The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-14 00:00:00

me into the den like a dog. The lioness was in a privatis
box. , That I secured also.

Coroner—Have you any accusation to make against any

body ?
Witness—No. I cannot conceive how the shutters could
slip down. lam positive the panels were safely put into
the groove
Coroner—You have no doubt of that ?

Witness--None whatever. I am positive the panels
were all safely secured. I have no kind of doubt about
it—not the slightest.

Coroner—You say you have no charge to make against
anybody ?

Witness—No.

Coroner—Has anybody ever threatened either you or
Mr. Batty ?

Witness--No one, that I know off. I don't think I had
an enemy in the place. No one had any towards
me. Quite the contrary.
The evidence of the witness, which was given in the
clearest and most unreserved manner, was then read over,
and the only correction he made was, that he was not quite
sure whether it was himself or his assistant that opened the
shutter on the Sunday night.

Coroner—You think, 'then, the door of the cage was
pulled open by the lions in getting the cloth into the cage?
Witness—Yes; that is the only way in which I can
account for the accident.

A Juryman—Does not one of thsdions now go loose upon
he stage during his performance, and is not that the one
hat killed the man?

Witness—No. It was the one I saw playing with the
flowers. It never does really go loose, for as soon as my
man leaves go of it I take it.
Henry Golding, the watchman, was next examined.
This witness was under examination when we went to
press.

M. SCRIBE AND THE LATE MARSHAL ST

ARNAUD.

In 1863 M. Scribe, the dramatist, sold a house and
grounds called Montalias, in the neighbourhood of Meudon,
to Marshal de St. Arnaud for 150,000 f., and in 1859 the
marshal's v‘ :door sold them to M. Collineau, an ex-agent de
change at Bordeaux, for 290,000 f. The deed of sale to that
gentleman set forth that the park, kitchen garden, and four
pieces of ladd which composed the domain were of about
11 hectares, but when he came to measure them he found
that they were not very much more than half. Heaccord-
ingly brought an action before the Civil Tribunal against
Madame de St. Arnaud to get back part of his purchase-
money, and the singular discovery was then made that
though since 1815 the d, main had been possessed by diffe-
rent persons, the Duke de Bassano, M. Testu, M. Laffitte,
M. Ch. Nodier (the author), to., the park, kitchen garden,
and land hal never been meast—ed, and had always been
described as consisting of about 11 hectares; it was also
discovered that this arose from the four pieces, of land
having been by eixor described in a deed previously to 1815
as being of 8 hectares (the hectare is 21 acres, though in
reality they were only of about 8 acres—the acre is 100
square metres). The ti ibunal held that, as the deed of sale
executed by Madame de St. Arnaud did not guarantee that
there were 11 hectares, M. Collineau'a action could not be
admitted. An appeal of this gentleman against the deci-
sion was heard on Saturday by the Imperial Court, but the
judgment was confirmed. In the course of the pleadings
the statement was made that in the park there is an old
walnut-tree, under which, according to tradition, Rabelais
wrote part of his works.

The following curious letter from M. Scribe to Marshal
St. Arnaud, showing the way in which the author drove a
bargain with the hero of the coup d' *tat, was read in court,
and produced much amusement :

" Montalais, May 4, 1853.
" Monsieur le Marechal,—After your gracious visit the
Council assembled for domestic deliberation, and the per-
sonage whom you so justly style the ' Minister of the In-
terior,' my wife, opened the debate. She entirely agreed
with you that, as a matter of business, we must altogether
leave out of the account the fact that this merely pleasure
property cost us 100,000 crowns (300,000 f.) and that we
should forget all the money expended upon it from fancy or
caprice ; but at the same time she observes that the outlay
which has really augmented the value should be taken into
consideration; that the building hewn out of the rock which
now forms the stables, coach-house, granaries, and servants'
rooms, cost 30,000 f.; that seven or eight acres of the kitchen
garden and park, bought at 100 f. the perch—i.e., I,ooof. the
acre, cost—and a folly it was-80,000f , -but that they are at
any rate honestly worth half the money; that 130,000 f. for
the original property, added to 30,000 f. for building, and
40,000 f. for additional lands, amounts to 200,000 f., which
is the sum we originally asked for Montalais, and my Mini-
ster of the Interior argues that in reducing that point at
once of our own accord, without any higgling, to 160,000 f„
wo are treating in a frank, reasonable, and loyal manner,
which you, M. le Marechal, better than any ore else, must
appreciate. My excellent Minister also says, and your
notary will confirm her ass9rtion, that the upset price of a
real estate is always put at less than the real value in order
TO attract bidders, and that if Montalais were put up in
three lots, at 140,000 f. it would fetch by auction a third
more, just as it happened only three days ago in the
case of No. 34, Rue de Provence, which being put up
at 250,000 f. was knocked down for 400,000 f., in
1 the teeth of our notary, M. Wasselin, who had
offered on our account as much as 380,000 f. My wife adds,
moreover, that the universal rise in the value of every de-
' scription
,of propery, and the unheard-of prosperity of
affairs in general,are owing to the events of Deo. 2, of which
M. le Marechal was to a great extent the glo'ious author,
and that he cannot complain of any augmentation of which
he is the cause. For all these reasons, M. le Marechal, the
unanimous opinion of the Council is that our proposal of
160,000 f. was really equitable, and that we must abide by it,
hoping that your amiable and charming Minister of the
Interior will deign to take into consideration all the reasons
hereinbefore urged. It will always be understood, as we
said yesterday, that half the purchase-money only is to be
paid down, and the other half according to your convenience,
even by monthly instalments if you like, so that you may
scarcely feel that you are paying any thing ; it is also agreed
that our old furniture shall be valued at once, and that you
will take hereador only such art'cles as may suit you, but
that you will do us the honour to make use of it for a year,
Possession may be had to-morrow or next day if you se
wish. It is with pain, I confess, that I leave lactontalais,
which I have inhabited for a quarter of a century, and where
I have passed Q 5 of the most laborious, and at the same time
the most agreeable, years of my life. But my regret is di-
minished by the thought that, thanks to my illustrious
successor, Montalaiee which I have so much loved, will be-
come an histor:cal residence, and will never be forgotten.
" Accept, Monsieur le Marechal, the assurance of my
high knd respectful consideration.
" EUGENE SCRIBE, of the French Academy."

Notwithstanding the ingenious pleading of M. Scribe's
" Minister of the Interior," the Marshal made him strike
off 10,000 f. from his ultimatum, and, as above appears,
Madame St. Arnaud was fortunate enough to sell the pro-
perty at the end of six years at a profit of 140,000 f.--nearly
cent. per cent.

MEXICO,

'fhe news of Miramor, the felonious President of.
Mexico, having gained a sudden success over .the
army by which he was" surrounded" in the capital
can scarcely excite surprise, since it is in conformity
with all that has been witnessed in Mexico during
theslast three or four years, and is moreover an
exact repetition of a feat previously performed by
this personage at Tacubaya over the same incapable
Gen. Degallado. It now appears that he has cap-
tured three generals, 1,200 men, and 12 cannon,
and it may therefore be presumed that the pros-
pect of the Liberals being able to get possession
of the city is again indefinitely postponed. On
the ultimate result of the struggle the circum-
stance can have no influence, since by his recent
robbery Miramon. has rendered it impossible that
the party he represents can ever regain acknow-
ledged sway. It, is his fate to remain shut up in
the interior of the country, because if he weae able
for a moment to recover one of the ports he would.
then come within reach of retribution from the
British Government. It is simply a cruestion, there-
fore, as to how long he can remain in that position,
feeding solely on the internal resources of the re-
public. There is nn mnre British money to be
Stolen, the priests have drained 'themselves to the
greater part of their available riches in his support,
there are no Customs' duties that can be exacted,
and trade and credit have vanished. It would
seem unlikely, therefore, that under any circum-
stances the work of desolation can now be pro-
tracted beyond a few months. The fact of the
present " surprise" of General Degallado and his
army having occurred so soon after the seizure of
the money from the British Legation suggests that
the victory may have been won by a liberal use of
those means in the enemy's camp. Meanwhile the
American journals are beginning to speculate as to
the manner in which the position of Mexico may be
turned to account in the present disunion crisis.
Leading members of the Republican party, it is
said, are already beginning to look forward to the
acquisition or annexation of Mexico as a ready
means of at once indemnifying the North for the
partial loss of Southern trade " and of marring the
schemes of slavery propagandists, which are one
great incentive to disunion." "We happen to
know," says the New York Tin2es.
" That this idea of acquiring Mexico, first under the
forms of a protectorate, but eventually as a component part.
of the confederacy, is no merely casual suggestion, but has
been seriously and favourably considered by leading minds,
which will exercise an important influence upon the in-
coming Administration."

WHISKY DUTIES IN THE NORTH. —There has
been a great falling off in the revenue from duties upon
whisky manufactured in the Highlands. In on.. district
containing about 'eight distilleries the decrease In actual
money in six months amounts to about £2,200 ; but this
does not nearly represent the decrease in the consumption
of whisky. Had the consumption continued at the same
as before the new duty was imposed, the revenue should
have increased by 25 per cent. Instead of this there is the
large deficit quoted above, which, considering the in-
creased rate of duty, really represents a loss to the Govern-.
ment of upwards of £8,500 in the half-year in one district,
and that a small ens, in respect to the quantity of whislry
produced. If other districts show similar results, it is impo a-
sible that the Chancellor of the Exchequer can.recomme nd
Parliament to maintain the present enormous duty upon
whisky.—lnverness Courtier.