The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-07 00:00:00

C r

PARTRIDGES AND RABBITS.

The Norfolk News gives another curious Rabbit
Case ; not, however, this time, one which led to
a magistrate's pocketing a sovereign, compound-
ing a felony, and getting a fine of 2001. and a
year's imprisonment; nor a case, for commenting
on the illegal and arbitrary treatment of which a
peer and magistrate threatened an editor, tried
to provoke him to a duel, and was within
a little of standing in the dock at
the assizes. The self constituted magistrate in
this case was a gamekeeper, and the attacked
party a Norfolk farmer. In the parish of Hock-
ham a Mr. Gayford and his son jointly rented a
farm of a Mr. Partridge, with the express condi-
tion in the lease of permission to kill rabbits.
Mr. Partridge's gamekeeper, in the plenitude of
his authority, determined to put down the
warrener employed by the Gayfords to
catch the rabbits ; he caught them with snares,
and the inference was that something else was
caught with the snares. Gayford went twice
early in the morning to see whether the charge
against his warrener was true. He found
the old man had caught nothing but rab-
bits. The second morning, however, Mr.
Gamekeeper came up in great wrath, but
the farmer interposed. He then attacked the
farmer, and the gamekeeper's son attacked the
farmer's son. Right furiously they fought ; but
the gamekeepers obtained, ultimately, the physi-
cal victory, so far as to get the snares, while the
farmer had to ride home to breakfast without
them. The farmer's turn was, however, to come.
The gamekeepers appeal to the Hall ; but at the
Hall it was found that the lease was explicit, and
with ample apologies Mr. Gamekeeper had to re-
turn the snares, and think himself well off if he
escaped without an action for'assault and battery.
Norfolk will become 'famous for Rabbit cases.
But how long are the barbarous laws to last which
give rise to them !

COMPLETION OF THE TELEGRAPHIC
LINE TO CORFU.

We have been favoured by the Secretary of the
Mediterranean Extension Telegraph Company
(Limited) with the following communication :
" CAGLIARI, 3.52 P. M., 6TH DEC., 1857.
"Elba arrived at Malta to-day. Communication
with Corfu completed.

(Signed)

" CRAIG."

We heartily congratulate the Company on the
entire length of their line being now completed.
But why not go on ? There is the gap to Alexandria
still calling out for rope. How long must we wait ?
As it is the shareholders in this company have now
a Government guarantee of six per cent. for twenty-
five years, which comes into immediate operation.
The Government ought now to take a lesson from
the enterprise of the directors of this company, and
push on an independent line of their own to Alex-
andria, as we hinted a few days ago, and so
leave Austria in the lurch of her own cupidity.
Is it to be tolerated that we, who never hesitate in
spending millions upon millions for some foreign
crotchet, shouli 'yet boggle to advance,
simply to advance, a few thousands, or even
tens of thousands, to facilitate our intercourse with
India, by which thousands of valuable lives might
have been, and may yet be saved, while the bsnefit
accruing to our commercial interests may be reck-
oned by millions ? Our great wonder is that men in
power are so dogmatically apathetic ; but the more
mortifying wonder is, that,the commercial public so
long permit it.

BRAZIL AND THE nAVE TRADE.