The Illustrated Usk Observer and Raglan Herald

UNPRECEDENTED DESTRUCTION OF FARM BUILDINGS BY FIRE. During the past eighteen months the agricultural Tillage of Crondall, near Farnham has been visited by fires to an extent unparalleled probably in any other village in this country of like size and im- portance. In the above comparatively short period five farms, one of which contained the largest barn .e in England, have been almost completely destroyed. The damage sustained on the four first occasions amounting in each instance to several thousands of pounds. The circumstances connected with each of these conflagrations left little doubt but that they were the work of an incendiary and an extensive fire which occurred on Wednesday evening last, near the church is reasonably attributed to the same cause. On the above even- ing, about ten o'clock, flames were observed rising in*two places from a farm yard belonging to Mr. Stephen Smither, master of the Odiham Down har- riers, who resides near Odiham, and an alarm was immediately raised which, spreading, brought a large number of the inhabitants to the spot. It was then discovered that a very large barn and a quantity of strawin the yard were on fire, and that several tenements in the vicinity were in imminent danger. Efforts were made to rescue the latter by removing the connecting materials, and fortunately with suc- cess but it was apparent from the first that the bam and its contents were inevitably doomed to destruction. The flames raged with irresistible fury, and in a short space of time seventy sacks of threshed wheat and oats, a steam threshing machine, a large quantity of unthreshed oats and wheat, the former the produce of seven acres and the latter nine acres of land a cart shed, a carpenter's shop, with carpenter's tools, an outhouse, and other buildings, fell a prey to the devastating element. In addition to the above a stable containing two horses was also destroyed, and the animals-almost burnt to a cinder. One of these was a btmter worth £ 10, ridden by Mr. Smithers during the last hunting season and the other a valuable cart horse. The flames illuminated the horizon for miles round, and a large number of persons arrived from Odiham and the adjacent districts, amongst whom were Captain Birch and other gentlemen, who rendered every exertion to prevent the spread- ing of the fire. Fortunately the whole of the property was insured. Sergeant Brinson, of the Hants police, has been busily engaged in endeavour- ing to trace the cause of the fire, but without suc- cess. The flames were raging at a late hour, but without any likelihood of effecting further damage. T

SYSTEMATIC PLUNDER OF EM- PLOYERS. On Thursday, at the Clerkenwell police-sourt, William and Sarah Harris were brought before Mr. D'Eyncourt, charged with stealing a quantity of gutta pereha from the Gutta Percha Company's works in Wharf-road, City-road. Mr. Wontner, the solicitor, of No. 26, Bucklers bury, appeared for the prosecution, and stated tha the company had been extensively robbed by their servants, and had determined to put a stop to it They therefore employed the assistance of the police to watch the servants at the dinner hour, and found the female prisoner make her appearance there day after day whilst most of the men were away, and remained about half an hour each day. On the last day of watching, an officer named Stammers followed the female prisoner, and having touched her dress felt that something was concealed under it. He, therefore, asked what she had about her, when she denied having anything on which she was told that she must go to the station. She there- upon stated that she had some gutta percha. concealed about her, which her husband, who is employed at the factory, had given her; and at the station she produced thirteen pieces, weighing 1441b., which were worth 30s. to 35s. Her lodgings were searched, and there 131b. weight were found, which she admitted she had brought away from the works the day before. The officer then saw the male prisoner at the works, and told him what had taken place, when he admitted having sent out the property by his wife, and added that he had been engaged in similar depredations for some months, begging the manager to forgive him, and that he would disclose the names of the re- ceivers. The company declined to do so, but from other sources they had traced out the receivers, one of whom would be subsequently brought before the court in custody, He might add that the only one of the receivers who-would- give any satisfactory 1 information was a Mr. Barnard, *in Tottenham- court-road, who would appear as a witness and prove repeated purchases of gutta percha from the prCsoaier. The above was corroborated by the officer, Herbert Stammers, 136 N. Mr. James Barnard said I live at 257, Totten- hanft-court-road, and am an india-rubber and gutta percha dealer. I know the male prisoner. He has brought gutta percha to my shop for sale I should thiek about six or seven times since the 4th of In August. He brought some on the 14th of August, 331b. weight, for which I paid him at the rate of 8d. a pound. On the 19th September he brought me 45tt>. weight, for which I paid him at the same rate. I ksked where he got it from, and he told me he had it 'up from the country. He brought 461b. on the 12th September, which I bought at the same price. H& was a man that appeared so straightforward and opferi thiat I believed what he said, knowing as well thfet there are men going about the country buying old gutta percha. I asked him his name and address, and he said he lived a long way from there, and assured me it was all right, but did not give me his name and address. Barnard then produced some of th'6 gutta percha. Barnard then said the Gutta Perohst Company only used to give 6d. per pound i'o £ old'guttapurcha, and he had been in the habit of 'having it for 6d. for a long time. He said this to she»w that he did not buy it because of the low prroe. Tne male prisoner, in defence, said the witness must have known that the property was stolen by the low price he gave for it. Mr. D'Eyncourt fully committed the prisoners to the Middlesex Sessions for trial, and refused bail. Frederick Cornell, a gutta percha dealer in Gray's imj-lane, was then charged with receiving a quan- tity of gutta percha belonging to the Gutta Percha Company. Mr. Wontner appeared for the prosecution Mr. Lewis for the defence. Mr. Wontner, in opening the case, stated that in consequence of the discovery of the robberies by the former prisoner, the company examined all their servants with a view of ascertaining the extent of the depredations. One of their men, named Ruth- erford, at once admitted having robbed them for the last eighteen months, and that he had sold a large portion of the plunder to the prisoner, at 8d. per lb., the value being from 2s. to 2s. 6d. per lb. He then discontinued his pilfering, upon which the pri- soner came to his lodgings and told him that he knew where he worked, having watched him from the company's works that he was already liable to be punished for what he had taken, and would not be in a worse position if he sold him some mare. On three occasions he saw Rutherford, and repeated his request, on which Rutherford again tisok gutta percha from the premises of the company, sad carried it to the prisoner's house. These facts would be deposed tc in detail by Rutherford, whose evidence would be corroborated materially by other witnesses; and he should now give evidence to war- rant a remand till a future day, when the case would be: fully gone into. The workman, Rutherford, was then called, and detailed his transactions with the prisoner, after ifhich the prisoner was remanded to a future day. The prisoner asked to be admitted to bail. Mr. D'Eyncourt said he would accept of two sureties in the sum of jB50 each, and the prisoner himself ia the sum of zeloo. The necessary bail being pat in, the prisener left the court.

GARIBALDIAN RIOTS IN HYDE PARK Hyde-park was on Sunday the scene of a riot far exceeding in magnitude and in its serious conse- quences that which took place on that day week. I In consequence of the interruption there was to the meeting of sympathy with Garibaldi by a body of Irish roughs, and who succeeded in thwarting the object of its conveners, large bodies of working men had given notice to the committee that they intended being present in the park and supporting them at all'hazards. The committee, Dot feeling justified in incurring the responsibility of calling a second meeting for Sunday, when a collision was likely to ensue, determined to abandon their inten- tion to hold the meeting, and during last week issued a notice to that effect. The publicity given through the press to last Sunday's proceedings, however, combined with the fact that the abandonment of the meeting had not become generally known, caused an immense assemblage in the park yesterday. Before 2 o'clock all the principal thoroughfares leading to Hyde-park were crowded with persons proceeding towards it, many of them carrying thick sticks, and by 3 o'clock the'police on duty estimated that at least 100,000 persons had passed through the park gates. As on the previous Sunday, the mound of earth near the Marble-arch was the centre of attraction, and at an early hour of the afternoon it was taken possession of by a body of about 200 Irish labourers, armed with bludgeons, who at once raised the cry of "Three cheers for the Pope, and down with Garibaldi." Immediately surrounding this mound were stationed about 500 more of the same class similarly armed, and who openly expressed their intention to oppose by force any meeting being held p 11 in favour of Garibaldi. It soon became rumoured through the crowd that the committee did not intend holding any meeting, and while many approved of this decision, by far the greater number expressed much disappointment. On this becoming known to the Irish party on and about the mound, they set up a loud shout, and began taunting the Gari- baldian party for their cowardice. Aworkingman who, unperceived by the Irish, had made his way on to the mound, here rushed to the front, and, waving his hat, and holding aloft a board with the name of Garibaldi painted upon it, called, upcn the vast mass of people in front and around the mound to give three cheers for the Italian patriot, which appeal was re- sponded to by a tremendous burst of cheering from the assembled thousands. In an instant a dozen of the Irish bludgeons rattled about the head of the Garibaldian champion, and he was hurled from the mound bleeding profusely. This was the first act of violence committed, and was followed by a desperate rush of the Garibaldians upon the Irishmen, who from the advantageous position they held, their determination, and the free use of their cudgels, succeeded in beating back their assailants, but few of whom had anything but nature's weapons at their command. Just at this time a body of powerful Irish labourers and others came upon the ground, all armed with sticks, and fought their way up to their countrymen, who, thus reinforced, and embolded by their recent triumph, with loud hurrahs for the Pope made a desperate rush amidst the crowd, knocking down indiscriminately men, women, and children, amongst others two or three soldiers of the Guards, who seemed an especial object of dislike to the Irishmen. The Garibaldians, irritated at this cowardly and ruffianly attack, and headed by about twenty soldiers, who had rushed to the aid of their comrades, then fought their way up to the mound, and after a severe struggle with the Irishmen ranged around its base, succeeded in obtaining a footing upon: t. The scene now became one of great ex- citement. The soldiers, who were armed with sticks supplied them by the crowd, amid the. cheering of the Garibaldians and the yells and shouting of the Irish, laid about them with unsparing vigour. The blows from the sticks resounded on all sides, and blood began to flow freely from the heads of both parties. Each soldier had at least a dozen assailants to contend with, many of whom were evidently expert at the use of their weapons, and possessed of sufficient bulldog ferocity to make them most formidable opponents. At least a dozen men were lying at this time bleeding and senseless on the top of the mound, and the soldiers were on the point of being overpowered by numbers, when about half- a-dozen of the Life Guards, about the same number of the 3rd Buffs, followed by a body of at least fifty working men with sticks and umbrellas, rushed on to the mound and turned the tide of victory. After a terrific melee of about five minutes the Irish gave way, and made a precipitate retreat from their position. One soldier of the 3rd Buffs, a short thick- set man, armed with a piece of park rail, knocked down six of the Irishmen in succession, receiving in return a severe wound in the forehead. As the Irishmen were beaten from the mound, the people below seized upon those who had made themselves most conspicuous, and dragged them to the outskirts of the crowd, and gave them in charge to the police- men, several of whom were there stationed, but with orders not to interfere unless under the personal orders of' the commissioner. Those who were iden- tified as having taken an active part in the first on- slaught upon the people were at once taken off to the station-house. The Garibaldians and the soldiers being now in possession of the mound, one of the soldiers was hoisted on the shoulders of his comrades, and said if any of the committee were present who had called the meeting last Sunday, and wished to propose a resolution in favour of Garibaldi, the soldiers would form a circle around the mound, and guarantee them a hearing. No one, however, responded to this appeal, but it gave rise to one of the greatest bursts of cheers that ever resounded in Hyde-park, followed by more cheers for the army. The Irish, now driven from the mound and rendered perfectly infuriate by their defeat in that quarter, formed themselves into several detached bodies of about 200 each, and forcing their way into the crowd in different direc- tions, began striking at all within their reach. It was estimated that there was at this time about 200,000 people assembled, and the wishes of one portion of the crowd to escape the blows of these ruffians, the determined stand made against them by other portions, the shouts of the men, the shrieks of the women, and th6 cries of the juveniles pre- sented a scene of the most alarming description. Sticks were being used and stones were flying in all directions, and at least 2,000 people were battling in different parts of the park. In some cases knives were used, and several persons were taken off the ground who had been stabbed. About 500 soldiers were now mixed up in the crowd, great numbers of whom were fighting against the Irishmen, who at last were overpowered, and fled in all directions, many of them meeting with knots- of Garibaldians, by whom they were severely maltreated. Sir R. Mayne and Captain Harris, the Commissioners of Police, now came upon the ground, and it getting dusk, and seeing the alarming state of affairs, dispatched a constable to the Wellington Barracks for a strong picket of the Fusiliers, about fifty of whom, under the command of an officer, but without arms, speedily attended, one party taking possession of the mound, and the other ordering the soldiers into barracks. A strong body of the D division of police, who had been kept in reserve in the Marble-arch, were also brought on the ground under the command of Captain Harris. These measures, combined with the retreat of the Irishmen, and the approach of dusk, put a stop, to the proceedings, and the people gra- dually left the park, which became quite cleared by 8 o'clock. A large number of persons were severely injured during the afternoon, and the various sur- geries in the neighbourhood were crowded with parties waiting to have their wounds dressed. It is to be hoped the authorities will take measures to prevent any repetition of these disgraceful doings next Sunday.

Alpine tourists will read the following obitusry notice with much regret:—" On Saturday, the 27th Sept., ;at the Eagle's Nest, Valley of Sixt, Haut Savoie, after a jpainful illness of five weeks, Augusts Ba'iaat, of Cha- mourn, in the fifty-fifth year of his age*"

DEATH BY THE UPSETTING A CART. An inquiry was held on Friday by Mr. Humphreys, one of the Middlesex coroners, at the Marquis Cornwallis Tavern, Curtain-road, Shoreditch, into the circumstances of the death of Mrs. Jane Barr, aged 26, the wife of an upholsterer in the Curtain-road. Mr. J. Beard, solicitor, appeared on behalf of Mr. Wm. Barr, the husband of the deceased, and Inspector Webster for the Commissioners of Police. Mr. J. Barr, Old-streot-r.oad, identified the deceased, but knew nothing of the occurrence. Wm. Barker, 527 N, said that on Wednesday night he was on duty in Prosser-street, and saw a horse and cart driven most furiously in the direction of the City-road.. It nearly came into collision with a Hansom cab, and he followed some distance until the pace was slackened a little. He called out to the driver, but could not make him attend. About a quarter of an hour later witness was called to the Earl of Durham Tavern, where he found deceased, her husband (who is in custody), and three others. Deceased died in the public-house. Wit- ness knew nothing further of the occurrence. Mr. Barr was drunk. The Coroner said that he understood that the cart in question had run over a man, and that in trying to escape from the police the deceased was killed. He should wish to have that man before the court. Mr. Waller, the coroner's officer, said that the man was rendered insensible, and could not describe anything but that he wa3 knocked down and run over. Joseph Johnson, 61, Britannia-street, said that he saw on the night in question a light cart, with six persons in it, come at a rapid pace into Britannia-street, and when it passed witness the wheel came into collision with the kerb. The shock threw the vehicle over, and alt six persons were thrown with great violence into the road- way. Witness ran up and found the deceased woman and three bovs insensible in the road. Mr. Barr, who had been driving, was very excited, but witness would not like to say he was in liquor. He did not seem to witness to have been endeavouring to restrain his horse, but the animal was going at the very top of his speed, and witness could not well see what was being done. By Mr. Beard: In spite of his excitement Mr. Barr was rendering every assistance to his poor wife. He said at the public-house to which his wife was taken that the horse had taken fright and bolted at a hoarding. Tho,t hoarding was 200 yards off; but witness could not say whether it had there taken fright. Bv the Coroner: Witness heard tha horse galloping, apparently, from far beyond the hoarding. The horse came from the direction of the City-road. After some further evidence, Mr. William Barr, 116, Curtain-road, having been cautioned, said, that on the night in question he had only taken a glass of beer at supper, after which his wife played a tune on the piano and they went out. At Mr. Saunders they had a share of a pot of half-and-half, and they returned in the cart at a moderate pace. When the man was knocked down, witness tendered his card to the police. The deceased was killed entirely through the shying of the horse. The Coroner having summed up, Tbe jury returned a verdict — "That deceased was killed by the upsetting of a certain cart, and that the said cart was upset accidentally." The inquiry lasted over four hours.

A curious instance of what the French call game law s" is mentioned by the Droit. A young man of about twenty was amusing himself by shooting spar- rows, with a pea-shooter, on the open space before the Invalides. A policeman hauled him off to gaol, and he has since been tried, convicted, and sentenced to pay a fine (trifling in amount,. indeed) for an infraction of the laws of la chuse In opposition to several decisions which have been given under the new Poaching Act, the magistrates of Leicester, acting upon the advice of their clerk, have decided that a person found on the highway in possession of game, suspected to have been unlawfu'lj obtained, is not bound to show how he-became possessed of it. It rests with the prosecutor, in their opinion, to prove the charge ot unlawful possession by distinct affirmative evidence. A letter from Home in the Nord says:—" A serious occurrence, though unfortunately by no means surprising, has just taken placs in the Roman territory, on an estate belonging to Mgr. Bedini. Two French soldiers, yielding to a very excusable temptation, ven- tured to pick a few bunches of grapes from the cardinal's vines. They were seen by the farmers, who furiously | attacked them, killing one and wounding the other. The guilty parties then fled in Mgr. Bedini's own carriage. But they were overtaken, and at the instance of M. de Montebello, have been removed to Rome for trial." Alleged Suicide and Murder.—On Thursday morning information was circulated in the City police stations that, about nine o'clock the previous night, a young woman mounted the parapet of Blackfriars- bridge, with an infant in her arms, and jumped into the river, and that both had been carried away by the tide. Next day, a waterman belonging to Chelsea, in passing along the river, discovered near the piers of Blackfriars- bridge the body of a female, apparently about twenty- five yews of age, dressed in a light cotton gown, white petticoat, brown stockings, and side laced-up bpots. No infant was, however, found; but whether the deceased was the female who threw herself into the river on Wed- nesday night is unknown. Wills.-The will of Jacob Ricardo, Esq., M.P., of Lowndes-square, and of Exbury House, Fawley, Hants, was proved in London by his relict, the Right Hon. Lady Catherine Ricardo, sister of the Earl of Bite. The personalty was sworn undmr £ 50,000. Mr. Ricardo died at the age of 50, having executed his will in 1860, which is very brief, appointing his wife, Lady Catherine, sole executrix and also residuary legatee of his property, both real and personal, and bequeathing to his son his shares in the Norwegian Trunk Railway, or in lieu thereof a sum of £13,000. Legacies are left to ali his servants who have been with him for a lengthened period. The will of Thomas Wakley, Esq., i M.R.C S late M.P. for Finsbury, and coroner for Mid- dlesex, of Bedford-street, Strand, and of Matlock Bath, near Buxton, Derbyshire, who died at the island of Madeira in May last, was proved in London on the 18th 0f September. The personalty was sworn under £12.000, the executors nominated being his son, Thomas H. Wakley, Esq., of Arlington street, Piccadilly, and i Thomas Spalding, Esq., of Hendon; the son alone is acting executor. The will, which is of moderate length, was executed in 1861, and is strictly of a family nature, directing his estate at Matlock, consisting of messuages and land, and all other real estate, to be sold; the net proceeds arising therefrom, together with his personal property, to be equally divided between his three sons. Mr. Wakley was in h 68th year.

MURDER AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE BY A LUNATIC. A fearful occurrence took place on Monday at a place called Sunday's Gate, in the northern district of Drog- heda, in Ireland. It appears that a man named Denis Deane, a gardener, had been for some time past unsettled in his mind, and resided with his family, who considered that it was not necessary to put him under any restraint until a few days ago, when a person was employed to attend on him at his own house and watch his move- ments, in order to prevent him from doing harm to himself or other3. On Monday morning, however, Deane managed to elude the vigilance of his keeper, and slipped 'away from the house. In a short time he wa.s missed, but it was after he had forced open the door of a neighbouring woman, named Byrne, who at the time was in her bed, and, it is stated, had just been pro- nounced convalescent from an attack of illness. He seized some heavy instrument which he found in the house, with which he struck the unfortunate woman re- peated blows on the skull, and beat out her brains. He then,proceeded to do violence to himself by inflicting wounds on his own head, and having run into the street the alarm became general, and a large crowd of per- sons gathered. A number of men rushed on the lunatic, and captured him, when he was conveyed to his house, and bound hand and foot with ropes. Dr. Ellis was soon on the spot, and having first visited the woman Byrne, pronounced that death was inevitable, as she was breathing her last. He next dressed the wounds on the head of Deane. A company of the police force was shortly after in attendance. Had Deane not been captured so promptly as he was, there is no knowing to what extent his outrages might have extended, for it appears that on hip way to Mrs. Byrne's house he met an unoffending little girl and struck her to the ground, inflicting a deep wound on her head. Deane was for some length of time a gardener at the grounds attached to the School of the Christian Brothers, and lit-ed on the premises. He was was a man of good character, and is father of a family,

FEASIBLE SOLUTION OF THE ROMAN QUESTION. The Independance contains the following:—We are as- sured that immediately on the return of the Emperor to St. Cloud, important steps will be taken for the settle- ment of the Roman question; and if we may credit the information of our correspondent, the object of the nego- tiators will be to obtain the assent of the Italian Govern- ment to the project submitted to Cardinal Antonelli by M. de Lavalette, without the guarantee offered to the Pope for the possession of his actual terzitory. The cabinet of Turin should engage not to invade the pontifical states or to permit the invasion of them by volunteers from any part of Italy; upon which France would recall her troops and leave the temporal power to its own resources. If, however, after the withdrawal of the French troops, the inhabitants of the papal states, restored to entire freedom of action, should decide upon separating from a Government to which the strength and will of France alone has subjected them: if, disposing of themselves, they should manifest their strong determination to be united to the rest of Italy, the Imperial Government would offer no obstacle to the fulfilment of such a desire, and Victor Emmanuel would be at liberty to accept from the hands of the Romans that capital which France has not the wish or the power to give him. This arrange- would be perfectly acceptable to Italy, for it would open out the only way to the accomplishment of her aspira- tions; and we cannot see what serious objections it could meet with at Turin.

PRESIDENT LINCOLN AND THE SLA VE QUESTION. A telegram just received from New York, dated Sept. 26, says :-President Lincoln has issued a proclamation stating that the war would be continued to restore the constitutional relation between the States, and that he shall again recommend the next Congress to adopt a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid for the free acceptance or rejection of those States now in rebellion which may adopt an immediate or gradual abolition of slavery within their limits. Efforts to colonise negroes, with their consent, will be continued. The President further proclaims that on the 1st of January, 1863, all slaves.within any S^ate or part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the Federal Government, shall be then thence- forward and for ever free. The Federal executive and naval and military authorities will recognise and main- tain the freedom of such persons, and will do no acta to repress them in anv offovto tkoj- may maxe lor their actual freedom. The Federal Government will designate on the 1st January the States and parts of States which will then be in rebellion, and the fact that aay State, or the people thereof, shall on January 1 be in good faith represented in the United States Congress by members chosen at elections wherein the majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people thereof have not been in rebellion against the United States. The President orders the military and naval authorities specially to observe the acts of Congress prohibiting the return of fugitive slaves, and calls attention to that por- tion of the Confiscation Act referring- specially to slaves. The proclamation states that the Federal Government will in time recommend that all citizens who have re- mained loyal throughout the rebellion shall, upon the restoration of constitutional relations, be compensated for all losses, including loss of slaves, by acts of the United States.

NARCOTISING CHILDREN. Accidental Death. On Friday an inquest was held at the Pine Apple Tavern, New Church-street, Lisson-grove, into the cir- cumstances attending the poisoning of a boy and girl, twin children of a tradesman named Farlow, residing at 21, Salisbury-street, Portman-market, by the adminis- tration of syrup of poppies, to produce sleep. The evidence adduced went to prove that the children were about a month old, and being restless from their birth," the parents were induced to adopt the danger- ous and common practice of administering syrup of poppies. Between six and seven last Sunday morning, both children exhibited symptoms of being seriously poisoned shortly after a dose of the syrup had been given, and Dr. Westmacott, of 10, St. Mary's terrace, Paddington, was sent for, and found them labouring under the effects of a narcotic. He applied the usual remedies with promptitude, and after great exertion succeeded in restoring the boy; but the girl, being the weaker of the two, expired in about twelve hours. The cause of death, he asserted, was solely from an overdose of syrup of poppies. A teaspoonful was the quantity given as a dose, which, he thought quite suffi- cient to cause an infant's death. The coroner remarked that it was just one of those unfortunate cases which frequently occurred from the dangerous and reprehensible practice of parents giving narcotics to children. It was a bad thing, and never ought to be done except under medical direction. Syrup of poppies varied so much in strength that a dose that would not be fatal in one case would be in another. It was most uncertain and highly improper medicine, worse than laudanum itself, to administer to children. It was, however, frequently done. A similar death occurred only a week or so ago. Verdict, That the deceased, Ann Emma Farlow, died from narcotic poison, accidentally, and the jury severely condemn the reprehensible practice of administering nar- cotics to infant children to produce sleep." — -♦—■ —

A correspondent writing to a contempory, says: -There is an article now in the market called rice meal, which is nothing more than fine sawdust. Put a certain quantity in a saucepan and boil it for say_ a quarter or half-hour, the water will only be just stained, and the sawdust then will show itself in a. perfect state. The sawdust is made from beech timber. Never was there a more wicked fraud cattle fed with a mixture of this stuff would almost certainly die. Church-rate Contest at Dorking,—A Vestry was convened at Dorking on Friday, to make a church- rate. Immediately after the commencement of the pro- ceedings Mr. C. Rose proposed, and Mr. T. Marsh seconded, the adjournment of the meeting till the 7th of November next, to allow an opportunity of investigating the liability of the ecclesiastical districts into which the parish is divided. The vicar, who presided, refused however to put Mr. Rose's resolution to the meeting, whereupon he protested. On a proposal to adopt the estimate submitted by the churchwardens, Mr. Cole moved and Mr. A. Marsh seconded the expungement of some of the items and the reduction of others. The amendment was then put to the meeting, and carried by a considerable majority. A poll was then demanded by the churchwardens. Amotion for a,twopenny rate was also lost, and a poll demanded in favour of the rate,by the wardens.

WHOLESALE ROBBERY OF JEWEL- LERY BY A FEMALE. At the Hammersmith Police-court, on Saturday Louisa Lawrence, a tall, good-looking young womaD,' was brought up for final examination on a charge of stealing jewellery of the value of J3500, the property of her mistress, Lady Belford Wilson, of Hyde-park-gate Kensington. The robbery was committed in a somewhat systematic manner. On the 25th of August last Lady Wilson left town, having previously had her jewellery and other property locket! up in a large box in one of the attics, called the little room, the window being fastened on the inside, the deor locked, and the key taken with her. At the same time some other property was locked up in a box in the next apartment, called the spare-room. On the morning of Monday, the 22nd ult., tha day before Lady Wilson returned home, the housemaid, a young woman named Hunter, discovered the spare-room in confusion, things scattered about, and the window open. She told the butler, and the police were sent for. The place presented all the ap- pearance of a burglary having been committed by the roof which adjoins the houses at the corner of Prince Albert's-road. The footman found in the gutter a valuable silver salver and a box wrapped in a shawl. When Inspector Cross arrived he found the window of the little room broken, but strange to relate the pieces of glass were lying outside. The spare room window was also broken. No marks of footsteps could be found in the gutter. Suspicion at once fell upon one of the servants, but the prisoner, who was kitchen-maid, was not then suspected. Lady Wilson returned to town on the 23rd of September, and it was then discovered that the whole of her jewellery had been stolen from the box, and also other property. Several articles were missed from the spare room. It was also ascertained that the silver salver found in the gutter had been taken from the same box in the little room. On the loss being made known, the housemaid made a statement to the effect that on the 15th or 16th of September, from some suspicions she had, she looked into the prisoner's box, and she saw a jewel case bearing the name of her mistress, and the key of the little room, which key had been previously lost, and another key used. On this information the prisoner was taken into custody, and on searching her box the jewel-case could not be found, but the inspector discovered the skirt of a riding habit belonging to Lady Wilson, and which was proved to have been locked up in the box in the little room. She was searched at the station, and three keys were found upon her. She pointed to one, and said it belonged to a cupboard in the kitchen, and would be wanted. She also said she knew nothing about the other two keys. On the 24th of the same month Sergeant Taylor made another examination of the premises. He found the key opened a cupboard in the kitchen, but it did not contain anything of importance. He found, how- ever, that the same key opened a cupboard in the house- keeper's room. In the cupboard he discovered nearly all' the missing jewellery, and some of the other stolen property. Portions of the jewellery were wrapped in an apron marked with the prisoner's name, and the remainder tied up in a napkin. The cupboard also con- tained the jewel-case said to have been seen in the prisoner's box by the housemaid. One of the jewel-cases was missing, but the lock had been found concealed in a flour tub, and the lady's maid identified one of the keys found upon the prisoner as belonging to the lock of the missing jewel-case. It further appeared that a diamond brooch, which had been locked up in the box was pledged by the prisoner at the shop of Mr. Lamb, a pawnbroker of Sloane-street, on the 2nd of September, for £ 5, and at the time she stated it had been given to her by her mistress for raising her master from a severe fall. The prisoner had also pledged three bracelets for £2 at the shop of Mr. Vincent, at Knightsbridge. A brooch was given to the gaoler by the prisoner, and that formed the whole of the missing jewellery, which was estimated by one of the pawnbrokers as being worth, in round numbers, about -6500. There were several articles missing, of which the prisoner denied all knowledge. Her mother was cook in the same service. The prisoner, who did not offer any defence, was fully committed for trial.

pATAL COLLISION ON THE RIVER. An inquiry respecting the death of a mariner, named Horace Wiliiam JohEcock, aged 18, who lost his life through a collision on the lhames between a steamer and a skiffj was held on Friday night by Mr. H. Rames WaL" thew, the deputy-coroner, at. th" nu»,» iiwrae xavern, ziigti-streer, toplar. John Johncock, father of the deceased, said that his son was apprenticed to Captain Robertson, of the ship Jane of Whitstable. That ship was lying in the Thames at the time of his son's death, but as she sailed imme- diately afterwards he could not ascertain the details of the occurrence. John Hicks, waterman, said that he found the body of deceased floating off the King's Arms stairs. He got it*, ashore, and gave information to the police, who com- municated with the owners of the Jane of Whitstable, but they knew nothing of the occurrence which led to deceased's death. Mr. Mills, the coroner's officer, said that, from inquiry he had made. he found that the deceased had been sent by Captain Robertson in a skiff to procure a sovereign's worth of oil. Deceased had not gone far from the ship when a large steamer was observed to be bearing down upon the boat, and he mfinceuvred to avoid her, but: through confusion or miscalculation he failed to do so, and she struck the boat. He was instantly drawn in under the paddle-wheels, and was not seen again alive. The name of the steamer could not be ascertained, and as the Jane of Whitstable left the Thames immediately, no legal evidence of the facts could be procured, but their accuracy was shown so far by the discovery in the pocket of deceased of a sovereign. The jury returned a verdict "That deceased lost his life in the Thames,, but under what circumstances there was no evidence to prove."

— —:—: Rice in Spain.—The profits of the rice crop are inducing its cultivation in the extensive swamps near the mouth of the Ebro in Spain, a proceeding which,, raises considerable opposition in other quarters on account of the fevers which it is alleged to generate. This culti- vation, however, does not generate those fevers, for they formerly existed in those marshy grounds; on the con- trary, if properly conducted, it establishes a kind of draining. It has been known near Valencia to reduce the intensity and prevalence of the disease; but there is no denying that the first pioneers in those wastes must be great sufferers.-The Grocer. An Australian paper, in speaking of the over- stock of horses in their market, says:—Talk of the. nobility ot the horse! why we learn from reliable au- thority that Mr. Atkinson, of Sophienburg, has taken a contract to boil down 2,000 horses. There is no sale for those animals, and the owner wants to sell their oil, hides, and hoofs, and thus get as much from them as possible. The fate of Dibdin's high-mettled racer wasi illustrious compared with the ignoble doom which awaits the horse-stock of the interior. The wild charger of Australia's burning plains may well envy the European donkey his thistle. The Popular Emperor.—"But the Emperor is so popular!' Those who are initiated into the secrets of the popularity-manufacture laugh to hear this said. As soon as the Emperor's visit to a given locality is rumoured (and it is generally announced four, five, or six months beforehand), no public improvement, no act of public justice or benevolence, that can possibly be put off, is to be extracted from the local authorities. If there is a street to be opened, a harbour to be improved, a public promenade to be formed, an old soldier to be decorated," a widow to be pensioned, everything is saved up for the Emperor's visit, that he may appear as the earthly giver of all good. Do you wonder at his being popular ? Is not the cat's-meat man popular among the cats ? But the genuine cat's-meat man trusts entirely to his well-filled basket for his popularity. Not so the third Napoleon. Whenever the Emperor is aboutto pass by a given line of railway, the officials of the company are sure to see ar- rive, with free passes in their hands (which the Govern- ment have power to give without stint) some seven or eight hundred individuals in all manner of costumes, from knights of the Legion of Honour, who take place in coupes, to mere navvies travelling third-class. They have, apparently, no connection with the Imperial suite, or with the staff of police, in or out of uniform, who necessarily go down on the occasion, but they travel down a day or two before his Majesty's departure; they travel up again about the period of his return. Do not suppose that they are gendarmes; mouchards they may be when requisite; but their main office is a much more cheerful one; they are popularity makers. It is they who fan the sometimes very dull embers of provincial enthusiasm into flame. Whenever the local supply is deficient, from among their number can always be drawn the old soldier, the bluff peasant, the intelligent artisan, the hard-working labourer, whose sayings and doings in relation to the Emperor form as it were the f euilleton of each Imperial progress.—Spectator.