The Sun.
London, England, 1868-02-25 00:00:00

reason.

The Hcra/c/ suggests that if the Rev. Benjamin can
only use his pen as well as he can keep his own counsel,
and preserve his voluntarily assumed incognito, the story
of his retirement would be the book of the season. Let
him take the hint—he will find that Speke's " London
Trip and Cornish Sojourn" will become as popular as
Layard's " Nineveh," Livingstone's " Africa," or Du
Chaillu's "Adventures in the Gorilla Country." The
Tcicgraph can scarcely speak of him with any degree of
patience. The facts, as far as they are known, cannot
palliate his unhappy conduct. The matter is so grave,
that a formal explanation must be given by his friends if
they would save him from something like general con-
tempt and condemnation—hard words to attach to one of
his name and cloth ; but the patience and the feelings of a
whole community are not to be trifled with. The Star
ventures to guarantee that whatever explanation is given,
it will be simpler, and, on the face of it, more probable
than those suppositions of violence and kidnapping with
which, notwithstanding the great mass of contrary ex-
perience, a few vivacious writers have attempted to cast
an undeserved reproach on the civilisation of this capital.
The suggestion made by the Standard is the charitable
theory that Mr. Speke suddenly became the victim of an
inexplicable hallucination, to be hereafter made a subject
of study for cur psychologists and mental philosophers.
But for Mr. Speke's own sake it hopes he may not be
troubled with a repetition of these attacks, and lest the air
of Westminster and St. James's Park should have had
any share in causing his recent escapade, it would be well
for his friends to use their influence in keeping him out of
town. At all events, his discovery terminates that
immensity of metropolitan romance which was called into
existence by his disappearance. The worst of such a hoax
upon society is, that should anyor e really be made away
with by foul means, the story would not be listened to.
It would at once be voted contemptuously, "Another
Speke mystery."
AN ELECTION SCANDAL AT MANCHESTER. —lt
will be remembered that one of the unsuccessful candi-
dates at the recent parliamentary election for Manchester
was Mr. Alderman Bennett. Mr. Bennett was solicited
to offer himself by the Conservatives, and agreed to
pay £lOO on the condition that all the remaining ex-
penses should be defrayed by his friends. These
expenses were near upon £4,000, and of this sum the
treasurer of his committee is still minus £3,000. A meet-
ing of Mr. Bennett's supporters has been held, with a view

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to raising the balance, but sums only amounting to a total
of £4OO could be raised, some of his leading friends refusing
to contribute at all. A meeting of the creditors has been
held, and it was agreed to commence legal proceedings.
Several actions by poll clerks, election agents, and canvas-
sers have already been tried in the county courts against
the candidate with success.
Gitoss OUTRA.GE.—On Monday, about noon, much
excitement was caused in Liverpool by the report that a
merchant had been attacked by two men in his own office
and savagely assaulted. The facts are as follows :—Mr.
Adolphe Kasel is a wino merchant, having offices at No. 58,
Tower-buildings. About half-past eleven o'clock he was
alone in his office, both his clerks having gone out on
business, when two persons presented themselves, one of
them dressed as a young woman, chignon and all com-
plete, and the other as a young man, with heavy beard
and moustache. The man produced an advertisement,
and said, " You have these wines to sell ; I want
to see some," and with that stepped insido the counter.
Mr. Kasel turned round to enter his inner office,
when the fellow sprung on his back, and commenced
beating him about the head, and the other joined in, and
they got him down. He then cried out " Murder," and
managed to get to the door, which he found locked. Some
one then knocked loudly from the outside, the scoundrels
desisted from beating him, and he succeeded in opening
the door. Mr. Hopps, who has the next office, and his
clerks came in and secured the fellows, and they were given
into custody. A variety of small articles were found on
them, including a chief or " jemmy" a foot long, and on
the floor of the office was found the loaded each of a whip.
Mr. Karel was taken to the Northern Dispensary, Vaux-
hall-road, where it was found that he had sustained severe
contusions on the head and ti ut his right arm was broken.
The prisoners were at once taken to the Central Police-
station and examined. They are both young men of less
than the average build. One of them—the " lady "----is
named John Wilson, and is in the employment of Mr.
Wood, confectioner, Bold-street ; and the other, David
Harris, a clerk with Mr. H. S. Williams, solicitor, Moor-
fields. From the manner in which they went to work it
is feared that they had some confederate. Mr. Kasel ex-
presses his belief that they intended to murder him and
then rob the office. There can be no doubt that their pri-
mary object was plunder, and that they were determined
to render Mr. Kasel incapable of proventinz them or of
giving aTAym.