The Sun.
London, England, 1820-11-02 00:00:00

OLD BAILEY,

Itta-Amy.—Yesterday Thomas Gordon was 1n
dieted • for intermarrying with Frances • Eliza-
beth d.awes, his former wife, Harriet,-being
then living This. „case excited considerable- in-
terest, and the Court was crowded to excess dun.,
ing the whole of the trial.' • The hearing':.Of the
case occupied more than six tours, :Auk the,evi-
deuce, was extremely. long and, intricate.
It appeared that the prisoner was a Mariner, and had !served
as gunner on board the Venus frigate.. Iti 1809-, be-carried
his first wife, Harriet Cole, and in 181S' be married Hiss
Frances Elizabeth Lawes;haviog ssth her acretticineut i•of be-
tween 2001. and 6001. per annum. Both the first and second
wife were noiv dead; and the proseentiori'against the: pri,'
sorter was instituted by.the relations of Elizabeth Lawes, to
recover the money which the prisoner had obtained•-by his
second Marriage. .
The material witness for the- thasectition!WAs Sarah Short.
She was the landlady of the Navy Arms at Wioculwich; anct
she proved that; in 1809, the prisoner went to_ he married
from her. house to his first wife, Harriet She stated,
that in February last the prisoner came to her at Woolwich,
She then told him that the Rev. Mr. Frazer (the clergyman
who had married the prisoner to his second wife) had been
applying to ber about his, the prisoner's, former marriage.
The prisoner then told her, " You are the only person I am,
afraid of; and if yotrwill swear that I am not the same Go-r-
-dole who married Harriet Cole, I. still settle upon you half
the property which I have obtained by my second matriagve."
The withess.disdainruilv rejected the bribe, and said she was
sure he was the man. The prisoner then said, "It is no mat-
ter;-I can get a luau of the name- of Collard to- prove that
my first wife has fallen overboard." . , . . -
Being cross-examined,l-be witness said that she-Came now
to give her evidence for the .sake,ofj:nstice. She had seen some
handbills posted, offering SOL reward to the person who could
prove the first marriage of -the- prisoner. She positively de-
nied having said." What odds is it,? we can get the reward!:
By subsequent evidence it was proved, that at the time of
the prisoner's second marriage, his former ,wife was
and that the prisoner had said -to another female, who knew
of the fadt," I'M, can save my neck, if yon choose." - -
Susan Matilda Laws, slater to the deceased Frances Eliza-
beth Lawes, stated, that tiefore lier-sister's deatirshe band
some conversation with the prisoner.. She told hicojhrit.sho
knew of his first marriage, and intended to inquire into
The prisoner at first denied it,
.but in a sitirsequeut -conversa-
tionhe said he did not know whether she was alive or not.
He added, that he would give up the II business
.erito-
gether if she (witness) *mild allow him 401. a year. This
was of course refused, and these proceedings bad been- insti-
thted to recover the property which had. been made ever
tv
the prisoner immediately after marriage.- When the prisoner
-married her sister, she was ihan infirm state both of body and
mind, and, notwithstanding, the Prisoner.married tier.
The witnesses forthe defence were called to show, that at
the time of the second marriage of the prisoner, his first Wife,
Harriet Cole, was dead; that, in 1815; she ohtaiued her bread
by walking the streets as a common prostitute, and went un=
der the feigned name of Mary White; and that she died- in
the Magdalen Ward of St. Thomas's Hospital on the. Bth July
1815. This was proved by a woman of the name of Elizabeth
Millington, a person with whom the prisoner had cohabited
on board the Pomona frigate, and who, it was proved,'sias
on the Bth July, 1815, on board •the POlllOll3O then- lying at

Portsmouth. -
A clerk of St. Thomas's 1-lospital proved, that by the books
it appeared that a Woman of the name of Mary White had died
in the Magdalen Ward. There were, however, many women
of the same name on the books. A blacksmith, of the name
of Bone, resident at Woolwich, also stated that Mrs. Sarah
Short was not to be believed on her oath, because be had
seen her frequently intoxicated; and that be had heard her say,
when talking about the reward, " Oh, what does that signify
if we cen get the money ?"
The Jury found the prisoner (billy, after a very short de-
liberation. The prisoner is a man of 42 years of age, and
had served many years in the Navy.
CUTTING AND ALAIMING.-JOhil Scott was ill
dieted, under Lord Ellen borong h's Act, for cutting and maim-
ing Wm. Thorn, on Friday last, in the execution of his duty as
an officer of the peace. The prisoner, with others, was disco-
vered hy the prosecutor pursuing his avocativir in breaking into
the house of Mr: C. Bill, a surgeon, near Solm•sqoare, While
endeavouring to prevent the prisOner's escape, the prosecutor
received a deep wound in the head, from a clasp-.knife, which
the prisoner aimed at him, The Officer remained for a consi-
derable time in a state of danger:—The Jury found a verdict
of Guilty. The prisoner is 21 years of age.

FIRE.—At half-past four o'clock this Morning
a fire broke out at the house of THOMAS Bow-
DITCH, a -broker, on great Saffron-hill, which,
from the early hour, spread much alarm amongst
the inhabitants, and in which the unfortunate
Mr. Bowditch was nearly burned to death. It
happened as follows Bowditch 's "wife al-
ways kept-a candle- lighted in her room -every
night ; at that hour in the morning she got up..to
give her child some pap, and seeing that the
clock -was standing still, she stood on a chair
.to
wind it up, in doing which she let the'eandle-fall
into a heap of loose dry- horse-hair, 'which imme-
diately caught fire,aud communicated to the win-
dow and bed-curtains, and in .an instant :the
whole of the apartment (first 'floor, Yfrotit rocifn)
was in .a blaze. Mrs. Bowditch' •ran 'out of -'the,
room nth the child in
,lier.arms, screaming
put
fire as 14i.d as she could, and. alarmed all the
lodgers. 7PoOr Mr. Bowditch was in bed and
asleep at the time, and was dreadfully 'scathed
from the. sheets and bed-curtains,
.which were
' now in a blaze about him ; he ,jUmped up, and_ in
attempting to tear down the curtains and trariipte.
out the 'fire, his shirt caught and he was ;'en-
veloped in the flames, and he was' so bewildered
in'the fire and smoke that he was unable to find
his way out, and must have perished if it was not
for the timely assistance of' the Watchman Mid
some of the -.lodgers. He--was •so.. Shockingly'
burnt, that_ he was immediately carried to Saint
Bartholomew's Hospital, and we are: sorry to
learn that there.are but faint hopes of his. recovery.
Several fire • engines arrived-, which, Avithgthe
prompt assistance of :the firemetv attOlte neiFs
hours, happily prevented the, fire from spreadinf,
and subdued the"deVohring elements lit notsbe-
fore the apa'rtinefte•and -all that was'in it Were
destroyed. . •
DREADFUL
,CIRCUMSTANCE.:—TIieSday morn-
ing, 'about tWO o'clock," a Mat' eatas--
trophe occurred.: Rathbone-place, Oxford-
street. Mr. Myham, a gentleman. who bad been.
'for some time past confined to'his apartment with
a fever, Which at intervals'-caused was
lying in bed,. at the.same time his wife. being in
the room ; he suddenly jumped , out gf bed 100
made towards the window.„ which unfortunately
was open, from Which he attempted to thrOW
himself into the street. Mrs.•Myham, •much
alarmed, endeavoured to stop him, in his Nip,
pose, but sprang from her grasp, and plunged
himself out' of the two-pair" front Window- into
the street,- and was killed on the spot. His skull
was shattered to pieces, and
.both-his legs. au,d
arms were broken.. His. body was carried to the
Middlesex Hospital, Where a Ciirmier'S Inquest
was held upon it. before Mr. STIRLIN-G,' the Co-
roner. A verdict 'of "- Lunacy" was, returned .by
the Jury. •
We are happy to hear that the profits of the
benefit for the Widow-and ' Family of the late
Mr. RAE, are expected to.amotint to little short
of 20001-,
-
• •

LONDON .1 URN ALS.

(1)..4 IL Y F_Y 1'1? AC TS .3

FROM THE MORNING PAPERS.

[Morning Post.]
THE' QUEEN.—The'House of Lords meet again
this morning, when the question of the second
reading of the Bill of Pains and Penalties will
be put. A great nonlber of Peers are expected
to deliver their sentiments upon the subject;
•though there can be little or no. difference of
-opinion respecting it, except, in imitation-of a
ci•rtaitt Noble Lord, some few may be deter-
mined_ to .give their• vote in the spirit of party,
,re7ardless of the conclusive and unanswerable
evidence afforded even by the witnesses for the
defence. These, however, we, are well per-.
_straded, will be few indeed; and haw, in the
name of common sense and justice, could it be
expected to: be otherwise, with such an irresis-
tibleconcatenation of truths, each of them sepa-
rately demonstrated, and all of them reciprocally
cor.firmed, to the entire conviction, we will ven-tuFe.te say, even of those who still cling to the
cause of the ill-advised and unfortunate Queen,
either from motives >of personal interest, or the
basest, purposes of faCtion

"British Press.]

Should a Mao-tent be obtained against the
QurEs4 tan the MiniSters of the Cro*n hope to
carry it-into execution 2 Such a judgment of con-
deconation.may,by pOSsibility expose the Queen
to punislunent, hit it,caunot injure her -estikna-7
tion with the public. It may well. be doubted
whether the rttion Would endure . that any pia
nishnient; however slight, should -follow such a
sentence. But let us see what would be the
effect of the judgment which Ministers are
anxious to obtain. Lord. Liverpool consents to'
give. up the divorce clause, and will be satisfied
With 'a 'sentence of simple degradation. The
Parliament will thus undertake to declare that
the Queen of England should no longer .be
Queen, while it suffers the marriage•of the Queen
with the King of England to remain unbroken !
and thus in effect ensures to her the very title
of:which it professes to deerive her. ,So long as
the marriage solemnized between their Majesties
continues undissolved, so long, by the Constitu-
tion of the realm, by the holy Ordinances of the
church, and by the force of public opinion, shall
Queen Carollne continue to be the Queen. of
England. There it an anomaly in the proposed
measure too gross to be corrected even by that
power which, by- a figure soinewhat too bold,
havbeen deSignated the- omnipotence of Par.
'lament.

drew mes.]

In our two last publications, we reviewed the
arguments of her MA.r EST. Y's Counselas they apply
to the proof for fact, resting, Ist, on the common
presumptions applicable generally to -the female
sex.; and Lilly, on those particular presumptions
arising out of her Majesty's peculiar situation and
circumstances. We assert, that the defence has
totally failed on both these.grounds.. To what
cause this is to be'attributed, we do not pretend
to determine. It may be that the Queen's Coun-
sel have'exereised ".,a sound discretion" in calling
no more witnesses, or it may be, that they have
not. All that we say is that the evidence, in the
state. in which they have thought fit to leave it,
is -conclusive against her Majesty, beyond the
shadow of a doubt, if the question of her guilt or
innocence is to he tried as that of the guilt or inno-
cence of any other woman is tried in the Courts,
whose peculiar province it is to investigate such
subjects. Either the Queen is guilty upon
this state of the evidence, or 19 women out
of 20 that, haVe been divorced at Doctors' Com-
mons have been treated with the most cruel injus-
tice. Her Majesty's Counselclearlyact under this
impression, for they endeavour to avail therm:.
selves of topics which are utterly irrelevant and
hinnaterial, but upon the supposition of guilt.
They tnlk loudly of neglect and of recrimination.
What possible reference can these conside.rations
h&ve to the establishment of innocence ? How
can they serve to prove her Majesty's purity ? If
she has erred, they may be urged in mitigation of
punishment ; but in no other way can they pos-
sibly bear upon her case. In fact, it is well
known that such pleas are never set up in reply
to a charge of infidelity, but, by women whose
criminality is notorious, and almost avowed.
Such women frequently turn round, and attempt
to throw the blame of their frailties.on their bus-
bimds ; but the moment such a plea is
,brought
into Court, it is conSidered as a virtual abandon-
ment of all pretensionto innocence or chastity.
•However, let us look a little more closely into
these arguments. In the first place, they are quite
beside* the present inquiry.. The matters were not
put in issue. The Lords have no means whatever
of knowing whether'her Majesty can -jnstly corn-
plain.of neglect or infidelity on the part of the
King ; there is no evidence before them to these
point 3 ; nor if any such were tenderedoould they
possibly receive it : for it could only be. receiv-
able in a question between thlesliing- and the
Queen; but the Lords are not gluing to-try any
such question, nor can they try it brthe Consti-
_ tution and Law of the Land: They are inquiring
into the plain and simple fact whether the Queen
has: violated the duties attached to her anguSt
rank, committed
,an offence against the well
being of society? end broken the laws
,7f.l_,God.
If. she has .clone in manner and torn) as
charged against her, nothing that has been done
or left undone. by any other person can alter
the case :with . regard to her; she is unfit and
unworthy to be Queen Consort of this realm,
and thel•piibliC. good requires her degradation.
It is: idle :to talk of a Queen of England as a
.
mere wife. She stands in a totally distinct situa..=
tion from any other married woman. She is in-
vested with high and splendid honours, privileges,
and prerogatives, such as no other woman pos-
sesses ; and, on the other hand, she voluntarily

subjects .herself" to bonds- 14 irhich no other
woman is bound. No other Nv6tnan, by our law,
becomes on marriage liable to caPital.punishinent
for adultery ; but the Queen does so, in every
case, except that which is plainly a cants omissus
in the Statute. The Queen, by the very fact of
her marriage, becomes a political personage :
she does not merely form a domestic union «ith
her husband, but she contracts a public_ engage-
ment with the State ; and whether she has or
has not-fulfilled that engagement is to be deter-
mined not by the ignorant clamour of factious
mobs and knore factious journalists,- but by the
solemn investigation and conscientious judgment
of the Sovereign Legislature.

[The 'limes.]
This is:the day on which the HOUSE of PEERs
resumes its consideration of the Bill against THE
QUEEN. .A.s we draw nearer the conclusion of
this sad affair—(Qu. we suppose We are drawing
nearer its conclusion)—we are the more inclined
to cast our eyes back Upon its commencement and
Progress. Here has been a fellow-creature-La
woman too, a Queen, and nearly allied in blood
as well as. by - marriage to the King—who has
been watched„ dogged, tracked—in order -to
take away her., life under legal fornis—for the
space of nearly thirty years : and it is only with-
in the last three months that her enemies have
aimed at any thing short of her life ; and that,
from no visitations of huManity, but f rom a 'defect•
in the law which-. they meant to apply for her
destruction. At the time when they open-
ed the present prosecution, as at the time when
they Occasioned the:child of a labourer at Dept-
ford to be sworn toiler, they imagined her offence
capital ; and on neither occasion did they hesi-
tate to involve her in so awful a penalty. It is
fearfully remarkable also, that in the 'course
of these almost thirty years, during which the
blood-hounds have. been' hunting her down, and
when it was thought she was hastening to the
block, no voice warned her of her, danger ;
no friend, no husband, strove to pluck her from
the path which, it was charitably supposed, was
leading her directly to her ruin. On the contrary,
every thing was made to wear a smiling appear=
Alice around her : she was induced to believe that
she had nothing to do but to pursue her plea-
sures. The history of the world presents no in,
stance of such a persecution. Savage beasts soon
either. seize their prey, or qUit the chase. Even.
the lives of irrational animals are. not ordinarily
protracted to thirty years' duration. The most
ferocious natures of the human kind are generally
soothed; into pity, reconciliation, or indifference,
in the course of a few years. The Queen of
France was 'destroyed in the midst of slanders,
abuse, and..fury, similar to those which now burst
forth against the Queen of England; but the
more humane Jacobins of that country did their.
work speedily, otherwise they might
„probably
have relinquished it ; at least they never would
have pursued it for upwards of a quarter of a
century. -

'Morning Chronicle.]
We hope and trust the Letter of Marshal
BERESFORD will be •immediately noticed in the
House of Lords. We should like to know whe-
ther Minikers actually authorised him to menace
the Portuguese nation with the vengeance of
England, ,or whether the responsibility of -this
ill-advised proceeding attaches to himself alone.
We know of no Treaties by which England is
entitled to .prevent the Portuguese from teforw-
ing their Constitntion, or to take offence at any
such reform. Neither are we aware of any
Treaty by which Portugal is bound to acknow-
ledge Lord Beresford's.iight to command all its
authorities, both civil and military, and all Por-
tuguese subjects of all classes. " If," says the
Marshal, " it does not . acknowledge him, the
whole of Europe- will feel this offence, but
more especially England, , and insist on the
observance of her Treaties, as sincere as
they are ancient." The whole of Eu-
rope feel this offence to Marshal Beresford ?
Why_ this is even caricaturing old Legiti-
-
macy, itself. From the length of time the Noble
Marshal has disposed of ,the lives and properties
of the Portuguese with uncontrouled. sway, he
begins to suppose .himself, no doubt, a genuine
Legitimate, and feels as if he 'were now dispos-
sessed of his lawful inheritance. If the blood of
the Braganzas flowed • in his veins, he could not
have held more swaggering language.. It reminds
one of the well' known Memoirs of P. P. Parish
Clerk, shewing the importance of a man to himself.
The great foundation of therelations betweenTor-
tugal and England,.is the Methuen Treaty of 1703,
which consists of three articles only, and by which
the former country agrees to admit for ever the
woollens of England, while England agrees to ad-
mit Portuguese wines at one-third less duty than
those of France. The Engli4t merchants in
Portugal have obtained the grant of many pri-
vileges from
.time to time, but by favour and
not by treaty. The defence and protection
which Portugal has received from. Great Britain,
may entitle .the latter to the thanks of the nit.-
tuguese, but cannot stnwly entitle it to, exercise
any Sovereignty over them,: which they themselves
are unwilling to concede. No one surely would
think of contending that,even an obligation to af-
ford defence and protection to a country, involves
a right to continue that defence and protection
any longer than it may be demanded or wished for
by such country. We cannot sufficiently express
our satisfaction, that the unadvised step of Mar-
shal Beresford has ended as it has. • If the Go-
vernment had, been less firm, and allowed this im-
prudent man to- lanl, the consequences might.
have been truly dreadful. To the irritation to
which his insulting-menace's, and his attempts to
regain hiS authority, must haye given rise, the
whole of the British inPortughllmight have fallen
a sacrifice, and two nations,long bound together
by: the most friendly des,- might thus have been
forced to nnsheath- the sword against each other.
Parliament-Owes it tOthenation, to teach this in-
dividual, and others through him, that the name
:1
and authority of England shall not be thus light-
ly sported with ; and that he who, for the sake
of the gratification of personal ambition, exposes

leis country to di'an.g;ek.'4zifl War, shall not
be allowed to do so with impunity.

- • {Morning.head .]
We have received the SIERRA LEONE AZ ETTE
to the 15th of July. It contains demonstrative
proofs of the flourishing and still improving state
of that Colony, which, we trust, has commenced
the civilization of Africa. It is gratifying to re-
flect that-a part of the world where cruelty, ig-
norance. and barbarism held, a few years since,
uncontrolled-dominion, is now favoured with the
noblest civil institutions,. where Commerce, arts,
and moral instruction, begin to diffuse their
blessings ; where hospitality and the virtues
flourish, and the Press itself has taken its stand.
That- Press whiCh was so instrumental in-deliver-
ing.:Kfrica from the horrible traffic in human life,
which threatened that vast quarter of theworld with
perpetual misery and degradation. The climate Of
Sierra Leone is much less unfavourable to the
European Constitution than has been generally
imagined. By a ,recent e2ensus; it appears that
the increase of population in the Peninsula, since
the' 31st; of September 1818, is 2,956 persons,
which include§ -943 liberated AfriCans;,landed
there in the years 1819 and 1820, from slave
vessels, eighty-five persons from Barbadoesj
and 1030 discharged soldieis and families of the
West India Regiments and the Royal African
Corps—thus making an increase'of 885 by births,
or the acCessioi,,Rf natives to the Colony for
employment or-'oprotection. A considerable
number,,- iii reference to the sniallnesS and in-
fant state of: the Colony; have been added to
its resident population .in the course oreighteen
months. In the same space of time no less than
1,260 inhabitants have been added to the Chris-
tian communion, the consequence of the associa
tiotis I;hich have been formed for the purposes
of religious instruction. SchoOls have been also
established on the principle of mutual instruction,
and on the model of those at Madras.