The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-13 00:00:00

MISS MADELEINE SMITH.

The .North Daily Mail of Saturday says ;—The
circumstances of the ruse adopted by one of the
Glasgow a;ents employed in the case for getting off
Miss Smith unmolested by the vast crowd waiting
in the Parliament-square and neighbourhood for
her exit atter her trial were as follows :—He hid
provided himself with the dress worn on the previ-
ous days of her trial by Miss Smith, and on her
liberation from the bar he asked the sergeant of
police in attendance whether he could find him a
girl about the size of Miss Smith to personate her
and go through the ordeal of driving in a cab to the
gaol down the high-street. The sergeant imme-
diately recollected a girl who had for several days
importuned the police officers to get her a sight
of the prisoner, saying she would give anything
for the privilege. This girl was got, and, being
told that not only would she get a sight of
Miss Smith, but also her dress, and a douceur be-
sides if she would represent her in a cab in order
to disperse the mob from the square, she under-
took the job, and was dre,sed (by Miss Smith her-
self) accordingly. In the meantime a rumour was
circulated through the crowd that Miss Smith was
to drive to the gaol to change her dress before going
at large, and orders were given to clear a space about
the court-room doors. This Leing done, and the
anxiety of the crowd raised to the utmost pitch by
the perpetrators, up came the cab, and out came
the fabricated girl in nearly a fainting state, and,
being with some little difficulty got nto the car-
nage along with the usual polio, off drove the
vehicle at a breakneck pace, followed by the whole
rabble of expectants, and in a trice the Parliatnei
square and all the thoroughfaresabout it we' e coin-
pletely cleared. Miss Smith then having been
taken round through the Advocates' Library, and
put on a different dress, with a coloured veil, quietly
walked away, accompanied by her brother and
another young gentleman, to the front of St. Giles'a
Church, where a cab was in waiting, and, entering
it quietly, Jehu drove away to Slateford, where she
met the Caledonian train to Glasgow, and was c ar-
ried by it tothat city. She proceeded, we believe,
straight on to Rowaleyn, her father's residence,
near Helensburgh. On dit, that on the day of the
Lord Advocate's address she was asked what she
thought of it ? She replied, •‘ When I hear the
Dean of Faculty I will tell you. I never like to
give an opinion till I have heard both sides." She
pronounced the Lord Justice Clerk " a tedious old.
man" on the first evening of his summing up.
The impression produced on the minds of our
cit'zens is, that Miss Smith has been more sinned
against than sinning; that she has rather bean
greatly unfortunate than awfully criminal ; that
leers has been a warm confiding nature ; and that
L'Angelier, as the Dean of Faculty graphically
affirmed, merely meant to employ her as a stepping
stone to fortune. She has scarcely received just ee
at the hands of the public. They prejudged her
case at first, and without troubling themselves to
• inquire into any evidence whatever, at once ctoa-
demned her. Miss Smith's demeanour during the
trial can only be attributed to a proud consciousness
of innocence—for it were heartless to believe that
it was either assumed, or the result of a monstrous
brazen-facedness. Her age, her sex, her ap-
pearance, emphatically disprove .the idea of her
guilt ; and whatever may be the verdict of the
jury, this at least will be found the opinion of the
public. 'With her intercourse with L'Angelier we
have nothing to do, and far be it from us to pen
one word against her ; let him that is without sin
cast the first stone. The publication of her letters
we most deeply regret (especially when none of the
deceased's almost could be found) ; but we cannot
refrain from referring to the impressively affec-
tionate tone of nearly the whole of them, which
read more like the outburst of some Italian pass.on
than anything else. Where, for example, will you
find a piece of more genuine eloquence than the
one when she implores L'Angelier for her own sake,
for her mother's sake, for Christ's sake, for God's
sake, never to return the correspondence to her
father ? The wretch that could read such a letter
witboutbeing moved to his utmost soul, is unworthy
to bear the name of man. We must conclude. The
day may come, and many of us may live to see it,
when, as the learned and eloquent Dean said, this
mysterious tragedy may be unveiled, and the in-
nocence of the fair accused be fully established.—
North Britain.

A rumour was current in Liverpool on Saturd ty
that Miss Smith would leave this country for the
United States and Canada. In consequence of this
rumour, a considerable number of the inhabitants
assembled on the landing-stage to witness the em-
barkation of the passengers. Alter the departure
of the Asia, it was announced in one of the publio
rooms that she had taken her departure by that
steamship. Our Liverpool correspondent sta' es,
however, on the authority of the agents of these
steamers that Miss Madeleine Smith did not sail in
the Asia.
It may be well to state here that the verdict of
the jury is of a description peculiar to Scotch law.
In each finding the verdict was given by a majo-
rity, that maj.,rity being, we believe, 13 to 2 on all
the charges. The form of acquittal on the second and
third eh Irges was "ffot Proven." A Scotch juryare not
limited to the findings of " Guilty" or "Not Guilty"
but may give a substantial acquittal by a finding of
"Not Proven"—a finding which is adopted in nine
cases out of tEn in which a prisoner is acquitted of
a capital charge.
An opinion is entertained amongst men generally
well informed as well as by the public at large, that
the Scotch verdict of "Not Proven" does not free
the prisoner from future legal responsibility in re-
spect to the charge on which that verdict is returned;
and that Miss Smith, for instance, might be tried a
second time for the murder of L'Angelier, in case
any further evidence likely to bring the charge
home to her should become known. This opinion
is altogether erroneous ; no person charged in Scot-
land with a criminal offence, with regard to which
a verdict of " Not Proven" may be returne(l, is
more liable to be tried again on the same charge
than if the verdict of the jury had been "Not
Guilty."

ELECTION EXPENSES IN THE BASTBEN

COUNTIES.

The election auditors in the Eastern Counties are
making great progress in the publicatte n of the
expenses of the various candidates at the late gene-
ral election. At Norwich the expenses of Viscount
W. Schneider, cthhnoe3eidoefr,sMir.
SP.. ,Bairea.
returned,Bury
atP and
1,1151. 9.
9r H. ,
n 7
dnold, the unsuccessful Conservative candidate,
1,1431. 3s. 9d. There was a sharp contest. In West
Suffolk the expenses of Mr. H. S. Waddington,
M.P.,IAre returned at 671. Gs. ; those of Mr. P.
.t.a,htMeasetsrx.Blp.W7etnizilslsse4sos.no3.fdd,L.id,dorndotllgeontnoikaerpom.ll .
M.P.,
Bennet, np., at 571. 17s. 6d. ; and those of Mr.
F. M. Wilson, the unsuccessful Liberal candidate,
uu4ffr:
nOT
el.7kdpd
. a•ntdhtehreoswe aosf'nBoircoFn:-
test. At Huntingdon (borough) the expenses of
Kelley,aEart aesBlS.t
General Peel, M.P., are returned at 1831. 195., and
those of Mr. T. Baring, M.P., at 1851. 9s. There
was no contest, and the town clerk's charges amount
to 1571. 10s. against each member. At Cambridge
University the expenses of the Right Hon. S. H•
Walpole, M.P., are returned at 871. Os. 9d. ; those
of Mr. L. T. Wigram, M.P., at 801. 9s. 9d. ; there
was no contest. At Grantham the expenses of Mr.
W. E. Welby, M. P., are returned at 2461. lbs.
those of the Hon. F. J. Tollemach, 1" 971.
15s. 9d. ; and those of Lord M. W. Graham, the
M.P.
Grimsby the expenses of Lord Woraley, , aro
unsuccessful candidate, at 2851. 13s. 2d. At Greet
returned at 1091. 17s. Id. ; no contest. Inthe county
of Rutland the expenses of the Hon. G. J. Nopf,
the Hon. G. H. Heathcote,
Cholmeley, M.P., are re-
ncolnshire the
M.P., are returned at 641. m13.5p..4, dat. ;69a1n.d18t1;osieolef.;
there was no contest. In North Li
m p at 76/. 3s. Old. ; there was no
teuxrpneensdeast 109f98/.ir12310..6 ; and those of Mr. Banks
ji;
Stanhope, • .)
contest. At Bury St. Edmunds the expenses of
Earl Jermyn, M.P., are returned at 106/. 6s. 64.,
those of Mr. J. A. Hardcastle, M.P., at 2041.18 x.,
and those of Mr. J. H. P. Oakes, the unsuccessful
Conservative candidate at 74/. Bs. 3d. At Cam-
bridge (borough) the expenses of Mr. K. Macaulay,
M.P., and Mr. A. Steuart, M.Y, are returned at
810/. 2s. Bd., and those of Colonel Adair and Mr.
J. Hibbert, the unsuccessful Liberal candidates,
at 4511. 175.104. There was a sharp contest.