The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-29 00:00:00

'HE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, ,TOIX 29, 7,1861.

the public at all thronged, even in the ladies'

seats. But many citizens, and among them a num-

ber of private soldiers, seemed to take pleasure in
sitting down in the chairs assigned to individual
Senators, and just before the Senate proceeded to
business, a fine snore, proceeding from a bearded

and belted man in a scarlet shirt, showed that one

of the Garibaldini, a corps of whom are quartered
here, had sought oblivion in the very centre of de-
bate.

A more dreary proceeding than the reading of
the Message cannot well be conceived. The clerk's
voice was low and monotonous, the silence in the
Senate was unbroken by a single note of approba-
tion, but in the other House I hear there was more
animation. An attempt was made to sit with closed
doors for the better despatch of business, but this
was not agreed to by the great majority.
An enthusiatic lady who came over with me in the
Arabia was very indignant with a countryman of
hers because he affirmed that he had never seen a
more dignified assembly than the House of Lords.
0 What !" she said, " do you mean for one moment
to say that they are equal in appearance to our Sena-
tors ?" In one respect the Senators are certainly des-
titute of the air of wisdom which is given by white
hairs and venerable aspect. Few of the Senators
are men of advanced years, and Mr. Crittenden is
pointed out as a kind of obsolete semi-fossilised
politician, as much out of place as Nestor would
be in a revel with Achilles and Patroclus. In an-
other phase they are not so dignified. They do not
consider it unbecoming to write at their desks in
the midst of debate. Writing is a bare mechanical
process, after all, and no man looks well while he is
engaged at it. Senators are like other men. Per-
haps they are a little fonder of stationery. When
the last Congress was coming to a close I saw a
large man, covered with perspiration, dragging a
huge box after him into the railway station. He
was followed by two other men with similar boxes.
This was a Senator who was taking home by mail
his supply of public stationery contained in these
boxes. Then it must be " conceded" that dress has
something to do with the aspect of a deliberative
body, and that Jim Crow hats and linen blouses
I would detract from the appearance of the most
aristocratic mob in the world. Pretermitting these
things in the United States' Senate, there are noble
heads, commanding forms, and high intelligences,
nearly equal to the greatest of the issues before
them. Business is transacted colloquially and easily,
but there is, I am told, a practice of 'making set
orations which at one time threatened the House of
Commons. The young gentlemen who act as pages,
or messengers, would not violate Republican sim-
plicity by its appropriate neatness of attire, but
they, as well as all the servants of the house, and
the employes of the public all over the State, display
a readiness to oblige, a civility, and courtesy which
produce a pleasing surprise in the mind ofan English-
man who remembers how the gentlemen at home,
not liable to removal at the end of their four years,
assist him in his inquiries at the Circumlocution-
office. But as we remark such trifles the Message
is going on. Mr. Hamblin, Vice-President, who is
popularly believed in the South to be a gentleman
of colour, sits in his chair above the clerk who
reads it very much as a Commissioner in Bank-
ruptcy may be seen in Basinghall-street listening
to the perusal of a document from an assignee.
The Message is written on separate sheets ; it has
been brought in by the President's secretaries, I
believe, who appear on the floor and simply an-
nounce their object, and the clerk then, by order of
the Vice-President, reads it sheet by sheet at the
desk upstanding. The Senators sit and listen.
Now and then one hears a whisper "It's too long."
" What's tin use of going into that ?" " That point
is not badly put." The demand for men and
money pr du-Jed no sensation. They would have
swallowed twice the totals readily and silently.
The general impression seemed to be that the argu-
mentative- and historical parts of the message were
unnecessary, but, as a Senator observed, the people
had a right to know the facts of the case as they ap-
peared to the mind of the Executive in making such
propositions, and that nothing sho-ild be taken for
granted or be supposed to be known to those who
were so materially interested in the result.

JULY 6,

Marching of many troops through the city. Some
soldiers have a bad habit of begging money for
whisky. 1 here was a riot in consequence of the mur-
der of a soldier in a house in the city. His comrades
assembled to avenge his death, and burnt three
houses of the same kind ; finally they were dispersed
by United States' Dragoons. There has also been a
mutiny at Alexandria in a foreign regiment, and a
captain refused to obey the orders of his colonel,
was supported by his company, and quietly marched
away into Washington, where he gave up his sword,
and surrendered to be tried by court-martial.
Volunteers are not regulars, but their mutinies
and riots are not so dangerous as those of regulars.
But the mischief which threatens the United State'
forces arises out of the jealousies which exist be-
tween the regular army and the volunteers. The
civilian Generals, or " political " chiefs, are ob-
noxious to the regulars, and General Scott has a
battle to fight very much like that in which Lord
Clyde contended so vigorously and successfully
against his " politicals" and "civilians" in India.
There are men high in influence and actual capacity
for good or evil who declare that the United States'
army is a nuisance, and that it would be much
better to employ good stump orators, or men who
know.the wants of the "people," to conduct the
United States' armies, than men who have studied,
at least theoretically, the art of making war all their
lives. It may be readily imagined how General
Scott deals with such opinions and their organs.
All these gentlemen are for pushing on ahead and
making a general attack on the enemy. They think
an army is like a round of canister which can be
fired off whenever the match is applied. It strikes
me from what I have seen that the Federal troops
will have to be managed with skill and caution in
face of the Confederates. The latter will fight with
animosity and desperation, tempered by military
knowledge of a certain kind that may neutralize the
advantages possessed in numbers by the North as
well as other points. The politicians are eager to
grasp the prize and to bring their machinery into
play, to round off its rough edges, forgetting that
they must first clear the ground by armed force for
the lever. Every man, of course, here believes he
can write a leading article, row a boat, drive a gig,
Or fight a battle, and I have heard of men, with
high military titles, who for their lives could not
form
taik about
n elementaryot
the
onl y -
difficulties
in square or occupy a farm-house,
operations in the field as if they were
portions
of the
witharithmetic h
the Cab
w hi
e table.
in e These
are t
has to:contend, for there have been views enter-
tained on questions of foreign policy which would
have ended in most serious complications had they
not been fortunately overcome or abandoned. The
danger from this source, or rather the cause of it,
still exists.

JULY 7, ,
Last night an intoxicated warrior addressed me
from beneath a tree, at the base of which he was re-
cumbent, in an attitude of utter abandon, and de-
manded "baksheesh," for quoth he, " I'm a Britches
subjix, and I wanna a drink." I exposed to him
lucidly the inconsecutiveness of his logical formula,
but he had detected my nationality and insisted on
his right to a subsidy. As I could run, albeit not
like the swift Camilla, and he, I surmised, could
not, I maintained my thesis. " Dy'e-liv'-in-the-
city ?" " No, I don't," was my reply. " Then I con-
gratulate you. There's no jistis for Britches subjix
—not to-drop to drink in the whole place."
The soleier was mistaken, but did not require any
demonstration of the fact, and I mention the circum•
stance only for the purponof pointing out the great
increase of British subjects which has suddenly
taken Place here. The Legation is overwhelmed
with them, and this war would give Queen Victoria
or restore to her many thousands of devoted sub-
jects if they were only encouraged in their affec-
tionate efforts to return to the fold: There is also
a large accession to the number of Canadians in the
world. Tt e United States could, nevertheless, get
up an army of a million of foreign subjects who are
now naturalised here, and could fight its battles
with enormous hosts of Germans, Irish, Italians;
French, English, Scotch, Swedes, Norwegians, and
Dutch. When I see some of the strong fellows who

use our speech, and think of the difficulties of our
recruiting in the Crimean war, I cannot but regret
the causes, whatever they may be, which deprived
the British Isles of such material. The Catherine
wheel is busy throwing out sparks and fiery flashes
all round the world, but as it throws them off it
consumes, and at last there remains but a burnt up
and blackened cinder.

JULY 8.
IR the morning I received from General Scott a
flattering passe-partout for the army, but, in addi-
tion, I was armed with a British passport and an
ordinary pass from General Mansfield's office. No
unauthorised person is allowed to visit any of the
military posts, but there is little real efficacy in any
system of passes on a large scale. The visitors most
formidable to camps are diseases, and although
this army is not very sickly there are certain signs
in some of the corps that care will be required to
prevent the spread of epidemics and diarrhoea,
scurvy, and dysentery. There is, indeed, a Sanitary
Commission already at work, headed by a distin-
guished Unitarian minister, Dr. Bellows, whose
qualifications for hunting bad smells are not obvious,
and provided with the services, as secretary, of the
indefatigable, earnest, zealous author of the works
on slavery which have attracted attention in Eng-
land, Mr. F. L. Olmsted. On it are medical men and
chemists of reputation, and it is to be hoped their re-
presentations will be better attended to than those
of Sir J. M'Neil and Dr. Sutherland, though their
mission is I fear not more popular among command-
ing officers. They complain of want of authority,
but suggestions have been made to them, which will
probably be embodied in I. bill. One of Grant's
cooking waggons would probably be an acceptable
present as a pattern, for there is more mischief in
bad cooking than in bad smells, and the food of the
American soldier does not appear calculated to keep
men healthy in camp. Chollett's preparations are
about being introduced, and the vendors of pre-
served meats have a great career before them, nor
are the holders of light wines likely to want a
market. As a Confederate aide-decamp said, "In
war times we expect nothing better than grape
and canister." In this connexion, as our Ameri-
can brethren are pleased to say, I may, as an in-
stance of the knowledge and temper displayed
by some journals in New York as to English
affairs, and, above all, English military history, re-
late that one of them recently in an elaborate
article dwelt upon the great misery and destitution
of the British army in the Crimea and the neglect
of the Government, at the very time that the Em-
peror Napoleon, with a provident foresight, had

sent out -no less a person than the famous French
cook Soyer to dress the food of his battalions ! This,
however, was not quite so surprising as the state-
ment in another paper. I think, that the English
infantry at Inkermann were charged by cavalry,
and beat them back by the elegant and simple ex-
pedient of forming in line four deep!
In the evening I was invited by Mr. Blair, father
of the Postmaster-General, to accompany him on a
visit to Arlington Heights, across the Potomac,
which are the headquarters of the Brigadier-Gene-
ral M'Dowell, commanding the troops which cover
Washington on the South. Mr. Blair is well known
as one of the oldest and most prominent, able, and
active members of the Republican party, and ho is
also one who was persuaded long ago that the pre-
sent conflict was inevitable, and that it would time
sooner or later in consequence of the hold which the
" treason" of Secession had taken on the minds of
the Southern people. He has lived to see his judg-
ment verified. How short American history seems
when we see Washington menaced with hostile
armies drawn from the States of the Union, and
speak to men who have seen in the flesh the man
who gave his name to this capital !
"I've stood upon Achilles' tomb
And heard Troy doubted—Time may doubt of Rome."
To the Americans of the North it is little short of
blasphemy to doubt of the Union, which is now dis-
solved by rebellion, and can only be cemented again
by blood. The motto of Belgium is " L'Union fait
la force ;" the motto of the Re-United States ought
to be "La Force fait l'Union." I would sooner
outrage all the orthodoxies in Boston than declare
my belief, in that city, that Great Britain will out-
live the great Republic, though it may not be better
to be blasphemous and live than to be honest and
be pelted to death. The real Northern Union man
probably believes in his soul as he takes
down his musket to fight against the citi-
zens of 11 Confederate States, that when the
famous New Zealander, with an eye for the pic-
turesque, takes his seat on the broken arch of Lon-
don-bridge to sketch the ruins of St. Paul's, a United
States' passport will be in the pocket of the enter-
prising member of the Hakodadi Travellers', and
that a New England policeman will be in attend-
ance to show the visitors over the remains of the
British empire.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, SATURDAY.

There is a feeling of disappointment in some
quarters that an Irishman has not been appointed
Chief Secretary for Ireland ; though it is admitted
that it would be impossible to select any Irishman
who would unite the suffrages of all parties. But

among the English members of Parliament, I am
sure there is not one whose appointment would be
so generally acceptable as the one that has been
made. Sir Robert Peel has given offence to the
Ultramontane party by his allusions to the Papacy,
and his sympathy with the Italians ; but the Roman
Catholics do not apprehend that his advocacy of
freedom and good government in Italy will render
him less zealous in upholding and enforcing in
Ireland the principles that he has so eloquently
advocated in Parliament, while his well-known fair-
ness and generosity will win fir him the confidence
of the nation. The Daily Express, the leading
Conservative organ here, having referred to Mr.
Cardwell's removal to the Duchy of Lancaster
says :

The selection of his successor is quite a surprise
to us, and we cannot say a disagreeable one. Who
could have thought that we should have another
Sir Robert Peel as Chief Secretary for Ireland ?
How different the two men, though father and son !
—but not more different than the times in which
each was bound to serve his official apprenticeship
in Dublin Castle. The present Sir Rob=rt has not
much of the wisdom of the serpent, but then he has
not fallen upon a generation of vipers. It is much
easier to rule 6,000,000 of people, well fed, than
8,000,000 half-starved, especially when the well-fed
people are destitute of political grievances, and the
half-started people had an overwhelming number
of them, real and imaginary—the imaginary being
the source of the greatest misery and the most
vehement agitation. The dash and almost reckless
honesty and candour of Sir Robert Peel made us
think sometimes that a little of the Anglo-
Irish blood had somehow got into his veins, or that
his father, while residing in Ireland, had imbibed
from the atmosphere something of the national
spirit which comes out in the genial and generous
temperament of his son. The present Right Hon.
Sir Robert Peel, Chief Secretary for Ireland, must
have unbounded respect for the memory of the illus-
trious statesman whose name he bears ; but we
trust his personal acquaintance with Ireland will
soon convince him that in one particular, at all
events, his father, with all his enlightened views and
practical wisdom, evinced more prejudice than
prudence—that is, when he ordered in his will that
none of his money should be invested in Irish pro-
perty."

The 13€? fast News Letter, another influential
Conservative journal, sass:—
i‘ We look upon this appointmenth as one of the
best that Lord Palmersto
right hon. baronet applies his asmade, and, if the
we eeryshall great talents to
the business of the office,
eery
his.
Cardwell."
d energy
i„
soon have
reason to rejoice at the substitution
for the weakness and vacillation of i
This, I have reason to believe, will be foundwteolbe
the general opinion of the country.
The Commissioners of Education in Ireland who
have charge of the Royal schools and the diocesan
schools, have submitted to the Lord Lieutenant their
report for 1860 61, which has been published. It
is, as usual, brief and rather meagre. It is of a three-
fold character, referring to the course of instruction
in the schools, the condition of the school premises,
and the management of the estates and funds which
constitute the respective endowments. With respect
to the Royal schools, the Commissioners, with the
assistance and advice of certain Fellows of Trinity
College, have prescribed as a qualification for the
competitive examination for the "Royal Scholar-

ships" founded by them, an extensive course of
study in English literature, as well as in science and
modern languages, in addition to the former re-
quirements which were more confined to classical
studies. This new curriculum is now in operation,
and has Intl with the marked approbation of the
masters of those schools to which the Royal
scholarships are attached. There are 30 "Royal
Scholars" on their books, who receive in half-yearly
payments various sums, the highest in amount being
£5O per annum. These scholarships are tenable for
five years, but they become forfeited unless the
holders of them shall in each year of their collegiate
course obtain a certain number of honours, scientific
or classical a stimulus to continued exertion
being thus added to the successful competition which
won these valuable distinctions. The competitors
for them must have been at least three years pupils
in: one or other of the Royal schools. The object of
the exhibitions is to enable the holders to pass
through the Dublin University. _

The other endowed schools over which the Com-
missioners have not such direct control, have also
extended their course of study, so as to embrace
more of science, English literature, and modern lan-
guages. The diocesan schools are represented to be
in the same unsatisfactory state so frequently sub-
mitted to the notice of the Government by the Com-
missioners in their former annual reports. In con-
sequence of the inefficient state of the Limerick
district school, and the prolonged absence of the
master, the Commissioners were obliged to order a
visitation, which resulted in his resignation. The
right to appoint his successor is vested in the Lord
Lieutenant.

This report proves the necessity of a legislative
measure by which the endowments of those schools
could be turned to better account for the promotion
of middle-class education, of which there is a great
want in Ireland. The endowed schools are the most
expensive schools in the country, and it is quite
manifest that their benefits do not extend, except in
a very small degree, to the classes for which they
were designed, while the Queen's Colleges are suffer-
ing from want of good intermediate'schools to feed
them. It is time that some good to the country
should come from the Endowed Schools Comm's-
sion—which produced the most bulky of blue books,
and nothing else yet. Here is work for our ne•w
Chief Secretary.

discover the murderers. She was again at Sydney 1
on the 13th of July, when Capt. Loring's commis-
sion as 2d class Commodore arrived by mail. In
Feb., 1860, the Iris was relieved by the screw steam
ship Pelorus, Commodore F. B. P. Seymour, to re-
turn to England to be paid off, but owing to the re-
bellion breaking out in New Zealand she went there
to render assistance. On the 10th of Aptil she left
Auckland, in charge of Capt. C. G. H. Yemen, for
Chatham, to be paid off. She has had but very little
sickness during the four years and six months she
has been away.

The Sharpshooter, 6, screw, Lieut.-Commander
C. Gibbons, arrived at Spithead yesterday morning
from the West Coast of Africa, and is ordered into
Portsmouth harbour to clear out stores and pay off.
She sailed from Sierra Leone on the 19th June,
from Goree on the 25th June, called in at Fayal, and
said again thence on the 17th inst. Fine weather
was experienced up to leaving Fayal, when strong
north-west and westerly winds were fallen in with,
which continued the remainder of the voyage. The
French Imperial steam yacht Prince Jerome, with
Prince Napoleon and the Princess Mathilde on
board, sailed from Fayal, it was supposed for Ame•
rice, two days previous to the Sharpshooter leaving
for England.

The entry of smiths, platers, boiler-makers, and
other mechanics to be employed on the Achilles,
has commenced at Chatham dockyard, but up till
now only a small proportion of the number have
been taken on. There are still vacancies for good
mechanics. Mr. Baskcomb, one of the foremen at
Woolwich-dockyard, who has been employed in
superintending the construction and fitting of the
Warrior, will attend at Chatham dockyard on alter-
nate days, during the time the Achilles is in pro-
gress, to superintend the building of that iron
frigate.

The following appointments were made on Satur-
day at the Admiralty :—Lieut. W. Clarke, to the
Neptune, and Mr. G. G. Brodie, sub-Lieut., to the
Revenge.

THE ARMY.

The 10th Hussars, at present stationed at Nor-
wich, Ipswich, and Northampton, have been in-
spected by Major-Gen. Lawrenson. The inspection
of the troops of the regiment lying at Norwich was
noticed in The Sun of Thursday. Major-Gen. Law-
rence afterwards continued his inspection at
Ipswich. The regiment—or at any rate a portion
of it—is expected to leave for York in Sept.
The transport Lady Ann, 745 tons, Capt. James
Webb, belonging to Messrs. D. Dunbar and Sons,
from Calcutta, March 23, arrived all well off Ply-
mouth on Saturday. She embarked in India, 7
officers, 2 officers' wives, 232 men, 19 women, and
23 children belonging to the Royal Artillery and
6th Carabineers. She put in at the Cape on the
Ist and St. Helena on the 19th of Stine.

The head-quarters of the 24th Regiment, under
the command of Major Lutman, disembarked from
the Sirocco troopship, at Portsmouth dockyard, on
Saturday, on their return from India, and marched
into quarters in the garrison at the Clarence Bar-
racks. They are a fine body of men.
The sth (Northumberland Fusile ers) Regiment
was inspected at Portsmouth on Saturday by Major-
Gen. Lord W. Paulet, C.B. This regiment has but
very recently returned from India.
A number of men have volunteered into regiments
short of their full complement from the depot bat-
talions at the camp at Colchester, and small draughts
have left to join the Ist battalion 161 h Foot and
21st Regiment at Shorncliffe, the Ist battalion 12th
Regiment at Walmer, the 6th Regiment at Canter-
bury, and the 53d and 84th at Aldershott. The
force at Colchester, which has also been reduced of
late by draughts for India, now amounts to between
1,500 and 2,000.
The fortification of Portsdown-hill has been fairly
commenced by Messrs. Baker, of Lambeth.
Various alterations and repairs are about to be
executed at the Martello towers at Shotley, Walton
Ferry, Landguard Fort, and Walton-on-the-Cliff,
on the Suffolk coast. At Shotley one of the towers
has already undergone reparation, and a party of
artillery from Woolwich have been mounting
.8-inch and 68-pounder guns upon it.
Lieut.-Col. T. B. Collinson, second in command
at the headquarters of the Royal Engineers, Chat-
ham, having been placed on the staff of the establish-
ment, and appointed instructor in practical archi-
tecture, will be succeeded by Lieut.-Col. J. F. M.
Browne, C. 8., who is now on the passage home

from the Mauritius. The appointment of Lieut.

Col. Collinson, as instructor in architecture, will
supply a want which has long been experienced at
the Royal Engineer establishment.
Lieut. G. D. Pritchard has been ordered to pro-
ceed from Chatham to Harwich to do duty with the
Royal Engineers at that station.
The opening of the new and elegant suite of mess-
rooms recently erected at Brompton Barracks,
Chatham, for the officers attached to the Royal En
gineer establishment, will take place to-day with a
grand banquet, at which it is understood his Royal
Highness tho Duke of Cambridge, who is Colonel-
in-Chief of the Royal Engineers, together with
Gen. Sir J. F. Burgoyne, G.C.8., R.E., Inspector-
General of Fortifications, and several other distin-
guished officers, will be present. On Saturday the
preliminary arrangements were made for a review
of the entire force of the garrison, to be held to-day,
by his Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief.
Lieut. Henry E. C. Robinson was appointed on
Friday to her Majesty's ship Virago.
Captain M. S. Nolloth has been appointed to the
Princess Charlotte, and naval officer in charge of
naval establishments at Hong Kong.

THE COMET-REMARKABLE FACTS.

At the last sitting of the Academy of Sciences,
M. Elie de Beaumont read a letter from Dr. Mon-
tucci, in which the latter described a remarkable
phenomenon which he witnessed in September,
1858, when Donati's great comet was in all its
splendour, viz., the gradual fading and subsequent
total disappearance of the comet, followed by its
sudden reappearance about a minute after. Dr.
Montucci describes this phenomenon as follow
I was at Versailles in company with another per-
son, who is ready to confirm the fact. While we
were both contemplating the beautiful apparition
in the heavens, we perceived its light to fade
very rapidly, until the whole comet was reduced to
a luminous point at the nucleus. At length even
this point disappeared completely, leaving not
a vestige of the comet in the clear azure of
the sky. About a minute afterwards the nucleus
reappeared as a brilliant point, and immediately,
with much greater rapidity than that of the
extinction, the magnificent tail shot out again
in all its splendour. This phenomenon, which had
lasted about five minutes in all, occurred five or six
times that same evening, and we observed it on
some of the following nights, though on others we
watched for it in vain. There was most certainly
no interposition whatever either of a cloud or any
other vaporous film ; the nucleus seemed to absorb
the light of the tail, from the extremity to the
centre ; its own extinction was like that of a candle
by a blast of wind, and the reappearance of the tail
resembled the forcible ejection of water from a pipe
in the form of a jet." We may mention that a
phenomenon of the same kind was observed by a
gentleman and his family in this year's comet on
the 4th inst., when the tail was seen very gradually
to fade. and at length disappear completely, as if
blown away by a current of air, the nucleus alone
remaining visible; after a short interval the tail
reappeared in its former brilliancy. M. Leverrier
expresses great doubts as to Mr. Hind's supposition
of the earth's having passed through or near the
cemetery matter, and states that there are not suf-
ficient data to solve the question. A communica-
tion was also read from Father Secchi of Rome
about the comet. He repeats his former assertion
—viz., that the tail was 118 degrees in length, and
explains the discrepancy existing between his state-
ment and that of the Paris astronomers, who esti-
mated it at 45 degrees, by mentioning the impor-
tant fact that the comet had a double tail, one
within the other. The exterior tail, measuring 8
degrees in breadth, was very luminous, and only
extended to 45 degrees ; but the inner one, con-
sisting of a narrow and much weaker streak of
light, extended much farther, and ended in the
milky way, near the stars Epsilsn and Zeta Aquilre.
Father Seeehi believes that this second tail was not
visible at Paris. He adds that the polarisation of
the light of the tail was very strong, but that the
light of the nucleus did not present any traces of
polarisation polarisation until the 3d of July, and even then not
f
very strong.

Till? CHARGE OF STABBING A LADY.

On Saturday evening an inquest was held at the
King's Arms Tavern, Great Portland-street, by Mr.
Brent, the deputy coroner, on the body of Mrs. Jane
Janette Cathrey, a woman about 46 years of age,
who lost her life through being stabbed in the ab-
•.

domen by Mr. Richard Austwick Westbrook, a

solicitor, residing in the house of the deceased, No.

3, New Cavendish-street.
The jury having been swon, and viewed the
body,
Mr. Thomas Maclean Knowman Cathrey, who
seemedmuch affected, said,—l lived with my mother 1
at 3, New Cavendish-street. I am in the office of I
au engineer. The deceased was my mother. She
had been separated for some years from my father,
Mr. Werner Cathrey, who was in the army, and was
a captain in the Hussars, but is now in Australia.
My mother let as much of the house as she could.
Mrs. Bryant and her family occupied the top room.
Mr. Westbrook used to board and lodge with us as
a friend. We had known him many years. I was
not present at the death of my mother, but I identify
her body. The sad occurrence took place about one
o'clock on Wednesday morning. We—my mother,
Mrs. Bryant, Mr. Westbrook, and myself—came
from the opera in a cab, and there was a dispute
about something that occurred at the oaera after
supper. We had met a lady there who did not ap-
pear to wish to be seen. It became an angry
altercation. I was standing with Mrs. Bryant near
the door, talking to my mother, when I saw the knife
pass or thrown across the table. It appeared to
strike my mother flat, and I believe it fell on the
table, but I afterwards understood my mother drew
it out and put it on the table.
By a Juror—There were blows before the knife
struck, but I was not in the room. I heard so from
Mrs. Bryant. I flew at Mr. Westbrook, and I believe
I struck him.
Coroner—Of course, thinking the knife had been
thrown at your mother ?
Witness—Yes. Mra. Bryant and my mother
separated us. My mother said at first that she
was not wounded. She then went up stairs and
showed the wound to Mrs. Bryant. I was
told to go for a doctor, and I did so —;for
Mr. 'Young., who is here. Mr. Young came and said
the wound was serious, but he thought there was no
danger. My mother said " I am wounded, but I
do not think it serious." Mr. Young attended my
mother up to Thursday morning, and administered
a quantity of medicine, but it took no effect. My
mother passed a bad night. I found a change take
place at 6 the next morning, and went twice for Mr.
Young, but before he arrived my mother died—
about 8 on Thursday morning. Mr. Westbrook was
no relation. He had been a lodger in our house in
Buckingham-street, Strand, about a year and a half.
He was not a single man, but three months ago
obtained a divorce from his wife. I saw him strike
my mother once, but that was more of a push than
a blow. He was allowed to do as he liked in the
house. My mother said the blow on her nose was
the effect of an accident, but I have since heard
that it was not. I believe he hurt my_mother's
arm in Buckingham street 2-1- years ago.
By the Coroner—There were mutual recrimina-
tions. The lady at the opera appeared to give my
mother the cold shoulder.
By a Juror—l do not believe there was any pre-
meditated malice. I believe the wound was acci-
dental.
By another Juror—My mother lived with Mr.
Westbrook on the terms of a friend. It was a table-
knife, but one that had been worn. I took up a
knife that I believe did it—the only one that it was
possible to do it with.
Coroner—ls that the knife ?
Witness—Yes; but it has been cleaned.
The Coroner's officer said it had not.
Witness—lt is the same knife in my belief, but I

cannot swear, because it was dirty then. [lt is an
ordinary table-knife, but sharp both back and front
from being worn.] I saw the knife come against
my mother. My mother never wore stays, and
had on a thin dress and three petticoats.
Coroner—lt seems almost an incredible thing
this knife should have done it.
Witness—The knife was used at supper. I saw
Mr. Westbrook make a movement with his hand
and the knife go across the table as if it left him.
They had moved' from their places at the table.
They were on friendly terms, but words might pass
between them. Mr. Westbrook is a violent-tem-
pered man, and I have at times fallen out with him.
Mr. Westbrook is not in practice at present, but I
believe his name has been put in the Law List this
year. He has always retained his certificate, but
not practised.
Coroner—Do you blame any one for your mother's
death ?
It was caused by the knife. Mr. Westbrook
begged of me to send for a doctor.
MI s. Catherine Bryant, residing in the same
house, said—l am the wife of a wine merchant, who
is out of London. I am the adopted daughter of the
deceased. The only persons residing in the house
were the deceased, Mr. Westbrook, Mr. Cathrey,
Mrs. James, Mrs. Cathrey's maid and two servants,
and myself and two children. We had all our meals
together. We all went to the opera and spent a
pleasant evening, but a difference arose through a
lady offering a slight to the deceased. I said the
lady slighted deceased, and Mr. Westbrook said,
"I am glad you noticed it. lam of the same opi-
nion ;" but Mrs. Cathrey said she-did not think the
lady had. That is all the quarrel was about.
By a Juror—Mr. Westbrook is a passionate man.
After supper I wished Mrs. Cathrey to go to bed.
Witness—Mr. Westbrook seemed much agitated,
but was perfectly sober. I saw Mr. Westbrook go
to the table, take up a knife, and throw it at Mrs.
Cathrey. I then saw Mrs. Cathrey take up the
knife and throw it to the ground. Young Mr. Cath-
rey seeing this got up and struck Mr. Westbrook
and marked his eye. I got between them, and Mrs.
Cathrey whispered something to Mr. Westbrook.
Mr. Westbrook then said, " For God's sake send for
a surgeon ! for I believe I have wounded Mrs.
Cathrey, but I did not intend to do so." Mr. Cath-
rey went immediately for a surgeon, and the
deceased then said she wished to see me alone,
I then locked the door, and deceased said, " Pray
nerve yourself, for I think I am wounded more
than I expected." She then asked me to undress
her, and I did so, and saw a wound, and was much
shocked. She begged me not to be alarmed, for
it was " a mere scratch." and she aid not feel the
knife enter nor when she pulled it out." It bled
very slightly for such a wound. The deceased said,
I think I shall die, but I gave Mr. Westbrook
great provocation. It must have been purely acci-
dental, for I am sure he never could have intended
to harm me." The deceased said the same thing
many times before her death, and Mr. Westbrook
seemed very sorry. I had never seen any ill-feeling
previously displayed, and never saw Mr. Westbrook
strike her before then.
By a Juror—There were blows before the knife
was thrown. It was all about the same thing. Mr.
Westbrook used an angry expression, but I can't
remember what. Mrs. Cathrey provoked him. One
of the blows was on the chest, but it was not a vio-
lent blow. I was not mixed up in the quarrel.
Mr. Cathrey, recalled, said that Mr. Westbrook
and his mother were not living together as man mid
wife.

Mr. T. Young, M.R.C.S., 8, Sackville. street, said
—I had attended the deceased lady for 20 years.
On Wednesday morning her son came to fetch me
and said Mr. Westbrook had sent him to fetch me,
as his mother had received an "accidental wound."
I went, and saw her lying on the second floor, and
saw the cut, the size of the table-knife shown me.
On inserting my little finger I found it was the
size of the knife. The deceased was an extremely
portly woman and had a protruding belly, and it
was just the sort of wound one might expect from
the knife, To have caused her death the knife must
have entered three-quarters of an inch. It just
passed through the walls of the belly, and went
through both layers of the peritoneum and the
bowels. I have made a post-mortem examination,
and found an opening of the intestines. The de-
ceased became exceedingly oppressed after 20 hours,
and I found her dead next morning. There were
no other marks of violence. She told me that she
was certain that Mr. Westbrook would not hurt a
hair of her head.
By the Coroner—l have only done sufficient to
ascertain the cause of death. I found an opening
into the cavity of the bowel, and it had penetrated
the ilium. The cause of death was hemorrhage of
the superior mesenteric artery, and it would
become peritonitis. Death was caused by the
wound. There was not much loss of blood. The
deceased told me 20 times it was an accident.
Inspector Robert Hubbard, E division, said,—
Hearing of the death of a woman by stabbing at
the house, I sent Sergeant Watts to investigate the
affair, and I believe he was told that the doctor's
certificate had been sent to the registrar. I after-
wards went to the house and saw Mr. Westbrook,
and asked him to explain how it arose, and he said
it was through an altercation regarding a lady at
the opera. He also said that he was in the habit
of throwing his arms about, and that in doing so
the knife slipped out and struck the deceased. I
told him I should be obliged to take him
He said " I .am a solieitgoris,tarcardwWhoas laying
into cus-
tody.
believe
eulodffhe
ar
ve de
down the law 'at the time.
Mr. Young, recalled, "
When I wrote the certificate
it. was done
The Coroner—l am sure no registrar to take it to the registrar himself
as stated.
taken such a certificate under the circumstances.
Inspector Hubbard said Mr. Westbrook was pre-
sent.

The Coroner—lf he chooses to give evidence I

am bound to take it, but he must be sworn, and 1L
may be used against him.
Mr. Westbrook was then sworn, and said—l am
a solicitor, and resided with the deceased for four
years. I met with a great misfortune some years.
ago, and went to Liverpool. My wife eloped, and
then I went to reside with the Cathreys. I have
always been treated with the greatest kindness by
the deceased. I subscribe to all the witnesses have
said with a few exceptions. I had been out, and
on going home I threw myself on the sofa. Mrs.
Cathery, with her usual kindness, said "Lie on
the sofa, you are very warm. I shall insist on your
going to the opera." Mrs. Cathery had a peculiar
habit of insisting on things. I declined togo, but
she would take no refusal. I dressed myself, and
we went to the opera and spent a very pleasant
evening. We saw a lady there, and I think there
was a show on her part of the " cold shoulder"
towards Mrs. Cathrey. Poor Mrs. Cathrey was a
lady of extremely violent temper, but possessed of a
good heart and great good-nature. She had, how-
ever, a vehement way of expressing herself. Young
Cathrey and myself were like brothers, and used, It°
go through the sword exercise and such like. I"
contradicted Mrs. Cathrey she would sometimes
collar me in a playful way. The altercation
un
Buckingham street which has been alluded to was
this :—I wanted to go out, and she half playfully
and half in earnest said I should not go, and, nil
foot slipping, I seized her arm and hurt it verY
much. On the night of the sad affair I was verY
excited, but it was wrong that I walked up to the
table and threw the knife, as Mrs. Bryant saYs'
We had not moved, but were talking very vehe:.
mently. The deceased contradicted me, and I too
up the knife as I should a spoon or anything tole
near me, and I was saying, " Now, it's too bad °
yon to say so." Lam a powerful man, and tin
knife as it went from me had great impetus, but 1,-
repudiate the intention of hitting her. She bad
attended me in sickness and looked to my welfare.
I did not know that she was even touched. She du'
not know it herself till some minutes after, while
walking backwards and forwards in the room. Sh°
then stopped and beckoned to me, and, turning,
pale, said, " I believe the knife has struck me."
replied, "Is it possible ? If so, have medical assist;
ance at once." As the knife passed the son said,
" You threw that knife at my mother," and Mrs;
Cathrey rushed and squared her fist over me and
said, " Tom, how dare you attack Mr. Westbrook
The son struck four or five blows at me, one marking
me. Mrs. Cathrey pushed her son away, being veil
angry with him, and desired him to go to bed. Sh°
then whispered to me, " I am afraid that knife hag
struck me. I said, "My God, is it possible ! Sena
for Dr. Young immediately ; lose not a moment.
I then told the son to go for Mr. Young, of Sack'
ville-street, for his mother was wounded, and Mr'
Young came. The rest you have heard from the
doctor.
This being the whole of the evidence, the rooln
was cleared of strangers, and the jury were left ill
deliberation for some time, and at ten o'clock, tli,e
inquiry having lasted nearly four hours, it yb-
adjourned till this evening (Monday).
Such has been the excitement caused since the
occurrence, that police have been specially put °II
to keep persons from collecting in front of the
house in New Cavendish-street.