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

TILE CASE OP 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
,he receipt of your lordship's further report, of the
Bth 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 facts 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 have 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, &e.,
" The Lord Chief Baron."

" G. C. LEWIS."

A free pardon, under the Great Seal, was received
by Mr. Keene, the Govern9r of Horsemongerlane
Gaol, on Tuesday, for theirrisoner, 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 noble 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 ha-
_ ._ _
pc

. _
iosed, to testify lay g.ratitude for the honour conferred.—
;elievo roc to be, with great respect, your faithful servant,
BROUGHAM."

LOSS OF A TYNE BRIG AND NINE HANDS.--
Taesday.—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‘Cambridge, a
Belfast man. The crew, with the exception of the master
and the mate, were Belfast men.

FER2'ILISE THE LAND, PURIFY T-1i

STI?RA

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—Agriculturists are continually calling
attention to the evils which result from NV ithdraic'
ing from the land the sewage so necessary for its
fertilisation and production of human food.
This view comprises but half the story of the
present mischievous distribution of sewage, and
important questions are left unnoticed and undis'
cussed.
The sewage now so much wanted by the land
is distributed to the rivers, where it poisons the fish,
causes a deposit to subside which putrifies, exhales
.
pestilential effluvia, and stimulates the 'growth o.f
.
weeds, till the whole stream becomes a se
mass of vegetable growth.
All the beautiful species of the salmonidoe abhor
foul and filthy rivers, and delight in the bright
transparent waters which naturally flow through
the lovely valleys of England.
The trout preserver is ever jealous of his fish) a
nd
it would be curious to see a Parliamentary return
.
of the number of complaints made, actions threat-
ened, judgments obtained, injunctions in Chancerf
which have been decreed, nay, even attachments
which have been issued for contempt of the highel.'
legal tribunals against the various boards of health
of this country.
The present system of these so-called boards
health is to pass the filth of their own town by the
nearest brook or river to the neighbouring
814
and I myself have been compelled to make A.,
complaint to the Privy Council that the inhabitant'
of villages upon the course of a stream have been
drinking unawares the excretion of a large p
llue u 0",
e!.
which had been insidiously thrown into a
trout stream which had served the inhabitants !.e.r
.
drink and domestic purposes from time immemorno
Sewage after deoderisation, although transparent,'
contains in solution a large quantity of animal
tmat-
ter, together with all the more valuable salts.
When it passes into a still pool or millhec,d, a sP°ll
taneous separation occurs, and a layer of again°
mud is deposited, which, under the action of
shine, gives off gas with a peculiar milky cloud'
ness. This gradually extends from millhead A-•
millhead till the whole stream becomes eentrit:
nated, and a source of pestilence to the
bourho3d. an
Ultimately a peculiar fermentation is set nib an
the water becomes perfectly bright, having le",-a
.11111..
its organic matter. By this operation the fer
ing matter which ought to be returned to the land
is spent upon the water, and vegetation, espeejauf,
the growth of the new water weed, is stimulated
to an almost incredible extent. All the 9°84°2
round London are full of this pest, and the ~
the Colne, the Wandle, contain vast masses.
During the past year my attention has been
forcibly directed to the consideration of the matter,
and it appears to me that possibly, as far as the
water weed is concerned, this apparent curse Mk
be turned to a benefit and profit.
AnekOF
This weed is especially the food of swans, -- 1,0
and other waterfowl, and a food which can form tt
muscles, bones, and feathers of such creatures In
ed
contain all the elements of nutrition in a mark
manner; and having caused a quantity to be drie
dr
Dr. Gilbert analysed it and found it as rich in
nitrogen as clover, besides containing
phosphertisulphur, and various salts. the
The experiment is now ripe for trial upon but
higher animals. Horses are fond of the Weed'
bow about mulch cows? I have not had the c°a•
venience for determining the point, but rather all 6,
cipate it may be found a valuable food.
,Loe of
The present distribution of sewage IS a c—nro.
the right stuff in the wrong place. Ever"
rorpo
prietor calls for the fertiliser to increase his c,j-iorl
and every guardian of the streams cries aletue
a prohibition against the pollution of the wa+n'"r,
and no person will rest satisfied till we havf out
re„,
turned to the earth its due, and restored the trout
to the brooks and the salmon to the rivers.---.1
main, sir, your obedient servant,
ALFRED SIVIEE'
7, Finsbury-circus, Nov. 17.

INQUIRY INTO THE MANAGEIII,-, '

OF GRETIV-I-C-11

ROYAL COMMISSION—(THIS DAr• Sou
This morning Robert *lngham, Esq., Q.C., M.P..P. for 'd
Shields, William Hutt, Esq., Ml' • for Gateshead,
John Charles Dalrymple, Esq., captain in her MilieS*_A
navy, assembled at the Admiralty, under powers conferre'.
upon them by a Royal Commission, to inquire into the:l
ternal economy and management of Greenwich "Togo
and of the funds by which it is maintained, and ills° when,
ther the resources of the hospital can be more advantag.
ously applied for the benefit of seamen who have served is

the Royal Navy.
On the 26th of July last Sir Charles Napier brought tilt
subject before the House of Commons, when he stated illts"
he wished to see the old seamen in Greenwich hospital
' treated with as much justice as the officers. Those officer*
who had pensions before they entered were allowed to Iva
tain them, but a seaman's pension was taken awe,' w, lie
he entered the hospital, and he only received the telunteo;
nance given to a man who had served a certain numberthi
years. The salaries of the officers of Greenwich 110sPi
amounted to £25,698 10s. a-year, while the sum spent li-
the maintenance of the pensioners was only
He should propose that the men should be allowed to ro
oK
ta"'
their pensions for wounds. He complained that the a.
nee to the men was not sufficient to enable them to °lain:
Lain their wives and families, and it was notorious that their
wives were not maintained by the hospital or in the neigh'
bourhood with anything like decency. Another great cam
of complaint was that the governor, lieutenant-governa t
and the other officers of the hospital had not the leas
power in the world, but were continually thwa7,vii
and their recommendations overruled by three
commissioners, who received from £7OO to 000, bow
Os
sides their half-pay, and some of them did not even live
Greenwich, but in London. The existence of these ecosr
missioners was entirely unnecessary. On these and 1,85
ous other grounds which the gallant admiral fully exPlau.„
to :the House, he concluded by moving that an addr7
should be presented to her Majesty, praying her to apP43lll.
a Commission to inquire into the management of then 11°
owig to
pital. The motion could not be put on that day,
an obstruction arising out of the forms of the house, but on
the 28th instant Sir Charles again proposed it. Mr. WI
bread, in the absence of Lord Clarence Paget, opposed
but promised that the Government would, during' """
recess, investigate the subject. On the divisi°ll
which took place, the motion was negatived by
142 against 82. Acting upon the Pr°l3ll:,."s
given, the Government afterwards thought it wise to aPP°l*
a Royal Commission, and accordingly entrusted Mr. Ingd
ham, Mr. Hutt, and Captain Hay with the inquiry.
On the assembling of the commissioners this inornin th.
g,
secretary read her Majesty's Commission, and Mr-
r 0
ham briefly indicated the course which the commissione
would take in conducting their investigation. They who
proceeded to call witnesses, the first taken being those %v.--
hold high and responsible offices itt,the hospital.
It is expected that the inquiry will last about a week or
ten days, and that the report of the commissioners will b;
ready to be laid before Parliament at the commencement 0
the forthcoming session.