The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-27 00:00:00

MR. MINNOCII AND MISS SMITH.

A correspondent of the Northern Whig writes to
that journal as follows :—" Au art:el° appeared in
your columns of the 11th inst., censuring, in very
strong terms, the conduct of Mr. Minuoch during
the late trial at Edinburgh. I, therefore take the
liberty of writing, to set you right ou one or two
points—or, rather, to lay before you facts which
will induce you to alter your opinion of that gentle-
man. In the first place, you condemn him for
consenting to appear as a witness at the trial.
Upon Miss Smith's being arrested, so firmly was
he convinced of her innocence that he declared his
intention of marrying her as soon as she was
acquitted. In the meantime he left Glasgow,
giving up his businessfor a month, in order to avoid.
the chance of being subpoenaed as a witness; but it
was represented to him that it wouldgo against Miss
Smith if he refused to give evidence. And besides
this, I think that you will allow that the situation
in which he was placed—that of an accepted lover
giving evidence against his affianced bride—was a
most painful one, and not one that any man would
willingly have courted. After he had given his
evict nce be did not return home, as might have
been expected, but remained at Edinburgh, and
there awaited the issue of the trial ; and as soon as
Miss Smith was released, he escorted her, not only
back to Glasgow, but the whole way down to her
father's country house, Row Aleyn. The next
thing we hear of him i,, that he has put down
his name for NO!. to a subscription which was
got up for the purpose of defraying the expenses
of the trial—a delicate way of testifying to poor
Mr. Smith his esteem for him, and his sympathy
with him during his affliction. What hie private
conviction with regard to Miss Smith's innocence
may have been I am at a loss to say ; but this is
a point ou which Mr. Minnoch has a right, and
ought, to judge. If he thought her guilty, it only
renders his conduct all the more meritorious. The
whole affair is involved in the deepest mystery, and
forms a problem for moralists to speculate upon—a
problem which will, perhaps, not be solved until
the day when all things shall be made known."

A "BLOODY MURDER" IN AUSTRALIA.—It was ilk
moured that a cruel and mysterious murder bad been
committed near the dry diggings at Daylesford. There
is a large deep waterhole, in a secluded spot, which one
might easily imagine to be the scene of such a deed.
Blood was seen near the rim of the hole, and in several
places down the side. The police were on the alert—
the neighbourhood was in an uproar. Drags of all kinds
were procured, and the inspector and his men were all
the week indefatigably engaged in endeavouring to solve
the enigma. At length their labours were crowned with
success. Something heavy was felt on the drag ;it was
slowly and solemnly raised to the surface. It was the
mangled body of—a dog ! —Mclbourne Age.
AUSTRALIAN WINEB.—From New South Wales we
have received most favourable accounts of the vintage
for the present year, which bad already commenced in
the counties of Cumberland, Camden, Hunter, Durham,
and Northumberland, where the chief vineyards of the
c .lony are planted ; and most sanguine anticipations are
entertained that in a few years we may hope to see the
names of " Camden Park, Irrawang, Tomago, Lochin-
var, Carwarra, Tuleela," &c., rank as high in the wine
market as Lafitte, Latour, Chateux Margaux, Sillery,
Ay, Romano-Conti, or Chambertin. With respect
to any extensive exports of Australian wines, it
is stated that we must entertain no hopes for
some years to come. The demand, both in tbis
colony and Victoria, for colonial wines at present
exceeded the means of supply. The chief holders of
wine, it is also reported, would not execute any large
orders until next season, when they anticipate a supply
of the finest quality. As regards the present vintage,
the wine, with the utmost care, cannot be expected to
arrive at maturity within the next three years. The
stock on band from former vintages was comparatively
small ; but the steady increase of vineyards in almost
every part of the colony promisee that wine will before
long become a valuable commodity in the articles of ex-
portation, and vie in value with its wool, tallow, gold,
and coal. The produce of wine during the put year
has been estimated at 170,000 gallons—only a small
portion of which has gone beyond the immediate neigh-
bourhood of the respective vineyards, which, however,
with due care and proper skill, might easily prodtice
double the quantity they do at present.—Australian and
New Zealand Casette.
NECESSITY FOR LARGE Rooms.—To meet the de-
mand which is evidently growing, buildings have
been put up capable of holding large numbers,
Thirty or forty years ago, a room which would con-
tain an audience of 1,000 was looked upon with
curiosity. Since. Exeter Hail; the Siirrey Music Hall,
and other places in the metropolis, have been erected
on a much larger scale ; and in the provinces, the
Free Trade Hall at Manchester, the halls at Birming-
ham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and • other places, are re-
markable, when contrasted with those formerly used for
a similar purpose. The lecture-room at the Polytechnic
Institution has been enlarged from time to time, and
at present from 3,000 to 4,000 persons can both heat
the lectures and clearly see the explanatory Musks.
Lions ; and we hope the day is not far distant when mss
like Faraday, 0 wen, and others famous in art, Mesa-
ture, and science, will have the means of addressing them-
selves to classes of many thousand strong. 7 In the
Surrey Music Hall from 8,000 to 10,000 persons
flock week after week to hear the popular preacher
of the day, and, what is more, do hear him.
One of the chief difficulties in bringing about such a
desirable result seems to be the difficulty in modern
buildings of getting the voice of a -speaker to reaeh
a sufficient number, and there are instances in halls of
even moderate size, where an orator is not so well
heard by a considerable portion of the audience as he
would be from a platform in the open air. In looking
at the vast space of the new reading:room at the
British Museum, the notion arises that a rdagnifiaent
ball for the purpose of illustrated lectures might be
erected on this Van, capable of holding an immense con-
course of people who would see better than those in the
background of a building of an oblong form :rand it might
be useful to make some acoustic ekpFiFuents in order
to show if, for the purposes of lectures and musks
similar buildings could be made available. Should such
experiments be made, and found to .be successful, it
might lead to our having in the metropolis a structure
devoted to the most useful purposes, wherein thousands
at the same time might find, cheaply, instruction• and
delight.—The Builder.