged, and
that Sir S. M. Peto be requested to attend on Tuesday
next to explain the details of his plan,
Mr. NICHOLAY seconded the motion.
_ _

Mr. CABPMAEL said it was necessary the plan should
be laid before the board previous to its being discussed.
If it should turn out to be the old plan already proposed
by Mr. M'Lean, and rejected by the board, he would
advise the board not to listen to the course now suggested.
The CHAIRMAN said it was desirable the public mind
should be disabused of one or two matters which had
been misunderstood. It was supposed that the board
had under its consideration a plan proposed by Mr.
M'Lean to accomplish the whole drainage of the
metropolis for 1.600,000/. Nothing could be more
erroneous than such a notion. It appeared, in answer
to questions pet to Mr. Sl'Lean, that he proposed to
bring all the sewage on the south side of the river to one
great reservoir at the foot of Southwark-bridge, and then
lift it op by means of pumps some 70 or 80 feet into
tubes crossing the bri lge, and drop it again into another
sewer which should carry it to Nest Ham, where again
it would have to be lifted into a second sewer and car-
ried down to Crouch river. On being asked whether he
knew that the present direction of the sewers was from
west to east he did not appear to have entered into that
question, or into the question how the sewage could be
collected from all the outiyiog districts to the foot of
Southwark bridge. Nor had he made any calculation
of tue
illion cost of such
even a work—not less than theee-quarters
of ap if the people of Southwark wouLl
consent to have the sewage of the south side of the
Thames collected in one vast reservoir at the foot of
Southwark-bridge. When pressed upon the point of
expense Mr. Mean said that was a matter for the
board to consider. It was scarcely fair to contrast art
estimate, from which was omitted so large an item,
the estimate of the works proposed by the engineer of
that board. He did not believe Sir 8. fete would wi
lingly lend himself to anything so deceptive ; but that
he had taken the question up purely from a desire to pro-
mote
the general object which the board had to se-
complish.
After a few observations from Mr LESLIE, Mr. CREL.
Lys, and other members, the motion was put artl
negatived.
The board then adjourned.

THE GREAT MAIN DRAINAGE S,, Em 8
OF THE METROPOLIS.

DEPUTATIONS TO LORD PALMERSTON,
Yesterday at 11 o'clock, two deputations from the
south-eastern section of the metropolitan suburbs hal
an interview with the First Lord of the Treasury, at the
nobly premier's private residence, Cambridge House,
Pir.cadilly.
The first wan from Erith, and was introduced by Sir
Lolling Eardley, Bart.—Mr. James _Renshaw, cburz.l2-
lvtarden; Mr. Charles Beadle, churchwardeo ; the Re?.
r. Bernal!, and others. Lord Darnley, the Venerable
Archdeacon Smith, and Mr. Masters Smith, one of the
m
emhers for the county, arrived too lats.>, in cineequence
of! a. misapprehension of the hour fixed by the noble
viscount.
Sir CULLING EARIZEY opened the object of the depu-
tation t)hislor,l!thip by stating that in consequi;nee (1
the intended proj,:ct, a short , time ago, to collect th..i I
main drainage c,t the m.tropolls, a deputation had waited li
upon Sir B. Hall, a_l_le,ramnd_
were likely explained to him the evils that
tivad the sr:heir-14i: as far as such
a emu"' whe"
he
"g"-
as Erith wa:; concerned. The
inhabitants had, however,'arthebeard with regret that plan
No. 2 proposeJ to carrErith Church.
of London to within
,three-quarters of a(
Sit. mile
C Icl' fi
n E)
ith Church. If such was
-to be the case he
inflict a very grievous wrong. Inwas sure that it would
. by Sir Benjamin the Chief emi, an explanation granted
he c,nsiders 1 imselt as acting
forntihskeiontr had said that
and in the interest of all the inhabitants.whal'' metropolis,
storeys of houses in Paris the dwellers
looked upon it es
a constitutional right to empty their Slop
street. If that !princ,ple was applied in this pailsis into the I :
case he I
(Sir Culling) would ask what was to become of Erith, l
seeing it was so far below ? Slop pails must be emptied
m.,3where, but he hoped that it would not he
e I
ton,
ether at Erith or Gravesend. The deputations •;.
hick
the honour of attending uponlordship tot hie ' -4h"
s day I

were strongly of opinion that the sewage should be car-
ried down into the estuary of the Thames, where it could
not by any possibility return to pollute the river. The
registrar-general informs us that in from 25 to 30 years
the population of London will be doubled, and, assuming
that data to be correct, Louden may then have actually
extended itself to Erith—in fact, the legal limits went
already to Plumstead, and then all the sewers which we
were now making would have to be broken up again as
being too small. Then he would just allude to the ques-
tion of the marshes on the banks of the Thames. It was
well known that these marshes produce I fega and
agues, affecting not only the vicinity of the marshes
but even extending to the metropolis itself. This
being so it was highly desirable that any plan to
be adopted for the main drainage should include
also the drainage of those marshes. Sir Morton
Peto had published his plan, which was to carry the
sewage from Southwark across the Thames, combine it
with that on the north side, and then take the whole of
it on to the sea. It was necessary that some plan of
deodorisation and utilisation should be adopted. He
would respectfully suggest to his lordship the advisability
of a commission sitting upon the question, and there
could not be any doubt, from the facts which would be
elicited from engineers and other persons thoroughly
acquainted with the subject, that some plan would be hit
upon which would contain none of the obnoxious provi-
' sions of those already in existence. He would conclude
with the hope that his lordship would favourably con-
sider their position, and, from what had been already
told him, extend to them his protection.
Mr. RENSHAW said that there was one point to which
he wished to allude, as it had been overlooked by the
last speaker. As a merchant and shipowner of 40 years'
standing, he thought that a river like the Thames,
I which bore upon it all the riches of the world, should
not be polluted near its estuary by such a vast accumu-
lation of filth as would flow into it under the intended
arrangements. He was of opinion that nothing could
be worse than foreign vessels coming into port meeting
this abominable filthy stream.
The Gravesend deputation was then introduced by
Sir Culling Eardley, and consisted of W. Fletcher, E-q.,
mayor ; Alderman Dobson, Alderman Ditchburn, \V, S.
Plane, Esq., Mr. Councillor Gould, Mr. Southgate,
I Clerk to Commissioners of Improvements ; Mr. Shar-
land, town clerk.
The MAYOR said that the inhabitants of this town
strongly depreciated the proposed scheme, in proof of
which he would read the following resolutions :
"Resolved,—That it appears highly expedient that a
scientific consideration, under Government, should be
given to the practicability of deodorising the produce of
the sewers of London, and rendering the same available
fur agricultural or other purposes,
" Resolved,---That if insuperable difficulties should be
found to exist in the adopting of the above-mentioned
course, it is most essential for the health of the inhabi-
tants of this town and district and all others on the
banks of the Thames, and for avoiding the rendering
their houses and property valueless, that the great nui-
sance of the discharge of a concentrated sewage into the
river Thames at Erith Reach should be averted.

" Resolved,—That the discharge of such sewage i❑ Sea
Reach appears a course of discharge free from objection in
a sanitary point of view to the inhabitants of property in
any district, would ❑ot only avoid those injurious results
to the health and property of the inhabitants on the
banks of the Thames, but would, to use the words of the
engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works, effect the
entire purification of the river.
" Resolved,—That the general purification of the river
Thames may well be considered a great national object."
The Mayor added, he had no hesitation in saying that
the parishes affected by the scheme would use every
weapon in their power, by means of the Court of Queen's
Bench and the Court of Chancery, to assist then► in de-
feating the object. He hoped the noble lord would inter-
fere and prevent so undesirable a collision.
Lord P - ALMERSTON —Of course you do not expect me
to give you an answer at present. I will give due at-
tention to any statements which you say you will send
me in writing, as well as to the veibal communications
which you have now made to me. You are quite aware
that this is a matter to which I will give my best consi-
deration as soon as I can. This is all I can say at present.
The deputation having thanked the noble lord for his
courtesy and kindness, then retired.

(From the Times.)
Exeter-hall for once at a nonplus ! Sir Culling Eard
ley and Lord Palmerston, the Evangelical Alliance and
the "powers that be," on the common platform of
a sanitary nuisance, exchanging condolences and diffi-
culties ! Sir Culling Eardley appears in that character
in which all Englishmen, of all orders, religious, pro-
fessions, or morals, ate sure to appear at one
time or another,—the character of John Bull,
defending his castle against invasion and an-
noyance. It's in them all, and is sure to
come out. We have read many a religious
biography, but never one of ordinary fulness in
which the biographer was not proud to exhibit hie sub.
jest in the attitude of just indignation and defiance.
And has not Sir Calling Eardley a cause ? His Lares
and Penates are threatened by a foe worse than palpable
robber or good wholesome murderer. Plan No. 2of
the Metropolitan Board of Works proposes to carry all
the sewage of London to within three-quarters of a mile
of Erith Church. The ,result of this would be that
Erith, sweet Erith, with its healthy northern slope, its
pretty church and villas, with Belvidere-house and its
beautiful grounds, would be the very scapegoat of
London miasma. The foul stream disgorged from the
black jaws of a huge sewer would there meet the light
and h,at of day. It would there begin its long term of
wanderings up and down tke tide. Ups, indeed, we are
promised there shall be none ; but what is the value of
promises when sewage is concerned ? What promise,
too, could bind the air, and compel it not to refund the
atmospheric products up the valley of the Thames ? If,
too—and we must say it is a most terrible " if,"—the
vast apparatus that is to be, some time or other, for
collecting, drying, deodorising, and reducing the more
solid products should be just opposite Erith, one might
as well be on the verge of that bottomless pit, whence,
by the common consent of all authorities, sacred and
profane,• there arises the foulest of stenches. Nor is
Sir Culling Eardley unsupported in his complaint. The
whole tide of insult and injury would come down upon
Gravesend without even the flimsy subterfuge of being
under orders not to touch the tuwu. It would go up
and down no one can say how often. But the voice of
remonstrance is heard still lower. A shipowner appears,
and protests emphatically against the proposal to greet
all strangers, arid our own homeward-bound vessels with
a vast pool of filth just discharged, i❑ the best preserva-
tion, at the very mouth of the Thames. As everybody
knows, at the end of a sea voyage, and in the change
from one climate to another, the bodily heal 11 is always
in a peculiar state, and unusually sensitive to malignant
influences. Indeed the probability is that every ship
passing through this zone of malaria would bring the
cholera, or some fever, or we know not what morbid
variety, right up the river into the heart of the metro-
polis.

Ia fact, an outlet at Erith would be only a half
' sueasure. No measure, indeed, would be a whole one,
but this would be literally half, for L mdon, it is com-
puted, will be twice as populous, and more than twice as
extensive, in thirty or forty years, and then, it stands t,
reason, an expedient which only just suffices now will be
very far short of the occasion then. The particular spot,
, too, is most unfortunate. This tidal estuary which we
, call the Thames flows through an immense extent of
marshes, considerably under high water, and always pro-
, duciog fogs and agues. Though the water of the Thames
is carefully kept. by kigh banks from diffusing itself over
those marshes, no doubt a poisonous effluvium from its
banks would be a serious addition to the ordinary marsh
air. These considerations have already had their weight
in the proper quarters, and we have no doubt that the
St. George of Belvidere will not have to fight a sewerage
dragon at Erith. What, then, is to be done' The
people on the Thames have all agreed that an outlet at
Sea Reach will answer the purpose, and Sir Morton Peto
will stand godfather to the plan—and father, too, if ne•
ctaary. He will be glad to undertake the work. As
for the drainage of the marshes, we should have thought
that the conveyance of the metropolitan sewage through
wore than 40 miles of artificial conduits was work enough
by itself, and did not require the additional charge of
some thousand acres of marsh land. The marshes-mu 4
take care of themselves ; and, in fact, they rtqaire
nothing but a few steam engines here and tnere
to lift the accumulations of rain water to the level
of the Thames. Haarlem Lake and our own
Whittlesea-mere have been drained of every drop
of water, insomuch that the Great Northern Rail-
way, we believe, passes over the bed of the latter.
There is no need to invoke the metropolis to drain Erith
marshes, which are rich enough to pay for their own
I draining. How far the two operations can be combined
with a fair division of the charges is another question.
We don't see, ourselves, how a combination is either
possible or desirable, or what the two things can have
to do with one another. So on this point we wait to be
enlightened, and should be glad to hear what the engin-
eers say on this subject.
Supposing this to be the plan adopted—and there
seems little doubt of it—will our readers just reflect on
the
fuelmmensity of the undertakings to which our cant
of forethought, unity, and system has committed us ?
Parliament, within these three or four years, has com-
pelled all the water companies to go up the river, above
the reach of the tide 20 or 30 miles, in quest of the
pure element. Thus, we go up the river 70 or 80 mile-,
fbri-ra'ale,itlsikmeloyuttn h
b,takea considerable fraction of its via
i
apartconduces
t by pipes to the ocean, taking care
to pass it, on the way,
through our .streets and house...
It certainty is a
grand operation, like that of the East-
,
ern conqueror who passed a river by dividing it into
I least one of these operations
many salad channels. It isthat • t
evident, however,
Pao
r a pollutiontit least. with served the river free fis auperfluotr-. Had we pre-
its water without fearro,:nightonly have
such drunkfilt
ra.
tion ad way be necessary at lug or Oxford. As it
is, oar relatiohe with the great.'
river on which London
I s to be built will be prceasea rather doubtful We shall
I neither drink of it nor drain into it ; and
the shall
Igeogra-
phical expressions " watered by the river There ''anll °r washed by the Thames," will no longer apply tie 3
to our
I case. The river between bridges will be only a tho-
roughfare for steamboats and barges, a
pretence for
magnificent bridges and a tidal lake for the use of
the Pool below. We are only adverting to the fact—
for a fact it is, or will soon be—and, as
the
im-
mense pipes to bring the water from the super-tidal
stream are near y all sarnpletei, and will soon be in
actual use, and as the water ;s said to he considerably
more pure than that formerly in use,—above all, as co,•
pliance with the act of Parliament has cost more than
ta-o millions and a half within these three years, We
shall give this part of our water system at least a fair
trial. Ent it is already time to look forward to the not
very dista, t day when the doubling metropolis will
want still mgr. water, when it will no longer be p:utient I
to dranv on the upper stream of the Theme,, and when t

that stream itself will be less pure than it now is, owing
to the increase of the population on its banks. What
are we to do then We shall have to do what Rome
did, not only at Rome, but all over the world ; what
Glasgow is doing, what New York and Boston have
done, as well as other cities in the United States. We
shall have to go far and wide in quest of such streams
throughout the country as can be brought here, without
injury to other interests. This should be done while
the streams are still pure and the conflicting interests
still unimportant ; otherwise, Ire shall only discover our
wants when it is too late to rectify them.

(Prom the Lancet.)
When posterity hunts through the pages of history,
seeking examples of extinct words, the records of the
Metropolitan Board of Works will afford ample illustra-
tion of the word "muddle." Considering how great
were the interests confided to them it seems incredible
that so little should have been done. They at first en-
joyed an amount of public confidence seldom vouchsafed
to any untried body of men. They ha 1 power to act,
and ample means to enable them to act, with abundance
of abuses, whereof their new brooms might have made
a clean sweep. At first, when the performance fell so
far short of our expectations, there was a plausible excuse
in reserve. If profusion of talk, and time wasted in
irrelevant discussion, suggested the query, " Quid
dignum tanto feret hiatu ?" the vast subject of the
sewage was held sufficient, like Charity, to cover a
multitude of sins,—for there are sins of omission as of
commission. On this great question there wae a mighty
affectation of solemn discussion, the results of which are
now before the public. The plans to be considered were
marshalled in alphabetical array, and once threatened to
employ all the letters, but were at last considerately
limited to plans A, B, C, and D—John Bull expressing
his opinion of this first evidence of feeble indecision by
echoing the D, with a dash.
After great debate Plan B was selected, and taken to
Sir B. Hall for hie approval as the cleverest thing the
Board of Works could accomplish. Then, and not till
then, the pet scheme was discovered to be clearly op-
posed to the meaning of the law specially passed to guide
the selection. The officer appointed to investigate the
force of the sea tide in the Thames had reported that an
outfall less than 15 miles from London-bridge would not
carry away the sewage clear of the town. So it was laid
clown in the law that this should be the minimum distance;
that the discharge should be nowhere near the extremest
point of the boundaries of London. In the plan proposed
by the Board the outfall into the river was distant scarcely
a mile from the limits of the metropolitan area. It was
rejected by the Chief Commissioner, and, lest any one
should wonder what possible motive led to its recommen-
mendation, the chairman volunteered an explanation at
the interview. "Probably," said Mr. Thwaites," the
most important element which guided thew was the
question of finance."
On the drainage of London depends the health and
lives of millions of human beings, including those who
are born and die without any account of them being in-
cluded in the census. Whatever scheme is now adopted
can only be altered subsequently at an enormous cost.
Yet, in the full knowledge of this, it now appears that
the Board of Works have all along been higgling about
an expenditure that no one ever thought of grudging for
such a purpose. Whilst the authorities are incubating
a fresh scheme, private enterprise has been Oirected to
the accomplishment of the work, and several proposi-
tions of practical thinkers are now under consideration.
To these we shall hereafter refer.

THE MURDER IN PARLIAMENT-STREET.

CRIMINAL COURT.

The following appeared in our late edition of last
night :
(Before Baron Alderson and Ju,tice Coleridge.)

Yesterday morning Robert Marley, alias Jenkins, was
indicted for the wilful murder of Richard Cope, a,:siltant
to Mr. Berry, watchmaker, of Parliament-street.
Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Clark conducted the prosecu-
tion, and Mr. Sleigh defended the prisoner.

The facts of this atrocious ease have been so fre
qeently and fully before the public that a detailed
report on this occasion is wholly unnecessary. The pri-
soner, on taking his position at the bar, cast a hasty
glance round the court, and ne.‘rly throughout the whole
of the proceedings he maintained the greatest calmness.
The witnesses who gave evidence against the prisoner
at Bow-street were severally examined by Mr. Bodkin
and cross-examined by Mr. Sleigh, the object of the
learned gentleman engaged for Marley, for some time,
evidently being to show that it was a case of mistaken
identity.
When the witness Croft was giving his evidence, in
which he stated that he saw the prisoner striking at
somebody in the shop of Mr. Berry in Parliament-street,
:Marley fixed a steadfast gaze upon him, and it was
come time before he again resumed his apparent calm-
ness. On Baron Alderson putting the question to
Croft whether he had the slightest doubt in his
mind as to the prisoner being the person he saw come
out of Mr. Berry's shop on the evening of the shocking
occurrence, and on his reply in the negative, the prisoner
convulsively bit his lips, but shortly afterwards he
regained his composure. The effect of the answer of
Croft was completely to fix the prisoner's identity.
Mr. Sleigh, the prisoner's counsel, did not attempt a
cross-examination of this witness. The only other person
whose evidence created the slightest sensation in court
was Allen, the hackney carriage attendant, the brother-
in-law of the unfortunate man Cope, and when the
witness left the witness-box the prisoner evidently felt
great relief, as the whole tenour of evidence was greatly
against him.

The next incident that occurred was the examination
of Mr. Barnaby, the chief clerk of the Bow-street
police-court. This gentleman read the depositions takes
before Mr. Jardine, the magistrate, at the Westminster
Hospital. The witness having finished reading
the document, Mr. Sleigh asked Mr. Burnaby
whether the precise question " Is that the man
who struck you l" was not put to Cope in the pre-
sence of Marley. Mr. Burnaby said it was not. The
injured max was, of course, prepared for encountering
the presence of the prisoner, immediately on seeing
whom Cope gave a convulsive shudder, and in answer
to the question, whether he could identify any
person present as the man who had injured him, he
pointed to the prisoner and said, "That's the man."
At the relation of this incident in the dreadful tragedy
a thrill of horror ran through the court, but the prisoner
at this particular moment was not in the slightest degree
disturbed.

In the course of the examination of Mr. Marshall, the
surgeon of Westminster Hospital, the witness was enter
ing into a detailed description of the injuries that Cope
lad received on the head, when

Baron Alderson, addressing Mr. Marshall, said—Now,
never mind all that ; we want to know what was the
causo of the death of Cope,

Mr. Marsha.ll—The deposition of matter in the lunge,
Baron Alderson—What was the cause of that !
Mr. Marshall—lnjuries of the head.

The opinion of Mr. Marshall was confirmed by Mr,
B. limit, ar.d Mr. Lawrence, senior surgeon of Br►rtho-
lomew's Hospital. The latter gentleman said ha bad
never known a case of a person recovering who had
received such extensive injuries as the deceased had
after the operation of trepanning had been performed.
This closed the case for the prosecution.

The court the❑ adjourned for a few minutes.

Mr. Sleigb, in addressing the jury for the prisoner,
said that the inquiry in which they were that day engag-
ed was one of the m ist awful, and involved upon himself
a responsibility of great magnitude. But in any
decision which they would arrive at he felt sure they
would be guided by strict impartiality. He felt it his
duty to inform the jury that he was not instructed
directly by the prisoner himself, but he had
been instructed on the part of the Sheriffs not
to attempt to frustrate or impede the ends of
justice, but to see that the prisoner had a perfectly lair
and impartial trial. To find the man at the bar guilty
of the charge imputed to him they must be satisfied
that the prisoner was the man who committed the offence
in Mr. Berry's shop. They must be satisfied that his
hand was the one which caused the death of the
unfortunate man Cope. The first point to which he would
direct their attention was, aye or ❑o, is the man standing
at the bar the man seen in Mr. B erry's shop inflicting
injuries upon the unfortunate deceased 4 He had taken
advantage of the recess that had taken place to shortly
review the whole of the facts adduced that day, and he
thought that when they came to ♦iew them they would
arrive at the conclusion that the present case was one of
mistaken identity. The fact that the basket which bad
been stolen from Mr. Berry's had out. Leen discovered was
a strong point in favour of• the prisoner ; and he put it to
them whether it was not poviible for the person who had
committed the robbery to have thrown away the life
preserver and still pre:evved the produce of the robbery.
The whole of this part the case was involved irs doubt,
and he felt sure that th a jury would carefully consider the
evidence in regard to it. The medical evidence was not
at ail conclusive as t o the cause of death, and it had been
stated that there w ere certain evidences that there had
been some internal, disease. Before they could convict
the prisoner of murder the jury must be fully satisfied
that ho comcnit`eed the crime with malice aforethought,
and he did nott see the slightest circumstance in the
evidence that had been placed before them which would
enable them f,o arrive at such a conclusion. There was
co such mo tive in this case. Where was the malice
shown ? "There was no laying wait. There was no
motive, fig• rudge, or menace, as regarded the deceased,
existing 'ea the prisoner's mind, and no intention to kill
could b; We existed.

Baron Alderson—But, if he went for the purpose of
robbing:, and, in carrying out that purpose, took away
the ina,n's life, I am of opinion—in fact, there is no
dotbt about it—it is clearly murder.
74,1 r. Sleigh said that was undoubtedly BO ; bat, still,

he should contend for a favourable con,truction of the
doubt to which the prisoner at the bar was most unques-
tionably entitled to. The learned counsel concluded his
speech by a forcible appeal to the feelings of the jury,
beseeching them that, if the slightest doubt existed in
the minds of any of theca with regard to the guilt of
the prisoner, they would acquit him of the heinous
crime of which he was accused.

Baron ALDEMON then charged the jury, and in doing
so laid before them the state of the law with respect to
such crimes as the one they were now engaged in inves-
tigating. He said if they were satisfied that the prisoner
at the bar was the man who entered Mr. Berry's shop
and struck the blows for the purpose of silencing the
man, in order that he might more easily convey the
plunder away—although he did not intend to commit
murder—still, if those injuries resulted in death, there
could be no doubt that the crime of which the prisoner
was accused came within the act of murder. The learned
judge then proceeded to comment on the evidence that
had been given, and said it was evident that the most
favourable moment bad been selected for the commission
of the crime. All the valuable property was supposed
to have been placed in a parcel to be conveyed away
from the premises for security during the night. The
evidence further went to show that there were more than
the prisoner concerned in this heinous offence, and it
seemed to him (the learned judge) that the three men
1 who were outside the door of Mr. Berry's shop, and who,
in answer to certain inquiries, said the noise was occa-
sioned by a man and his wife quarrelling, were acting in
concert with the prisoner at the bar. Then, again, as
to the identity of the prisoner. The evidence of the
young man who stated that he looked through the open-
ing between the doors of the shop, and saw the prisoner
inflicting blows upon some one, and then afterwards
light a cigar and leave the premises, and the fact that 1
the prisoner when taken into custody had a lighted
cigar in his hand, was strong evidence that he was
the person in the shop of Mr. Berry on the night of
the robbery. In addition to this circumstance, the
whole of the evidence seemed to leave no doubt about
the identity of the prisoner; but this part of the case
they would most seriously consider. Then, with respect
to the place in which the life-preserver was found, it was
quite possible for a person to throw it to the place where
it was picked up from the spot where the prisoner was
take❑ into custody ; and supposing it was not so thrown,
it did not seem at all likely that a person wishing to
conceal such a weapon would not have thrown it inside
the square and not left it on the pavement. It was for-
tiler stated that when the prisoner was taken into cus-
tody four fingers on his right hand were covered with
blood. This would, in all probability, be the hand by
which the blows upon the unfortunate man were adminis-
tered, and the suggestion of the learned counsel for the
defence that the blood bad got upon the prisoner's hand
in consequence of his contact with the persons who had
been rendering assistance to the unfortunate man Cope,
of course they would give that suggestion all the value
it deserved. The learned judge having went through the
medical evidence, said they would well weigh all the cir
curnstances, and if they came to the conclusion that the
blows on the head occasioned the death of Cope, and
that they were dealt by the prisoner, then they would
find him guilty, but if they had the slightest doubt as
to the prisoner at the bar
,being the man they would
acquit him of the charge. I now commit you to the
care of God Almighty, and may He conduct you to a
right conclusion.
At half-past three the jury retired to consider their
verdict, and, after an absence of 25 minutes, returned a
verdict of " Guilty."
The Clerk of the Arraigns having asked the prisoner
if he had anything to say why he should not receive
sentence,

Marley, in a quick, sharp tone said, "I have nothing

to say."

The usual proclamation of silence having been made,
The Learned Judge put on the black cap, and said—
Robert Marley, after a patient and impartial investiga-
tion, the jury have found you guilty of the crime of
murder, committed under circumstances of considerable
aggravation. In the commission of the crime it was
evident from the circumstances that have occurred dur-
ng the trial that you and three other persons had ma-
ured plans for its commission, and that you were selected
to perpetrate the offence which they were cowardly
enough to witness. This is not the first time that you
have been tried and convicted in this court. You
have been sentenced to a term of transportation, but
through the mercy of the Crown you received a ticket
of leave, and this dreadful crime is your gratitude
for being allowed to return to the metropolis. Such a
circumstance naturally causes us to doubt the wisdom of
tkat mercy which had been extended to you. There will
still be time given you for repentance for your awful
crime, although you allowed your victim none. I trust
that as he was permitted to lire so long after the injuries
were inflicted that his prayers to Almighty God for for-
g,ivenese of hie murderers were heard, and that your
heart will be so softened before the final execution of
the sentence that you yourself may be induced to seek
that pardon of which you stand so much i❑ need. I
implore you to occupy the short time that you will now
have in this world, in supplicating for mercy before the
throne of an all-wise, all-merciful God. The sentence
of the Court is, that you be taken from hence
to the place from whence you came, and from
thence to a place of execution, and that you be there
hanged by the neck until you be dead, and that your
body be afterwards buried within the precincts of the
gaol.
The prisoner, who had listened calmly to the exhorta-
tion of the learned judge, here shortly bowed his head,
and turning on his heel was about quitting the dock,
but the officers in attendance motioned to him that the
sentence was not complete, when he returned, and the
learned judge finished his observation with a prayer that
the Lord would have mercy upon his soul.

The prisoner again bowed his head, and trippingly lett
the dock.
At the conclusion of the trial Mr. Bodkin informed
the e'mrt that the witness Lerigo had, in consequence of
having to attend the various examinations in connection
with this case, lost his situation.
Baron Alderson said he greatly regretted such a cir
cumstance, but if the recommendation of the judges
would he of any service in getting him another he should
have it. The conduct of Lerigo was worthy of the
highest approval, arid he tendered the thanks of the
bench to him. Although he had lost his
employment by his attendance at this case, he
had no doubt but that another and a better would be
procured for him. He wished that a book was kept in
that court that a record of the names of such indi-
viduals as Lerigo, who had acted so nobly, might be
inserted as a pattern and an example to others. If
such a book, after these observations be ever kept, he
should give directions that the name of Lerigo
should be inserted, and that a copy of the book be sent
to him, in order that he might show to his friends the
estimation in which his conduct bad been held by the
Court. He was empowered to reward persons for meri-
torious services, and he should have great pleasure in
giving directions that Lerigo should receive the sum of
201. (Suppressed marks of applause.)
The learned Judge then called Allen forward, and said
he had acted well on the occasion ; but, as he had not
lost his situation, be should direct that the sum of 101.
be paid to him.