The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-13 00:00:00

gaged in, and then telling the duke at the close of,the
epistle that the sport with which he was beguiling
himself was " more becoming the humble fre-
quenters of the race-course,:and apprentices, than a
peer of the realm." Bathos is admirably illustrated
by this precious composition. How marvellously
smooth and easy is the descent from strains of
dida: t «lo(inenee to the compeir•ii t ;on" of tile
client, and " the desire to stop further proceedings."
The convictions which I have formed on the
case are, I believe, accurate and tenable. That-
Mr. Weatherley was not illegally assaulted and
not fully entitled to damages, I do not pretend to
argue or assert. On the contrary, the verdict of
the jury appears to me to be a most righteous one.
The Duke of Beaufort lost his temper, and in an
ebullition of anger unlawfully assaulted Mr.
Whetherley. Still, at the same moment, I know-
from experience that the presence of such eques-
trians as Mr.Weatherley on a race-course is a most
serious nuisance. In the course of the season
I have had my life and limbs endangered
more than once by scampering snobs and louts
who " ought never to have been trusted
with a horse," and with whom all remonstrance is
futile. They are thoroughly reckless, and often as
utterly unacquainted with the control of a horse as
a Venetian Grandee. Blundering and galloping
about, intent only on their own gratification, they
are equally indifferent whether they graze your
" favourite corn," or break your limbs. Something
of this class is Mr. Weatherley who, possibly, with
an idle desire to lose none of the sights of Brighton
racecourse, went jamming and cramming with that
borrowed brute he was on, oblivious of everything
but his own comfort and safety. But it will be said
the Duke of Beaufort had no right to plant his
" Aunt Sally" on a spot of ground reserved for
carriages and equestrians. A dreadful amount of
nonsense was talked on this head in court on Sa-
turday. On a racecourse no place can be free from
pedestrians, or said to be " reserved," unless it is
bricked in. Why, too, if the Duke of Beaufort was
playing on a forbidden situation,would he not have
been " moved off" by the police, who were abun-
dant at Brighton. Enough, the Duke of Beaufort
was there surrounded by many persons, and being
there, even if without any just right, are they to be
trampled on by the first Johnny Gilpin who May
pass ? A word on " Aunt Sally" and " Knock-
em-Downs." These games are hearty, harmless,
English diversions, but they ought to be re-
stricted to spots where people are not obliged to
pass. If the devotees desire to enjoy "three sticks
a penny," let the " bludgeons " be " propelled "
where interruption will not put a hundred pounds
into the pocket .of a " gentleman living on his
friends," or endanger the noses of animate beings
instead of " Aunt Sally." The hearing of Wea-
therly v. Beaufort, in the Queen's Bench, appeared
to delight the entire audience and even the in-
flexible Lord Campbell. The details of the man-
ner in which the game was played elicited such
laughter as greets the eccentricities of Robson
at the Olympic, or Wright at the Adelphi.
The grave and sedate manner in which the learned
judge affirmed that "he'd never played at Aunt
Sally," and the Duke of Beaufort's assertion that
" he broke her nose nearly every time," caused the
auditory and barristers much merriment. When
Mr. Lush, who most ably conducted the plaintiff's
case, sat down, he whispered to the opposing
counsel, "I say, Chambers, will you have a game at
Aunt Sally by and bye ;" and Mr. Montague
Chambers seemed to express concurrence—but who
broke the most noses in the bout we have not been
able to ascertain. Mr. Weatherley has been most
fortunate ; but I offer him some few words of
advice. You have obtained your £lOO, to which
you were, by law at least, entitled ; put the money
in your purse, and let us hear no more of the
matter. Should you, however, again visit Brighton
races, on that gaunt grey animal, and inadvertently
push against a person, even if he is a peer of the
realm, remember, not to apologise at once is conduct
far more contemptible than that of " a tailor," and,
even if " bludgeons" are " propelled," you will
soundly deserve it, unless you act the part of a
man and a gentleman.

A FRESH MAN.

MORE GOVERNMENT ARRESTS IN

IRELAND.

BELFAST, SUNDAY EVENING.

This evening considerable excitement was caused
by the general report that a Riband Lodge had been
captured in Belfast. The facts are as follows :—At
six o'clock a party of constabulary, fully armed,
surrounded a public-house in Cromac-street, kept
by a woman named M'Kee, and arrested some
fifteen persons who were there assembled on the
charge of being members of an illegal society. The
prisoners were immediately marched to the police-
office, where Mr. Tracey, resident magistrate, and
the inspector and sub-inspector of constabulary
were in attendance. The committal was made out,
and the men were immediately marched off, under
a strong escort, and lodged in the county of Antrim
gaol. The men who have been arrested are be-
lieved to be all Roman Catholics, and of course the
report goes that they were members of a Riband
Lodge. They are of the class of working men,
and of ages ranging from mere lads to gray-
haired men. The authorities are believed to
have been in possession of this information since
last night. Whether the arrests be expedient or
justifiable, or not, there can be no question as to
the promptness and dexterity with which they
have been effected. There is considerable excite-
ment in the part of the town adjoining Cromae-
street, but no apprehension of any disturbance.

INDIA GOVERNMENT CIVIL SER VICE.

East India House, Dec. 9.
Sir,—l am desired by Lord Stanley to acquaint
you that there being vacancies in the establish-
ment of the Secretary of State for India for eight
writers, he has resolved to fill those vacancies by
means of an open competitive examination.
The salaries and allowances attached to the ap-
pointments are as follows :

For the first five years, salary £BO per annum,
with an additional allowance of ls. per sheet of
480 works, for all works in excess of five sheets
per day.
From five to ten years' service £9O per annum;
from ten to fifteen years' service, £lOO per annum;
from fifteen to twenty years' service, £l2O per
annum ; from twenty to twenty-five years' service,
£l5O ; from twenty-five upwards, £2OO per annum
with an allowance of Is. 3d. per sheet as above.
The writers are for the most part employed in
copying, but they are at other times employed in
accounts, and assisting in the ordinary duties of
clerks.

The age of admission is from sixteen to twenty
six.

I am accordingly desired by Lord Stanley to re-
quest that the Civil Service Commissioners will be
so good as to prepare a scheme for the examination
of candidates for the above appointments.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) J. COSMO MELVILL.
J. G. Maitland, Esq., Secretary,
Civil Service Commissioners.

INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE.—It will have been ob-
served that under the regulations which have been recently
promulgated for the examination of candidates for the civil
service of India the maximum age, which since the intro;
duction of the competitive system has been 23, was reduce"
to 22. Having regard, however, to the just claims of stu-
dents who are now preparing for the expected examinatiol
in July next, many of whom this new rule, if immediately
enforced, would have excluded from the right of competing;
the Secretary of State for India, in Council, has deterininreu
to suspend its operation until the examination in 1860. 'lll
July next, therefore, the maximum age for candidates
be 23, and after that occasion 22. _

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge has
appointed Tuesday, the 22d Feb. next, for the celebration
of the third jubilee of the Royal Asylum of St. Ann's S;
ciety for the orphan and other necessitous children e'
parents once in prosperity.
THE ILLNESS OF THE LORD MAYOR.—We 0911
state upon authority that the attack of illness from which
the Lord Mayor has been suffering has not been so severe
as might have been inferred from a paragraph taken front
ono of the provincial papers. His Lordship, when taken
ill last Monday week, never lost consciousness, and was
able to walk to his carriage without assistance. We are
happy to state that he is rapidly improving, and it is hope
will be able shortly to resume his official duties.
INDISPOSITION OF MR. W. HARRISON.—A very
numerous audience assembled on Friday night at Drurr
lane Theatre, expecting to hear the above artist and Miss
Louisa Pyne in the opera of " Trovatore," but Mr. Hari-
son, from hoarseness, could not appear, so "The Bohemian
Girl" was played, with Mr. St. Albyn as Thaddeus, an,,
Miss Louisa Pyne as Arline. The audience at first seemed
determined to have " Trovatore," but the appearance of gr.;
Harrison before the. malcontents, and his candid aPPO4
that he could hardly speak, much more sing, immediate)/
restored silence, and the opera was allowed to proceed.,