The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-30 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAT.
TIMES.—The Irish trials have of a sudden, although
perhaps but for a short time, changed in one particular
their outward aspect. To tediousness and dulness a
brilliant flash has succeeded. Mr. Shed has made a
speech, the report of which fills eleven columns of the
Times of yesterday—a speech in his character of Coun-
sel for Mr. John O'Connell; and to which we should do
much less than justice were we to deny it those merits,
a very high degree of which might have been fairly ex-
pected by every person at all acquainted with Mr. Sheil's
public history, or with his unquestionable talents as a
speaker, both in the House of Commons and at the bar.
This display of oratory embraced a field of observation
rather vague than grand, and fertile rather than fruit-
ful. How much it may have been calculated to work
strong conviction in any quarter, is a question which it
would now be premature, and possibly invidious, to pro-
nounce upon. It may be disputed how far an advocate, es-
pecially a paid one, is justified by his peculiar position, we
mean with a view to his client's interests, in laying
down broadly, upon his own personal authority, as if
he were a witness before the Court, any fact which, if
delivered by such witness, would have an important
bearing upon the case under trial. The word of a
hired, but unsworn advocate, can in itself have no
weight at all. He must be aware that the jury, on a
moment's consideration, will be more surprised than
persuaded by such an effort upon their credulity, and
disposed to ask, why is the traverser's counsel so
much at " a loss for legal testimony, that he at-
tempts to put us off by his own bare word ?"
Yet, in one of those analogies or illustrations of
the O'Connell case, as treated by Mr. Shell, which
were meant to be regarded as among the weightiest,
we find the advocate adducing, "of his own know-
ledge," the conduct of Mr. O'Connell, for instance, in
his management of the Roman Catholic cause, before
emancipation, as "conceived in the spirit of peace," and
" in the spirit of peace carried out," and in that " spirit
consummated," and all this to make it credible that the
repeal agitation has been conceived and carried on in
the same spirit. No doubt Mr. Sheil, who claims to
have been a partner of Mr. O'Connell in the former in- •
stance, and " privy to his inmost thoughts" (?), ought
to be some authority on that specific passage of his-
tory; but is not it odd that the Duke of Wdlington, a
sagacious man, and a bold one, should have so far mis-
taken the above " peaceful" spirit that he really regarded
the machinery for bringing about Roman Catholic relief
to have been framed in a spirit not of peace, but of "re-
bellion?" We have already, by describing the enormous
dimensions of this oratorical effort, abundantly ex-
plained to our readers how impracticable would be
the task of anything like an analysis or even enume-
ration of its details. But, in truth, properly speaking,
the speech has no parts—that is to say, it is incapable
of argumentative division. Nowhere can it be brought
to bear with a distinct and tangible effect, either upon
the matter of the indictment or on the evidence in sup-
port of it. The character of the defence is a declama-
tory appeal against the whole history of British govern •
ment in Ireland—against the means (bad enough we
admit) by which the union had been oarried—being;
in fact, the spirit of corruption versus that of rebel-
lion,—and pretension to assimilate the measures
of O'Connell now to those of 1782, carried on by
Mr. Grattan and his colleagues. But Grattan had the
Parliament at his back. He made no attempt to set
up the brute force of Ireland against the Church
and State, the laws, institutions, and property of the
realm. He did not collect the multitude by hun-
dreds of thousands, make boast of their numbers and
their bravery, exasperate them by recalling the wrongs
of centuries, although at that time still unredressed—
whereas now, while dwelt upon by O'Connell, nine.
tenths of them have no existence. It would be childish
and unhandsome to deny that the speech sparkles
with elaborate elegance—that its movement is light and
graceful, and that it is, as a whole, a full-dress version of
the rude, coarse, and unmannerly language of the Corn-
Exchange. Bat that is all. It barely touches the
question submitted to the jury-box. It loses sight of the
issue—whether the several traversers, or Mr. Shell's
client, with any one or more others, did or did not con-
spire to produce certain specified purposes byillegal means.
It puts the union on trial ; it puts the law on trial; and for-
gets that the traversers, and not the law, are indicted.
Eloquence was not designed for admiration only—as a
mere arrangement of musical sentences. If it had 'so
been, Mr. Shell might be esteemed a most effective ora-
tor ; but the business of eloquence is to convince men—
to persuade them, and, in a word, to make them act,—to
satisfy, not the taste of a jury, but their inward con-
science, and, as one main instrument to that great end,
to keep tenaciously before their eyes the merits and in-
terests of the client as he who alone is entitled to their
sympathy, not the person or powers of the Counsel; ,as
a candidate for fame or an object of wonder. We heart-
ily wish that, if innocent of the offences charged upon
him, Mr. John O'Connell may enjoy an honourable so-
quittal. But we are bound to add that a mind gifted
ever so slightly with the elements of reasoning power
must seek for proofs of that innocence—or, indeed, of
any other fact but of Mr. Sheil's rich vocabulary, some-
where else than in the speech of that Right Hon. Gen-
tleman.
HERALD.—It would be uncandid to deny to Mr.
Sheil's speech for the defence in the Dublin State trials.
the praise of great brilliancy—but materiam superat opus
—Mr. Sheil has been forced upon the Egyptian toil of
"making bricks without straw," and for a conclusive
argument he has necessarily substituted at most a splen-
did thesis. Through the whole of his very long address
he did not in a single instance impugn one of the im-
mense mass of facts detailed with such lucid order in
the matchless statement of the Attorney-General for
Ireland. How, indeed, could he impugn any of them ?
All of the whole body of proof had been published by
the traversers themselves, and, as it were, ratified by
the publication. As little could he attempt to break the
connexion of these facts with the central movement of
the Repeal Association. All that was done in the agi-
tation avowedly emanated from, and again converged to,
that central power. The concert was as certain and as
notorious as the facts that flowed from it ; and though
it has been ruled in levy that conspiracy may exist with-
out concert—concert and combination are inseparable.
Whether the combination was for a lawful or unlawful
purpose—whether its proceedings were calculated to pro-
duce disaffection in some and alarm in others, and to
create ill feeling among all, is a question upon which a
Court and a jury have still to decide. But tins appears to
us to be the real question in the case, for if it be found
that the combination produced such effects as we have
described, every man of common sense must see that a
combination producing such effects, and persevering in
its course for months and even years after the effects
were manifest, must be an unlawful conspiracy. To
this cardinal question, however, the Right lion. Advo-
cate did not address a single sentence of his speech.
Why, we will not at present surmise ; but the omission
is surely instructive. For the rest, the speech is a bean-
tiful speech ; but, in truth, Mr. Shell might as well have
tried to work the acquittal of his clients by continuing the
excerpta of love songs from the Nation, read in defence,
or by a recitation of the magnificent ballad of his name-
sake, " Chevy Chase," as by such a speech.

SUPPOSED ATTEMPT AT INCENDIARIBM AT WOOL.
WlCH.—Yesterday and Sunday the town and garrisqn of
Woolwich were in a state of great excitement, in consequence
of a report that an atrocious attempt had been made to
set fire to an ammunition store-house, near the Medical
Hospital. On inquiry it was ascertained that a sergeant of
marines discovered near the building a ball, or species of
grenade, composed of stout paper, covered with a composi-
tion apparently of a highly inflammable nature, and filled
with gunpowder. The ball, which was found dose' to the
building, had evidently been lighted, as a fuse was parVy
burnt. The probability is, that fear or want of skill had lfe-
vented its being thrown into the building, which is composed
of wood, and contains a large quantity of ammunition ready
for service; had it taken effect the consequences would un-
doubtedly have been most disastrous.
Information has been received at Bow-street that,
on the morning of the 23d inst., about the hour of three
o'clock, some evil disposed person or persons wilfully and
maliciously set fire to a thatched hovel, in the occupation of
the Hon. and Rev. H. Tollemache, at Harrington, North-
amptonshire. Also, about 7 o'clock the same evening, another
thatched hovel was set fire to in the same lordship, in the
occupation of Mr.W. Cheney, whereby the hovels were entirely
consumed. A reward of 100/. has been offered by the Hon.
Charles Tollemache for the discovery of the incendiaries.
On the evening of the 26th inst. a hay-rick, about twelve
tons in weight, situate in a field near the house of Mr. Wm.
Rogers, in the parish of Kingston Deveril, Wilts, was wilfully
set fire to, and the whole destroyed. A reward of 401 is
-
offered for the discovery of the incendiaries. Also, about one
o'clock on the morning of Friday last, the 26th inst., st.l7
wheat-rick in the farmyard of Mr. John Men:ATLI&
parish of Desborough, Northamptonshire, was
tire to, and the whole destroyed, with a deal of other, ra!strig
agricultural property. •
rence Sheriff, grocer and citizen. of London,
REMARKABLE CHANGE IN PROPERTYI.e—ft
the third part
school at Rugby, it produced
the endowment of a grammar.
C d 1
of a field of twenty-four acres, in the parish of Holbern, for
This field was called 'on -c ose.
no more than Si. a year.
a
and a now
year. The
with
hwbausi
buildings,
andhal f
the
m mile from anyntalexceeigulsoe:oolotl.is
field has risen in value from 8/. to 10,000/. and upwards.

•„:. ,

ALLEGED CRUELTY TO A FO-
REIGN SEAMAN.
(From the Liverpool Albion of Monday.)
On Saturday afternoon Mr. Rushton was for some
hours engaged at the Police-court, in investigating a
a case in which an English captain was charged with
having inflicted wounds on the head, chest, arms, and
fingers, of an American sailor, by cutting him on those
several parts of the body with a sword. The name of
the defendant in the case was Peter Petre, master of the
Lydia, a remarkably fine-looking man, who, for many
years, held a commission in her Majesty's navy, and
has, ever since the year 1817, been commanding Ships
out of the port of Liverpool. The complainant, who
belongs to the State of Massachusetts, and who gave
his name Josiah Lawton, is a young man of a pale, yet
pleasingcast ofcountenance, and told his melancholy tale,
the details of which caused a thrill of horror through
the Court, in a straightforward manner. Mr. Owen,
solicitor, conducted the case on the part of the prosecu-
tion, and Mr. Harding, barrister, defended the accused.
Mr. Owen opened the proceedings by briefly stating
the facts, which were in effect that, on the voyage home
from the Brazils, the captain deliberately and literally
mowed the complainant down with a drawn sword. He
then called the complainant, who appeared with his
fingers bandaged and both his hands tied in a sling. He
stated that he was a seaman on beard the Lydia, and
that he was on the homeward-bound voyage from the
Brazils on the 19th of December last. About six
o'clock on the evening of that day the watch was
changed, and, shortly after, he received orders from
the mate to go aloft to rig in the main-top gallant
yard. He accordingly went, but, being prevented
from doing as he was ordered by the larboard-boom
being fast, .he returned on deck for a marling-spike,
with which to loose the rope. When he got on
deck, he asked the mate if he could tell where he
might
find a marling-spike, to which the mate replied,
you think I carry marling-spikes in my pocket ?"
Complainant said, " I don't know whether you do or not,"
whereupon the mate exclaimed, " I want none of your
jaw." The captain, who was aft, asked what was the
matter, upon which the complainant informed him that
he was in search of a marling-spike, and that he want ed
it for the purpose already mentioned. The captain im-
mediately said, " Tut, tut, I never heard the like before."
The complainant said if he were allowed to cut the heel-
lashing, he could get the top-gallant yards in, but,
that otherwise, as the mate had made the boom so
fast, he should be unable to execute his orders. The
captain refused to allow the heel-lashing to be cut, and
ordered him instantly aloft, telling him, at the same time,
that he should stay above until he had completed his
task. When the complainant had got about half way
up the main rigging the mate sung out, " You d—d
half-and-halfer what did you say of me !" Complainant
repeated the words, that he (the mate) had made the
boom so fast as to render it impossible to rig in the
yards, whereupon the captain exclaimed, " You d—d
Yankee son of a—, come down here 1" He accord-
ingly came down, and, when he had reached the deck,
the captain said, "The mate shall see you slung up and
give you a severe flogging." The complainant's reply
was, " The sooner the better;" but the words had
scarcely escaped his lips, when the captain struck him
two blows in succession on the face. The captain and
mate then seized hold of him, and he remained in the
hands of both for a short time. The captain then dropped
his hold, and ordered two of the men, Lewis Young and
Charles Kegan, the second mate and carpenter, to take
him aft. Those men immediately proceeded to obey orders,
and took him aft as far as the mainmast. The captain then
proceeded to his cabin, speedily returned with the sword
in his hand, and came to the spot where Kegan and
Young were holding the unfortunate man, and where
the mate was also standing. The captain then struck
the complainant once or twice with the sword, the scab-
bard being on at the time ; but, 'almost immediately
after, the complainant saw the sword naked. He did
not, however, see the captain draw it from the scab-
bard. The captain then cut at him with the drawn
sword ; he cut him with the sword on the arms,
shoulders, head, and hands ; and he was cutting at him
at such a rate, that he cried out, " For God's sake, save
my life." After he had made this entreaty the captain
gave him two or three additional cuts. He then cried
for mercy again, believing at the time that he was
bleeding nearly to death. After the second appeal,
the captain ceased to cut him any more. He then told the
captain that he was bleeding to death, to which
the latter replied, You d—d Yankee son of a—,
you are not bleeding at all." During part
of the time that the captain was making, use of the
deadly weapon in the manner described, Kegan and
Young continued to hold the complainant, they being
unaware that the captain was making use of a sword, as
it was extremely dark at the time; but the moment they
ascertained that that weapon was being used, they let
go their hold. After the cutting had ceased the com-
plainant asked the captain to dress his wounds; but the
captain refused to comply with the request, and, almost
at the same moment, one of the sailors came up out of
the forecastle with a light and said, that the complainant
was actually bleeding to death. The captain then or-
dered a bucket of water to be brought and the wounds
to be washed; and, after this had been done, the captain
dressed the injured parts. The complainant denied
that he struck either the captain or the mate ;
but, . it subsequently appeared, that he had told
Superintendent Leverett the day before that he had
struck them both and knocked the captain down.
Several of the sailors were then examined to corroborate
the testimony of the complainant, and they deposed
generally to the dreadful nature of the injuries. Kelly,
a passenger on board the Lydia, stated, that, although
not a professional man, he had dressed and attended to
the wounds at the request of the captain. He said that
he had not observed any disposition to mutiny on the
homeward voyage. Mr. J. P. Harris, house-surgeon at the
Northern Hospital, stated that the complainant had been
brought to that hospital the day before, and that he la-
boured under an extensive wound on the right fore arm,
about the middle, on the outer side ; that the little
finger of the right hand had been cut off' about the
middle ; that there was a wound on the left hand at the
base of the thumb, another wound on the upper part of
the chest on the right side, and a wound also on the
head, which seemed to have been recently healed. He
believed the complainant would ultimately recover the
use of his hand, but he had not the use of it at present.
At the time the wounds were inflicted, they were dan-
gerous to life ; and they had evidently been inflicted with
a cutting instrument. A sword with a scabbard on
could not have inflicted such wounds, unless the scabbard
was pressed and made sharp at the edge. They were
clean cut wounds.
When the case for the prosecution had closed.
Mr. Harding said he was instructed to state, that the
captain had never used a naked sword on the occasion ;
that the captain had borne her Majesty's commission in
the navy up to 1817 ; that, from that period to the pre-
sent he had commanded many vessels out of the port of
Liverpool; and that no charge had ever been brought
against him, except once when there was a dispute
about the wages. He then called
Thomas Muir, the chief mate of the Lydia, who
stated, that the complainant had stove in the bottom of
the long boat ; that, near a dangerous shoal on the coast
of Brazil, he knocked the ship about five or six points,
" on purpese," as he said, " to have a row with the cap-
tain ;" that, at the time of the affray, he struck the cap-
tain on the head and knocked him down, and that he
had attempted to " gouge" him (the mate), by putting
his hands into his mouth and trying to tear his jaws
asunder.
Joseph Wilson, a passenger, deposed, that the cap-
tain's conduct was that of a gentleman, and that he had
not used any undue violence towards the crew.
The case having here closed,
Mr. Rushton said he had no doubt but that the com-
plainant had been saucy ; that he and the mate got to
words ; that the captain interfered ; and that it was
right the man should have been punished. But there
the authority of the captain ended. It could never be
that that wholesome authority, placed in the hands of a
captain, should be turned into a felon's sword to slay,
for the man had been cut down with a sword. There
was no safety for life if this sort of conduct was to be
tolerated. It was one of those deliberate acts of rash-
ness for which the captain must answer before the tri-
bunals of his country. He should be taken into custody.
Mr. Harding asked whether he would be admitted to
bail.

Mr. Rushton inquired whether there was any further
evidence for the defence?
Mr. Harding replied, that there was not, except evi-
dence as to unexceptionable character for forty years.
Mr. Rushton said he would take the captain's own re-
cognizance in -5
001., and two sureties in 200/. each for his
appearance at the Court this day (Monday), at twelve
o'clock.
Bail to this extent was shortly after bandered and ac-
fcepted, and the captain was liberated for the present.

FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE EAS-
TERN COUNTIES RAILWAY, AT SPRING-
FIELD.
On Sunday morning, as one of theiuggage trains was
proceeding from Colchester to London, on arriving at
Springfield, by some accident the train got off the rails,
and after running about fifteen yards some of the car-
riages, with the engine, were overturned. A number of
labourers had been employed at the spot where the ac-
cident occurred, in getting ballast for the repair of the
line, and at the spot where the train appears to have
run oft', there has been a sort of temporary rail laid down,
and which was used by the workmen to carry the gravel
out of the cutting, and the labourers were at work
at the time. The mail train had passed over the
spot about an hour before, but fortunately no accident
occurred. The engine and tenders were both thrown on
their sides, and William Scott, the stoker, fell under the
former, and was killed u In' the t and i
long time before his body could be sr
; it
a The
driver named William Henneex, was very severely
cut and scalded, and it is very doubtfulwhether he will
recover. He was immediately conveyed to the Two
Brewers at Springfield, where he said that before the train
ran off he felt a jerk, as though somethingo;vtreurn the
line, and this was all he was able to state
tion. A carriage was attached to the train, in awnhsn
were six persons, all of whom escaped uninjured ; and,
indeed, they were not aware that any accident had hap-
pened until the stoppage of their carriage. There was,
also, a cattle-truck, in which were several bullocks, and
by the shock of the engine, being overturned, one of
them was thrown out, and, hanging by the halter by
which it was secured, was suffocated. Both the men are
harried, and have large families. From inquiries that
have been made, there appears-to be very little hopes of
Henney's recovery.

NEW TAX ON CoAL.—With feelings of extreme
disgust, we announce to our readers that a new tax en coal is
in preparation. The corporation of London intend to apply to
Parliament to lay a tax of five-pence per ton on coal, for the
purpose of beautifying and improving the streets of the metro-
polis. The Bill, indeed, we believe, is printed. A more impu-
dent aot of piracy than this was never contemplated. Will the
clod trade be Went under ajob like this?... Gateshead Observer.