The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-16 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

ACTION AGAINST THE UREAT EASTERN RAILWAY COM.
PANT TO COMPEL THE PERFORMANCE OF AN AGREEMENT.
—Vice-Chancellor Wood has had before him the suit of
" Fry v. the Great Eastern Railway Company." It was
an action to compel specific performance by the company
of an agreement to purchase the property of the plaintiffs,
who keep a ladies' school at Hackney. The notice to treat
had been followed by a reference to arbitration, at which
the price was fixed ; but the completion of the purchase
had been delayed by the company for more than two years.
No formal defence was made on the part of the company,
but some attempt to excuse the delay was suggested as
arising from the state of the money market, which had
rendered it impossible for the company to find the money.
The Vice-Chancellor directed an inquiry whether a good
title bad been shewn, and when first, with the usual con-
sequential order for specific performance and a direction
that the purchase-money might be a lien on the property.
His Honour also made a similar decree in another suit, the
circumstances of which were substantially the same.
PAROCHIAL RELIEF AND MUNICIPAL DISQUALIFICA-
TION.—Is one whose father has received parochial relief
disqualiflei from serving as town councillor?—This was
the question asked in the Queen's Bench, in the matter of
the Queen v. William Ireland. Cause was shewn against
a rule for a quo tourranto, calling upon the defendant to
shcw cause by what authority he claimed to exercise
the office of town councillor for the borough of Bodmin,
on the ground that he was disqualified by reason of
his having received parochial relief within twelve
calendar mouths previots to August last. It appeared
that Mr. Ireland's father, who resided within the Barn-
staple Union, in the county of Devon, had been re-
lieved by that union, and the question was, whether he
was part of the defendant's family, so as to disqualify
the latter from holding the office of town councillor.
Mr. Justice Blackburn said that members of a family
meant those under his control. The Lord Chief Justice
said the Act very properly provided that the receipt of
parochial relief should disqualify a man from becoming a
burgess, but it did not state directly or by implication
that relief given to a father, whether residing with the son
or at a distance, was to be considered as relief given to the
son on the ground that the father was a member of his
family. To hold it would be putting such a monstrous
and outrageous construction on the statute as no court
ought to sanction, and the decision would therefore be for
the defendant.

SULLIVAN V. THE LONDON AND NO4TII-WESTERN RAIL-
WAY CO3IPANT.—In the Court of Common Pleas an APO-
cation was made for a new trial in this case. It was an
action for negligence brought against the defendants'
company for injuries received by the plaintiff, who was a
passenger at the time of the Warrington accident. The
plaintiff obtained 5:750 damages. A new trial was asked
for on the ground that the damages were excessive. The
plaintiff, it appeared, was a tailor, who had been pre-
viously afflicted with spitting of blood, and who had left
his employment to go to Ireland. In the accident he had
received so great a shock that his disease had become much
worse. Since the accident be had lost a child, and the
statement had so worked upon the feelings of the jury that
they had given him £750 damages. The Chief Justice
thought that the verdict had been influenced by circum-
stances which ought not to have been considered by the
jury. There would, therefore, be a rule nisi.

PAWNBROKERS' TRICKS.—A pawnbroker named Laven-
burg was charged before Mr. Paget, at the Thames Police-
court, with several serious offences against the Acts
regulating his trade. It appears that a pawnbroker is
allowed to charge a halfpenny for each "ticket" where
the money advanced is less than 55., and toe accused, in
order to increase his profits, was in the habit of dividing
articles brought to him so as to require more " tickets"
than one. Thus, a clock was divided into three by giving
separate " tickets" for the pendulum and weights, and
Mr. Gowland said he could bring seventy eases forward of
the same kind. The defendant was fined on all the charges
brought against him, the aggregate, with costs, being
£l4 2s. It was stated on behalf of the Pawnbrokers' Pro-
tection Society that no such practice as that adopted by
Lavenburg, of dividing a pawn or a pledge, was known in
the trade.

BURNING A DEAD BABY AT SHEFYIELD.—At the
Sheffield, Police-court, yesterday, an old woman, named
Ann Hall, 66 years of age, was charged with having burnt
the body of a dead infant. '1 he old woman assisted at the
birth of a child, said to have been stillborQ, on Saturday
night, and on Monday fetched away the body in a coffin
for burial. In the course of the evening her neighbours
were sickened by a strong smell as of burning flesh coining
from her house, and they observed that she had a large fire,
and behaved in a very mysterious manner. One of them,
looking a short time afterwards throagh the keyhole of the
door, which was locked, saw her breaking up the coffin•
Information was given to the police, and she was taken
into custody. She was remanded.

Mrs. Thornycroft has presented a marble bust
of the Princess Christian to the Corporation of Liver
pool.

CHRISTMAS TREE FOR STARVING DOGS. A
novelty in the way of raising money to help the " starving
dogs " of London is in operation at the offices of the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 172,
New Bond-street. A Christmas tree, with prizes for all
visitors, is being shewn this week from 11 a.m. to S
P.m.

THE MURDER OF LORD WHARNCLIFFE'S GAME
HEEFEL.—A most painful episode in connection with the
murder of Mr. George Thirkill has just taken place. Th
second daughter of the deceased, a fine young woman,
named Harriet Thirkill, 19 years of age, was on Tuesday
removed from Wortley to the asylum at Wakefield, the
murder of her father, of which she heard the same night
whilst at the station, on her way home to attend her sister's
funeral, having affected her reason.
THE LATE ACCIDENT ON THE TRENT VALLEY
RAILWAY.—The recent accident at the Nuneaton station
of the Trent Valley Railway has resulted in another death.
It will be remembered that an elderly man named Lord
who lived about a mile from the scene of the accident, was
proceeding to Leicester on a visit to his son-in-law, whop
daughter he had with him at the time. While endeavou
lag to cross the metals at the Nuneaton station with the
little girl in his arms he was struck by the buffer of an
engine, which he had not seen coming up. The child was
killed on the spot and the man himself severely injured.
The poor fellow was taken to his home, where he has
since been constantly attended by Mr. Eyton, surgeon, of
Nuneaton, but the services of that gentleman have proved
unavailing.

Loss OF A SHIP AND ALL HANDS OFF HOLY-
HEAD.—Another sad disaster was reported at Liverpool on
Wednesday evening. The barque Euphrates left Bonny
for Liverpool on the Ist of October with a cargo of palm
oil and nuts. The vessel had a most tedious voyage, and
on entering the English Channel encountered a series of
very heavy easterly and westerly gales. On Tuesday
afternoon the Euphrates, labouring under a tremend,ms
sea, and evidently water-logged, was sighted by the Bra-
ganza, steamship, from Oporto to Liverpool, about sixteen
miles S.W. off Holyhead. The Braganza at once hove to,
and all her boats were lowered. One or two of the boats
approached the sinking vessel, and a line was thrown on
board the Euphrates, which was seized by two men,
but their exhausted condition did not admit of their re-
taining hold of the rope, and the vessel sank with all
on hoard. The Braganza lay to for several hours, but did
not succeed, though .every effort was made, in saving
a life.

STRANGE AND SHOCKING RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—
To-morrow an inquest will be held at Fleetwoo I on the
body of a man who was killed on Tuesday on the Fleet-
wood and Preston Railway. On Tuesday morning a train
of empty coal waggons left Fle?twood for Preston. When
it had got about a mile and a half on the way, and at full
speed, on a curve, two men were seen upon the line sixty
or seventy yards ahead, walking with their backs to the
engine. The driver threw off the steam and blew the
whistle, and the guard in the rear put down the break.
The two men, however, seemed to have no idea of their
perllons position, and it was not until the engine was just
upon them that they made a sudden effort, which was un-
successful, to get out of the way. The engine caught both
of them. One was instantly killed, and his companion was
pitched off the line and had one of his arms broken and his
head badly cut. The train was soon stopped, and the in-
jured man, along with his companion who had been killed,
was removed to Fleetwood. Both the men belong to Bel-
fast, and it is thought they came over to Fleetwood in one
of the steamboats on Tuesday morning.
EXTRAORDINARY STATEMENT. —A committee is
in course of formation in London, having for its object
the prosecution of Sir Richard Mayne, or rather the Com-
missioners of Police, for connivance at, or negligence in
preventing, the explosion at the House of Detention,
Clerkenwell, which has been attended with such melan-
choly results. It is stated that the extraordinary declara-
tion of the prisoner Allen, made immediately after his
arrest, to the effect that he was in the employment of the
police, his subsequent " statement," of which no authentic
version has been given to the public, and the credite•l
rumour that for some time anterior to the explosion he
had been in the pay of the police for detecting coiner's in
the neighbourhood of Drury-lane, have induced many
persons to promote the formation of a committee which,
by proceeding against the Commh;sioners of Police, would
ensure to the public a full and unfettered inquiry into the
part which they played in the lamentable transaction of
the 13th December. A manifesto from the committee
charged with the conduct of the matter is expected to Le
addressed to the public in the course of the next fortnigl.t,
--Morning Post.