The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-26 00:00:00

THE HOLY W ELL-STREET SEIZURES.

Yesterday being the day appointed for the hearing of
the summonses, at the Bow-street Police-court, against
the persons at whose houses the seizure of obscene books,
papers, engravings, &c., were made on Tuesday last, Mr.
Bodkin again attended for the Crown, and the whole of
the property was produced by the police.
Superintendent Durkin said he had cx amined the
whole of these productions, and fiund the greater por-
tion of them to be obscene. A few did not appk ar to be
positively obscene, and some were in scaled paskets, but.
with inscriptions leading to the inference that the con-
tents were obscene.
The first summons called was one against Win. Smith,
of 52, Holywell-street, who did not appear, but was re-
presented by counsel, who .proposed to consent to the
destruction of the articles.
Mr. Bodkin observed that as it was possible that pro-
ceedings might be instituted against the defendant, and
that some portions of the books, &c., might be required
as evidence against him, no doubt he would be glad to
have the evidence destroyed. Oa the part of the Crown
be (Hr. Bodkin) could not consent to that, hut proposed
the adjournment of the case till the Crown should decide
whether further proceedings should be taken, and also
that the magistrate should have time to perform the pain-
ful but inevitable task of examining these things.
Mr. Jardine was afraid he should be compelled to do
so, and as that would not be possible in the course of the
sitting, he thought the adjournment was the only course.
The defendant's counsel observed that there were two
pictures in miniature cases among the articles seized.
Ile understood that the gold mountings were worth 20e.
and upwards, and he considered it was a question
whether condemning the picture the magistrate was to
condemn the gold in which it is mounted.
Mr. Bodkin: When the things are being destroyed
the police will deface the indecent pictures, and return
r the cases and mountings to the defendant.
After some further conversation, the case was ad-
journed.
In the next case, that of Charles Paul, 2, Efolywell-
street, the defendant's colic for said : I have to ask your
worship, with Mr. Bodkin's consent, to adjourn the
case to the same date, and in the meantime to consider
whether the articles come under the act.
Mr..Boikin—Why, that is the very purpose of the
adjournment.
The Solicitor—l mean to say that that will be my
objection. I shall not contend that they are not
obscene.
The case was accordingly adjourned.
The case of Mary Wilson, of 40, Wycb-street, who
did not appear to the summons, was a1.,0 adjourned.
In the case of James Thornhill, of 33, Holy well-street,
Mr. Mitchell stated that there were a much smaller
number of books, and those chiefly consiaecl of a book
called " Aristotle's Masterpiece," in respect to which it
might be questioned whether it was obscene. There
were, however, some prints of undoubtedly obscene
character.
The same council appeared in this case, and said teat
the books, &c., seized were not for sale, being part of
the stock lsft by a previous tenant. In this case, and
that of Smith, he undertook that no books of the kind
should be soli, and invited the surveillance of the police.
The two remaining cases, those of Mary Elliott, 14,
Holyweil-street, and Reyes, 40, Wyoh-street, were
adjourned to the same date.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company have now in
the Indian Seas a fleet of 25 steamers, of 32,128 tons
burden, and 8,020 horse-power.
,SUICIDE.--Yesterday an inquest was hold at the
White Swan Inn, Farringdon-street, on the body of
Ann WDowall, aged 60. The deceased, who vae of
intemperate habits, and had been drunk since Monday,
purchased on Thursday twopennyworth of vitriol and
swallowed it. She told an acquaintance what she bad
done, and stated that the bad conduct of her husband
had led her to it. This acquaintance stated at the
inquest that she had never een the decsased's husband
illuse her. Verdict, "Temporary insanity."
SUICIDE WITH THE OIL OF VITRIOL. Yesterday
afternoon, a determined act of sail-destruction was com-
mitted by a female named Jane E.oruley, aged 66 years,
lately residing at No. 2, Neate-stre. t, Bettinal-greeu.
road. It appeared that the deceased was the wife of a
weaver, and for some weeks past she had lived on un-
happy terms with her husband. The deceased retired to
rest, and subsequently attracted the attention of a lodger,
who beard loud groans issuing from her apartment. The
room was forcibly entered, when the deceased was disco•
vered lyirg upon the floor, in a state of great suffering.
A medical gentleman was called, who used the necessary
means, but the deceased was found to have taken a
small bottle of the oil of vitriol. The deemed was
placed in a cab and conveyed to the Loudon Hospital.
where the resident medical officer (Mr. Burch) applied
the usual antidotes, but the deceased continued in a state
of excruciating agony until about noon, when she died
i from the mortal effects of the person. The body awaits
an inquest before Mr. W. Baker, the coroner.
LONDON OUT OF TOWN.—IS it really 7 One who went
to the Crystal Palace last Saturday morning, and saw
19,000 persons in the midst of wonders of art, listening
to such a concert for a shilling as would have gratified
the most fastidious, or who had tried to take places for
the • pera at her Majesty's Theatre that night, and
couldn't get them ; or who saw the Surrey Music-hall
on Sunday morning packed full of worshippers, or got
mixed up with the stream of life that filled the New-road
in the evening of that same day of rest—might reasonably
doubt the assertion. Nevertheles,, it is true, compara-
tively speaking : Grosvenor-square, Belgravia, and Ty-
bureia are desolate, and some member or other of every
household, Smith, Jones, and Robinson, has flitted, or
far or near, to unbend for awhile, and get fresh air.—
The Builder.
EQUINOCTIAL HIGH TIDES.—On Thursday afternoon
the water in the Thames rose to an unusual height,
overflowing several wharves in the vicinities of Shad-
well, Dockheeel, and Rotherhithe, on the morning's.
tide, with the wind at W.N.W. The water that had
been forced into the estuary at the mouth of the Thames
from the North Sea, rushed up the 'Names with the
velocity of a " here." Pilots end ma=ters of fishing
smacks who arrived on Thursday afternoon report the
marshes on the Kent and Eisex sides of the river as
having the appearance of vast inland lakes, the water
having broken through the sluices. Much damage was
occasioned by the overflowing of basements and ground
floors in waterside premises, in some of which the water
rose to the height of three feet ; fortunately, these are
new moon spring-tides ; had the moon been full the
destruction of property must have been considerable.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TURKEY.—A correspondent
has sent us a statement which tends to prove the good
faith of the Turkish Government in carrying out the
religious liberty guaranteed both to Christians and Ma-
hornedene. At Constantinople a Turk and his wife and
child have been baptized by the American missionary,
Dr. Hamelin, with the name of "Freeman." It
appears that on the 3d inst. two officers of the Porte
went to the office of Dr. Hamelin, after previous notice,
to investigate the case of the Freeman family, converted
Irene Mahomedanism to Christianity. Dr. Hamelin at
first demurred, but a strict examination took place.
The officers of the Porte examined Mr. Freeman.
The object was to ascertein whether he bad been
driven from Islamism to Christianity by any trouble or
supposed wrongs, but the answers were deemed satisfac-
tory by the Turkish authorities. Mrs. Freeman was
then subjected to the same ordeal, after which it was
arranged that the Turkish lady and her daughter should
have an interview together. The result convinced Dr.
Hamelin that there was no compulsion in the case, and
the ceremony was therefore performed. The account
. adds, "It is the will of his Majesty our Severeire, that
ly, and
it has become the established law of
shall e njo the empy entire
every subject without any exception
religious freedom. The Mussulman. is now as free to
become a Christian as the Christian is freee
to
amelin hemine a
Mussulman." Two days previously D H mar-
ried a young Protestant Armenian to a Turkieh lady
who had been baptised in Malta.