The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-21 00:00:00

HORRIBLE MURDER BY AN ITALIAN

SEAMAN.

Thts morning the street in front of the Thames Police-
o mrt, and the avenues leading to it, were crowded with
an excite:llls multitude who were anxious to catch a

glimpse of au Italian seaman named Jose de Rosano, aged
22 years, who it was known would be brought up for
examination on a charge of murdering a Greek sailor
named George de Matras, last night, in Neptune-street,
Ratcl,ff-highway. The most intense excitement prevailed
in that neighbourhood and near the Leman-street
station-house last night and this morning. Upwards
of 4,000 persons were as ernbled in Wellclose-square,
near the scene of the murder, and as many more
were assembled in Lecsan-street. Inspector Gernon

of the II division, and 30 police-constables were
patroling, the streets all night to preserve order. At
ten o'clock there was a dense mob assembled near the
station-house, and among them were several Greeks,
who gave utterance to loud vociferatione, and called out
"bring out the murderer, we want his life, blood for
blond." A cab was brought to the back of the station-
house, into which the prisoner was hastily pushed,
and Inspector Gernon and two police-constables got in
after him. As the cab drove away the yells and
execrations of the mob were perfectly frightful, and
several Greeks attempted to stop the horse and cab,
and demanded vengeance. The police drove them
away, and the horse and cab proceeded at a
furious pace along Leman street, Alie-street, Church-
lane, Commercial-road, to this court in Arbour-street,
Bast Stepney, and was followed a considerable distance
by the indignant Greeks. Inspector Gernon ordered the
driver to proceed at once into the court-yard, between
the court and the station-house, and the gates were im-
mediately closed upon the multitude, who saluted the
murderer with loud execrations. After the disposal of
the other night charges, the prisoner was arraigned in
:he felon's does, before Mr. Yardley, and charged with
the wilful murder of George de Matras.
It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner and
two prostitutes were quarrelling in Neptune-street
last night, and the prisoner struck one of them. The
deceased, who was standing by, remonstrated with him,
on his cowardice and said, " DJa't strike the girl.'
The prisoner said to the deceased " I'll fight you English,
Italian, or Greek fashion." Tile deceased replied in
broken English, "Me no fight," on which the prisoner
took a large sheath knife from his pocket and plunged
it into his abdomen. The deceased staggered and the
prisoner followed him up, inflicting blow after blow en
the defenceless man who fell to the ground mortally
wounded. The bystanders called out " Murder, seize
the fellow"' and the prisoner was pursued by a police-
constable named Castles Gascoyne, 98, 11, who
took him and soon had him secured in the station-
house. The wounded man was immediately
taken to his lodging-house, No. 200, Ratcliff-
highway, where he was immediately attended by Mr.
Starkey, a surgeon, of Wellclose-square, and Mr.
Graves, an army surgeon, of No. 201, Ratcliff-highway.
The deceased in reply to a question of Mr. Gernoc, said
he knew the murderer, and described him, and said he
lived in the same house. Mr. Gernon sent a policeman
to the station-house with directions to bring the prisoner
immediately to the house where the deceased was bleed-
ing to death, in order that he might be enabled to iden-
tify the murderer. Before the policeman could return
the wounded man expired. Upon an examination it
was ascertained that the deceased had received three
wounds in the abdomen, one on the left breast, one on
the left armpit, and another on the back of the shoulder.
Inspector Gernon produced a large sheath knife of
the ordinary description used by sailors. It was found
iu the street after the Greek was murdered. The blade
of the knife was stained with blood.
Mr. Yardley inquized whether there had been any
post mortem xlmination of the body.
Inspector Gernon replied in the negative.
Mr. Yardley said he should remand the prisoner until
Monday tit xt.
The holy of the deceased is now lying at the lodging
house, 200, Ratcliff-high way. It was laid out accord.
ing to the Greek custom this morning, and was visited
by a great number of Greek sailors.
The prisoner is a person of youthful appearance and
fresh, complexion, and his appearance is rather prepos-
sessing.

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

The Spars of Beechwood. A True Tale. By
" Scrutator." 3 vols. Hurst and Blsckett.
This is an amusing story, and although no very
wonderful events occur, the interest is kept up to
the last by the ingenious pons.ruc ion of the plot,
and the pleasing style in which it is related. The .
chief point of the tale is the long engagement that
xisted between Henry Howerd and Mary Malt-
land. The adventures end misadventures that be-
fell them, the officiousness of meddling straneere,
the injudiciousness of friends, the slanders of
enemies,and the fetal interference of family con-
nectons, all conspired to render the aoquaintauce
of these two estimable individuals anything but a
happy one. It is sometimes ludicrous, and sometimes
irritating to observe how continually both partiea
persisted in believing all that was detrimental to the
other's character, by whomsoever uttered, even
after repeated proofs of the falsity of such asser-
tions had been met with. Iu this particular the
author has well displayed the blindness of jealousy
and the inconsistency of pride. Mrs. Selwyn, the
mother of Mars, shows to us a perfect model of a :
meddling mother, a woman who really loved her
child, and yet was mainly instrumental in causing
that child's misery, perhaps, by her very folly .
weeckiog her peace for life, at the moment when
she would willingly have sacrificed her own exis-
tence to procure some signal blessings for her dar- •
liu g. She was ever on the inert waiting and watching.
It is no wonder that an excitable nature 1 ke Mary'a
should have been driven almost to distraction by
such demeanour, and it forms so ne part of her ex-
cuse for wavering, when it is considered that she
was really attached is her mother, and placed re.
Hance on her judgment. This is another part of the .
harm committed by such persons—the very respect
in which they aro held increases their responsibi-
lity as it adds to their influence. Robert Howard,
the cousin of Henry, is:a remarkable contrast to him "
in every respect. It would be a satisfaction to the
reader, when his various plans fail, if in his ruin he
did not contrive to involve h's cousin. In this in-
stance, Henry Howard showed great want of sense,
and indeed of principle ; for a man like him, with
a family dependent on his fortunes, had no right
to risk the welfare of the innocent to sere en the
guilty from the effects of their crimes. This mis-
called charity never profits the giver nor the recipi-
ent, and Henry bitterly rued the hour when he '
consented to lend his aid to Roberts ruinous affairs.
It is welcome news to hear at last that the path of
the upright and generous hero, whose wanderings
we had followed from early youth to an advanced.
period of maturity, becomes less thorny and rugged
and to know that his latter life will be passed un-
der the shades of Beechwood, from whence he had
been driven by the machinations of crafty rogues.
Sir William Beaumont is a sketch of a noble-
minded man, one of whom there are few, but who
is yet natural in his description. For ose rightly to:
pourtray human nature, it is but fair to intro..:
duce ono like Beaumont into a s:ene that
has witnessed the entrance of Robert Howard.
—to say nothing of his myrmidon Smirke, who
eventually provedtoo sharp-witted for his employer.
Many of the earlier passages of the story are bril-.
lant and gay, from the frequent recurrence of ball,
banquet, and diversified entertainments, amid whose
sparkling scenes the hero and heroine played their
pelts in the exciting drama before referred to. Fur-
ther on the sunshineof liteis exchanged for its shade,
and even for its storms. Through the fitful course
ou which our eyes have rested, the attention is
fixed by the spirit of the narrator. In a decided
manner, and with a genial feeling, he has worked
out his purpose, and attainel to his object, to pre-
sent to our notice the record of the woe, and weal,
the light and shade, the good E nd evil, that mingled
in the momentuous career of the Squire of Beech-
weed.

The Story of my Girlhood.

By Mrs. Lynch.

Longman.
This is a pleasing domestic story, written with
.taste and feeling. The incidents are scarcely pro 7
bable, and decidedly romantic, and the characters
are certainly not such as are commonly met with
in everyday life ; but the plot is novel, the actors
in is interesting, and the principles and sentiments
inculcated are pure and elevated. The story, in
its chief incident bears some resemblance to " L'illa
Rookh." The heroine, Annie Falconer, when
very young, is persuaded by her mother, who is in
declining health, to enter into a secret mar-
riage with a youth of her acquaintance, in
order to be secure from the possibility of a step-
mother's dominion. This very rash and Injudicious
proceeding does not produce the anticipated result,
for, owing to a misunderstanding with his youthful
bride, Lynn Forester departs, and is not heard of
for years. The mother dies, and her place is filled,
as she expected, by another, but that other is one
of her daughter's friends, who is of such a good and
gentle disposition that the mother's fears are proved
groundless. In• the mean time the secret, which
is known only to herself, becomes a heavy
burden to poor Annie, and is not made
made the more agreeable by the appearance of a
Mr. Warren, who pays her much attention, and
to whom she becomes deeply attached. Great is
her distress and perplexity, when all is happily
arranged, by the discovery that Mr. Warren is but
the assumed name of Lynn Forester who
had resolved to win her affections in dis-
guise. There are several other characters with
interest of their own. The chief of these
is Ada, the stepmother, whose patience and gentle-
ness at length meet their reward. Edith Falconer,
the sister of Annie, is also the heroine of some
romantic episodes ; and some amusing sketches
of neighbours and friends fill up the corners
of the story very pleasantly. It is apparently an
early work, and gives evidence of considerable
ability in the department of light and graceful fic-
tion, deepened by touches of sentiment and pathos..
There is also considerable variety in the delinea-
tion of the characters. It is a welcome contribu-
tion to the literature of the day, and the authoress
is apparently one who, with care and experience,
will be likely' to enrich the field of domestic
fiction.

History of a Flirt. T. Hodgson, Paternoster

Row.

The cheap reprint of a novel of this description,
which many of our readers may remember as being
very popular a few years since, must doubtle-s sell
well. 'Maze is a considerable amount of wit and
smart dialogue in its pages ; and the heroine, a
most incorrigible and distinguished disciple of the
school she is intended to represent, goes through a
long course of unprincipled folly, to be rather too
well rewarded at last ; however, the book is a fair
specimen of the modern novel,

Vaterton's Essays on Natural History. Longman

and Co.

The name of Waterton is well known in this
department of literature, and the present volume
fully sustains the preceding reputation of its author.
Mr. Waterton is to 1 of anecdote, and gives a va-
riety of wonderful stories conne(lte I with animals
and their habit. We will not uudertike to say
that our belief is as great as his own relative, to
some incidents which ha relates, but making due
allowance for the strong colouring of enthusiastic
zeal, we have perused the book with great pleasure.

PETITION OF THE BRITISH INHABI-

TANTS OF CALCUTTA.

We have been kindly favoured with a copy
.0
the following important petition of the British in-
habitants of Calcutta to the Lords and Commons
of Great Britain and Ireland in Parliament assem-
bled :
" The humble Petitioners of the undersigned British In-
habitants of Calcutta most humbly showetb ,
" That your petitioners view with daily increasing
anxiety and alerm the condition and prospects of British
India.
" They do not despair of its speedy re-conquest, by
the forces of her Majesty ; but it is undeniable that,
with the exception of three or four places of strength,
the whole of the North-West Prov.nces, as well as the
-newly-acquired kingdom of Oade, is lost for the present.
In addition to which Tirhoot, Behar, and Chota Nag-
pore are in danger.
" Throughout India the native belief in the prestige
of British power has been destroyed, and where the
Asiatic has no dread of physical force he has no respect
for _moral influence.
"Over thousands of square miles, where threemonths
since Englishmen travelled in security unarmed, at this
tnornent European women for themselves and their
children court speedy death as a blessing.
"On every highway lie the dishonoured and mutilated
remains of our countrywomen and their children, and
the bodies of British soldiers and unarmed men foully
murdered.
" The government of the East India Company, to
whose care the interests of Great Britain in the East
have been confided, possess, from their constitution,
absolute power. They have a perpetual majority in the
Legislative Council, which is composed entirely of offi-
cial persons.
" They have the sole appointment to all offices, with
the exception only of those of the Governor General, the
Commander-in-Chief, and the judges of the Supreme
Court.
" There are no private or corporate rights that can
be effectually opposed to them, nor is there any repre-
sentation of public opinion.
" In the country desolated by the rebels, there are
hundreds of civil servants, judges, magistrates, and col-
lectors; village chowkedars and policemen in tens of
thousands, and more than two thousand commissioned
military officers, European and native, and yet, if we
may believe the Government, there was not in all this
vast estab ishment to be found one person to acquaint
the authorities of the existence of a conspiracy spread
over countries many times larger than the area of the
British Isles, and in which upwards of a hundred thou-
sand soldiers have joined.
" The rebellion broke out and found the Government
totally unprepared. No efficient commissariat, no orga-
nised means of procuring intelligence, and, with a few
brilliant exceptions, no men of sufficient capacity for the
emergency. At the commencement of the outbreak,
Delhi, the largest arsenal of ordnance in the North
West of India, the important military depot of Cawnpore,
and the fortress and arsenal of Allahabad, the key of the
lower provinces, were without a single European soldier
to defend them. The two former fell into the hands of
the insurgents.
"On the 25th May last, when a number of regiments
were in open revolt, when many treasuries had been
plundered and various important stations fallen into the
hands of the rebels, the Secretary to the Home Depart-
ment officially informed the inhabitants of Calcutta, in
answer to loyal addresses tendering aid and personal ser-
vice, that The mischief caused by a passing and ground.
less panic had already been arrested, and that there was
every reason to hope that in the course of a few days
tranquility and confidence would be restored throughout
the nreeidency.'
" From that hour to the present the policy of Govern-
ment has not undergone the slightest change. In the
teeth of events the most startling, in defiance of warn-
ings the moat emphatic, they steadily persisted in ignor-
ing the fact of danger for which they had made no
preparation.
" On toe 13th June, they passed a law which destroyed
the liberiy of the press, and placed every journal in
India at the absolute feet of the executive authority.
" Your petitioners refrain from here commenting on
this act of the Government, uncalled for by the occasion,
repugnant to British feeling, and subversive of the prin-
ciples of the British constitution. This was done at a
time when the Government was receiving universal sup-
port from the English portion of the press.
"Your petitioners felt themselves bitterly aggrieved
by the attempted imposition of what is known as the
Black Act, but their feelings in that respect never hin-
dered them for a moment in coming forward to assist the
Government with heart and band. Their offers were
coldly t eclined, though ultimately accepted when danger
was too apparent. At the present moment not only does
Calcutta owe its chief security to European volunteers,
but Government have invited the enrolment of paid
corns for service in the interior.
"The whole trade of the presidency has suffered more
or lssa ; many branches of it are ruined entirely. The
sale of imports is almost nominal ; the cotton goods of
England are not to be disposed of, even at great sacri-
fices. The export of silk, indigo, sugar, and other arti-
cles of export will suffer censiderable diminution for
some seasons to come, in consequence of the destruction
of many factories, and the loss of much capital.
" In the tian of the revolt lit is more than probable
that famine with all its Indian horrors will follow.
" To remedy all these evils and to fix on a firmer
basis the Briti.h pen er in the East, your petitioners can
alone appeal to the British nation.
" Your petitioners can look for no redress to the
powers to whom the government of this great country is
delegated, they having shown themselvee unequal to
the task.
" The government of the East India Company have
neiti e • men, money, nor credit ; what credit they had
was destroyed by their conduct in the late financial ope-
rations.
" The army has dissolved itself, the treasuries have
either been plundered by the rebels or exhausted by the
public service, and a loan, even at 6 per cent., would
scarcely find subscribers.
" When tranquillity is once restored, her Majesty's
ministers will find that many millions sterling have been
added to the Indian debt, and that the annual deficits of
the Indian budget will be materially increased, but under
good government your petitioners have the fullest confi-
dence that the boundless resources of this vast country
are sufficient to meet all necessary demands of the state.
The system under which the country has been hitherto
governed, utterly antagonistic as it has ever been to the
. encouragement of British settlement and enterprise in
India, has entirely failed to preserve the power of the
Queen to win the affections of the natives, or to Bemire
the confidence of the British in India.
" Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that your
Hon. house will adopt such measures as may be neces-
sary for removing the government of this country
from the East India Company, and substituting in
its plasm the direct government of her Majesty the Queen,
with an open Legislative Council, suitable to the re-
epeirements of the country, and compatible with the
13ritieh supremacy, Queen's Courts presided over by
trainel lawyers, and with the English language as
official court language. And your petitioners shall ever
pray, see.
" Calcutta, August 3, 1857."