The Atherstone, Nuneaton, and Warwickshire Times. — 1889-01-19 (Atherstone, Warwickshire, England)

DARLINGTON'S INFRINGEMENT. Mr. J. Darlington, who is contesting the Dinichurch Division against the Rev. W. Tuck. well, found it necessary to apply to the Court of Queen's Bench for relief from the consequences of the Corrupt Practices Act, which he had infringed by paying more than one messenger. The application was made on Friday by Mr. Poland, Q.C., but certain formalities with regard to notice to the electors not having been complied with, the matter was adjourned [till Tuesday. In his affidavit Mr. Darlington admits fourteen illegal payments in as many parishes, but states that it was necessary for the proper distribution of his address to employ some person in each parish possessing accurate local knowledge, he employed or procured other persons on his behalf to employ messengers; and he was careful to select and give instructions to others to select such persons only as were not voters, or persons in receipt of parish relief or school children. In doing so, he believed that so long as he was careful to employ persons who were not voters he would avoid offending against the Act. His instructions were carried out except in one case, where his coachman, through a misunderstanding, employed a person, out of work, who was a voter. He had acted in good faith, in the honest belief that he was entitled to act as he had done, until he saw a letter in a local paper on January sth, which first suggested to him that it was illegal; any contravention of the Act, therefore, was entirely through inadvertence, and in good faith. On Monday,in the oourt of Queen's Bench,before Justices Stephen and Denman, Mr. Poland.. Q.C., with whom was Mr. H. R. Darlington, renewed the application on behalf of Mr. J. Darlington, one of the candidates for the Dunchurch Division, for exemption from penalties incurred by wrongfully employing certain persons in connection with the election. Mr. Poland was stopped by the Court, and Mr. ,Asquith was called on to state the grounds on which he opposed. Mr. Asquith stated that on the previous Friday he appeared on behalf of the opposing candidate, the Rev. W. It. Tuckwell, whose sole object was that farther time should be given for the matter to be publicly known in the division. Mr. Tnckwell had now withdrawn his opposition, but he (Mr. Asquith) appeared on behalf of two electors to oppose the applicatiou.—Mr. Poland having been heard briefly in reply, the Court expressed the opinion that it was abundantly clear indeed it was admitted by the other side—that there was no want of good faith on the part of Mr. Darlington, and that what he had done was purely through inadvertence. With regard to an observation which had been made that Mr. Darlington ought to have known the law, Mr. Justice Stephen said he did not know that he ought to know the law more than other people. Whether the applicant had acquired the difficult art which it was hoped the Court had acquired a glimmering of—the art of reading an Act of Parliament —he did not know.— The Court granted the relief asked for, and allowed Mr. Tnokwell his costs with respect to the previous Friday, but disallowed the costs of the opposing electors, on the ground that their opposition was unnecessary, more especially as the other candidate had withdrawn his, and the returning officer, who had been served with notice of the motion, did not think it necessary to appear.  We understand that, in accordance with a promise made by Mr. Goschen during the discussion on the Local Government Act, it has been definitely decided to. leave, at least for the present, the collection of Imperial funds ceded to the County Councils in the hands of the Inland Revenue authorities, and instructions to this effect have been furnished to the officers of the department.  A shocking murder and suicide took place in Garbett Street Sandpits, Birmingham, on Wednesday evening. Charles Lee, a lamp maker, aged sixty years, and his wife were found lying on their bed quite dead with their .throats cut. A desperate struggle had evidently taken place, the woman's hands being severely gashed, and her head was almost severed from her body. The man's hands clutched a razor, with which he had evidently committed the murder of his wife and afterwards taken his own life. It is believed that he murdered his wife in the morning, for he visited a neighbour at six o'clock in the evening, and left a letter telling the neighbour to read it after tea. This letter said he had done for his wife, and intended to do for himself. Lee appears to have gone home and written two letters to each of his sons, left them on the kitchen table, and then gone upstairs, laid himself by the murdered woman, and cut his throat. The motive for the crime is supposed to have been jealousy.