The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-17 00:00:00

TEE CASE OF SMETHURST.

The following is a copy of a letter addressed by
the Right Hon. Sir G. C. Lewis to the Lord Chief
Baron, communicating the grant of a free pardon to
Smethurst, so far as the alleged murder of Isabella
Bankes is concerned :

" Whitehall, Nov. 15, 1859.
"My Lord,—l have the honour to acknowledge
the receipt of your lordship's further report, of the
18th ult., on the case of Thomas Smethurst, who
was convicted at the Central .Criminal Court in
August last of murder, and sentenced to death.
"As your lordship suggests in that report that
reference should be made to the judgment of medi-
cal and scientific persons selected by the Secretary
of State, for the purpose of considering the symp-
toms and appearances of the deceased Isabella
Bankes, and the result of the analysis, I have sent
the evidence, your lordship's reports, and all the
papers bearing upon the medical points of the case,
to Sir Benjamin Brodie, from whom I have received
a letter, of which I enclose you a copy, and who is
of opinion that, although the facts are full of sus-
picion against Smethurst, there is not absolute and
complete evidence of his guilt.
" After a very careful and anxious consideration
of all the fact; of this very peculiar case, I have
come to the conclusion that there is sufficient doubt
of the prisoner's guilt to render it my duty to ad-
vise the grant to him of a free pardon, which will
be restricted to the particular offence of which he
stands convicted; it being my intention to institute
a prosecution against him for bigamy.
" The necessity which I hare felt for advising
her Majesty to grant a free pardon in this case has
not, as it appears to me, arisen from any defect in
the constitution or proceedings of our criminal tri
bunals. It has arisen from the imperfection o
medical science, and from the fallibility of judg
ment, in an obscure malady, even of skilful and ex.
perienced medical practitioners.
" I have, &c.,
" The Lord Chief Baron."

gg G. C. LEWIS."

A free pardon, under the Great Seal, was received
by Mr. Keene, the Governor of Horsemonger•lane
Gaol, on Tuesday, for the prisoner, in reference to
the crime of wilful murder upon Isabella Bankes.
The announcement was, of course, formally made
to him, but, as he had been led to believe that this
would be the result from the course that had been
taken in reference to the charge of bigamy, he did
not seem at all surprised that the Government had
absolved him from the crime of which he had been
convicted. Dr. Smethurst is now, therefore, merely
in the position of a prisoner under committal upon
a charge of felony, and he is, of course, relieved from
all the restrictions to which he was liable, under
the gaol regulations, as a convict under sentence of
death. He will remain in Horsemonger-lane Pri-
son until a few days before the next session of the
Central Criminal Court, when he will be removed
to Newgate, and take his trial in due course for the
offence of bigamy. The utmost punishment that
can be awarded for this crime is penal servitude
for four years.

CHANCELLORSHIP: OF EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY.
--The following letter has been received from Lord
Brougham by Sir David Brewster, in reference to the elec-
tion of the noblo lord as Chancellor of Edinburgh Univer-
sity :—" Sir,—l have had the honour of receiving your
letter announcing to me the great kindness of the Council
of the University, and it is altogether unnecessary for me
to express my respectful thanks for the high honour which
they have been pleased to bestow upon me, or the pride
which I have in the enjoyment of it. I only wish it were
in my power to show myself worthy of it. All I can
hope to do is, by the faithful, discharge of the duties im-
posed, to testify my gratitude for the honour conferred.—
Believe mo to be, with great respect, your faithful servant,
BROUGHAM."

Loss OF A TYNE BRIG AND NINE HANDS.—
SHIELDS, Tuesday.—lntelligence has reached Mr. James
Derkin,-the owner of the Harvey, of North Shields, that
that vessel was lost about the 24th October, on Stormy Point,
on the coast of Newfoundland. The Harvey was bringing
a cargo of timber from Quebec to Hartlepool, on the fall
voyage. She is totally lost, with her cargo ; and we regret
to state that Mr. Miller, the master, and eight of the crew,
have perished with the vessel. The only survivors are
Andrew Harvey, the mate, and Daniel M'Cambridgo, a
Belfast man. The crew, with the exception of the master
and the mate, were Belfast men.