The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-06 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 6, 1868.

BRAT'S ti rUSSESSIONS.

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CRIMINAL COURT,—This Day.

OLD COURT.

The April sessions commenced this morning be-
fore the Lord Mayor and the civic authorities.
The calendar is a very heavy one, the principal
being the charge of murder against the Desmonds,
English, O'Keefe, Barrett, O'Neill, and Ann Justice,
for occasioning the death of Martha Evans by the
explosion of a barrel of gunpowder, on the 13th of
December, at the outer wall of the House of De-
tention, Clerkenwell.

The Recorder, in charging the Grand Jury, said
a longer time than usual had elapsed since they had
last met, and that circumstance accounted for the
great increase in the number of prisoners awaiting
trial for offences, he regretted to say, of more than
ordinary k.eriousness. The first case to which he
would direct their attention was the charge of wilful
murder against seven persons, arising out of the
explosion which took place at the House of Deten-
tion on the 13th of December last, when a portion
of the wall of the prison was blown down by a❑
explosion of gunpowder, the houses on the opposite
side of the street were destroyed, and Martha Evans
killed. They would have to say whether either or
all of the persons charged were guilty of the crime
of which they stood accused. In the month of
December two persons, named Burke and Cas?y,
were confined in the house of Detention on a
charge of treason felony, and the explosion took
place in order to facilitate their Escape.
"The prisoners all, it is alleged, belonged
to the Fenian Brotherhood, the object of
which society was to overturn the Queen's Govern-
ment in Ireland and establish there a republic.
Vaughan and Mullady would be the first witnesses
examined, and they were infcrmers. They also had
belonged to the Fenian Brotherhood, and it woul d
be theirduty to be very cautious of the information
they attached to the evidence of accomplices. Their
evidence alone would be insufficient for the jury to
act on, and they would therefore have to see how
far it was corroborated by those of the other
witnesses. It would not be enough to show that
they were Fenians, but they must have evidence
that the death of the female Evans was caused by
the explosion, and that they (the prisoners) were
parties to that occurrence. From the evidence they
would find that on the fourth of December a large
quantity of gunpowder was :purchased, but there
was no evidence of identity with respect to either of

the prisoners, but that which was the fact was that
after it had been purchased it was taken to a house, 8,
Pulteney-court, at which place several of the prisoners
were known to visit. On the 12th of December au
attempt was made to effect the explosion, but it was
unsuccessful, and it would be important to see who
was engaged in that proceeding. Timothy Des-
mbnd, O'Keefe, and English were identified as being
connected with that attempt, which was unsuc-
cessful on account of the fusee burning out without
exploding the gunpowder, when the barrel was taken
away by those who had brought it. On the evening
of that day they would hear there bad been a meet-
ing of the parties when Barrett described the failure,
alid said he would take care that the next attempt was
successful. It was arranged that in order to give

the prisoners Burke and Casey intimation of what
was going on outside that a white ball should be
thrown over the prison wall, and that was accord-
ingly done on the 12th, but the warder attached so
little importance to such a proceeding that he picked
up the ball and took it home to one of his children.
On the next day, the 13th, the explosion took place,
when Timothy Desmond, William Barrett, and
O'Neill were identified as being in and about the
neighbourhood on that day. After the explosion
the witness stated that the prisoner Barrett went to
the house:of Mullany, and there was seen to wash
his hands and neck, which were blackened as if by
gunpowder, and afterwards disguised himself, in
order, as he said, to prevent his being identified.
He was accompanied by a man who had received
an injury to one of his ears, caused, as he
said, by having been injured in a fight.
This man had not been apprehended, and
therefore it was not known to what extent he had
participated on the occasion. O'Neill was appre-
hended with Barrett at Glasgow, and, with respect
to Ann Justice, she had been in the habit of visiting
Casey, one of the prisoners, for whose escape the

explosion was made, immediately before and after
which she was seen very near to the (louse of De:

tention. The question for the grand jury was not
w hose hand had put thelight to the barrel, but whether
the whole or any of them had conspired to cause
the act which led to the death of Martha Evans.
If they should be satisfied that all or any of them
were parties to the firing of the gunpowder, then he
would recommend them to find a true bill against
all the prisoners, leaving to another tribunal to deal
with any point of law or aoubt that might arise.
There were other cases of murder, he regretted
to say. One was the charge against a man named
Woolcott, who was accused of causing the death of
his son by wilfully drowning him. The next charge
of murder was that against William Bishop, who,
it was alleged, caused the death of a fellow creature
by inflicting a violent wound in the abdomen ; and
if they were satisfied there was a Prima facie case
against him it would be their duty to find a true
bill against him. The next was a most extraordi-
nary case. The prisoner was a person named Mary
Manning, and
she was accused of killing an infant
that had occasionally been left in her charge, by
placing it on the fire. One could hardly imagine
such an inhuman act could have been perpetrated
by a human being. That the child died from burn-
ing was beyond all doubt, and the question for
them was, was there evidence to satisfy them that
the prisoner ought to be called upon to take her
trial for the offence ? There were several cases of
manslaughter, all, he regretted to say, arising from
the bad habit of drinking to excess. One was
a most remarkable case : it was an indictment
against a woman named Mary Neville, who was
charged with putting an infant in a saucepan of
boiling water. She denied the charge, and said the
child fell over the saucepan containing the water,
but the witnesses who went into the room immedi-
ately after the circumstance had occurred saw no
marks of any water having been spilled on the
floor. They would have in this case also to
say whether there was sufficient evidence to
enable them to find a true bill against the ac-
cused. The other cases in the calendar were of the
usual description, and therefore he would not allude
to them further than by saying every assistance
would be rendered to the grand jury in the event
of their requiring it.
One of the jury inquired, in reference to the
charges against the seven persons charged with the
murder of Martha Evans, whrther they had any-
thing to do with the intentions of the accused.
The Recorder said if, after hearing the evidence
to be submitted to them, and they were of opinion
that the prisoners were engaged in setting light to
the barrel, then he advised them to return a true
bill, leaving all other questions of law to be dealt
with and considered elsewhere.
The grand jury then retired to their room.
THE CASE OF BURKE AND CASEY.

In consequence of a true bill having been re-
turned against Burke and Casey at Warwick
Assizes, no mention was made of their case by the
learned Recorder in his charge. It is not expected
that the trial of these two prisoners will take place
before Monday next, on which occasion special
arrangements will be made by the Sheriffs for the
proceedings.

WESTMINSTER ABREL—The Dean of West-
minster will preach at the 3 p.m. service on Good Friday,
and at both services, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., on Easter
Sunday. The special evening services at 7 p.m. commence
on the first Sunday after Easier, April 19. The sermon
on the first Sunday (April 19) will be preached by the
Dean of Westminster, and on the next Sunday (April 26)
by the Dean of Ely.

✓
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by a judicious use of these pills; the torpid liver is roused
by them to active secretion, and every other organ subserv-
ing digestion is placed at its natural standard, and better
fitted for its duties. It is impossible to have a doctor at
our elbows at all seasons and places, but these pills will
supplant that Toes, for they universally act beneficially in
every ailment.

THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION.

The news from Abyssinia tells of great difficulty or
account of the state of the roads. The road betweer
Antalo and Musnoo had been spoken of as excellent. Be
lieving it to be so, before a report from the pioneers hae
come in recommending the advance, "the Commander-in-
Chief ordered several regiments to be held in readiness to
march upon Atzala ; but on receipt of intelligence that
several of the horses of the 3rd Sind Horse had died from
famine and fatigue in crossing this very road, that others
hadsustained dislocations of the limbs, andbeen shot where
they lay, the propriety of moving was reconsidered. Deli-
berations were still in progress, when an independent report
was received from an officer who had occasion to
travel that way which cut the sitting short. Captain
11PGregor, of the Quartermaster-General's department,
declared that lie lied never seen such country in his life :
and seeing that he is well aegna.nted with Sikkim and
Bhootan, that was saying a good deal. The ascents and
descents were terrific, gradient, length. and ruggedness all
contributing, to render then iinpass:ll,le. Nor were the
more level parts loss formidable ; for boulders and rocks of
all shapes and s'zes,

Crags. 'knolls, and rocks. confusedly hurled,
The fragments of an earlier world,'
hail been 5,0 placed by nature as to present the greatcgt
possible obstacles to the passage of even an unladen
mule. As for elephants being aide to go on for weeks, the
idea was chimerical and absurd ; for miles upon miles an
elephant could not plant a single footstep with safety.
Sorely as Sir Robert Napier frets and fumes at the delay
thus unexpectedly forced upon him, what could he do but
rescind the order to march on the morrow, make arrange-
ments to supplement the already large pioneer force, and
inwardly resolve to place less reliance upon the judgment
of those whose optic members have already been too often
proved unable to convey correct impressions of the nature
of even a road, or whose ideas regarding the sort of road
required were so extraordinary." Thus wrote the Daily
News correspondent on the 11th of March.
' The letter to the Standard, dated three days later,
says :—" On the morning of the 13th Sir Robert Napier
started with his staff and an escort at seven o'clock. The
rest of the force left at ten precisely. The march was eight
miles—a short distance apparently ; but when I state that
a great number of the animals did not arrive until eight in
the evening, it will be at once seen that it was very much
harder work than it appears at first sight. The first
three or four miles of this road, or rather track, led along
the hill side, and then, as the valley narrowed in and its
sides became very precipitous, it kept along the bottom.
This part of the march was by far the prettiest and most
English we have seen out here. We are travelling in a
grove of trees with a thick underwood, except just where
a path was cut wide enough for a single mule to pass. A
really good-sized streamlet of clear water wound here and
there, with quiet pools, and bright tumbling little cascades.
Under our feet was a cool green sward, over our heads a
shady screen of foliage. Imagine the charm of such a
scene to us, who, except in an occasional secluded dell,
have scarcely seen a tree, or felt shade, or heard the plash
of falling water for months. How we should have liked
to have halted, and to have enjoyed the turf and
the shade for an hour or two. All o.ir attention was
required, however, for the work in hand, for in many
places we had very rough bits, and the wood nymphs and
dryads must have been surely startled at the shouting and
tumult which arose in their quiet shades. On each side of
us the mountains rose to a great height, crowned with
perpendicular precipices, on one of which, seemingly
accessible only to a hind, was the stronghold of some
border chief. Presently the mountain sides receded a
little, and we emerged into a small plain. In the centre
of this ran the stream, and by its side were some very
large tre,.,s, which I can best describe by saying they
resemble oaks with willow leaves. Here we encamped.
The troops had taken four hours to do the eight miles."
Describing the same spot, anJther correspondent says :
" The Musgee camp is, with the exception of the lovely
spot where I now write, the most pleasant halting-place
we have chanced upon for many a day. A level plain of
front sixty to seventy acres in extent is bounded on all
sides by lofty hills, chain rising above chain as they recede,
till their summits seem lust in the clouds."
The Post correspondent gives the reason for the march
taking place so soon after it had been stated that the road
could not he made ready for some time. Colonel Phayre,
the Quartermaster-General of the Forces, had for nearly a
fortnight been making a most difficult road, when a ready-
made one lay almost under his very nose. It is almost in-
credible, but it is nevertheless a fact. If ever a man " put
his foot in it " Colonel Phayre did so on this
occasion. Information seems to have been ob-
tained from the native chiefs and guides that there
were three routes from Antalo to Atzala—a distance of
thirty-two miles. One was immediately discarded as too
circuitous, and of the other two, the one was chosen which
the natives advised, without any inspection of the second.
The advice was simply a ruse of a native chief, who
owned a castle situate on the easy route, and feared we
should attack it en passant, as allies of King Kassai,
against whom he is in rebellion. It is much too bad that,
after four months' experience of Abyssinian lying, deceit,
and fraud, which are obvious to the meanest capacity, an
officer occupying such a responsible post as that of
Quartermaster-General should allow himself to be so
egregiously swindled.

The little principality of Montenegro has long been
desirous of getting a port on the Adriatic. Latterly its
movements have caused anxiety, and Austria and Turkey
have both sent ships of war to Cattaro to prevent a tour
de force.

Sir Dominic Daly, whose death has been announced by
telegraph, was the son of a country gentleman in Galway,
and nephew of the first Lord Wallscourt. He was born
in 1798, and early entered upon colonial life. For twenty-
six years he was Chief Secretary in Canada ; in 1852 he
was appointed Governor of Tobago ; in 1856, Lieutenant-
Governor of Prince Edward's Island, and was at the same
time knighted. In 1861 he succeeded Sir It. G. Mac-
donnell as Governor of South Australia, which post he
held until his death, February 19. By this event an
appointment worth £4,000 a year is placed at the disposi-
tion of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Duke
of Buckingham.

The Viceroy of Egypt has just opened his Parliament
with a Speech from the Throne. He expressed his satis-
faction at seeing around him the deputies chosen by the
people, and urged the importance of dealing with several
matters, first of which he considered that of public edu•
cation.

TIII ALABAMA. CLAIMS.--The New York, IT rald (of the
25th March) tells us what we ought not to have gone to
America to learn, that "at the prasent moment the British
public are in a high state of excitement on the questien of
dio Alabama claims. The desire seems to be universal to
iive the difficulty over with as little delay as possible.
.stubborn as Lord Stanley remains on one point—the right
of Great Britain to recagnise the belligerent South—he
no longer opposed to arbitration • and to have the ques-
tion submitted to arbitration is clearly the desire of
the House of Commons and of the entire British people.
We can have no objection to having the entire question sub-
mitted to the decision of an umpire or of a mixed commis-
sion, but the reverse. It does appear to us, however, that
our friends on the other side either fail to see or wilfully
close their eyes to the real difficulty in the ease. They make
a great deal too much of the mere money part cf the question.
It is not money we want so much as redress for our wounded
honour. Ten million dollars is the most we could expect to
he adjudged by any arbiter or by any commission. But
what is ten million dollars to us ? We do not re.
wire the money. But, even if we did, is it to be
imagined that the wrong done us could be righted by any
such sum ? It is not conceivable. No. Let them keep
she money and welcome if we can have no other redress.
rt is well for them, however, to be reminded that our
apportunity may come. Nay, it is not to be doubted that
it will come. We can well afford to wait. The condition
of Great Britain at the present moment does not forbid
the belief that our opportunity is near at band. The three
kingdoms are rapidly tending towards Republicanism. But
the monarchy and the aristocracy will not fall without a
tremendous struggle. The empire will be convulsed to its
'ery centre. The need of troops at home will leave the
dependencies and the colonies defenceless and weak. Then
will be our opportunity, and then it will be our privilege
to pay back in kind."
FATAL ACCIDENT ON TIIE NORTH LONDON RAIL-
WAY.—On Saturday an inquest was held at St. Pancras on
the body of William Alfred Morgan, a number-taker in
the service of the Great Northern Railway, who was killed
on the North London Railway by a train which was being
shunted. After considerable inquiry by the jury, a ver-
dict was returned " That the deceased lost his life from
injuries received through the non-observance of the regu-
lations of the North London Company."

SUICIDE THROUGH POVERTY.--011 Saturday an
inquest was hold in Charles-street, Hackney-road, on the
body of Charles Chaplee, aged 28 years. Tho deceased, a
shoemaker, had been out of work some months, and in a
state of groat misery. On Wednesday he was found hang-
ing by a rope to the bed post quite dead. The jury re-
turned a verdict of suicide while of unsound mind.

A subscription, headed by Mr. C. J. Smith,
mayor of the borough of R.igate, and Messrs. J. Farquhar
and Wilson Saunders, borough magistrates, has been
made on behalf of Mr. Insirsctor INEller, who was dis-
missed from the Surrey constabulary for, as alleged,
simply taking in the Police Service Advertiser. In addi-
tion to this the police and constabulary forces throughout
the kingdom aro almost unanimously making subscriptions
in his aid.

An influential meeting was held in Liverpool last
week of the principal Nonconformists connected with or
interested in the Principality of Wales, at which it was re-
solved, in the event of Mr. Gladstone's attack on the Esta-
blished Church in Ireland proving successful, to proceed
without loss of time to organise a regular system of agita-
tion with the object of abolishing the Church Eetablimh-
UIQAt itti Walea.—lmperzad