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J TOWK TALK.I

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J TOWK TALK. I BY Otra SPBOIAtt COBBESPONDENT. j --+-- 01w tt&dw# win underafancl thai we do not hold ourselvu fooon- tibltfor our able Correspondent's opinions. THE Zoological Gardens have got a new attrac- tion in the shape of a sea bear, which, in default of whales, occupies the whale pond. He was brought to the gardens towards the end of last week. He is not unlike a seal, but much larger. He is watehed by his master, a Frenchman, who has trained him to come out of the water and kiss him, and also to respond to Ohantez" with what, I suppose, must be characterised a s a musical growl. This interesting animal came very near me, where- upon the Frenchman ran between us, crying, "Regardez-vous." "Would he bite?" I asked. "Oh, oui, oui;" and by way of corroboratory evidence he showed his right hand, the fingers of which were crippled up. In the monkey-house they are putting glass outside the lower part of the cage, as, notwithstanding all the warnings, children would go near the monkeys and get hurt. The young zebra, born a few months ago, is now nearly full grown, and is a fine healthy animal. THE accounts published last week of Gordon's trial have renewed the discussion of Gordon's character, and of the justice or injustice of his sentence. Commenting on these accounts, all the papers, with the exception of the Standard and Herald, say that there was not suffi- cient evidence of Gordon's guilt; and the Pall-wall Gazette conclu<^f an abjtf article with the words, "Our name and/nation will be disgraced for ever if it (the condemnation of Gordon) is not inquired into to the very bottom, and if those who are responsible for it are not punished in an exemplary manner, unless they succeed inputting upon the^whole transaction a totally aifferent colour from that which it bears at present." When the reader remembers that Taylor—the greatest authority on evidence—warns us against hearsay evidence, and utterly scouts it when any other, can be obtained; when he remembers that depositions are never admissible unless "it is proved that the person making such deposition is dead, or that he is so ill that he is not able to travel;" when he remembers that the best evidence must always be obtained, and that the law holds" that it is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent person suffer "-he will understand why the Times has changed its tone in relation to a trial, the evi- dence on which was made up of depositions of people in imperfect health, of hearsay, and of the partially direct testimony of an ignorant black, of a conversation that took place as far back as June or July. Every allowance must be made for the excitement that must have prevailed, and we should remember and hope, for the honour of our country, that it is just possible fuller infor- mation may be forthcoming. But should this hope prove fallacious? Then there cannot be much doubt that the officers who sat on that court-martial will occupy a most unenviable position. Commander Brand is in England, and it is extraordinary he has not volunteered som e information. At a club where gentlemen chiefly connected with the bar debate, the Jamaica ques- tion was discussed some time ago, and the feeling, as shown at the end of the meeting, was entirely in favour of Governor Eyre and the officers. But I see they are about to discuss next week the question whether these officers ought to be in- dieted; and it is generally understood that the opinions of a large number of the members have undergone a change in relation to Gordon's trial. A MOST important meeting was held last week at the Mansion-house, the Lord Mayor presiding, to protest against railways, contractors, and speculators robbing London of her commons and open spaces. Those who remember what Hamp- stead-heath was-when it was the favourite haunt of the "Cockney school," and poor Edward Irving found it a congenial place for his wild but eloquent denunciations—and who know what it is now, will appreciate any efforts made to raise a barrier against the aggressive brick and mortar of the nineteenth century. It is quite evident, as Mr. Locke pointed out, that the law is in favour of the people. It is to be hoped that a meeting so large and important will not have expressed its opinions in vain. IN a place like London, to which wealth and population are ever flowing, one of the great problems for the poor man is-how is he to get a cheap and comfortable dwelling ? The railways have rendered this problem trebly difficult to solve. If you walk from King's-cross into St. Pancras, as I did on Wednesday, you will see on your way something like a hundred or a hundred and fifty houses untenanted. They are houses fit for working men; and you ask how is it they are all empty ? The answer is, as in a dozen other places in London, the railway." Always the railway. Now, where have the recent tenants of these houses gone to live ? Their businesses hare kept them in London. They have been obliged to go to districts quite crowded enough before; hence, the fever-nests in Marylebone and other localities. Where is the remedy to be found ? It is proposed that houses should be built more into the air, so as to distribute the cost of the site amongst many floors. We want, in fact, streets in the air. Instead of corridors, as in the model lodging-houses, let there be broad continuous balconies, which would have the advantage of being convenient thoroughfares. Some arrangement should be made so as not to exclude too much light. The Times proposes the creation of a ministry for London, and some ) persons propose a special commission. The one thing that is clear is, that Government having given railways power to turn poor men out of their homes, should do something to repair the injury thus inflicted. HILARY term ended on Wednesday, the 31st of last month. A very large number of men have been called to the bar this term. By the way, those who think of going to the bar will be glad to know that a new precedent has been created. j If a man passes an examination with honours, two terms are dispensed with, and he is allowed to be called after ten terms. A gentleman in the Middle Temple applied for a similar dispensation, he wanting to practise under the bar. The benchers were at first disinclined to grant his application, on the ground tha.t .there was po pre- ( eedent. They, however, at length acceded. As practising under the bar is every day becoming more common, being, indeed, the best way of learning one's profession, the above information will be read with pleasure by all who take an interest in the somewhat curious process by which a man becomes a barrister. THE decision in the case of Charlotte Winsor —namely, that after a jury has been dismissed a new trial can take place will deprive guilty prisoners of nearly every chance of escape. It will also do away with a good deal of the cruelty to which juries have been at time3 subjected. But it is the opinion of some very able lawyers that in State trials many inconveniences will arise from this decision—inconveniences affecting both Government and prisoner. I WAS sorry to read the speech of Mr. Alderman Dillon, M.P., at the National Association in Dublin. When we consider the fate of those young men recently tried, and how much Ireland has already suffered from treasonable bunkum, it is a lamentable thing to find that the race of noisy demagogues has not utterly died out yet-men who can talk of France and America as likely to assist Ireland against England are the true enemies of that country. IT is proposed to make two tunnels under the Thames-one near Poplar, the other below Lon- don-bridge. The latter is to be a pneumatic rail- way line, for connecting the southern railways with the City and the northern railways; the other tunnel is for carriage and foot-passengers, to connect Deptford with the Isle of Dogs. Con- sidering that the present Thames Tunnel is chiefly used for selling nick-nacks and showing photo- graphs of the Prince of Wales, I am not very sanguine about these tunnels. That they would be a great convenience is, however, the opinion of large numbers of City men and persons whose business takes them into the neighbourhood of the Isle of Dogs. Z. i.

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