The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-21 00:00:00

THE SELBY MURDER.

At the York Assizes, on Thursday, Frederick Parker,
21, was arraigned on a charge of having wilfully murdered
Daniel Driscoll, in the parish of Hemingbrough, in the
East Riding, on the Ist March. The prisoner and
the deceased had been in the Beverley House of
Correction on some petty charges, and they were
both set at liberty on the 29th February. At the
time the deceased had in his possession the sum of
£4 10s. in gold and 110., as well as a silver watch and
albert guard. The same morning the prisoner and the
deceased had some refreshment at the Red Lion Inn,
Beverley. About a quarter before seven o'clock in the even-
ing of the same day they entered a public-house at Duhwith
(which is only three miles from the place whereDriscoll's body
was afterwards found), and each had a glass of ale and
some tobacco. They were both sol.er. After leaving
nothing seemed to have been seen or heard of the men
until the following morning, when, shortly after nine
o'clock, a groom on horseback, on looking into a ditch, saw
the deceased, who was dead, and covered with blood,
caused by wounds on his face. The prisoner appeared
that morning at Beverley with money in his pockets, and
a watch and silver albert. The watch he went so far
as to offer as a gift to a labourer, who declined to take it.
The labourer, however, accepted £4 odd in money, which
the prisoner gave to him. On the 10th instant the watch
was found concealed in a field near to where the prisoner
had been last seen. A portion of his clothing was ex-
amined by Dr. Proctor, of York, who found spots of
blood on the trousers and waistcoat. The jury, after an
absence of about half an hour, returned into court with a
verdict of guilty. The learned j edge passed sentence of
death in the usual form.

The fact that Mr. Gladstone was not ready with his notice
of motion on Friday evening seems to have inspired the
Ministerial papers with hope that after all the Govern-
ment may not be defeated. The Herald ventures to doubt
whether the resolution will go to a division, and, more than
that, whether it will even come on for discUssion.
It points out that the right hon. gentleman ig
bound to produce a resolution, even if it happ:ms
to represent only his own notions, and to be heartily dis-
liked by every one of his allies. For the sake of Parlia-
ment and public business, it hopes the result will be an in-
glorious one for the Opposition leader. But for the sake
of the Government and the Conservative party it desires
to see the resolution pressed. Its adoption cannot injure
the Ministry, and will certainly discredit its authors ; its
rejection, and that is its more probable fate, would be a
great triumph for the Government and Conservative
principles.

The Standard complains of Mr. Gladstone's interrupting
the work of the session with a wholly purposeless and un-
practical debate, and calls upon the House not to be en-
trapped, bullied, or coerced into giving its assent to an
abstract resolution. The Post, without predicating with
any certainty the issue of the contest, effectually deals
with the objection to an attack upon the Ministry on the
ground that it will interrupt the progress of several bills
now before Parliament. It points out that there are always
bills of more or less utility before Parliament when Minis-
tries fall, but their fate seldom Occasions much regret to
their originators or remorse to those who put an end to
their existence.

'The Advertiser hints at dissensions amongst the "clique
of Whigs" who met at Mr. Gladstone's house to draw up
the resolution. No prospect of harmony, according
to our contemporary, exists between the restive peers
and commoners who have been discussing this motion. Of
course, much allowance must be made for the Advertiser's
intense dislike of Mr. Gladstone because he does not
happen to be a Low Churchman or a licensed victualler.
The right hon. gentleman was never known as a Whig,
nor can Mr. Bright correctly be described as belonging to
the " Whig clique " at which our contemporary is so ter-
rified.

The Athenerum gives us the following items of literary,
scientific, dramatic, and art gossip : Maj or Tennant is going
to India to observe the total eclipse of August Is, with a
special view to photography and polarisation. He will be
accompanied by three noncommissioned officers of the
Royal Engineers, well skilled in photographic manipula-
tion, and the cost will be defrayed by the Indian Govern-
ment.—The Gentleman's Magazine, the oldest of all the
monthlies, is to be modernised and brought out at a shilling,
instead of half a crown as heretofore.—A large number of
prizes have been offered in connection with the forthcoming
Aeronautical Exhibition ; among them a prize of £lOO by
the Duke of Sutherland, for a machine which, not being of
the nature of a kite or balloon, shall ascend with a man
the height of 120 feet ; one of £5O by the Shipwrecked
Mariners' Society for the best form of aerial arrangement
for establishing communication between the shore and a
ship, or between two ships at sea ; and one by the Crystal
Palace Company for a machine which shall sustain
and move itself in the air at a height of
not less than ten feet from the ground for not
less than twenty minutes.—The Hanging Committee of the
Royal Academy this year are Messrs. Maclise, Sydney
Cooper, and Calderon. Mr. F. G. Goodall has two pic-
tures oh the life of the Virgin ; Mr. Eyre Crowe one
representing the "After Scene of the Execution of Mary
Queen of Scots ;" and Mr. Mason one entitled "The Even-
ing Hymn "—all of which are expected to be exhibited at
the Royal Academy. To these we may add that Mr. Sydney
Hodges has a portrait of Rajah Sir James Brooke, which
is likely to find a place there. Mr. Holman Hunt's
new picture, " Isabella and the Pot:of Basil," is to be exhi-
bited to the public on April 20, and will be engraved by
Mr. Blanchard. The London Review understands that
Mr. Millais will contribute three pictures and portraits of
three young ladies. The subjects of the first three are
"Rosalind and Celia in the Forest," "Two old Green-
wich Pensioners looking by lantern light at the Tomb of
Nelson in the Crypt of St. Paul's," and Swil t's " Stella."
Mr. Kinglake's 3rd and 4th vols. of the " History of the
Crimean Invasion " are announced for next month. The
wife of Professor Fawcett (née Garrett) will have an article
in the April number of Macmillan's Magazine, on " The
Education of Women of th 6 Middle and Upper Classes."

We understand that the Duke of Buckingham
will succeed the late Lord Carington as lord-lieutenant
of Buckinghamshire. A brother of the late member will,
probably, stand for High Wycombe.—John Bull.
EXTRAORDINARY GIG ACCIDENT.—A very extra-
ordinary accident lately occurred at Gateshead. Mr.
Greases, the local traveller for Messrs. Bentley and Co.,
brewers, Leeds, had been out at:Chester-le-Street during
the day, and on his way home to Newcastle he had called
at Wreckerton, leaving his gig and pony at the door
of an inn there while he went in and took an order.
The boy in whose charge the pony had been left let it run
away, and after ascending the brow of the hill it ran down
the steep declivity leading from Sheriff's-hill to Gates-
head. In getting into the throng of the Gateshead streets
several attempts were made to stop it, but they failed.
When opposite the Half Moon-lane some person on the far
side attempted to catch the bridle, but the pony shied and
got on to the footpath, when it knocked down a man, a
woman, and a child, and drove the near shaft of the
,gig
into one of the plate-glass windows of Mr. John D. Caries
watch and jewelle►y shop. The shaft left the window by
paring through the next pane of glass and tearing aw y
the upright bar which divided the two panes. Me result
was that it brought a complete shower of watches, chains,
rings, pins, seals, bracelets, andother varieties of jewellery on
to the pavement, and there -was a complete scramble for
them, and the pony, which again made off, took away
with it a quantity of jewellery dangling from the shafts.
It was brought up shortly after without doing further
damage, and was given into the charge of the police. Mr.
Caris's loss is serious, amounting to about 400 ; and of
the persons injured, Mrs. Gilbert, wife of a North-Eastern
engine-driver, had her shoulder dislocated and the clavicle
broken, and she has lost all her teeth ; and Robert Carr,
a chainmaker, of Gateshead, :sustained a compound frac-
ture of one of his less, The pcny was
Expre.m