The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-18 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATUIWAY EVENING, DECEMBER 18, 858.

LATEST NEWS.

AMERICA.

TIIE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

GALWAY, DEC. 17.
The Prince Albert has arrived at Galway from
St. John's, Newfoundland.

She sailed on the night of the 10th inst., and
arrived off Arran Island last night, making the run
from land to land in five days 161 hours.
The Prince Albert brings telegraphic news from
New York to the 10th, six days later than those
per last arrival.

The President's Message is mainly devoted to
domestic topics. Regarding foreign relations, its
language is peaceable, except with reference to
Paraguay and Mexico. It expresses satisfaction at
the abandonment of the right of search by Eng-
land, and announces that the present new Minister
of Spain has full power to settle the Mexican ques-
tion. The President hopes the Liberals there will
soon regain power and establish stable Government,
otherwise the United States must take possession of
a portion of that country to indemnify its citizens
for losses. He proposes the military occupation by
the United States of Sonora and Chihiagua to prevent
hostile Indian incursions.

" Cuba ought to belong to America," says the
President, and he recommends its purchase. The.
Munro doctrine heretofore announced by Secretary
Cass to be adhered to in Central America. Nego-
tiations are on foot for an anticipated settlement.
The Paraguay difficulty will be settled without'
bloodshed. The President alludes to the co-opera-
tion of the American Minister with England and
France in the Chinese treaty. He proposes to
change the present tariff ad valorem to specific
duties.

The dates from California are to the 20th of
November, via Tehuantepec.
Business in San Francisco was improving. The
down steamer Panama took 2,250,000 dols. specie.

The ship Lucas, from Victoria, bound to Fraser
River, was wrecked. Fifteen lives lost.
BERMUDA, DEC. 1.

The British barque Columbia, from Quebec,
bound for Queenstown, was abandoned at sea ; the
crew had arrived at St. George. The ships Cerro
Gonda, from Liverpool, and the Star Queen from
Calcutta, put into the same port leaky.
The Prince Albert brings 180 passengers. She
signalled the Pacific, of the same line, on the 14th
inst., and the City of Washington on the 7th, off
Cape Race.

A despatch from Trebisond states that a serious
affair took place in the early part of Nov. between
the Russians and the Circassians in the neighbour-
hood of Anapa. A fort occupied by the former was
carried, after a sanguinary combat, by the Circas-
sians, under the command of Ibrahim Pacha, son of
Sefer Pacha. The Russian garrison, consisting of
200 men, were overpowered by numbers, and a
large quantity of arms fell into the power of their
assailants.

It is understood that the Court of Saxony and
those of some other German States have made
advances with a view to bring about more cordial
relations between Russia and Austria ; but it is
doubtful that these efforts hare as yet produced
any good result. The coolness between these two
Courts is very great.

sition of the legations, should form an exception,
and that their entry be authorised. To maintain
completely that custom in conformity with the
exception agreed to, it is necessary that the size and
strength of the vessels to which a passage is to be
accorded shall be known, so that the same be
clearly stated in the note of authorisation drawn
out at the Porte. I beg that you will always keep
this regulation in view in future demands for au-
thorisation. " MEHEMED FUAD."

SHIPWRECKS IN THE ROYAL NAVY.

It is 'no wonder that the ‘i BhipWrecks in the
Royal Navy" should hteve reached a third edition.
It is a very simple and unpretending little hook,
but there could hardly 'be a more interesting one.
Its fault, a fault almost inseparable from its plan,
lies in a certain Monotony which pervades it. Forty
successive stories of shipwrecks rather pall upon
the reader, especially as the main features of each
story have a considerable resemblance to those of
the rest ; but almost every account is in itself inte-
resting in the very highest degree, and when all
are taken together, they combine to give an impres-
sion of heroism and of adventure which can hardly
be equalled by any other work of the same kind
with which we are acquainted. "It is also due to
the author, or rather to the compiler, Mr.
Gilly, to say that the style of the book is very
good. It has an air of candour and authenticity
which to us is very winning :
Between 1793 and 1857 no less than 424 ships of
the Royal Navy were lost at sea. Mr. Gilly gives
a table of these events; showing the size of the
ships and the number of men lost. Some of them
were awful catastrophes, as, for example, the burn-
ing of the Queen Charlotte, of 100 guns, off Leg-
horn, when 673 men out of 869 were lost—the
wreck of the St. George, of 98, and the Defence, of
74 guns, on the coast of Jutland, in December,
1811, out of whose crews, consisting together of
1,331 persons, 13 only were saved—and more ap-
palling than all, the destruction by lightning of
the Resistance, of 44 guns, which was blown up in
an instant, in the Straits of Banca, four men only
surviving to tell the tale. Most of the calamities
recorded by Mr. Gilly gave occasion for the display
of the qualities of courage and subordination,
though occasional instances of bad conduct are also
to be met with; and some of them brought to light
a kind and degree of resource, endurance, and
moral and physical courage altogether wonderful.
We will give the substance of a few of these
stories. The following is perhaps as striking a case
as could be mentioned of the triumph of discipline
and presence of mind :—ln 1804, the Hindostan store
ship, of 64 guns, was sent out with supplies for Lord
Nelson. On 2d April, at 7 a.m., about 13 leagues
S.E. of Cape St. Sebastian, she was discovered to be
on fire. In ten minutes from the time when the fire
was first discovered the hammocks were all got on
deck, and the ports opened to give light and.room
below. The boats were then got out and taken in
tow, the marines being under arms with their
muskets loaded with ball to prevent any person from
entering them without orders. Till about noon,
large numbers of men were employed in attempting
to empty the magazine, in which duty they per-
sisted, although the smoke was so dense that many
of them were taken up insensible. This occurred to
Lieut. Banks no less than three several times. By
degrees the men were driven on deck, and at last
the fire burst through the hatchways, notwith-
standing all their' efforts, and rose as high as the
lower yards, but at about 5 p.m., after more than
10 hours of the most incessant and daring efforts,
the ship made the shore, and was run aground in
the: bay of Rosas, within a mile of the beach. All
the crew except five were saveel. Discipline, per-
haps, never won a greater triumph. Lord Nelson
said that the preservation of the crew seemed little
short of a miracle, and that he had never read such
a journal of exertions in his life. The ire was sup-
posed to have originated in the spontaneous com-
bustion of seine hemp.
The awful nature of the catastrophes which
sometimes occur at sea is well illustrated by the
loss of the St. George and Defence in a storm which
took place off the coast of Jutland in December,

1811. The preceding month had been extremely
tempestuous, and on the 15th the St. George was
overtaken at her moorings by a tremendous gale.
All hands were summoned to give the ship cable,
but, whilst they were veering it out, a large mer-
chantman drifted through the darkness against the
bows of the St. George, cut her cables, and instantly
sank. The St. George drifted on to a sandbank,
where she lost her rudder and all her masts, but
she got off in the course of the next day, and
reached Gothenburg in safety. After partially re-
pairing damages, she set off again with her convoy,
and was again overtaken by a storm, and again
driven on to a shoal. The scene which ensued was
horrible beyond all the horrors of sea-fights or even
fires. The complement had originally been 750
men, but the wash of the sea and the falling of
the masts rapidly reduced their number. " Mingled
together were the living, the.dying, and the dead.
The bodies were piled up by the survivors in rows
one above another as a shelter from the violence
of the waves which broke over them." In the
midst of all this misery discipline still prevail:A.
Three or four of the men asked leave to try to
reach the shore in the yawl. It was at first granted,
but afterwards recalled, and the men were directed

to return to their posts. They did so without a
murmur. Seven men only were saved, being washed
on shore by the waves. All the rest were lost.
The Defence, of 74 guns, and the Cressy were in
company with the St. George ; and when the St.
George went on shore, the Cressy, seeing that it
was impossible to give her any assistance, veered
and stood off to the southward, by which she was
saved. The captain of the Defence, with romantic
heroism, refused to follow the example of the
Cressy, because " the admiral had not made the
signal to part company." The consequence was
that the Defence shared the fate of the St. George.
She struck ; the guns broke loose, killing and
maiming the crew; a spare michor was thrown up
on end by a sea, and falling on the forecastle killed
about thirty men, and ultimately the whole of the
officers and men, except six persons, perished.
The loss of the Saldanha frigate, on the 3d of
Dec.,-1811,.ia perhaps even more striking. On that
day a tremendous storm broke on the east coast of
Ireland. The Saldanha had been sent from Cork
to relieve the Endymion at Lough Swilly. "About
ten at night, through tilt darkness and storm, a
light was seen from the signal towers passing ra-
pidly up the lough, the gale at the time blowing
heavily right into the harbour." Next morning the
Saldanha was discovered a complete wreck at a
place called Ballyna Stokerbay. Every soul on
board had perished. In the August of the follow-
ing year a gentleman's servant shot a parrot in a
tree near Byrt. It had round its neck a gold ring,
with the inscription " Capt. Pakenharn, H.M.S.
Saldanha."
The stories of individual gallantry contained in

the little book before us ar-e,perhaps, the most

pleasing part of its contents. They aie very nume-
rous, and all of them have a strong family likeness.
The most *wonderful of all is unquestionably one
which relates to the fate of Lieut. Smith, who com-
manded the Magpie sloop. She was stink by a
hurricane off the coast of Cuba, at nine p.m. on the
27th of August, 1826. A gunner's mate named
Meldrum swam off as the ship sank, and after
swimming about for a time, hearing voices in the
darkness, found Lieut. Smith and six others cling-
ing to a boat which was floating keel uppermost in
the water. Lieut. Smith gave orders, which 'were
promptly obeyed, to get the boat righted, and the
men got in to bale her out. Whilst thus engaged an
alarm was given that sharks were coming, on which
the men lost theirpresence of mind, capsized the boat,
and more than one was drowned in the confusion.
Lieut. Smith still retained his self-possession, and
persuaded them to recommence their :operations,
and by ten in the morning, after thirteen hours
passed in the water, the boat was nearly cleared.
Just at this moment the sharks did really come.
For a few minutes they rubbed against the men
• without hurting them, but soon two men were
seized. Lieut. Smith still cheered on the remainder
to provide for their safety, but whilst he did so one
of his own legs was biten off. He restrained him-
self from any exclamation for fear of discouraging
the men, when the second leg was bitten off, just
as the sailors cleared the boat and raised him into
it. When placed in the boat he gave a message to
the admiral, about the loss of the sloop, to be de-
livered by the survivors, and said, " I-have but one
favour to ask, and that is, that he will promote
Meldrum to bb a gunner." After a time the boat
was again upget on another alarm of sharks, and
Lieut. Smith was released from his tortures by
drowning. More heroic fortitude is nowhere re-
corded. The survivors contrived to right the boat
again, but two of them jumped overboard in deli.
rium. The other two were ultimately rescued.
Meldrum saw a brig within about half a mile of
the boat, swam towards her, and was taken up.
Mr. Maclean, his companion, was living in 1857,
and was then a lieutenant in the coast-guard.
The wonderful fortitude of Lieut. Smith was per-
haps equalled, or almost excelled, if possible, by the
heroic self-devotion of Capt. Baker, of the Drake, a
10-gun brig, which was lost on the coast of New-
foundland on the 20th June, 1822. She struck at

the foot of some cliffs which the boatswain suc-
ceeded in reaching with a rope. The ship was
thrown by the force of the sea close to an isolated
rock, between which and the cliff a communication
was established by means of the rope. Capt. Baker
ordered the men to leave the ship for the rock,
which they refused to do unless he would go first.
He insisted, however, that they should do so, and
was the last man to leave the wreck. When they
reached the rock, it was found that it would be
shortly covered by the tide. Capt. Baker again
-refused to leave the rock whilst a single man re-
mained upon it. He stood by the rope, and each
man in turn passed to the shore as he gave the
word. No man offered to move till he was ordered,
and each in turn pressed his commander to precede
him. Forty-four out of fifty persons succeeded in
passing safely. Of the remaining six one was a
woman, and one of the sailors offered to carry her
across. The rope broke under the double burden,

aild almost immediately aferwards Capt. Baker,
-kWh thu §tirViiltrs, Was Washed from the rock,
notwithstanding the desperate efforts of the crew
on the cliffs, to reach them.

We may acid a single specimen of the curious
anecdotes in which this interesting little book
abounds. The following is from the account of the
wreck of the Minotaur :—The fate of Lieut. Sals-
ford was distinguished by a singular circumstance.
A large tame wolf, caught at Aspro, and brought
up from a cub by the ship's company, and exceed-
ingly docile, continued to the last an object of
general solicitude. Sensible of its danger, its howls
were peculiarly distressing. It had always been
greatly attached to the lieutenant, and through the
whole of their sufferings he kept close to his mas-
ter. On the breaking-up of the ship, both got upon
the mast. At times they were washed off, but by
each other's assistance rogained it. The lieutenant
at last became exhausted by continual exertions,
and benumbed with cold. The wolf was equally
fatigued, and both held occasionally by the other
to regain his situation. When within a short
distance of the land, Lieut. Salsford, affected by
the attachment of the animal, and totally unable
any longer to support himself, turned towards him
from the mast, the beast clapped his forepaws round
his neck, while the lieutenant clasped him in his
arms, and they sank together.—Saturday Review.

EAST INDIA COMPANY.—At a Court of Directors
held on Wednesday, the 15th inst., Colonel Sykes, M.P.,
was unanimously elected chairman.
The Peninsular and Oriental steamer Indus, to sail
on Monday for the East, will take out silver to the amount of
£311,262, of which £lO,OOO is for Ceylon, £120,900 for
India, and £193,362 for China and the Straits.
Silver continues in demand, and a further supply
from Mexico will not be due till the Ist of January by the
Atrato. The deficiency in the receipts from Mexico this
year, consequent, it is believed, solely upon the anarchy
which has desolated the country and prevented the possi-
bility of transmission, now amounts to more than
£1 700 000.

The Pera, with the heavy portion of the China
and Calcutta mails, having'lost her screw just after leaving
Gibraltar, her mails andpassengerswillbebrought toSouth-
ampton by the Peninsular steamer Alhambra, and will
therefore arrive about the 23d inst., instead of the 20th,
when the Pera would have been due. As the Pera has a
valuable cargo, including 4,500 bales of silk, the Ripon has
been sent to tow her home. •

ENFRANCHISEMENT OF DONCASTER.—We under-
stand that Mr. W. Marratt, secretary to the Doncaster
Reform Association; has called a preliminary meeting of
the gentlemen who are in favour of the Parliamentary
representation of Doncaster, for the purpose of bringing the
claims of the borough before the existing Govbrnment, and
also of expressing the sentiments of the inhabitants of the
town on the subject of reforni generally.
SINGULAR ESCAPE.-011 Tuesday night, as a
man named Robert Wilcockson, in the employ of Messrs.
Barber, Walker, & Co., was attending to his duties at the
Underwood Colliery, in placing the trams on the top of the
shaft, he inadvertently put the tram on the wrong side, and
was precipitated in consequence down the pit, a depth of
200 yards. ProVidentially, catching hold of the rope at the
commencement of the descent, he slid dowel to the bottom
without any harm, and returned to his employment on the
surface as coolly as can well be conceived. —Nottingham
Review.

A MEMORIAL OF WALLACE, THE SCOTTISH
HERO, FOR WESTMINSTER HALL.—Wallace was tried in
the " great hall" at Westminster in the year 1305. It may
be that the subject was not honourable to England, more
particularly considering what was the issue of that trial ;
but if illustrations of history should be as truthful in their
impressions as history itself, it would be a sin of omission
to leave out at appropriate subject on the sole ground of its
not flattering our national vanity. Indeed, the emphasizing
the event by a great picture, as a memorial of honour to
Wallace, would be one of the few modes now left to us of
lessening the disgraceful stain it leaves in our archives, and
at any rate it affords us the opportunity of expressing our
present sense of it.—The Builder.
THE LAST MALE REPRESENTATIVE OF SIR
WALTER SCOTT.—The death of the only son of Mr. Hope
Scott, Q.C., is announced. This interesting child was the
only living male descendant of his illustrious great grand-
father, Sir Walter Scott, whose name he bore. He was
only a year and a half old, and has survived his mother,
the poet's granddaughter, little more than six weeks. An
infant sister died a fortnight ago. Only one little girl re-
mains to beat the great name of which she is the sole sur-
viving representative.—Scotsman.

Rome is beginning to assume the gay aspect which
it always wears when the hotels are full and the carnival is
approaching. Amidst the most recent visitors are the Arch-
dime Louis of Austria, Lord and Lady Lismore Captain
Aubrey de Vere, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. J. G. Marshall,
the Earl and Countess of Sheffield, the Hon. Douglas Hol-
royd, Col. Sir Wm. Davis and family, Sir John and Lady
Duckworth and family, Lady Mordaunt and family, thb
Hon. James F. Stuart Wortley; Hon. Mr. and Lady Chi-
chester and family, Princess Durousoff and family, Prince
and Princess Wertheim, Prince and Princess Camporeale,
Count Stroganoff, and a host more of titled dignitaries from
Various parts of the Continent. .
" UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" " TRANSLATED" IN
RomE.—A letter from Rome in the Independence of Brus-
sels states that a translation of Uncle Tont' s Cabin has just
been published in that city, but that the Protestant senti-
ments expressed in the work have been changed into
Romish ones. Thus, the reason assigned. for the cruel
whipping of Tom by the ferocious Le Gree is that Tom be-
lieved in the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
DR. RAE ON ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.—A lecture
illustrative of life in the hyperborean regions was delivered
at Niblo's Saloon last evening (Nov. 26) by Dr. Rae, the
gentleman who has been made famous by the discovery of
certain relics of Sir John Franklin. The lecture was de-
livered under the auspices of the Geographical and Statis-
tical- Society, and the audience-was- as large as the saloon
would admit. The lecturer described the manner of the
formation of icebergs, narrated his several northern jour-
neys, related interesting anecdotes connected with his own
experience and observations, and gave a thrilling account
of his discovery of relics of Franklin's party. These relics
were exhibited, and excited deep interest.—New York
Evening Post.
COMMUTATION OF SENTENCES.—At the last ses-
sions of the Central Criminal Court it may be recollected
that an old man, 63 years of age, named Edward Mark
Council, was found guilty, and sentenced to death, for
feloniously shooting at and wounding William James Budd,
an inspector of police. The convict has had his sentence
commuted, and as been ordered to undergo penal servitude
for life. John 'Hennessy, convicted at the same sessions,
of a robbery with violence, by wounding John Avis, and
who was also sentenced to death, has had his sentence
commuted, and he is ordered to undergo ten years' penal
servitude. ,

CAUTION TO LADIES.-4 shocking accident oc-
curred on the I lth inst., resulting in the death of Mrs.
Eckett, a widow, residing in Arboretum-street, Derby. It
appears that Mrs. Eckett, having put her two youngest
children to bed, was dressing her hair by a glass over the
chimneypiece about 9 o'clock when her dress, which was
muslin, and expanded in the dangerous fashion of the day,
was drawn towards the fire and ignited. Attempts were
made to envelop her in the hearthrug and table-cover, but
she threw them off and rushed into the street, screaming
fearfully; the draught, of course, added to the intensity of
the fire, and before the neighbours, who were alarmed by
her screams and hastened to assist in extinguishing the
flames, could succeed in doing so, she was burnt in nearly
every part of her body. Every attention was paid to tho
sufferer, but she gradually sunk from the injuries inflicted
and the shock sustained by the system.—Derbyshire
Advertiser.
JUSTICE IN RUSSIAs.--A St. Petersburg letter,
in the Emancipation, of Brussels, relates the following, curi-
ous story :—" Prince Leon Kotchoubey, of a rich and
ancient family, a man of imperious character, had long em-
ployed as his land agent an Austrian named Saltzman.
About a year ago, when they were alone together in the
Prince's cabinet, a warm discussion arose about some ac-
counts. A pistol was suddenly fired, which w9unded the
agent in the side. When some of the household rushed in
to see what had taken place the Prince accused Saltz-
man of having fired the pistol at himself in a spirit of
revenge and to drag the Prince into a criminal trial.
On the other hand the agent asserted that Prince Leon
had fired at him in a fit of rage. The medical men
who were called in declared that. the wound could not
have been produced by the man's own act. The case
came before a police tribunal, presided over by a Gene-
ral Pool. The influence brought to bear on the court
led to a declaration that the Prince was innocent,
and the unfi rtunate Saltzman n, being declared guilty of
wounding himself, was thrown into prison. The sentence,
in due time, received the confirmation of the Governor of
St. Petersburg., and the affair seemed at an end. The wife

of the iinprisolied man, however, was a woman of energy,
and she went about from door to door with her four young
children, imploring every one to aid her in obtaining jus-
tice. She was at last called to Tsarskee Sao, and also im-
-prisoned, leaving the children to be provided for by any
one who might have pity on them. Public rumour brought
the case to the knowledge of the Emperor, and he ordered
an inquiry to be instituted by the Senate, whose decision
no one doubts of. The following are said to be its disposi-
tion Saltzmann, having been unjustly condemned,
has a right to fix the indemnity which the Prince should
pay him ; secondly, the governor who confirmed the sen-
tence cannot be reached in his person, as he is dead, but
his memory shall be branded with reprobation ; and,
thirdly, General Pool is to be tried for injustice, and his
two assistants in the affair shall be similarly treated."
TILE COLLISION AND Loss OF LIFE IN THE
CLYDE.—The Shipping Gazette gives the following parti-
culars relative to this collision. About a quarter-past two
a.m., the tug-steamer Glowworm, (not Glendower, as stated
yesterday), belonging to the Glasgow Underwriters' Asso-
ciation, was coming in the channel, about two miles outside
the Ctunbraes, and at the seine time the tug-steamer
Champion, belonging to the Greenock Towing Company,
was going out when, by some misunderstanding, they ran
direct into each other, and almost immediately after the
Champion went down. There were seven men on board at
the time, and they all got on deck, and contrived to get out
the steamer's boat, but the boat being small she capsized,
and they were left struggling in the sea. In the meantime
the Glowworm had put round, and sent her boat in search
of the drowning men, but only three were picked up, viz.,
Daniel M'Bride, pilot ; Hector M'Neill, a deck hand ; and
Neil Logan, one of the firemen. The other four must have
sunk. Their names are—Alexander Storms, master; Thos.
Cron, engineer ,• John Sommerville, fireman ; and John
M'Donald, a deck hand. These poor men were all married,
and have left wives and families.

"—ADULTERATION OF EGGS.—The public has lately
heard much about the adulteration of various kinds of food,
and yet it is not aware that a large proportion of the eggs
that are now being eaten in London are what is called by the
cheesemongers "pickled eggs." This "pickling" is done
during summer, while eggs are at a low price, mixing lime
and water in casks and filling the casks with eggs, permitting
them to lie four or six months in this hot lime mixture, thus
destroying all the natural flavour and nutritive power of the
eggs, rendering them insipid to the taste and impregnated
with a strong decoction of lime, which is injurious to the
stomach. Yielded eggs look very white and clean, resem-
bling new laid eggs, and are sold in winter, when good fresh
eggs are scarce and dear. They may be known by the fol-
lowing signs :—The feel of the shell is rough, from some-
times part of the limo not having been quite washed off ;
they feel cold and damp, as the life of the eggs is destroyed
and partly wasted inside, where a good egg is always dry
to the touch, life existing in it. Through lime-gas in
pickled eggs they often burst when put into boiling water,
and will always be found partly empty, or with a few drops
of lime-water in them. when cooked.

THE MURDER NEAR NOTTINGHAM,

NOTTINGFIAM, Friday.
The inquest upon the body of Mr. John Wood-
head WAS held yesterday afternoon at Bulwell,near
Nottingham. Since Wednesday several important
particulars have come to light. A short time before
the assault, which resulted in the death of Mr.
Woodhead, a number of persons were drinking in
his house. The deceased, hearing some one in his
bedroom, went upstairs, and seeing a man there he
seized hold of him, and a struggle ensued. Whilst
at the top of the stairs he received the blow on his
head which caused his death.

Before the unfortunate man died, he was unable
to state whether the blow he received had been
aimed at him by the man with whom he had the
altercation in the bedroom, or whether it was from
some one behind.

A witness, ;;;aed John Hollingworth, said he had
known the deceased for 20 years. He lived sepa-
rate from his wife, allowing her the rent of some
houses for her maintenance. Witness was at the
Masons' Arms (kept by the deceased), on Tuesday
night. In the room where he sat were Joseph
Lomas, John 'West, three other men, and the land-
lord. West was singing a song : he wore a dark-
coloured cap. Woodhead served him with ale, and
shortly afterwards went upstairs. Witness heard
him exclaim, " Here, here." It was in a faint tone,
so that he could not distinctly hear what he said.
Instantly afterwards he heard a lumbering noise on
the stairs. 'Witness rushed out of the tap-room,
followed by West, into the passage towards the
street door. As it was dark he returned to the room
for a light. He then went and found Woodhead lying
on his side on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.
Witness picked up a cap lying close to him, and
gave it to a man named Read, telling kim to take
care of it. He was not aware that the cap found
on the floor had been worn by any of the men in the
tap-rooms. (The cap was then produced and idea- .
tified by witness.) There was a pool of blood where -
deceased was found lying. Deceased appeared
insensible when witness got to him, but while being
removed he spoke. Witness could not distinctly
hear what he said, as the sight of the blood and
the mangled state of the body made him ill. From
the moment of going into the tap-room to the
' time deceased was heard to fall witness heard
_ho one in the house. Witness, thought that
no one he saw in the tap-room had com-
mitted the assault. Two of witness's neighbours/
named Hall and We-had left home on account
of the transaction. ''''Witness thought he heard
something rush along the passage after decea_ sed,
fell down stairs, and witness thought that if 1;00
had a light when he first went out into the passage,
he should have seen what it was. He would swear
that he had no knowledge beforehand that there,
was going to be an attempt to rob the house, and_
did not know whether the cap belonged to a man
named Hall, who had absconded.
Another witness, named Read, deposed to having
seen the landlord leave the room, and hearing a
lumber up stairs, a kind of shout for help, and then
a noise as if two men had fallen down stairs. Thy
shout was from Woodhead, who said, " Stop him,
or something like that. Witness and the rest of
the company instantly rushed out of the tap-romn•
and saw a man go out of the front door into the
street; he was going very swiftly, and had neither
cap nor hat on. Witness could not distinguish
who he was, bat believed he wore black clothes.
No attempt was made to go after him, as it was a
very dark night.
A surgeon was sent for, and deceased, in answer
to a question put to him as to who had struck him,
said, " It was a man who has been here to-day ha!
done it • if I could see him I could swear to him;
Deceased also said the man was behind some malt-
bags.
The inquest was adjourned for a fortnight.
It is stated that two persons have been arrested
on suspicion, and will be brought before the magma-:
trates this day (Friday).