The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-14 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, I RIDAY tVENINO, FEBRUARY 14, 1868.

TIIE

:IVNON

DUBLIN, Thursday.
Patrick Lennon was tried yesterday in the Com-
mission Court fur firing at Sergeant Kelly with
intent to kill him. The Attorney-General, the
_ _

Solicitor-General, Mr. Owen, Q.C., and Mr. Bull,

Q.C., conducted the prosecution; Mr. Purcell,
Q.C., and Mr. J. A. Curran defended. The facts
have been recently stated. Kelly identified the
prisoner as the man who shot him. On cross-
examination he stated that the night was foggy and
hazy. He never had any doubt of being able to
recognise the man. He had always an idea of him
before his mind, but not always as good an idea as
after he saw him in Kilmainham. But for the leaf
he would have supposed that it was a cap which he
wore on his head. He bad a good view of him, and
could not be mistaken about his dress. He had
never seen him before. In Kilmainham he asked
the prisoner to pronounce the word " stand," and
from the manner in which he did so, and from
his walk, he had no doubt of his identity. Mr.
Purcell read the declaration made by the witness
in the hospital when he was supposed to be dying,
and contrasted it with his evidence. In it he said
he would not know the man again, and described
his dress as a cap, a short black coat, and light-
coloured trousers. The witness explained that when
he made that statement he was in an awful state of
pain. When he made that declaration he bad not
before his mind the smallest idea of the man who
fired at him. The prisoner wore a low bat ; it was
very like a cap. On the 20th of January he made
an information, and he then had clearly before his
mind every circumstance connected with the mat-
ter. Mary Donnelly deposed that she saw the pri-
soner fire a revolver at Kelly. She screamed
" Murder !" and the prisoner turned round and
looked at her. There was a gas lamp near, and she
saw his face. Ann Clarke gave evidence to the
effect that the prisoner passed her in Temple-bar
shortly after the shots were fired. She had seen
him before that night. Mr. Purcell, Q.C., ad-
dressed the jury for the prisoner. He complained
that the Crown had tried him first for treason-
felony, and that he now appeared with a stigma
which was calculated to prejudice the defence.
Counsel contended that the evidence of identifica-
tion had failed. The prisoner was brought on the
table in order that the jury might judge of the in-
accuracy of the evidence as to his height. He had
been described as a low-sized man, but he stood five
feet nine inches.
A witness for the defence swore that he spent
the evening of the occurrence in company with the
prisoner in a publichouse, and at a quarter to 12
o'clock returned with him to his lodgings, where he
remained until half-past 5 in the morning, sleeping
in the same bed. On cross-examination he said he
never slept with Lennon before, but he was shut
out of his own lodging that night.
Other witnesses corroborated the evidence.
At the close of the case Judge Fitzgerald charged
the jury. lie pointed out the discrepancies in the
testimony of the Crown witnesses as to identifica-
tion. The jury, after deliberating three-quarters
of an hour, acquitted the prisoner.
The Attorney-General stated that he would not
proceed with the indictment for murder at this
Commission.

NAVAL AND D.

12'E'LLIGEN(JE.

Admiralty orders have been rece.'ved at P orts-
mouth Dockyard for the repairs and out.,fit of the
several armoured frigates now in hand at that port
to be hurried forward as rapidly as the resources of
the yard will permit. It is understc ,od that the
Channel Fleet, under the connnan 3 of Rear-
Admiral F. Warden, C. 8., will, on e itering upon
its summer cruise, proceed to .tar,Gibzinder thecom-
mand whereit
will join the Mediterranean Fleet,
of Lord Clarence Paget, the united squadrons
afterwards participating in a series of important
manoeuvres under stcarn and sail, separately and
combined, under the direction and supervision of
his L'rdship.

The Bullfinch, firs t-class twin screw gun-vessel,
built under the shed in No. 2 Dock of Sheerness
Dockyard, was floated into the basin yesterday.
The ship is sister to be Magpie, launched from
Portsmouth Dockyard! on Wednesday, and is one
of 11 vessels of the same thscription now being
built or refitted in th.e various Government dock-
yards. She is built f.A. wood, but is strengthened
between decks with i. beams, and has been con-
structed from the de.s igts of Mr. E. J. Iteed, Chief
Constructor of the N avy- The engines of the ship
will be made by Messrs. Rennie and Co., of Lon-
don, and will be of 16G horse power, nominal, driv,-

ing two propellers of :t e Mangin pattern. The ship
was floated on IVedn.tsglay afternoon, and prepared
for the ceremony yei te4rday. She will carry three
guns—one 4-ton, aad two 40-pounder guns, all
made so as to act as broadside guns. Precisely at
half-past one o'clock. Miss M. Hall, daughter of
Capt. W. K. Hall, C. 8., superintendent of Sheer-
!less dockyard, broke the usual bottle of wine and
wished success to the Bullfinch. A mallet and chisel
having been handed to Miss Hall, the rope detain-
ing the vessel was severed, and the Bullfinch, drawn
by the labourers of the yard, slowly left her housing
for the great basin, where she will be refitted with
all possible despatch. A great number of naval and
military officers and ladies were present. The band
of the 13th Kent Artillery Volunteers performed
before and after the ceremony. At the time of
christening the ship drew forward 4ft. Slim. and
aft 61t. 10in. of water. The following are her di-
mensions : --Length between perpendiculars, 170 ft. ;
length of keel for tonnage, 151 ft. 'lain. ; breadth
extreme, 29ft. Olin. ; breadth for tonnage,2Bft. Bin. ;
breadth, moulded, 28ft. 2in. ; depth of hold,
12ft. Sin. ; burden in tons, 664 11-94. The keel
and framework of another vessel of the same dimen-
sions as the Bullfinch have been prepared, and the
ship will be got on with at once.
The hydraulic propelled gun-vessel Waterwitcb,
Commander P. Sharp, having been completed in
alterations and repairs at Portsmouth, has been
put through trials of her machinery and speed prior
to' sailing on a competitive Channel cruise, with the
twin screw gun vessel Viper. The trial of the ship's
engines took place with highly satisfactory results
on Saturday last off Spithead, Mr. John Dudgeon,
the head of the firm who manufactured the engines
for the Admiralty, being present. On Wednesday
the ship made her trial of speed over the measured
mile in Stoke's Bay, her draught of water being
lift. 2in. forward, and lift. 9in. aft, or a mean
draught of lift. slin. The mean of six runs over
the mile with full boiler power gave the ship a
speed of 8.880 knots per hour, with an indicated
power by the engines of 785 horse. Four runs with
half-boiler power gave the ship a speed of seven
knots per hour, with an indicated power by the en-
gines of 370 horse. The engines fully sustained
their reputation for development of power, smooth-
ness of motion, and general efficiency. Any further
trials of speed made with the ship should be
made with experimental alterations in the blades of
the turbine or water wheel, or in the trial of a dif-
ferent form of wheel. The engines of the ship, as
the driving power of the wheel, are perfect.
The following appointments were made yester-
day at the Admiralty :—Lieut. Frederick Walter,
Licut. John S. Brome, and Lieut. Harry T. Gren-
fell, to the Bristol ; Lieut. William Duthy, to the
Simoom ; Edward D. Herbert, paymaster, to the
Bristol ; Charles Leigh, paymaster, to the Bristol,
additional, for special service with naval cadets ; N.
J. Beale, assist.-paymaster, to the Bristol, and W.
H. Rae, clerk, to the Bristol.

R.IILIVAY AND oa HMI CO3IPANIES.

-10-- -
CALEDONIAN.

An extraordinary general meeting of this com-
panyyesterday; Colonel
Salkeldw, Dor\evsided. About 1,000
shareholders were present.
asthleieldchaaitrm(alnla,sg
The CHAIRMAN said the meeting was called to re-
ceive the report of the committee appointed at the
meeting on the 29th ult., to consider the question
of dealing with the accounts of the company in
future, and to propose a partial or total retirement
of the directors. lle regretted that the committee
had ignored the most important question sub-
mitted to them, that of dealing with the accounts,
and he hoped that the meeting would finally settle
that matter. lie was sorry that six directors had
that day resigned, because he would give a pledge
not to use the proxies in electing new directors in
room of those retiring by the recommendation of
the committee.

Mr. JamEs HoziEß, chairmln of the Share-
holders' Committee, moved the adoption of a reso-
lution recommending thatt the committee be in-
structed to frame a scheme for the reconstruction of
the board, and that the scheme be considered at a
meeting to be held on the 26th inst. ; the com-
mittee to have power to issue proxies.
Mr. J. MILLER, of Edinburgh, moved an amend-
ment to the effect that the committee had not car-
ried out the terms of their remit, and had pursued
an unwarranted, dictatorial course as to retirement
and election of the directors, and therefore that their
report be not approved.
The motion of Mr. Hozier was carried by a large
majority.
The CHAIRMAN moved that the recommendation
of the directors in the circular of the 6th of Feb-
ruary with reference to the mode of dealing with
the accounts be adopted.
The resolution was negatived.

Several other resolutions were proposed but not
put. Among them one asked the chairman to re-
sign, another that he should be superseded in the
chair by Mr. Hozier.
Colonel MURE, one of the directors who resigned
on the question of using proxies, charged the chair-
man with breach of_faith in that matter, which the
chairman denied.

The meeting throughout was very noisy, and
much feeling was shown against and in favour of
the directors. _ _

The Chairman and
c i‘ir.liillerradnemd. The
result
will. a pollsult
on their motions, which
will be announced on Tuesday next.
A protest was entered by Mr. HOZIER against
the directors using proxies, which were alleged to
have been obtained by misrepresentation.

lied, pointing out that there had been a decrease
owing to the great falling off in the trade with the
United States of America ; but the extent to which
this trade had fallen off with that country had not
been fully experienced, as other markets had been
found for this manufacture. He regretted that the
dividend (at the rate of 3i per cent. per annum) re-
commended by the directors was not so large as ou
former occasions, and he explained that the loco-
motive stock was being renewed out of the revenue
account, and besides a great deal had had to be
paid for compensation. The company had no bills
in Parliament this session, but there were some
which required watching, and he considered would
perhaps entail a determined opposition, especially
one of the Shropshire Union Canal Company, to
get rid of certain tolls. Referring to the new stock,
he said the fact that this had not been taken up
very decidedly proved the distrust with which rail-
way property was regarded, for this was a good in-
vestment, and he showed that this company's
ratio of preferential stock to ordinary stock, even
with the £250,000 which it was desired to issue,
would be considerably lower than the ratio of the
best paying companies. Regarding the resignation
of Mr. Laith from the Board, he said the vacancy
should, he thought, be filled up, but it would
be necessary to have a gentleman who could at-
tend to the business. As to the working agree-
ment with the London and North-Western, this
was going on in the most satisfactory manner, and
the agreement was being carried out in good faith.

He said that there had been a reduction in the train
mileage of 30,000 miles, and then at great length he
entered into the details of a complex controversy
which had been opened with some dissentient
shareholders, and he concluded by moving the
adoption of the report, which was carried, and the
dividend declared.

The extraordinary meeting was then held for
the purpose of sanctioning the abandonment of
certain branch lines. Resolutions to that effect
having been agreed to, the meeting closed with
thanks to the chairman.