The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-17 00:00:00

damages.

ACTION FOIL INJUUIES SIISTAINED.—In the Court of
Exchequer :Major-General Downing brought an action
against Messrs. Mowlem ,Burt,and Frecman,the well-known
contractors, for injuries sustained by bim in consequence
of their negligence. On the 2nd October last the general
was crossing the road in Hyde Park, near Victoria-gate,
on the Baywater side, when something caught his foot and
threw him down with great violence. On getting up he
found it was a cord which some parlors had put down to
g-nide them in laying straight certain kerb-stones between
the carriage way and a grass plat. The negligence com-
plained of was in not taking precautions to warn the
public of the danger of passing in the direction of the cord.
ft appeared the-A the contract for executing the works
where the accident occurred was made 11 the defendants
with her Majesty's Commissioners of Works, but that they
bad sub-let the work to a man named Burdett, who em-
ployed men on his own account to do it, and paid them himsel
For the defence it was contended that the road in question
was not a public highway, and that the workmen had a
perfect right to put down a cord to keep the kerb straight.
The jury found for the plaintiff ; damages, one farthing.

How AERATED WINES ARE MADE.--In the Bail
Court the case of Cox v. Barnett 1173.4 heard. It was an
action to recover damages for improperly making a machine
for aerating wines. It appeared that the defendant was a
manufacturer of the machines in question, and the plaintiff
bought one for making champagne and other aerated
wines. The defendant in his circular said : "Many light
wines when made gaseous are equal to champagne.
The mixtures fOr artificial champagne are quit& as
palatable as the real wine, and much cheaper.
The difference can hardly be detected, but those made
from mixtures will not keep morn than six month's,
while the light wines aerated are equal to and
will keep as long as champagne of the highest brand."
A machine capable of making 100 dozen quart bottles
was bought by the plaintiff for £135. For the purpose of
making the plaintiff seems to have purchased three
l'opneads of Hungarian light wines, which he mixed with
a syrup . formed of port, sherry, Madeira, and fine light
sugar, and the mixture was then passed through the
machine, which in many respects was similar to
the common soda-water machines, and the result
was expected to be Sillery and other descrip-
tions of champagne. The plaintiff, however, having
got his machine and paid his money, did not get
his champagne. " The wine " (?), although to 113 C the
phrase of a witness, "it came forth from the machine to
an experienced eye clear, in an hour or two became cloudy
and milky," and this cloudiness increased with age. After
repeated complaints it was discovered that there were bits
of solder in the cylinder of the machine. Persons who
drank the " champagne " complained of blistered mouths
and lips, and on an analysis by Dr. Matheson, of St.
Mary's Hospital, it was discovered to contain lead. £75
had been paid into court, and the jury awarded 2.3.5 in
additiOn to it.

DAMAGES FOR FALSE IMPRISONMENT.—In the Exchequer
Court the case of Stebbings v. the Great Eastern Railway
Company was decided. This was an action for false
imprisonment. The plaintiff is a gentleman well known
in sporting circles, and was charged by the defendants'
servants with travelling in a first class carriage, having
paid for a second-class ticket. Upon inquiry, the defen-
dants found they had been mistaken, and submitted
to a verdict in favour of Mr. Stebbins, with £3O
damages.

MADAME RACHEL AND HER DEFENCE. —At Marlborough-
street Police-court, Mr. Edward Lewis replied to the
statement made by Madame Rachel on Monday relative
to the mode in which her Lusiness bad been conducted
while the case was in his hands. Mr. Froggatt also ex-
plained how he had become connected with the case, and
denied that Mr. Harper, his clerk, had called on Madame
Rachel and offered his services to her. His client had
employed him before, and on this occasion she came to
him spontaneously. Mr. Breton, of the firm of Messrs.
E. Lewis and Co., then referred to a statement that Mr.
Russell, his clerk, had gone to Madame Rachel, told her
there was a warrant out against her, and said that if
she would give him £2OO he would settle the business for
her.

STABBING A ItusuAND.—At Westminster Police-court,
Elizabeth Nortio was charged u ith the above named
offence. The prosecutor was met by a policeman bleeding
fearfuily, and on being interrogated he said that
his wife had done it. The prisoner simply said,
that it would let a little of his mad b:cod out. " I did not
stab him till he tried to cut my throat." The constable
said there was one wound upon the hand, one on the
arm, and cne in the chest. In answer to Mr.
Arnold, the prieoncr made a statement, but it was
to the same effect as that given to the constable. She
was remanded for a week ; bail, however, was taken.

AN InlrH BREACH OF PEOIIIa CASE.—In the Dublin
Court of Exchequer, the case of Dowden v. Kehoe has
been decided. It was an action for a breach of pri,mise of
marriage. Damages were laid at £5OO. The parties re-
side in the county of Wicklow. The defendant is a
farmer. lie pleaded a traverse of the promise, and also that
he was mad. He had since married. Mr. Dowse, Q.C.,
stated the plai ntiffle case. Peter Walsh stated that the plain-
tiff, one evening returning from a fair, said he intended to
marry the girl, and asked the witness would her uncle
give her any money. Anne ICehoe said she knew the
plaintiff and defendant. She asked the defendant when
he intended to give them a spree, and he said he intended
to marry Miss Dowden. Was present when defendant said
that. Ire since married another girl named Doyle. The
uncle of the plaintiff, in cross-examination, admitted that
the defendant had been in a lunatic asylum. The judge
held that, according to the evidence, there had been no
promise to many, and the jury returned a verdict to that
effect.

TILE MURDER AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE AT
SALFor.l).—On Tuesday, at the Salford Police-court,
Thomas Donoghue was charged with the wilful murder of
his wife, on the 20th ult. The facts of the case were given
at some length at the time of the inquest, when the
prisoner was committed for trial. The deceased, who had
left her husband several times previously, was iu bed when
her husband, after having previously partaken freely of
whisky, dragged her out of bed and inflicted fatal stabs on
her chest ; after which he attempted self-destruction. The
prisoner, who coutipssel the crime, was commited for trial
by the magistrates.

►SINGULAR OCCURRENCE.— On Thursday week, as
some men were fishing off Hartlepool, they discovered some-
thing floating in the sea. The boat was pulled towards the
object, and it was found to be a horse with a light sprirq:
cart attached. The animal was alive, but died shortly
aftefwards. The most astonishing circumstance is that
on the previous clay the animal had gone into the ser
at a place called Seaton Snook, where its owner had left
it for a short time while he gathered a few cockles. It
had thus swam for about ten hours, and was seen ten
miles from where it took the water. The horse belonget:
to a fish-curer, named Jacob Cox, residing at lArest,
ITa-tlepool, who is a poor man, and gains his livelihood
by means of his horse and cart.— Yo;* Herald.

NOVEL ACCIDENT.—AII extraordinary accident;
happily unattended with more serious consequences than
the destruction of a few tuns of spirits and the demolition o'
one of the handsomest shop-fronts in the south of London.
has occurred at Findlater's-corner, London Bridge. A single
horse van, heavily laden with bales of wool,having Slipped th,
wheel skid on the Borough incline, the horse lost all power
over its load, and was forced violently down the hill, across
the footway, through the shop-front of 3.ressrs. Findlater,
Mackie, and Todd's wine and epirit stores, where the
startled clerks had only just time to escape the destruc-
tion occasioned by the unexpected intruder, whose antic:-
before he could be removed added considerably to the
damage done in the first instance by the accident.

GREAT LION AND ELEPHANT FIGHT.-7-Early On
Sunday morning, -the 11th instant, between the hours of
one and two a.m., the inhabitants of Islington, in the
vicinity of the Agricultural ITall, were thrown into a state
of alarm by terrific roar:ngs, proceeding from the part of
the hall in which the menagerie of Mr. Rice. is situated.
A large crowd assembled outside the building, but din
',used in terror on learniiv, what proved to be a fact, that
some of the animals had broken loose, and were engaged
in deadly combat. The facts of the case, as subsequently
a.certained, were, that the female elephant, Em press, broke
loose from her chain and attacked a cage in which were
four lions of consie7erable size. The lions returned the
attack with energy, the noise of their roaring arousing the
rage or terror of the other beasts. On the arrival of Mr.
Rice with the keepers the combatants were with difficulty
separated, not until one a the attendants received a
severe scalp wound from one of, the infuriated lions, from
which, however, no danger is apprehended. When tran-
pillity was at length restored it was found that the
elephant was suffering from a large wound in the'forehead,
Ind that the cage containing tk 99144491:gb1
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