The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-11 00:00:00


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-N.
TEE CART tIRE OF A FENIAN t'ENTRE.

The Cork correspondent of the Daily News thus writes
on Monday :—" The four prisoners captured in Market-
street last night, with three others arrested subsequently
by a police patrol, were brought up for examination before
the magistrates at the police-office this morning. Public
interest, of course, centred in W. Mackay, the alleged
leader of the party, who was the first put forward, and
against whom a charge of high treason had been entered.
His appearance greatly disappointed the legitimate
expectations of a public anxious for sensational
incidents. It was with much surprise the pub•
lie saw a slight and delicate-looking stripling,
wearing a languid and half-contemptuous expression in his
countenance, put forward and charged as the redoubtable
Fenian. leader: Mackay has little in his aspect to denote
the astonishing energy and daring with which he is
credited. • his lithe figure suggests the idea of supple-
ness•rather than strength or endurance. His complexion
is pallid and unhealthy, and the air of languor which
P. 21118 habitual with him appears to correspond with
Vaysical weahr.ess. The attitude he assumed in the
dock and his general manner were slightly theatrical,
and he was evidently desirous of acting the part of the
political prisoner with becoming contemptuousness for
the law and indifference to its dangers. But for the
rapid, piercing glances of his eyes, Mackay would not
strike the observer as a person of acute intelligence ; but
they reveal some of the energy and vigour veiled under
the blase, indifferent air which he assumes. His face and
dress bore some traces of the struggle of the previous
evening. The prisoners put forward with Mackay were,
with two exceptions, of the labouring class and were
middle-aged men, whose mature and muscular features
contrasted strangely with the slight boyish form of their
leader .; while their coarse determined features offered a
not less striking opposition to his pale and
refined countenance. When his name was called
Mackay did not answer, as if he did not recognise
it as his, and when asked to state what his
name was if it were not Mackay, he at first declined
to give any information on the subject, but afterwards.
said that he had given the name
,Patrick Murphy the pre.
vious evening, and that if the prosecution were not satis..
fled with that, it was their business to shew who he was.
Head-constable Geak, was then examined, and stated that
the prisoner was the William Mackay who had previously
been in custody in this country under a warrant from the
-rord-Liensrnanf.—tleale-Tlien d'eTalle the eireml
attending the prisoner's capture, stating that there were
at the time a lsrge number of persons in the house who
tried to rescue the prisoner from his custody. Upon
Genie's evidence Mackay was remanded for eight days.
Subsequently he was identified as the leader in the raid on
the marten() tower, in the robbery at Allport's, and as the
person who was in command of the insurgents at Bally-,
knockane in la., March." •

The Earl of Derby, who is recovering from his
attack of gout, is still so weak that he will, it is thought,
unable to come to town for the meeting of Parliament.

A lady correspondent of the Drogheda Argns
writes that last week while taking a walk in the demesne
of Lord MassareGne, she came upon a party of men
drilling. One of the men came up to her, asked her
name, and where she was from. On being told, he said in
a stern voice, " Madam, I will permit you to go on your
business if you soleMnly promise not to announce what
you saw here until three days are over." She gave the
promise, and the three days having elapsed, she now com-
municates what she saw to the press.

ANOTHER HORSE-FLESII BANQUET.—Between
thirty and forty of the principal tralesmen of Ramsgate
have been invited by Mr. Bicknell, a resident of that
popular watering-place, to a banquet at the Falstaff Hotel,
for the purpose of testing the qualities of horse-flesh as an
article for human food. The bill of fare included the fol-
lowing :—Soup, "Flying-horse." Side dishes—Race-
horse patties, Shetland pony, with salad dressed with
horse oil. Joints—Roast fillet of horse, " Royal Charger"
stew, &c. The horse-flesh was sent from Paris for the
purpose, and was prepared by a French cook. The flesh
was dressed and cooked in various ways, and the company
are said to have been unanimous in expressing their
approval of the flavour of all that was set before them.
THE REPAIR OF PARISH CHURCHES.—Mr. Cole-
ridge, Q.C., M.P., having had a case submitted to him by
the Town Council of Bodmin, has given an opinion that
the repair of Bodmin Church is not an object to which
the surplus funds of the borough can be applied within
the meaning of the words of the Act , " for the public
benefit of the inhabitants and the improvement of the
borough." Mr. Coleridge adds : "No doubt the repair of
a parish church may be, in one sense, very much for both;
but not, I think, in the sense of the Act, which is con-
ca.ned with secular and not spiritual objects. I think no
court would be inclined to hold that municipal corpora-
tions were int ended by 5 and G William IV., c. 76, to have
the power of applying their surplus funds to such an
object ; apart from the fact, that to do what is suggested
would be taking the funds of a borough to do what of
common right is the duty of a parish. lam not prepared
o say, as a proposition of law, however, that a corpora-
tion may not be liable (contrary as such a liability would
be to ,the ordinary law and custom of the realm), by
charter, by prescription, or, possibly, in virtue of some
endowment, to repair a parish church."
FRIGHTFUL DEATH OF A SOMNADIDULIST.—Mr.
Humphreys, Middlesex coroner, has held an inquiry at
the Sutton Arms, Carthusian-street, Charterhouse-square,
respecting the death of Mr. John Howard Mann, aged 27.
The deceased was the son of Dr. Mann, and resided with
him at No. 4, Charterhouse-square. He was town tra-
veller to Messrs. Walters and Son, silk manufacturers, of
Newgate-street, and on the 15th January he went to the
stock-taking supper given by the head of the firm at his
residence in Highgate. He returned at one o'clock in the
morning, and it being the rule at his father's house that
no one should come in after twelve o'clock, a bed was made
up for him in Mr. Walters's room in Newgate-street. It
appears that on two occasions lie had got up, asleep, at his
father's house and walked about until awakened by coming
into contact with the furniture. An hour after he
went to bed in Newgate-street he arose, opened the
window, and stepped out in a somnambulic state on to the
leads. In going along he stepped on a skylight and fell
through with a terrific crash down to the ground floor.
The porter, Laughlin, was aroused by the noice of the fall,
and found the unfortunate somnambulist insensible under
the broken skyli_ht, and terribly injured. He was con-
veyed to St. Battliolomew's Hospital, and ultimately to
No. 4, Cht,rterhouct-square, where he died. Mr. Coleman,
house-surgeon to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, said that
deceased's skull was apparently fractured at the base,
his collar Lore was broken, and his ribs were injured.
He stated the day after the occurrence that he could form
no opinion of how the affair happened to him. The jury
returned a verdict, " That the deceased died from the
effects of falling through a skylight while walking in his
sleep."

ATTEMPT OF A WIFE TO MURDER HER HUSBAND.
—On Monday afternoon a man rushed from Oldham-
gardens, a small locality adjoining the House of Correc-
tion, Coldbath-fields, bleeding copiously from the throat,
and claimed protection from his wife, who, he said,
had cut his throat. He was at once seen to by the
neighbours, and Dr. Brown, of No. 1, Wilmington-
square, attended upon him promptly, and recommended
his instant removal to an hospital. This was done.
The sufferer was conveyed to the Royal Free Hospital.
It was then found that the patient was suffering from a
severe wound across the throat, about three inches and a
.1)alf in length, deep, and the windpipe had been entirely
s vercd, and several large veins cut through. This occurred
shortly after four o'clock, and as some ugly reports had
sprea,d.about that a dreadful murder had been committed,
P.C. John Back, 06 T, proceeded to the spot, and took
woman named Sarah Britten into custody onchargea
altogetherk ll h him.
When ~f cutting her husband's throat with intent to
When brought to the police•station, she denied
saving even attempted to injure her husbandu in any way,
,out said that he in a passion sai4 he
,wn throat or cut hers, andsh immediately uld
cut e i
his
st
own
tanidhenrisahperdonfraomndtahremhsothlsyern.saying
She accounted for some blood
her. A young woman who that when he had cut his
ea
dn dn
et
te
doorbh
,liroathe ran about the osvaiedr
the husband ran out of the h dtowtasheSpi3aurtrtieeds
she did hear any
quarrellinouseineotivieeirie. covered with blood,revious butl
The injured man is a leather pocket-book meakper, named
George Britten, aged 57 ; his wife's age is about 51. From
the accounts given by the police, it would appear that
both of them had been out drinking together during the
day. • A knife was found which much resembles a
shoemaker's, and with which it is thought the crime
was perpetrated, whether by one or the other,
but no marks of blood are on it. The wife
rather boasts that no knife has been found, evidently not
knowing of this one being in the possession of the police.
The woman, on being confronted with her husband
in the -hospital, sheaved great nerve ; she had previously
said that lie never could accuse her before her face of cut
Ling his throa£, b:t.; when he was asked the question he
said " Yes." The wife then said " Did I cut yom
throat ?" and the husband said " You did." The
wife " Oh, you wretched man, how can you say
that ?" The husband " I wish that I could say that yor
did not ; but you did cut my throat." The wife : "Oh
may God forgive you !" The husband : "I would try tc
screen you if I could, but you did do it." Mr. Jeffresor
then ordered the woman to be removed, in order that the
patient should not be further excited, and Mrs. Britter
was taken to the Clerkenwell station. The man Brittt%
is going on well, and great hopes are entertained of hi'
,•Acoverv.

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