The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-07 00:00:00

PETE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 7, 1859.

REFORM - BRIBERY - FOREIGN

AFFAIRS.

(From the Plymouth Journal.)

Lord John Russell has been installed a freeman
of Aberdeen, and, according to custom, has im-
proved the occasion by a speech, which, though ad-
dressed to a provincial municipality, has an interest
for the whole empire, and, indeed, for all Europe.
First and foremost he takes up his tradition of
Reform. This is the question which, above all
others, concerns us most ; for in it all the elements
of good government are kernelled. On the true
representation of the people in Parliament hinges
the whole theory of political progress. Would we
have retrenchment of the public expenditure, an
improved organisation of the army and navy, ex-
tension of the principles of free trade, a safe but
dignified foreign policy, and, in short, an effective
administration, equal to the wants, the position,
and the responsibilities of the country, the direct
way to all these objects is to enlarge the basis of
the House of Commons, so that it may really repre-
sent public opinion. Since the Reform Bill of
1832, every section of the nation has moved for-
ward in a manner, and to an extent, without parallel
in history. This is a testimony to the effect of that
measure, and it is now becoming a recognised fact,
that social and political development are intimately
allied. Our first Reform Bill was an experiment,
and, at the time, was even a hazardous one ; for
long misgovernment and rooted abuses had done
their work, and the mass of the population was
discontented. Every grievance was laid at the
door of the Government, because the Government
' was itself a standing grievance, resting on an
oligarchy and not on the people. Reform in-
vested Parliament with a new character, and
opened a new era. Without it we should never
have obtained free trade ; and our manufacturers
would still be crushed by monopoly, while our
operatives might be crying for bread. After a
quarter of a century of advancement, which has
almost doubled the population and changed tho
whole face of the country, in one place almost effac-
ing towns of ancient importance, in another convert-
ing obscure villages into ports and cities, we ask
for an extension of this great charter. What was
then the semblance of a representation, has now, by
the altered condition of the country, become its
shadow. We keep up the fiction of a House of Com-
mons, but it no longer deserves the name. It is
rather a lower chamber of the Lords, with an in-
fusion of manufacturers and capitalists. And what
does Lord John Russell promise us in its place ?
What is his programme for the new Reform Bill ?
He tells us we are not to look to him for organic
changes. His whole career, from his first advocacy
of Reform, tallies with this declaration ; and, as we
are not among those who would Americanise the
constitution, it is not one we shall quarrel with.
Organic changes are not desired by the great body
of the people. For the present, we are disposed to
accept a moderate measure, believing that, in the
actual state of parties, no other could be carried
through Parliament. The object in view is to adjust
the representation to the developments of popula-
tion, and the altered relation of classes. Un-
doudtedly Lord John Russell is correct in his view
of the spirit of English institutions, that they do
not aim to give every man a vote, but to vest this
privilege in all who may be fitly trusted with it.
But, if such be the end desired, no one will have
the hardihood tosay it has been attained. The prac-
' tices at the last general election, on the side of both
Liberals and Tories, and the revelations daily made
before the Gloucester Election Commission, clearly
prove that large numbers of the existing constituen-
cies are corrupt beyond redemption. The seats
of tkese rotten boroughs are openly bought and
sold. It would appear that the agents of the Libe-
ral candidates, though enjoined to keep strictly
within the pale of the law, have, in some places,
been obliged to conform to the local usages, or to
abandon the contest. The latter would certainly
have been the more consistent course, but it is a
suestion whether we should then have elicited
such disclosures as those of Thompson, alias
Thornton, and Clarke, alias Brettles, which
must give an irresistible impulse to the
cause of Reform. What will the advocates of
small boroughs say to the family of the Coopeys,
who always vote together, and never without a
bribe? The Tories carried them off, though they
were hard run by the Liberals, one of whom, hav-
ing his blood up, offered to advance £5 on the
Tories, whatever might be given by the latter. The
ordinary price of a Gloucester voter is £lO, but the
Coopeys go in a lot for £2OO. Of course, the sys-
tem is not confined to Gloucester, though there are
few close boroughs where it is so openly practised.
We could name small constituencies in this county
in which bribery is unknown, but these are excep-
tions, and corruption is the rule. To call such a
system a representation of the people is an abuse of
terms. It is a national scandal, from which we
claim to be delivered, and there is no remedy but a
genuine Reform Bill. In a large constituency ex-
tension of the franchise to all who contribute to
national revenue will furnish a guarantee against
bribery. If the Gloucester voters were as numerous
as they ought to be they would not fetch ten
pounds each, nor ten pence. Is it rational to ex-
pect that with such constituencies we can look for
a reduction of taxation, or any of the other advan-
tages of good government ? If members pay down
£2,000 for their seats it will be for some personal
object, not from a desire to serve the public ; and,
while such motives prevail, we must be content to
pay £70,000,000 a year in taxes. Lord John
Russell has promised a Reform Bill equal to our
requirements, and we believe he will adhere to his
pledge. The question, in his hands, still remains
with the aristocracy, but let them not waste the
time that remains; for if they now fail to effect an
equitable settlement, the people will take it into
their own hands, and the landed interest will have
lost its opportunity. .
Passing to foreign affairs, Lord John Russell
feels the shackles of red tape, and speaks with more
reserve. America and France, though without
being named, each receive a hint, which may be
taken either as an admonition or as a warning. In
a war with America our commerce would un-
doubtedly suffer more than in the fiercest struggle
with any other power; but it is certain that the
loss of our antagonist would be as great as our own.
Be this as it may, no section of the community is
more jealous of our national honour than the com-
mercial classes ; and Lord John Russell shows this
to be a natural result, for it is their interest, ex-
posed as they are to foreign aggressions; that the
name of England should be respected. America
and England have both a high part to play, and,
as we lately remarked, they should both present
to the world an example of mutual consideration
and forbearance. Lord John declares that Eng-
land holds up a beacon to the nations ; America, as
a kindred country, and a sister refuge of freedom,
should aspire to do the same. But when an Ameri-
can general makes a descent on British territory—
when he there draws the sword, and flings away
the scabbard, bidding the British come on if they
dare, it must be owned that our patience and all
our feelings of amity are being tasked to the utmost.
Even the American Government, indeed, has
thought a collision so probable, under such a provo-
cation, that General Scott has been despatched in
hot haste to supersede the arrogant Harvey ; and
we hope this step may indicate that President
Buchanan is not disposed to refer the dispute to
the fatal arbitrament of the sword.

To France, Lord John Russell speaks as plainly,
though with the same discretion. Our neighbour is
described under the myth of a firework manufac
. .

turer, with whom we are in dangerous proximity,
and who amuses himself by throwing up rockets,
which, rising aloft at all hours, keep us in constant
fear of a conflagration. At present, the only pre-
caution we take is a heavy insurance, by keeping
up a large army and navy; but Lord Johh warns
the pyrotechnist that, if he persists in this course,
he may some day bring the whole town about
his ears, and have his factory suppressed. Cer-
tainly the Emperor Napoleon is evincing a spirit
so aggressive as may alarm all Europe, while, at
the same time, he shows that not the least reliance
can be placed on his word. Only a few weeks
ago he announced hisi retention of reducing his
forces by land and sea, and we now hear of nothing
but mighty armaments, which, from their peculiar
character, can have no object but hostilities with
England, his faithful ally. The peace of Villafranca
falsified all his programme for Italy, and, whatever
he may think, has not won for him the friendship
of Austria. 'rhere can be no greater stigma on his
policy than the circular just addresstd by Sardinia
to the great European Courts. Here is an appeal
from apoleon drunk with success, to Napoleon
sitting soberly in council of Europe. The King of
Sardinia shows that, if the treaty of Villafranca be
carried out—if the strong fortresses on his frontier
are left in the Lands of Austria, and the Austrian
Archdukes are again posted on his flank, he will be
completely hemmed in, at the mercy of Austria
whenever she chooses to attack. During the late
war Italy made great efforts, and submitted to great
sacrifices, even throwing aside her own locs.t jea-
lousies and traditions ; and now, by the proposed
restoration of the Archdukes, she finds all her hopes
frustrated. Her bearing through the crisis has
commanded universal respect. We may smile at
the aspirations of Tuscany for statues and pictures
at such a time, but great popular movements are
always attended with some extravagances ; and,
perhaps, fainting spirits, amidst the difficulties sur-
rounding them, may derive encouragement from
these presages of success. It must be confessed that
some stimulus is required at the present moment.
Rumour speaks again of a Congress, as the final
adjudicator of the question, and Lord John Russell's
declaration that England, so far as she can make

her voice heard, will pronounce for Italy, may give
the drooping Italians some courage. For our part,
we have no•hope that a Congress will arrive at the
only satisfactory solution the formation of a
powerful Italian kingdom in Upper Italy ; and we
would strongly discountenance the idea that Eng-
laza will do more than exert her influence for a
cause which, though now claiming our support,
Piedmont herself took out of our hands.

TILE BUILDERS' STRIKE.

Air, George Jotter, the- Secretary of the Trades'
Conference sitting itt the Paviours' Aims, and, one
of the leading represeritetives of the men now " on
strike," has addressed us a
letter, which we yes-
terday published, on certain poLets recently in
debate between the contending parties. With one
exception these points are but of minor imporience.
We have already said that in our opinion it would
have been wiser in the masters to recognise the
authority of the Conference, inasmuch as, whether
its conduct had been laudable or otherwise, it was
at any rate the authority acknowledged by the men.
Recriminations, however, of this kind signify little
or nothing to the real questions at issue, and these
questions we think it now desirable to place before
the public in a perspicuous form. How far Mr.
Potter's general representations possess any value
will appear as we proceed.
The first great feature in the case was the "strike"
—a term which has been since used to embrace all
the events of the contest, but which, in reality, was
only one transaction out of a series. The operatives
engaged in the building trades had been prevailed
upon to join in a demand upon the masters for ten
hours' wages in exchange for nine hours' labour,
and upon the refusal of the employers to concede
such terms the men engaged at Messrs. Trollope's
were deliberately called off their work by the Confer-
ence of the united trades, and directed to strike.
The intention of the conference was to maintain
these men out of contributions made by others, who
were still to continue working for their respective
employers on the terms repudiated at Messrs. Trol-
lope's, in order that funds might thus be secured
for carrying on the struggle. It was expected that
Messrs. Trollope would beunable to hold out against
such indefinite force, and that when they had been
thus coerced into surrender the same tactics should
be employed against other building firms in succes-
sion until the whole trade had been brought under
control. These plans, however, were frustrated by
a combination of the masters, who, in self-defence,
formed an association of their own, and resolved
that when the men at Messrs. Ttrollope's had actu-
ally struck they would eachand all close their shops
until Messrs. Trollope could resume work. This
measure, which was effectually carried into execu-
tion, deprived the operatives of their expected funds,
and placed the masters on a level, for power and
union, with the men themselves. Accordingly, Mr.
Noble, one of the conference committee, confessed
in a public speech that, except for this proceeding,
which was called the " lock-out," and which formed
the second feature in the case, the men must have
won, whereas they were now left in some straits
for money.
These • two acts—the " strike" on the part of
the men, and the " lock-out" on the part of the
masters—constitute the 'whole case up to a certain
point, and up to this point it has now become evi-
dent that the masters were entirely in the right.
The " lock-out," which Mr. Potter describes as a
measure not to be exceeded for its tyranny, was an
act of pure and necessary self-defence, as his own
friends have been compelled to own. It was the
inevitable sequel of the " strike," so that, unless the
"strike" could be justified, those who concerted it
must bear the odium of that and the " lock-out" too.
So clear, however, is now the folly of the " strike"
that nobody has so much as a word to say for it.
The public saw at once that the "nine hours move-
ment" was utterly unjustifiable. The operatives of
the building trades were neither underpaid nor
overworked. These "poor men," as Mr. Potter now
pathetically terms them, were men in receipt of as
much daily pay as an ensign, and more than many
a curate. For such wages they performed only
the amount of work which can be legally exacted
from women and children in factories, while that
work itself was made as light as possible by trade
usages, forbidding a man to exert his natural
strength. In short, it could not be pretended that
the men employed had anything to complain of,
and the true design of the agitators was simply to
quarter upon the employers a certain additional
number of workmen who happened to be unem-
ployed. Of course, so preposterous a requisition
could never be sustained, and we were told last
week upon the very best authority that it never took
well even With the working people themselves. All
this is now clear, but it is not to be forgotten in a
fair appreciation of the case that the contest com-
menced with an aggression on the part of the men
since confessed to be without justification.
At this point, however, the masters took another
step. They resolved to resist, once for all, the dic-
tation and interference of those Trades' Unions by
the agency of which the " strike" had been con-
cocted. The " strike" itself was but the climax of
a long series of provocations, and at length they
fairly turned to bay. Rejecting the nine hours'
agitation altogether, as a preposition which might
safely be left to fall by its own folly, they took
*heir stand on a resolution directed not so' much
to the existing controversy as to the security of
trade for the future. They said they would
take no unionists, or members of trade socie-
flee, into their employ, and they framed a
" document" or " declaration," to be accepted
by every applicant for work, which would bind him
for the time to abstain from any connection with
societies professing to interfere authoritatively be-
tween masters and men. At this the indignation of
the Unionists was naturally great, for the measure,
if enforced, would destroy all the machinery by
which they hoped to " rule the destinies of trade,"
and reduce them to insignificance, not only on the
present occasion, but in all future time. Stimu-
lated, therefore, by this conviction, and desirous
also of escaping from the first false position to more
tenable ground, they concentrated all their attacks
on the " odious document," and, by the aid of some
public sympathy, established a better kind of case.
It must be remembered, however, even at this point,
that the most to be said against, the masters was
that they were going a little too far. On the
mere principles of."the' controversy they were
still right, and the men still wrong. The men
had been the aggressors, and they had given mani-
fest provocation. All that was urged on their
behalf—and it is not much for Mr. Potter to
boast of—was that a very natural sentiment on the
part of the masters had carried them rather beyond
the mark.
At length, however, and as the latest phase of the
case, the masters are showing symptoms of reason-
able compromise, while the men are betraying a con-
sciousness of wrong. The masters have in some
measure modified their views, and both in their ne-
gotiations with the masons, and in subsequent ex-
planations of the case, have appeared willing to fore.
go the " declaration " if the several Trade Societies
would consent to such a revision of their rules and
bye-laws as would purge them of the obnoxious
element. This, we believe, would satisfy the
opinion of the public, but it is perfectly evident
that the Unionists and their leaders regard such
proposals with decided repugnance. The masons,
although the masters were ready to stand by the
very law of the land equitably interpreted, cried
off instantly when this critical point was touched,
and redoubled their agitation. The Paviours' Arms
Conference has done little better, though,this is the
point to which we alluded as forming an exception
to,the general unimportance of Mi. Potter's com-
munication. He here tells us that his constituents
" have agreed" to the proposed purgation of their
rules and bye laws, but he proceeds to say that the
agreement consists only in "adopting Mr. Ingram
Travers's and Mr. Marsh Nelson's proposal to amal-
gamate our societies on the pattern of that of the
Engineers." Now, we are by no means sure that
the Amalgamated Engineers will furnish the model
most desirable. If they do, the society must have
undergone considerable changes since 1852, when
it appeared before the public in no very favourable
light. In any case, however, this proposition of a
selected reference will bear no comparison with
that of the masters, who offer to be bound by the
decision either of any retired Judge of the Superior
Courts, or of any eminent impartial authority what-
ever, and who, besides this, are content that this
umpire himself shall be bound entirely by the spirit
of the law. , Between these two proposals there is

no room for hesitation. The masters ask plainly
and distinctly for lawful protection, not only on
their own behalf, but that of non •unionist workmen,
and they ask for nothing more. The men speak
by no means so frankly. The masons scarcely
conceal their resolution to maintain the usages
giving them a control over others. and, if
Mr. George Potter can say anything better for
his immediate friends, it must be by a more pi o
raising offer than that described in his last epistle.
—Times.

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MR. ROWLAND HILL.

The English press is seldom deliberately unjust
in its criticism of distinguished public servants ;
and if betrayed into a harsh judgment, founded on
a misconception of facts, it rarely attempts to
justify its blunder by abusing the victim of its in-
justice. But a leading contemporary has during
the last two days made and repeated a violent and
uncalled-for attack on one of the most experienced
and meritorious officers in the public service—an
attack, we venture to say, which the public, that
has profited so largely by his labours, will not
easily forget or forgive. There is hardly a single
family in the country, that is not directly indebted
to Mr. Rowland Hill's persevering and laborious
exertions in the national work of postal reform. He
has been engaged for 20 years in deviang aut.'
carrying out a system of cheap and expeditious
communioation, find during that time has ettbcted a
revolution in the department over which he presides
such as is. rarely accomplished in the lifetime of an
individual. Yet the ?hoes, on the very slightest
provocation, thinks it becoming to speak of this
public servant as a conspirator against our national
rights and liberties. On the faith of representa-
tions that are not only erroneous but false, it ranks
him with Austrian informers and French spies. His
past improvements in the machinery of the Post-
office are stigmatised as tyrannical " caprices." We
have letter boxes attached to our hall doors ; there-
fore the Englishman's house is no longer his castle.
London is divided into postal districts which in-
volve " the possession of immense local knowledge,
and of acquaintance with arbitrary geography," in
order to direct letters aright : therefore the liberty
of the subject is destroyed. Finally there is a right
and a wrong way of directing newspapers, and
Mr. Rowland Hill having recommended the
former, is represented as an official despot, issuing
his " ukase" from St. Martin's-le-Grand. When he
writes t• explain :the actual facts of the misrepre-
sented case, our contemporary treats him as a pre-
sumptuous upstart which it is its business not to
reason with or oven listen to, but to put down.
Now, even supposing the facts really were as re-
presented by our contemporary, this is hardly the
tone to adopt towards a most meritorious public
servant. All servants of the Crown are of course
amenable to criticism, and must expect to be criti-
cised. But some consideration is due to those who
through a long course of arduous duty have proved
themselves not simply servants of the Crown, but
benefactors of the public. Distinguished merit may
at least claim to be treated with common courtesy.
The zeal, energy, and public spirit which have been
tested for 20 years, which have carried blessings to
every home throughout the country, and won the
gratitude of the nation, constitute, indeed, no im-
munity from censure. But these qualities uniformly
manifested through such a term of service, are a
fair plea in favour of inquiry and examination be-
fore a sweeping verdict of condemnation is pro-
nounced. - In the present case, however, there is
really no ground for such a verdict at all. The
charge brought against the Postmaster-General is
simply false. An inquisitorial circular, it is alleged,
was issued to the employes at the Liverpool Post
office, by the authority of the Postmaster-General.
This is untrue. No circular was sent to the clerks
of the Liverpool office. A confidential note, contain-
ing the questions referred to, was addressed by the
local Postmaster to a few of them for a special
purpose.

- Whether the note be wise or foolish, innocently
or so criminally inquisitorial that it is the duty
of the press, in the select language of our con-
temporary, "to drag it before the bar of public
opinion and brand- it as intolerable," it was
written and sent without the knowledge of the
Postmaster-General. He knew nothing whatever
of the pretended circular. It is something more
than vapouricg on the part of the Times, therefore,
to speak of it as an "outrage on the right of private
life perpetrated by the Post-office Department ;"
and to repeat in various phrase that " Mr. Rowland
Hill has no right to torture the servants under his
control." He has not done anything of the kind.
The Liverpool Postmaster acted on his own re-
sponsibility, and he has been called upon by his
superior for an explanation of his conduct. If Mr.
Rowland Hill has not yet publicly pronounced any
verdict on the act, it is fair to suppose it is because
it is still under investigation.
Why, under these circumstances, hasten to c:m -
demn a public servant, and persist in reiterating an
odious charge, when the facts on which it rests have
been explicitly denied ? If our contemporary has
forgotten Mr. Rowland Hill's great and memor-
able services, the country has not. There will be
to sympathy with this hasty and groundless outcry
against the man whose splendid administrative re-
forms in one of the most important and far-reaching
departments of the public service have won the gra-
titude and admiration not only of England but of
the whole civilised world. The Times characterises
these reforms as " caprices," tyrannical caprices to
which we have submitted in the past, but can really
submit no longer. It has enumerated those by which
we secure the prompt and rapid delivery of letters.
But it has omitted some of the more important
items of his tyrannical administration. Thero is
the " caprice" by which he has increased the facility
for transmitting small sums of money from one part
of the kingdom to another, so that the number
of money orders issued has increased within a
few years nearly forty-fold. And there is the
crowning " caprice" of all, by which we now pay
a penny for sending a lettera hundred miles instead
of ninepence or a shilling. The payment of that
heavy sum was a time-honoured custom to, which
we had almost a prescriptive eight. But the ruth-
less hand of the reformer has swept away that
clumsy and expensive process. Other despotic ca-
prices have tended to render the work of reform
complete, so that we now have our letters carried
and delivered with unexampled cheapness, expedi-
tion, and punctuality. It is no doubt too bad. We
are the miserable victims of wholesale reform, and
naturally avenge our outraged rights in a burst of
objurgation against the author of our calamities.—
taily News.

PRESIMV.-11I0N OF LIFE .FROM 8111P-
'WRECK.

A meeting of the Royal National Lifeboat Insti-
aition was held yesterpay at its house, John-street,
Adelphi,, Mr. Thomas Chapman, F.R.S., in the
chair. There were also present Sir Edward Per-
rott, Bart ; Admiral Gordon, Deputy-Master of
the Trinity-house ; Mr. George Lyall, M.P., and
Mr. Alexander Bootefeur. Mr. Lewis, the secre-
tary, having read the minutes of the previous meet-
ing, a reward of £3O was voted to the c ew of the
institution's lifeboat stationed at South arold, the
silver medal to John Craigie, her coxswain, and the
second service clasp to B. Herrington, for their
gallant service in rescuing, during a strong gale
of wind and heavy sea, the - crew of ten men and
the master's wife from the Prussian brig Lucinde,
which was wrecked off Misner Haven on the night
of the 17th ult. The officer of the Coast-guard re-
ported that the lifeboat had behaved nobly on the
occasion, as well as the beat's crew. A reward of
5.:13 was also voted to the crew of the society's boat
stationed at Bridlington, for rescuing between
three and four o'clock on the morning of the 16th
ult. the crew of six men from the brig Eliza of Sunder-
land, which was wrecked off Bridlington during a
heavy gale of wind. A reward of £ll was likewise
voted to the'erew of the Castletown, Isle of Man,
lifeboat 4 which belongs to the institution, for put-
ting off on the..night of the 30th August and
rescuing three men from the Norwegian brigantist.
Ospreinsingen, which during a sudden gale of wind
td become disabled. The Wick lifeboat, which
is on the institution's plan, was also reported to have
saved recently a ship's crew during a heavy gide
of wind. ihe boat was under the command of
Captain 'Tudor, R.N., who for a previous act of
bravery in rescuing life wears the society's silver
medal. • Rewards amounting to 1:15 10s. were also
voted to the crews of the society's lifeboats stationed
at Fleetwood, Do -or, and Boulmer, for putting off'
in reply to signals from vessels, which, however,
did not require the boats' aid. The Ramscrate
lifeboat, which is also on the institution's plan, had
recently in conjunction with the harbour commis-
sioners' steam-tug and some luggers, succeeded in
bringing into harbour from the Goodwin Sands
the brig. Quickstep, of London. They had been
engaged in the arduous undertaking two days. A
reward of Lo was voted to the crew of five men of
a Harwich smack for their valuable assistance in
saving the crew of seven men from the brig Fame,
of South Shields, which was wrecked on the Ship-
wash Sands during hazy weather on the Gth tilt
A reward_ of £2 10s. was also voted to a boat's crew
for putting off and rescuing two out of. six men
who had been capsized from their boat outside
Mevaqissey Harbour, Cornwall, on the evening of
tiro 2lth idt. The institution decided to station a
new lifeboat at Silloth, near Carlisle. Sir Se nits
Graham, Bart., M.P., had offered his. co-operation
to the humane undertaking. The society also
erd 'red a lifeboat to be built for Porthcawl, t or
Cardiff. The establishment had received the very
liberal support of Mr. Talbot, M.P., lord-lieutenant
of the con ty, and other gentl2nen in the locality.
The inAitution was reported to be making an
urgent appeal to the seamen of the merchant ser-
vice to assist it in placing and maintaining lifeboats
on every.exposed part of the coasts of the United
KingdoM. Payments amounting to £1,307 for
lifeboats and their accessories having been ordered
to ba made, the proceedings closed.
F-

FLOGGING-IN THE CiEsAB.---It i 8 stated that
the poor fellow who was flogged in Keyham yard for muti-
nous conduct on board tho Caesar, and who was afterwards
se it to Exeter gaol, in accordance with his sentence, shortly
a,fuer died there.—.Plymoith Journal.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—Oct. 6.

MARYLEBONE.—THE "MARQUIS" AND THE
" COLONEL."—CoIoneI Graham was charged before
Mr. Broughton on a summons with having used
towards the Marquis of Westmeath language calcu-
lated to provoke a.breach of the 1-)ace.
Mr. Lewis, jun., attended for the complainant,
and Mr. Sleigh for defendant.
. .

At the desire of Mr. Sleigh, the marquis quitted
the court while Mr. Lewis stated the facts of the
case, and when he had concluded the noble com-
plainant took his place in the witness-box.
The Marquis, having been swain, said—l reside
at 14, Queen's-gar/I.ns, hayswaier. Last month
defenil-•
entered into a negotiation with Mr. San-
ders, my agent, to take my house. I consented,
and allowed him to put in some furniture. This was
on the Tuesday before quarter-day. It was put
into the dining-room. I told defendant that his
property would be quite secure, and that I should
put the key of the room in my pocket. There
was an arrangement that defendant was to pur-
chase some things of mine which were on the pre-
mises. On the 28th defendant overtook me in
Queen's-gardens, and, on my turning round, looked
furiously at me, and said, " Do you consider your-
self a gentleman P" I told Ithn I considered myself
as good a gentleman as he was, and he said, " What
is your complaint ? You have refused to give Mrs.
Graham a chair in the house, and have sent your
servant to take the lock off the hall-door." I said
to him, " I do not know what you mean," and I
remarked, " I have not seen Mrs. Graham, nor have
I been asked for any chair. As to the lock, I did
tell my servant to take it off the door, but
Mrs. Graham prevented him from doing so. It
is a private lock, and one of Bramah's." The de-
fendant then added, " You have refused to give me
the key of the room ;" and I told him I had not
been asked for it. I did not intend to have
given it up till all the arrangements as to
the purchase of fixtures, &c., had been com-
pleted. If I had been a younger man (the Mar-
quis is between 70 and 80 years of age) I think
I should have struck him in consequence of his be-
haviour towards me. There can be no pretence for
saying that I acted with any want of courtesy to-
w aids his wife. Had he made any apology to me
I should have been quite content. I walked away.
By Mr. Sleigh—Up to the time I have spoken of
I considered his manner to be that of a gentleman.
We were passengers in an omnibus on the day
alluded to, before the language I complain of oc-
curred. We had not much conversation together.
In the course of that morning • I had been at Mr.
Sanders's office, and had promised that he (defend-
ant) should have full possession in a day or two if
he wished it. I did not promise to give up posses-
sion to him early on the Tuesday. On 28th some
one in the employ of Mr. Sanders asked me to give
up the key of the room where the furniture was
locked up, but nothing could have induced me to
give it up. Some of my servants were in the house,
and all my furniture had been taken away. I will
not undertake to swear that I did not refuse the
key in order that the lady might get a chair out to
sit upon. The colonel never said to me " You can't
taunt a lady in any way without insulting her hus-
band." I should have applied for a summons upon
an eat Her day, the last Monday, but I was not well.
I should have been satisfied with an apology.
In answer to Mr. Lewis,
The Marquis said—l never refused to let the lady
have a chair, but I would not give up the jkey when
applied for.

- Mr. Sleigh, on behcilf of his client, observed that
the marquis's conduct towards the lady was any-
thing bat correct and proper. The age of com-
plainant protected him, and had he been a younger
man the colonel would not, perhaps, have done less
than resent upon the spot the insult which he con-
sidered had been offered to his wife in refusing her
a chair. The colonel never atthmpted to lay hands
upon the marquis, and ho thought that, under all
the circumstances, his lordship would have exercised
a sound discretion if he had not brought the case
before the court.

Mr. Lewis said that certain fixtures which were
to have been taken were not paid for by the colonel,
and that, in point of fact, the marquis was quitejus-
tified in withholding possession till everything was
properly arranged.
Mr. Sleigh called two witnesses, John Morton, in
the employ of Mr. Sanders, the house agent, and
James Wood, the latter quartermaster-sergeant in
defendant's regiment—the name of the regiment
did not transpire—but their evidence was of no
more importance than that the marquis refused to
give up the key till the matter was completely
settled. The key was given up by the marquis on
the afternoon of the day when the language com-
plained of was used. Mr. Sanders sent a chair for
the lady as sha could not get one from the room.
After some further proceedings,
Mr. Broughton said he regretted that the case had
been brought to the court, and thought that if the
colonel had expressed his regret at using the words
he did, he might have done so without at all com-
promising himself as a gentleman and an officer,
and if he would now tender an apology, he (the
marquis) would perhaps accept it.
Mr. Sleigh—Acting under my advice, sir, the
colonel will not do anything of the sort.
Mr. Broughton, considering that language calcu-
lated to provoke a breach of the peace had been used
by the colonel, then convicted him in the penalty of
405., or a week in the House of Correction.
The fine was directly paid, and Mr. Sleigh ex-
pressed his intention of obtaining the judgment of
the Court of Queen's Bench as to the legality of the
magistrate's decision.

LAMBETH.-ROBBERY OF WATCHES AT TIIE
CRYSTAL PALACE.—Thomas Mahoney, Alfred Irwin,
and John Day, alias Driscoll, three determined-
looking thieves, were placed at the bar before Mr.
Elliott, charged on suspicion with stealing three
watches, and committing other robberies at the
Crystal Palace, on the day before.
From the testimony of Inspector Heele, of the
Crystal Palace Railway Station, Richards, a detec-
tive officer of the Brighton Railway, and other wit-
nesses, it appeared that on the evening before a
gentleman complained to the first-named witness of
having been robbed of a valuable gold watch on the
railway platform, and search having been made
after suspicious characters, the inspector saw Day
and Irwin in conversation. They soon separated,
and the inspector keeping his eye on Day saw him
get into a third class carriage. In the interim the
attention of Mr. Richards was called to Irwin and
Mahoney, and having been informed that several
robberies had been committed, he took them out of
a first class carriage, and also removed their com-
panion Day from the third class. At the station-
house they acknowledged they had gone to the
Palace "to do something, but they had not been
able." On the arrival of the train in which they
were about to proceed at the London-bridge Sta-
tion, the searcher found a greatcoat belonging to
Day in the carriage from which he had been re-
moved, in the pockets of which he discovered three
watches, one a double-bottomed silver watch,
engine-turned, by E. J. Dent; another, a silver
lever hunting watch, engine-turned (second-hands
off), makers, Braithwaite and Jones, Cockspur-
street ; and the third, an old-fashioned silver watch,
winds up in front, Soulmer, London, all of which
had been wrenched from the rings. The prisoner
Day, when asked at the station for the greatcoat
which he had worn just before, said he had sent it
to town to its owner, and though Inspector Heele
swore positively that the coat produced was the
one worn by the prisoner when he first saw him,
Day- as positively denied it. The magistrate directed
the prisoner to put on the garment, and the manner
in which he did so was exceedingly laughable. He
endeavoured to puff himself out to give the appear-
ance of a mis-flt, but it would not do, and an officer
belonging to the F or Covent-garden division de-
posed that for the last two years he had been in the
constant habit of seeing him in the disputed coat,
and further, that his name was Driscoll, not Day,
and that he was a member of the most desperate
gang of thieves in the metropolis, called " the Field-
lane gang."
The officers requested a remand, and Mr. Richards
informed the magistrate that one of the watches
found corresponded in every respect with one of
which information had been left at the London
bridge Station by the gentleman from whom i
had been stolen.

Mr. Elliott remanded the prisoners for a week.
The n ixt prisoner placed at the bar was a well-
dressed man with a profusion of dark whiskers and
moustaches, who gave the name of Alfred Martin,
and who has been in custody for the last week on
a. charge of stealing a valuable gold watch from
the person of Mr. Edward Findley, of the Man-
chester Arms, Manchester-square, on Wednesday
wcek, at the Crystal Palace Station. Mr. Findley,
it appeared, when about to enter a first.class car-
iage, was called to by a person ...ho no doubt was
a confederate of the prisoner, and requested not to
press against a lady, and on turning round, the
moment was seized by the prisoner to wrench his
watch from an Albert chain. Mr. Findley at once
missed his propeety, and, seizing the prisoner, by
the throat, ehargee him with taking his watch.
The prisoner coolly replied " I have ; here it is
say nothing about it, and give you £20." Mr.; Findley handed him over to the care of an officer.
Inspector Anscomb said that since the former ex-
amination he had been to Brighton and made in-
quiries at the address given by the prisoner, but
nothing whatever was known of him there, nor
cou'd he learn anything of him in the town.
The prisoner said he should plead guilty if
his
worship would deal summarily with his case ;
but
Mr. Elliott observed that the offence was of too

serious a character to be dealt with by him, and
fully committed him for trial.

SOUTHWARK.—FASHIONABLE PICKPOCKETS.
—W. Brown, a well-dressed good-looking young
man, and Mary Ann May, a lady-like-looking young
woman, were brought before Mr. Burcham, charged
with being concerned with another man in steal-
ing a purse containing Bs. from the person of Ca-
therine Jordan.

The prosecutrix said that she resided in Nelson-
square/ Blackfriars-road, and on the previous after-
noon she came by the South-Eastern Railway from
Croydon, and on passing the end of the incline an
elderly man and the female prisoner stopped her,
and asked her the way to the Surrey Gardens. She
told them as well as she could, and then the female
said something about an omnibus. She came very
close to her, wich excited her suspicion, especially
as they left her rather abruptly. Witness put her
hand to her pocket, and missed her purse, contain-
ing Bs., which was safe there a minute or two be-
fore. She instantly ran after them, and seized hold
of the female, when the male prisoner came up and
attempted to force her away. In the scuffle the old
man made his escape, but a constable came up and
captured the prisoners.

Police-constable 97 M said he saw the prosecu-
trix struggling with the female prisoner, and the
man trying to pull her away. Mrs. Jordan told
him that she had been robbed of her purse and Bs.,
consequently he took them into custody. The female
was searched, and in her possession was found a
pair of scissors used by pickpockets and three empty
purses. One of them was cut across.

Mr. Burcham asked him whether he knew any.
thing of them.

Witness replied that he had seen them with an
elderly man a short time before walking up the
incline. He had then some suspicion as to their
avocation. Ha believed if they were remanded he
should be able to apprehend the other man and get
further evidence against them.
The male prisoner said he had only come up to
London, and knew nothing of the other parties.
Mr. Burcham remanded them until Saturday.

WORSHIP-STREET.—George Levi, described
as. a,eigarmaker, was charged on remand before
Mr. Corrie with being concerned in stealing, on the
23d ult., a silver watch and guard from the person
of Mr. John Wilman, a German, carrying on busi-
ness as a watchmaker in Southwark.

Prosecutor, while passing through Montague-
street, Spitalfields, at midday, at the date men-
tioned, was beset by three men, two of whom held
him, while the third, whom he believed to be the
prisoner, forcibly possessed himself of his watch
and chain. Witness contrived to deal the actual
thief a blow with his umbrella, which knocked off
the fellow's cap, and he ran away without it. An
officer coming up soon afterwards, took a descrip-
tion of the rogues and possession of the cap. On the
following Wednesday, prisoner was apprehended
in Whitchapel, but denied all knowledge of the
robbery. Mr. Wilman, however, identified him
among others at the station-house.
Mr. Corrie—ls the prisoner known ?
Deeble—Your worship, he was convicted at the
Old Bailey sessions for a robbery on the 3d of May,
1858, and sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment.
Prisoner—lt is a mistake, I assure you; I never
was convicted.

Fully committed to the Middlesex sessions.

THAMES.—SHAMEFUL ROBBERY AND OUT-
RAGE.—Mary Ann Brown and Emily Jones were
brought before Mr. Yardley, charged with assault-
ing and robbing Peter Olsen, a foreign sailor, re-
cently paid off from the British merchant ship Lucy
Ann, now lying in the St. Katharine's Dock.
The prosecutor, who had been severely maltreated
by the prisoners and other infamous women in a
house into which he had been decoyed, said that he
fell in with the prisoner Jones on the previous day,
she asked him to treat her, and he did so. A
number of girls in Ratcliff-highway, hearing he
was a " homeward bounder," gathered about him,
and made him treat them too. They also tried
to get at his money. After spending a good deal of
money in this way he accompanied Jones to a
house of ill fame, and gave her 4s. and a shilling
for some beer. After being with her for some time
he foolishly counted his money in her presence.
It consisted of ten sovereigns in gold and 4s. or
ss. in silver, which he returned to his purse, and
deposited it between the bed and the mattrass in
the room. The candle was then blown out by the
prisoner. He demanded the key of the room door,
but on being assured by Jones that no one could
enter he remained passive for half an hour, and
then Brown entered the room and asked for some
matches, and went down. stairs again. Directly
afterwards he missed all his clothes, and made a
noise about them. After the pockets were tho-
roughly ransacked, and his watch, tobacco-box,
papers, and other things removed, his clothes were
thrown into the room again. Money was demanded
of him and he refused to part with any, and his
clothes were taken away again. He recovered his
money which he had placed between the bed and
mattrass, and secreted it under the singlet he was
wearing. The prisoners said they would deliver
his clothes to him on the payment of 2s. He re-
fused to part with any more money, and the pri-
soners and two other females, who used most
horrid oaths and imprecations, made a furious at-
tack upon him, and beat him unmercifully. Brown
also put a handkerchief over his face and nearly
suffocated him, while another woman cut his
singlet, and Jones took from it the purse contain-
ing the money, which fell out of it. In the struggle
ne of the furies bit the sailor's hand severely. The
prisoners and their confederates then made their
escape, leaving their victim helpless and exhausted
in the room. On recovering himself he hastened to
the station-house in King David-lane, Shadwell,
and made known his loss. The prisoners were
shortly afterwards apprehended by Henry Marsh, a
police-constable 469 K, and they at once denied
all knowledge of the matter. Marsh afterwards
searched the room in which the affray took place,
and found there two sovereigns which had dropped
in the struggle.
The prisoners said they were innocent and knew
nothing of the prosecutor or his money.
Mr. Yardley—You are both committed for trial.
The prisoners—We would rather have it settled
here, sir, Settle it at once, sir.
Mr. Yardley—If you say you are innocent, I
cannot adjudicate upon the case.
The prisoners said they were innocent of taking
the purse and money.
Mr. Yardley—You are committed for trial at
the sessions, and a jury will decide upon your
guilt or innocence.

WESTMINSTER. CHARGE OF ILLEGALLY
AND FORCIBLY ENTERING PREMISES.— Martin
Lyons, a barber, with Wm. Traill and Patrick
Welch, were brought up on remand before Mr.
Paynter, charged with riot and assault, and with
attempting to effect a forcible entrance into the
premises of Mr. Daniel Kemp, grocer, 18, New-
street, Brompton.
Mr. Smyth was engaged for the prosecution.
It appeared from the evidence that the house in
which the complainant lives has a double shop, and
that in one of them the complainant carried on his
business. In the other, the prisoner Lyons carried
on the business of a barber. He got into arrears
for rent, and being unable to pay, he requested that
he might be forgiven what he owed, and that he
might be allowed to leave. The defendant shut up
his shop, and took other lodgings, where he removed
his goods. On Sept. 23, complainant employed a
broker, who found the prisoner Lyons in his shop,
and who refused to leave unless £lO was given to
him, which was refused by Mr. Kemp. The broker,
with assistance, tried to put Lyons out, when he
said he -would give up possession quietly. This
was about five o'clock. About half-past eleven
o'clock Lyons, accompanied by the other prisoners,
went to the house of complainant, armed with crow-
bars and sledge hammers, when they attempted to
force an entrance into the shop which was occupied
by the prisoner Lyons. Two policemen (Herring
and Osborne) of the B division, who had intimation
of the intended attack, were there, and remarked to
the prisoners that they were very wrong in the
course they were pursuing, and that they were
doing an unlawful act. They, however, notwith-
standing this caution persisted, upon which the
constablesinterfered. Herring seized hold of
Welch, who threw him, and while he was on the
ground kicked him, and also endeavoured to bite
his face. As there was a large crowd assembled,
by some of whom the prisoners were encouraged,
Herring was -.forced to use his truncheon. The pri-
soners were eventually overpowered, and taken to
the station-house.
The depositions of the witnesses having been read
Mr. Smyth submitted that the case was complete
against the prisoners, and that the offence was of
that character that they ought to be sent to the
sessions for trial.

Mr. Paynter made a few remarks to a similar
effect, and observed that he should commit them on
a charge of riot and assault.
Lyons, in answer to the question what he had to
say to the charge, observed that his defence would
be that he did not go out of his shop with his own
consent, but that he was forced out.

Sergeant of Police B 14, said that the constables
on duty near complainant's house had information
that an attack was about to be made on it.

The prisoners were then committed, the magis-
trate consenting to receive bail for their appearance
at the sessions. _ _ _

Bail was obtained by Lyons and Trail, but not
by Welch.

MYSTERIOUS DEATH AT strANSEA.

Considerable excitement was caused among the
inhabitants of the New-road, Swansea, on Monday
night and yesterday morning, by a report that a
man bad been murdered on the ;beach. The cir-
cumstances, however, do not justify the belief that
there has been foul play. The deceased is a young
man 27 years of age, named Barnard, who has been
for several years collector in the employ of the
Liverpool Steam-Packet Company. He resided,
with his wife, to whom he had been married for
six years, at No. 6, Albert-place, on the New-road.
On Monday, he was engaged in collecting at the
Landore Copper-works, and returned home shortly
after six o'clock in the evening, being then quite
well. About 10 o'clock he left the house to go
home to Langdon-place, close by, with a lady who
had been visiting his wife. A very short time
afterwards he was discovered lying on the sands
between the Star and Garter public-house: and
Sloane-street, in a dying condition. A woman
named Jones, living in Wellington-street, was the
first who ca:led others to the spot. She drew the
attention of several workmen who were near, to
him, and when the men came they found him lying
on the ground groaning, and perfectly helpless,his
dress being in a very disordered state. They pro-
ceeded, accompanied by the woman, to carry him
into the New-road and down towards the centre of
the town. When they arrived at the corner of
Albert-place, a neighbour recognised the hat and
stick, earried by the woman, as those of Barnard;
and directly'afterwards his wife, who was standing
at her own door, came up and exclaimed, after look-
ing at the body, that it was her husband, adding,
"he is murdered, he has lost:his watch." It was sub-
sequently found that the watch was in the house,
and money and other articles were found in his
pockets, so that if he had been robbed it can only
have been of a gold ring he wore and which is mis-
sing. He was at once taken into his own houtie, and
surgeous were sent for. He moaned after being in the
house, and opened his eyes and looked at his wife, but
did not speak, and in a few minutes all signs of life
disappeared. Mr. Shepherd, surgeon,arrived about 20
minutes after the deceased had breathed his host, and
was followed by Mr. Hall, surgeon, and Dr. Williams.
The medical men could do nothing, life being quite
extinct. It appears that the deceased had accom-
panied home to Langdon-place the person with
whom he went out, and he must then have imme-
diately gone to the place where he was found.
There is no mark of violence of any kind on the
body, though there is extensive discoloration at the
back, and all down the back of the legs. A post-
mortem examination of the body was made yester-
day afternoon by Mr_ Shepherd, Dr. Williams, and
Mr. Hall, and the result is such as to make it pro-
bable that death was caused by effusion of blood
upon the brain ; there being at the back of the
head, at the base of the skull, an effusion of blood
quite enough to account for death. Mr. Shepherd
has, however, taken home the contents of the
stomach with a view of testing for leading poisons,
and the result of his examination will be given at
the inquest to-day, but there appears little doubt
that the man died from natural causes. Barnard
leaves no family. He was a very sober and steady
man.—Swansea Herald.