The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-10 00:00:00

it as a warning to those who would attempt to obstruct the
rising liberties that are sought to be attained in.the world,
and particularly in Italy. Ten years more will not pass
away before universal liberty is accomplished; neither will
one country be able to hold another in subjection, for
aerial chariots, armed with shells, will set at defiance all
your Armstrong guns, which will be of no more use than
pop-guns when armed aerial chariots are floating above
them. It is well, then, that the strings be now loosened
a little, and gradually, until they are thrown aside alto-
gether, and that perhaps long before the time I have speci-
fied a new era will dawn over the world. Let emperors
and statesmen, then, take this into their serious considera-
tion, for aerial navigation must and will bring about these
results, and that I have accomplished it, I call on the scien-
tific world to deny it if they can. Yes, the little horn that is
announced in Holy Writ is now fulfilled. The prediction re
garding it can alone be accomplished by that which I claim
for my discovery, and, singular to say, without intending
to carry out the fulfilment of that prophecy in every parti-
cular, I did so, by placing in front of the aerial screw, which
draws forward the aerial chariot, a small horn, which
science indicated should be placed on its centre. Some may
laugh at this claim of the fulfilment of the prophecy, but
if that is not its fulfilment, what else can it be ? it must
be something connected with a little horn, otherwise that
term would be nonsense, and how could its attributes be
carried out ill a more complete and perfect manner than by
that which I claim from the effects I announce must result
from the discovery of the complete solution of the problem
of aei A. navigation, which, as I said before, has been de-
clared in the Academy of Sciences at Paris to have been ac-
complished. Let us then strive, emperors, kings, and all, to
establish a kindly feeling, and assist rather than impede a
people in their struggles for liberty; for it should be borne
in mind that vengeance is in the heart of man, and woe to
the Sovereign and h;s dynasty who would incur the hatred
of an entire nation 1 Let them take warning in time; let
not a whimsical, capricious, and mischievous policy be per-
severed in, which can only bring about the results I depri-
CARLINGFORD.

cate.—l am, &c.,
" SwiftiNg Heath, Jan. 2, 1861."

SHOOTING A GAMEKEEPER..

A wheelwright, named Joseph English, was yes-
terday committed by the Sheffield magistrates to
take his trial at the next York assizes on a charge
of shooting, with intent to murder, Wm. Crookes,
an assistant gamekeeper, at Smithy Wood, Eccles-
field, on the morning of the 15th of December. The
circumstances are these :—Crookes lived in a lonely
house in the middle of Smithy Wood, a preserve
belonging to his employers, Mr. John Jeffcock and
others. He got up at three o'clock on the morning
in question to work a few hours at his trade as a
file cutter. He sat at a small stithy under the win-
dow of his house, the shutter being closed, but
having a crevice in the centre. About half past
four o'clock Crookes was shot at through the win-
dow and knocked almost senseless off his seat, the
shot entering his right cheek, neck, and shoulder.
He was in a precarious state for some days, but
ultimately rallied. English was apprehended on
the 17th of December, and when charged with
shooting Crookes, said to the officers, " I have been
expecting you coming. I wish it had killed the
brute. But lam all right, for I have not been
out at night or fired a gun for a month." At the
request of the officers he produced his gun—a
double.barrelled one—and the left barrel was
found to have been recently discharged and to con-
tain only half a charge, with newspaper as wadding.
The other barrel, however, which had not been
fired so recently, contained a full charge of mixed
shot of the same sizes as the shot corns extracted
from Crookes' wounds ; and the wadding of
this barrel was of blue paper of precisely the
same description as the wadding found in the house
of Crookes shortly after he was shot. In one of
English's pockets was also found some loose shot
and some paper corresponding to the shot and
wadding used by the person who had shot Crookes.
Being requested by the police-officers to fire off the
powder in the two barrels after the charges had been
withdrawn, he did so, and then said he wished
Crookes's head had been at the muzzle of the gun.
He also said when in custody at the Sheffield
Town-hall that be expected he should get seven
years for the offence, but if he got off he would
" give it Crookes if he was able." Mrs. Crookes,
who ran for a surgeon a few minutes after her
husband was shot, deposed that she overtook a man
in the wood, who, immediately on seeing her,
crouched down. She was frightened and screamed.
She was sure the prisoner English was the man.
It also appeared that the prisoner was three months
ago convicted of trespassing in pursuit of game on
the evidence of Crookes, and that he at that time
threw stones at the prosecutor, and threatened to
knock his head off. For the defence witnesses were
called to prove an alibi, but the Bench considered
the case one for a jury. An application was made
to admit the prisoner to bail, but was refused. A
second man, named Ibbetson, was in custody
charged with being an accomplice in the crime, but
the evidence against him was unsatisfactory, and
he was yesterday remanded.

BANKRUPTCIES LAST YEAR,-It appears that the
number of bankruptcies gazetted last year was 1,266, of
which 613 occurred in the metropolitan, and 623 in the pro-
vincial districts; Liverpool figuring for 71, Manchester for
64, Birmingham for 201, Leeds for 107, Bristol for 93, Exeter
for 52, and Newcastle for 35. In 1859 the number of bank-
ruptcies gazetted was 943 ; in IssB, 1,353 ; in 1857, 1,429 ;
in 1856, 1,197 ; in 1855, 1,411; in 1854, 1,214; in 1853,
756 ; in 1852, 822 ; and in 1851, 935-showing an average
on the ten years of 1,123, or 143 below last year's total. Of
the excess last year 95 bankruptcies occurred in the metro-
politan district, which had 473 in 1851, 399 in 1852, 422 in
1853, 629 in 1854, 656 in 1855, 569 in 1856, 664 in 1857,
563 in 1858, and 462 in 1859. The remainder of the ex-
cess last year, 48, came from the provincial districts, which
figured for 462 in 1851, 423 in 1852, 334 in 1853, 585 in
1854, 755 in 1855, 628 in 1856, 765 in 1857, 790 in 1838, and
481 in 1859. Last year the Liverpool district was 8, the
Manchester 25, and the Newcastle 1 below the average of
the decade; while, on the other hand, the Birmingham was
45, the Leeds 2, the Bristol 25, and the Exeter 10 above the
average. Every district, except the Liverpool (which was
5 below), showed an excess as compared with 1859, tho in-
crease being 14 in the Manchester, 50 in the Birmingham,
9in the Leeds, 40 in the Bristol, 17 in the Zzeter, and 17
n the Nowcatatlo jurisdiction.