The Sun.
London, England, 1859-02-16 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR Or THE SUN.

SIR, —There is a mistake in your report of my
evidence on this trial, which' perhaps you will be
kind enough to allow me to correct. I allude to
the following statement :—" He also gave evidence
with respect to some shakoes that had been obtained
from Messrs. Isaacs, for which Colonel Dickson had
received payment from the Wellington Fund, but
which the Messrs. Isaacs had not been paid." I
beg to say that this is a subject on which I am
entirely ignorant, and did not in any way refer to
during my evidence.—l have the honour to be, Sir,
your most obedient servant,
H. J. WALLACK,
Capt., 2d Tower Hamlets Militia,
Late Capt. 77th Regt.

Feb. 16, 1859.

LIBEL.—LORD ERNE V. PORTER.—An action
for libel, in which the Earl of Erne was plaintiff and Mr.
John G. V. Porter defendant, was brought to a close on
Tuesday, when the jury found for his lordship a verdict of
£3OO. The libel was contained in a pamphlet written by
the defendant, in which he charged Lord Erne—as a direc-
tor of the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway—with corrupt
conduct and general neglect of the interests of the pro-
prietary. On the part of the defendant it was urged that
his commentaries upon the conduct of the plaintiff were not
dictated by malice, and he disclaimed the imputations of
corruption in his animadversions upon his lordship. The
trial lasted three days in the Common Pleas.

TREASURY APPOINTMENTS.—The following is a
copy " of any Treasury minutes in relation to the appoint-
ment of a successor to the late Assistant-Secretary of the
Treasury, and other arrangements with regard to the per-
manent offices of the department consequent thereon" :
" Treasury Minute, dated 21st January, 1859.—My Lords
are pleased to appoint George Alexander Hamilton, Esq., to
be Assistant-Secretary to this Board, in the room of Sir
Charles Edward Trevelyan, resigned. Sir Stafford Henry
Northcote, Bart., is called in, and takes his seat as one of
the Joint-Secretaries of the Board. Let the usual commu-
nications be made to the Postmaster-General, and to the
Governor and Company of the Bank of England."
THE BANK OP ENGLAND.—£I,OOO,OOO is returned
as the amount of stock, &c., bought by the Bank of Eng-
land, or on which any sums were advanced for the public
service by the Bank, in the year ended the 6th of January,
1859, and it still remains undischarged. The following is
the amount of the dividends due and not demanded, which
consequently remained in the coffers of the Bank in each
quarter of last year—viz. :--On the 6th of April, 1858,
£212,437; on the sth of July, £97,435; on the 10th of
October, £98,433 ; and on the sth of January, 1859,
£143,923.

PRICE OF GOLD. The quotation of gold at
Paris is about at par, and the short exchange on London
is 25.121 per sterling. On comparing these rates
with the English Mint price of £3 17s. 104 d. per
ounce for standard gold, it appears that gold is about 2-10ths
per cent. dearer in Paris than in London. By advices from
Hamburg the price of gold is 4241 per mark, and the short
exchange on London is 13.41 137 £1 sterling. Standard
gold at the English Mint price is, therefore, about 2-10ths
per cent. dearer in Hamburg than in London. The course
of exchange at New York on London for bills at 60 days'
sight is 1091 per cent., which, when compared with the
Mint par between the two countries, shows that the ex-
change is about at par; and, after making allowance for
charges of transport and difference of interest, the present
rate leaves scarcely any profit on the importation of gold
from the United States.

THE BURNOPFIELD MURDER. NEWCASTLE,
Monday Night.—We have received the following from our
Newcastle correspondent :—" It is understood that a man,
at present under sentence of four years penal servitude in
Portland Prison, has confessed to having shot poor Mr.
Stirling, the young surgeon, whose distressing death at
Burnopfield, near this town, caused such a sensation three
years ago. The Home Secretary has sent the statement of
the person who declares he committed the deed to the
mayor of this borough. This is the second time within a
very short period that a person has confessed he was Mr.
Stirling's murderer. It is hoped that every exertion will be
used to sift the present statement to its foundation, no less
in the interest of the public than of the two men, Rayne
and Cain, who so nearly died for the crime. It is the con-
viction of a large number, who know these men well, that
they are innocent, and certainly their conduct since the
trial strengthens that impression. Rayne follows his usual
trade of a smith at Winlaton, and conducts himself with
great propriety. Cain has abandoned the business of
smuggling, and has the charge of a gentleman's garden in
Blaydon. He has held this situation ever since his acquital
at the Durham Assizes in 1856, and by his industry,
sobriety, and uniform good conduct, has won the respect of
his neighbours and the full confidence of his employer.
Both these men, it is said, will willingly lend any assist-
ance in their power in furthering the investigations of the
magistrates and police."