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

THE SERPENTINE.

The decision at which the House of Commtms,
under the auspices of Mr. Fitzroy, has arrived with
regard to the purification of the Serpentine is most
unsatisfactory. On the whole, it may well be
doubted if it would not have been better to leave
things as they were, for so in time the very mag-
nitude of the evil would have worked its own cure.
The result of the present scheme, even if the most
sanguine anticipations of its promoters are rea-
lized, can he but a half cure, and in certain re-
spects must necessarily be wholly abortive. There
are two great evils resulting from the actual
condition of the Serpentine which we desired to
abate. First, there is the stench which issues un-
der the influence of the hot summer sun from this
reservoir of liquid filth. Secondly, the water is of
very unequal depth, in some parts being very shal-
low, in others very deep. Fatal and frequent acci-
dents to bathers and skaters are the natural conse-
quence, and the suggestion was that the bottom
should be levelled, leaving an even depth of water
of about five feet, more or less, throughout. Mr.
Fitzroy's scheme . does not even profess to touch
this second evil, and yet it is a very serious one.
Money is freely spent upon baths and washhouses,
and rightly.so ; but here is the great natural bath
of London in so dangerous a condition that it can-
not be used without imminent risk to the thousands
of young and inexpert bathers who seek refresh-
ment there in the evenings of the summer days.
The ground now covered by the filthy Serpentine
was, we believe, in former days a series of gravel
pits, and at present it presents to the drowning boy
nothing but a system of deep holes and mud traps.
When once his incautious foot passes from the
higher level, and he sinks down into one of these
pitfalls, with the first mouthful of the poisoned fluid
he swallows there is an end of him. Even expert
swimmers caught with the cramp perish in the
same way, for few can resist a good dose of Serpen-
tine water exhibited in August. Study it was a
point of the utmost importance to the health and
comfort of the town to obviate this evil ? The
thing, too, has been so well done in the Ornamental
Water of St. James's-park, although there the lives
of skaters only were considered,—and how many
days are there in the year in which skating, is a
possible amusement ?
So far we have only spoken of the secondary
point, but undoubtedly the greater evil is the
poisonous effluvium. The Serpentine will surely
contribute its quota to the victims whenever we
may suffer again under the visitation of an
epidemic disease. Of course, this little lake
cannot attempt to compete with the polluted
Thames in the grandeur of its results, but it can
do a good deal. It was notorious among medical
men acquainted with the neighbourhood that even
the hole at the top of the Green Park—now happily
filled up and turfed over—was a fruitful cause of ill-
ness and disease. The Serpentine is far worse. Not
only does it lie in the centre of a rich and populous
neighbourhood, but fashion and custom have decreed
that its banks shall be throughout the season the
daily resort of the Upper Ten Thousand as well as
of the hard-worked professional men who seek a
gulp of fresh air after the toils of the counting-
house and the law courts. Could the lake have
been thoroughly purified, it would have been one
of the greatest improvements—as far as the upper
classes are concerned—ot which the metropolis is
susceptible. Why should we not, for once in a way,
be permitted to say a word for them ? There is no
lack of sensibility or sympathy for the sufferings of
the poor. If a man is rich he need not be poisoned ;
and, besides, the bulk of those who frequent the
banks of the Serpentine are emphatically working
men—men who work with their brains-and their
nerves, and with an expenditure of vital energy
which would shrewdly astonish most of our build-
ing friends now out upon the " strike " if they en-
deavoured to make corresponding exertions. As
far as Mr. Fitzroy's plan is concerned, it is nothing
but a palliative, which can never reach the real
difficulties of the case. The water of the Serpentine
is to be pumped up by means of steam-engines
from one end to the other, and then passed through
filtering beds—this process to be in continuous ope-
ration. Thus by degrees, although very slowly,
all the water in the Serpentine, as it is hoped, will
be gradually purified. Mr. Fitzroy, however, seems
to have lost sight of the fact that the filthy basin
into which he is about to pour his purified water

will soil it much faster than he-can cleanse it.
We are not speaking of results which may be
attained in a thousand, or even in a hundred years
—for they are points of small concern to any man
now living, to his children, or his children's chil-
dren—but of those which will be appreciable in
our own time. We will not attempt to deter-
mine how often the Serpentine must be filled
and re-filled, filtered and re-filtered, before it is
pure. Taking the idea even at the value of its pro-
moters, it only represents an infinitely slow and
infinitely costly method of doing that which could
be done in a far speedier, far cheaper, and far more
effectual manner upon the simpler plan. Why deal
with the effect instead of the cause ? Why filter
the water a thousand times over, returning it to
the filthy basin at the end of each process, to be
again polluted, when the basin might be rinsed out
once for all ? Mr. Fitzroy has recourse to the filter-
ing-bed rather than to the atmosphere and to the
hand of man. Ile is in love with the fable of the
Danaides, for there is a certain similarity between
the process of emptying a lake by the help of sieves,
and that of cleansing the water of a lake by throw-
ing it back time after time upon the muck and filth
from which it had been originally drawn. Mr.
Fitzroy speaks of his own scheme as certain in its
effect, while the other—the usual one—is uncer-
tain. The balance of probability is entirely the
other way. In point of fact, the usual process is
certain in its results, though a greater original out-
' lay is incurred. We are very sure, however, that
the inhabitants of London, and more particularly
the inhabitants of the districts adjacent to the Ser-
pentine, would not refuse to bear a share in the
expenditure necessary to make what workmen call
a "good job" of the purificatien of the Serpentine
in place of this half and half scheme.—Times.

TILE TREATY BETTVEENBUSSIA AND

CHINA.

The following is the full text of the recent treaty,
concluded on June 1, 1858, at Tian-Tsin, between
Russia and China :

" Art. 1. By the present treaty are confirmed the
peace and friendship always existing between his
Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias and his
Majesty the Bogdykhan of Daissin and their re-
spective subjects.
" Art. 2. The anterior right of Russia to send
Ambassadors to Pekin whenever the Russian Go-
vernment may deem it necessary is confirmed anew.
The relations between the chief of the Russian em-
pire and that of the Chinese empire shall be con-
ducted, not by means of the Senate on one part,
and on the other of the Li•san-iouan, as was
done previously, but by that of the Russian
Minister of Foreign Affairs and of the head
of the Supreme Council of the empire, or
of the Prime Minister, on the footing of
perfect equality. Ordinary correspondence be-
tween the abovementioned personages shall be con-
ducted through the funtionaries of the frontiers.
When the necessity occurs of sending a despatch
on an affair of importance, a special functionary
shall be nominated to carry it into the epital, or to
enter into explanations on the subject of the des-
patch with the members of the Council of State or
the Prime Minister ; immediately on his arrival
this functionary shall present the despatch through
the intervention of the President of the Chamber
of the Ceremonies (Li-bou.) A perfect equality
shall be equally observed in the correspondence and
interviews of the Russian Envoys or Ministers
Plenipotentiary with the members of the Council
of State, with the Minister of the Court of Pekin,
and with the Governor-General of the frontier or
littoral provinces, and other functionaries of the
respective boundaries of the two empires. If
the Russian Government find it necessary
to nominate a Minister Plenipotentiary to re-
side in one of the open ports, that -Minister
must be regulated in his relations. verbal or
epistolary, with the local authorities and the Minis-
ters of the Court of Pekin by the general rules
actually established for all foreign nations. The
Russian envoys in repairing to Pekin may follow
the route of Itiakhta by the Ourga, or that of Daga
at the mouth of the river Pei-ho, or another road
from other Chinese towns ur ports open to foreigners.
Upon being previously advised, the Chinese Govern-
ment engages immediately to take measures to pro-
vide both for the rapidity and convenience of the
journey of the envoy and his suite, and for the
honourable reception to which he has a right in the
towns, as well as for all that concerns their lodging
and necessary materials of all kinds. The expenses
incurred by these various objects are charged to the
Russian and not to the Chinese Goverment.
" Art. 3. The commerce of Russia with China
may 1 eneaforth be carried on, not only by land on
the frontier localities previously specified, but also
by sea. Russian merchant ships may to this effect
enter the following ports—Shanghai, Ningpo, Foo-
Chow-Foo, Amop, Canton, Taiwan-Foo in the
island of Formosa, Kian-Chow in the island of
Khainan, and in the other localities open to foreign
commerce.

" Art. 4. On commerce by land there will exist
henceforth no restriction relative to the number of
persons who engage in it, or as to the quantity of
merchandise introduced, or to the capital employed.
In commerce by sea, and all details of its operation,
such as the presentation of the manifest, the pay-
ment of anchorage dues, and the established Cus-
toms' dues, &c., the Russian merchant ships must
conform to the general regulations in force with
regard to foreign commerce in China. In case of
contraband the Russians are liable to the-confisca-
tion of the goods landed.
"Art. 5. In each of the before-mentioned ports
the Russian Gove:nment has the right of nominat-
ing Consuls according to its desire. To maintain
order among the Russian subjects residing in the
open ports of China, as well as the authority of
the consuls, she can send to those ports ships of
war. The arranging of relations between consuls
and the local authorities, the granting of land for
the construction of churches, houses, and stores,
the purchase of land by Russians from Chinese by
common agreement, and of other analogous objects
concerning the competence of consuls, will be regu-
lated by general rules in force in the Chinese em-
pire with regard to foreigners.
"Art. 6. In the case of a ship of war or merchant
vessel being wrecked on the coasts of China, the
local authorities are bound to act immediately for
the safety of those ship IN reeked, the materials, cargo,
and the ship itself. They must also take every
measure to forward those shipwrecked, with their
property and the cargo, to the nearost port open to
commerce, or where there is a Russian Consul, or
agent of any nation friendly to Russia, or even to
the frontier, if that can be done conveniently. All
expenses thus incurred will be repaid according to
the measures employed, by the Russian Govern-
ment. In case of Russian ships of war or merchant
vessels being forced in course of navigation on the
Chinese coast for repairs, water, or fresh provisions,
they can for such objects enter into Chinese ports,
not open to commerce, but buy all they require at
from the local authorities.
prices voluntarily stipulated without hindrance
" Art. 7. The examination of matters in litiga-
tion between Russian and Chinese subjects in places
open to commerce can only be entered into by a
Chinese official after communication with the Rus-
sian Consul or with the representative of the Rus-
sian Government at the place. In the case of a
Russian being accused of any delinquency or crime
he shall be tried by the Russian laws; in the same
way a Chinese accused of delinquency, or attempt
on the life or property of Russians, shall be tried
by the laws of his own country. Russian subjects
who have penetrated into the interior of China, and
who have committed crimes or delinquencies, must
be conducted, to be tried and punished according
to Russian laws, to the frontier, or to the open
ports where a Russian Consul resides.
" Art. 8. The Chinese Government, acknowedg-
ing that Christian teaching aids the establishment
of peace and concord among men, engages not only
not to persecute its subjects for the exercise of the
duties of the Christian faith, but also to protect
them from those who profess other tolerated creeds
in the Celestial Empire. Acknowledging Christian
missionaries as good people, who seek not their own
interest, the Chinese Government permits them to
spread the Christian faith among its subjects, and
will not oppose their penetrating into the interior
of the empire in all open places. For this purpose
a certain number of missionaries will be provided
with certificates delivered by the Russian Consuls,
or the authorities of the frontier provinces.
"Art. t. The undefined part of the frontiers be-
tween China and Russia will, without delay, be
surveyed by Felegates of the two empires, and the
arrangement concluded between them relative to
the frontier line will form an additional article to
the present treaty. After the boundaries are de-
finedanne
annexed
exact o f
tc descriptionfrontier
future serve for both Governments as indisputa
ble
evidence in all that concerns the frontier.
will
localities, be m
ing to an ancient custom, during a period,defini.te.
aNdveh,icahndwimliapis;
can,
according member of the Russian religious mission t
io:
Art. 10. In place of residing at Pekin, accord-
according to the convenience of the supreme autlwr
rity, return to Russia by Kiakhta or any 1
leaving others can be appointed by the miss.ion.
route at any time, and in the place of the members
f
Pekin. All expenses for the keeping of this mis-
sion will henceforward be paid by the Russian Go-
vernment. and the Chinese Government is com-
pletely relieved from the expenses incurred hitherto
in this r,spc et. Expenses incurred on the journey
by members of the mission, by couriers, and other
persons sent by the Russian Government from
li!aklita, or from open ports of China to Pekin, and
vice versa, will be paid by Russia. • The Chinese

local authorities are bound on their side to assist by
all and every means in the rapid and convenient
transport of the above-mentioned persons to their
destination.

" Art. 11. For the regularity of relations between
the Russian and Chinese Governments, as well as for
the service of the religious mission at Pekin, a rapid
monthly postal communication is established be-
tween Kiakhta and Pekin. The Chinese courier
will leave Pekin and Kiakhta every month at a
fixed day, and ought in 15 days deliver his letters
and despatches. Besides, every three months there
will be a carriage post from Kiakhta and Pekin,
and vice versa, carrying passengers and goods,which
should accomplish the journey in one month. All
expenses for the quick post and the carriage post
will be divided equally between the Chinese and
Russian Governments.

" Art. 12. All rights and privileges, political, com-
mercial, and others, which may hereafter be con-
ceded by the Chinese Government to the most fa-
voured nations, will be equally acquired by Russia
without the necessity- on the part of the latter to
enter into treaty for that purpose. The remainder
of this, the last article, refers only to the exchange
of copies and time of ratification.
" Count EUTHME POUTIATINE.
" GYI-LIANE KHOUACHENE."

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT.-CROYDON, AUGUST 5.

(Before Mr. Justice Crowder and a Common Jury.)

FRAY V. FOSTER.

This was an action to recover damages from the
defendant, who is an attorney, for having negli-
gently conducted certain legal proceedings for the
plaintiff.

Mr. Robinson was counsel for the plaintiff; Ser-
geant Parry and Mr. Joyce were for the defendant.
This case arose out of some proceedings that have
been frequently before the public. The plaintiff,
Miss Rosanna Dupin Fray, is a very respectable
young woman, and she was formerly in the service
of Lord and Lady Zetland, as lady's maid ; but, in
the year 1854, in consequence of some disagreement
in the establishment, she was suddenly dismissed.
The plaintiff then brought an action against Mrs.
Potter, the housekeeper of Lord Zetland, for slander,
and a second action against Lord Zetland, and both
these actions stood for trial. The first only was
tried, and it resulted in the jury giving the plain-
tiff a verdict, with £lOO damages. The action
against Lord Zetland was postponed, and in the
meantime a rule was granted for a new trial in the
action against Mrs. Potter, and both these actions
again stood for trial. The solicitor for the plaintiff
in these proceedings was a gentleman named Voules,
and it appeared that he made a compromise, accord-
ing to the case for the plaintiff, entirely without her
consent, under which he received a sum of £3OO to
settle both actions. The plaintiff,it appeared, only
received £5O of this money, and she was required
to sign a paper which she thought was only a
receipt, but which turned out to be a promissory
note, and she was afterwards sued upon this note
by Mr. Voules, but he failed in his action,
and the note was ordered to be impounded
by Mr. Justice Erle. The plaintiff then, it
appeared, brought an action against Mr.
Voules for negligence, the present defendant, Mr.
Foster, acting as her attorney, and, according to
her testimony, he buoyed her up fcr a long time
with the idea that she was sure to succeed, and
that she would recover £5OO damages at least. As
the ti ial approached, however, she represented that
he changed his tone, and advised her to compro-
mise ; but she refused, and at length the case went
for trial, and the result was that she only obtained
a verdict upon one count in the declaration, and
became liable for all the costs, and the present
action was brought against Mr. Foster for alleged
negligence in the manner in which he had con-
ducted the action against Mr. Voules.
The plaintiff having deposed to many of the
above facts, she was cross-examined at very con-
siderable length, and from her answers it was evi-
dent that she was under the impression that every-
body connected with the case had conspired to
prevent her from getting justice. She complained
very much of Mr. Hawkins, who was her counsel
in the action against Mr. Voules, and said that he
had dared her to mention the names of Lord and
Lady Zetland, and said that he would ruin her
case if she did. She also said that after he had
opened the case he immediately left the court, and
the trial, which she expected would have lasted.
two days, was over in an hour. She likewise de-
clared that Mr. Hawkins advised her to compro-
mise, and told her that none of the judges would
go against a nobleman, and that Lord Campbell,
who tried the case, in particular, would not do so.
(Loud laughter, in which the learned judge joined.)
The plaintiff admitted that Sergeant Wilkins, her
former counsel, strongly advised her to compromise
the original action, awl that another attorney whom
she had consulted in the matter refused to take up
the case. It, also appeared that, in the action
against Mr. Voules, Lord Campbell said he appeared
to have acted honourably and properly, and that
an offer was made to pay her £5O and all her costs,
and that she was strongly urged to accept the
offer, and in the result the defendant obtained a
verdict upon the counts for negligence, and the
five guineas damages were upon a count in trover
to recover some medical prescriptions, and Mr.
Voales consented to a verdict for that amount ; but
she was liable for the whole of the costs. The
plaintiff, likewise, stated that she had not paid
Mr. Foster a single farthing for costs during the
time lie had been acting for her, and although he
had obtained a judgment against her, he had not
taken any steps to enforce it. The plaintiff, in the
course of her examination, said that her object
throughout these proceedings was to vindicate her
character, and that it was impossible for her to do
so unless she went into the whole of the particulars
connected :With the conduct of Lord and Lady Zet-
land, .and .the manner in which silo had been
treated by them ; but she had never been allowed
to do so.

Mr. Robinson called for the production of the re-
cords in the different actions, and also the briefs
that had been delivered to the coun4,el who had
been retained.

Sergeant Parry said that Mr. Foster had only
been subpoenaed to appear and give evidence, and
he was in attendance for that purpose. He was
quite willing, however, that all the papers and
everything connected with the case should be be-
fore the Court, and he had despatched a clerk for
the papers, and he would no doubt very speedily
return with them.

The plaintiff said it would be impossible for the
jury to understand her case unless all the papers
were before them.
Mr. Justice Crowder said that under these cir-
cumstances he thought it would be better to post-
pone the trial until the papers were produced.
At a late hour of the day the case was again
called on, when all the papers were put in, but
none of the matters contained in them appeared tc
have any material bearing on the inquiry.
At the close of the case for the plaintiff,
Sergeant Parry submitted that the evidence
failed to make out the averments in the declaration,
and after a long technical argument,
His Lordship decided in favour of the objection►
and directed a nonsuit.
Sergeant Parry said he thought it was only due
to his learned friend, Mr. Hawkins, to state that
ne was in attendance, and would have been exa-
mined as a witness if his evidence had been re
quired, and he would have positively contradicted
the plaintiffin many of the statements she had made.
The plaintiff was then nonsuited.

AUGUST 6.
(Before Mr.
VINCENT AND OTHERS.
Justice Crowder, and a Common Jury.)
HUGESSE.N V..
the defendants were Ad-
The plaintiff !ti this action was Mr. Hugessen,
M.P. for Sandwich,
several other electors of the
Ad-
miral Vincent and
actiona
was brought to recover da-
magesborough, The
that bad been published by the
a libel
for
imputed to the plaintiff that
defendants, and. whichof. bribery and intimidation at
he had been ,;.uilt3.,
borongh in April last.
The election for the
notguilty, and t The defendants pleaded
justification.
Mr. Edwin James, Q.C., and Mr. Prentice were
furplaintiff.
the plaintiff. Mr. Bovill, Q.C., and Mr. W. G.
Harrison appeared for the defendants.
Mr. James said that the plaintiff in this action,
Mr. Edward Hugessen Knatchbull Hugessen, was
the son of Sir Edward Knatchbull, who had for a
;;rent many years represented the county of Kent
iii Parliament, but who had taken the name of
Hugessen, and the defendants were Admiral Vin-
cent, a retired admiral, and several other respect,
able gentlemen, electors of the borough of Sand-
wich. The action was brought to recover damages
for a libel that had been published and signed by
them, and he would very shortly state the circum-
stances under which the proceeding arose. At the
general election in April last, Lord Clarence Paget
and Mr. Hugessen were candidates for the borough
of Sandwich. They were opposed by Sir James
Ferguson and another gentleman, but in the result
the plaintiff and Lord Clarence Paget were
elected. A petition was presented to the House
of Commons against that return, on the ground
that there had been bribery, intimidation, treating,
and undue influence on the part of the successful
candidates. This petition, however, did not come to
anything, for before any proceedings could be taken
in relation to it the change of Government took
place., and Lord Clarence Paget was appointed Sc,
cretary to the Admiralty, and Mr. Hugessen was
created a Junior Lord of the Trea&ncy. The first of
these appoiNtments not beirig one in the gift of the
Crown) it was not necessary that Lord Clarence

Paget should vacate his seat, but Mr. Hugessen,
upon accepting the post of Junior Lord of the Trea-
sury, was compelled to give up his seat and to go
down to Sandwich to be re-elected. At this time
the petition charging Mr. Hugessen with bribery
and corruption at the former election remained be-
fore the House of Commons, but nothing had been
done in it, and the jury were probably aware that
in a case of this kind, where a member had been
petitioned against on the ground of bribery, if the
charge had been substantiated, he would have been
ineligible as a candidate at a future election, and
any votes that were given for him would be thrown
away and void, and it had been customary to give
a notice to such effect to the electors. The defend-
ants, however, had gone much further than this,
for on the 25th of June a placard, printed in the
Conservative colours, was published, and which
concluded with the following statement :
" Notice is hereby given, that by reason of the
bribery, treating, corruption, intimidation, and un-
due influence practised by the said Edward Huges-
sen Knatchbull Hugessen, his friends, agents, and
partisans, and other persons in his behalf, at his
said former election in April last, as set forth in the
allegations of the said petition, signed by the said
John Ralph and Henry Langley, he, the said Ed-
ward Hugessen Knatchbull Hugessen, is disquali-
fied, ineligible, and incapable of being elected and
returned for the borough of Sandwich during the
duration of this present Parliament."
Mr. James proceeded—This placard was signed
by Admiral Vincent and several other elec-
tors, some of whom he believed were pilots, and
it was the libel complained of. He had before
said that in a case where bribery had been
proved against a candidate, it was legal to give a
notice to that effect to the electors ; but in this
case there had been no evidence to support the
petition, and the law would not permit the circula-
tion of a libel of this kind under the pretence of
giving such a notice to the electors. It was a most
serious imputation upon the character of Mr. Hu-
gessen, and the proceeding on the part of the de-
fendants was quite unjustifiable. The defendants
had pleaded originally that the statement con-
tained in the placard was true, and that Mr.
Hugessen had been guilty of bribery and corrupt
practices, but that plea had since been withdrawn,
upon a learned judge making an order that the de-
fendants should state the particulars of the acts of
bribery that were to be relied upon, and the time
when they occurred. His learned friend Mr. Bovill
would now, he believed, state that the defendants
were not justified in the course they had taken and
he would consent that the plea of justification should
be withdrawn. The question was one of very great
importance to Mr. Hugessen, because it had been
stated in the Times and other journals that the
petition had been compromised, and was withdrawn
under some arrangement, but there really was no
foundation for this suggestion. A good deal of lati-
tude might be allowed during the excitement of an
election, but when such serious charges as these
were made against a gentleman in the position of
Mr. Hugessen, he had no alternative but to come
before a jury and give them an opportunity of de-
ciding whether there was any evidence to support
them.

Mr. Bovill said that the first election for Sand-
wich was no doubt hotly contested, and party spirit
ran very high. The party who expected to succeed
did not happen to be successful, and as the defeated
party very often did, under such circumstances,
they fancied that certain things had taken place,
and that the result of the election was owing to
proceedings of which they thought they had a right
to complain. A petition was in consequence pre-
sented against the return of the successful candi-
dates, but before the merits of that petition could
be tried or the matter could be at all entered
into a new election happened. The old petition.
still remained pending, and if the allega-
tions contained in that petition had been substan-
tiated, Mr. Hugessen could not have been re-
elected, and his election would have beeu void. It
was a very usual course under such circumstances
to give a notice to that effect to the electors, and
the placards in question were merely printed with
that object. His learned friend had stated that
some of the defendants were pilots belonging to the
town, but the fact was that Admiral Vincent was
the chairman of the Conservative candidates' com-
mittee, and he and all the other gentlemen took a
leading part in the election ; but all they did they
did bona fide, and believed they were justified in
doing. They thought they had a right to publish
this placard ; and if the statements contained in
the original petition he been true there was no
doubt that Mr. Hugessen would have been dis-
qualified. The defendants were now, ihowever,
aware that they had done rather more than the law
allowed, and they would, therefore, consent to a
verdict for five guineas, which would entail other
consequences upon them, and this result would no
doubt be perfectly satisfactory to the plaintiff.
Mr. Justice Crowder—The plea of justification,
I understand, is withdrawn ?

Mr. Bovill—Oh, certainly, my lord.
Mr. Justice Crowder then addressed the jury, and
said he was of opinion that the case had been
treated very properly. What had been done by
the defendants was very probably intended to be
done according to law, but they had overstepped
the law. By the plea of justification they had
alleged that the plaintiff had in point of fact been
guilty of bribery at the election in question, and
while that plea remained there was no doubt that
it cast a very serious imputation upon Mr. Huges-
sen. That plea had now, however, been withdrawn,
and he thought a very satisfactory conclusion had
been arrived at, and all they were called upon to
do was to return a verdict for the plaintiff for the
sum that had been mentioned.

The jiirTacCO;lingly;;;;ned a verdict for the
plaintiff. Damages, five guineas.
CROWN COURT.

(Before Mr. Justice Blackburn.)
Elizabeth King, 29, was charged with the wilful
murder of her male child.
Sergeant Ballantine and Mr. Hurrell conducted
the prosecution for tile Treasury, and the prisoner
was defended by Mr. Sharpe.
The prisoner it appeared was a married woman,
and the child in question was born during the ab-
sence of her husband, who is a seaman, upon a long
voyage. It was found dead shortly after its birth,
and apparently had been suffocated ; but there was
no distinct evidence that the child was born alive.
The charge of murder was eventually abandoned,
and Mr. Sharpe consented to a verdict of conceal-
ing the birth, and the in isoner was sentenced to six.
months' hard labour.

Richard Cole, the soldier who was convicted on
Friday of robbing a clergyman of his watch, at
Guildford, was brought up for judgment, and as it
appeared he had previously borne a good character,
the learned Judge only sentenced him to eight
months' hard labour.
The whole of the special jury cases will be tried
by Mr. Justice Crowder, except under particular
circumstances; and the common jury cases will go
before Mr. Justice Blackburn. The criminal busi-
ness is not yet concluded, so that this learned judge
will not take civil business before the middle of the
day on Monday.

WESTERN CIRCUIT:—BoDmiN, Aug. 6.
The commission wss opened on Thursday after-
noon by Mr. Justice Crompton, later in the day
Mr. Baron Bramwell arrived, and in the evening
attended divine service.
Stephen B. L. Bell, 53, surgeon, was indicted for
the wilful murder of James Caddy, ,at Falmouth on
the 23d June.
Mr. Cole and Mr. Cox prosecuted, and Mr. Cole-
ridge defended the prisoner.
The facts lie in a very short compass. It ap-
peared that the prisoner had been practising at
Weston-super-Mare, and was in difficulttes in a
pecuniary point of view. He had received assist-
ance from his mother, a very aged lady, residing
hear the Middle-terrace, Falmouth, but it appears
that his applications for further aid had been de-
nied. On the evening in question he unexpectedly
presented himself at his mother's house, and de-
manded money, which was refused. He became
very violent, and his sisters, alarmed at his threats,
sent across the road to Harriet-place, to request
their friend Capt. Caddy to come and protect them.
Capt. Caddy immediately came over and expostu-
lated in vain with the prisoner, and threatened to
fetch a policeman. The prisoner now became 801
violent that one of his sisters escaped through the
window, and on Capt. Caddy attempting to leave
the house for the police, the prisoner seized an In-
dian spear which hung as an ornament in the pas-
sage, a most formidable weapon, and struck him in
the upper part of the thigh, completely severing
the femoral artery. The unfortunate gentleman
staggered to the porch where he supported himself
for a moment and fell dead.
The witnesses examined were the prisoner's two
sisters. The poor ladies were deeply affected, and
from this circumstance, and a natural unwillingness
on their part to inculpate their brother. there was
considerable difficulty in obtaining evidence on
some of the main facts of the case. They and their
brother were the only persons who witnessed the
cause of the deceased's death. Their mother, a very
infirm old lady, was, at the time of the melancholy
occurrence, up lairs in bed, and wholly unconse:-
Ous of the proceedings below, whilst the servant, a
female, was at the time absent from the house. The
evidence of Charlotte and Mary Ann Bell (pri-
soner's sister) having been taken to the above effect,
Mr. Coleridge made an admirable address for the
defence. He argued that the charge of murder was
Caddy received Was the result of an
far from being made out, and the wound the unfc r
tunate-
accident.

Its Lordship having summed up, tha jury, after

half an hour's deliberation, returned a verdict of
Mall slaughter.
The prisoner, on being asked whether lie had any-
thing to say why sentence should not be passed, ad-
dressed the Court in a lengthy oration, in which he
attacked almost every one who had given evidence
against him, and repeatedly called upon 4, the Al,-,
mlghty and His dear Son to witness his innocence."
His lordship, in passing sentence, remarked that
it was a fortunate thing for the prisoner that the
jury did not hear his remarks before the delivered
their vercret, for if they had the probability was
that the black malignity he had exhibited towards
the witnesses would have induced them to have
found him guilty of the more serious crime of mur-
der. His offence was as close to murder as it could
be, and his punishment must be next to death. His
lordship then sentenced the prisoner to penal ser-
vitude for life.

This case concluded the business of the assize.
The business on the civil side was of trifling im-
portance.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—MONMOUTH, AuG 6.
CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Willes)
TIIE WIFE MURDER AT NEWPORT.
Matthew Francis, a tailor and haullier, aged 26,
was indicted foa feloniously killing and murdering
his wife, Sarah Francis, by cutting her throat with
a razor, at Newport, on the 12th of March last:
Prisoner, who was below the middle stature, and
lame, looked very pale, and appeared to be suffer-
ing from mental depression. He was arraigned and
pleaded not guilty at the March assizes, but hhi
trial was postponed until the present occasion, when,
the spacious and well-appointed court was crowded
to excess to hear the trial.
Mr. M'Mahon and Mr. Matthews prosecuted;
and the prisoner was defended by Mr. Kettle and
Mr. Sawyer.
Mr. M‘Mahon, in opening the case, said the pri-
soner, who resided at Newport, had been married to
the unfortunate woman for two years. On Monday,
the 21st of February last, they appeared to have,
quarrelled, according to the prisoner's statement
before the magistrates, about breakfast. Words rose
high, and they tame to blows, and the deceased
ultimately left her husband and went to the house
of Thos. Hawkins, a plasterer, in Temple-street,
Newport. Prisoner saw her there several times and
endeavoured to persuade her to return and live with
him, butshe constantly refused, and even went s°
far as to take a summons out against him for the
assault of the 21st February, but which was not
pressed. This and her invariable refusal to be re-
conciled, seemed to have exasperated him greatly,
and on several occasions he threatened to take her
life. On the day preceding the murder he again
came to Hawkins' house, when his conduct to his
wife was so violent that a policeman had to be fetched
to make him leave. What occurred the next dal
will bo best described in the words of the prisoner 9
own statement before the magistrates, as follows
" I went there next morning and stood in the
room where she was. She told me to go out again;
she did not want to sec! me. She began to curse
me. I told her not to put herself in a bad way, and
sat down alongside of her. I again asked her to
come home. She refused me again. There was
knife on the table, and I said to Mrs. Jones, Len"
me that knife, and I will kill her with it.' I rubbed
it along on the edge of the pan on the table, and
then touched my wife on the back. She said,
Don't put your hand on me,' and then she called
me many disgraceful things. I went out of the
house to the water-closet, and sat down and began
to cry. Then I thought to myself about the razor
I had in my pocket. I was not thinking about it
before. I brought it out that morning with thy
intention of having it ground. Then I took the
razor out of my pocket and tied a piece of thread I
had in my pocket around it. Then I went into the
house again, and again begged her to come home
and not to make a fool of herself and me too. Then
she still refused, so I rose up 'and told her I woe
fully determined to kill her before I left the house
if she would not come home with me. She began
to sing a song. I told her not to sing songs—she
had better sing hymns ! She laughed aloud when
I said that. Then I caught her by the forehead;
and said, ' Now, Sarah, will you come home or not?
She said she would not. I said, What, never core
home ?' She said, 'No never,' and then I drew
the razor across her throat. She caught the
razor in the palm of her hand. She let it go'
again, and caught my wrist, and drew down InY
hand across her neck. She heaved her arms up'
and caught me round the neck, and pulled my face
down to her, and kissed me. I told her I had mur-
dered her, and was willing to die for it. The last
words she spoke were, " Oh, no ; you shan't din.
I suppose she did not think it was done to the
purpose. That is all.
Evidence confirmatory of the above facts having
been given,
Mr. Kettle, for the defence, contended that the
prisoner had received strong provocation, and that
the offence only amounted to manslaughter.
Tile Judge having summed up,
The Jury retired, and after a quarter of an hour
absence, returned into court with a verdict of guilty'.
The Judge put on the black cap, and passed sen-
tence of death in the usual form.
The prisoner, as he was led down from the dock,'
wiped the perspiration from his pallid brow, an
exclaimed, "Itis a just sentence. I deserve it.
am willing to die."