The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

A MADWOMAN'S ACTION. An action was rece'ntly tried in New York, brought by Ifcas Marie C. tTn^eafciH, a resideat of Brooklyn, ag I&inst,I her own sister an1 a nephew to recover clamiges-foir injuries to health and reputation through her involuntary and unlawfal incarceration in the Sloomingdale Lunatic Asylum. Miss Underhill is a person of considerable literary ability; she has even aspired to the dignity of a poet. She is in person what? is sometimes termed spiritifelle; she can hardly fee called fair; and as to her age thera is no reason. able donbt-Ea swears that she is forty-two. This. remarkable circumstance should alone give to the case; ,nliai distinction. But it has other distinguish- peo ing characteristics. The poetical plaintiff is, and has been for several'years past, a consistent member of Plymouth Church, the pulpit of which, is the political Rostrum of that clerical fire-eater, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. Some time ago Miss Underhill took occasion to inform her friends th>it she believed she had Been set apart by Providence to become the help- mate, of her pastor: that as soon as his present wife aliodld depart this life, she (Miss Underbill) would be called upon to fill the vacant place; and she finally indited a letter. breathing most ardent affection, which she forwarded unsigned to her spiritual guide. She seems to have repented oc this performance, however, and told her friends that she would give fifty million dollars if she had not sent the letter. An active Iv imagination prompted her to think that Mr. Beecher knew from whom the Unsolicited offering of love proceeded, and, as a consequence she made herself and her associates unhappy by constant lamenta- tions. She was not kindly treated by her relatives, and after a time was taken to the Bloomingdale Asylum for Lunatics. Emerging thence, she brought the aotion against her sister and nephew; many wit- nesses were summsned to the trial, amongst others the Rev. Mr. Beecher himself. He wag compelled to state in. open court that he had never held ent induce- ments of marriage to the plaintiff; that he did not ex- pect to marry tor; that he had not built and fur- nished a house in the North River, as alleged, fo her special benefit; that he was not under an engagement of marriage with h2r; and that he did not go to Europe because of the impossibility of satisfying 301 longing to make her his wife. All this testimony was given amidst the laughter of hundreds of auditors. The superintendent of the Bloomingdale Asylum, Dr. Brown, also testiSed. He asserted that Adler s "'German and English Dictionary," which is now a text-book in our principal colleges, was written in the institution of which 113 has charge; and, although this is not obviously a revelation so extraordinary, that "one of the leading newspapers in New York is principally edited in the Bloomingdale Lunatic Aaylnmj and that the leading editorial is written three or four times a week by a person of unsound mind eonfined therein," The jury brought in a veT- i diet for the plaintiff, assessing the damages at six: cents.

SINGULAR CHARGE AGAINST A GENTLEMAN. j A young woman, of prepossessing appearance, w&o go,ve the name of Anne Maria Pether, applied about a- ago to Mr. Mansfield, at the Marylebcne Police- COurt, for a summons for an assault. She stated that sfoe was on her way home at a late Hour of the night, and as it was raining she had her umbrella up. A young gentleman stopped her, and requested her to1 allow him to come underneath so far as his home. #*>*3 request was made in tho Edgware-road, and he (the gentleman) said ha lived in Cambridge-terrace. At first she objected, but as he pressed and persuaded her so much, she allowed him to come under the umbrella. They went to a house down the terrace, where he took a key from his pocket, opened the door, and induced her to go inside. They went into a room, when he called upon her to sit down. This she acceded to, and he asked her to take off some of her clothes. She did so, when he took ddVn a riding- whip, and said he would, give her half a dozen lashes. She implored of him not to do so, and began to cry. He told her not to make such fstces, and ordered be* to prepare for the lashes. Ho then took the whip amd gave her, with an interval between, foar strokes. She begged of him not to beat her any more. He desisted and she put on her clothea and left the house. Complainant aided that the defendant was a stranger to her, and that she was on the way home from the Pavilion, Haymarket, where she had been with a friend. Mr. Mansfield asked her if she called out, and ahe eawi she did. His Worship then granted the summons. Mr. Wilding, solicitor, now appeared for the defence, and said that. Mr. Toppett, jon., wished for an adjourn- ment, to- pirodwe a yfitness. Mr. Pain, solicitor, who attended for the complain- ant, did not object. i The case was accordingly adjourned.

"Duel in Paris.—" A dael," says the Gazette des vSunmvc, « has just taken place between Count de TaHyrand PSrigoxd, racentiy made Duke de Mont- morency, and Count de Larochefouoauld, one of the > nlaintiffs in the suit now pending before the Civil ffibSal of the Seine. These gentlemen happening to meet a few evenings since, at their club, a verbal provocation was addressed by Count de Larochefou- cauH to the former. The latter having angrily re- torted a duel became inevitable. Arrangements were accordingly made by their seconds, and the parties met at ten a.m., near Bagatelle, in the Bois de Boulogne. Swords were the weapons used, and after the antagonists had fought for fifteen minutes, Count de Laroehefoucauld waa wounded m the arm. The seconds then interfered, and put an end to the combat. The wound of Count de Larochefoucauld is not likely to have any serious consequences. Count de TalJy- rand-Perigord also received two slight wounds m the arm and on the cheat. The witnesses for Count de TaUyrand-Pgiigord were the Dukeid Albuffira and General de Focton, and for M. de Roehefoucald the Duke de Doudeauville, Colonel de Gramont, the Duke de Lesparre, and Count Armand de Maille. It is stated that the seconds interposed and put a stop to the duel on Dr. Nelaton formally forbidding the com- batants to continue the encounter.

I EXTRAORDINARY ANP ROMANTIC LAW CASE. A very extraordinary trial has just gone th,ough its last phase at Barcelona,, Spain. In September, 1345, the younger son of the Marquis of Fontenallas., Don Claudio, disappeared, and it was supposed that he had left the country or been captured by the brigands. The latter gentry, in fact, made a claim upon the father for his ransom, but the marquis had his own reasons for believing that it was an attempt at imposition. In 1881, the father beisg then dead, the new marquis, the elder brother of Claudio, received a I letter addressed from Barcelona, stating that the I writer was his long lost brother, and had just arrived from Charleston ia America. An old servant of the family was dispatched to Barcelona, and the moment he touched the deck of the steamer he was recognised and embraced by Don Claudio. On their return the marquis gave his brother a fit ing reception, and seemed able to recognise him, even after the lapse of so many event- ful years. The brothers lived happily together until one morning the police entered the room of Don one morning the police entered the room of Doni Claudio, and arrested him as an impostor. Before the examining magistrate he produced his commission as ensign in the army of Bhenos Ay tea, dated April,' XS57, in which his proper name appeared. He also produced other confirmatory documents. The charge I against him as an impostor was founded on the fact that his sister (as he claimed her to be) discovered: him to be totally ignorant of many circum- stances of his early life which he could not have for- gotten if he were the person he represented himself to be; and that he was in reality Claudio, the son of a tailor, named Felier, who with Lis wife and children i^ntified him in prison. This tailor's son had sailed for Buenos Ayres in February, 1857, and it was therefore argued that it was phy- sically impossible for him to get a commission ¡ in the army of that state by April of the same year. Moreover, the nurse and foster-brother of Don Claudio declared, on the other hand, that the prisoner Was him; and in other respects the testimony was of the most puzzling and conflicting character. When the time for the trial before the higher tribunal; arrived, the examining judge said he had lost the very important documents entrusted to him by the pri- i soner, and this circumstance excited much suspicion. i He was convicted by the judge as an impostor, and sentenced to twelve years' imprisonment—suspicion being further strengthened by the refusal of the judge to hear several of his witnesses. Under those circurn- j stances, a sum of 4$-,000f. was subscribed in Barca- Ion a to oo ver the expenses of an appearand afters I long and tedious delay, the condemnation of the Court c j below has just been confirmed bat the sentence has j been reduced to two instead of twelve years' impri- | sonmcnt. sonmcnt.

THE HOl!,RORS OF WARFARE IN CHINA.. A letter from a gentlemen in China, dated from Amoy, contains the following j— You will be surprised when I tell you that the: Nankin rebels have appeared in large force in this im- mediate neighbourhood, causing the greatest excite-: ment both among Chinese and foreigners. On 14th instant the large district city of Changchow, one tide only distant from Amoy, fell into their hands, and that place is now one mass of Mood and fire. The place contained some 700,000 people. The rebels got in the city in disgu se, and, when their time was come, they closed all the city gates, and commenced an in. discriminate slaughter, at the sarae time firing the city in several places; a few have escaped to tell the; iale of horror. The place is still burning, and dead bodie.s fill the streets—in »oib9 places four feet deep. The rebels, in their march, take all the young an: good-looking girls as cooks and mistresses ? the youn^ and able-bodied men as coolies to carry their lug- gage; while the ill-looking or less-favoured women, and the sick, old, or infirm of both sexes they slaughter without mercy. We fully expect and have been' I looking for their appearance' here for some time, and would not feel surprised any night to be rossed by the alarm of fire. We are, however, preparing to receive them. We have formed ourselves into a volunteer ¡ corps, and every afternoon go through the regular manual and platoon esercisss. Every afternoon we meat on the jetty, and march up to our house with rifle aDd bayonet. Oar appearance, we fondly imagine, is calculated to strike terror into the minds of the qbsophisticated yet lawless natives. The- Commis- sioner is our drill- sergeant, he having been connected with the volunteer movement in London- since its commencement. We are divided into watches through- out the night, both on the Amoy and Kalaagsoo side —Kulangsoo being, as I think I told you before, the name of the small island opposite Amoy, where all the merchantmen and ourselves ("the Customs) have our private residences. Swallow and her tender, the Dove, also render material assistance, their t crews also assisting,in the patrol. On Sunday,_H.M.S. Adventure called in, on her way to Japan, with instruc- tions to wait and see if any assistance were required, j H.M. gunboats Flamer, Opussura, and Janus will be herein a day or two, so we have now material aid quite sufficient to protect us from everything but. fire and assassination. The Chinese themselves^ are utterly helpless; the mandarins collect the thieves daily, and give them each a quantity of cash to be good boy;, I at the present time. The Chinese mer- chants are preparing to flee, chartering vessels at j exorbitant rates in order that they may save them- J selves and treasure at any moment; foreigners, too, j have their office books in small' boxes for convenience j of carriage, and their treasure is lisewiss packed ready of carriage, and their treasure is lisewiss packed ready for shipment at a moment's notice. Trade hfts quite stopped, and this port, only last month one of the most prosperous in the south of China, is now quite para- lysed, and will take a longtime—some thinkyears—to recover. Of coarse things eatable are now advancing in price; yet still butcher's meat and poultry are cheaper here than in England, at least I think so. Beef is about 8 cents per catty, say 4d. per lb.; mutton, 13 cents per catty, 6fd. per lb.; pork, about the same price; fowls, four for a dollar, or^43. 6d.; ducks, about the same price; geese, about 3s. od.each; eggs, a cent (rather more than |d.) each. Luxuries only are expensive, and these we mi^st have. Is would shock you to see our dinner table with sherry, claret, champagne, beer, porter, aud port wine ad libitum. We must be like our neighbours, hence the extravagance, especially at this time, when wo have to entertain our naval friends. The monthly mess bill is pretty hot.

A CHILD MURDERED AND PACKED AS RAILWAY LUGGAGE. On Monday evening Dr. Lankester, coroner for Central Middlesex, held an inquest at the Elephant and Castle, Camden-Tovvn, on the body of a very fine female child, aged about twelve months, which had been discovered packed in a box at the Euston station of the London and No?th Western Railway. The atrocious character of the case excitad great interest. Inspectors M'Lachlan and Gibson, of the S division, were present on the part of the police, and Inspector Pridgeo,-i of the railway force, on the part of the authorities of the London and North Western Company.. „ The evidence went to show that on the morning of the 8th inst., just as the 615 a.m. train was about to start from the Victoria. station, Manchester, vm the Lancashire and Yorkshire H!aihm.y, a, woman gave to Anthony Bond, the- gnt%td, a green-painted box, saying she was going by the train to Preston, and that was her luggage. He placed the1 box on the luggage van and supposed the woman had got into the train. On arriving at Preston, as too one asked for the box, he took it on to Fleetwood, and brought it back at night by the 9.15 p.m. train, and carried it to the left luggage department* The box had a label on it, on which waa Written Mrs. Clegg, pas- senger, Manchester to Preston." After remaining there some days and not being owned, as was the cus- tom on all lines connected with the North Western the box was dispatched' to and arrived a-t the Euston Station "left luggage" department, where on Friday last it was opened to see if there was any clue to the owner. At the top of the box was a thick cloth, and underneath it-straw, which on being removed disclosed the body of a perfectly naked female child, doubled up and lying on its side on some flock plaied at the bottom of the box. Inspector Pridgeon, who was sent for. handed the body over to the metropolitan police. Mr. John Roberts, surgeon of the infirmary of St. Pancras Workhouse, said, when brought there, the child had been dead some days. It had cut both its upper and lower front teeth, and was, he should say, about twelve months old. The hair was long, the child had been well nourished, and there were no external marks of violence, but its limbs were rigid. On making a post mortem examination he found con- gestion of the brain, lungs, and kidneys, and on the right side of the heart there was a, quantity of dark blood. There was fluid in the stomach, which he had tested, but could find no traces of poison. The child ha.d evidently met with a violent death from suffo- cation. The-body was perfectly healthy in every way. The Coroner said this evidence pointed to the fact that a moat, atrocious and deliberate murder had been perpetrated, and to the probability that the child had been packed into this box alive. The appearances showed all the evidence of suffocation. He would leave it to the jury to say if they would return a ver- dict of wilful murder, or adjourn to enable the police to trace the guilty parties. The inquiry was ultima.tely adjourned. .&

SUNDAY OPENING OF MUSEUMS, fre. The, adjourned conference of working men, convened under the auspices of the Clerkanwell Working Men's Christian Union, to discuss the question, Is is ad. visable to open the public museu-is, &c., on Sundays P" met in the Spafields Lecture-hall, Exmoath-street, Clerkenwell, under the presidency of Captain Fish- bourne, B.N. The hall was crowded in every parfc._ Mr. J. Baxter Langley reviewed the the logical aspect of the case, contending that, by the Christian religion, all Mosaic observances were abrogated, and that, although all other commands of the Decalogue were re-imposed, Christ did not re-institute the Sabbath. Mr. W. E. Shipton (hon. secretary to the Young Men's Christian Association), denied that ail those, or even a majority of them, who advocated Lord's Day observance, did so upon Jewish grounds. As to the re-institution of the Sabbath, we had, in the references to the Lord's Day of which Christian literature from the first century was fall, a clear expression of the mind and will of our Lord, and incontrovertible evi- dence of the apostles' observance of the Lord's Day. Mr. Grisselle adduced a number of historical facts relative to defective Sabbath observance by preachers of Christianity. Mr. Winton (a City missionary), replying to the argument that the opening of museums would with- draw working men from public-houses, pointed to the circumstance that during the hours for which it was ■Sought to open those institutions, public-houses were closed by law. Were it the question of museums against publie-housag, he would prefer the former; but he wanted neither of them, to deprive working men of their rightful rest on Sundays. After a few words from Mr. P. W. Perfitt, Ph.D. (Lecturer to the Society of Independent Religious Reformers), and Mr. J. Kenny, in favour of the open- ing of museums on Sundays, Mr. Frederic Cox, and the Rev. Henry Stevens, M.A. (secretary to the Lord's Day Observance Society), against such opening, an adjournment to Cambridge-hail, Newman-street, was proposed and agreed to; and a joint committee was formed to carry into effect the necessary ararngements,

s=——■ HONEY OR YOUR LIFE, Robert Atkin, described as a farmer, and who gave an address in Crawford-street, Bryanston-square, was placed at the bar before the Lord Mayor of London at the Mansion-house, a few days since, charged with ob- taining < £ 91 2&. from Mr. Brown, a merchant-in Fen- church-street, by threatening to-shoot him. Mr. Denton, from the office of Messrs. Freshfteld, the solicitors to the Bank of England, conducted the prosecution. Mr. William Sebon Brown said s I am a :meront, having a -placci of business at 34, Feiaohuroh-slsreet, and reside at Hociodale-house, Nutfield, Surrey. I formerly resided at Shanghae as a member of the firm of Birley, Worthington, and Co., of that place, merchants. I left Shanghw in April, 1858, and returned to England. I use the office of Mr. Lidderdale at 34, FMchuroh- street, in this City. The prisoner, aecompanted by a woman, called upon me at the- outer office of Mr. Lidderdalo about one o'closk- yesterday, and, they were shown-its to the back room by an office boy. As soon as I entered the room to speak, to, them the prisoner went to the door, and patting his back against it, drew a revolver pistol from' his pocket, and said, "My name is Atkin, and I want my money." I replied that I did not owe him any money. He repeated the same words more than once, still holding tho pistol in his hand, not pointing it at me, holding tho pistol in his hand, not pointing it at me, but holding it downwards. He said, "I am a desperate man, and mast have my money befe-re I leave this room." After some further parley, I told him I should pav, kim the money, and give him into the custody of a constable. I tried to get to the door to open it. He repeated that he must have his money before he left thcr room. i proposed that the woman who accompanied him should call in my Mend, meaning Mr. Lidderdale, who would probably pay the money. The woman left apparently for that purpose, and presently returned, accompanied by Mr. Lidderdale, who, on hearing what had passed, wrote a cheque- for £91 2s. on his banker's, j The cheque was sent to the bank, and cashed. Mr. Lidderdale himself brought the money, Which consisted of £ 90- in bank-notes (a ^850 note and two for zC20 eooh) and a florin. The prisoner demanded upwards of R100 of me. The woman j showed me some papers,, which I handed tonlyfriendi Mr. Lidderdale, and he in tarn handed them to the i prisoner.. They appeared to me to be accounts and documents relating, to the ship Dennis Hill. The prisoner eventually agreed to take =- £ 91 2s. The money was placed on a table with that view and he took it up, signing immediately afterwards the receipt pro. disced. Every now and then until he get the msaey j he kept drawing the pistol out of his pocket. An officer at length came in with Mr Lidderdale, and they were present when the money was paid to the is prisoner. I was under the belief that the prisoner would have fired the pistol if I had attempted to leave the room or if I had not paid him the money. I am now liable to Mr. Lidderdale for the amount of the cheque. I was- in bodily fear, and bat for that I should not have paid the prisoner the money. At the very beginning of the interview I told the prisoner that my firm had nothing to do with the freight of the vessel, and they had only acted as agents ia chartering bar. About a year and a half ago I sgw the prisonez. He then, called on me at the same office, Up to that time I had not heard or known anything about the. freight of the Dennis Hill. Besides,, the question of freight was no business of mine. On that occasion the prisoner told niO that he had been the roaster of the ship Dennis HNl; that the vessel had some years before been, chartered to go from Foochow to New York that she was required for the firm of Birley and Co., of Foochow, of which house I was not nor am I now a partner; and that the ship was at Shanghae, aad that she arrived at New York; there some dispute arose about the freight. I said I would make inquiry into the matter, and that if I found there was anything due to him I should endeavour to g'et it back again. I told hisi I was not a partner in the firm of Birley and Co., of Foochow, that I did this as a friendly act; and I toM him to call again in a day or two. I made inquiries, and he called again. I then told him he had been trying to perpetrate a fraud on the consignees at New York, and that I de- clined to interfere at all in the matter. He became in- solent, and I requested him to leave the office, which he did. This was about the middle of July, 1863. A day or two afterwards I received a threatening letter bear- ing his signature, which I can produce. From that time until the present I had not sean the prisoner. I had instructed my solicitor to defend me against the proceedings which the prisoner had commenced against me. Mr. William Lidderdale: I am a merchant at 34 Fen church-street, and partner in the firm of Rathbone Brothers, of Liverpool. A few days ago the prisoner called upon me with his wife, and asked for Mr. Brown, giving as his name, Mr. Johnson." I told him Mr. Brown was out, upon which the prisoner left, but did not return that day. On Friday the prisoner called again. I was, out at the time, and on my return I heard high words in the back room, whieh my friend Mr. Brown occupied. Soon afterwards the prisoner's wife came into the room, calling "Chaplin," the name of the office boy. The boy went in, and brought a message to me, upon which I entered the room where the altercation was going on. I could not get in for a minute or two, as some one appeared to be pressing against the door from behind. The door was opened by the prisoner, and I found him standing with a pistol in his left hand. Mr. Brown said to me, Here's a man who threatens to shoot me if I do not pay a claim he has made upon me." Turning to the prisoner, I said that was an extra- ordinary way of enforcing a claim. The prisoner replied that he was a desperate man, and had been driven to it; that he was very hard up, and had seen a long time trying to get the money. I argued with him a few minutes, and then his wife produced some papers, some of which were handed to me. I looked at one or two of them, and among them appeared to be the copy of an affidavit made in New York by Messrs, Weston and Grey, in which they had declared they had tendered to the prisoner I 383 dolk'js and 42 cents, and that he had refused to receive them. The affidavit was in connection with the freight of the ship Dennia Hill. Mr. Brown then said it was not worth while going ainy fuitT or into documents, and that he thought he had bett ? pay the money and have the prisoner appre- her \x. I warned the prisoner myself that he would be in charge if he demanded the money, The reply was that he was quite prepared. Mr. Brown assured the prisoner more than once that he hai nothing to do with the ship. He then asked me to pay the money for him, upon which I wrote a cheque for = £ 91 2s. upon my bankers, Messrs. Brown, Janson, and Co., of Abohurch-lane. The prisoner refused to take the cheque, lest, he said, I should play some trick upon him. I then sent ,the cheque to be cashed, and the messenger returned with the money, a policeman entering the room at the satae time. The money was put into my hands, and I passed it to the prisoner, who then, in my presence, wrote the bottom part of the receipt produced, in these words—As part payment of the fright (sic.) earned by barque Dennis Hill, Robert Atkin." Over those words the following had been previously written: —" Received from W. S. Brown, Esq., ninety-one pounds 2s. (.£91 2a.) the equivalent, at 43. 2d. exchange, of W3 (three hundred: and eighty.three dollars), with interest at 5 per cent. for two years and ten months. London, 20th January." The prisoner had the pistol all this while, sometimes in his pocket and sometimes in his hand. As he was leaving the office Mr. Brown gave him into custody. Police constable Cusknie corroborated the above evidence. Charles Newman, assistant messenger from the Court of Bankruptcy, Basinghall-street, produced the proceedings in the bankruptcy of the prisoner, Robert Atkin, described as of Chapel-hill, Walthamshow, farmer. The petition, he said, was filed by the bank- rupt on the 2nd of November, 1864, and he was adjudged a bankrupt on the same day. On the 22nd of December the examination of the bankrupt was adj alirnotd sine dic, because of no accounts having been rendered. At the request of the solicitor for the prosecution the Lord Mayor remanded the prisoner, declining to entertain the prisoner's request to admit him to bail.

THE BIGHT lION. T. M. GIBSON AND HIS CONSTITUENTS. [ On Tuesday evening Mr. Milner Gibson, President of the Board of Trade, addressed a crowded and enthu- siastic meeting of his constituents in the Town-hall, at Ashton-raider-Lyne. The entrance of the right hon. gentleman with the Mayor, Dr. Gait, Mr. Hugh Mason, and others, was signalled by loud cheering. Afcer being introduced by the Miyor, amidst renewed applause Mr. Gibson said, although we had removed a great number of protective duties and made important fiscal reforms, which must be of immense benefit to the country, we could not have the full advantages of a free trade policy unless reciprocity on the part of foreign nations was to a great extent realised. He considered that for such progress as had taken place, and might yet be achieved, we should be mainly indeMedi to Mr. Cobden-(cheors) -who, by break- ing down the prohibitive system in France, had taken the first step to breaking down the pro- hibitive system of Europe (loud cheers). France had already concluded contracts which would ripen into treaties with Turkey, Belgium, Italy, the Zoll- verein, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, and Holland; and into as equal share of. the mutual advantages of these treaties England either had been or would be admitted by treaties simultaneously concluded. France, urged forward by the success of her new commercial policy, was at the present moment engaged in considering a most important subject-namely, a great relaxation of her navigation laws and, if effected, this-might be of as great advantage to the commerce and industry of this country as the pre- vious reductions in the French tariff of import duties (hear, hear). Speaking of the anti-malb tax agitation as one carried on mainly by gentlemen connected with the Conservative party, he said he quite agreed with a noble lord who spoke at a recent meeting on the subject, in the opinion that the question of the loss of ifsvoarte which would he occasioned by repeal of the tax was the Chancellor of the Exchequer's busi- mess; a-ncl he also thought that when gentlemen on the one hand supported a very large expenditure, they must, on the ather hand, provide the Chancellor of the Exchequer with the-ways and means of meeting it (cheers). A friend of his, who spoke at this malt- ta.x meeting, had said that the reduction of the taxes on coffee, sugar, tea, and some other articles of that kind, was neveoomplained of, and he maintained the malt-tax repealers were entitled to an equality of justice. Now, admitting this claim, how, would the matter stand P He' had taken the trouble to write down what proportion the malt-tax hore. to the tea, edfee, and sugar duties. He found that on tea, taking the retail price at three shillings per pound, the duty as it existed at present, of Is. per lb., amounted to 33l per cant. Taking coffee at the retail price of la. 4d. par lb., and paying a duty of 3d. per lb., it gave a per-centage of duty on the tea price of 19 per cent. Taking fc^owri sugar, he found by alike calculation that the duty upon it waa 22 pfer cent.; but if he to mitlt, and allowed that a quart of porter was worth 4d;, he-found that the per-centage of cfasfcy upon the price was, only 12g. per ceat. Speaking of Mr. Disraeli's advocacy of a new ecclesiastical court of appeal, he said he was afraid that in these days it would be considered that such a tribunal savoBred of a kind of Holy Inquisition, and that it would put an end to all freedomofthought and intel- lectual activity amongst the clergy of the Church; and as the distinguished p^opounder of this scheme said it was for the benefit of the laity, he (Mr. Gibson), as one of that Church laity, did not, thank him for making tho proposal (hear). On the subject of parlia- mentary reform, he contended that the successive ad- ministrations which had brought forward projects for amending and then abandoned them were not alone responsible for the disappointing re- sults, inasmuch as no Government having once laid a bill upon the table of the Hoasewould have dared to recede from their position if the great body of electors of England had shewn that they were determined to keep them to their promises (cheara). He should be glad to see the electoral body earnestly supporting such a measure as would at least have the effect to a certa,in extent of extending the political power of the unenfranchised working industry of this country. In | reference to the American war, he could not sympa- thiee with the South, who were in the position of part- ners in a firm who had separated from the rest in a violent manner without cause, and for the purpose of establishing principles which heforonethollghtwonld never permanontly reign in this world (cheers). The struggle was reallv one between slavery and freedom, and he could not see that the Confederacy had shown signs of being able to establish upon lasting foundations the empire which it had shadowed forth to the world. He was not about to make any predictions, but he was there to state that her Majesty's Government were disposed now, as they had baen, to observe a strict and impartial neutrality between the belligerents (cheers). He trusted that at the termination of the war we might see relations of permanent friendship established between this country aid the United States, and that the emancipation of the slaves might be one of the consequences of the fearful struggle (loud cheers), A vote of confidence in the right hon. member was passed with acclamation. 1

Live Porpoise in the Zoological GardGiis.- After several ineffectual attempts the authorities of the Zoological Gardens have succeeded in adding to their collection a porpoise which seems likely to be- come a permanent denizen of their attractive gardens. The present specimen was captured by some fishermen at Deal, about a fortnight since, and safely trans. ported to London by railway under the care of Ten- nent, the society's keeper, who has been employed in all former experiments of the same nature. When received at the gardens the porpoise was much bruised about, the face and eyes, probably from attempts to escape during capture, and at first refused to feed. He has, however, improved by degrees, and now takes his meals regularly. These consist of live eels, which he catches for himself, and herrings and other fish which are supplied to him by his keeper at the end of a fishing rod. Owing to his delicate state of health, the porpoise has as yet only been permitted to receive the visits of a privileged few, but in the course of a few days, it is believed he will be open to public in. spection, and will no doubt attract a host of admirers.

THE D1 FORCE AND PBOBA TE CO UR The Divorce Court has been the means of unz [ ling; many more strange stories and depiotinga gr& j variety of scenes in married life than-either the H f of Lords cr the. House of Commons wsre oropare I when they passed the Act constituting "that « Lords Cranworth and Brougham did not antic that more than from eightesn to twenty cases a i could .arise; yet we find that in the first seven ye" ii»8i existence more than two thousand petitioB? not only presented, but the causes tried and t cated upon. The first stage of the oparation of ) was regarded merely as the accumulation of o1 11 The late Sir: Cress well Cresswell, it ia said, ws same opinion, but as time wore on and fre. 3 came in, he found that he could not grapple w. E unless he was invested with the power of to court, that is, that he ahoold represent three j But even their the cases completely baffled all h E culationa, and although he then firmly believed „ he could keep the work under, before his dea 1 admitted that it was hopeless. The, present a appears to hold the same opinion, and, j t from the list of causes ready for trial, 1 doubtless come to the same conclusion as t Sir Cresswell Cresswell, that he cannot,, work nat P as he may, keep the causes so in hand, as to I l. enabled to deal justly with them. Divorce causes J }' must be borne in mind, are very different to t 11 ordinary cases that come before a court of law. the latter, trials arise on questions of debt, infring1 :1 ment of contracts or patents, and of libel; but thes e cases can afford to wait. Not so, however, with & ly spect to cases affecting matrimonial life. Here is > wife striving to get free from her husband's cruel! Ie and adultery; he (the- husband) brings forward tI\ nl criminatory charges; the characters of both are < k stake, and they are mutually shunned by their friend b until the guilt or innocence of either party is proved Therefore, it is most essential that in divorce cae" there should be as speedy a despatch as possibl 41 The published list shows that there are 156 cases doW,, kg for trial in the present term. Sir James PlaisteP Wilde is notoriously a hard-working man, and will g I through as many cases as he possibly can, but he ca. tl not get through all, even if he were to sit from tell. t( in the morning until six at night. The case of Codriilt tonv. Codrington and Anderson lasted some sevendayl ?o and that of Chetwynd v. Chetwynd has occupied tel). <5 days and if rumours current are to be relied upo, p there are several others, which, it is believed, will OCCUp,1 ij, similar periods. The delay thus occasioned practicafu amounts to a denial of justice, because a man row j have saved up a sufficient sum of money to meet tb1 expense of his suit, supposing that it was to come °\ f in the same way as in any other court of law, but k' Hi cannot afford to have a host of witnesses in Landor: 1 j from all parts of the country, to keep them sevetl ? days in town, then have to send them back, Midtb^ L bring them up the next term. Experience shows tfcjj i| it is easy to get a wife, but excessively costly to get ,v: io of her, even if she be the sorriest prostitute that ev*; ?) walked the streets. The simple fact is that it isl perfect absurdity for any judge, however able petent he may be, to take upon himself the duties'^ judge of the Probate and the Divorce Court. The f) ) perience, after seven years, has shown that the dut cf two positions are incompatible. Probate aA divorce busiaeas have not the slightest connection wh»f It ever, and it was an absurdity from the first to place thEt together. Probate cases require a special knowledj, i: which can only be acquired after a deep study of the o'j ecclesiasticalandprobatelaws. Probate businessrelav 0' entirely to the administration of property, and to SO n that wills are properly administered. Divorce busine4 ir on the other hand, has to deal with the most sac^i institution we have. The one decides upon t tj which is perishable, whilst the other has-to solvet, it- most delicate questions, in comparison to which tu ¡vi acquirement of wealth stands very secondary. WW then, in the name of common sense, should the settw !&j ment of these very important questions be placed the hands of' one man f It is asking of him, let him tl' (.5 ever so able, mo-re than his physical powers can enabK him to grapple with. BuS, putting the question of ttt y* labour of the judge altogether aside, there is the pub" 76 to be considered. Why should they have their cans** ;e stand from time to time at an enormous cost 0l £ their pocket, and far more serious injury to th ith happiness, from delay P It is a-n old but true prover. diii that, bis da,I, qui cito dai," and the fftime principj rn-i should, aoaordingf to this, apply to the Divorce CoW J It is scarcely possible to conceive a more j position for either a husband or a wife, who, aft* harrowing consideration and doubt, determines to a petition, and to bring his or her sorrows before tp) ,f public, to have the case hung over their heads f| twelve months, or even longer, as is more frequer.fcfl the case. If the case is defended, both parties are lat a certain extent friendless, for no respectable wont | would care to visit another with the charge of adult f j. hanging over her head; neither would any respect" j) family receive into their dwelling a man upon v 1 such a serious charge was made. It is enough;, S( conscience to suffer the misery of believing in/ wronged, without having it made patent U A world. But there is no wrong without a r> and in the case before us it seems to bb simple, namely, that of severing the business o the Eirobate and Divorce Court. There isj as wflW have endeavoured to show, not slightest con* neetion between the two; in fact, on the contrary?*'11 they are singularly incongruous. Let there be a judge of the Probate Court, and when the present aged but II¡: talented judge of the Admiralty Court retires, let his ri successor take the two offices, and let a judge and an assistant-judge be appointed for the Divorce Court. One judge a,lone, from the present state of the printed a cause list, cannot be expeoted to get through it, to do « justice to the litigants; but an assistant judge mighj and would aid materially in advancing the business of the court, so that the hearing of a petition should nøt M be delayed beyond three months from its being-pTfl'ra sent,od,- 1

A CAPTAIN DISOWNING HIS WIFE. Mr. Fildew, the relieving officer for parish Rotherhithe, accompanied fey a lady-like look)1"! S person, addressed Mr. Traill at the G-reanwich Poli^ co art, and said he had an application of a singuJJ nature to make to his worship, to grant a summ$j against Captain Francis John Taylor, of the sWr Refuge, now lying in the import basin of W0?. India Docks, for deserting, and also for disowning,. J wife, who waa then present, and had become char^.i able to the pariah Rotherhithe. From inquiries?! had made, and from a certificate of marriage ha | in his hand, it appeared that the parties were mardf.l at the parish church of Monkwearmouth, in the cou"*M of Durham, on the 81st of January, 1852, the preS^ '< applicant s maiden name being Margaret Presh^ f- For eight or nine years the wif0 had received 1 husband's half-pay while he was at sea, and ha<J I received many letters from him> soma of which 8j had now in her possession but about four years awl her money allowance was discontinued, and T' | correspondence had f'0M that time ceased. Lr J j ing, however, tha*> her husband's ship had I a few days since *n the West India Dock s f was induced to Isave Monkwearmouth < < to London. Ongoing down to the d J husband, addressed him as sue' •, H all know^ge of having ever befoi 0 would &PPear that Captain Taylor years ag°j been married to a young lady,. '1 embassy in Paris, and^ that the second wife f J on board the vessel, with a child only five montbs 4,1 t —Mr. Traill ha,t proof have. you, besides the tOs mony of the wife, that Captain Taylor is the parse she says to whom she was married ?-Mr. Filde. There are the letters in his handwriting I have allufe to, and the wife has put herself in communication rii the Board of Trade, and the number of the regisWf certificate of Captain Taylor, of the ship Refuge, iste sama as that the wife knew the number of his o. ficate to be at the time of their marriage.—Mr. Trl: If there has been a second marriage this matter ty, assume a criminal form, and it will then becoia, question how far the wife's sworn testimony ae may be taken.—The wife There is a person living Monkwearmouth who was present at the MaTri), ( and who can speak to his identity, and whom In t obtain as a witness.—Mr. Traill: In that case yo, :i", have a summons, which was accordingly granted, n t ) ——————*——————

A Slight Difference!-An Irishman ask( > friend, Will ye dine with me to-morrow ? H Fait1 an' I will, with all my heart," was the reply. ":R mimber, 'tis only a family dinner I'm axing ye And, why not ? A family dinner is a mighty plisai I thing. What have ye got?" "Ooh! nothmg at K but an illigant piece of corned beef and potato^* ft "By the powers! that bates the world* Just my ov- E dinner to a hair-&arrm<7 the bee!