The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-08 00:00:00

K- ---'

-

' v

%A
/4t4.
4 r
-ef
• •
*S# \4.
•
%
4.;
„.„
4.
•

c

//~~ /~/
V "

[PRIaz 4D. STAMPED 5D •]

Adin;ralty." The promotions consequent upon'this
death are the following :
Vice-Admiral of the White Robert Wauohope to
be Vice-Admiral of the Red.
Vice-Admiral of the Blue Sir J. Stirling to be
Vice-Admiral of the White.'
Rear-Admiral of the Red W. J. Hope Johnstone
to be Vice-Admiral of the Blue.
Rear-Admiral of the White T. Bennett to be Reit.-
Admiral of the Red.
Rear-Admiral of the Blue J. Nias, C. 8., tote
Rear-Admiral of the White.
Capt. R. Crozier (1839) to be Rear-Admiral on
the reserve] half-pay list.
Capt. the Right Hon. Lord C. E. Paget, C. 8.,
to to Rear-Admiral of the Blue.
By the last promotion a cap`aia's good service
pension falls into the gift of the First Lord of the
Admiralty.
Her Majesty's yacht Victoria and Albert, Capt.
the Hon. J. Denman, and the Osborne Admiralty
yacht, Master-Commander Bower, returned, to
Porismouth from Antwerp on Saturday, and the
Fairy, at 1 p.m. yesterday.
The Rochester, naval lighter, sailed from Chat-
ham dockyard on- Saturday with war stores for
Devonport dockyard. ,
The Lapwincr 6, steam despatch gun vessel,
M Comander O'Reilly, arrvel'at Spitheal from the
eastward before daylight on Sa,turdAy, and remain
awaiting further drders. .

Tho burava, 31, screw frigate, CApt. Mason,
returned to Spithead on Saturday afternoon from
the Thaines.

The Valorous' .6, paddlewheel frigate, Capt. Ald-
ham, arrived -at Spithead on Saturday from Ant-
werp.

The.steAm sloop Encounter, 14,, Capt. (Mona-
ghan, arrive' yesterday afternoon nt Plymouth.
SIJo left Adeu Nov. 21, reached the (Jape Dec. 19,
and sailed on the 23d, reached St. Helena Jan. 2, •
and at Ascensim on the 7th. Including stoppages,
the ii-Ssage from Aden to Plymontis was accom-
Plish'd in 78 dlys. At the Cape sill embarked 12
itivali Is froth the Bose,awc-n, five hot)] the Hima-
laya, five from the Sappho, and two formerly
longing to the Shsnnon; at St. Helena two:diAmsed
merchant seamen, and at Awension nine invalids
from the West Coast squadron.
Commander R. T. Bedford, Commander Matthew
Conflolly, and Commander A. C. Gordon were on
Saturday promoted is be Captains ; and Dent.
C C. A. Kennedy, Lieuts. T. Br nclr4l), F. D
Rich, and J. A. Redrn were promoted to the rank
of Conitn4nlers.
Ths following Lioutanants were on Saturday
pr.-mo`ed to the list of Commanders on the reserved
tinier Her Majesly'scrders in C )uncil of
the 25th of June,' 1331, and the 30th of tanuary,
1856 :—Johu R. Black, Raymond Evan=, Henry
Perry Dicken, Richard Elsworthy Pytn, William
Glisoford Hem.worth, Jat,. Bawer Somerville,
Job -.l3:nnet Clarke, Richard Cotgrave, John
Douglas, Fraucis Smyth, John Morehead, RLh ird
Oh ,rle; Whyte, James Sandford Davison, and
Chas. A. Lo.lder.
The f .;lowing appointmenti were Made on Satur-
day at the Admiralty
Capttia T. 13.4i11ie, to the Plincess Royal, 1,7 c,
; Coarnander F. astinon, to tit Royal
William, vice Bedford, promoted ; Douglas
Reid, to the Wolksloy, vice Ross ; Lieut. J. C.
Tucker, to the ConquerQr ; Lieut. H. 'Wes; and
L'eut. T. B. if. Fellowes, to the Marlborough ;
and Mr. R. C. Saunders, to be Naval Instructor to
the Marl hot ough.

EXTRAORDINARY CHARGr. AGAINST A
CLERGYMAN AND ILIS WIPE.

In The Sun of Saturday we published a brief
;elegeapltic account of au extraordinary charge
preterted against the Rev. Samuel Staid!, M:A.,
waster of the Celegiale School, Clifton, formerly
mai! er- of Bishop's College, 'Mists!, Suljoined a o
fuller pat ti ulers of the affair, which it will be seen
is of a tofue what myste:iousecharacter.
The wife of Mr. Smith was the daughter of a
farmer named Mills, wit() resided at Walton, near
Centerbury, and before her marriage, whi..l took
place about nine years ago, she counted among her
suitors a Mr. Le ch, contractor, of Croydon, Surrey.
The match was, however, broken off. Mr. Leitch
shortly afterwards married another 1 idy, and Miss
Ml's became the wife of her present husband. Mr.
Smith's marriage proved unhappy, and about two
mi.nths sines Mrs. Siiiith, having ascertained the
fact that Mr. Lea :h hid become a widower, ad-
dressed a totter to him, in which she stated that her
husband had died 'very recently, and invi7ed Mr.
Leach, if so diaries .d, to renew the intimacy which
fermerly subsisted bAween them. A reply was re-
quested • which wee to be directed to Mrs. Smith,
to the care of Mr. Leshury, bookseller,, Park-stri et,
Bristol. Mr. Leach wrote to the address given,
intimating some doubt as to the truthfulness of all
the statements of his correspondent, but received a
reply, (-Wed as before, assuring him of the genuine-
ness of the former communication, and proposing
a meeting at Bristol on Sunday, Jan. 31, or, it
that day shoeld prove inconvenient, on the follow-
ing Sunday. Neither of these days happened to
suit Mr. Leach, and having replied to that effect,
he received a third communication from Mrs.
Smith, dated from Bristol, slating that she was
staying with a relation of her late husand at
Wapley, and requeWng Mr. Leach to meet her
on the platform of the Bristol station of the
Midland Railway on Wedneseley evening. Mr.
Leach accepted the invitation, and came down
! from Paddington on Wednesday. At a little be-
fore 7 o'clock he went on to the platform of the
Midland station, and was almost immediately
4)ined by Mrs. Smith, who was attired in the
deep mourning of widowhood. In the course of
the conversation which ensued upon their meet-
ing Mrs. Smith inf Tined Mr. Leach that her
husband had been dead about six weeks, and that
she was visiting a relation of his named Isaacs,
who lived at Wapley. While thus engage:, and
waiting the departure of the train, in which Mr.
Leach an 1 Mrs. Smith took tickets for Yate,
Mr. Le ich saw a man. on the platform who he
felt satisfied was the husband of his companion.
Mr. Leach mentioned his suspicion to Mrs.
Mrs. Smith, but she re:terated her assertion that
her husband had been dead six weeks. 01 the
stoppage of the train at Yate station Mr. Leach
and Mrs. Smith alighted, and the Rev. S. Smith
was also seen by a person who knew him
well leaving the platform. When about to leave
the station, Mrs. Smith stated that they were
going across to Yate Common. Mr. Suffolk, the
stationmaster, however, informed them that it
would be impossible for them to make their way
across on so dark a night, and Mr. Leech proposed
that they should take a conveyance, or at any
rate go by the road. Mrs. Smith replied that she
must go by the common, as sl,e knew he: way
to Wae!ey better by that roue) than by the road,
besides which Mr. Isaacs, she said, hid agreed to
come and meet her in the event of Mr. Leach not
arriving. Upon this the stationmaster offered to
conduct them to the common, and procured a
lantern, with which he lighted them to the point
from which they would have to cross it. After
leaving them Mrs. Smili became the guide, but
not making any satisfac:ory progress, Mr. Leach
proposed that they should retrace theirtevstepsrsaid
and
take the high road. Mrs. Smith, however,
that she was feeling fur the hedge, andthatas
soon as she Lad found. it they would be all
right.
In a minute or two Mr. Le.rch heard footsteps, as
of a pi rson tracking them, and he was turning round
lost
teli
my I%llivsa.ySfilitA"
Smith
mcaalnle,sd
vtoofeehinian,sivSloytiellig ~,
‘,.[Aud
have
have lost my way,
immediately upon which Mr.
Leach received a desperate blow across the fore-
head from some heavy instrument, which was fol-
lowed up by a second across the back of the head.
Bath blows inflicted severe wounds, fro'n which
Mr. Lea.,ll bled profusely. The man, who be is
sati,fieul was Mr. Smith, again struck at lihn, and a
ton agilei
h
e
scuffle ensued, in which Mr. Leach,
man, succeeded in throwing Mr, being an
a
ground. The struggle was overheard by two work-
men on the Midland Railway named George Heaven
,raNiVlhwoa,yl3 1 If: pn eccetsi,nigl hat some
gOwtle Owen,
andwas
dCahnalralgeisn
esdom toe onetlie spot, where they found the Rev. S. Smith on the
ground, steel Mr. Leach, whose face and clothes
were covered with blood, holding him down.
These men pulled Mr. Leach off, and were told by
Mr. Smith that he had been violently asi..'aultsd. On
being asked to go and give information to the
p,lice, Mr. Smith said, "Oh lie is a villain, and I'll
have no morp to do wi h him." Mr. Smith and his
wife then w(nt away, when Mr. Lerch then gave
hie version of the story, and was coaveye I to the
Radway Hotel, Yate, win r: Mr. Lemon, surgeon,
waasum moped widi all despatch, and attended and
dressed Mr. Leach's :sounds, which wire so exten-
sive as to require sewing up.
In the meantime the Smiths had crossed the com-
men and made for the neighbouring village of
Wickvvar. On their track were found a widow's
cap and a 6-bar:el revolver pistol, loaded and
capped, near the sp,)t where ne struggle teo_a