The Brecon Reporter and South Wales General Advertiser

-—■— ♦ -p.,Fatal Boiler Explosion.—A boiler at the South jetton collief-y, near Hartlepool, burst, a day Of WO qnf' fatal and destructive reSuUs. The firemau, wp.rn1^ .obiriaon, was killed, and five other workmen daeri?us^y injured. The boiler, which weighed up- five tons, waa torn to pieces, twiated in the u j. ra°rdinary manner, and fragments scattered KA ~?c,evei? direction; eiid Was pitched aborat 50 ahotit 18 feet of it was throvvn ovor the top oi .a -1. ^8 known as the granary, carrying away a portion o ho roof and about four feet of the vfall. The mam Potion of the boiler, weighing upwards of three tons, w hurled at a distance of about 200 yards; alighting i*1 P °ughed. field on the rent part, and then, turning over on to the oval end, rebounded other BO or 40 y aras, a ^aa lodged in the railway embank- meiit. The huge r gment paa8e(j directly over the head of"»n olQ man named Joseph Snrtees, who wag coming up tus ^6TOral bars belongifag to the Era grattDg were bio«ra an enormous height into tho air, and, althongli eigM leeclong, when they descended to the earth, they were nearly buried, perpendicularly. The building adjacent, wlaion. was a pick shop, was un- roofed-, and the walla Diown town, buryiag four per- Ions in the! raiDS.

THE HOUSELESS POOB. A- clatial- pauper, who was a cripple, was brought before the Lord Mayor charged with assaulting Henry KelloWay, the sup^rintondent of the houseless poor ward of; th'6 Bast -London Unioh, in the-execu-tion of his duty. ) The complMnant- deposed that about half^past two o'clock on Thursday morning the prisoner was brought by a City poKce-eotastable to the houseless poor ward, in New-street, Bishopfegate. Theconstablè told hira he-had brought a'man and woman withtwo children, who were destitute. Witness put on his clothes and went to the door, telling the applicants that they would have to taokeabath and do work in the morning. They were admitted, and the wOitoaii, with the two children, went into the female ward with; witness's wife, and the- pri soner into thie malfe'side'with him. He took him into the'bath-roOm, and, turning the water on, asked him to stSrip himself and go into this bath, the praeue?, putting his han4 -into the water, asking if it was cold waiter. Witness said it was,' but that he could have it as hot or cold as hov liked. The prisoner refined to take a bath, adding-that neither the constable nor the Lord Mayor himself should make him take one that night. As he was turning on the cold water the pri- soner struck him on this shoulder, knocking him down in the baith-room. He got up, seized the prisoner,' and repeatedly asked him to go into the bath. The pri- soner still refused; and, in a seufSe between them, the prisoner slipped send fell against the socket of a lo'ok,: cutting: his head; Witness went to the Bishops- gate police-station, and brought the same constable who had taken thelprisonet to the ward. The police- man repeatedly asked him to take a bath, but he re- fused, and made use of very abusive language. I then had him locked up, and now charge him with com- mitting an assault on me while in the execution of my duty. The prisoiter, interposing; aaidhe was a cripple, and '1 had had his collar-bone broken; The complainant wanted him to take a cold bath. He replied that he did not want one, and that he wanted to leave the' place, but wa/s'not allowed to go. The complainant said the prisoner's wife, who, with the two children, was now in the house, had told him that the prisoner had been wandering about for the last five months, and would not go into a workhouse. His shoulder was dislocated, and if the prisoner had said that when he came to the ward he would have been exempted from work. The prisoner complained of the superintendent's ill- usage of him; On the right side of the head he had A, wound which was caiusfed by the fall, and which had bled profusely. The Lord Mayor, addressing the superintendent, said when a man went to the ward he was first told to take a bath. But supposing he refused ? The Superintendent: Then we turn him out. The-Lord Mayor: Why was n6t that done in this case ? The man Wanted to go out. The-Superintendent: He would not go without his wife, who begged iae to keep her in with the children, otae of which was a baby only a mentih old. The prisoner said-he did not want to go into the cold bath, he wanted to go out. The constable, in reply to the prisoner, said he did not heat him use any bad language to the superinten- dent. The Lord' Mayor observed that the prisoner in the condition in -^hibh he was did not appear able to knock dowc a big powerful man like the superintendent. He (the Lord Mayor) could not have supposed the superintendent of a houseless poor ward would tell a man who went; there at two or three in the morning, as in this case, that he must plunge into a cold bath as the condition on which he was to receive shelter there for the night. That Would be a cruelty which nothing could justify; There was no doubt the superintendent in this case, aii perhaps in others, had a great deal of difficulty in the'disdharge of'his duty, but at the same time he should know that he must ndtin any way have reObUrse tO violorfoe. The prisoner, who was a Cripple, did not appear powerful enough to Knock the complain- ant down. No doubt, people who came under the de- nomination of the houseless poor had a great many faults, but when any of them sought shelter for a night the superintendent must deal" with them as firmly as he could, but still, oft the other hand, as kindly as he eould.^ He should, under the circumstances, discharge eould. He should, under the circumstances, discharge theprisoner.

THE LATE MR, W. F. WINDHAM. The death of this unfortunate young man was very suddeii. He had not been quite well for a day or two, but no dangerous symptbma presented themselves until Friday morning, about 10 o'clock, when the deceased told ah assistant at the Norfolk Hotel, Norwich, who had been in the habit of attending upon him, that he felt very unwell. Only about an hour previous he had partaken with apparent relish of some coffee and toast, and at. that time he told the waiter thatf :helw&s much better. Mr. Bailey, a surgeon, who had been sent for, arrived shortly after 10 a.m. on Friday. He at once observed- the dangerous character of the attack, and requested that additional advice might be called in. Dh Baitemah and Dr. Eade were accordingly sedt- fjr.; but Mt; Windhani gradually s-änk and died in the presence of the three medical gentlemen and two or three of the hotel serva early in the evening. A telegram ailhOhhcilig the state of atfairs had been forwarded to Lieutenant- General Windham, in London, but the gallant officer was not present when his nephew died, although he arrived shortly afterwards. A telegram Wttg also sent to Mrs. Windham, who is understood to be in Paris. A post-mortem examihatrOn was made of the corpse of the deceased (who, it may be added, was in his 26th year), the result, however, did not reveal anything suspicious, and it was' not considered necessary to hold an iiiquSat. lit is uttdertstood that death WaS attributable to, cOngos'ttoii of the lungs- and heart diaeaae; the decdasect'ij habits, it is also said, had been increasingly intemperate of late. He had squandered away his firsi-fbx-tuue, of wMch he obtained the control by the verclict of a Westminster juty in January;, 1862; but Ineanli had been placed at his disposal to enable' hitri ttt live comfortably and res- pectably if her had choseft to have done so. Mr. Wiftdham would, in 18G0, have become entitled" to" aft estate at Han worth, Norfolk, the net relltal frbm which is from ^8&,000 to < £ 6,000 ijer"Annutn-. B\t'Mr. Windham's death' this estate reverts to Mrs: Wind- haift's iiifattt ehild. Thb deceased's life iteured to the extent of < £ 12,000 in five different offieea, ana th6 p^li^ea art fheld by Mrs; Windham, as being: in- cluded in a purchase made by her of Mr. Windham's life iftt6*yst'ifi the'Haft#brth estate. On the whole, it: seelfts plain' that although Mr. Windhatn has perished misetably. hiraffairs, for some time to come, will affatd'a coft&id&rible amount of: employiiieht to merftbeW of the legal profession. The Morning Star has the following in a leading article;— The once famous, lately forgotten, hero of the great Windham cause is dead. He will never wear plush livery, or act as guard to a; train, or drive amail coach, or set families by the earw and the tongues of forensic oiatora iH-motion any worb. If notoriety were fame (and not every body can distinguish the one from the other), Mr. Windham might at one time have beeft deemed the most illustrious man in England. For a whole L. month and more the eyes of England, and, indeed, of Europe, were turned upon him and the history of his coarse, vulgar, and witless eccentricities. In mere than one sense, so disgraceful a cause scarcely ever came before an English tribunal as the Windham case. It was disgraceful because of the filthy and disgusting details which- were dragged into light; ib was disgraceful to our system of jutisprudteae in its slowness, its monstrous expense, its absurd accumu- lation of superfluous testimony and advocacy. The hearing of the causa before Mr. Warren ocon. pied 34 days, Beginning in December, 1861, it dragged on to the close of January, 1862. Half the leading bar of Em gland arrayed itself on the one side, the other half on the other. Witnesses were brought from all parts of England, Ireland, and Scotland, from the Continent—oven from the depths of Russia. What was the cost ? The most moderate calculation, we believe, put it down at £ 20,000; we have seen it estimated £ 60,000. All this was to ascertain whether an an extravagant, eccentric young man WAS sane (that is, sane enough to be allowed to spend his mosey), or wholly insane. An hour's personal exami- nationwould have satisfied any jury better than all the long days of forensic harangues on this side and that. and the array of witnesses to prove the one view of the case and the other. Had Windham himself been examined in the first instance, the whole of the other'proceedings might have been spared. Bat, in accordance with the grave and stern decorum of Rag- lish procedure, the whole process was allowed to un- unroll itself, coil after coil, a huge and costly Pharaoh's serpent, andao,mde h&ud might interpose to stop its evoilution. Then when the whole farce had been fairly played out, came the practical part of the transaction Mr. Windham himself was interrogated. It was found at once that although a coarse, reckless, and silly young man, he was not much more coarse, reck- less, and silly than many others who squander their property and their health at their own sweet will in the Haymarket or on Epsom Downs. So he was allowed to sweep up what remnant of means his own follies and those of British law had left him, and to walk his own wild way whither that led hitn." Which accordingly he did, and it led him to an early grave. Had he lived a little longer- he would, it seems, have been rich; but more money could only have meant for him more folly and disgrace. His death must un- doubtedly be accounted a relief by many; it can hardly be deemed a great calamity to any one. Only the other day there expired in a lunatic's cell a poor wrecked and miserable creature, who was once the spoiled pet of British and continental audiences, and who was indirectly made a prominent figure in the scandalous revelations of the great Windham cause. Such men cannot be too soon forgotten; but it is right that the Windham case should be long re- membered. It is a monument of the outrageous defects of one important department of British juris- prudence, and may thus be made to serve some useful purpose.

SHOCKING MURDER AT BRIGHTON. On Thursday night a desperate murder was com- mitted in Market-street, Brighton. A man named John William Leigh, about 28 years of age, 16 months ago married the sister of Mrs. Harfcon (who keeps the Jolly Fisherman, in Market-street), much against her friends' wishes. This has caused considerable unhap- piness to the family. On Thursday night Leigh and his wife went into Payne's Marine Hotel and had some stout; and whilst there Leigh wanted to go across to Mrs. Harton's, but his wife dissuaded him, saying, Don't you go there and disturb that poor man, for he is very ill." Mr. Harton is in the last state of consumption. A few minutes afterwards Mrs. Leigh left her husband, and it appears that he immediately went to the Jolly Fisherman, and deliberately drew a. six-barrelled revolver and presented it at Mrs. Harton. As soon as she saw the revolver she ran to a man who was sitting in the bar for protection. At that moment Leigh discharged one barrel of the revolver, and the bullet took effect in the lower part of her body. Leigh then rushed towards her and discharged another chamber, the charge entering her back and penetrating the lungs. Then he discharged a third bullet, but it missed Mrs. Harton, and struck the man behind whom she had attempted to screen herself on the left temple, only slightly scratching it. The discharge of the revolver attracted the attention of Police-eonstable Grayham and Night-constable Pickard, who were on duty at the police-station at the Town-hall, and they immediately ran out to see what was the matter. They found Leigh outside the house, with the revolver in his hand. As soon as Leigh saw them he shouted to them, "Stand back, stand back, or I'll shoot you! The constables, therefore, kept him at bay until he had backed" to the entrance of Harrison's Hotel, when Superintendent Barnden came up. Leigh was then speaking to a man who was standing by, and Mr. Barnden seized him by the collar and swung him round. Leigh then discharged two more barrels of his revolver at the superintendent, and one of the bullets passed through the tail of Mr. Barnden's over- coat. Pickard and Grayham then closed with Leigh, and a struggle took place, during which the prisoner struck G-rayham over the nose with the revolver. This was immediately wrested from him, and he was taken to the police-station and looked up. Leigh was per- fectly calm and collected at the time, and Was not the worse for liquor; and after he was in his cell he told Superintendent Crowhurst that he had put up with Mrs. Harton's nonsense long: enough, aad that he was determined to have no more of it. He is a Brighton man, and his mother lives in Clifton-,bill., Before he married Mrs. Rerton's, sister, he had seen service in China during; the late rebellion; and subsequent to that he was one of the crew of the Alabama. After their marriage they went to Brentford, in Essex, and were in treaty for a publie-house there; but, on ac- count of the violent character he bore, the local magis- trates refused to grant him a licence. After that he went to London, and then came to Brighton. Imme- diately after tha occurrence Dr. Stephens, of Pavilion- parade; was sent for, and he did his utmost to relieve the poor woman, by extracting the ball from her ower extremities. She expired, however, at six o'clock on Friday evening. The prisoner was taken before the magistrates on Friday morning and remanded.

MR. GLADSTONE AND THE INCOME- TAX. The Chancellor of the Exchequer gave audience on Friday afternoon, at his official residence in Downiftg- street, to a deputation chiefly consisting of tradesmen appointed at public meetings, recently held within the borough of the Tower Hamlets. The object of the deputation was to urge upon Government the advisa- bility of an entire remission of the income-tax, and a revision of the assessed taxes, so far as they affeoted: trade and commerce. Mr. Ayrton, M.P., briefly introduced the deputation. Mr. W. G. Kent read the memorial subscribed to at three public meetings, recently held within theborough. The memorialists reminded the right hon. gentleman that the income-tax was, in its original institution, regarded as a temporary impost* and, when from time renewed, was only continued for temporary purposes. It had never been considered- as a permanent source of revenue. Its unequal and oppressive operation had been endured only in consideration of its temporary nature, and in the hope of its speedy extinction. The right hon. gentleman had long. ago pledged himself to its abrogation, and the memorialists submitted that the time had now come for the fulfil- ment of that undertaking. Mr.'Kent said he had butjust parted from Mr. Butler, the colleague of Mr. Ayrton in the representation of the Tower Hamlets, and had been commissioned by that gentleman to express to the Chancellor of the Exchequer his hearty and entire Concurrence in the object sought to be attained by the deputation. h Mr. Compton, as chairman of the Tower Hamlets Ratepayers* Association, commented at some length on the inequalities of the operation of the income-tax' upon various classes of taxpayers, and more particu- larly as pressing upon small traders. The ta& was rendered the more unpopular from the mode of its collection and assessment. With regard to the assessed taxes, there was practically no appeal, the assessor being, to a great extent, irresponsible, and the commissioners being influenced in their decisions upon appeal oases by the advice of a-clerk, whose interest it was, seeing" that he was paid by poundage, to keep the assessment as high as possible. Messrs. Duffield, Horton, and Funess successively addressed the right hon. gentleman, commenting upon alleged irregularities in the imposition and collection of tlieassessed taxeSJ The Chancellor of the Exchequer said that, with reference to the-alleged irregularities, if a clear and concise statement was submitted to him in writing, Government would at once institute the most thorough and searching investigation. At the present moment, and upon the statements just made—though he must not be understood as impugning the correctness of the facts-he could pronounce no opinion and give no practically useful judgment. With regard to the other object of the deputation, there was nothiag in the memorial to which he could take exception, be- yond the mere statement as to the income-tax being reimposed to defray the expenses of the Russian war. He believed that there was such elasticity and spring in the resources of the country that we could have borne those expenses even if the income-tax had been then remitted. No one could deny the inequalities in the operation of the income-tax, which were patent, but the question of its abolition was for tne uotihidera- tion of the entire country. Government could not act upon the dicta of one constituency, even so important an one as the Tower Haau-ots.

At a general board Meeting of the directors of the Great Eastern RItIlwy, the other day, Charles Henry Turner, Esq., the late chairman- of the com- mittee of investigation, was unanimously and enthu- siastically elected chairman of the board of directors Government emigration.—Her Majesty's Emi- gration Commissioners have accented Messrs. Mosfea and Mitchell s tender of tho ship British Lion, 1 457 tons register, tor the conveyance of 400'adults from Piymoutii to Adelaide at J14 4B. 9d. per statute adult. Passengers co embark on a dav to be named by the Commissioners between the 19fch and 26th of March next. A his rate i,- an advance of X2 per h&ad upon meant, perations for the 3aoi& seryiee.

FIVE MONTHS AFTER MARRIAGE. David Deady, a young man, residing at No. 1 W P<3rtland-street, was brought be- S £ Marlborough'street PohLstT with niL^ir ??e ?! ^J9 warrant officers, charged wis, of Great Marlborough-street, wore the complainant, and said the parties 7e months ago, the complainant u ? aW £ m- They went into a grreengrocery business, and through the prisoner's co^uct aU the money bag expended, and since it had been espefadea he had been guilty of a seriea of violent assaults on the complainant, and had threatened to ,have her life. Mr. Knox asked whether it was through drink. Mr. LeWis said he believed that it was syitematio ill-usage. He thought after hearing the wife's evi. dence his worship would consider it a case where the recent Act might apply, and the prisoner by that means be taught that he could net ill-treat his wife with impunity. The complainant said she had been married five months, the prisoner being her husband. Yesterday morning about ten he struck her, and said he would give her a black eye. He then took up a razor and put it in his pocket, but she took it from him, fearing that: he would do something either to her or himself. About one o'clock he was going to jump out of the window. On Monday he beat her, bruised her arm, and kicked her in the stomach. He was in the habit of beating her severely every other day, and she was afraid he would either kill her or himself. I Mr. Knox asked the complainant whether her hus- band drank, and she said he did not. In answer to Mr. Low,-a, the complainant said she went in fear of her husband, as he was constantly taking up knives to her. Mr. Knox said the question was, was the prisoner in his right mind? His conduct seemed more like that of an insane man. The complainant said she did not want to live with her husband, as she could keep herself. She had £ 140 when she was married, and it was all gone. The previous day, when. she was applying for the warrant, her husband sold off all the things. They lost all their money because her husband would not get up in the morning, and he sold the pony; and although they had no means of living, he went and bought a watch with tho money. Mrs. Harris, a lodger in the same house, said she saw the prisoner push his wife, and heard them repeatedly quarrelling, and the wife calling out as if struck. The prisoner asked whether his wife was not in the habit of coming home at one in the morning drunk, and the witness said she never saw the complainant drunk. The landlord of the house was called, and he showed that although the prisoner sold off the things, the complainant sanctioned it. He considered the com- plainant respectable, but had a doubt whether the prisoner waa sane. The prisoner who said that he was induced by his wife to leave the police and go into business, said he had had a most unhappy life since he had been mar- ried, and all his misfortunes were owing to his wife persisting in going to her sister's instead of staying at home. He had got a situation to go to on a railway. His wife's conduct upset him so much that he was like a madman. Mr. Lewis said all the complainant wanted was that rl the prisoner should keap away from her. The prisoner said he did not wish to be from his wife if she would keep from her sister. Mr. Knox said it was clear the parties were leading a cat and dog life. He did not think it one of those cases in which it was absolutely necessary to put the statute in force, and send the prisoner to hard labour. With the exception of a braise on the complainant's arm, which might have been the result of a tight grasp, he saw none of those appearances usually seen in such cases. He thought the complainant and the prisoner had better part. The prisoner said he did not wish to part from his wife. Ho only wished her to leave her sister. Mr. Lewis said her sister was her only friend, and was now keeping her. Mr. Knox said it was the old story. The parties quarrel, and then the wife rushes to her mother or sister, and she is then embittered against her husband. He Would advise the prisoner to keep from his wife-for a month, àsh had a situation to go to, and if there was any good feeling in her heart by that time she will think better of it. He would take the prisoner's own recognisance in X50 to keep the peace for three months:

RAILWAY AND OTHER BILLS IN PARLIAMENT. The examinera resumed their labours at West- minster on the 30th of last month. In Mr. Smith's court the following complied with the standing ol*,den, Discount Corporation, Bank of Hin- dustan, China, and Japan, Vale of Neath Rail- way (transfer, &c.), London and South-Western Rail- way (Poole and Bournemouth Junction), Alliance and Dublin Consumers Gas, Devon and Somerset Railway (amendment of acts), Devon and Somerset Railway (capital), Devon and Somerset Railway (deviation and extensions), Dublin Corporation Waterworks. Tha City, Kingston, and Richmond Railway (opposed) failed to comply with the standing orders, aud the opposed Salisbury and Dorset Junction Rail way, Vale of Criokhowfell Railway, Brecon and Merthyr Tydvtl Junction Railway (northern line), South Eastern Rail- way, London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway (St. Leonard's and Hastings line), and the MaTyport Im- proverhfent Harbour and Dock were postponed. Mr. Frere disposed of the following; which complied with standing orders, and were unopposed:—Bradford, EcrslashiH, and Idle Railway, Coventry and Midland Junction Railway, Manchester Royal Exehange, East Gloucestershire Railway, Cambrian Railways (new works), Cambrian and other Railway Companies (amalgamation and arrangement's), Bute D icks. Car- diff (construction of docks, railways, &), Dagenham (Thames) Dock, Maryport and Carlisle Railway, Clyde; Navigation, and Halesowen and BromsgroVo Branch Railways (opposed). Postponed.—The op- posed London and Worthing Direct, Skipton and Whatfclkle, Sol way Junction branches, attd Great Wetfterft (further powers).

THE FENIAN TRIALS.—CLOSING OF THE COMMISSION. Andrew Kennedy, pleacedgtrllty, on Friday, and was sentenced to five years' penal servitude. The Attorney-General stated that it was not his intention to bring forward any more caseS at the present com- mission. The court had now been sitting without intermission since the 27th November until the pre- sent time. They had tried 41 cases, 36 prisoners had been convicted, and five. acquitted; and in one case only had there been a disagreement. All the leaders of the conspiracy, with the exception of James Ste- phens, had be<m ^und-.guilty, and with respect to the rank and file the Orown had no desire to pursue them if they returned to their allegiance. Judge Keogh congratulated the grand jury on the termination of their labours, and complimented the counsel for the Crown on the calmness, moderation, and firmness with which they had conducted the prose- cutions. H0 expressed the pain which he felt at the conduct of the wicked men who were now reaping the consequences of their folly. They had brought upon themselves and their families the most terrible punish- ment, and had frustrated the best hopes, and paralysed the energies of the country. He concluded by express- ing a hope that peace aatd industry would yet prevail in the land. Judge Fitzgerald expressed his concurrence in what had fallen from his learned brother, and said that the decisions of the juries in the several cases brought before them amounted collectively to the verdiet of the intelligence of the country agamsa this wicked, disastrous, and insane conspiracy. I The commission then closed.

A 7Tew Mode of Treating a Debtor.—Not very far from the British Museum may b3 seen in a shop window a "portrait of a gentlemanrepresented with a rope round his neck as if waiting for execution. 0 Inquiry from the shopkeeper has produced the expla- nation that the original of the portrait had not paid for it, and the artist had resorted to the above-men- I tioned means of showing him, up. It appears that the plan is borrowed from the Chinese, and will orobably be an interesting and illustrative aneedoc-e*" of tho spread of Eastern civilisation when Chang produces ,an account of his travels lor tho benefit oi his coua- ;¡.