The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-30 00:00:00

THE, SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 20, 1858.

had been any accounts kept at all at Weedon in
Mr. Elliott's time (a laugh) ; and any private
business conducted on such a system must certainly
result in bankruptcy.
The witness underwent some further examina-
tion at the hands of the Commissioners as to the
mode in which he was conducting the examination,
which gave rise to a remark by the Chairmain,
made incidentally, that the Commissioners would
not be be satisfied with the dictum of the War-
office as to the sufficiency or validity of Mr.
Elliott's vouchers.
Mr. Turner also remarked that he could have no
confidence whatever in the system of accounts kept
by Mr. Elliott until they were properly verified.
He added, playfully, that the witness seemed to be
engaged in a laborious task, and he wished him a
safe deliverance from it.

The Chairmain said it looked something like a
life appointment: (A laugh.)
Henry Crutchley, a viewer in the saddlery de-
partment, said, he remembered some skins coming
from Gibsons, contractors for saddlery, which were
rejected for being defective in the dye. Sergeant
Brodie did not on that occasion show him where he
had put a private mark on those skins to indicate
bad places, as stated by Brodie before the Commis.
sioners. He did not remember any such circum-
stance. It was all an invention. None of Gibson's
skins had been rejected for any other reason than
defects in the dye. He recollected 94 of his skins
being condemned on one occasion on that ground.
By Mr. Turner—He had only seen Mr. Gibson
twice at Weedon during the two years he had been
in the saddlery department. Mr. Gibson had a
saddlery department at Weedon, but it had no con-
nection with the depot.
Captain Smith, the inspector of saddlery, said,
that Sergeant Brodie, whom he described as a dis-
contented man, served under him for some time as
foreman of, saddlery at Weedon. He remembered
having a conversation with Brodie on one occasion,
when some lassos from Mr. Palliser, a contractor in
Pall-mall, came to the depot ; but that conversation
had been much misrepresented by Brodie ; and
what witness said on that occasion was provoked
by an observation of Brodie himself, enjoining him
to observe caution in any dealings he had with Mr.
Palliser. Witness said, when the lassos arrived they
had the incurable fault of being deficient in weight,
and, making that discovery, he said to Brodie that
" they would never do, and that he (witness) must
see the man about them." Of 1,986 lassos which
Mr. Palliser had sent in, 995 were rejected by wit-
ness for a deficiency in weight, and for not being
conformable in that respect to the sealed pattern.
It was not a matter in which he (witness)
had any option. He could only go •in his inspec-
tions by the sealed pattern furnished to him by the
War-office. He remembered that on one occasion
when 1,000 ayed sheep skins came into the depot
from Mr. Gibson, the army saddler, Coventry-street,
he felt himself called on to reject 130 of them for
defects in the dye in certain places. The defects
were remedied by Mr. Gibson, and then the
rejected skins were passed by witness on a second
inspection. He denied the truth of the statement
of Sergeant Brodie that the rejected skins came back
from Gibson's .in the same condition as when they
were condemned, and that he (witness) passed them
in that condition. He remembered rejecting 200
skins sent in by Messrs. Bevington and. Morris for
defects in the dye. He admitted, as stated by Se r-
geant Brodie, that he had, at his request, counter-
manded an order he had previously given, for the
sale of certain saddlery. It was damaged saddlery
that had come from the Crimea, and as well on that
account as from a change in the pattern it could not
have been made available for the service. But he
was induced, at the suggestion of Sergeant Brodie,
and, after consulting Mr. Elliott, to forego the
order for sending it for sale. It was, therefore,
allowed to remain in store and had never since been
issued, and he was still of the opinion that it could
not be made available for use in the army, and that
it would have been better to sell it at that time. He
denied in general terms, as stated by Brodie, that
any of the saddlery in store at Weedon had suffered
injury from mismanagement, though he experienced
some inconvenience at one time for want of dubbing.
The number of saddles which he had condemned as
unserviceable and sent to be sold was 76 ; and he
also sent to be sold 72 other saddles which had be-
longed to the 4th Light Dragoons, and had been
condemned by the authorities of that regiment and
sent to Weedon as unserviceable.
By Mr. Turner—He was at one time inspector,
storekeeper, and issuer all at once, in the saddlery
department.
'The Chairman—" Three single gentlemen rolled
into one." (A laugh.)
Witness said, in reply to the Chairman, that
Gibson's men on one occasion received some
old saddle-cloths out of the store at Weedon, bnt
that was to work up in repairing some articles
belonging to the Government.
By the Chairman—He once dined with Mr. Gib-
son, or rather had something to eat with him—(a
laugh)—for it was after dinner—when witness was
at his house on the occasion of an illumination. He
never received any compliment, or bribe, or dou-
ceur, or anything of that sort from Mr. Gibson, or
any of his people. He did not receive a present
from Mr. Cuffe, the saddler in Cockspur-street, a
contractor, and he would explain the circumstances.
He had known Mr. Cuffee for 25 years, and had
been, until witness went to Weedon, in the habit
of both making presents to and receiving presents
from him. On Aug. 27, 1857, he received a hamper
containing three dozen of wine, which he knew had
come from Mr. Cuffe, though there was nothing in
the shape of a note accompanying it to show that it
had. That wine he (witness) felt it his duty to
pay for to Mr. Cuffe, considering their relative posi-
tions after witness had gone to Weedon had been
altered. But for that he might have felt himself
at liberty to accept Mr. Cuffe's kindness.
In reply to a question from the Chairman, Mr.
Dew, the Secretary to the Commission, said the
official letter discharging Sergeant Brodie from
Weedon was dated the 19th of September, 1857.
The Chairman said, there was a suspicious cir-
cumstance that just at the time there was a differ-
ence between the witness and Sergeant Brodie,
width resulted in Brodie's discharge, he (Brodie)
was suggesting to Mr. Cuffe the propriety of making
witness a present of wine.
At this stage of the inquiry (half-past five o'clock)
the Commissioners adjourned until this day
(Thursday) at half-past 11.

REOPENING OF ST. JAMES'S CHURCH,

CU' AIN-ROAD.

This church, which was much injured in June
last by the large fire which originated next door to
the edifice, was re-opened on Sunday last. Two
very large congregations assembled on the occasion.
The church looked really beautiful ; the walls and
roof have been restored and coloured in a chaste,
light, and becoming manner ; the
.pews and wood-
work of the church have been painted over three
times, and finally grained and varnished in resem-
blance of oak wood. The pulpit and reading-desk
are furnished with velvet drapery all round, large,
deep, and of the most handsome and ample material,
and present a grand and imposing appearance. The
communion table, of carved oak, remarkable for its
value and beauty, which was presented by the
younger members of the church ten years ago, has
been restored, and over the commandments an ele-
gant emblazonment of the words "God forbid that
I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ," has been effected at the expense of Mr. J.
Alabaster, a former member of the church. The
organ, bUilt by Eagles, of the Hackney-road, a large
and powerful instrument, has been completely re-
stored.

For some time past the parishioners have been
subscribing iliberally to a fund raised for the pur-
pose of presenting a testimonial to the respected
minister of the parish, the Rev. James W. Mark-
well, M.A. Mr. Markwell received a splendid
silver tea and coffee service, and a purse, and other
testimonial when he left the curacies of St.
Clement Danes and Marylebone, and he therefore
generously insisted that this Mark of the esteem in
which he is held by his present parishioners should
not be given to him, but to the church ; accord-
ingly, a stained glass window for the altar window
is in course of preparation by that eminent artist,
Mr. N. W. Lavers, of Southampton-street, Strand ;
it will be very beautiful and rich, will cost 50
guineas, and Mr. Lavers, who was a member of Mr.
Markwell's congregation at the West-end, out of
respect for that worthy clergyman, will give a
figure of the Apostle St. James for the centre,value
10 guineas. The window will be erected in a few
weeks.

The preachers on this interesting occasion were,
the Rev. T. Jackson, M.A., rector of Stoke Newing-
ton, and prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral, and
the Rev. H. Steobing, D.D., F.R.S., rector of St.
Mary Somerset, in the city. The able, eloquent,
searching, plain, and simple appeals of these emi-
nent preachers wens rewarded by the deepest atten-
tion, and followed by a practical result unexampled
in the history of collections in this locality. When
the collectors reckoned up the contents of the plates,
the amount was £B4 14s.

Several large sums were given, but it reflects the
highest credit on the friends of humbler means
when it can be stated that the plates contained
more than £5O in, small moneys. The greatest
praise is due to the active churchwardens, Mr.
S. Archer, of Worship-street, and Dr. Hancern,
M.D., of High-street, Shoreditch, surgeon to the
Eastern Counties Railway Company. A debt of
£240 now remains. It is to be hoped that the
parishioners (many of whom have not yet given),
will come forward and help this worthy cause, so