The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-22 00:00:00

AUSTRALIA.

LIVERPOOL, SATURDAY.
The Lightning has arrived at Cork with advices
from Melbourne to the 28th of December.
She brings 12,000 ounces of gold dust.
The Gipsy Bride hence had arrived out on the
26th of December.

The Schomberg is reported to have been wrecked
off Cape Ocway. Passengers and crew saved.
The Red Jacket Las arrived out.
The political advices are unimportant.
The Legislative Council of New South Wales I a I
been prorogued.
The demand for money was not active, and but
few transactions had taken place. In consequence
of large speculations in breadstuffs, tobacco, spirits,
wine, &To., there was considerably more animation
throughout the various markets.
The grain and flour markets quiet ; the price of
flour was 30/. for firsts, 2SI. for seconds.

In Hobart Town the decline iu breadstuffs was
progressing. Price of gold, 3/. 143. 6d.
The ship Rockwall for London, has 88,000
ounces of gold on freight. She left on the 13th of
December.

The Red Jacket, for Liverpool, was intended to
leave on the 18th of January.

FRENCIr POLICR CASES.

(Prom Galignani's Messenger.)

The Tribunal of Correctional Police yesterday
tried a man named Lefebvre for swindling. This
man, who *as formerly a grocer, and who was
twice condemned, once to three months, and the
second time to a year's imprisonment, for acts of
indecency, determined, on being released from pri-
son, to start as a philanthropist, instead of return-
ing to the grocery trades He therefore established
at Staines and Arnouville-les-Gonesse, near Paris,
institutions for the maintenance and instruction of
the children of poor people, and by plausible repre-
sentations be induced a great number of charitable
persons to make him donations. He afterwards
removed his establishment to Saint Denis, and there
his appeals to the charitable became more numerous
and pres,inge In Dec. last he sent a little boy, named
Piot, son of a journeyman tailor, at Paris, to the hos-
pital at St. Denis, and the poor child was found to
be dreadfully emaciated, to have scarcely any cloth-
ing, and to have his toes frostbitten. Inquiries
havine, boors immediately instituted as to how he
could have come into such a pitiful state, it turned
out that Lefebvre kept the children in his establish-
ment constantly wishout anything like sufficient
food, clothing, or firing, and yet that he not only
made the parents 12fr. or 15f. a month towards the
expense of their maintenance, and learning a trade,
but compelled the poor creatures to work from
morning till night for his profit. It also turned
out that he had appropriated and spent in de-
bauchery the sums which the charitable gave him
for his institution ; and that he had, from tine to
time, swindled the public by getting up lotteries
which were never drawn, or which, if drawn, con-
tained no prizes. Another fact was also brought-
to light. Some person gave a little boy named
Crampon, who was in his institution, a ticket'in
the artists' lottery, and this ticket won a piano
worth 3,000 f.; but as the instrument was of no use
to the child, a sum of 2,300 f. was given instead of
it, and this sum the man embezzled, though he
made a solemn promise to the boy's friends to in-
vest it in the funds for his benefit. The Tribunal
sentenced the man to five years' imprisonment,
100 fr. fine, and ten years' interdiction of civil
rights.
A blacksmith, named Bresselles, was three days
back tried by the Court of Assizes of the Tarn for
poisoning his wife's father. It appeared from the
evidence that the father carried on a good business
as a blacksmith at Real mon t, end when his daughter
married Bressolles, he received the latter into his
house, made him his assistant, and destined him
for his successor. They might a'l have lived very
happily, but unfortunately Bressolles was a drun-
kard ; and as be had not always money enough to
satisfy his vice, he ran into debt. Oa one °cession
he stole a number of bottles of liquor from a cafe,
and being discovered, was obliged to give the owner
a promissory note for 100 f„ to prevent him from
prosecuting. His wife and her father and mother
on hearing of this reproached him bitterly, and
the father, whose name was Fournier, declared that
on the next quarter-day he should leave the house.
Before the quarter-day arrived the old mars was
taken suddenly ill, after drinking some milk ; and
his illness soon assmed the appearance of poisoning,
being attended with violent pains in the bowels,
vornitinee. p s >iral rrt rrra.; called in. and
he prescribed for him ; but after lie are; none so,
Madame Fournier said that a neighbour had
strongly recommended a certain remedy which she
produced. The doctor, on examining it, told her
that it contained a large qu entity of laudanum, and
that she would do wrong to administer it ; butatter he
went away, she, at her husband's request, gave him
the medicine, not until Bressolles had, in order,
as he said, to improve it mixed some white powder
in it. The medicine made the old man much worse,
and the doctor *as again sent for in great haste ;
but he could do nothing, and in a short time the
patient, after dreadful sufferings, expired. On ex-
amining the cup in which the medicine had been
administered, the doctor saw the remains of a white
substance which he suspected to be poison, and be
said to Mme. Fournier, " Hide that—and be on
your guard against your son-in-law !" Notwith-
standing these circumstances, old Fournier was
quietly buried and nothing was said. But, some
months after, Bressolles' wife consulted the local
authorities as to the means of obtaining a separa-
tion from her husband, and, when aske why she
wished it, she let fall an answer which indicated
that she could not bear the idea of living with a
man whom she.suspected of having poisoned her
father. This led to the exhumation of the body
of the deceased, and as a considerable quantity of
arsenic was discovered in it, Bressolles was at once
arrested. The investigation then made led to the
discovery that he had purchased a quantity of
laudanum on the pretext that he wanted it for an
ox ; also, that he had purchased arsenic. Being
declared guilty by the jury, but with extenuating
circumstances, he was sentenced by the court to
hard labour for life.

SINGULAR ECCLESIASTICAL A rro /NTMENT. —A few
weeks since the rectory of St. Margaret, Lothbury, with
St. Chrietopherle-Stocks, and St. Bartholomew, by the
Exchange, in the City of London, became vacant by the
death of the Van. J. B. Rdlingworth, D.D., Archdeacon
of Huntingdon, who had held the united benefices,
worth 1,5001. a year. since 7.814. The presentation to
the living is vested in the Lord Chancellor and the
Bishop of London alternately, and as Archdeacon Mil-
lingworth was collated by the Bishop of London, the
Lord Chancellor, in due course, claimed the presentation
upon the present occasion. It seems that Lcrd Pal-
mereton, as Prime Minister, contended that the *pre-
sentation:rested with him, inasmuch ae the rateable valve
of the living in "the King's books" was upwards of 20/,
a year. Formerly the living was rated at less thin tt at
sum, but when the new Royal Exchange was built, the
church of St. Bartholomew was pulled down, and the
ecolesiastical district belonging to that church was ad led
to the parish of St. Marearet, Lothbury. This brought
up the value of the living in the King's books to an
amount exceeding 201. a-vei.r, thip., as it wag alleged,
giving the right of presentation to the Premier instead
of to the Lord Chancellor, who only enjoys the r'ght ~f
nomination to Crown livings when tl.ey are rated under
201. The Lord Chancellor maintained that the presen-
tateon was not to one living, but to distinct benefice;,
although they were merged in one incumtent. The
matter was referred to the Attorney and Solicitor Ge-
nerals, who decided in favour of the cl dm of the Lord
Chancellor, and his lordship has presented to the living
the Rev. William Goode, M.A., Rector of Allhallows,
Thames-street.

INTERESTING TO GAS COMPANIES.—Oa Tuesday the
magistrates at the Town-hall, Preston, gave ju 'gment
in an appeal against the poor rates by the Preston Gas
Company, which was heard last week. In 1838, the com-
pany were assessed at the rate of 1,2001. ; and since that
time the amount had been gradually increased iu consi-
deration of the increase of the works, till at the begin-
ning of 1855 they were assessed at 1,9731. In Novem-
ber last the overseers raised the assessment from that
sum to 3,5201., and it was against this amount that the
companyappealed. Several witnesses were called on both
sides. Mr. R. Veevers, of Preston, said he had gone
through the accounts for 1854 and 1855, and estimated
the value of the rateable property of the company in the
township of Preston at 4,5471. 10s. 4d. Mr. J. Bentley,
of Kendal, estimated it at 4,4101. Mr. Fisher, of Man-
chester, on behalf of the company, stated that he eNti-
mated the value of the rateable property at 2,114/.165.6d.;
but explained that he had not taken the value of gas-
holders into his calculation, as he did not consider them
rateable property. Mr. D. Belihouse, of Manchester,
made the not rateable value 2,1081. 3s. 2d. Mr. Rope,
the managing engineer of the gasworks, said that last
year the company paid a dividend of 10 per cent., amount-
ing to 7.8001., of which 2,5451. 7s. Sd. was taken from
the reserved fund. In giving judgment, Mr. Ainsworth,
chairman, said the magistrates had decided that the gaso-
meters and purifiers were rateable. The gross value of
these articles was 13,697/. ; and the annual value 8901.
Gs. id., from which must be deducted one-fifth for depre-
ciation, 1781. Is. 2d., leaving the net rateable value,
712/. 4s. 11d. After having gone through the whole of
the accounts, and setting down what in their judgment
was an equitable amount as the rateable value of each
description of property, they made the gross rateable
value 3,2431. Os. sd. The increase upon the old assess-
ment is therefore 1,270/,--.Pignantr Ouardicou