The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-28 00:00:00

TEE SERPENTINE.

On Tuesday last a deputation waited upon the
Right Hon. H. Fitzroy, at the office of Works,
Whitehall, on the subject of the continued unwhole-
some and dangerous condition of the Serpentine in
Hyde-park. The deputation consisted of Mr. James
Heywood (late M.P. for Nth Lancashire), Dr.
James Copland, Dr. Spurginr Dr. Tilt, Dr. Petti-
grew, and Mr. John Lilwall (hon. sec. to the com-
mittee promoting the proposed improvements,
Mr. HEYWOOD introduced the deputation, and
called on Mr. Lilwall to explain its objects.
The HoN. SECRETARY said the committee repre-
sented by the gentlemen present was appointed at
a large public meeting of householders and others,
held so far back as June 1848, presided over by
Lord Harrowby, and which had been called in con-
quence of the filthy and dangerous state of the Ser-
pentine. Resolutions were passed on that occasion
authorising the committee to adopt such measures
from time to time as were calculated to secure the
carrying out of the necessary improvements. Two
other public meetings had also been held on the
subject. A very numerous and respectably signed
petition of the inhabitants of Knightsbridge,
Brompton, Sloane-street, Kensington, &c. had been
presented to the House of Commons in favour of the
measure, and the committee had, moreover, from
time to time within the last 11 years, sent six de-
putations up to the Office of Works upon the sub-
ject, and, inasmuch as the several chief commis-
sioners had one and all admitted the existence of
the evils complained.of, the committee had good rea-
son to believe that but for the constant change of
Governments which had taken place the necessary
improvements would have been effected some years
since. One thing to be done was to shut out the filth
that occasionally flowed into the lake from Bays-
water sewer, the deep holes required to be filled up,
and the bed of the river to be reduced to a graduated
depth of from two, to at the utmost six feet; and
lastly, it was necessary that there should be a suffi-
ciently increased supply of water to bring the cascade
at the eastern end into constant play. He suggested
that the plan which had been adopted for improving
the lake in St. James's-park was of a most simple
kind, and as it had answered its purposes so admirably
he thought the same method might be adopted forput-
ting the Serpentine into order. Moreover, an abun-
dant supply of water could be pumped up to the
Serpentine from St. James's-park by forming more
adits to bring water to the present shaft there.
Mr. FITZROY believed that was an error. _

Mr. LILWALL wished to be considered as making
the statement with great deference, but he spoke on
the authority of a man eminent in his profession as
an engineer, and who had given considerable atten-
tion to the subject. it was well known that the
source of the supply was the Thames, and as the
water had to filter through some half-mile of sand it
was found to be in an excellent state when pumped

up.
Dr. COPLAND observed that, in a medical point of
view, the water was not only unfit for the purposes
of bathing, but was also detrimental to those who
frequented the shores of the lake.
Dr. PETTIGREW thought that something ought
to be done, if only for the sake of the many thou-
sands of the poor who flocked to the Serpentine for
the purposes of bathing. It was really the only na-
tional bath to which there was access free of charge.
He believed the number of suicides in the Serpen-
tine wculd be decreased were the depth of the water
roduced.

Dr. TILT remarked upon the impurities of the
lake, when Mr. Fitzroy produced a bottle contain-
ing a sample of the water taken from the Serpen-
tine that looked tolerably clear.
Mr. LILWALL said that nothing could be more
delusive than the appearance of the Serpentine
water. One day it looked sufficiently clear, and the
next it would become discoloured and offensive.
But even though it always appeared clear to the eye,
it must be obvious that a sheet of water that was
stagnant, in which persons suffering from loathsome
diseases and running sores often bathed, was quite
unfit for persons of cleanly habits to bathe in. But
further than this, the sacrifice of life occasioned by
the deep holes and large deposits of slimy mud was
in itself a serious evil, and it should be borne in
mind that the actual deaths which occur on the spot
form but a small proportion of the number of per-
sons whose constitutions get injured by being so
long under water, and who never thoroughly recover
from the shock which their system thus sustains.
Mr. FITZROY—I am afraid I cannot promise you
the levelling of the bottom, or go further than to say
that something shall be done to purify the water.
Mr. HEYWOOD—Something should be done to
prevent the drainage from Kensal-green Cemetery
from flowing into it.
Mr. FITZROY—My original idea was to carry out
the plan mentioned by Mr. Lilwall, but I fear it is
too great an undertaking. In two or three years
the Metropolitan Board of Works will meet one of
the evils through their main drainage system.
Mr. LILWALL hoped that as both sides of the
House of Commons were in a measure committed to
the proposed improvements, the Chief Commissioner
would find less difficulty than he anticipated in ob-
taining the necessary grant, more especially as so
many thousands of persons of all classes, from the
poorest to the highest, were directly interested in
the question, and especially as large sums of public
money were often expended upon other matters of
comparatively small importance.
Dr. TILT referred to a tabular statement, showing
the large sacrifice of life that had occurred in this
water within the last 10 years. He thought it
highly important that the holes, now in some parts
(reckoning mud and water) as much as 24 feet deep,
ought to be filled up.
Mr. FITZROY—There would be great difficulty in
doing that, unless the water were drained off.
Dr. PETTIGREW, as a medical man, gave it as his
belief that the noxious vapours which are occasion-
ally thrown off from this water tend to produce dis-
ease. He had been told that one of the medical
officers of the Life Guards was in a position to fur-
nish very strong evidence of the evils arising from
the use of Serpentine water at the barracks.
Mr. HEYWOOD said the son of a gentleman of his
acquaintance, who was in the habit of walking by
the Serpentine, fell ill, which the doctor said was
caused by the malaria arising from its waters, and,
on his being sent into the country, he rapidly re-
covered.
Mr. LILWALL, referring to the same point, stated
that the family of the intelligent superintendent of
the Royal Humane Society had suffered greatly
from ill health, which was believed to be caused by
the noxious smells connected with the Serpentine.
Dr. COPLAND stated that the offensive and un-
wholesome exhalations of the Serpentine arose
partly from the water and partly from the decom-
position of animal matter in the mud.
After some further conversation,
The Right Hon. Gentleman repeated that, agree-
ing with a great deal that had been said, he could
not
promise to carry out all the suggestions which
had been offered. He would, however, do what lie
mitigate the evils complained of.
The deputation then thanked the right hon. gen-
tleman for the courtesy he had shown them, and
withdrew.

THE MURDER. AND SVICIDE IN ST. LUKE'S.—An
inquest was held yesterday by Mr. Humphries, the coroner
for East Middlesex, on the bodies of the unfortunate per-
sons, and the result was a verdict that Sarah Ship eom-
mitted self-destruction while in a state of temporary in-
sanity, and murdered her child while in that state."

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.-STAFFORD, July 27.

(Before Mr. Justice Willes.)
Frederick Fereday, 23, was charged with stab-
bing and wounding James Bullock on the 24th of
April, 1859, at Upper Penn, with intent to murder
him, and also with intent to do him some grievous
bodily harm.
Mr. P. M'Mahon appeared for the prosecution ;
Mr. R. Kettle and Mr. Young defended the prisoner.
This was an extraordinary case, not merely from
the severity of the wound inflicted on the prose-
cutor, but from the fact which it disclosed, that the
prosecutor, who was a policeman at Wolverhampton
had trained and used a bull-mastiff for the purpose
of knocking down and catching thieves and others
whom he desired to arrest. According to the state-
ment of the prosecutor, James Bullock, he saw the
prisoner, who appeared to be a respectable young,
man, in company with a young woman, at a pub-
lichouse in the neighbourhood of Wolverhampton
called the Rose and Crown. They came out of the
publichouse, and as it was past 12 o'clock at night
the policeman told them to go home, and walked
away. The policeman in a few minutes came back
on his beat and saw the prisoner and the young
woman still in the road, and said to them, " Fred,
it is time for you to be at Sedgeley, and for you, my
lady, to be at Wolverhampton. The policeman
then turned round, and the prisoner without more
ado stabbed him In the small of the back, near the
spine, and inflicted a wound nearly three inches in
depth, which penetrated the kidneys. The police-
sian then endeavoured to take the prisoner into
custody, and a struggle ensued, in the course of
which the prisoner got away towards the house of
a man named Raybould, which was by the road-
side. The policeman had with him a powerful bull-
mastiff dog, which he said was muzzled, and which
had been trained to catch thieves and others, not
by biting them, but by running between their legs
and knocking them down, and so detaining them
till his master came and secured them. When the
prisoner got away the policeman set his dog upon
him, and the animal, true to his instinct, ran after
the prisoner and got him on the ground, and while
there worried him and took up his leg in his mouth
and shook it. This was clearly proved by Raybould
and his wife, who were roused from their beds by
the disturbance, and saw the occurrence from their
window. The policeman again went up to the pri-
soner, and another struggle ensued, in the course of
which the prisoner slabbed the policeman near the
region of the heart, but, fortunately, the knife
struck the bone and did no injury. Raybould
then came to the policeman's assistance, and the
prisoner was secured. There was no doubt that the
prisoner had stabbed the policeman with a knife,
which was found next morning near the scene of
the encounter, and that the wound inflicted in the
policeman's loins was a very dangerous one ; the
main question whether it was inflicted, as the po-
liceman stated, without adequate provocation, or
whether, as the prisoner suggested, it was not in-
flicted while the prisoner was lying on the ground,
and was being attacked by the policeman and his
dog. The policeman said his dog was muzzled,
and he produced the animal in court ; but the as-
pect of the brute, though he was still muzzled, ex-
cited anything but sympathy in his favour.
Mr. R. Kettle contended that the prisoner had
acted entirely on the defensive, and he called the
young woman who had been with him, and she
stated that the policeman had knocked the prisoner
down several times before the blow in question was
struck. According to her evidence the conduct of
the policeman had been exceedingly aggravating
and improper, which she attributed to her rejection
of overtures which he had made to herself. Mrs.
Raybould said that when she saw the dog in her
house, when the prisoner was taken into custody,
the dog was without a muzzle, and it was proved
by one of the warders of Stafford Gaol, that a few
days after the prisoner was received into custody
he complained of pains in his leg from the bite of a
dog, for which the surgeon ordered a poultice.
Mr. Hughes, the surgoon to the gaol, said he did
not recollect ordering a poultice, but he had no
doubt that the prisoner had the scars of a dog's
bite on his leg, and corresponding holes in the
leather of his boot.
Mr. Justice Willes, in summing up the evidence,
condemned in strong terms the grossly illegal prac-
tice of using a dog as had been done in this case.
In no country where there was a spark of humanity
or independence could such a practice be tolerated.
It could in no way be justified, and it could only be
excused in the policeman upon the ground that he
knew no better, and that his conduct had
not come under the notice of his superiors.
There had been cases where bloodhounds
had been set upon a track of blood, but
to make use of a dog to arrest a man did not
admit of palliation. A man had discretion, and the
law had a hold upon him • but a brute had no dis-
cretion, and the law could have no hold upon him.
His lordship then left it to the jury to say, upon
the evidence, whether the prisoner had stabbed the
policeman, and, if so, whether it had been done with
intent to do him grievous bodily harm, or under
such circumstances of provocation as did away with
the felony, and reduced the act to an unlawful
wounding.
The jury found the prisoner guilty of wounding
with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Mr. Justice Willes said the verdict of the jury
involved a finding that the prisoner had been guilty
of a great moral aggravation of his crime, by
endeavouring to sustain his defence by perjured
evidence. The offence was a most serious one, and
it was necessary to make an example of the pri-
soner, as a warning to others, and for the protec-
tion of the lives and limbs of her Majesty's subjects.
The sentence was that ,the prisoner be kept in
penal servitude for six years.
Samuel Egerton surrendered to take his trial
upon a charge that he, being the bailee of 16s. 2d.,
the moneys of Anna Beard, feloniously converted
the same to his own use. He was also charged with
embezzling the same money, and there were counts
which laid the money as the property of John Beard.
Mr. M'Mahon appeared for the prosecution ; Mr.
G. Browne defended the prisoner.
Mr. M'Mahon, in opening the case, stated that
the prisoner was a County Court debt collector at
Wolverhampton, and in November last was engaged
by the prosecutrix, who was in a small way of busi-
ness there, to recover some debts for her, upon the
terms of her paying him a certain commission on
all he collected. He proceeded against several of the
debtors in the County Court, and received in all
upwards of £B, but refused to pay her any part of
it, on the pretence that she was a married woman,
and that the money belonged to her husband. The
prosecutrix had since obtained a protection order
against her husband under the Divorce Act, and, in
order to guard against the defence that the money
belonged to him, there were counts in the indict-
ment which laid the money as the property of the
husband.

Mr. Justice Willes, upon the opening, said he
thought the first count could not be supported, as
no specific money had been received by the prisoner
to be handed over in specie to his employer ; nor
did he think the prisoner was the clerk or servant
of the prosecutrix, who could be convicted of em-
bezzlement.

His Lordship consulted Mr. Justice Bylos, and,
as that learned judge concurred in opinion with
hhaa upon both points, he directed an acquittal.
CRIMINAL COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Byles)
Isaac Birch Arden, 38, was charged with com-
mitting an unnatural offence on the 10th of April,
1859, at Burton-upon-Trent.
_ _ _

Mr. Scotland appeared for the prosecution ; Mr.
Motteram defended the prisoner.
The prisoner was a respectable-looking man, and
had been schoolmaster in the workhouse at Burton,
where the offence was committed. He had pre-
viously been in the army in India. The case
against him was clearly proved, and showed a
frightful degree of depravity, which ought to place
the guardians of such establishments on their guard.
The jury found him guilty.
Mr. Justice Byles said he never knew such a
charge to be proved by such invincible evidence.
His Lordship ordered sentence of death to be
recorded.

William Shelroke, 46, a pauper in the Wolver-
hampton Workhouse, was charged with a similar
offence.

The jury found him guilty only of the attempt.
There was a second charge against the prisoner,
which was not gone into.
This case, like the last, showed a shocking degree
of corruption prevailing among the boys in the
workhouse. _ _

George Vaughan surrendered to take his trial
upon a charge of administering to Mary Gregory a
certain destructive and noxious drug called cantha-
rides, with intent to murder, also with intent to do
grievous bodily harm, otl the 6th of April, 1859, at
Willenhall.

Mr. Prichard appeared for the prosecution ; Mr.
G. Browne defended the prisoner.
It appeared the prosecutrix was a married wo-
man, but of loose character, living separate from
her husband. On the evening of the 6th of April
the prisoner went to her house, and produced a
small bottle containing some rum, and asked her to
drink some out of the bottle. The prosecutrix
would not drink from the bottle, but'got a glass and
drank some of the rum. She then took portions of
a second glass and said it was veryhot, and drank
some ginger beer which she had in the house and
kept for the pui pose of sale. The prisoner threw
the remainder of the rum in the glass into the ashes.
An improper intimacy then took place between the
prosecutrix and the prisoner, and in the course of
the night the woman was taken ill with a burning

pain in the throat and stomach, &c. A doctor was '
sent for, and from the symptoms he at once formed
an opinion that she had taken cantharides. This
opinion was confirmed by an examination of the
wineglass, in which he found severals grains of that
drug. The prisoner also appeared to have taken
some ; at least he also complained to the doctor of
pains in his stomach, and sent for some castor oil.
The prosecutrix soon recovered, but 'she made no
charge against the prisoner, until she was called
upon by the police. The surgeon said that three
grains of the drug was a full dose, when it was used
medicinally, as a stimulant and irritant, and he
added that the drug in question was sometimes used
for its aphrodisiac qualities to excite the passions.
At the close of the case,
Mr. G. Browne submitted that there was no evi-
dence that the prisoner had any felonious intent.
Mr. Justice Byles said he did not think there was
any evidence of the intent to murder ; and there
was but little evidence of the intent to do grievous
bodily harm, seeing that the prisoner had taken
some of the mixture himself, and so made himself
ill. His lordship said he would not withdraw the
case from the jury, but he asked them whether they
wished to hear the prisoner's counsel.
The jury said they were satisfied that there was
no case against the prisoner, and found him not
guilty.
Mr. Justice Byles said he hoped what had oc-
curred would be a warning to the prisoner, and
ordered him to be discharged.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—DURHAM, July 25.
CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr, Baron Watson.)

Georgo Benning, 18, was indicted for feloniously
shooting at Margaret Hodgson with intent to mur-
der her, at Southwick, on the 21st of February
last.

Mr. Davison prosecuted, and Mr. Seymour de-
fended the prisoner.

It appeared that the prosecutrix (an exceedingly
prepossessin., and good-looking girl) had been
courted for about ten months by the prisoner, when
they had a quarrel, and she told him she would have
no more to do with him. The prisoner got exceed-
ingly excited, and protested that no other man
should keep company with her. He went that day
to a photograplust and got his likeness taken, and
while doing so he had a pistol, in his hand, and was
asked what he carried that for by the photo-
graphist. He replied, " for his amusement. He
went next morning to see the prosecutrix, and
asked her to look at his portrait. She sat down in
a chair in a room to do so, and the prisoner left the
room for a momant, as suggested, to load and pre-
pare his pistol. On his return the prosecutrix
rose, but be told her to stop awhile, and pushed her
down again on the seat. She sat with her head down
looking at the portrait, when she suddenly heard a
loud report and felt stunned by a blow on the
head. She rose up and ran out of the room,
and the prisoner absconded. The prosecutrix
was found bleeding from a gun-shot wound on the
head, and a surgeon was sent for, who then ab-
stracted four large shots from the scalp, and subse-
quently 21 shots. Some of these were flattened by
the skull, and the skull itself was ploughed and
furrowed by the shot as it had glanced off. A few
days afterwards the prisoner was taken into cus-
tody, and a pistol was found at the house where he
had taken refuge. On being taken into custody
Le told the police "he wished he had shot her
dead, and he could die happy," and when asked
where the pistol was he said it was in hell. While
giving her evidence the prosecutrix fainted on
seeing the prisoner. Her forehead was much
scarred by the shot. She appeared unwilling to
press the case against the prisoner, and admitted
that she had since the occurrence called at his
father's and wished to see him. She could not re-
collect whether she had said it was her own fault
that the pistol went off. The prisoner was subject
to fits, and she had seen him in one.

The prosecutrix was obliged to be carried out
after her cross-examination, and the prisoner then
fell into strong convulsions in the dock. _
_ _

It was urged for him that he was labouring
under a fit of jealousy ; that he `had no intention to
injure the prosecutrix or he would have loaded the
pistol with a bullet; and that the fits to which he
was subject had injured his mind so as scarcely to
leave him a responsible agent.

His Lordship having slimmed up the evidence,
The jury found him guilty of shooting with
intent to murder. Sentence deferred.

JULY 26.

CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron Watson.)
John Shafto Wilthew, aged 55, was indicted for
the wilful murder of his wife, Susannah Wilthew,
at Jarrow, on the 19th of this July.
The Hon. A. Liddell and Mr. Robinson Fowler
appeared for the prosecution ; Mr. Price was as-
signed by his Lordship to defend the prisoner.
The prisoner appeared at the dock a thin, hag-
gard-looking man, with dark eyes ; he was care-
lessly dressed, and a piece of plaster was round his
throat, lie having attempted, immediately after the
commission of his offence, to commit suicide by
cutting his throat. He kept his head hanging
clown throughout the trial.
It appeared from the opening speech of the
learned counsel for the prosecution, and from the
evidence of the witnesses called, that the prisoner
was gatekeeper at Messrs. Palmer's iron ship-build-
yard at Jarrow. He lived in a small house in
a row of houses called Druid's-buildings, near there,
with his wife, eldest daughter, aged about 18, and
two sons, boys, and a brother of his wife lodged
with them in their house. His wife was 51 years
of age, and had borne him 11 children. She was a
careful, good wife, and attended to his home. There
were but two rooms in the house, a kitchen and
lodging-room. The prisoner's brother-in-law slept
on a sofa-bed in the kitchen at night, and the pri-
soner, his wife, and his two boys slept in one bed
in the lodging-room, and his eldest daughter in
another bed. On the afternoon of-the 18th of July
the prisoner and his hrother.in.law, a man named
Charlton, left their work at six o'clock and pro-
ceeded home. The prisoner was perfectly sober.
They got supper and sat up talking about the war
till about 11 o'clock at night, when Charlton went
to bed, leaving the prisoner and his wife up. They
had had no words and no quarrel. The prisoner's
daughter Elizabeth, who had been on an excursion
on a steamboat to Bayldon, came in about 11 o'clock
and then went to bed. Next morning at four o'clock
Charlton was awoke by his sister, the prisoner's
wife, coming into his room and to his bedside in ,
her nightdress, with her hair hanging down her
back, and holding her throat with her nightdress
against it in one hand, while she shook him
and made signs to him with the other. Blocd at
that time was pouring from her throat and running
down on to the floor. A few minutes after he saw

the prisoner come across from his room and go into
the yard. He said to the prisoner, " What is this
you have been doing ?" The prisoner muttered
something, but he could not tell what he said. The
witness shouted out to his niece, " Your father has
cut your mother's throat." The deceased then went
into the yard and into the privy, holding her che-
mise up to her throat, which was bleeding very
much, and returned shortly after into the house.
An alarm having been given, two neighbours, a
Mrs. Hart and a Mrs. M'Kie, came to the house
and found the deceased sitting on the hearthstone
with her throat bleeding very much. A doctor
was sent for and attempted to sew up a cut on her
throat, but she died a quarter of an hour after-
wards, about five o'clock, from the effects of the
wound in her throat, and from loss of blood. There
was a gash in her throat five inches long, and cut
down to within an eighth of an inch of the verte-
brae. The windpipe was severed, and the jugular
vein divided. When the neighbours first saw her,
the deceased cried out, " Oh! what have I done to
deserve this ?" Shortly after her death the pri-
soner was found lying on his face in a pool of his
wife's blood, nearly insensible, and with a superfi•
cial gash in his own thrbat, which had been in-
flicted by a razor found beside him. He had lost a
good deal of blood, and was almost pulseless, but
rallied soon after. The razor with which the
wound on the deceased had been inflicted belonged
to Charlton, and was seen in the prisoner's hand
afterwards, and by him was placed, covered with
blood, on a chest of drawers. It appeared, on
cross-examination, that the prisoner was fond of
an argument, that he was very obstinate in his own
opinions, conceiving himself to be always right.
He was in the habit of retiring to his own room
alone, and scribbling down his thoughts on paper.
He had on various occasions ill-used his wife, but
it was when he had had drink, or wanted to get
money from her for drink. He had struck his wife
with a poker on one occasion, and had knocked
her down, and had been heard to threaten to cut
her throat shortly before this occurrence. He had
become jealous of his wife, and abused her about
some other man, without the slightest cause. A
paper was found in a translation of Herodotus in
his bedroom, which he was reading, and in which
he said he had put down his reasons for his rash
act. This was the envelope of a letter, closely
written all over, in which he stated that an Irish-
man lodged in the story below him, who played on
a tin whistle, and who, to his great surprise, he had
seen from the trellis-work of his window on terms
of familiarity with his wife. He had also that
night found three bricks at his door piled together,
and a ginger-beer bottle in his window-sill. Be-
lieving the bricks to be a " Sickle's sign" to this
Irishman, he had separated them and placed them
on each side the door, and his wife had replaced
them again as they were before. This had con-
vinced him that he was right. He sat up to see
his wife to bed, but she began baking bread in the
oven till half-past one o'clock in the morning, but 1

he kept an eye on her, and this satisfied him that
his suspicions were correct. To one of the neigh-
bours he said that from two to four o'clock in the
morning he had examined it, and worked it in his
mind, and found her guilty, and had puzzled
about it, when he felt himself justified, and with
one gash he had cut her throat while she was
asleep. He at another time said to the police he
was quite cool about it, and intended afterwards to
kill himself. Some of the facts were proved by
the prisoner's daughter, who was awoke by her
uncle calling out. The poor girl fainted as soon as
she had given her evidence.

Mr. Price then addressed the jury for the de-
fence. He admitted that there were no facts in the
case to reduce the crime from one of murder ; but
he relied on the facts proved as establishing that
the prisoner at the time was not a responsible being,
and did not know the quality of the act he did. A de-
lusion about his wife possessed his mind which had
no foundation whatever in fact, and every trifle had
been twisted by him into a confirmation of his
jealousy. Without previous quarrel, without mo-
tive other than was suggested by a mind labouring
under a delusion, he had suddenly taken away the
life of his wife, who had borne him 11 children, as
she was sleeping unconscious by his side, and,
flinging hiniself clown in a pool of her blood, had
attempted to commit suicide. Had he succeeded in
the latter crime, would not a coroner's jury on this
evidence have found that he had committed the act
while labouring under a temporary fit of insanity ?
After a very able speech the learned counsel left
it to the jury to say whether, on this evidence, they
could not reasonably acquit the prisoner of the
crime imputed to him, on the ground that he was
not a responsible agent at the time.

His Lordship, in summing up, directed the jury
that there was no evidence to support the defence
urged on behalf of the prisoner, that he did not at
the time know the quality of the act that he was
committing. His lordship then read through and
commented on the evidence.

The jury retired, and, after an absence of half an
hour, returned with a verdict of guilty.
His Lordship having put on the black cap, in an
impressive manner proceeded to pass the awful sen-
tence of the law on the prisoner. He had murdered
his wife, whom he had sworn to cherish. His lord-
ship implored him to make the best use of the time
still left for him on earth in preparing himself for
his fate. He then passed on him the formal sen-
tence of the law, that he be hung.
The prisoner looked unmoved, made a bow to his
lordship, and walked firmly from the dock.
His Lordship then ordered sentence of death to
be recorded against the prisoner George Benning,
found guilty yesterday of shooting at Margaret
Hodgson, with intent to murder her.

HOME CIRCUIT.—MAIDSTONE, JULY 27.
CROWN SIDE.
(Before Mr. Justice Blackburn.)
Jonas Mitchell, 20, a private soldier, pleaded
guilty to two indictments charging him with the
offence of arson.

Mr. Justice Blackburn, in passing sentence upon
the prisoner, said, that he had pleaded guilty to
two charges of wilfully setting fire to farm pro-
perty, and there could be no doubt from the evi-
dence, as it appeared on the depositions, that he
had committed both the offences imputed to him.
It appeared that, without any motive of revenge
against the owner of the property—indeed, without
even knowing who he was, he had deliberately set
fire to some stacks of corn and caused considerable
mischief, and all this without the slightest prospect
of benefit or advantage. He was quite at a loss to
account for such conduct, but, without regard to
the peculiar circumstances of the case, the offence
of ars )n was one of such a dreadful character tbat
for the protection of the public it was necessary
that a severe sentence should be passed upon every
person who was convicted of it, and he therefore
felt it to be his duty to order him to be kept in
penal servitude for the space of ten years.
James Woodger, 21, another private soldier,
pleaded guilty to a similar charge.
The learned judge said, that in this case the only
object the prisoner appeared to have had in view in
the commission of the offence was to escape from
contiuuing in the position of a soldier. He would
find that he had made a great mistake, and for
years to come he would bitterly repent the act he
had committed. He then sentenced the prisoner
to ten years' penal servitude.

George Webb, a young labouring man, surren-
dered to take his trial for misdemeanour, in having
wilfully driven a waggon and horses upon the line
of the South-Western Railway, and thereby en-
dangered the safety of the passengers travelling
upon the line.

Mr. Deedes conducted the prosecution ; Mr. Bar-
row appeared for the defendant.
This was a prosecution instituted by the South-
Eastern Railway Company under the following
circumstances. It appeared that the defendant was
in the service of a person named Nicholls, who oc-
cupies a farm called the Folly Farm, near Canter-
bury, which is intersected by the railway, over
which he had to cross with his teams on the level,
gates being placed on each side. On the evening
of the 22d of June the defendant had the charge of
a waggon with two horses, in company with a
younger lad, and soon after seven o'clock he was
about to cross the line, when a train from Rams-
gate came up, and notwithstanding the whistle was
sounded he continued his course, and although
every effort was made to arrest the progress of the
train a collision was barely avoided, the train pass-
ing quite close to the back of the waggon, and if
it had struck it a serious accident might have been
the result. The driver, fireman, and guard of the
train were examined, and they proved that the
whistle was sounded when the train was 300 yards
from the crossing, and that the defendant must
have heard it, but it was admitted in cross-exami-
nation that the horses were quite close to the first
gate, if not actually upon the line before they were
seen, or any alarm was given by the train, and the
boy who accompanied the defendant swore that
when he first saw anything of the train the horses
had partially crossed the line. It also transpired
that although there was a curve at this particular
spot, and that the line ran through a cutting, there
were no, signals at the gates to denote that any-
thing was crossing the line, and no person was em-
ployed by the company to take charge of the gates
in question.

Mr. Barrow was about to address the jury for
the defendant, whEn
Mr. Justice Blackburn interposed, and inquired
of the learned counsel for the prosecution which
portion of the evidence he relied upon to show that
the defendant had wilfully committed the act im-
puted to him ?

Mr. Deeds said, he should submit that if the jury
should be of opinion that the act had been com-
mitted designedly it would come within the
statute.

Mr. Justice Blackburn said, " designedly" and
"wilfully" did probably mean the same thing, but
where was the evidence in this case to show that
the defendant had acted either designedly or wil-
fully ? If it was made out that any one who bad to
cross a railway on the level, knowing that a train
was coming up, absolutely and wilfully persisted
in going on, thinking to make the train stop, that
would undoubtedly constitute the offence with
which the defendant was charged; and it was well
it should be known that it was so. But in the pre-
sent case the evidence was that the horses were
actually upon the line before the defendant was
aware the train was approaching.
Mr. Dcedes submitted that it was still a question
for the jury whether, when he became aware that
the train was coming, he might not have gone
back.

Mr. Justico Blackburn said, he did not think,
from the evidence, the defendant would have had
an opportuntty of going back, and in all probability
the safest thing he could have done was to get the
waggon and horses off the line as quickly as he
could.

Mr. Barrow said, that this would have been the
defence he should have made upon the instructions
he had received.
Ti e jury then, under his lordship's directions,
returned a verdict of not guilty.
The learned Judge cautioned the defendant to be
very careful when he drove across the line in future,
as a serious accident might be the consequence of
any neglect.

WESTERN CIRCUIT.—DORCHESTER JULY 27.
(Before Mr. Baron Bramwell.)
George Trowbridge, gamekeeper of Lord Port-
man, who was convicted yesterday of shooting at
Edward Matthews, with intent to do him grievous
bodily harm, was this morning brought up to re-
ceive sentence.

Mr. Baron Bramwell then addressed him,—Pri-
soner at the bar, the jury have convicted you of the
offence—

- priscn er—l am not guilty.
The Judge—The jury have found you are, and I
do not think they could properly have found any
other verdict, and no one who heard the c tidence
can doubt that you are guilty.
The Prisoner—l am not guilty.
The Judge—It is of no avail to say so when
the appointed authorities have found you are, and
I am bound to say that I am fully satisfied with
that verdict. The two men who were witnesses
against you were men of damaged character. They
had been convicted of poaching, and I repeat what
I said'yesterday, that I never knew a poacher to
be an honest or respectable man. One of them had
been convicted, from what appeared, improperly,
but we have only his own statement ; it might have
been a proper conviction ; but it would have
been desirable, unless there was the greatest neces.

sity for it, that the charge should not have been
brought while this complaint was pending, because
the supposition would naturally arise that the
charge was made to deter and intimidate him from
giving evidence in this case ; and it was an indis-
creet prosecution by your friends, unless there was
an absolute necessity for it. So thought the jury,
and I think correctly. If their character was bad
there was the more reason that they should meet
with protection. I have no love for poachers, but
there is no need to shoot them. The law has made
ample provision for their detection and punish-
ment, and it is most essential that those men should
know that, outrageous as they may be, the law will
protect them. It' it were not for that every en-
counter between gamekeepers and poachers would
be a bloody one, for they would turn and fight in-
stead of, as I recommend them, running away. It
is important that they should know that they will
receive protection. 1 think the crime was a very
mischievous and a very cruel one, that because you
were angry at what they probably had done, takin g
a few wretched rabbits, you should have been guilty
of the cruelty of discharging a gun against this
wretched man. I have deferred passing sentence
in order that I might not allow any improper feel-
ing to interfere with my duty, and have allowed
the night to pass; and I have also consulted my
learned brother, and we have come to the conclu-
sion that I ought to pass upon you a very severe
sentence, and that is, that you undergo penal ser-
vitude for four years.

WRECK OF THE KARS AND SILIST.RIA.

CONSTANTINOPLE, JULY 15.
About three years ago three large screw steamers
were built for the Turkish Government, in the
Clyde. These were the Kars, the Silistria, and
the Mal akhoff. For some time past these and other
Government steamers have been let to a company
for the conveyance of goods and passengers, but
with very questionable benefit to the finances of the
State, whatever may have been the result as regards
the managers of the company and the authorities
at the Admiralty. Intelligence has now been re-
ceived of the total loss of the Kars and Silistria,
the details published by the Constantinople jour-
nals respecting the latter being so revolting that
they cannot fail to create a sensation in Europe,
and to deter, for years to come, Europeans from
risking their lives or property on board Turkish
steamers. The incompetence and apathy of the
captain and crew, who were in the Turkish naval
service, and the brutality and savage character of the
Turkish passengers, chiefly pilgrims, call for some
serious interference, if proved, on the part of the
European powers. A country in which such things
can exist is unfit to be considered as forming part
of the comity of nations, and unless the Govern-
ment can and will put an end to such a state of
things the sooner it is transferred to a stronger
power, and the heritage of the sick man divided,
the better.
The Kars, it appears, left Alexandria on the 23d
of May, with more than 300 passengers, and has
not since been heard of. But between Damietta
and El Arish a boat has been found with a small
flag inscribed Kars, and several dead bodies,
so that a total loss is feared. It was, however,
stated a few days since that she had reached
Cyprus, but this needs confirmation.
The Silistria, on its outward voyage, had acquired
an unenviable notoriety, a young Russian passenger
having made his escape from her at Beyrout, through
the interference of the Russian consul, having been
subjected to most bestial violence on the part of the
captain and his crew.
The Silistria left Alexandria for Constantinople
on the 25th of June, with about 350 persons on
board. The next day, about noon, a loud crash was
heard among the timbers of the ship, and the engine
stopped. It ;was shortly set in motion again, by
whose orders is not known, and the crash was
again heard, the screw was broken, and the water
was entering the hold rapidly. The bad condition
of the machinery had been remarked on at Alex-
andria, and even, it is said, at Constantinople,
where the engineers formerly employed in the
Kars left her. For an hour nothing was done
towards stopping the leak, but at last a Russian
engineer on board made his way to the hole and
attempted to stop it with tarred hemp, which pro-
bably prevented the ship from sinking rapidly.
The captain embraced him when he came on deck,
and relapsed into his former state of bewildered
incompetence. The same engineer found the tap
of a bilge pump, but there was no hose, and it was
consequently useless—in fact with the exception of
a pump on deck, out of order, no means existed of
clearing the ship of water, and they had to take
off the after skylight and empty, or try to empty,
the cabins by buckets.
Not a soul of the crew or Turkish passengers
afforded the least assistance, and the pump was
manned and the buckets worked by the European
passengers and 28 Austrian sailors who were on
board. The crew refusing to work, there were too
few to keep the water under, and it soon began to
enter at the stern ports. An unsuccessful attempt
was made to stop the leak by passing a tarpaulin
under the keel, and the captain at last consented to
throw over part of his cargo and coals. The
danger became more and more evident, and then
the Turkish passengers, in a paroxysm of stupid
fanaticism apparently, rose on the Europeans and
threatened them with their pistols and daggers if
they attempted to speak to the captain.
The night of the 25th was employed in incessant
labour as regards the Europeans, «hile the Turkish
crew slept on the deck. On the morninc, of the
26th an Egyptian Government brig laden with
wood, commanded by Reis Ibrahim, hove in sight,
bound for Alexandria. The captain of the Silistria
sent on board offering him an indemnity if he
would abandon his cargo and take the passengers
of the steamer on board, and endeavour to tow her
in to Alexandria. The Egyptian would do nothing
except cast them a tow rope, having probably little
faith in the promises of the respectable Mustapha
Bey.
This individual did not even know where he was,
for there was no chronometer on board, not even a
sextant, and only one compass. He marched about
with a pistol in each hand, threatening all who
approached the boats, which he had lowered and
guarded by marines. About five in the evening
the women were at length allowed to go on board
the brig, and in the course of the night Said Pacha,
the Turkish Commissary at Djeddah, followed with
his suite, carefully removing all his effects, including
a water melon, but the three boats which conveyed
him did not return to the steamer. The captain of
the brig still refused to abandon his cargo, and
finally cut the tow rope, going off with the boats;
and leaving the Silistria to her fate.
Then came a horrible scene of pillage and vio-
lence, the Turks plundering the baggage of the
Europeans, in which they were joined by the crew,
and a regular saturnalia ensued. They then seized
the sole remaining boat, throwing into the sea the
Europeans who attempted to embark, and cutting
off the head of a young Austrian with an axe in the
melee. On the 27th the water had reached the
bulwarks, and the workers were exhausted. Hap-
pily the Egyptian brig re-appeared, the boats came
back, and a sauve qua peut commenced, but the
ferocious Turkish passengers opposed every attempt
on the part of the Europeans to save those who
were exhausted by the labour at the pumps. Shortly
after, the Silistria went down, with 77 persons on
board, the brig carrying into Alexandria 273 pas-
sengers and sailors, the Europeans being exposed
during the passage to the violence and brutality
of the Turks. A commission of inquiry has been
opened at Alexandria as to the causes which led to
this disaster, which will leave on the minds of all
to whom the details become known, an impres-
sion which the Turks will do well to endeavour
to remove by serious reforms. A commission is ap-
pointed here also, and on the arrival of the survivors
an inquiry will be held, the preceding account com-
ing from Egypt, and if through a Greek source, as
is probable, the Turks justly observe that it needs
some confirmation.
The electric cable is laid between Chio and
Smyrna, about thirty miles on the Smyrna side
being overland. A message was received yesterday
in about seventeen hours, and in about a month it
will be open to the public, and Smyrna, after in-
numerable delays, will be in communication with
all Europe.
The Sultan does not decide on his journey until
Saturday week, the astrologers being probably re-
sponsible for the delay.
The sovereign has risen to 164, having been as
low as 156 within the last three days.

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THE STRIKES IN THE BUILDING
TRADE.
The workmen in the employ of Messrs. Trollop)
and Sons having struck for the purpose of obtain;
lug the payment of ten hours' wages for nine hours
labour, a numerous meeting of master builders was
held yesterday at the Freemasons' Tavern, for the
purpose of taking the matter into consideration,
and adopting such measures as might be expedient
in reference thereto.

The meeting having been addressed by Messrs.
Wales, Piper, Morris, Lucas, and Carr, all of whom
enforced the necessity of using immediate and de-
cisive measures, and some going so far as to recom-
mend the closing of all the firms until the men con-
sented to sign a document to the effect that they
had no connexion with any trade society formed for
the purpose of interfering with or controlling the
regulations of any establishment, the hours or terms
of labour, or the agreements between employers or
employed.
Mr. TROLLOPE moved that the firms close on the
sth of August, and continue so until the workmen
yield.
Mr. ROBINSON seconded the motion.
Mr. DUNNAGE then moved, as an amendment,
That the workmen in the employ of Messrs. Trot:
lope and Sons having struck for the purpose of
obtaining the payment of ten hours for nine hours
work, and it appearing to the meeting that it is the
intention of the building trade to orer strikes of
the men to take place occasionally, it is resolved
that, in order to combat the movement which has
arisen, the metropolitan builders are compelled to
close their establishments on the 6th August ; but
taking into consideration the great number of men
who wholly discountenance the society, that a com-
mittee of 20 be appointed to consider the best means
of opening the doors to such men as may be willing
to come to work, independently of, and not subject
to, any society's interference."
Mr. PIPER seconded the motion.
Sir M. PETO, M.P., who had entered the room 0.
few minutes previously, said he would give the
amendment his most earnest and hearty supPort'
No one could be more desirous than he was to do
everything to encourage the intelligent and indus-
trious artisan, but he could not approve of the man
usurping the position of the master, or having
either of them deprived of their liberty of action
by a society which, in his opinion, was the worst
of all despotisins. (Cheers.) He hoped the master
builders, as well as the public, would give those
persons the most united and determined resistance;
(Hear, hear.) He and his partners had sacrifice'
from £15,000 to £16,000 in consequence of the
strike that took place among the workmen em-
ployed in the Houses of Parliament, and he never
regretted the sacrifice. (Cheers.) He hoped the
meeting would unite as one man and do their duty
to themselves, the non-society men, and the public.
(Cheers.) The object of the union was to reduce
labour to its minimum and prevent the master from
• having a fair day's work for a fair day's pay'
(Hear, hear.) If the societymen succeeded in theu,
present movement, the difference between ten hours
and nine hours' labour would cost the publ?
£300,000 a-year. The Government and the public
were sure to support the masters in resisting the
unreasonable demands of the men, and be hoped
therefore that by unity of action they would fills'
trate the efforts of a few designing men, who Pre-
ferred living by agitation to working with their
hands. (Cheers.)
Mr. TROLLOPS then obtained leave to withdrali
his motion, and the amendment was unanimously
agreed to.
A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the
proceedings.