Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1891-06-20 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

MRS. CATHCART'S CASE.  The judicial inquiry into the mental condition ot Mrs. Cathcart, whose name has been prominently before the public lately in connection with the disposal of her property, was opened on Monday by Mr. Bulwer, Q.C., a Commissioner in Lunacy. Sir H. James, Q.C., Mr. Inderwick, Q.C., Mr. English Harrison, and Mr. Pennant appeared for the petitioner; and Mrs. Cathcart was represented by Sir Charles Russell, Q.C., M.P., Mr. Bucknill, Q.C., Mr. Costelloe, and Mr. M‘Dougall. Mr. Swinfen Eady watched the case for Dr. Wood, the medical officer of the asylum at Rochampton in which Mrs. Cathcart has been confined, and Mr. Dibdin, solicitor, watched the case for Mrs. Unwin, Mrs. Cathcart's mother.  Sir Henry James addressed the Court on behalf of the petitioner, Mr. Cathcart, and at some length laid before it the reasons foe the proceeding. He cited many acts of the lady, and read a large number of her letters in support of his contention that her mind was in such a state as to unfit her for attending to business matters, and asserted that her husband was actuated by her interest alone in the course he had pursued. The first witness called on Tuesday was Mr. William Hunt, secretary of the Derby Liberal Club, who produced letters sent him by Mrs. Cathcart, He had no knowledge of the lady or of her affairs. Mr. Arthur Symonds, secretary of the National Reform Union, Manchester, said he received a letter from Mrs. Cathcart in January- of this year. He knew nothing of Mrs. Cathcart, and could not understand why she wrote to him.—By Sir C. Russell. He believed that Mrs. Cathcart had strong political opinions, and had a thorough init rust of Conservatives. Ile Rympathised with itcr in that. Sir H. James: But you do not suggest t}::t, your friends are going to poison you, do you ?--Oh. no. Mr. Lake, secretary of the Gladstone Club at Stafford, said he had also received a strange letter from Mrs. Cathcart. He also knew nothing about her or her affairs.  Mr. George Austin, seerttary of anothee Liberal organisation at Stafford, said in three years he had received about 250 letters from Mrs. Cathcart. The letters at first were complaints about the treatment she received at the Law Courts from the judges. She said the judges were all in the pay of the Home Office against her.—Cress-examined: He destroyed the bulk of the letters, because his cuphol.rd was becoming full, and he thought they came from 6 person who was insane. Mr. Benjamin Prausse, an ex-mayor of I.ington, Staffordshire, said that in June, 1388 or 1389, be forgot which, Mrs. Cathcart called upon l*n, and he had received a number of letters from tr. In September. 1889, she sent him a cheque for £7O, accompanied by a solicitor's bill of eo4s and a letter complaining of the charge, and askimf him to pay the bill. He thought it a strange thieg that a cheqrie and such a letter should be sent to him, and as the name of Messrs. Child's bank was upon the cheque he sent it to Child's. On a later occasion he received from her three telegrams i• 1 one day from the Victoria Hotel,London,asking l:!•.1 to send her a nurse. Of course he did not send  Mr. Charles Vogler, Midland Hotel, St. Pancras, gave evidence describing the visits paid by Mrs. Cathcart to the hotel from November 1:14 until January of this year. Although away some nights she kept her rooms on the whole time. She had several times spoken about herself and her affairs, and had on many occasions had difficulties with the waiters, who worked on a system of shifts. She wished to be served continuously by one waiter, but that was impossible. Ho remembered her having at 2or 3 o'clock in the morning, and after going to the railway station returning and entering someone else'a room. She went out without her boots on. Although the manager of the hotel had given the lady notice to quit witness did not think her insane but eccentric.  rdOnClay being the anniversary of the ueatri or the late Emperor Frederick, a solemn memorial service was celebrated on Sunday in the Garnisons Kirche at Potsdam, which was attended by a numerous and distinguished congregation. John L. Sullivan, the pugilist actor, has not made much success upon the stage of late, and is talking of returning to the ring. He says, however, that he will never fight with the knuckles again. Be wishes to make a match with small gloves.  The Hereditary Grand Duke of Oldenburg is suffering from severe scalp wounds, caused by the stoning he receivedat the hands of a crazy woman on Saturday afternoon while entering Oldenburg Castle. Such is the official version of the mcident.Other accounts, however, hint at a love affair. The woman was arrested.  On Saturday night the body of the Rev. Ezra T. Shaw, United Methodist Free Church minister, Bull, was found on Humber Bank, at North Ferriby, near Hull. There was a shot wound in the head, and a revolver was lying by his side. The deceased was in a low state of mind, so that it is believed he committed suicide.  On Saturday the Preston coroner received information of the death of Mr. William Broadhead, musician, aged 38, of Blackpool. On the 3rd inst. he was lying on the sofa, having injured his knee, and accidentally upset a paraffin lamp on the table near him. Ile was so severely burnt on the breast and left side of his face as to cause his death.  Two goods trains were in collision on Saturday evening on the Scarborough and Hull Branch of the North-Eastern Railway between Bridlington and Driffield Junction. Several of the waggons were smashed up, but the drivers and others in charge of the trains escaped without injury. The mails and passengers were delayed several hours. On Saturday afternoon the Ist Newcastle Engineers Volunteers were drilling on the Town Moor, and whilst undergoing instruction in the methods of demolishing railways, an explosive was fired beneath a rail. A piece of the fractured iron struck Sapper J. Bates on the thigh. He was carried on an ambulance ear to the infirmary,where he died on Sunday morning. A very violent earthquake shock occurred on Saturday at Tregnago, near Verona, which threw the inhabitants into a state of great terror. The continual tremulous movements of the earth are aggravating the ill effects of the first earthquake on the 7th inst., and some of the buildings threaten to fall every moment. The lava-stream from Mount Vesuvius continues slowly to descend the mountain towards the observatory  THE LATE Slit J.