The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-15 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

The Stockport Town Council have resolvba to
petition for the abolition of the hustings.

Birmingham was visited by a heavy snow-storm
on Friday afternoon. Snow is also reported to have fallen
in other parts of the country.
The Irish Times states that the Government have
decided on not calling out the militia of Ireland for train-
ing this year; the recruiting also continuos suspended.
Sir Richard Buckley is named as the probable suc-
cessor of the late Marquis of Anglesey in the Lord Lieute-
nancy of the little island of Mona.
Partly on account of the increased scour of
the river caused by the Thames Embankment, fish have
recently been seen on the south side of the Thames in
great abundance.—South London Press.
It is rumoured that Captain Ducane, of the Royal
Engineer=, will succeed Colonel Henderson, who has re-
cently been appointed Chief Commissioner of Police, in
his previous post of Chairman of Directors of Convict
Prisons.

On Saturday the Home Secretary has issued an
order granting a reward of £lOO for the discovery of five
men who, on the night of Saturday three weeks, murdered
Samuel Grokett, aged 45 years, by throwing him into the
Regent's Canal, Hackney.
The Railway News reports that the traffic receints
of the railways in the United Kingdom for the week ending
February 12, 1869, upon a mileage of 12,936, amount to
£701,132, being equal to £54 48. per mile. For the cor-
responding week of last year the receipts were £655,671, the
number of miles open 12,542 or £52 55. per mile.
A disputed will has been before the Dublin Court
or Probate. A person named Duddy, of Londonderry, be-
queathed the bulk of his property, about £3,000, to his wife
on the condition that she should not marry, but enter a con-
vent. The next of kin challenged the instrument, on the
ground of "undue influence on the part of the wife." Th
Court decided that the will was good.
According to the London correspondent of the
.Manchester Guardian, the Conservatives mean to take up
the cause of the clerks and workmen who are about to be
reduced in the various departments. They threaten, more-
over, to have a field night upon the creation of a Third
Lord of the Treasury, and the raising of Mr. Stansfeld's
salary from £l,OOO to £2,000 a year.
There seems to be some probability of one very
beneficial result following the recent election inquiry at Brad-
ford, viz., the discontinuance at future Contests of the use of
public-houses as cominittee-rooms. On Friday a meeting
was held at that town, presided over by the Mayor, to ad-
Tonto this alteration, and it was stated that several of the
more influential politicians of the borough were resolved not
to take part in election matters if public-houses wero en-
gaged. It was also stated that the licensed victuallers them-
selves bad taken the initiative by aodpting a resolution re-
commending their brethren in th 3 trade not to entertain elec-
tion agents in the future.

THE DOUBLE MURDER AT BLACKWILL. —A
person, supposed to be Cooper, is in custody at Lough-
borough, in Leicestershire. He applied on Friday night
to Superintendent Haynes for an order of admission to the
casual ward. He said he was a boiler maker, and had
been working in London ; that his name was James Git-
tins, and he had walked from London. His description
exactly tallies with that of the wanted man, Cooper,
this person Gittins, as he calls himself, being without a
thumb on his left hand. The London police have been
communicated with.

NEWSPAPER PRESS FOND.—At a special general
meeting of the members of this institution, held on
Saturday at its offices (Lord 11oughton in the chair),
the chair), the supplementary report and balance-sheet
for the six months ending Desember 31, 1868, sheaved
that the capital now stands at the sum of £4,422 I.ls. 7d.,
consisting of £3,122 11s. 7d. New 'Three per Cents.,
£7OO Great Indian Peninsula Railway Debentures, and
£6OO Eastern Bengal Railway Stock guaranteed by the
Imperial Government. The grants made by way of relief
during the past half-year amount to £165.

AN UNRECOGNISED VISIT.—The other day, while
the curs of the Madeleine Church was discussing business

in the vestry with a friend, a small insignificant-looking

person entered and desired to speak with him. The curd,

with his well-known air of a tambour nzajeur, curtly told

him to sit down and wait. The small man, however, re.

mained standing. This displeased the curs, who exclaimed,
"Monsieur, I desire you to seat yourself." Instead of

complying„ the gentleman paced rapidly up and down the

room, until the cure, fairly irritated, insisted in so

peremptory a manner as to compel obedience. In
about a quarter of an hour, business being finished,
ho turned to the stranger, " Monsieur, what is it you

desire?" The latter replied, in a thin shrill voice, "M,

lc Curd, I wish to inquire at what hour to-morrow you
will be able to baptise an infant, for whom I am to be

sponsor ?" An hour was named, and he was told to write

his name, and that of the godmother, at full length in the

register book, which was presented to him for that pur•

pose. To the surprise of the curd, he wrote down,
"Francois d'Assise, Roi d'Espagne, and Isabella, Reine

d'Eapagne." To complete the scene, there entered imme.

diately afterwards the ex-Queen herself, attended by
another personage, whose face is now sufficiently known

to the Parisians. They had waited until they were tired
for the reappearance of the ex-King, and had at last 991131

THE CHARGE OF MURDER AT MILE-END.—At the
Worship-street Police-court, Amelia Prosser was charged
on Saturday with the murder of Mrs. Jane Glover. It
will be remembered that an altercation took place in the
street between the deceased and a neighbour. The
prisoner, who was the servant of the latter, took part in
the quarrel, and gave Mrs. Glover a violent push. She
fell on her side, and, being in delicate health, died the next
day from the effects. The prisoner, on being examined on
the charge, said she was innocent, for she did not know
the deceased, and had no ill-feeling against her. Mr.
Ellison committed her to Newgate for trial, refusing bail.
A CLERICAL SCANDAL.—A painful affair has just been
brought to light at Worcester. The Rev. G. Merest, of
that town, has been charged with sending threatening
letters to the Rev. 'W. C. Workman, manager of the
Church and School Gazette, Southampton-street, Strand.
The letter especially complained of stated that some
startling disclosures of the plaintiff's antecedents had
lately reached the writer, and that unless the sum of
£465, which had passed between them, was returned, the
matter should be brought before the public. On exami-
nation, the complainant admitted that he had formerly
been convicted of forgery under the name of Rawlings,
and that he had served two years in Coldbath•fields
Prison. The Rev. G. Merest was committed for trial at
the Worcester Assizes, which are to be held next month.
A MYSTERIOUS CASE.—On Saturday afternoon, John
Little, of Wigton, Cumberland, was charged with
shooting John Ward, farmer, on the 30th of January.
The affair was a very mysterious one, as Ward was coming
home from Carlisle market when he was shot, and no
robbery was attempted. No motive could be suggested
for the crime, but from the evidence collected suspicion
rests upon the prisoner. He declared his innocence, but
was committed for trial at the Ussizes, when it is to be
hoped some light may be thrown on the subject.

THE BISHOP OF LONDON ON THE

CHURCH.

The clergy of the diocese of London on Saturday pre-
icnted an address to Dr. Jackson, the new Bishop of
London, congratulating him on his appointment. The first
part of the proceedings were merely formal ; but after the
written addresses had been read the bishop gave an extent-

pore speech. He said he could hardly expect to work as
his predecessor had clone, seeing that he was
:owing into the diocese at an age when Dr.
T'ait was leaving it. Describing his opinions, he
aid he had been for many years an old-fashioned Eng-
lish Churchman, and he believed that it was the glory if
not one of the distinctive principles of the Church that
she was at the same time Protestant and Catholic—Pro-
testant in the attitude of opposition to the innovations of the
Church of Rome, and Catholic as a sound and living member
of that one Church which was the body of Christ. Speakingof
the comprehensive character of the Church, he said it
seemed to him that the Church of England allowed a con-
siderable amount of latitude to those who were loyal
members of her communion ; but he thought those limits
were considerably overpassed when one among them was
allowed to hold that the Resurrection was an open
doctrine, while another claimed the right to interpret the
Articles of the Church of England as being in harmony
and identical with the decrees of the Council of
Trent. It was at one time the dream of his life that the
differences which existed in the Church were rapidly pass-
ing away, and that they would live to see the time when
all minor differences, at least, would disappear. That
dream was now dissipated. It might be so in the
future, but he should not live to see it. The course of
events had tended lately to widen differences rather than
to draw members of the Church together. The spirit of
the age had penetrated into the Church. The
aggressive activity of intellect which called all first
principles into question, which took nothing for granted,
which delighted in perplexities, and which allowed no
prescription to be any evidence of truth or ground of
persuasion—the spirit of anomaly which was abroad,
which they found in literature, which they found in
politics, which they found in the Church—were
portentous signs. All these things had been acting
among themselves, and the reaction which ensued
always tended to widen the differences and to set
parties more in opposition than before. This appeared
to him to he not an improper description of the state in
which the Church was at present placed. Dr. Jackson
did not think errors of doctrine would ever be cured by.
law courts, or by what was called the " Church speak-
ing." But he thought that some alteration might take
place in the tone of the Church newspapers. They were
at present most uncharitable, and gave matter for the
unbelieving, to scoff about. He also thought the devotional
feeling of real Churchmen might be improved.