The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-02 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—l think it only fair to in►orm you that the plan
of turning the Grosvenor Canal (Pimlico) into a railway
originated with me, and that I was the first person to
perceive, and point out twice to the managers of the
Crystal Palace, the extraordinary advantages which this
canal presented for this undertaking.
I also called their attention to the very important fact,
and which is so highly recommendatory of the plan, that
all those purposes for which the canal was designed
would be even more conveniently gained by a railway,
and all the evils to the neighbourhood from dampness ac
exhalation entirely removed.—l am, &c , W. P.
Aug. 28.

12SUICIDE IN THE BMA LEA.—Ybestenifty Mr. Baker
heir au ii,quc.st at the Five 13,11 s public-house, Bromlty,
on the body of Ellen Kenny, aged 48, who was found
fl,)ating in the new cut of the River 14,2 a on Saturday last.
The deeeal ed has been missino, for a few days, and it
was supposed that she threw herself into the water in
c.insequenee of extreme distress. Verdict, " Found
drowned."

SUICIDE OP PRINCE GREGORY GHIICA.

The Courrier de Paris publishes the following
letter, addressed to it by M. Vaillant :
Chateau du Mee, Aug. 29.
As your estimable journal was the first to an-
nounce the sad end of Prince G. Ghika, I venture
to beg of you to publish the entire document en-
closed, which explains its causes.., and gives the de-
tails. J. A. VAILLANT.
"As a witness of the frightful misfortune that
has just taken place at the Castle of the Mee, I feel
it my duty to transmit to you the facts, and to
point out to you the causes that drove his Highness
Prince Gregory Ghika, ex-Hospodar of Moldavia,
to this act of despair.
" As being the soul of the national party that
demands the union and a foreign prince, Prince
Gregory Ghika had all honest men for his friends,
and for his enemies those few ambitious persons in
high and low life who contend for power and the
favours of fortune. As these latter persons bad
succeeded him in power, it was natural for them to
persecute him in his property and honour.
" A committee had already been appointed by
the Kaimacan Balche, to demand from him an ac-
count of the public money. The proceeding caused
him the more pain, because, owing to the inade-
quacy of the state revenues to supply the charities
Of every kind which he took pleasure in distributing
throughout Moldavia, he had added to them 2-3ds
of his private fortune, and because in contradiction
to all his predecessors for the last 150 years, instead
of enriching, he had impoverished himself • he
therefore easily, by the intervention of Recichid
Pacha, backed by .51. de Thouvenel, procured the
dissolution of this committee, and the cessation of
all proceedings against him.
" Some time after this, a libel appeared which
dragged to the bar of public opinion Prince Ghika,
for having touched the arrears of the civil list, not
in virtue of the authorisation that reached him later,
but of the quasi official letter in which he was
authorised previously, by his agent at Constanti-
nople, Prince Vogoiides, father of the present
Kaimacan of Moldavia.

" This perfidious libel, added to the deep wounds
he had already received within less than a year, in-
flicted the deaih-blowupon t te prince. He couldnot
conceive how a man whom he had loaded with bene-
fits, whose sisters he had pensioned, and whose bro-
ther he had raised to the bishopric of Houithe—how
Istrati, the author of the libel, could have been cap-
able of carrying to such a length his ingratitude to-
wards the benefactor of his family.
"In the evening, about 9 o'c!ock, having by pro-
longing my conversation with the prince missed the
train that started at forty minutes past eight, I
returned and sat down with him in the drawing-
room, where the princess, exhausted with fatigue,
was reclining on a couch. The prince having made
a movement as if about to retire, the princess sird
to him, 'My dear, M. Valliant is going to leave, I
hear his carriage ; remain a moment longer with us,
and we will go upstairs together.'
"Notwithstanding these words the prince rose,
went up stairs, kissed his children, and a minute
after the report of some fire-arms was heard. The
servants rushed bewildered to the spot ; I ascended
and found only his dead body in an arm-chair de-
luged with blood—Prince Ghika had blown out his
brains. He had taken the precaut ion to detach from
his neck and hang upon the crucifix of his oratory
his gold cross, which he was unwilling to profane,
and he had wished me to be there in order that
she whom he was about to make a widow might
not be left alone.—Accept,
"Saturday, Aug. 26. "J. A. VAILLANT."
I extract from his will two documents by which
it is prefaced :
" Chateau du Mee, Aug. 24, 1857.
" I am the victim of an abominable plot, and
cannot live, innocent though I be. The truth will
one day appear. I await my enemies before the tri-
bunal of God. (Signed) "G. GHTKA."
" Chateau du Mee, Aug. 24, 1857.
" Dearly beloved wife, whom I adore,—Kiss my
little angels for me. You know what I have suffered
during my reign ; and, even wh-n I thought to
live happily in the bosom of my family, my enemies
followed we, and would not let me have peace.
The monsters would make me a forger and dishon-
ourable ! God will some day unravel the vile plot,
and the wretches will be unmasked.
(Signed) "G. GIIIKA. "
These document., which are written in a clear
and firm baud, on the same sheet of paper, evince
great presence of mind and calmness on the part of
the place.

THE ALLEGED SUICIDE THROUGH REFUSAL
OF RELIEF IN ST. PANCRAS.

MEETING OF THE GUARDIANS, & CHARGE

AGAINST TtiE CORONER.

Yesterday, at the meetinotif the directors of the poor
of St, Pancras, Mr. Wright in the chair,
Mr. COOK, the vestry clerk and soliciLor of the parish,
presented the verdict of the coroner's jury iu the case of
the sailor who was found drowned in a pond in the Agar
Town-Bells, after being refuted admission at the gate of
St. Pancras workhouse, and in which the jury expressed
their opinion that the deceased had committed suicide
through such refusal of relief, and calling upon the autho-
rities in future to adopt better regulations fur relieving
the wants of the casual poor, in order to prevent the re-
currence of such a lamentable case. Mr. Cook stated
that the coroner went out of his way to examine wit-
nesses, and induce evidence to be given which was
wholly and entirely irrelevant to the object for which
the jury had been sworn, and tending to lead away the
jury from the right course. He allowed letters to be
read from H. J. Stowell and other paupers, who had
lived for years upon the ratepayers ; and because he
(Ur. Cook) complained of the coroner's course, and in
the jury relying on such evidence, or upon that of the
woman Hewitt, from Mary lebone, whose evidence was
completely refuted by Mr. Tubbs, the relieving officer
of that pariah, he was personally attacked by the
coroner. Indeed, the coroner throughout showed his
animus against the authorities of the parish, and made
his remarks for the purpose of gaining popular ap-
plause, which he received from Mr. Brien, the leader
of the " Ineperativese" and others in the court. As to
his personalities to him, he (Mr. Cook) treated them
with contempt.
Mr. PRATT—Then it was the verdict of the coroner,
and not of the jury ? _

Mr. COOK oons.i-fiered the course taken by the coroner
tended to make it so.

Mr. CAMERON admitted that there was evidence to
chow that this poor sailor had been refused relief, and
that he was destitute, but there was no evidence to prove
that he committed euici,le from such refusal of relief. It
appeared that the night porter delegated his duties to a
pauper called a watchman, who took upon himself to
refuge admis,ion. He considered it necessary that an
inquiry should take place, and he moved that it be re-
ferred to the Officers' Duties Committee to report
whether the rules and regulations for the management
~1 the workhouse were duly observed ; and also whether
the prescribed duties of the various officers werei.roperly
performed ; and whether Any, and what, alterations
should be made in the printed rules or duties ; and par-
ticularly to inquire and report whether the duties of the
night porter, with reference to the admission cf appli.
cants to the workhouse, are observed ; and also to report
whether destitution is acted upon and considered a
ground for admission.
Mr. STOCKTON seconded the resolution. During this
inquest the directors heard, for the first time, that there
was a pauper who acted as night watchman at the gate,
receiving is. 6d. per week, while the night porter was in
the snuggery, and he took upon himself to refuse appli•
cants ,:or

Mr, CLARKE thought it better that the committee
should report on this specific cae at once, as to go into
the whole question would take three mouths.
Mr. Oatt condemned the conduct of the gate porters,
and said that in nine cases out of ten the workhouse
gate was opened by a pauper.
Mr. TURNER considered the vestry clerk had no right
to go to the inquest to defend the board or officers
against the poor. An honest balance ought to be drawn,
and he contended that the third rule for the guidance of
the porter at the gate left the man no di,,cretionary
Power for the admission of destitute persons, and that
the board, in whom the responsibility rested, had no
right to shift that responsibility on to the shoulders of
the officers.
Mr. YOUNG could not allow it to go forth that no
destitute persons could find admission at the doors of
St. Pancras workhouse. It was the duty of the porter
to send for the master or matron, and they had autho-
rity to admit persons at once. into the separation wards.
After a few observations from Mr. Fisher,
Mr. CAMERON, in reply, said he wanted a perfect and
comprehensive inquiry.

Tiie resolution was then carriel ; and the board, after
some other business, separated.

INLAND NAVIGATION OF INDIA.—An influential
meeting of merchants and others was held yesterday
afternoon, in the Manchester Town Hall, to receive in-
formation in re&rence to the intended operations of the
newly formed Oriental Inland Steam Company. The
meeting was addressed by Mr. J. A. Turner, who
presided, and by Captain Hall (of the Nemesis), Mr.
Bourne, and Lieutenant Wood, of the Indian navy ;
these three gentlemen being a deputation from the com-
pany. It was stated the cumpany were about to com-
mence the steam navigation of the Indus, by means of
flat-bottomed boats of 24 inches draught, trains of which
would be towed by steamboats of 200 horse power ; and
under terms of a concession from the East India Cum
pany which was tantamount to a guarantee of 10 per
cent. on the outlay. Manchester enterprise wasinvited
to co-operate for the extension of the scheme to the Go.
davery and other rivers, with the view of increasing the
supply of cotton. Several gentlemen expressed their
conviction of the importance of extending the inland
navigation of India, and the chairman commented em-
phatically on the urgency of the c,tton supply question
and the apparent neglect of it by a large portion of the
trade. Resolutions were pa,:sed unannwomiy
nafl
recognisingiueti.
the importance of the scheine,aud appoin ting a
tial committee for the diffusion of information on the
subject, and aiding the London board in the prompt
execution of the enterprise,

LAW INTELLIGENCE.—(This Day.)

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.

Mr. Commissioner Fonblanque was the commissioner
of the day, bat there was no cause before the Court
during the morning except for audit meetings.

CITY SHERIFFS' COURT.
(Before Mr. Prendergast, Q.C.)

THE rtorAL MAIL STEAM PACKET COMPANY V. THOMAS.

This was an action to recover the sum of 421:25. 2d•
on a bond. It appeared that the defendant, Mr. Thomas,
became a co-surety for a Mr. Langton for the due per'
formance of his duty as a purser in the company's eer-
vice, but on the balancing of the accounts Mr, Langton
was debited with a sum of 841. which, it was alleged,
was due to the company. A. person named Fenwiek,
who was co-surety, had paid 10s. in the pound, the
moiety, but the defendant repudiated the payment en-
tirely, and disputed the accuracy of the account, The
case had been several times before the Court, and it was
adjourned to this day that a witness might be called
from Southampton. The main defence was that a sum
of 341. received by Mi. Langton had not been paid over
to the company. It appeared that whilst one of the
company's vessels was at Bahia that sum was paid ; a
party took passage for England and paid the pas'
sage money, but on a consultation with the our-
geou the party was pronounced to be a lw
vatic, and the captain refused to bring biro
over, and Langton returned the money, but as four
years had since elapsed he was not certain whe'
ther he returned it to the agent of the company or to the
friends of the party, but the company had allowed i t in
the agent's account.—Captain Revett being now called,
was positive that Langton had returned the money,
although he had not altered the list of passengers and
fares received. There were other disputed items which
the defendant insisted he had a right to challenge, as the
plaintiffs had not only sued on the bond, but on an ac'
count stated.—Mr. Thomas said that he defended the
action to vindicate the character of Mr. Langton.
whom he had known from boyhood, and claimed .
to set off the salary due to him at the time of
his discharge. The solicitor to the company said he had
scrupulously abstained from imputing any dishonourable
intention on the part of Mr. Langton, and he now fully
exonerated him from anything of the scat Mr. Thomas
contended that there was a balance due to Langton.
flis Honour ultimately held that the defendant was
bound to pay under the bond, and he' could net set off
the salary, which must be sued for by Langton. Judg'
client must therefore be for the company for 81, The
solicitor said he would not press the judgment until
Langton had had an opportunity of trying the question
as to salary, and he would not ask for costs in the pre'
sent case.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE. (This Day.)

MANSION-HOUSE.

ASSAULTING A CONSTABLE.—Richard Morris WO
charged betore the Lord Mayor with assaulting Polio.
Constable Hitchcock, 1V o. 644.

The case was remanded from yesterday, when the evi'
dente given was to the effect that whilst the constable
was on duty, in Bsihopsgate-street, the previous even"
ing, he saw some disorderly persons at the corner, ono
of them being the prisoner. He requested them t°
separate and leave, on which the prisoner struck him
violent blow in the eye, which closed it, and knockei
him down.

The prisoner yesterday denied the charge, and it wag
adjourned till to-day to allow him to produce evidenen
to contradict the policeman's statement. He called
John Smith, a porter, who stated that he heard arise
of murder, and on going t 3 the spot he found the police'
man lying on the ground, and a man kneeling on big
chest ; but he could not identify the prisoner as that
man or as one of the party.
Mrs. M'Manus, another witness, itated that she Weg
with the prisoner and his wife at the time of the allege;
assault ; and she swore that although the policeman used
the most blasphemous and insulting language to the
prisoner's wile, yet he never touched the policeman?
but that he was struck on the eye by a gentleman wb°,
was passing at the time. The policeman was intoxicated
at the time.
The prisoner stated that his wife had been grossly
insulted by the policeman, and that, upon his going to
toe station-house to prefer a charge against him, the
policeman, who had been knocked down by somebocii
else, charged him with the assault.
The Lord Mayor sent for the inspector on duty, wb" •
stated in answer to a question from his Lordship, that
the policeman was perfectly sober at the time.
His Lordship, in consequence of the conflicting testi-
mony, discharged she prisoner.