The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-08 00:00:00

SUMMARY OF NEWS

AND

Vtibitt Optitton,

" Who runs may read."

POILEIGN.
The Gazette de France says Letters have been received of
the 25th ult, from Goritz, which are very alarming. The physi,,
clans of Goritz, however, believed, contrary to the opinion of those
of Padua, that there were still tome hopes of saving the Duke
d'Angouleme. On the 23d the august patient had the last sacra-
ment administered to him with great pomp by the Archbishop."
The Seine again rose on Monday its waters being half a metre
higher than on Sunday. It has now reached the height of six
metres sixty centimetres, the greatest elevation for the last twenty-
five years at this period of the year. The Plain of Grenelle is
covered over, and the ground floor of many houses at Berry have
three feet of water in them. Boats pass over the quay as If in the
centre of the river. The road between the Barriere de la Glare and
the Bridge of la Bosse de-Marne is entirely under water.
Further and somewhat different details of the circumstances at.
tending the murder of Mr. Ward, in the Rue de Londres, are In
circulation, According to the-e, the discovery was made on Thurs-
day evening by the servant, who, on going in between seven and
eight o'clock, found the body of his master lying near the door of
the saloon. A sort of collation had been laid out for two petions,
of which the servant knew nothing previously. The murder was
followed by robbery, as the secretary had been opened, and the
papers were in perfect disorder.
By a recent decision of the Hungarian Deputies, the Diet is to
be held in future at Pesth, instead of Presburg.
The Emperor of Russia has issued a ukase fixing the salaries to
be paid to the clergy in the western provinces of the empire. The
priests of the fist class are to receive 600 silver roubles (about
1001.) per annum, those of the second class 500, third class 400,
fourth 275, snd fifth 230.
LAW AND POLICE.
At the Newcastle assizes, a Mr. Peel, who had formerly resided
in London, and carded en the business of a dealer in, and restorer
of, old paintings, brought an action against a lodger in his house of
the name of Finney, for criminal conversation with his wife, when
the jury returned a verdict fer the plaintiff—Damages 40s.
The assizes at Durham opened on the sth, but no case of interest
occurred.
At Winchester, the Earl of Carnarvon brought an action of
trespass against Mr. Villebols, to try his Lordship's right of free
warren over the manors of Highclose and Boroughclose, situate in
the parishes of the same name in Hampshire. The Solicitor-Ge-
neral conducted the plaintifl 'a case, and Sir T. Wilde appeared for
the defendant. The defendant, to the plaintiff's declaration,
pleaded that he was not guilty, and secondly, that if Lord Corner-
von had the free warren claimed, he, the defendant, had a right to
shoot over his own lands. The jury returned a verdict in favour
of the plaintiff on both points.
At Marylebone this day, William Howell, a chimney-sweeper,
was fined 405., or imprisonment for one month, on a charge of
creating a disturbance in the Marylebone Theatre.
COURT ---TASIZIO Willi LE.
Badminton Moose is full of guests. Lord Brougham has arrived ;
the Earl and Countess of Chesterfield are shortly expected ; Lord
Maidstone and Mr. Goring are expected to-day. The Marquis of
Worcester leaves to day for Beaufort House.
The Duke of Devonshire has arrived in town from Chatsworth.
His Grace is expected to leave town to.day for Kemp.town.
The Earl of POWiA left Berkeley-square on Tuesday last, to Join
the Countess and Ladies Herbert at Powis Castle.
Viscount and Viscountess Campden have left Gainsbotough
House for Barham Court, Maidstone, Kent.
Lord Brougham and Count D'Orsay dined with the Earl and
Countess of Chesterfield on Sunday last. In the evening her
Ladyship received a small party.
The Dowager Countess of Sefton and the Ladies Mol}neux are
expected to leave Stoke Farm, near Windsor, early in the ensuing
month, for Arlington-street, for the season.
The Earl and Coun'ess of Enniskillen have arrived on a visit at
Townley Hall, the seat of T. B. Balfour, Esq.
The Right Hon. Lord Downes has arrived at his mansion at
Bert, near Athy, Ireland.
The venerable Lord Western continues seriously indisposed at
his residence in South-street.

[Owing to the great length of the Indian dispatches, and other
intelligence of interest, we are compelled to abridge the summary
of news.)

COURT CIRCULAR.

The Queen and Prince Albert walked yesterday morning
in the Royal Gardens of Buckingha►n Palace.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert rode out on horseback
yesterday forenoon, attended by Sir Edward Bowater, Equerry
in Waiting.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of 'Wales and the
Princess Royal were taken an airing yesterday in the Royal
Gardens.

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge honoured
Sir William Newton with a sitting on Wednesday last, for his
picture of the marriage of her Majesty and Prince Albert.
M. de Hummelauer transacted business yesterday, at the
office of the Board of Trade.

Mr. Hi ham, Secretary and Comptroller-General to the
Conimissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt, had
an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday,
at his official residence, in Downing-street.
The Ecclesiastical Commission for England had a meeting
yesterday afternoon at the office in Whitehall-place. The
Commissioners present were—the Bishop of Winchester, the
Bishop of Bangor, the Bishop of Chester, the Bishop of
Exeter, the Bishop of Hereford, the Bishop of Lichfield, the
Bishop of Peterborough, the Bishop of Rochester, the Earl
of Besborough, the Right Hon. H. Hobhouse, and the Dean
of Westminster.

The Solicitor-General transacted business yesterday, a'
the Home-office.

Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence left town yesterday, on a risit
to the Duke of Beaufort, at his seat, Badminton, Gloucester-
shire.

Several of the Cabinet Ministers had interviews with Sir
Peel yesterday.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.
HOME CIRCUIT, Chelmsford, March 7.
The business of these assizes concluded to-day.
James Rumpling, 24, labourer, was indicted for felo-
niously and maliciously setting fire to a bean stack, the
property of John Page and another.
Mr. E. James and Mr. Marsh conducted the prosecu-
tion. The prisoner had no counsel.
It appeared from the evidence that the prosecutor is a
farmer in Foulness Island, a place situated at the furthest
extremity of the Essex coast, and bounded on three
sides by the German Ocean, and on the fourth by the
river Crouch. It would appear that most of the labourers
in the island bore a very indifferent character, and that
for the most part, they consisted of persons who were
runaways from other parts of the county, and scarcely
a man.. among them was known by his real name,
but were called by some nickname, that of
the prisoner being " Pickitout." The evidence
against the prisoner was this:—On the 10th of
December he came down to the landing-place on
the island, and called to a man who is stationed
in the river Crcuch in a boat to guard the oyster beds,
and asked him to ferry him over to Burnham. He did
so, and brought the prisoner back to the island about
six o'clock at night, and landed him on the sea wall,
near the prosecutor's farm. He then put off with his
boat, and, almost immediately afterwards, flames burst
forth from the premises of the prosecutor. He directly
gave AR alarm, but the place that was ignited, a sheep-
yard, the sides of which were composed of carraway
straw, was of such an inflammable description, that they
could not arrest the progress of the flames, and a hun-
dred valuable ewes in lamb were destroyed, as well as
the sheep-yard, and a bean-stack adjoining. It
would appear that the prisoner was immediately
suspected, and the evidence adduced against him
was of the following character :—The island, it
appears, can only be traversed by a variety
of
and it is intersected by deep ditches
and
impediments, and it was represented as being
almost impossible a stranger to find his way over it.
nootsrttihcie mar intricate paths,
The prisoner had been on the island for four years, and
was well acquainted with every part of it. His road
would have been along a path called the Church Path,
but when the conflagration broke out, and the whole
island was illuminated by it, not a soul was seen upon
that path • and a number of people who came down the
path to the fire, upon an alarm being given, did not
meet the prisoner, or see anything of him. Shortly af-
terwards, however, he was seen to come from a place
called the Rabbit Warren, and he then said he had
lost his way, and wished to be directed to the fire.
For the prosecution it was argued, that the pri-
soner, not being aware of the inflammable nature
of the carraway straw, uas surprised at the man-
ner in which it blazed up almost instantaneously,
and feeling that he must be seen if he proceeded along
his proper path—he returned to the warren which was
'the only place where he could conceal himself, and lay
there until the people assembled at the fire, and he then
took the first opportunity that enabled him to mix
among the crowd. In addition to these facts it was
proved that when the prisoner was in custody he asked
for a pipe, which was given to him, and while he was
smoking it, he said he supposed it would be the last he
should smoke in Rochford, and he also shook hands with
one of his friends, and told him that he should not see
him again fur he expected he should be sent to Aus
tralia.

Mr. Baron ALDERSON, in summing up, appeared to
entertain an opinion that the evidence, although
suspicious was not sufficiently cogent to warrant a con-
viction.

The jury accordingly returned a verdict of Not
Guilty.
It is rather a'curious circumstance in connection with
the cases of arson disposed of at these assizes, that in
all theni there has been an entire absence of any motive
for the commission of the offence, and there was not the
slightest proof of any ill-feeling or malice towards the
prosecutors in any of the cases ; but in some of them, on
the contrary, it appeared that the accused parties had
been in their employ, and that they were on good terms.
When the grand jury had concluded their labours on
Wednesday, they brought the remainder of the bills into
the Crown Court, and Sir H. Smith, the foreman, ad-
dressed the Lord Chief Justice, and said he was re-
quested by the grand jury to express the high opinion
they entertained of the efficiency of the Essex constabu-
lary, and of their exertions, particulary in the detection
of incendiaries. The grand jury also begged to state that
the manner in which they had given their evidence was
highly satisfactory.
Lord Chief Justice DENMAN said that from what bad
fallen under his own observation relative to the conduct
of the force, he quite concurred in the observations of the
grand jury.—They were then discharged.

HAYMARKET THEATRE.—On Wednesday night an
adaptation of Donizetti's opera, La File du Regiment,
written by Mr. Buckstone, was produced at this theatre,
under the title of Josephine; or, the Fortune of War. The
plot of this opera is, no doubt, familiar to most of our
readers. Though an adaptation of Donizetti's opera,
music forms but a very subordinate part in this drama.
There are but three songs introduced, which are sung
by Mrs. Fitzwilliam, who took the part of Josephine. Of
these the best executed was the air commencing " Oh, France !
Oh, my country !" which she sings, after the disbanding of her
regiment, and which is expressive of her regrets. Sergeant
Scalade occupies a prominent position in this drama, and this
character was exceedingly well performed by Mr. Bland. Of
might have permitted—is very the other characters it is unnecessary to say much ; they '
were purely accessorial. On the whole, it may be said that
this adaptation—though not made so much of as the fertile
materials of .the opera'
re-
spectably put upon the stage, And save satisfaction to a
crowded audience.