The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-02 00:00:00

GREAT WESTERN.

The Government inspector, Capt. Tyler, accom-
panied by Mr. Lane, the chief engineer of the com-
pany, and Mr. Kelly, the traffic manager, inspected
the line of narrow gauge from Paddington to Reading
on Friday last. The inspector expressed himself
perfectly satisfied at the manner in which the work
has been done, and yesterday (the Ist instant) the
narrow gauge line was opened for passenger traffic,
three trains running from Paddington to the West
Midland and Northern lines, and vice versa.

FRENCH MILITARY ELOQUENCE.

_

The Military Tribunal sitting at Paris tried two
days since, a soldier named Leclercq, a native of
Amiens, on a charge of desertion. The prisoner en-
tered the army as a substitute in 1850, and his period
of service would consequently expire at the end of
1857; in 1852, however, he was condemned two
years' imprisonment for selling part of his equip-
ment, but was liberated some months before the ex-
piration of that term. As the term passed in prison
was not to count as military service, his definitive
liberation from the army was • consequently post-
poned till April, 1859. In 1856, however, he ob-
tained a furlough for six months, which was subse-
quently prolonged to the 31st December, 1857, when
he would have been free but for the imprisonment
he had undergone. As the prisoner did not return
to his regiment at the beginning of 1858, he was
denounced as a deserter, and a warrant was issued
for his apprehension. Meanwhile he had married
and settled at Argentan (Orne), and the gendarmery
there never suspected he was a deserter, since his
papers showed that he entered the service in
1850, more than seven years before ; nor did they
become aware of the fact till July last, when he was
arrested, being then the father of three children.
The prisoner in his defence declared that he had
acted throughout in good faith. As the counsel who
had been selected to defend him was unavoidably
absent when the trial came on the Court permitted
Corporal Saverot, of the 19th Regiment, who was
well acquainted with the facts of the case, to under-
take the prisoner's defence, to which he consented,
and addressed the tribunal as follows :—" Gentle-
men I am no lawyer, but only an humble corporal.
I will, however, state what I think of the prisoner.
Some would dwell upon the fact that he is the father
of three children ; but I will only say that the pri-
slur, not knowing how to read, wan unable to
judge for himself as to the value of his papers.
Others told him he was free, and he believed
them. Then, having fallen in love, he married
and settled in life. In the service he could not
even have become a corporal ; he wished to
have children; he has them, and he finds the po,i-
tion of a husband and father more agreeable than
that of a soldier. That is the whole matter. Under
these circumstances Leclercq comes to you and says,
—' I really thought I was free, otherwise I should
have returned to my regiment.' You may believe his
words ; therefore restore him to his children." The
Tribunal, after a short-deliberation, acquitted the
prisoner, and the President gave orders for his
immediate release.

THE NEXT MAYORS OF MANCHESTER AND
SALFonn.—We hear that Mr. Alderman Goadsby will, in
all yrobability, be the next Mayor of the city; and that
Mr. Alderman Worrall will be §eleet4 Nayor of
Salford

I At the Capel.strret Police.office on Saturday a
gentleman named i\tanning, having an estate worth
£BOO per annum in the county of Loath, was, at
the instance of the guardians of the North Dublin
Union, charged with deserting his wife and daugh-
ter, and leaving them chargeable upon the Union
for support. An application for bail on his own re-
cognisances, first refused, was ultimately granted,
Mr. Manning promising to meet the claim of the
guardians, and to pay the expenses conseqnent on
his arrest. He also promised to perfect a deed, by
which his wife would be entitled to £4O per annum
for her support.
Six ships of the Channel Fleet are at Berehaven.
The others, namely, the Hero and the Trafalgar,
are expected immediately. They experienced very
•
heavy weather at sea during the week, having sus.
tained some damage and lost several of their boats.
A correspondent of the Cork Constitution says:—
" 1 most sincerely hope that a rumour circulated
concerning the Hero and the Conqueror is not
correct, or that it may prove, at most, an ex-
aggeration of the facts—that when reefing sails
50 of the former and 10 of the latter ship's crew
were swept off the yards and found a watery,
grave. Already the harbour for miles around teems
with life, for,
independent of the ships' boats glid-
ing along from one to another vessel, or towards
the shore with despatches, boats from the town
and coast, plied with might and main, swarm around
the leviathans, either delivering supplies or soliig -
aee.r,s
a,
rgrocerscbiut cn rclsr, acearbs e nE:181) Onnea: u m o t sl4, b
re-
quisition. In anticipation of this state of things
commercial travellers from Cork and elsewhere have
been receiving orders freely for some days past.
Our post-office disgorged about 7,000 letters and
papers this evening, and received from on board a
return supply for circulation through the length
and breadth of the land. On former occasions the
men of the fleet remitted by post-office orders, to
their friends and families, some tens of thousands
of pounds. It is expected that business will be
done to an equal extent in this way now."

TUESDAY.

A cricket match for Mr. Lawrence's benefit, be-
tween I Zingari and All Ireland Eleven was com-
menced in the Coburg-gardens yesterday, which
were comparatively deserted for the greater attrac-
tion of a footrace between the American Indian
Deerfoot and Levett, in the Rotunda gardens.
Thousands attended to witness the contest, and it
is said £3OO was received at the gate. Levett got
a minute start, but he was soon overtaken. The
race was 10 miles, but at the 30th round, which
made five miles, the Indian was left to pursue his
course alone, which he did at the same pace, doing
the 10 miles in 53 minutes and. 35 seconds.