The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-03 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

A LADY CHARGED WITH FORGTMY.—A lady from
Dover NI as charged before Sir Thomas Henry, at Bow-
street Police-court, with having forged and cashed a
cheque for £95, with intent to defraud the London and
Westminster Bank. The gentleman whose name was
forged was closely cross-examined as to his relations with
the lady. While stoutly denying the existence of any ten-
der attachment between them, he- admitted that the
money was laid out by the lady in. paying for wine and
other articles consumed at a house taken in his name, the
lady's residence in Dover, by persons whom he invited
there,a.nd expressed his willingness to be debited at the bank
with the £95. The magistrate at length dismissed the
case, saying that there was not the slightest pretence for
giving the lady into custody-on a criminal charge.

A DEFAULTING APPRENTICE.—CharIes Saward was
sentenced by Alderman Coptlind to two months'
imprisonment for general misbehaviour as an appren-
tice. It appeared that though the prisoner was more
than 21 years age he had only 17s. Cd. a week ; at the same
time he refused to cancel his indentures, though told he
might do so if he chose.
ALLEGED MURDER IN SOUTH WALES.—A collier named
Lewis, living near Aberdare, has been charged with the
wilful murder of Richard Jones. The prisoner and de-
ceased had been seen scuffling in the vicinity of the Gla-
morganshire Canal, on Sunday night, about eleven o'clock.
Soon after a cry was heard of " Where is he ?" and after
the lapse of a few minutes the prisoner went up to a house
and asked for a light and assistance as a man had fallen
into the canal. A search was made, and the body of the
deceased was found dead in the canal basin. An examina-
tion of the body shewed a bruise upon the face under the
right eye, and a severe wound at the back of the head.
Prisoner was arrested in the course of an hour. He made
a statement to the effect that both he and the deceased
were drunk, and were walking home. Deceased's hat blew
off into the canal, and he (prisoner) went for a boat-hook
to try and recover it, leaving deceased standing upon a
stone. On his return he missed deceased, whom he afterwards
found in the water. The parties, it appeared, had hitherto
been on the most friendly terms. The case was re.
inanded.
THE MURDER OF CONSTABLE JUHP.—At Ashton-rmaer-
Lyme, Robert Ryan has been brought up on remand. Mr.
Ludlam, superintendent of the Lancashire constabulary,
produced three warrants against the prisoner, signed by
Mr. Justice Mellor, at the Liverpool Assizes, in 1862—the
first for the murder of Jump, the second for firing at
Inspector Harrop, with intent to do him grievous bodily
harm, and the third for damaging bricks at Ridgehill, near
Stalybridge. He said the prisoner had been charged with
the murder of Constable Jump, but was not present at
the assizes. He had been before the Ashton magistrates in
1862, but was then discharged, and he then absconded,
and had been to America. The grand jury at Liverpool
had found true bills against the prisoner, and he gave him-
self up on the 23rd ult. The prisoner gave himself up
voluntarily, and he (witness) had since read the warrants
to him, but he made no answer. The prisoner was then
committed for trial. Bail was accepted, himself in £lOO
and two sureties of £5O each.
THE MURDER BY A REJECTED SUITOR.—In the same
court Timothy Faherty was charged with the wilful mur-
der of Mary Hanmer. Mary Brodrick stated that the
deceased had lodged with her. On Christmas Day witness
had been out, and returned home about four o'clock. She
found the deceased lying on her back upstairs, and the
prisoner with her. She was covered with blood. She
asked the prisoner why he had done that, and he replied,
"I have done it. She is mine, and I will die on it." The
prisoner had been a lodger of hers, but he had left her
through drinking. He had been paying his addresses to
the deceased, but she had refused him. Bridget Brodrick,
daughter of the last witness, gave evidence similar to
that given on the inquest. She stated that the pri-
soner had often threatened the deceased. After the
examination of several other witnesses the prisoner was
committed for trial.

TRADES UNION OUTRAGE. —At the Derbyshire sessions,
John Beadmore, nailer, of Belper, was indicted for having
unlawfully wounded John Nightingale, with intent to do
him grievous bodily harm. The prosecutor is in the
employ of Mr. John Watson, Belper. For some time pre_
vious to the outrage a number of his workmen had refused
to work, owing to improved machinery being introduced.
The Union ordered that no horse-nail maker should work
for Mr. Watson as long as he continued to use the machi-
nery. Amongst the men who worked was the prosecutor.
On the evening in ciril;stion, about eight o'clock, he was
leaving his workshop, having in his hand the nails he had
made during the day. After he had locked the door he was
felled to the ground by a stroke on the back of the head
with some heavy instrument. He was also struck on other
parts of the body, and rendered insensible. His daughter-
in-:aw, who resided close by, came to his assistance. The
man was on the top of Nightingale, and as soon as he s.iw
the woman coming he took to his heels, but not before
she had full opportunity of seeing his face, having a
lighted candle in her hand. This witness positively swore
to the prisoner being that man, and the prosecutor de-
posed that he had previously threatened to do for him some
time. For the defence an alibi was set up. The prisoner
was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment, with
hard labour.

THE LAW OF BREACH OF PROMISE.—In the ShentTs
Court, on an assessment of damages in a breach of
promise case, a question was raised as to whether a jury
could give damages for seduction where an affiliating order
had been obtained for 2s. 6d. a week. Mr. Under-Sheriff
Burchell decided in the negative. £lOO damages were
ultimately given to the plaintiff, a domestic.
FENIANIS3f IN THE BLACK COUNTRT.—At the Walsau
Police-court yesterday John Lavin, a stalwart Irish-
man, was brought up under a warrant charged with
violently assaulting William Walker, a publican, at Blox-
wich. The prisoner was at complainant's bar, and as he
was declaring himself to be a Fenian, and wished the
company to drink a treasonable toast, he was turned out
of the house. The prisoner determined to be revenged on
the landlord, and returning struck him a frightful blow on
the temple with a stone, and as the landlord fell back in-
sensible he broke the collar bone of his neck in two places.
After this the prisoner expressed his intention of having
the prosecutor's head clean off, but he was prevented from
doing further mischief. The magistrates remanded tilt
prisoner.

APPREHENSION OF A. MURDERER.—A telegram
from Rotterdam was received on Thursday by the Liver-
pool police officials, stating that Thomas Quigley, who
brutally murdered his wife in Liverpool about a week ago,
had been apprehended in that city. Directly after com-
mitting the murder, it appear 3 Quigley shipped as a
" lumper " on board a Liverpool steamer, and left
that port on Sunday, the 28th of December, for
Rotterdam. He will at once be sent to Liverpool.
A reward of £5O had been offered for his apprehen-
sion.

THE OUTBREAK OF FEVER IN ESSEX. —Our COT-
respondent writes :—The outbreak of typhoid fever at
Terling has progressed with an intensity and rapidity of
increase rarely witnessed under similar circumstances.
Nearly one-eighth of the whole population have been at-
tacked, and fresh cases in large numbers are occurring
every day. Up to the second week of Cie fever, to the
time of Dr. Thorne Thorne's appearance on the scene on
behalf of the Medical Department of the Privy Council,
no steps were taken by the local authorities to check the
spread of the disease. Disinfectants were only dispensed
by a few private individuals, notwithstanding that their
use was urgently pressed uppn the nuisance authority;
and this has helped considerably to swell the list of cases,
the poison having had every chance of increasing in in-
tensity and diffusion. Dr. Thorne Thorne has been for
some time, and is still, pushing his investigations, espe-
cially with reference to the connection of this fever with
alterations in the height of surface water.—British Medi-
cal Journal.

MAKING RAIN.—A Pekin correspondent of the
English Independent mentions the following curious mode
of bringing down rain practised in China :—During the
late drought the President of the Board of Works, 'Wen
Siang, was sent with a tiger's head to throw into a tank of
water a few miles from Pekin, dedicated to the black
dragon. Itain is supposed to result from a struggle between
the white tiger and the black dragon. A tempest of wind
is raised by the tiger ; a tempest of rain by the dragon.
The throwing of a tiger's head to the dragon would excite
war and cause rain. How far Wen Siang, the most
enlightened of the progressive party, believes in this it
would be hard to say. But it is not only in China that
men in high position join in acts of worship in the efficacy
of which they do not believe. In the Pekin Gazette the
President of the Board of Ceremonies reports a visit to the
Holy Well, 350 mils from that city, at the command of
the Emperor. This well contains a large number of iron
bars or tablets. For several centuries it has been the
custom in years when the rain falls for the Emperor to
send for one of these tablets from the well. It is brought
to Pekin carefully wrapt in silk and satin, and placed
in the temple dedicated to the local god of the city,
Cheng-hwang-miau. This year, when brought, rain fell
in abundance on the third day after its being placed in this
temple. The Emperor then ordered it to be returned with
honour, and escorted by the President of the Board of
Punishments, who would throw it back into the well. All
the way back it rained at every place where the procession
rested, which was considered to be proof of its remarkable
efficacy. The Emperor ordered a gilt tablet to be pre-
pared and placed before the image of the god of the well,
who is likely to receive a new title, and to be denominated
henceforth the " Dragon Spirit of the Holy Well." The
Emperor is also advised to appoint a semi-annual sacrifice
to this spirit, to be performed by the local mazistrate of
Hantan. the adioinim: city.