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

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY TEVEINING, NOVEMBER' 29, 1856.

London is at once so rapid and steady that in a

quarter of a century we may reasonably look to

fiud Erith included in the metropolitan boun-
daries. At all events the sewage will have to be
carried on to the sea then at a much greater ex-

pence than it can be carried now. Why not have
the work dune at once, when a saving both of
health and pocket may be effected by doing so ?
There are, however, other motives which of
themselves might suffice to convince the people of

London of the propriety of conveying the sewage
to sea when they are about getting rid of it. In

alluding to the sanitary aspect of the question we
have purposely refrained from calling attention to
the effects likely to be produced by loading the

effluvium of the marshes, along which the foetid
puddle will ebb and flow, with additional poison.
With the like design we have not adverted to the

opportunity at present offered to drain the marsh
land, and thereby to a large extent get rid of the
fogs which are so annoying and prejudicial in busi-

near and to the general health and comfort. There

are things which ought not to be overlooked in
the consideration of a great sanitary question like
that of the sewerage, though there is too much
reason to believe they have been so. How would
future annalists describe the men who, in carry-

ing out a costly sanitary undertaking, not only
poisoned the atmosphere of a beautiful village
and several towns, but actually failed in securing
the object they had in view, and neglected a
splendid opportunity to get rid of a nuisance
which perennially, for hours together, envelopes
three millions or more of people in a pall of thick
and disease-bearing darkness ? We leave the
reader to imagine here—for us to do so might be
offensive. _ _

Possibly it may be urged, " You are overload
ing an already burdened question with your sug-
gestions, and making that impossible which now
with difficulty can be accomplished." Not a bit
of it. There is not a suggestion which we have
made at first or second hand but is compatible
with—we may say, more or less essential to—the
cheapest possible effective scheme. The sewage, if
not now, will in a few years have to be carried to
Sea Reach. Now it can be done at a great saving
of expense. Sir MORTON PETO is at hand ready to
undertake the task on the most favourable terms.
Now the owners of marsh land are prepared to aid
us in getting rid of our foe by contributing
towards its drainage into the metropolitan tunnel,
and the population down the river are ready to
do what may reasonably be required. And now,
it may be presumed, we have a Government fairly
disposed to do its duty, and lend the
aid it is morally bound to render. Now
much danger to health and destruction of
property, and an incalculable amount of
law expenditure, looming in the distance, may be
prevented. Is it possible there should be a con-
currence of such favourable circumstances for the
best possible solution of this much-vexed question,
whether in a sanitary, moral, or a pecuniary
point of view ? We believe not, and in urging
on all parties a long pull, a strong pull, and a
pull altogether, we by no means debar our-
selves from adding, in the words of Sir MORTON
PETO, which will be met with in his
letter to - the Metropolitan Board, "This
great subject should be grasped with a de-
termination so to treat it that the works executed
should be sufficient for all time, and able to meet
the cpntingency of any future increase of the
metropolis ; and any little delay at the present
moment in coming to your determination would be
far more than counterbalanced by the right con-
clusion being arrived at."

The perpetrator of one of the most extraordi-
nary and harrowing murders on record was yes-
terday convicted, after a calm and deliberate
investigation. JOSEPH JENKINS, or rather
ROBERT MARLEY, had every possible assistance
that he could desire. The services of an able and
indefatigable advocate were obtained through the
kindness of the Sheriffs, and it i 9 only right to say
that Mr. SLEIGH made the best of a hopeless cause.
The defence rested on twe points—the only argu-
ments that could possibly be put forward. The
Ist was one of mistaken identity. The 2d, that
the death was not occasioned by the fearful blows
inflicted on the unfortunate man ; but might,
from the symptoms, be the result of old disease on
the lungs, and neither produced nor accelerated
by the assault. The jury, however, unhesitatingly
returned the only verdict which they could give
in accordance with the solemn oath they had
taken, and the murderer has been sentenced to
the extreme penalty of the law, without the
slightest hope of remission being held out by the
presiding Judge.
It is indeed a terrible reflection that in the
very heart of the metropolis, almost within call
of the head-quarters of the Metropolitan Police,
and at a time when the streets were crowded
with passengers, a faithful servant could be
stricken down, and that but for the bravery and
determination of a mere boy the assassin would
have escaped the 'penal consequences of this out-
rage. That MARLEY had accomplices, that there
were " accessories before the fact," who had de-
liberately planned the entire transaction, seems
certain. Th© three persons congregated about
the shop door, who told the boy LERIGO that it
was only a man quarrelling with his wife, were
clearly the " covering party ;" while their more
determined companion was the active assailant,
whose brutal onslaught should disable or kill the
victim until the work of plunder was effected. Had
LERIGO accepted the solution, and passed on his
ewvaeyn, t al
wl wouldoul h
ah
va
e beenv been
safe,and ethenntyesrtrei
yl e.
d
Happily for the ends of justice he was not so
shrouded
easily satisfied. Ile returned to the door, and
saw the blows inflicted with the deadly instru-
ment. The covering party dispersed when they
saw an unexpected witness to the crime, and
unfortunately there is as yet no clue to lead to
their discovery, although sufficient information may
yet be obtained. Leatoo, however, kept his eye
on the chief offender. He called to the people
about—" There he goes, won't you secure him ;"
but the police were not there, and it was nobody's
business. LERIGO still pursued, and never lost
sight of him until he went to the passage leading
to Palace-yard, and there he was captured by
ALLEN, who little thought he was seizing the
murderer of his brother-in-law. Under such
circumstances there could be no possible doubt.
He was captured with the red hand--the marks
of his offence palpable on his person. There
could, then, be no doubt as to his identity, and
that the blows inflicted were the cause of his
death was equally indisputable. Few, then, can
sympathise with the offender, save those opposed
to capital punishment in every instance. If ever
the penalty of death might fairly be inflicted it is
in such a case.
But what can we think of the state of society
when such an outrage could be deliberately planned
and carried out with a reasonable expectation of
the escape of the criminal. The accessories
must have felt that the explanation "It is
only a man quarrelling with his wife" would
be received as satisfactory, and that the
inquirers would pass on their way without
dreaming of interference in such a matter. When