The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-29 00:00:00

SUNKEN SHIPS AT SEBASTOPOL.

We (Gatignani) ha Ye received. the following
communication from the party who has contracted
to raise the Russian vessels in the harbour of Sebas-
topol. It is dated from that port, and bears the
date of Sept. 30

" I noticed an article in your journal relating to
the sunken ships in this harbour. As so many
contradictory statements have appeared, some de-
claring that the Americans who contracted for the
removal of tlts.ships had abandoned the work as
hopeless; others, that the terrible worm of the
Black Sea had entirely destroyed the vessels;
others, that the work was never confided to an
American. In answer to all such reports, allow
me to state that. I contracted with the Russian Go-
vernment in October, 1856, to remove the ships and
vessels sunk in this harbour ; that I am an Ameri-
can ; that immediately on closing the contract I
returned to the United States and had such ma-
chinery constructed as was necessary, and arrived
at this place the following year, and commenced
preparing the machinery and materials, which
were not completed until May last, Since that
time I have raised whole the 16-gun schooner
S_ melai, the steamers Turk and Groznoi, also the
llbgun brig Aenas, the Parassiane, and Stella,
na am now engaged on the steamers Danube and
Odessa, which will be raised in a few days. In
addition to the above, I have entirely removed the
hulls of two old line-of-battle ships and a frigate
that were formerly used as prison ships ;. also the
frigateHava
with thenellt! and-the line-of-battle ship Sago-
dul,_eption of her keel, which is buried
in over 12 feet of soft mud. My forces are now
eugahr,ed in the removal of the f2O-gun ship Con-
stantine, line-of-batttle ship
cnezau, which clips aris., and transport
B
are inth pe
middle of the har-
bour, and are rapidly laeint.n ships
to the extent
The generally supposed. Russian Government are
now repairing the steamer Turk, which is i
eellent order ; her 111111 is quite sound
with
require
some slight n tlexie-
C•xception of her upper works, her engin
repairs ; the commission that exa-
mined her decided that it would require but five
per cent. of her value to restore her to complete
running order. The other vessels are in equally as
good a condition. I beg further to remark that I con-
tracted to clear the harbour of Sebastopol, and
shall complete the work in a faithful manner. The
various contradictory- statements that have ap-
peared have undoubtedly arisen from the fact that
an American company came here with a wonderful
pump (Gwinnes), by which means they supposed
they could exhaust the water from the ships and
float them. -After ineffectual attempts for some six
months, they abandoned their work, and departed
for America via Constantinople. Not wishing to
depreciate the power of their machinery, they re-
Ported the impossibility of the ships ever being
removed, which has now been practically refuted.
am, &e

" JOHN E. GOWEN."

IRELAN D.

DUBLIN, THURSDAY M. RNING.

THE DONEGAL OUTRAGE.

The Derry Jourual gives full particulars of the
late diabolical plot to murder the Rev. Alexander
Nixon :

"On Monday last a report reached Londonderry
that the county of Donegal had been disgraced by
a crime of the most heinous character. It was
stated that the Rev. Alexander-Nixon, of Heath-
field, near Falcarraghtin the county of Donegal,
had been murdered on Sunday as he 'was returning
from church. We immediately put ourselves in a
position of gaining information of the reel state of
the case, and found on inquiry that, although a
most nefarious attempt was made on the life .of the
rev. gentleman, the design of the assassin had been
providentially frustrated, at least so far as the. life
of his victim was concerned. Mr. Nixon is wounded,
but is not dead, as was at first announced. We aide
the circumstances of the attempted murder, and have
to premise that we left no available means untried
to verify the truth of the several statements
braced in the subjoined narrative. On the day in
question. Mr. Nixon was returning from church,
accompanied by his' wife and daughter. The party
travelled in a close carriage. When about a mile
from Falcarragh, Mr. Nixon's attention was
attracted by three persons. on the road. They were
dressed in women's apparel, but there was some-
thing strange in their appearance. It is said they
had been noticed on the road earlier in the day,
and had been mistaken for women of loose charac-
ter. As it turned . out, they were really men,
dressed in the clothes of the other sex. The three
seemed to be under the influence of drink, and were
conducting themselves in a way to justify that as-
sumption as the carriage came forward. One of
the fellews sprang to the horses' heads and stopped
the vehicle. Another began, as is stated, to dance
outrageously on the road. Others say the second
ruffian seized the coachman and. held him ; but, be
this as it may, Mr: Nixon put his head out to see
what had interrupted his journey. This seems to
have precisely answered the calculations of his as-
sailants.. No sooner had the head of-the gentle-
man been protruded from the carriage window than
the third fellow fired at him. The weapon used
was a pistol, and the shot passed through his face.
Entering at the side of the head, fronting -the ear,
the slugs smashed through the jaw-blade, carrying
away two or three tooth, and came out at the oppo-
site cheek. The deed done, the ruffians fled. No
doubt theyy thought they had killed their victim.
Fortunately, however, such was not the case, for it
was found that the wound, though serious, was not
mortal. Some of the slugs were found subsequently
in the bonnet of Mrs. Nixon. It is unnecessary to
say that the ladies experienced a severe fright, and
were well nigh overcome by the horrible nature of
the bloodthirsty outrage. Running off, some de-
clare that the ruffians parted with their female
habiliments, so as not to encumber themselves in
their flight. They went towards Muckish moun-
tain. A bailiff in the employment of Mr. Nixon
is stated to have followed them for some distance,
but, on corning- up with them, one of the men
turned, and, presenting a pistol, swore he would
have his life if he came a step further. The other
then desisted, and the :fellows. got off. We have
not heard anything reliable as to whether any
of the country people were by at the time of the
attempt on Mr. Nixon, although it is said that,
while the ruffians were making their escape, several
persons wham they encountered did not offer any
impediment to their progress. Various rumours,
some of them intrinsically untrue, are afloat
on this branch of the story ; but_ for the present
we forbear to specify them, especially since
the full truth will be laid bare to the public
by the searching investigation which the au-
thorities are sure to institute. As to the possible
motive of the assassins, it is currently believed
that the attempt on Mr. Nixon's life arose out of the
part he took in those social commotions by which
Gweedore and Cloughaneely have latterly been
convulsed. At the same time it is accepted as the
truth that the fellows who made the actual attack
did not belong to the neighbourhood. Up to the
hour of our latest advices no arrests had been
effected, but if it be the case that the assassins flung
off their outside clothes as they ran a clue might
thus be obtained by which the culprits would soon
be brought to the bar of justice. Mr. Nixon is
being attended by Dr. Eames, of Dunfanaghby,
and Dr. Brady. Being of corpulent habit, the un-
fortunate gentleman is in an exceedingly critical
state, and mortification is apprehended. We be-
lieve that at first the medical men did not perceive
much danger, but their opinion has latterly been
considerably altered, their patient having got
weaker. He is not able to speak, and can com-
municate his ideas only by signs and by writing.
As is natural, the event has created intense excite-
ment, not only in the district of its ocettrrenc, but
in the whole county of DonLgal. On Monday Mr.
Cruice, magistrate, left Letterkenny on his way to
the scene of the outrage. A meeting of magistrates
was held in Letterkenny on the same day, and we
understand that a close inquiry is being prosecuted
in the district where the offence was committed. It
has transpired that, in consequence of what has
happened, the relief from the extra police taxation
in Gweedore and Cloughaneely, lately promised by
the Dublin organ of the Government, will not be
carried out, and that an additional force, augmen-
tative of the present large number, will be demanded
in the constabulary of the county. There is little
fear that the utmost exertions will be made by
magistrates, police, and all else concerned to trace
out and discover the perpetrators of a crime so foul
and cowardly."
An old and temperate organ of the Liberal and
Roman Catholic party thus comments upon the
foregoing narrative :

"We -have often had occasion to write of the
condition of Donegal, and of the causes to which,
in our opinion, its social degradation was at-
tributable. There was, however, one considera-
tion which always inspired hope for the future,
and that was that amid poverty and oppression
of no ordinary kind, the hands-of the people were
free from blood. The natives of many of its back-
ward districts suffered much, but they contented
themselves with asking public sympathy, and pub-
lie sympathy they obtained, largely and practically.
No murder was done in the county. This state of
things is now changed. In the attempted assassi-
nation of Mr. Nixon a portion of the county of
Donegal has received a stain which it will require
years to efface. This is what every one must regret
and deplore. For ourselves, we are at once shocked
and astonished by the melancholy intelligence which
we this day communicate to our readers. This is
not the place to canvass the public character of Mr.
Nixon. All we wish to recollect now is that he-is
a man, and that an attempt was made to assassinate
him ; and the predominant feeling which this recol-
lection inspires is that of. indignation. Let no one
talk of justification, nor even of extenuation.
Nothing can justify assassination. Nothing will
justify any one who takes justice into his own
hands, arrogates to himself the functions which
properly belong to the la w, and impiously usurps a
wicked and irresponsible power over human exis-
tence. This is a crime the guilt of which can as
little be diminished by the sufferings endured as by
the wrongs inflicted.] [He who speaks of the wild
justice of revenge' either does not know the doctrine
he propounds, or, knowing it, propounds impiety.
These arc our sentiments, and we hope they have
been expressed in a way not to be misunderstood.
At the same time it were nothing short of hypo-
crisy to conceal our profound conviction that the
landlords of the district have it in their power to
do much towards preventing the recurrence of a
crime like that in question. We are told that Mr.
Nixon's assailants were strangers,—and we believe
it ; but it is to be feared that their prompters could
not be so described. We are afraid that some of
the ignorant people are implicated in the foul
transaction. Popular discontent existed in
Gweedore and Cloughaneely, and, sharpened
by poverty, it took the form of crime. It is
childish to suppose that if the complaints of a
people are allowed to pass unheeded, or their
wrongs permitted to go =redressed, the exhortations
of clergymen and others who advise them to re-
spect the law will not be eventually stifled by the
promptings of passion. The first thing to be done
now is to discover the assassins. This is a matter
in which every one in the district, lay and clerical,
poor and rich, is interested, and we trust soon to see
condign, justice fairly administered in the case of
those wicked men. It will then be the business of
the proprietary to recollect that their tenants have
passions and feelings as well as the and
sinews ; but, whether the people be well treated or
ill-treated, whether their complaints be real or
imaginary, whether their woes meet haughty dis-
dain or aristocratic indifference, we call upon
the peasantry to remember that nothing can pos-
sibly justify a' crime such as that on the inexcusable
atrocity of which we have been commenting."

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CENTRAL CRIMINAL. COURT—Oct. 28.

OLD COURT.

John Ames, 30, an ill-looking man, wearing a
smock frock, was charged with misdemeanour, in
having unlawfully taken Lucy Parton Nicholl, an
unmarried girl, under 16 years of age, from the
custody of her father, without his consent.
Mr. Sleigh and Mr. Thompson conducted the
prosecution, on behalf of the Association for the
Protection of Women. Mr. Cooper was counsel
for the defendant.

The learned counsel for the prosecution, on
opening the case to the jury, read to them the sec-
tion of the statute under which the indictment was
preferred, and the following evidence was then
adduced.

Lucy Parton Nichol' said—l live with my father
and mother at the Elgin Arms, Notting-hill. I
was 15 years old last January. lam unmarried.
I know the prisoner. He was formerly in my
father's service as potman, and left in February last.
In July last the prisoner talked to me in a familiar
manner for the first time. He wished me to leave
my home, and said if I would have him and marry
him he would leave his own wife and marry
me. ~There had been nothing improper between us
then. I told him I did not wish to leave home.
About this time an improper intimacy occurred
between us:lt:first took place in a plantation near
my father's house. Nothiag, more of this kind oc-
curred between the mmiths. of July and September,
but the prisoner frequently Rine. to my father's
house. On the 9th of September the prisoner asked
me to go away with him, and I said I would not.-
He replied, " Very well," and gave me some beei.
Shortly afterwards I went out for a walk, and as I
was going home the prisoner came up to me and
asked me to walk across the fields with him. I re-
fused, and he said that I must go. I became very
giddy, and when I recovered I found the prisoner
was taking me across Wormwood Scrubbs. I had not
drunk anything except the beer the prisoner gave me.
I asked the prisoner if he was not going to take me
home again, and he said he was not, and I must
go along with him. He then took me to Mrs. Rose's,
at Fulham. I went into the house, and he asked
Mrs. Rose what she thought of me, and she made
no reply but laughed. Mrs. Rose and the pri-
soner appeared to be friends. He then had supper,
and I sat up until one o'clock in the morning, and
Mrs. Rose then said she would not let the pri-
soner take me away as she knew what a character
he was, and I slept in her house with two young
women. On the following morning I saw the pri-
soner, and he asked me to go out for a walk with
him, and I did so. We went down by a piece of
water called the Creek. (The witness here detailed
some facts which are unfit for publication.) I re-
turned with the prisoner to Mrs. Rose's and stayed
there all day, and in the evening I and the pri-
soner and Mrs. Rose, and a young woman went out
together. We met Mrs. Rose's husband, and we all
had some gin, and I then went back to Mrs. Rose's,
when I became sick and unwell, and went into the
garden, and the prisoner followed me, and took
me into the field; and he said if I attempted to get
away he would stab me. I slept again with the
two girls on this night at Mrs. Rose's. On the
following morning the prisoner asked me to go out
with him, and I did so, and we returned to Mrs.
Rose's to breakfast. n the afternoon the prisoner
took me away with him to Brentford. I asked him
if he was not going to take me home, and he said,
" No." We had some tea at the house of a person
who he said was his nephew, and then he took me
into the fields. He gave me some beer, before we
started, and when we got into the fields 'I went to
sleep. We remained all night, and in the morning
the prisoner said he must go and get some money,
and he told me to wait for him, and I said I would
not, and he replied that if I did not he would stab
me. He got some beer from a public house, and
I drank it and went to sleep, and the prisoner
left me and returned about two o'clock the
next day, and he then told me that if I would
not tell anyone what had taken place, and say
that I had gone away of my own accord, he
would take me home. I refused to do so, and
he then said that if he took me home and they
took him to the police-station, I was .to be sure
not to say anything against him, and he said if I
did not promise him this he would stab me, and
then he would drown me. In conseqnence of this
threat I promised not to say- anything against him
and he took me home. I had nothing to eat all
that day.
Cross-examined—At one time I was locked up in
my bedroom in order to prevent me from running
after the prisoner. I was locked up for three days.
I did not say to a woman employed about the house
that it was dull to be locked up, and as soon as I
got out I would be off with the prisoner. I swear
that I never followed the prisoner in the brickfield
when he was at work. When I drank the beer in
the morning we went away together. I was thirsty.
(A hu,rh ) No one in the house knew I was going
away. 'I told them that I was going out for a walk.
I did not tell the prisoner to go a little distance and
I would follow him. I never asked him to take
me away. He was aware that I was locked up, be-
cause he saw me at the window. Every one in the
house knew that I was locked up. Ido not know
exactly how I came to go away, because I became
insensible, and when I came to myself I found the
prisoner had hold of my hand. I could •not get
away from Mrs. Rose's house because she locked
me up. I did say at the police-station that I went
away from my father's of my own free-will, and
the reason was that the prisoner told me to say so.
Upon my saying this the prisoner was set at
liberty. A week after this I told a different story,
and said that I had not gone away of my own free-
will.

Mr. Robert Nicholls the father of the last wit-
ness, deposed that his "daughter was fifteen years
old last Jandary. In Septeinbei she was living
with him, and the family missed her on the 9th of
that month. She left him on the following Sunday.
The prisoner had been in his service, and was a
married than, and he had no idea that there was
any improper' intimacy between him and his
daughter.
Mrs. M. Nicholls, the wife of the last wit-
ness, gave similar evidence as to the age of her
daughter. On the Sunday she returned home the
prisoner came to her house about 11 o'clock in the
morning, and she asked him if he had seen her
daughter, and he_ said he had not. She pressed him,
and begged him to tell her the truth, and he then
said he would fetch her if she promised not to do
anything to her or ill-use her. Witness was afraid
he would not come back, and she asked him to
allow some one to go with him, and he refused, and
said that if witness would not promise not to ill-use
her daughter or send any one to watch him he
would not allow her to come back, and witness
should never see her again. Witness then said,
" I promise you all that, only bring me back my
child." He went away and came back with her
daughter about half-past 3 or 4 o'clock in the after-
noon. In July she locked her daughter in her bed-
room for three days, in consequence of hearing that
she had been seen talking to the prisoner, which
witness had stietly prohibited. This was the only
familiarity she had ever known to take place be-
tween them.

This was the case for the prosecution.
Mr. Cooper said that unless his lordship should
be of opinion that there was evidence that the girl
went away.with her own consent, and that this
would affect the case in point of law, he did not see.
that he had any materials for a defence.
Mr. Justice Erie said that it appeared to him
that the consent of the girl was totally immaterial
in such a charge as this. If she went out for a
walk intending to return, and the prisoner met
her, and induced her to go away with him, that
would, in his opinion, constitute the offence. He
added that the law evidently contemplated that a
girl of• such a tender age could not, and, indeed,
was not competent, to give her consent in such a
transaction, and that it was intended to protect
parents from such proceedings.
The jury then returnedia verdict of guilty.
His Lordship, in passing sentence, said that un-
fortunately for public justice, the offence of which
the prisoner 'had been, convicted was only classed
as a misdemeanour, and he could only, therefore,
pass a sentence for that offence, which, as it appeared
to him, was totally inadequate to the.crime. He
had taken advantage of his position to corrupt the
mind of this unfortunate girl, and had entirely
destroyed her, and he could not help regarding his
crime as of the most atrocious kind. He could,
however, only pass the sentence fixed by the law,
which was, that he be kept to hard labour for two
years.

THIRD COURT.
• (Before the Common Sergeant.)
James List, 36, labourer, and William Saville;
30, labourer, were indicted for feloniously
breaking and ,entering the church of St. George,
Stratford, an stealing therein a copper coffin, tho
property of Jay bez Legg and'others.
The Jury, after a brief deliberation, returned a
verdict of Guilty;
The prisoner Saville, who became very violent
upon hearing the verdict, said that List had been
bribed to tell the lies lie had against him.
It was then shown that Saville had been before
convicted,
Mr. Robinson said that List had all through the
matter told the truth without any promise being
made to him, and had he not pleaded guilty, he
should have abstained from offering evidence, in
order to use his evidence. There was another
indictment for stealing the leaden coffin placed in
the same vault in 1850 ; that was taken a week
after the copper one.
The Common Sergeant, in passing sentence, said

the offence committed by the prisoner was an. ex-_-
tremely aggravated one, as there was no knowing
the extent of injury done by wounding the feelings
of the friends of those whose remains had been dis-
turbed. The remains of the dead were a most
sacred trust, and the breach of that trust in the
prisoner List was aggravated from the circum-
stance of his position, but believing that Saville
had suggested the crime, and that List had told the
whole truth, he should make a marked difference in
the sentence which he was about to pass, and that
was one of eighteen months' imprisonment upon
Saville, and six months upon List.
Saville was then moved from the dock, threaten-
ing to do for the witnesses when he came out of
gaol.
Mr. Robinson applied that the Court should
award the expenses of this prosecution upon more
than the ordinary scale. The parish authorities
had very adroitly slipped the Txpenses, which were
heavy, upon the executors, and their trust had long
been distributed.

The Common Sergeant said that public justice
would have been greatly disturbed had not this
case been properly prosecuted, but he feared he
had no power to interfere. The treasury were now
very restrictive.