The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-10 00:00:00

HAY

SMITHFIELD.—Meadow hay, £4 4s to £5 lOs ; clover,
£5 5s to £6 los 0(1 ; and straw, £1 16s to £2 2s per load.
A moderato inquiry.

CUMBERLAND.—Meadow hay, £4 10s to £5 15s ; clover,
£5 5s to £6 15s Od ) • and straw,. I£l 18s to £2 os per load.
_
Trade firm.

WIIITECHAPEL—Meadow hay, £4 4s to £5 lOs; clover,
£5 lOs to £7 Os Od; and straw, £1 IGs to £2 2s per load.
Demand inactive.

Liverpool Cotton Market. —lbis Day,

Market opens rather quiet. Sales probably
8,000 or 10,000 bales.

Jefferson Davis and Secretary Stanton,

The Washington correspondent of the Times has
Le following regarding the supposed plot to • rescue
Jefferson Davis from his confinement :—" Jefferson
Davis, who for some time past has rested so quietly
in Fortess Monroe as to have been quite overlooked
by all but the restless Congress men who are anxious
for notoriety by moving treason resolutions,' has
again suddenly loomed up before the public gaze.
A plot has been discovered—so says Secretary
Stanton, whose familiarity with plots should entitle
him to judge—a plot has been discovered, and, of
course, frustrated, the object of which was to rescue
Mr. Davis from Fortress Monroe. Officers high in
command at the fortress have been dismissed for
supposed complicity, and there has been a sudden
weeding out of the workmen in the fortress and the
people of the adjacent little village of Hampton.
Hundreds, on very short notice, have been banished
from the neighbourhood of the fortress to gain a
livelihood elsewhere as they can. Vessels have been
forbidden to anchor in certain parts of the harbour,
and, as is customary on such occasions, vessels
made inside the fortress arc strictly forbidden.
Although a great hubbub has been raised, the
general impression is that there has been no plot at
all, but the excitement has been created by the
wish of an odious War Minister, whose power is
fast departing, to keep his name before the people as
a zealous public servant, The newspapers have
availed themselves of it to urge Mr. Davis's trial,
fof then all danger of plots would be over. No one
is more anxious for the trial to begin than Jefferson
Davis himself ; his counsel are constantly urging
it upon the Administration, but they do not see fit
to order any trial, and Mr. Davis bids fair to re-
main in the fortress until death rescues him. The
gentlemen selected for counsel by the distinguished
prisoner—Mr. O'Conor, of New York, whose re-
putation as a lawyer is world-wide, and Mr. Reed,
of Philadelphia, well known in England as the
American Minister to China in 1858—proud of the
honour conferred upon them, will make a good
fight for their client ; but our strange Adminis-
tration, which no longer seems to govern by any
rule, prefers to debar the prisoner of the trial in a
civil court which he demands as his constitutional
right."

COM3ION LAW FEE STAMPS.—Under the Act 28
Vic., cap. 45, which came into operation on the Ist ult., the
fees payable in the superior courts of common law are re-
ceived in stamps, and we understand that for the fees pay-
able at the assizes, adhesive stamps can be obtained at the
offices of the distributors of stamps for the respective towns
in which the assizes are held. In order to prevent incon-
venience, it is desirable that the solicitors having causes
for trial should, on attending at the courts, have in their
possession a small quantity of each description of the ad-
hesive stamps that may be required.
THE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT COMMISSION.—From
the report and evidence published it appears that
the following were the members of the commission who
were of opinion, "that capital punishment might safely,
and with advantage to the community, be at once abo-
lished :"—Dr. Lushington, Mr. Bright, Mr. C. Neate, and
Mr. W. E wart. The Right Hon. Mr. Justice O'Hagan ap-
pended the following as his opinion :—" I am of opinion,
with much deference for the great authority of those who
think otherwise, that the weight of evidence and reason is
in favour of the abolition of capital punishment. I should,
therefore, sign the declaration prepared by Mr. Ewart, but
that I doubt whether public opinion in this country is yet
ripe for the acceptance of such a change ; and if it should
bo accomplished, without the sufficient sanction of that
opinion, I fear the reaction which might follow on the per-
petration of some great crime. I think, also, that the sub-
stitution of a minor penalty would render essential serious
modifications in the discipline and machinery of our pri-
sons ; and such modifications, whilst I believe them to be
possible, may bo difficult, and remain to bo devised. On
these grounds, having regard to the practical scope of your
Majesty'a commission, I cannot join in simply advising im-
mediate abolition ; but so far qualifying my adhesion to
the terms of the declaration, I am prepared to adopt the
principle which it embodies. (Signed) Tnos. O'HAGAN."
The following append a declaration that they are not pre-
pared to agree to the resolution respecting private execu-
tions :—Dr. Lushington, Mr. W. Ewart, Mr. C. Neate, the
Lord Advocate, and Mr. Bright. A summary of the evi-
dence occupies 40 pages of the blue-book.

TILE BAGDAD FILIBUSTERS.—The New York
Herald says there has been some excitement
created by the recent news from Mexico that
a few hundred Americans crossed the Rio Grande,
stormed the imperial city of Bagdad, captured
a party of imperial troops, and actually sum-
moned a couple of Napoleon's gunboats to surren-
der. All this might have been expected. There are
plenty of roving fellows to be found, especially
among the discharged officers and soldiers of the
rebel army, to undertake raids of this kind, for
which, of course, the United States Government is
not responsible. Although the 'Monroe doctrine
was literally represented in the persons of the parties
who participated in this freak, not one of them had

any political idea upon the question. They regard

the French and Austrians in Mexico as filibusters,
and they thought they might as well do a little fili-
bustering too ; so they made a dash at Bagdad,
scared the soldiers of Maximilian, and carried off a

goodly share of booty. They had probably read
the statement of M. Drouyn de Lhuys to Mr. Bige-
low that if the United States wanted to settle any
difficulty in Mexico they must make application to
Mexico and not to France, and they were just act-
ing on this diplomatic suggestion.

The Murder at Brighton.

Yesterday John William Leigh was taken before the
magistrates at the Town-hall, Brighton, for further exami-
nation, on the charge of having on the night of Thursday,
the Ist inst., shot Harriet Harton, his sister-in-law. The
unfortunate lady, who was 45 years of age, was the land-
lady of the Jolly Fisherman Inn, which is situate in Market
street, Brighton. On the above-named night she was seated
in her bar talking to two gentlemen who were standing
outside the bar door; there were also three other gentlemen
sitting in the bar parlour, when the accused man entered
the house. Directly Mrs. Harton saw him she jumped up,
and ran into the parlour, as though she feared he was going
to injure her. But she had hardly got half across the room
when the prisoner pointeda Colt's revolver and deliberately
fired at her. The ball passed through the deceased, and
grazed the temple of a gentleman seated in the room. He,
however, ran to the assistance of the poor woman, who leant
upon his shoulder for support. A moment afterwards the
prisoner went within two feet of her, and deliberately fired
at her a second time. Mrs. Harton then exclaimed, "He's
killed me, he's killed me," and then staggered half-way down
some steps outside the room, when she fell, and lay groan-
ing till the arrival of medical assistance. The man accused of
this crime is 28 years of ago ; about 5 feet Ginches in height,
strongly built, with small round features. He wears a
slight light moustache, and his hair cut closely to the head.
He went to live at Brighton about three years ago, and at
that time went by the name of " Captain Leigh," having,
according to his own statement, been in command of a
vessel of his own. Previous to this, however, he served
in her Majesty's navy during the war in China, but sub-
sequently deserted and became one of the crew of the Ala-
bama. He is a man 9f superior education. His dress, either
a velvet monkey jacket or a sealskin coat, gave him the ap-
pearance of a showy man ; indeed, it is said that when he
first went to Brighton, he led a very fast life, but his re-
sources failed him, and then he took the Odd Fellows'
Arms, in Queen's-road. But, not succeeding in this busi-
ness, he sold the last of his property, consisting of £7OO in
the Three per Cent. Consols, and went about a year ago to
Brentford (Middlesex), and there treated for another public
house, but the magistrates, upon hearing his character, de-
clined to transfer the licence of that house to him. This,
it is said, so exasperated him that he declared ho would
destroy the house, and, so far as breaking the windows,
tearing down the gas-fittings, and breaking up the stairs
went, he carried out his threat. He was, it is said, after-
wards sentenced to three months' imprisonment. for the
damage he did. Two months ago his wife, the sister of
the deceased woman, went to live at Brighton, and refused
the prisoner's frequent importunities to reside with him.
This it would appear took him to Brighton recently, as he
wrote to his wife requesting her to meet him atthe Bedford
Tap on Tuesday night, the 30th ult. She, however, did not
comply with his request. But it was subsequently ascer-
tained that the prisoner had been there, and that he had
in his possession three pistols. His wife's not meeting him
seems to have increased his anger, and on the Thursday
morning he made ono or two unsuccessful attempts to get
into the house of which his sister-in-law was landlady,
but succeeded in doing so on the night when he committed
the crime with which he is charged.
The demeanour of the prisoner after being placed in the
dock was that of such extreme indifference to the position
in which he stood that murmurs rather of sympathy than
of condemnation fell from the lips of many persons who
crowded the court.

The depositions taken last week were read over and
signed-by the different witnesses, after which it was inti-
mated that there was no-further evidence to be adduced.
The prisoner, after being cautioned in the usual way,
said he had nothing to say beyond that "all the witnesses
had spoken the truth except Mr. Payne." lie was then for-
mally committed to take his trial for the wilful murder of
Harriet Harton. A second charge of " shooting at Super-
intendent Bamden, with intent to do him grievous bodily
harm," was then formally preferred against the prisoner,
upon which he was also sent to take his trial. He was then
removed from the dock.

The presiding magistrate afterwards highly eulogised
the courageous conduct of Superintendent Barnden, who
had, he said, by bravely risking his own life in securing
the prisoner, doubtless saved the lives of several other
persons.

The American House of Congress.
The Washington correspondence of the London
Times gives a curious description of the etiquette of
the United States House of Representatives. In
the great hall there are always restless gentlemen
wandering up and down with their hands in their
pockets, immediately in front of the Speaker—for
there is no restriction upon them in this respect--or
they stroll to each other's chairs, plant their feet on
the desks (these are generally Western members),
and make free use of the spittoon which is placed by
the side of every seat. The galleries meanwhile are
crowded with strangers, who do not fear to applaud
when anything is said which takes their fancy. It
is true that the Speaker instantly calls " Order" and
Idrops his hammer, but the applause is renewed when •
ever another hit is made. Lately, for instance, Mr.
Rogers, one of the New Jersey members, was mak-
ing a somewhat noisy and excited speech, when he
happened to allude to Mexico, and called upon the
South as well as the North to " drive the Imperial
despot out of Montezuma's halls." The people in the
galleries at once clapped their hands as if they had
been in a theatre. The result of this licence is that
more than one member habitually speaks to the gal-
leries rather than to the House. Of late two-thirds
of the strangers present have been negroes or dis-
charged soldiers, now without occupation in Wash-
ington, and therefore able to indulge in legislative
studies. The general aspect of the House is always
one of disorder. When the Speaker has left the
chair it bears some resemblance to a large bar-room,
minus the " drinks." Members light cigars and
seat themselves at their desks for a comfortable talk.
They have " got through" with their speeches, and
now prepare for a " splendid time." Such is their
way of describing this happy period of the day.
Perhaps in the evening the hall is occupied by a
teetotal meeting or an assembly of Primitive Metho-
dists, who make the galleries reverberate with their
thunders against the desperate wickedness of the
human race, especially on the other side the At-
lantic. ti