The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-23 00:00:00

THIS DAY'S SHIPPING.

LownoN, Aug. 23.—Wind this day at noon, North-
Westerly ; light, with fine summer weather.
SHIELDS, Aug. 22.—Wind S.W.—Sailed—Merrimac,
for Rio Janeiro.
FALMOUTH, Aug. 22.—Wind S.E.—Arrived—Wash-
ington, from Porsgrund.
PORTSMOUTH, Aug. 22.—Wind W. to S.S.W.—Off
port—Spady, from London for Bombay.
SUNDERLAND, Aug. 21.—Wind N.W—Arrived—Wash-
ington, from Quebec.
CLYDE, Aug. 22.—Wind W.—Anived—Mariner,
from Trinidad ; Lignan, from Grenada. Sailed—Cheviot'
for Otago, New Zealand.
_ _

GLOUCESTER, Aug. 22.—Wind S.W.—Sailed--
Freedsburg, for Quebec. _

STARCRVSS, Aug. 21.—Wind S.W.—Sailed—Galatea,
for Quebec.

DUNDEE, Aug. 22.—Wind W.—Arrived—Balour, and
James Bales, from Quebec ; Traveller, from Dalhousie for
Perth.

PLYMOUTH, Aug. 22.—Wind S.W.—Arrived—Ma-
thilda, from Havanna. Sailed—Margaret Ann, for
Quebec.

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)
SOUTHAMPTON, Tuesday Morning.
Wind calm.
Arrived.—Ellida, from Christiana; Marie, from Memel ;
Triton, from Quebec ; Courier, from Jersey ; Le Coq, and
La Pottle, from Cherbourg.
Sailed.—Maria Theresa, for the Baltic ; Havre steamer,
for Havre; L'Etoile, for Carenton; Despatch, and Ata-
lanta, steamers, for Jersey ; Jessie, Danube, and Hero, for
Newport.

LIVERPOOL, Tuesday Morning.

Wind E.S.E.

Sailed, Aug. 22.—Norwood, for Melbourne ; St. Law-
rence, Quebec; Reform, for Labrador; Norval, for
Halifax ; Maloran and Saline, for Antwerp ; Guerrieaix,
for Havanna ; Remidge, for Rotterdam ; Sagittaite, for
Marseilles ; Hero, for Seville; Naiad, for Gibraltar; Amelia,
for Bordeaux; M. Metcalf, for Bucks Port; City of Perth,
for Elsinore; Florida, for Savannah; Agenoria, for Ant-
werp.

Sailed, Aug. 23.—Felix, for St. Thomas.
Arrived, Aug. 23.—City of Edinburgh, from Calcutta ;
Locomotive, from Archangel.

(BY SUBMARINE AND BRITISH TELEGRAPH.)
GRAVESEND, Tuesday Morning.
Wind W. ; tide, 1} hours' ebb ; weather fine.
Arrived, Aug. 22.—Wild Rose, from Quebec.
Arrived, Aug. 23.—Countess Cawdor and Helena, from
Riga ; Silvas, from Brussels; Mail, from Cronstadt ; James
F. Patten, from New Orleans.
Sailed, August 22.—Agamemnon, for Calcutta.
DEAL, Tuesday Morning.
Passed.—General Snicker, from llavanna, for London;
Politena, from London, for Bordeaux.
Sailed.—ll.M.S. Scylla, for westward.
Report of ship Ellwood Walter, from Bombay, May 25,
lat. 28 21 S., long 39 56 E., signalled American barque
Roger Stewart, bound westward ; June 1, lat 32 25 S.,
long. 30 11 E., signalled British ship Covenanters, from
Bombay, for Liverpool ; July 11, let. 35 22 S., long. 20 58
E., signalled American ship Mataban, from Calcutta, for
London; Juno 13, lat. 34 53 S., long. 1930 E., spoke British
barque Esmeralda, from Colombo for London ; same day,
lat. and long., signalled British barque Sunderland, bound
westward ; June 14, lat. 35 7 S., long. 14 34 E., signalled
British ship Black Douglas, from the Kooria Mooria
Islands; same day, lat. and long., spoke British ship Sea
Queen, from Bombay for London, out 75 days ; June 22, in
lat. 28 39 S., long. 11 22 E., signalled French barque
Malabar, from Calcutta, for Bordeaux ; June 27, in lat. 58
S., long. 10 40, signalled British barque Elizabeth Martin,
signalled French barque Prince, from
from Singapore, for the westward; July 5, in lat. 10 N.
,
long.
f3ogrrlMVe Bor-
deaux,cc a .

THE CONDEMNED CONVICT, ELLEN

RUTTER.

The case of the wretched woman, Elled Rutter,
who recently murdered her husband at Dursley, is
now occupying considerable public attention, and
many and various are the reports in circulation
concerning her. That there should be a difference
of opinion about the enormity of her offence, or
about the prospects of her reprieve, we do not won-
der ; but that the state of her feelings, and her con-
duct within the prison walls should be so variously
represented, is at once a matter of surprise and re-
gret. We happen to know that those officials of
the county gaol who are brought immediately into
contact with the prisoner decline most peremptorily*
to give any minute information concerning her at
all, but they deny the prevalent and current report
that she shows any violence of disposition, or dar-
ing and stubborn impenitence. We cannot but ad-
mire the reserve displayed by the prison officers,
nor can we hide our conviction that it is their duty
to behave as they do ; but notwithstanding the ab-
surd reports from without, and the very proper re-
serve within the gaol, we have been enabled from
other quarters to obtain some truthful particulars
concerning the prisoner and her prospects.
Ellen Rutter is said to be a natural child. From
her infancy she has laboured under disadvantages.
She never knew the fond affection of loving parents
—schooling, indeed, she has had, fora grand-
mother's care provided that ; but while her head
has been attended to, her heart has been untouched.
She never felt the blessed effects of a home edu-
cation. What wonder then, that at about fourteen
years of age she fell a victim to a foul seducer. Webelieve it to have been so. Her history is Well
known in Dursley, and nobody denies the facts
which we record. For some time it is said that
Rutter lived with the author of her misery, and
afterwards became a resident, for at out a year and
a half, at the Gloucester Penitentiary. It was upon
her leaving this institution that she fell in with
her late husband. She cohabited with him for a
long time before marriage, and ultimately becanl,
his wife, because it seemed to be the lightest al;
that she, in her unhappy circumstances, could
choose. Her husband—a profligate before mar-
riage—became a confirmed drunkard afterwards,
and Ellen Rutter was continually subject to
violence and ill-usage of the most cruel description-
That this, together with her miserable antecedents
—her most unfavourable bringing up—should
gradually rob her of all delicate feeling, all senses
of virtue, all ordinary affection, who can wonder ?
We do not, for a moment, enter into the question
—Ought she to be hanged, or ought she not? We
simply give an outline of her history, hoping that
a lesson may be gleaned not only by poor wretched
beings tempted, as she was, to desperation, but by
mean, selfish seducers, who are not confined to one
class, and low, drunken husbands, who are gene-
rally to be found among the ranks and in the pew
tion of the departed.
It is stated that various petitions are being
.drawn up in favour of the prisoner, some praying
for her respite on the grounds recommended by the
jury ; some because of the want of evidence at the
trial, and the possibility of her statement being
correct, of her husband having provoked her t°
the murder, and having violently struck her
first before it took place. With regard to
the first plea, w e are strongly of opinion
that Government will not notice it for a •
moment. Concerning the second ground of
appeal, we cannot help thinking that there
is something in it. The prisoner and her husband
quarrelled every night before; they were always
quarrelling when he was drunk, and he was con-
tinually striking her. Why should this one night,
when he was more irritated than usual, be made an
exception ? Why, because other good people bad
gone to bed and could not see the quarrel, should.
Ellen Rutter, contrary to all probabilities, be con-
victed of murder, instead of what we sincerely be:
lieve to have been aggravated manslaughter ?
Those who know anything of the various effects of
drunkenness, know well that a man may be despe-
rate at one moment, and yet asleep a very few Inc"
rnents after, and they should remember that the
prisoner herself had been drinking—she had bad
about four glassea of beer and had no dinner, and,
under such circumstances, was likely to lose all
nice discrimination, and to act (if, as we suppose
her, in a violent passion) very much as she did act.
There was no premeditation, there was great vro
vocation—ought the verdict to have been wilfn
murder, or simply manslaughter ?
With regard to the conduct of the prisoner since
her conviction, we have only to say that it evi-
dently has not been violent, desperate, or in all
way offensive, for that negative assertion has been
made by parties whom we can trust ; and on the
contrary we hear that those persons who are get-
ting up a Dursley petition, have actually seen her,
and report that she is most meek and quiet, valuing
the instruction given to her, and expressing her-
self as deeply penitent for the offence which she
has committed.
A petition praying that her sentence may, be
commuted to imprisonment for life is now lying
for signature at the Working-Man's
Gloucester Journal.