The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-19 00:00:00

THAMES.

CRUELTY TO A HORSE.—Edward Barton, late a carman
in the employ of Mr. Thomas Morrison, Farnlough, was
brought before Mr. Partridge, charged with cruely ill-
treating, abusing, and torturing a valuable horse, the pro-
perfy of his employer.

Mr. William Love, the chief officer of the Royal Society
for the Preventio n of Cruelty to Animals, stated that the
prosecutor was a town: c arman and contractor in an ex-
tensive way of business, and the owner of a great number
of valuable horses. Mr. Fanclough had brought this case
under the notice of the Royal Society. The prisoner was
in charge of three horses and a van on the 2d of Febru-
ary, to fetch some hogsheads of sugar from the brandy
quay of the Loudon Dock. On arriving at the dock the de-
fendant was seen making an attempt to back the van under
the warehouse where he was to receive the sugars. The pri-
soner went about the business in a very clumsy manner,
standing at the head of the leading horse and bawling out
to and flicking his whip at the shaft horses. Some move-
ment on the part of the near-side horse at the pole dis-
pleased the defendant, who thereupon gave utteranc e to a
volley of fearful oaths and imprecations, and turning the
butt end of the whip iu his hand, went up to his horse and
deliberately struck it a tremendous blow on the face, which
staggered the animal and caused a gash from which the
blood flowed copiously for some time. Happily, the horse
did not appear to have sustained any permanent injury,
though the blow was calculated to crack the bone. The
prisoner's employer having a large number of horses was
anxious that their waggoners and other servants should
be taught that such acts:of violence and cruelty were
illegal.

Mr. Love then called Mr. A. W. Ashy, clerk to Messrs
Bedell and Co., of 37, Mark-lane ; John Wilkinson, a
cooper, of No. 7, Gloucester-buildings, Back Church-lane,
in support of his statement.

George Young, an officer of the Royal Society, saw the
prisoner one day last week in the Loudon Dock, and asked
him how he came to strike the horse in the way described,
to which he replied, " The horse was obstinate, and I lost
my temper."

The prisoner in dofenee said ho was very sorry for what
ho had done.

Mr. Partridge—You have committed an act of great
cruelty. It is a very bad case indeed. I fine you 40s.
and costs.

Liverpool Cotton Market.:—.llis Day.

The market opens with a depressed tone on ac-
count of American news. Sales probably 6,000 or
7,000 bales.

MR. GLADSTONE AND MR. DISRAELI.—During
the course of his remarkable speech on Saturday
evening Mr. Bright paid the following noble tribute to the
genius of the Leader of the Opposition and the capacity
of the Leader of the Government :—Take the Chancellor
of the Exchequer (exclaimed the hon. member for Birming-
ham—in as splendid a burst of eloquence as the House of
Commons has for a long time past listened to)—tako the
Chancellor of tho Exchequer : is there in the world, in any
legislative assembly,
a man, as the world goes, of more
transcendant capacity, I say even of a more honest wish
to do good to the country in which he occupies so con-
spicuous a place. Take the right hon. gentleman oppo-
site—the leader of the OppositiOn—is there any legislative
assembly in the world at this moment a man leading an
Opposition of more genius for his position, who has given
proofs in every way but one in which proof can be given,
that he is competent to the highest duties of the high offioes
of State. These men, great men whom we on this and on
that side can to a large extent admi.o and follow, fight for
office, and sit alternately on this side and that—suppose it
were possible for these men, with their intellects, with their
far-reaching vision, to examine this question thoroughly,
and to say for once whether this leads to office and to the
miserable notoriety that men call fame, which springs from
office, or not, "if it be possible, we will act with loyalty to
the sovereign and justice to the people, and if it be possible
we will make Ireland a strength, and not a weakness to
the British Empire." It is on account of this fighting for
party, and the gains which party gives, that there is so
little result from the great intellects of such men—they
grind, like Samson of old, in brazen fetters at their task,
with Heaven-gifted strength, and the country and the
world gain little by those gifts which ought to win them
the blessings of the world.

Mr. Mill's Dead Failure in the House of Com-
mons—is thus made the best of (and bad is
the best) by the Spectator, which remarks that in his
maiden speech in the House on the cattle plague debate of
Wednesday, " he was not distinctly heard, and the Parlia-
mentary gossip about the speech was at
_first unfavourable
His argument, it was said, was thin,' and his manner
almost petulant. The truth, no dpubt," says the Spectator
with au amusingly left-handed apology, was that he was
somewhat nervous, and that this made a style always some-
what dictatorial seem fretful!" Rather significantly—Mr.
J. S. Mill was interrupted during the delivery of his few
remarks on Saturday evening by loud calls from the House
of Question! Divide! Time! Pretty plain indications that
the Philosopher has already earned a recognised position
in the House of Commons as a bore !

RAPID LEGISLATION.—The efforts of the Fenians
to revolutionise Ireland Will assuredly bo unsuccessful,
but they have unintentionally been the means of compelling
both Houses of Parliament to depart from their customary
mode of proceeding and oven commit a breach of the
Sabbath. Through the instrumentality of tho Fonians
both houses sat on Sunday morning. .A.nother very unusual
if not unprecedented thing has arisou from the same cause:
thin ten days from
at
hboi Iml eheatsi urge coefi vPelciir Parliament ya l assent

ATTEMPT TO UPSET A RAILWAY TRAIN IN IRELAND.
—On Friday morning, about three o'clock, as the up mail
train from Galway to Dublin was passing uzar the 65th
mile post, three miles from the Moat Station, in the parish
of Kilmonaghan and county of Westmeath, the engine
driver felt a serious shock, which nearly threw the engine
off the rails. On the line being examined it was discovered
that several large stones had been placed across the rails.
Both the engine guards were bent, but no further injury
sustained. Tho company have offered a reward of £2OO
for such information as may lead to the discovery of the
propetrator of this outrage.