The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-29 00:00:00

A NEW BRIDGE AT BLACKFR_TABS.

The Committee of the Corporation of London for
the Bridge House Lands have had under their con-
sideration for some time the best mode of providing
for the public convenience, which has been some-
what jeopardised by the state of the present; bridge.
After much deliberation they determined to call
upon the principal engineers in England for de-
signs for a new bridge, leaving them quite unfet-
tered in their arrangements and designs. The pro-
ductions of these gentlemen, and of some rising
engineers who were desirous of bringing forward
their ideas voluntarily, have been under the consi-
deration of the committee, who, doubtless, have had
enough to think of, since the designs submitted to
them are not less than 12 in number, many of them
most elaborately drawn, with details of construc-
tion. The engineers were Mr. Barlow, Mr. Brere•
ton, Mr. Goodehild, Mr. Bruniees, Mr. Jos- Cubitt,
Messrs. E. Bidder and E. Clarke, Mr. R.W. Mylne
(grandson of the architect of the present bridge),
Mr. Fowler, Mr. Hawkshaw, Mr. G. Rennie, Sir J.
Rennie, and Mr. Page. Amid such a variety of
highly-creditable designs by men of acknowledged
talent, the committee were called upon to exercise
tneir best judgment, and on Saturday they finally
decided to select the design of Mr. Page, and ap.
pointed him the engineer for its construction. The
pains taken by the committee to obtain th) most
appropriate design reflects upon them the highest
credit.— Obserrer.

500 the Emperor Theoderic abolished the duty
THE FIRST ABOLITION OF THE PAPER DUTY.--
About A.D.
on papyrus, which contributed to the revenue; of the
noma;L,,n ore, and upon which fresh imposts had beet
successiveors
congratulated rulers,
ut
he whole
rit i lthe they
rerld on the repea became oppressive.
laidca bssi2d,u
of the impost on an article so essentially necessary to the
human race, the general use of which, as Pliny says,
" polishes and immortalises Lll4ll,"—htechanics' iffogazino.

LAW 1:11, TELLICEN CE.—( This Day.)

MOUSE OF LORDS.

Peers preseut—Lord Cranworth, Lord 'Wensleydale, Lord

Chelmsford, and other peers.

THE HON. DAME GRACE CHARLOTTE MENZIES V. SIR

ROBERT MENZIES, BART.
These were appeals and cross appeals from several in-
terlocutors of the Court of Session in Scotland. Counsel
for both parties consented that the noble and learned lords
present should dispose of both appeals as on a special case
for arbitration without reference to the judicial procedure
in the cause.

With regard to first appeal, which called in question the
right of the late Sir Neil Menzies to burden his entail
lands with a fourth share, as a life-rent provision thereof in
favour of his widow, Lord Cranworth affirmed the decision of
the Court of Session, and dismissed appeal with costs. And
as to the cross appeal which raised the question as to the
right valuation of the shootings let and unlet on the estates
of Foss and Kannochet, Lord Cranworth was of opinion
that £35 per annum for building shooting lodges, and £35
for a policy of insurance during the widow's life,
was a reasonable and proper deduction to be made
from the occupation rent to be paid by Sir Robert Menzies.
Lord Wensleydale and Lord Chelmsford entirely con-
curred.

Lord Cranworth affirmed the decision of the Court. of
Session, and dismissed this appeal without costs.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—(This Day.)

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

APPLICATION TO THE MAGISTRATE.—This morning
Jeanne Marie, the young French girl who was complainant
against her father, Victor Marie, a few days ago at this
office, for the most gross conduct towards her, attended be-
fore the Hon. Mr. Norton with her mother, who she said
was fearful that her husband would be able to find bail and
come and ill-treat her and his family as ho had done before.
Mr. Norton—Do you think your father is in his right
senses ?

Applicant—He once took vitriol, 10 years ago, and the
doctor said he thought it had affected his head. He is bad
every three weeks or so.

Mr. Norton—lf he does get out he must behave him-
self, or the parties who are bail for him will have it for-
feited and be the sufferers.

Applicant—Cannot my mother have a separation? He
has threatened all of us, and we do not know what to do
with him?

Mr. Norton—lf he does come out and further molests
you or your mother, you can come to this court again.
The applicant thanked the magistrate and retired.

THAMES.
SMUGGLING ON TowEn-HlLL.—James Lincoln, a re-
gular contraband trader, was brought before Mr. Woolrych
charged with unlawfully carrying and conveying 71 lbs. of
foreign manufactured tobacco, which had not paid duty.
Mr. Thomas Smith, a Custom-house officer, said he met
the prisoner just before 8 o'clock yesterday (Sunday) morn-
ing on Tower-hill, and suspecting from his bulky appear-
ance that he had smuggled goods about him, he stopped him
and said, " Have you anything liable to duty about you."
The reply was in the negative. He did not believe the pri-
soner, and upon conveying him to the station house
found upon him 71 lbs. of compressed foreign manu-
factured tobacco. It was concealed under the
prisoner's clothes, and round his body. The
Cologne steamer, from Rotterdam, had arrived at the St
Katherine's wharf a few minutes before he stopped th•
prisoner, and he had no doubt the prisoner brought the
tobacco from that vessel and that it was smuggled to thin
country by one of the crew or a passenger. The prisoner,
a tall, heavy fellow, about 50 years of age, said in defence,
it's all right.

Mr. Wuolrych—No, it's all wrong. You are fined £3
18s. 9d., the single value and duty on the tobacco, and in,
default, 14 days' imprisonment and hard labour.

SHOCKING DEATH.

An inquest was held on Saturday at the residence
of Dr. Brodhurst, 20, Grosvenor-street, by Mr.
Langham, deputy coroner for Westminster, upon'
the body of Mrs. Elizabeth Brodhurst. Dr. Brod-
hurst said that deceased was his wife, and her age'
was 32. Last Tuesday evening they both dined
together, after which he went out to attend a meet-
ing. On his return, about 10 at night, he found his
wife in the drawing-room writing a letter. He sat
with her for a short time, when she told him the
purport of the note, and was writing another to a
friend, when he left her to go up to his own room to
change his coat. Just as he was getting to his room
ha heard loud cries of " I'm on fire." He rushed
down and found his wife in the middle of the draw-
ing-room enveloped in flames. Her clothes were
entirely consumed, and the furniture near her was.
on fire. She had on a white muslin dress. She dict
not seem to have lost her presence of mind, for she,
requested the rug to be rolled round her and the bell
to be rung for the servants, which he did, and ex-
tinguished the flames about the upper part of her
person. Immediately the bell was rung three ser-
vants rushed in, and he believed the reason of their
being so near the door was because his wife had
rang the bell before for prayers. Unfortunately she
had on one of those crinolines made of steel hoops..
Every means was tried to extinguish the fire about,
and under the hoops with the sofa cushions and other
things at hand. He also knelt on and tried to com
press and break them for the purpose of putting the
fire out, but all without avail, and they had to be
cut off before it could be extinguished. She had been
writing with a candle by her side which had burnt
down in the socket, and he believed that she had
tried to reach an envelope from the case, when the
light caught her muslin sleeve. She died about five
o'clock the following day. Thomas Glasgow, the
butler, confirmed his master's evidence, as did also
Ellen Fletcher, the nursemaid, who deposed to the
difficulty in putting the fire out, owing to the
" hoops. Dr. Gull, of 26, Brook-street, Grosvenor
square, deposed to seeing the deceased lady ir. her
bedroom. She was conscious, although se:Li:tering
greatly. She was burnt very multi on boas
arms and about the head, face, and I",,ack. She was
most extensively burnt about tine legs. The de-
ceased lady never rallied, as the shock to her sys-
tem was so great, and she died from the effects of
the injuries received 'As regards the remarks of Dr.
Brodhurst about crinolines, he could hardly agree
with them. He wished to say one word with re-
spect to the getting up of these light dresses. If the
laundress in preparing these dresses would put
small portion of sulphate of salt or sulphate of soda-
into the starch it would render them perfectly in-
combustible, at the cost of about one-tenth of
farthing per dress. He hoped the press would no-
tice this, because then, he said, Dr. Odling, of Guy's
Hospital, would communicate through them the
name of the article. He had seen the experiment
tried on two pieces of linen, one prepared with the
sulphate and the other not. The one that was
prepared was held over a candle, and the flame had
no effect at all upon it, but directly the other was
held over it was consumed. In these days of art and
science he considered it was shameful that some-
thing of this sort was not done to prevent these
sad occurrences. Dr. Gull said, so sudden was the
combustion that the figures of the muslin dress
were left on the floor unburnt. The Coroner, in
summing up, said the suggestion made by the
doctor was a valuable one, and he hoped it would
be noticed by the press. He hoped, too, these'
things would be noticed by laundresses; for ifr
in the present case, something of the sulphate
had been put into the starch, the deceased.
lady's life might have been spared. If it had not
been for the crinoline too her life might have been,
saved. He thought that she was another victim 01
the prevailing costume among ladies. The just'
returned a verdict " That deceased died from in-
juries received by accidental burning."

MR. ANDERSSON'S NEW TRAVELS IN AFRICA.—
Messrs. Hurst and Blackett have just issued the new- work
entitled " The Okavango River," a narrative of travel, ex-
ploration, and adventure, by Mr. Charles John Andersson,
the author of " Lake Ngarui." This work will be perused
with avidity by all interested in geographical discovery,
while to the sportsman its pages are most attractive. Mr.
Andersson's adventures among the savage African tribes on
his progress to the Okavango River, are full of the most ex
citing details, and his exploits in the pursuit of elephants,
lions, rhinoceroses, giraffes, and other denizens of the Afri-
can wilds, even exceed in daring and danger those
incomme-
nmaorrraatteidve,"The Okavango
is illustrated by ek
series of excellent engravings.
THE CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKES.-4-From observa-
tions made at different times upon a volcanic mountain,
called La Souffriere, or the Sulphur Hill, in the island of
Guadeloupe, M. Gentili, a
parried by the sinking of
navy, has concluded that e
physician in the French
it to be formed of large solid earthquakes are aceom-
eangularni
ng s
p mountains.
acb
numerous intervening of La Souffriere is composed of tarchyte. If v"
suppose its interior and the lower strata surrounding
this
substance, with - es filled with
gases, then the escapeof of the
these gases by the mouth
volcano,
. i and the filling up of these vacant spaces by the
lockTsheof base
settling down of the track f blocks will cause earth-
quakes. This c y tie .
appears to be the case in. Guadaloupe,
where earthquakes are very frequent. The island in.
the vicinity of La Souffriere is almost always i 3
motion, and appears to have sunk considerably
ailing the past half-century. About fifty years ago, its
height, according to Moreau de Jonnes, was 1,570 metres.
In 1843 it was measured by M. Ch. Sainte-claire Devillc,
and found to be 1,484 mares. M. Gentili has lately
measured its height twice with great care, and found
it to be only 1,460 metres. These measuremen
prove that this mountain is gradually sinking'
From these facts M. Gentili infers in general that __T _
sinking of mountains is the cause of earthquakes. 'La:
inference should, however, bo accepted with limitationula!
theie may be several causes of earthquakes. They s
in
3'
arise from chemical as well as from mechanical change
ur
the int oriel. of the earth. In the present state of o_ ,
knowledge we can only say that earthquakes and the sinpcs,
ing of mountains accompany each other.—.llfechaft
Aragazfur‘