The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 28, 1859.

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

-~___--

(From the Correspondent of t 1 Times.)
VICTORIA, Nov. 10.

Since I last alluded t• the San Juan difficulty
with the United States their authorities on the island,
both civi 1 and military, have been guilty of many
petty acts calculated to annoy the British authori-
ties and subjects, and to keep up the irritation pro-
duced by the invasion and subsequent occupation of
the disputed territory. _ _

For instance, they arrested, fined, and imprisoned
a British subject for selling a few bottles of spirits
on the island, and only liberated him after ho was
mulcted in some of the dollars found in the poor
fellow's pocket, and of which he was eased. Again,
some Anierican, usurping the authority of collector
of Customs, seized the baggage of Major de Courcy,
the English stipendiary magistrate resident on the
island, on occasion of his return from a trip on offi-
cial business to Victoria the other day, and the
baggage was only restored at the instance of Capt.
Prevost, in command of her Majesty's ship Satellite,
stationed off the island. Both these outrages were
perpetrated under colour of the exclusive sove-
reignty assumed on the first landing of the Ameri-
can forces, which it is pretended justified the ex-
tension of the United States' revenue laws to San
Juan. Considering that General Harney admitted
his proceedings were taken on his own responsi-
bility, and without authority from the United States'
Government, the commission of such acts as these,
pending the receipt of advices from Washington,
could only have been prompted by wantonness, or
as a direct insult, or on purpose to provoke a na-
tional quarrel.
To carry out the principle of exclusive Sove-
reignty to its utmost extreme, on Capt. Prevost hav-
ing caused a pathway to be cut through the bush on
the shore to facilitate the communications of his
officers on land, the road was no sooner finished than
an American sentinel was placed over it. This
act was excused on the plea that the sentry was put
there to prevent " loafers" from using the road ;
but the validity of this excuse is negatived by the
fact that on Captain Prevost making another road
it was left without a sentry.
There is also the case of some fishermen from Vic-
toria having been driven away at the point of a
loaded rifle froth fishing in the disputed waters be-
tween San Juan and Lopez Island, on the east of
the former, on the plea that they were trespassing
on American waters. This act is not charged di-
rectly to the American authorities, but it is a corol-
lary to the unlawful assumptions made by them on
the island.

We bore this and a great deal more of a similar
character with the best grace we could, firm in the
hope that the good sense and good feeling of the
two Governments would adjust all differences and
remove all causes:of irritation and ill-feeling between
people who have every interest to be on good terms
with each other.

It is proper that I should qualify my condemna-
tion of the proceedings at San Juan by doing the
officers stationed there the justice of saying that, so
far as they are personally concerned, nothing could
be more correct, officer-like, and gentlemanly than
their conduct and demeanour. They have had to
perform very reluctantly a most odious and dis-
agreeable duty, and they performed it with amenity,
while they were mush disgusted with the service
they were engaged in. Nor is the General Govern-
ment chargeable with any of the monstrous acts of
General Harney, who took his measures without in-
structions.

While we were waiting in much anxiety to know
how the two Governments would act in the premis-
ses, General Scott, the Commander-in-Chief of tho
American Army, who, as you must be aware, was
despatched from Washington on purpose on a
mission of peace and amity to settle the affair,
arrived some 10 days ago, and immediately on his
arrival opened a correspondence with Governor
Douglas, offering the withdrawal of some of the
American forces, and proposing a joint military
occupation of the island, to be continued by an equal
force of English and American soldiers until the
question of the title should be settled by the two
Governments by diplomacy.
A joint military occupation was declined by the
Governor, but a joint civil occupation proposed by
him. This was rejected by General Scott, and after
some parleying on paper, in which the best possible
feeling was displayed on both sides, the General
determined to remove all the troops and artillery,
except Captain Pickett's company, which was the
first that landed on and occupied the island. He
has issued an order to this effect, of which he sent
the Governor a copy ; and the day before yesterday
the General called at the island, but did not land, to
enforce the execution of his order. Thus the matter
stands. The several companies are ordered back to
their different posts in Washington Territory and
Oregon, except Captain Pickett's company of 50
men, who are ordered to remain on the island.
All that the Governor could do in this stage of
the affair, while he is without orders from his Go-
vernment (not yet due by the ordinary course of
post) was to express his satisfaction at the removal
of so many of the American troops, which he hopes
is an earnest of the intention of the United States
Government to restore the status of the island to what
it was before Harney's invasion, and to state that
he would report proceedings to his Government.
It will occur to any one conversant with this
transaction, as I formerly reported it with much
minuteness of detail, that our proper and only
course would have been, as we have never landed a
man on the island, to require the status quo ante to
be restored by the removal of all the American forces
before we treated. This was Mr. Douglas's view, and
he urged it, but General Scott would not accede to
it. In fact, as the matter now stands, we neither
consent to nor refuse anything, and are not com-
mitted to anything.
The General asserts that a small military force is
necessary for the protection of the American citi-
zens who, he assumes, were settled on the island bo-
foro the " occupation," and who have since that cele-
brated event settled on it, from distant and from
neighbouring Indian tribes.
I give General Scott credit for believing that his
assumptions are justifiable. The representations
sent from this quarter to Washington induced the
Government there to suppose a state of matters to
exist on the island which in fact never did exist;
and I have no doubt that the stories t old the Gene-
ral since his arrival have led him Into a false belief
on the same subject.
I will point out these fallacies in a few words.
General Harney's alleged reasons for occupying
the island (apart from the absurdity of the alleged
intention of our authorities to abduct one of his
countrymen, who had wantonly killed a pig belong-
ing to a British subject) were to offer& protection
to Americans settled on the island who had peti-
tioned for such protection; and it was urged at a
later period that the island was required for pro-
tecting the American frontier against Indian in-
cursions.

Now, the fact is that there never were any Ame-
ricans settled on the island before the General's in-
vasion of it. I happened to visit the island on a
pleasure trip a short time before the General took
it under his protection. I rode over it from end to
end, and explored it pretty thoroughly. I made
particular inquiries of the Hudson's Bay Company's
resident Superintendent as to the number of Ame-
rican squatters, for the reason that I knew of at-
tempts being in contemplation at that time to squat
upon it ; and this gentleman informed me that there
never had been any permanent settlers upon it.
There were on it at the time of my visit four Ame-
ricans who might be called squatters, because they
" claimed" land. Three of this " population" of
squatters I saw and conversed with. One of them
m'as a black man, born, as I understood, in the An-

tillcs, on British soil, and whose chief inducement
for staying on the island was, that he had an en-
gagement from the Superintendent. I doubted his
being an American citizen, but was told that as he
had resided for some time in Washington Territory
"he could pass for one." He " claimed" a valley
in the centre of the island, his claim to be realised
on the island being declared American territory,
and I must do him the justice to say that he had
evinced some degree of judgment in his selection of
a "location," and had "cast his lines in pleasant
places." He had ho terror of the Indians, for he
lived alone, at several miles distance from other
habitations. The next squatter was a veritable
American, who had been " off and on" the island
for some time, and who had a small patch of pota-
toes. He had no fear of Indians, for his" location"
was close to the company's establishment—every-
where a protection in such cases. The third squatter
was also an American. He admitted that he came
to the island under encouragement from the autho-
rities of Washington territory, who promised him
that the United States' Government would protect
him. He had about two rods grubbed up and
planted with potatoes, which " possession" I saw
afterwards dignified in some of the American papers
as a " farm !" This jolly citizen I should have sup-
posed had little dread of Indians either, for ho had
a squaw living with him in his tent. Next day
after learning the fact just narrated I observed the
shell of a house half-finished of rough boards, on
the eastern slope of the island, and was told that it
had been partly erected by a squatter No. 4 ; but,
as he had not been seen for some time, it was sup-
posed that he had abandoned his intention of " set-
tling," and had left the island.
This was, to my knowledge, the exact state of
matters up to a very short period before the inva-
sion. But just before that event some persons
landed on the island and went through the sham of a
public meeting under the auspices of an American,
who held the nominal office of sub-collector of Cue-
toms, and " got up" a petition to Gen. Harney crav-
ing protection against Indians. I have seen the
petition, and it is a tissue of misrepresentation
which I can refute, and which no one here ever be-
lieved a word of. The whole " plant" was concocted
in Washington territory to induce or justify Gen.
Harney's action.
So much for the American settlers forming the
population which existed before the General's ac-
tion in the premises; and as to the population
since accrued, it is composed of suttlers and camp
followers—of a population consequent', in short,
upon the " occupation," and which will vanish with
the removal of the soldiers. To this latter I may
add some fresh squatters who came with and fol-
lowed the expedition to the island.
Of the plea that San Juan is neccessary for the
protection of the American frontier, I can only say
from my personal knowledge of the locality and of
the course of voyaging of the northern Indians,
whom the Americans dread so much, that if Indians
on a foray in American waters or on American
territory by land should ever make this island they
would go very much out of their way. Military and
naval men competent to judge laugh at the plea sot
up by the American General on this score.
These are facts which will be new to the Ameri-
can Government, and which, I believe, Gen. Scott is
not cognizant of; but they justify us in declining a
joint military occupation, which, if agreed to before
the withdrawal of all the American forces, would
really be a condonation by us of Gen. Harney's oc-
cupation, and an admission of the validity of the
claim of exclusive sovereignty over the island made
by his lieutenant.
The British subjects here, with their knowledge
of facts, are very much dissatisfied that Gen. Scott
did not remove all the troops, and they aro decidedly
adverse to a joint military occupation.
To sum up, my owa humble opinion is that
General Scott has not done what was incumbent
upon his Government. If they felt that Harney
was right they ought to have supported his mea-
sures. Having admitted that he was wrong, or at
any rate had committed a mistake, they ought to
have withdrawn all their troops. and then treated
for ulterior measures. And as to a military occu-
pation on our- part, I consider it, other reasons
apart, totally unnecessary, because our subjects do
not require protection from Indians,with whom they
live in amity, and have so lived for the last five
years that they have occupied the island; because,
also, we do not encourage or permit any more British
subjects to settle on the island until the title
is determined ; because the expense and inconve-
nience of keeping up a military force in the island
are uncalled for and would be a mere waste ; be-
cause we want our soldiers elsewhere : because we
have strictly observed the arrangement made with
the American Government, at its own invitation,
to let matters remain as they were at that time ;
and because there is no reason why we should be
put to the inconvenience of a military occupation
because General Harney chose to disregard and
break the stipulations of his own Government.
The American are acting in bad taste in keeping
a single soldier on the island if they know the facts
of the case. Some Americans admit that neither
the Government nor General Scott dare face public
opinion if they withdrew the troops. There is
much in this, I admit, for their consideration ; but
it is surely not a good reason for us that they con-
tinue a wrong rather than face public clamour from
the intemperate portion of their countrymen—the
" Spread Eagle" apostles. All right-thinking Ame-
ricans condemn General Harney's conduct as much
as we do ; but I have exhausted the subject, and will
merely call the attention of our own Government
to the unsatisfactory state of the question at pre-
sent, and urge the Cabinet to lose no time in having
the title settled.
I had a striking illustration of the validity of the
British claim to the island the other day. An Ame-
rican gentleman, well acquainted with navigation,
who was strongly convinced of the validity of his
country's claim, was put to this test. The treaty
was put into his hands and the chart placed before
him, and he was asked to trace the line from the
text of the treaty. He tried hard, but could not by
any ingenuity run it into the Canal de Hare. He
admitted that, if ever America gets the Canal de
Haro, as she claims, the treaty certainly does not
give it to her.

It is perhaps needless to add that, so far as we
can judge, there is not the slightest chance of *col-
lision or even of any further ill-feeling between the
two nations upon this vexed question of San Juan.

General Scott leaves to-morrow for San Fran-
cisco, where he will remain for some time,
and I trust that, with the new lights which will in
the meantime be thrown upon the subject, he will
become convinced of the propriety of removing all
the soldiers from San Juan. But whether he does
or does not is of far less importance than the final
adjustment of the boundary line.
The news from the mines is very good. Now gold
diggings are continually being discovered, and the
quantity of gold got out is considerable; but a
great many miners are leaving for California at
the approach of winter. owing chiefly to the exorbi-
tant prices of provisions caused by the difficulty of
communication. Without the formation of roads to
facilitate transport and intercourse I am certain
that British Columbia will never progress ; and, as
the resources of the colony are inadequate, I see no
means of securing an object which will cost a con-
siderable outlay unless the home Government takes
the matter in hand. I think the prospects of the
country fully justify the expectation that it could
afford to pay the interest of a loan and repay the
principal ; but at present with so small a popula-
tion, to defray the first cost of road-making to the
required extent is out of the question. The revenue
now pays all the civil expenses, and has afforded
some aid to the road-making.

Victoria is progressing steadily, and business has
boon quite brisk during the last few months.

LORD IFENSLEYDALP, ax THE RIFLI

CORI'S MO 17,,1f ENT.

A public meeting convened by advertisement was
held on Saturday, at the Shire-hall, Bedfordshire,
for the purpose of organising measures for the esta-
blishment of a county rifle force—Sir G. Osborne,
Bart., in the chair. Lord Wensleydale, Rev. Lord
John Thyme, Mr. H. Littledale, Mr. Crewe Alston,
Colonel Lindsell, Colonel Higgins, Captain Polhill-
Turner, Colonel W. Thornton, Major Cooper, &e.,
were present.
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, said
nothing but a deep conviction of the unparalleled
importance of the movement could have induced
him to take a leading part on the present occasion.
A patriotic spirit pervaded the length and breadth
of the land ; men of all classes—of every shade of
opinion--of Gvery pursuit and profession—were
uniting in furtherance of a common object, for the
accomplishment of a common purpose ; and every
man of courage appeared to take a deep interest in
the all-absorbing topic. The question to which he
referred related to the national defences, but he
hoped they would never want a body of men suffi-
ciently numerous to defend their country, their
wives, their children, and their property. (Applause.)
Lord WENSLEYDALE said it was with very sincere
pleasure he listened to the call of his hon. friend
the chairman of this meeting. He was going to
move a resolution which he might say would not
only obtain the approval of those present, but of
the county at large. The object of it was to declare
the necessity of having an armed body of men in
the county. (Hear, hear.) Although he was uncon-
nected with this county in point of property, he
had lived in it more than 20 years, and had met
with such uniform kindness that he could not help
taking as deep- an interest in its welfare as though
he was the proprietor of a large and extensive estate,
and as great a desire to assist in upholding the good
reputation of the county of Bedford—(hear, hear)—
but he feared that reputation would suffer if they
did not follow the example of the neighbouring
counties, and he might add the great bulk of the
counties throughout England. He considered it to
be their duty to place their empire in a state of de-
fence, so as to be prepared against the probability,
under whatever contingency, of an invasion. (Hear.)
He did not feel himself called upon to express an
opinion as to the probability of an invasion at an
early period ; he did not think they ought to calcu-
late upon that ; but he might express himself in
the language of a very able leader and illustrious
man, who had recently been travelling about the
northern counties, enlightening the people by his
extensive knowledge and profound wisdom. This
friend of his of upwards of fifty years had in two
sentences stated the question so forcibly that it was
impossible to give a clearer view of the principle
which should guide the present movement. He
said, "Do not mistrust your neighbours, but trust
to yourselves." (Applause.) Now, he could himself
rely with confidence on the declaration made by
that extraordinary man the Emperor of the French,
that he was friendly to this country. He did not
believe the reports that the French people were
hostile to England ; and especially the great body
of the good and sensible had no unfriendly
feelings towards us. But as in individuals,
so in nations; an individual was subject to
ebullitions of passion when he found his own in-
terest assailed, so in the case of nations, though it
was the interest of all, and particularly of this coun-
try, on account of her commerce and manufactures,
to be at peace. But still, although they had been
assured of the Emperor's friendship find that of the
nation over which he governed, yet the same rule
must apply to them as in private life ; the French
people were a proud and susceptible race, and it
was impossible to tell what might arise to indispose
them to remain at peace with this country. (Hear.)
These considerations, however, ought not to weigh
with them for a moment, for he contended the coun-
try ought to be placed in such a condition as to be
able to meet any contingency, whatever might
happen. (Hear, hear.) He was sorry to say, look-
ing at the present condition of the country, whilst
it had largely increased in wealth and power, it was
more vulnerable to outward attack than it ever had
previously been, and he believed that at this mo-
ment no country in Europe was less defensive, and
more liable to the conflict of a sudden invasion.
(Hear, hear.) Ile knew it might he said that the
country had all early a paid body of armed men ;
but that paid body of armed men did not preclude
the possibility of obtaining another body from the
population, that they may be trained to arms,
taught the use of the rifle, and be made use of in
case of need. (Hear, hear.) He remembered the
volunteer movement in 1803-4. At that time it
was proposed by the ministry to introduce a bill
giving Government power to levy en masse ; the
object of the measure was in fact to compel every
able-bodied matt to take arms, unless the volun-
teers came forward in sufficient numbers to obviate
that necessity. The bill gave a right to the Crown
to call upon the subject in time of threatened inva-
sion. In former times all the people were trained
to arms, archery for instance, as a matter of legal
compulsion ; hence the superictrity of the English
archers, and the bow became a powerful weapon
whether employed in foreign or domestic warfare.
He should be sorry to see any necessity for com-
pulsion. At the time he alluded to the great poli-
tical loaders of that day, Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox,
though the leaders of opposite parties, both ex-
pressed their opinions in nearly the same language,
and he had been very much struck with the applica-
tion of what Mr. Fox said to the present time. He
said he gave his hearty concurrence to the measure ;
he could not oppose a measure which the state of
the war made necessary. He could conscientiously
support the measure because it was for the defence
of the country more than for any object of offensive
war. He relied principally upon the armed mass
of the people to resist invasion. As to any regular
force he wished it to be as great a good as possible ;
yet he could no more think of placing his entire
dependence upon the regular forces than on our
navy; both might be excellent, yet subject to
events ; whereas the mass of a great people in-
structed in the use of arms was a safe and perma-
nent security, that did not depend on the event of
one battle, nor would by any untoward circumstances
be rendered inefficacious. Mr. Fox went on
to exprese a hope that an armament of this
nature might be obtained voluntarily, and
without any compulsive measures ; but he
should say notwithstanding that, if necessary,
compulsion should be resorted to. Now he (Lord
Wensleydale) would say that these circumstances
applied to the present time. Certainly, at that
time of which he had been speaking there was im-
mediate danger, for war had been declared; but
still the necessity of having a body of men accus-
tomed to arms and well disciplined existed ; be-
cause, although they could count upon the assist-
ance of the brave and intelligent men of England,
yet that would be no defence in case of an invasion,
for however brave, without discipline, such a force
might prove prejudicial instead of being advan-
tageous. (Hear, hear.) If, however, they be
taught the use of arms, and that be accomplished
with the least possible burden and inconvenience to
themselves, they would become such a security to
the country as to render invasion by any foreign
power almost impossible. He trusted that now the
nation had been aroused to a proper sense of its
position, they would soon have the satisfaction of
seeing a ecatly extended body of disciplined men,
and that the people had resolved to follow the
example set them at the commencement of the pre-
sent century. (Applause.) As to himself, he could
not now be of any use for active service. At the
time to which his remarks had been directed, he
served his country in the capacity of a volunteer,
but his pursuits had been in more peaceable courses
in later years. When active efforts were made be-
fore for the defence of the country, a force of 356,743
' men was raised, consisting of the militia, yeomanry,
and volunteers, as well as a coast guard of 25,000.
His own was an additional corps to these of three
or four hundred more, and the right-hand man of
the company was the present Prime Minister. Ha
was an excellent officer, and early gave proofs of
those talents as a commander which have since se-
cured for him the approbation of his country.
(Hear, hoar.) He thought at the present time they
ought to have a much larger force, inasmuch as the
population was only about half then to what it
was 'now ; then the population of England and
Scotland comprised about 10 millions, now it was
about 21 millions. The population of Ireland had
not increased in the same manner, but speaking in
round numbers the population of the United King-
dom in 1859 more than doubled that of 1803.
When • application shall be made for additional
powers with respect to the enrolment of volunteers,
as soon as the present Parliament shall have as-
sembled, he could not conceive a more powerful
mode of obtaining whatever might be deemed ne-
cessary, than the patriotism which the people ma-
nifested throughout the country. (Applause.) His
lordship concluded by moving the first rosolution,
to the effect :—" That this meeting consider it most
desirable to promote a volunteer rifle corps in the
county of Bedford, under the provisions of an act

of Parliament, and that the same be promoted by
donations and annual subscriptions." (Applause.)
Mr. BEAUFORD, the secretary, read the list of
donationsand subscriptions already received,
amounting altogether to about L'soo.
The meeting then broke up.

THE FREE CH UR ' OF SCO TE A 1 D

AND THE CIVIL COURTS.

' On Friday the Court of Session delivered judg-
ment adverse to the Free Church in a case which
' has lately acquired great importance from the prin-
ciples it involves as to the relation of Dissenting
churches to the State, and which is at present a
subject of great interest and discussion throughout
Scotland. The case was a few months ago very
clearly stated, but it may be necessary slusetly to
recapitulate the leading facts. The Lev. T.
Itl•Millan, of Cardross, Dumbartonshire, ws.s one of
several hundred ministers who left the Established
Church in 1843, and who united in a now ecclesias-
tical body called the Free Church, whiel may be
said to comprehend nearly one-third of the people
of Scotland. In 1853-7 Mr. M'Millart was pro-
ceeded against by the Presbytery of the, bounds on
a libel, charging him with certain acts, of drunken-
ness and improper conduct. The libel was partially
found proven by the Presbytery ; on. appeal to the
Provincial Synod, a small portion of the accusation
was sustained, and an appeal was then taken to the
General Assembly, the supreme tribunal of the
body, whose whole organisation is founded sxactly
on the model of the Church of Scotland. The As-
sembly, on hearing the case (May, 1857), instead of
dealing simply with the points appealed, reverted
to a portion of the original accusation, and found it
proved, and at same time dismissed the appeal. In
consequence of that finding the Assembly sentenced
the accused to suspension sine die from the office of
the ministry, and declared his charge vacant. Mr.
M'Millan felt aggrieved by a judgment which had
not been regulated by the usual form of process,
and dealing with him, as ho conceived, unjustly,
carried the case to the Court of Session. The As-
sembly, then sittin4 indignant at the Appeal made
to the civil courts, cited Mr. M'Millan to appear at
the bar. He did so, was questioned if he had so
appealed, he replied in the affirmative, and was
thereupon without formal process of any kind,
summarily and instantly deposed from the
ministry—the capital sentence of the ecclesiastical
courts. Mr. M'Millan again appealed to the civil
courts, and raised two separate actions against the
office-bearers of the Free Church Assembly, craving
redress against these sentences and claiming reposi-
tion and damages. These actions were met by the
defenders in various pleas, the leading one being
that the sentences now brought under review of the
civil courts were those of an independent and spiri-
tual body, over which the civil courts could have
no control or jurisdiction. The Court of Session,
viewing the case as a highly important one, called
for production of the standards of the Church, the
deeds under which the pursuer was amenable to the
ecclesiastical body,and the minutes of the proceed-
ings against the pursuer. The defenders entered
elaborate written pleadings to show that they were
not bound to do so, and that the civil court had no
authority in any case to review their acts. It was
in reference to these defences that the Court gave
judgment on Friday to the effect of holding that
the case in question was a question of contract, that
the Court had jurisdiction to inquire whether it had
been so violated as to call for their interference.
The Lord President, in moving the judgment of
the Court, made a very able analysis of the facts
and pleadings in the case. Coming to the law of
the case he said, we arc here on a question as to a
body which has a constitution of its own, and we
are here to deal with the case upon that footing.
It appears to me that the pursuer, if he has really
suffered wrong, as he says he has, is entitled to re-
dress, like any other subject of the Queen, unless,
by his own voluntary act, ho has relinquished the
right to seek such redress, and has in some legal
way subjected himself to the power and authority
of others without the right of redress. On the
other hand, I think it is equally clear that the de-
fendants, as office-bearers and members of a religi-
ous association, or body tolerated by law, are enti-
tled to all the benefits and privileges which such to-
leration gives. If their by-lases, or constitution, or
rules of government are pot contrary to law—are
not illegal in themselves•—the courts of law will not
interfere between them and their members in the
fair application and enforcement of such rules
against parties who have chosen to enter the body
and to subject themselves to those laws ; but if the
office-bearers or the governing authorities in these
bodies go altogether beyond the sphere of the con-
stitution of the association--if they deal with a
member in a way that they were not authorised by
their constitution to deal with him—if they attempt
to exercise over him a power or authority which he,
by becoming a member, did not acknowledge—and
if, by so acting, they have done him injury, he will
not be precluded from seeking redress, nor will the
courts of law hold him precluded from getting re-
dress. Both parties have appealed to the contract;
we must therefore examine the contract. It is ne-
cessary that they should point out to us the con-
tract, and the clauses which so exclude an appeal to
the courts, and by which this party is stated to have
placed himself under subjection to authority which
precluded him from rights which otherwise would
have belonged to him. We must then examine the
sentence to see whether it is within or without the
contract. More than that, when we have got that
length, it may possibly be necessary to examine
under what circumstances that sentence was pro-
nounced. We must therefore have both tho sentence
and tho contract competently before us. I think,
therefore, that we should repel the defences as de-
fences against " satisfying the production," but re-
serve them quoad ultra, and remit to the Lord Or-
dinary to fix a time for " satisfying the production."
There is one plea which has been urged that I should
like to make a remark upon. It has been urged that
the party seeks redress by being reponed and that
we cannot meddle with this case because we cannot
make this party again a minister of the Free Church.
I confess I was not much moved by that argument.
Itis really the most common position in which courts
of law are asked to give redress. A party is wrong-
fully dismissed his master's service—the court does
not repone him, but it gives redress. A party meets
with a railway accident—he loses his leg ' • we give
him redress, but see cannot repone him. (Laughter.)
The Court is asked to give that species of redress
which is the only one courts can substitute for that
which they cannot redress—pecuniary compensa-
tion. Whether this party will arrive at that stage
is a matter on which I cannot pronounce an opinion
now, since we are only at the preliminary stages of
the proceedings,
Lord Ivory, in expressing concurrence in the
judgment, said he thought the importance of the
present question appeared to be greatly exaggerated.
The parties were hero at issue us to what their con-
tract was ; and this question must be decided by the
production of the contract. But were the decision
of this Court ever so unsatisfactory, the remedy was
open. The Free Church and its members would
only have to begin anew, and form with greater care
and better success a fresh contract more consonant
to the views and intentions of all parties.
Lord Curriehill also concurred. He said the Dis-
senting bodies in this country, though they were
tolerated and protected by the State, were still in
their nature voluntary associations, founded on vo-
luntary contracts, and the office-bearers whom they
appointed had no authority over any persons who
were not parties to these contracts ; and their autho
oven over the latter did not ext End b oyotnd
what was conferred on these functionariesby h
terms of the contract, nor did their authority en-
dure
memberslongerof th
tleiaanss while they voluntarily remained
wasas
clear the case
it contract,a
not Lordo
f i
oDriesasdiostaioi
!h Ifanythingqestino was
it was that the defenders were invested with no ji-
psiraosoitiocaploo r All juris-
wer of the State;
rdiisodt ii co tni oflowed
from
lei en ecclesiastical
and the sanction of the same authority which enacted
the laws was necessary to the erection of courts, and
to the appointment of judges and magistrates to ad-
minister the laws. The Established Church of Scot-
land had, and still has, its sanction. The statute law
conferred on it ecclesiastical jurisdiction, to be
exercised by kirk sessions, presbyteries, provincial
synods, and general assemblies, but there was no
such statute law applicable to the association called
the Free Church of Scotland. When the defenders
separated from the Establishment they left all
jurisdiction behind them. If they meant to carry
it with them, as some expressions in their deeds
and writings produced would scam to indicate. it
was enough to say that this could not be done. No
voluntary -association could by any agreement
among its members assume a jurisdiction which
flowed only from the legislative power and the
royal prerogative. The Free Church was a volun-
tary association, tolerated and protected by the law,
as all voluntary associations for lawful purposes
were in this free country. What was termed tole-
ration was in reality freedom—just as much as if
there were no Established Church in the country.
But the presbyteries, synods, and assemblies of the
Free Church had not been erected into courts

.~

•
Either civil or ecclesiastical, and the eonstilin-7---..,-
)nietnl,eris of these prei;byteries, synods, or assetolilis,;:',.
were not judges in any legal sense. ,They,
acted and voted. solely in virtue of the private con--871-
tract regulatingthtir proceedings among themselves;
' and this contract did not, and could not, confer on
them any jurisdiction whatever. There was no
such thing as voluntary jurisdiction in the ordi-
nary :sense of the term, and there •was no such
thing as a voluntary judge. Even an arbiter was
not a judge, though the law for let:sous of expe-
diency conceded to his procet•uiugs seine privileges
anllog,ous to those of a judge. It was obvious,
IF-3wevcr, that ti,e &ferule: s were not in the pty,-
ti,on of arbiters. Arbiters must hear, anti the
.de-
ffinders had not hetrztl. Their pica Was that •they
'were not bound to hear, and he (Lord Deas) was
nut assuming they were wrong in saying so ; but
if bound to hear at all, it was certainly nst as ar-
biters. It was neither a case of jurisdiction nor of
arbitration, but a case of mutual contract which
the pursuer alleged and undertook to prove the de-
fenders had violated, to his less and damage. It
might be that the defenders could satisfy them that
this was not a civil contract at all, or that, being
a civil contract, it related to some act lawfully in
the power of the defenders, so that this Court could
give no decree that could avail the pursuer. All
that would be open to the defenders to show ; but
before they could go into these questions they must
know precisely what the contract was. There could
be no contract or resolution of any private associa-
tion which this Court was not entitled to see and
consider, to the effect, at all events, of ascertaining
whether the contract involved civil rights, and
whether a wrong had been done or not which ad-
mitted of judicial redress.
The Lord President said the Court would pro-
nounce an interlocutor repelling
.the defences as
defences against satisving the production, reser-
ving to the Lord Ordinary to fix a day for satisfy-
ing the production, and for proceeding with the
cause. The Court also deeerned for expensee 'as
craved by the pursuer.

THE LATE MURDEROUS OUTRAGE

IN LEEDS.

The Leeds magistrates were occupied for several
hours on Saturday afternoon in the investigation of
the circumstances attending the recent assault and
robbery of Mr. James Trafford, silk manufacturer,
Leek, Staffordshire, which took place on Tuesday
evening in a notorious thoroughfare, called Nelson-
street, in Leeds. Three persons were in custody up
to Friday night, on suspicion of being concerned in
the outrage, their names being G. Harrison, of
Union-street, Joseph Matthews, of Nelson-street,
and the woman of loose character generally called
" Polka Ann," who lodged in Harrison's house.
Some other information, however, came to the
knowledge of the police late on Friday night, which
led to the apprehension of three other parties for
the crime. These were " Sam" Matthewman,
Teersa Watson, and Martha Bates, all of whom re-
sided at a disreputable house in Nelson-street, Wat-
son being under the protection of the male prisoner.
No evidence was take' against George Harrison,
Joseph Matthews, and Mary Pollard, and these
persons were accordingly discharged. The prose-
cutor, Mr. Trafford, was able to attend the exami-
maim, but he was very pale, and appeared to be
very languid. He detailed the circumstances at-
tending the assault and robbery, but qualified some
portions of his former statement. It now appears
that the robbery took place in Nelson-street, and
the prosecutor's ignorance of the locality had led
him to confound the two streets which
run parallel from Vicar-lane to Millpark-
street. Mr. Trafford said he intended to visit
a customer in George's-street. but that he turned
down Nelson-street by mistake, and was there
attacked and robbed. The evidence against
Matthewman, Bates, and Watson was certainly
sufficient to warrant the magistrates in sending the
case for trial. Mary Connor, wife of John Connor,
paviour, bottom of Nelson-street, and a female who
lodged with her, called Georgiana Ward, both dis-
tinctly swore that they were alarmed by cries of
" Murder" as they were sitting in their own house ;
that they therefore ran to the door ; and they saw
Matthewman strike the prosecutor on the head ;
that Watson afterwards rifled the pockets of the
fallen man ; that Bates was standing by ; and that
the three prisoners afterwards ran into their own
house, which was close by. Mrs. Connor says she
called out to the prisoners not to hurt the poor
man, but that she dared not further interfere.
After the prisoners had run away, Mr. Trafford rose
from the ground, and staggered down the street:
but fell twice before he reached the bottom. The
witnesses affirmed there could be no doubt about

the prisoners, as they saw the whole assault and
robbery, and had previously known Matthe wman,
Bates, and Watson. Mrs. Martha Booth, wife of
Samuel Booth, 42, Nelson-street, also stated that
on the morning after the assault she saw a maroon-
coloured woman's sleeve lying in the channel of the
street. Teresa -Watson came down Nelson-street
at that time, picked up the sleeve, and went with
it into Mrs. Booth's house, saying, " This is my
sleeve ; I lost it last night ; let it lie here until I
some back." This sleeve, which was covered with
mud and much rumpled, was afterwards claimed by
Watson, and taken away. There were other sus-
picious circumstances, as, for instance, the pri-
soners' preparation for a flight to Bradford as soon
as they knew they were suspected ; but the evi-
dence was not completed, and to allow time for
this being done, the case was remanded until Wed-
nesday next.

REALTH OF LONDON DURING THE
IVE_EK.

(From tke Report of tiie Registrar-General.)

~ ~
The cold weather which set in with severity on the

11th inst., and continued till near the middle 01
last week, has produced an increase of mortality.
The deaths in London, which were about 1,300 in
each of the four preceding weeks, rose to 1,548 in
the week that ended last Saturday. Within the
period to which reference is made the mean weekly
temperature of the air fell 12 deg. In the ten years
1849-58, the average number of deaths in the weeks
corresponding with last week was 1,155; but, as
the deaths returned for last week occurred in a popu-
lation that has increased, they should be compared
with the average raised in proportion to the increase
—namely, with 1,270. The result is that 271 per-
sons diod last week who would have survived if
atmospheric conditions had not been in a less de-
gree than usual favourable to health.

- The births of last week exceeded- the deaths in
the same period by only 220.
The deaths from pulmonary diseases, exclusive of
phthisis, rose from 279 in the previous week to 430
in the week ending last Saturday. This latter num-
ber exceeds the corrected average by 152. Bron-
chitis was fatal to 260 persons, pneumonia to 135,
asthma to 24. The deaths from phthisis
rose in the last two weeks from 134 to 186. Small-
pox carried off 37 persons, of whom 15 were adults ;
scarlatina, 85 ; diptheris, 14. Four deaths from
small-pox occurred in the London-road sub-district ;
5 from scarlatina in Rotherhite. From the latter
disease, 11 in Pancras, 6in Islington. Two infants
were murdered ; 9 died from suffocation, apparently
by accident. Of 66 persons who died at the age of
80 years and upwards, 6 were nonogcnarians, the
latter class being exclusively women.
Of bricklayers 2 died in the week, of bricklayers'
wives 3, of bricklayers' children 11; of carpenters
12 died, of carpenters' wives 7, of carpenters' chil-
dren 21 ; of masons 2 died, of masons' wives 2 ; of
painters 4 died, of painters' wives 2, of painters'
children 9; of plasterers 1 died, of plasterers' chil-
dren 10.

Last week the births of 961 boys and 807 girls, in
all 1,708 children, were registered in London. In
the 10 corresponding weeks of the years 1849-58
the average number was 1,478.
At tho Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean
height of the barometer in the week was 39.402
inches. Tho barometrical reading fell from 29 71
inches on Tuesday to 28.94 inches on Saturday,
being respectively the highest and lowest in the
week. The mean temperature of the air in the
week was 33 deg., being 5.4 deg. below the aver-
age of the same week in 43 years (as determined
by Mr. Glaisher) The mean daily temperature
was 16 deg. below the average on Sunday and Mon-
day ; 9 deg. below it on Tuesday ; the air then
became warmer, rain fell, and the mean temperature
was above the average on Wednesday and Satur-
day. On Monday the thermometer in the shade
fell as low as 14 deg.; on Saturday it rose to 47 deg.
these were the lowest and highest points in the
week, and the range was therefore 33 deg. Tho
mean daily range was 10.5 deg. Snow fell on
Monday and Tuesday. The amount of rain in the
week was 0.37 inches. The mean temperature of
the water of the Thames was 36 deg. The differ-
ence between the mean dew-point temperature and
the air temperature was 4.5 deg. The humidity of
the air approached complete saturation on the last
two days. The mean of the week was 81. On
Sunday and Monday the wind blew from the south
east, afterwards from the south-west.

[ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and FPI
—Diseases of Women.—Many and various have
been the prescriptions tor removing certain irregu-
larities which frequently rob youth of its hap-
piness and middle age of its health. No remedies regulat:
and restore irregular or suspended functions with the cer-
tainty and safety with which Holloway's medicines work.
For all constitutions, at all ages, in any climate, they are
equally well adapted ; they suit the feeblest frame or
strongest woman. The Ointment must be rubbed twice
daily on the back and bowels. It penetrates and whole-
swaely regulates internal organs adjacent to the parts upon
which it is rubbed, while the Pills, pre/3.014y taken, assist it.
Both remedies, used according to the directions, will cure
all diseases peculiar to females.'

A greased cartridge, we all know, was the plea
for the Sepoy Revolt throughout the Bengal Pre-
sidency. A pig—nefariously killed, like that cele-
brated animal in the nursery legend of which Tom
the Piper's son is the felonious and blatant hero
positively, and literally, A Piq originally gave rise
to that San Juan Difficulty which not many months
since seriously threatened to provoke a disastrous
collision between the British and American Govern-
ments.

A veritable grunter belonging to a British sub-
ject out in those regions having been wantonly
killed by an American citizen, there was under-
stood (among some of the countrymen of the lat-
ter) to be an intention on the part of our authori-
ties to summarily abduct the offender. Hine ill
lachrynce! The blood of HARNEY was " up" at the
rumour. His chivalrous soul was fired with in-
dignation. Tantance animus ecelestibus irc !
Captain PICKETT'S company of fifty American sol-
diers was suddenly landed—in obedience to the
orders of General HARNEY—in obedience to hiE
orders individually, for no authority whatever for
any such proceedings had been received from the
Government at Washington. It was an illegal act
--an act resulting from one man's petulance—an
act perpetrated wholly and entirely on his•own per-
sonal responsibility. How the original offence of
this lawless and unjustifiable occup ttion of Sa n
Juan by the fifty troopers under Captain PICKETT,
was enhanced very soon afterwards by the pouring
in of other bands of American soldiery, by the
military occupation, in fact, of the whole of the
disputed territory, by the building of fortifications
and the encouragement given to American squatters
in the name, and on behalf of the United States'
Confederation, we have known full well long since,
not only on the eastern borders of the Pacific, but
upon both sides of the Atlantic likewise. Remon-
strances, correspondence, negotiations followed in
due succession. And after a good deal of angry
feeling had been excited upon both sides, the mis-
understanding, if not definitively settled (which
certainly, in honest truth, it must be acknowledged.
as yet, it is not by any means), is at least in a fair
way to be brought to something like a satisfactory
settlement.

Already it has been now some time brought to
the knowledge of people • in this country that the
American Government (having indeed before it but
a very feeble alternative) found itself con-
strained in a manner (it matters little to us how
unwillingly) to repudiate General HAItNEY'S
illegal, unjustifiable, and wholly unauthorised
proceedings. To that end, indeed, General HARNEY
was some time since replaced in the command of
the American troops in Oregon and Washington
Territory by General SCOTT, who we now
hear has promptly taken occasion to evidence
his readiness to enter upon a course of
conciliation and reconcilement. Having offered
to Governor _DOUGLASS (as the American
proposition for the solution of the San Juan Diffi-
culty) a joint military occupation of the island—a
proposal at once rejected by his Excellency—Gen.
SCOTT in his own turn declined to accede to the
Englioh proposition—the one emulating from the

Governor of British Columbia, namely, in lieu of a
joint military, a joint civil occupation of the dis-
puted territory ! The result of all this parleying
(of this proposition and counter-proposition) being,
that Gen. SCOTT has resolved upon the removal at
once from San Juan—of all the American troops
and artillery ? Alas, no—but, if not that, at least
of all, saving and excepting only Capt. PICKETT'S
little company of fifty soldiers, the original
occupiers or invaders of San Juan. So
the affair rests—until the matter can be
brought to a definitive, and we will hope a mu-
tually satisfactory settlement. All the other eom-
panies are ordered away from the island, back to
their former quarters on Oregon and Washington
Territory. Captain PICKETT and his fifty men alone
remain. It is in wretched bad taste—having conceded
so much—that the American Government still in-
sists upon the continuance there of that company of
half a hundred. Besides which, the admission on
their own part of the other concessions, amounts
virtually to an acknowledgment of the illegality
and indecorum of Captain PICKETT'S presence there
with his fifty followers. Against this persistent
occupation of San Juan our rulers ought assuredly
to protest, insisting peremptorily upon the restora-
tion of the status quo ante—happily we cannot say
the War, but at any rate this very serious, and at
one time very threatening Difficulty.
During this lawless occupation of San Juan by
the Americans, it appears that while the Republi-
can officers there have displayed at all times the
utmost amenity in their demeanour, behaving,
indeed, from first to last, in a manner, we are told,
than which " nothing could be more correct, officer-
like, and gentlemanly"—others of the United States
authorities have been guilty of outrages in regard
to British subjects, outrages of the grossest
and most wanton description. " For instance,"
writes the Times' correspondent, from Victoria,
under date the 10th ult., " they arrested, fined,
and imprisoned a British subject for selling a
few bottles of spirits on the island, and
only liberated him after he was mulcted in some
of the dollars found in the poor fellow's
pocket, and of which he was eased. Again,
some American, usurping the authority of collector
of Customs, seized the baggage of Major DE COURCY,
the English stipendiary magistrate resident on the
island, on occasion of his return from a trip on offi-
cial business to Victoria the other day, and the bag-
gage was only restored at the instance of Captain
PREVOST, in command of her Majesty's ship Satellite,
stationed off the island. Both these outrages were
perpetrated under colour of the exclusive sove-
reignty assumed on the first landing of the Ameri-
can forces, which it is pretended justified the ex-
tension of the United States' revenue laws to San
Juan." Certainly, as the correspondent adds—
" Considering that General HARNEY admitted his
proceedings were taken on his own responsibility,
and without authority from the United States'
Government, the commission of such acts as these,
pending the receipt of advices from Washington,
could only have been prompted by wantonness, or
as a direct insult, or on purpose to provoke
a national quarrel." In spite of alI which
systematic and insolent provocations, the peace
has, without any derogation from their per-
sonal dignity, or any deprivation of national
honour, been nobly and magnanimously pre-
served by the English authorities out there from
Governor DoUGLASS downwards. It is a fact—that
—which we think redounds to their credit singu-
larly and signally under the circumstances—doing
so all the more because in no one particular has the
original offence, almost we might say crime, per-
petrated by General HARNEY, been in any respect,
even by implication, condoned by her Britannic
MAJESTY'S representative.

Never has any power met with more just and
appropriate retribution than Austria. She has
been perfidious—perjured is the fitter word—beyond
all precedent, in Hungary, and combined atrocious
cruelty with the perjury, and now, in the hour of
her distress, Hungary, which might have been her
strength, is tho cause of her weakness. She ob-
tained power to perpetrate the butcheries of Arad,
and to abrogate a constitution older in its essentials
than her own, by the arms of Russia : and now
Russia herself flouts Austria with being behind her
time, with " having forgotten nothing and learned
nothing," and with being quite unaware that
" humanity has made great progress since 181 i."
Russia, a parvenu in the family of European civili-
sation, is actually lecturing Austria on being be-
hind her day ! And with good right too ; for
Russia, we must confess, if behind Western Europe,
is making progress. It would be most ungenerous
to withhold from her Government the highest prise
for its firmness in pressing the emancipation of
the serfs. The resistance made by their proprietors
is the measure, at once, of the difficulty of the
task; of the firmness of the Government ; and of its
enlightened perception of the value to the nation at
large of free as compared with serf labour. We
must judge nations and individuals, not by their
absolute condition, but by their enlightened attempts
to improve it, and thus judged, Russia is far ahead of
Austria. Russia extends liberty, Austria represses
it ; and the former thus stands forward fairly as the
preceptress of the latter.

In thus schooling the stupid unteachable Haps-
burgs, Russia is but repaying the utterly con-
temptible conduct of Austria in the Crimean War.
Her dastardly and selfish measures then can never
be forgotten. She might have said that her obli-
gations to Russia were such that she must in grati-
tude take her part; or, she might have told Russia
that gratitude itself compelled her to warn that
Power that her proceedings in Turkey were such
an infringement of the rights of independent states
that she•must remonstrate and side with the Allies
if Russia went to war ; which course would pre-
bably have saved NICHOLAS and Europe this heavy
calamity. She did neither. She hoped,--she
actually attempted, so far as in her lay—to pilfer a
portion of the Principalities for herself ! She sent
her plundering, robbing, bullying, soldiers thither,
to march on if the Russians retreated, to march
back, if the Russians turned towards them ; and to
stick in the provinces as long as they could ; which
was, till all parties told her that if she did not take
her brigands out of the Principalities, they would
make her: This detestably mean and selfish Power
now finds that instead of gaining territory there,
she. has gained the undying contempt and hatred of
her great neighbour.
Sardinia, again, she has hated with the bitterest
hatred, because that state mirrored to all Italy the
hideousness of Austrian rule south of the Alps;
and because, to gain an European status on behalf of
Italy, she took part in the Crimean War•—a part
so much more manly and noble, that Russia
has shown her sense of it, by her friendship
ever since. But the great offence was, that
Sardinia proved what the Italians were capable
of. Count CAVOUR, though quite a conservative,
is a Conservative of the English school, one who
prizes constitutional liberty quite as much as the
hottest Radical whom he resists. And that able
Minister, enjoying the full confidence of a brave
and patriotic monarch, showed to all Europe that
Austrian dungeons, and bastinadoing, and scaffolds
were not necessary to the good government of

Italy. Austria gnashed her teeth at political up-
rightness in vain. All Italy and all the world saw
that Austria was gratuitously brutal; no sentiment
has become more general and deeper from year to
year than that Austria was the curse of Italy.
And there she now lies—trembling before this
smaller and hated Power. Her armies, left to
themselves, could have crushed Sardinia by mere
weight of numbers; but an equal—a superior, as it
proved—threw his armies into the Sardinian scale,
and Austria kicked the beam, and kicks it yet. May
she never come down again ! Her bitter spite would
not know Sardinia at Villafranca and at Zurich ;
but now she has to go into a Congress in which
the despised Sardinia will have more weight than
her representatives and those of her ejected lieute-
nants together.

But it is Hungary which really paralyses her
more than all. Had she not made peace at Villa-
franca, an Hungarian army, enlisted and drilled in
Italy, would soon have been on the borders of their
fatherland, and the whole of the largest and most
powerful, and most oppressed of the Austrian
nationalities would have been in a blaze, which,
this time, Russia would assuredly not have helped
her to extinguish. FRANCIS JOSEPH, at Verona,
feared the Hungarians more than the Frenchmen.
He saw that he must propitiate the kingdom of which
to this day he is not legally King. The kingdom
whose constitution he abolished by force of arms,
not by law; and which he has vainly endeavoured
to amalgamate by the STADION process of centralisa-
tion. Hungary refuses to be centralised from
Vienna. Hungary says, and says justly, We are a
treater, older, more energetic kingdom than the
petty German archduchy of the —TT ArsnußGs. They
might have been our constitutional kings had they
pleased ; since they have refused that—since their
whole treatment of us is nothing but a violation of
all treaties, and of national independence, and of
order, we have nothing for it but to resist.
Hence the present situation of things in Hun-
gary. Blinded by the confidence of Jesuits and
centralising statesmen, in their own cunning, the
now famous patent was issued to conciliate the
Protestants. To efface the national character of
the Protestant Church the old synodal divisions
were changed, and sly clauses introduced which
might have made a Jesuit at Vienna master of the
Protestant Church in Hungary. The trap was
soon detected—the bait of apparent liberty ridi-
culed. The Constitution as it stood in 1848 was
demanded—the people and clergy, notwithstanding
all the efforts of Government, met in their old
districts, and threats and violence were all in vain.
The Hungarian Roman Catholics—men who knew
of no Catholicism adverse to liberty—boldly took
the part of the Protestants and demanded their old
rights for their neighbours ; and now we read that
Austria is in such fear that she not only shrinks
from the wholesale arrests and persecutions she had
threatened, but has been obliged to liberate those
whom she had actually arrested. The Hungarians,
counselled do4tless by KOSSUTH, have determined,
as they are now situated, to try passive resistance
to the uttermost. They cannot do better. Their
cause will advocate itself before Europe if they
resolutely hold it up to the world as quietly and
persistently as Central' Italy has done. What if,
in gratitude for Austria's favours in the Crimean
war, ALEXANDER should become the NAPOLEON of
Hungary !

Mr. Charles Godfrey, jan., son of Mr. Godfrey,
of the Coldstream Guards, has been appointed band-
master of the Scots Fusilier Guards.
Marshal the Duke of Malakoff hae boon visiting
the Duke and Duchess of Wellington and the Marchioness
of Ely during the past week. The Marshal returns to Paris
to-day.

The Earl and Countess of Yarborough and family
are passing the winter at the Bedford Hotel, Brighton.

Sir G. C. Lewis returned to London yesterday,
from a visit to the Earl of Clarendon, at his seat, the Grove,
Watford.

The Right Hon. Edward BouTerie, M.P., has
arrived in town from the Earl of Radnor's, in Wiltshire.

Mrs. Lane Fox has left the St. George's Hotel
for Buckhurst-park, Sussex, on a visit to the Earl and
Countess Delawarr.

TIIE INDIAN MAlL.—Another of the inconve-
niences irrationally inflicted from the total want of general
understanding whenever a public holiday is agreed upon
was furnished yesterday in connection with the outgoing
India mail via Marseilles. Although the mail was post-
poned till this evening, notice of the fact was not given
until it was too late for the employes in the principal Indian
establishments to change their arrangements and avail
themselves of the opportunity of leaving London.
The settlement in the debentures of the East
Indian Railway Company's Five per Cent. Loan of
£1,600,000 is fixed for Monday, and they are to be officially
quoted.
LAUNCH OF THE DOVER MAIL PACKET THE
JOHN PENN.-Yesterday afternoon a now steam packet for
the Dover mail service, designed by Mr. Ash, was launched
from the yard of the Thames Iron Works and Shipbuilding
Company, Orchard-yard, Blackwell. Her dimensions are
—Length, 170 feet; breadth, 20 feet; depth, 11 feet; ton-
nage, 340. She was named on the slip by Mrs. Penn, wife
of the celebrated engineer; and as she floated into the water
she was acknowledged by sli present to be a most beautiful
model of naval architecture. She has been named the John
Penn in honour of the firm who supply the engines—nomi-
nally to be of 120 horses, but constructed to work up to a
very high effective power. From her appearance and the
well-known high character of builders and engineers, it is
anticipated that, as a seagoing steam-packet, she will be
superior in every respect to anything that has yet appeared
on the Dover station.

TIIE RIGHT OF MASTERS OF VESSELS.—A special
report has been printed of a trial at Liverpool on the 9th
inst. involving a question as to the right of masters of vessels
to retain commissions, gratuities, or passage money. Mr.
Benson, captain of the ship Pomona, had retained on his
return from Calcutta certain sums which had been handed
to him by persons at that port whom he had employed to
execute work upon the vessel, and which he had received as
commissions or gratuities. He was also charged with
having appropriated to his own use two sums respectively
of £1.5 and £45, received from passengers. A verdict of
acquittal as regards embezzlement was rendered in each ,case,
but it is important to observe that the bench and the jury
concurred in expressing distinct condemnation of the course
that had been pursued, and a hope that the disclosures made
would operate as a warning. Whether they used the
term gratuities or presents, or discounts," observed the
Deputy Recorder, "nothing could be more monstrous that;
that a captain, who had under his charge his employer's
interest, should take money from the tradesmen with whom
ho made bargains, and over whose conduct he was the only
person who really exercised any control." At the close of
the case the Court advised Captain Benson to account to his
owners for the money which was defaulting, intimating
that, although he had been acquitted on the criminal action,
it was still open to them to take such civil proceedings as
they might think fit,

HORRIBLE MURDER NEAR NOTTINGHAM.-A
shocking murder was perpetrated on Monday eyening, the
26th inst., at New Lenton, a village about one mile from
Nottingham. Tho facts of the case are these :—About 11
o'clock en the evening in question two men, named Herbert
and Alfred Slack (brothers), were proceeding across the
park which leads from Nottingham to Lenton, when they
overtook two other persons, named Goo. Clark and Wni.
Weston, who were going in the same direction. Shortly after
Herbert Slack commenced annoying Weston, and then as-
saulted him. The affair between them, however, was made
upon Slack promising Ito give him a half-sovereign. About
10 minutes afterwards the whole party arrived at Lenton.
The two brothers then whispered to each other, and the
younger Slack went to his brother's house, a short distance
off, and in a few minutes returned with a dagger stick.
Clark, not liking to see his comrade unfairly used, inter-
fered in his behalf, when the elder Slack immediately seized
the dagger, saying, " I'll do for you!" and stabbed Clark
in the neck. The weapon severed the windpipe and entered
the body five or six inches. Tho unfortunate man ex-
claimed " I'm done !" fell to the ground, and almost in-
stantaneously expired. Information was given to the police
and the two Slacks were taken into custody. The mur-
dered man was said to be very harmless and inoffensive, and
was very seldom known to quarrel with any one. He was
a tanner in the employ of Messrs. Bailey and Shaw, and
was universally esteemed for the propriety of his conduct.
He has left a wife and four children to lament his untimely
end. The elder prisoner states that he did not tell his bro-
ther to fetch the dagger, but a half sovereign to recompense
Weston, and that wile the scuffle was going on between
himself and Weston, Clark ran on to the dagger and killed
himself. A coroner's inquiry was instituted on Tuesday
afternoon, before Mr. Coroner Swann.

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE BY AN ABSCONDING CLERK.
—On Monday a young man, named Jhn Ferguson,
attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself on board
the ship Empire of Peace, at Liverpool. It appears that
he was a clerk in the employ of Messrs. W. Holmes Brothers,
of Manchester, and had absconded on Friday last with £370
belonging to his employers. He was traced to the above-
named vessel, which was bound for Australia, whither he
was going as a second-class passenger. Two officers visited
the vessel on Monday, when they found the young man in
bed ; on being told to get up and dress himself he raised
himself slightly in the bed, and, without even disturbing
the bed-clothes, raised a- loaded pistol and shot himself
through the left side, the ball penetrating the lower rib. He
was promptly removed to the Southern Hospital, where the
ball was extracted, but faint hopes are entertained of his
recovery,

5 , b.,
.
' k t
~,,,..
~„......4,"1.---
'
4441..
' ~.' ...,E f• . ~, 1ii,.., , ~,,,,„,te ).„.. • ,0 r

THE SUN,
LONDON, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 28, 1859.