JVlAK. 30,] 



THE NEWSPAPER. 



[1844. 



its accustomed place of security, in the front boot, | 

 in London, but on arriving at the Old Bank, Oxford, it 

 was missing. It is supposed that the robbery was com- 

 mitted by a person who occupied the box-seat, as on 

 arriving at Benson he was seen to open the boot, during 

 the time of changing horses, and take something 

 out. One of the passengers, who is also supposed to 

 be a confederate, stopped at Benson, where he was taken 

 into custody the same night ; he has undergone a private 

 examination before the magistrates, and has been identified 

 by the London police as a known thief. The box passen- 

 ger kept his place to Oxford, and at that time not being 

 suspected any more than any of the other nine passengers, 

 got off the coach and has not since been heard of. Had 

 the thieves fully carried out their intended plans, this 

 robbery, for ingenuity, would have ranked foremost in the 

 annals of coach robberies. It appears their intention was 

 to have changed the parcels, as they had provided them- 

 selves with a bag exactly the size and colour of the one 

 containing the gold, with a box in it a facsimile of the 

 banker's box, and the weight of each was about the same. 

 From these circumstances no doubt remains of this being 

 what is termed a put*up ro'bbery. The thieves not being 

 able to substitute the dummy for the bag containing the 

 gold, and finding it would be rather inconvenient to bring 

 it to Oxford, as it would probably have led to suspicion, 

 contrived to drop it off the coach unobserved between 

 Nuneham and Oxford^ where it was picked up in ten 

 minutes after the coach had passed. The contents of the 

 bag were a brick and a quantity of sand. 

 • Portsmouth. — A court-martial was held in this harbour 

 on Monday, to try Mr. Jas. Hand, second engineer of 

 H.M.'s steam-vessel Prometheus, Lieut. Pasco, for neg- 

 lect of duty in allowing the water in one of the boilers to 

 become so low that the engines were disabled, and the 

 vessel compelled to return to England after reaching Ma- 

 deira. The prisoner, at the time, alleged as his excuse 

 that on making the discovery he was frightened, and did 

 not know how to act. The court, afcer some deliberation, 

 decided that the prisoner be dismissed the Service. — A 

 report has appeared in the Times, copied from one of the 

 local papers, stating that a reporter, who had obtruded 

 himself into Prince Albert's barge during his recent visit 

 to the Isle of Wight, had been summarily punished by 

 being towed to Portsmouth in an open boat, and then 

 dropped in the mud. This account has been denied by 

 the reporter himself, who admits that he did obtrude him- 

 self into the Prince's barge, but states that he was treated 

 with consideration and forbearance. 



Wednesbury. — The coroner's inquest on the body of 

 Ann Griffiths, Mr. Crowther's housekeeper, whose murder 

 was noticed in our last, terminated after two adjournments 

 on Saturday. Suspicion had fallen upon a man named 

 Beard, who formerly worked for Mr. Crowther, and who 

 had been seen going towards the house on the morning of 

 the murder. On his being apprehended it was found that 

 upon the wrists of his shirt were marks of blood, and 

 without any observation being made to him he said " I did 

 not commit the murder." Foot-marks near the house, 

 on being compared with the prisoner's boots, corresponded 

 exactly. The prisoner in his defence said that the boots 

 were most certainly his, but that he was not near the place 

 nor had he the boots on at all the day of the murder. The 

 Jury returned a verdict of * Wilful murder " against the 

 prisoner, after which he was fully committed to Stafford 

 ■Gaol to take his trial. 



Worcester.— A commission under the Church Disci- 

 pline Act was opened last week to inquire into certain 

 charges preferred by the churchwardens of Cradley in this 

 county against the Rev. John Jones, rector of the parish. 

 Mr. Jones is a married man, having a family grown up ; 

 and the points sought to be proved were that he had been 

 in the frequent habit of visiting a person of bad character 

 at a house of ill-repute in Birmingham ; and that during 

 the last summer he made excursions to Stratford and 

 Lichfield in company with the woman, with whom he kept 

 up a correspondence through the post-office, under the 

 assumed name of George Hallen. The commissioners did 

 not examine all the witnesses in attendance, but were 

 unanimously of opinion that a primd facie case had been 

 aoade out. On Saturday Mr. Jones received an inhibition 

 from the Bishop to prevent his performing the duties of 

 the Church, which were performed on Sunday by the 

 Rev. R. 13. Hone, vicar of Hales Owen. The commis- 

 sioners were the Rev. H. A. Woodgate, Bellbroughton ; 

 Rev. T. L. Claughton, and Rev. J. Downal, Kidder- 

 minster ; Rev. T. Baker, Harlebury; and Rev. J. Peel, 

 Waresley -house. 



Railways.— The following are the returns for the past 

 «reek :— Birmingham and Derby, 1204/. ; Birmingham 

 and Gloucester, 2007/. ; Eastern Counties, 3232/. ; Edin- 

 burgh and Glasgow, 19«4/. ; Great Western, 11,251/.; 

 <5rand Junction, G335/. ; Glasgow, Paisley, and Ayr, 

 1211/. •, Great North of England, 1334/.; London and 

 Birmingham, 13,283/.; London and South-Western, 

 4681/.; London and Black wall, 618/.; London and 

 Greenwich, 645/.; London and Brighton, 2455/. ; Man- 

 chester, Leeds, and Hull, associated, 5246/. ; Midland 

 Counties, 2237/.; Manchester and Birmingham, 26/2/. ; 

 North Midland, 3949/. ; Newcastle and Carlisle, 1215/. ; 

 South-Eastern and Dover, 26611.; Sheffield and Man- 

 chester, 464/. ; York and North Midland, 1670/.— At the 

 meeting of the Ulster Railway Company hist week, a divi- 

 dend of 15*. per share was announced from the balance 

 of profits for the last half-year, which amount to 8754/., 

 the receipts having been 13,453/., and the expenses 4698/! 

 The sum set apart, to be added to a depreciation or re- 

 served fund was 1026/. 10s. 9d. The extension of the 

 line to Armagh was discussed, including the junction at 

 Portadown, but nothing definite was fixed, and it was un- 



derstood the matter stands over till the next meeting, to | 

 be held in September. — Mr. T. Hutcbinson, the eminent 

 railway contractor, met his death last week on his way 

 from the Sedgefield station of the Stockton and Darlington 

 railway to the village of Morden, where he lived. He had 

 a few glasses of whisky at the Sedgefield station, which is 

 a public house, and in less than half an hour after he had 

 left to walk home he was found with his head within the 

 rails, and an engine with a train of 35 waggons had gone 

 over his neck, right shoulder, and arms, which killed him 

 in a moment. He has left a widow and six children. — 

 On Thursday, special general meetings of the proprietors 

 in the Eastern Counties and Northern and Eastern Com- 

 panies were held. The meeting of the Northern and 

 Eastern Company took place first — Mr. Paterson in the 

 chair ; who stated that the meeting had been specially 

 convened in consequence of an application intended to be 

 made to Parliament in the present session, for leave to 

 bring in a Bill to enable the Northern and Eastern 

 Company to make certain deviations in the proposed 

 extension line to Newport. The draft of the proposed 

 Bill was then read, and approved of. The chairman 

 believed that the company would meet with no impedi- 

 ment to the extension, and that the Bill for amalga- 

 mating the interests of the Eastern Counties and Northern 

 and Eastern Railways would be passed without opposition 

 by the Legislature. The joint board of the two com- 

 panies had determined to apply to Parliament in the 

 next session to extend the Northern' and Eastern Railway 

 northward, from Ely to Lincoln, in such a direction as 

 would best accommodate the traffic of the important towns 

 of W r isbeach, Lynn, Spalding, and Boston, and which they 

 believed would pay fairly for their cost, and add materially 

 to the income of the main line. The proprietors in the East- 

 ern Counties Company met afterwards, to consider a Bill 

 now before Parliament to extend the line from the Northern 

 and Eastern Railway at Newport by Cambridge and Ely, 

 and from thence eastward to Brandon, and westward to 

 Peterborough. The draft of the bill was read and agreed 

 to. It asked power to raise 960,000/. for the purpose, 

 and conceded certain privileges in favour of the University 

 of Cambridge. The chairman intimated his belief that the 

 bill for the amalgamation of the two companies would pass 

 through the House without opposition, and concluded by 

 announcing the determination of the board to apply to 

 Parliament in the next session for a further extension of 

 the line from Ely to Lincoln, by Wisbeach, Lynn, Spalding, 

 and Boston. 



IRELAND. 



Dublin — The Dublin Evening Mail recently stated 

 that Sir R. Peel has declared that the patronage of the 

 Irish Church shall only be bestowed on those clergy- 

 men who are favourable to the national system of educa- 

 tion in Ireland. The Standard Ministerial paper has 

 given this statement a positive contradiction, but notwith- 

 standing this denial, the Evening Mail resolutely reas- 

 serts its statement respecting the receipt by Earl De 

 Grey of the communication from the Prime Minister, 

 prescribing to his Excellency certain terms upon which 

 he is to be guided in his future distribution of church 

 patronage ; the terms being, that the support of the 

 present system of national education is an indispensable 

 qualification for ecclesiastical preferment. — The Repeal 

 Association held its usual weekly meeting on Monday, in 

 the Conciliation-hall. Mr. Castello, barrister, in the 

 chair. A letter from Mr. O'Connell was read, announc- 

 ing that he will be in Dublin on Monday next. 

 The following is an extract from this letter: — "My 

 appearance in England at this juncture has had 

 these salutary and cheering results. Its consequences 

 are — 1. That a great proportion of the sound and 

 thinking part of the English nation have shown their 

 strong and judicious conviction that justice has not 

 been done us in the recent trials. 2. That such portion 

 of the English nation are convinced we are victims 

 of a monstrous perversion of law, and of the most 

 undue practices with respect to the arrangement of the 

 jury. 3. There is a similar conviction gaining ground 

 that Ireland is misgoverned and oppressed, and that it is 

 necessary for the honour and safety of the state that 

 justice should be done to her. 4. My visit to this 

 country has roused a spirit of inquiry, and a kindly dispo- 

 sition to sympathy, amongst great masses of the English 

 people, who have been hitherto ignorant and careless of 

 the fate and fortunes of Ireland. 5. It is demonstrated 

 by recent events that the people of England, or, at least, 

 all the valuable classes of society, are not partakers in the 

 iniquities of the Government, but, on the contrary, are 

 anxious that Ireland should be administered for in the 

 spirit of justice and impartiality. 6. It is demonstrated 

 that multitudes of the wise and the good in England are 

 anxious to make the union a reality, by giving a perfect 

 equality of rights to Ireland with those that are possessed 

 by the English ; whilst others, and they are not a few, 

 have discovered that a local Legislature in Ireland, legis- 

 lating for Irish purposes exclusively, would tend to con- 

 solidate the connexion between the two countries, and 

 render a separation impossible." After the reading of 

 this letter, Mr. J. O'Connell said that the Association had 

 already expressed its appreciation of the good feelin 

 lately displayed by the people of England towards 

 this country, declaring at the same time the firmest deter- 

 mination to continue their efforts to work out the repeal. 

 While he felt grateful for the sympathy which had been 

 manifested, he could not avoid saying, that he thought 

 it was time for England to awake from the apathy 're- 

 garding Ireland, which had so long existed. Ue could 

 make allowance for the.human frailty which dissuaded men 

 from taking much interest in matters which did not imme- 



diately concern themselves ; but, he would ask, how was *f 

 possible that the prosperity of Ireland could militate 

 against England? It was a blasphemy against Divi 

 Providence to entertain such an idea, and the truth was* 

 that the two countries had no interest in antagonism' 

 But their perfect alliance could only be effected by the 

 restoration to Ireland of her inalienable right of a domestic 

 Parliament to watch over her interests. The rent for the 

 week, inclusive of 114/. from America, amounted to 370/ 

 — The Rev. Sir James King, of Weymouth, has handed 

 over the 20/. which he intended as a present for Mr 

 O'Connell to bear a portion of his expenses in the late 

 trial, to a charity in this city for the relief of poor debtor*. 

 — An official communication has been received from the 

 Post-office, announcing the changes determined upon in 

 the despatch and arrival of the English and provincial 

 mails, commencing on the 12th of next month. On the 

 morning of that day the English mail will be despatched 

 at 20 minutes past 6 a.m., and will be due in London on 

 the following morning. The night mail for Liverpool, 

 which now leaves Kingstown at half- past 9 p.m., will be 

 discontinued. The night mail from London will be due 

 in Dublin an hour earlier than at present. The mails for 

 the interior of Ireland will, on and after the 12th April, 

 leave the Post-office at 8 p.m., instead of 9 o'clock. 



Tipper ary.—kt Nenagh on Friday, two men named 

 Leary and Cooke were tried for the murder of John Now 

 Ian, near Roscrea, on the 9th June last. Nowlan was a 

 cattle drover, and was found murdered on the high road. 

 The case appeared to be one of highway-robbery and 

 murder. ! A man named Maylan, a party concerned in the 

 attack, was tried and convicted at a former assizes, and 

 executed for the offence. The Jury were shut up all 

 Friday night and did not seem likely to agree ; on Satur- 

 day morning Mr. Justice Ball, who tried the case, sent 

 for them and inquired if they had agreed ? The Foreman 

 — We have not, nor is there the least hope that we shall ; 

 we wish to be discharged. The Foreman added that he 

 was treasurer of the savings bank, and the public would 

 be very seriously inconvenienced if he had to remain all 

 day ; the Judge refused to discharge them. At ten o'clock 

 at night the Jury came out and again solicited to be dis- 

 charged, the Foreman saying that it was not unusual for 

 Juries to be discharged after being confined for a whole night. 

 Judge Ball then announced that the Judges had consulted 

 upon this practice, and were unanimously of opinion that 

 it was not lawful and must be discontinued ; the letter 

 of the law would in future be enforced in ail such cases. 

 Ultimately the Jury agreed in convicting one of the pri- 

 soners (Cooke), and were discharged without finding any 

 verdict as to the other, in consequence of the illness of 

 one of their number. Cooke was immediately sentenced 

 to death.— On Saturday, Patrick Gleeson was tried for 

 the murder of Thomas Tierney, on the 12th March, 1843. 

 The murder was a peculiarly brutal one, the motive being 

 supposed to be, that the unfortunate murdered man was 

 to give evidence against a brother of the prisoner for some 

 offence. A party of ruffians attacked him in the house 

 of a neighbouring cottager where he was living with the 

 family, and deliberately stoned him to death. The 

 murder was committed on the evening of the Sabbath, 

 and that morning, it appears, the priest had, in a manner, 

 denounced the victim of this atrocity as a person likely to 

 swear falsely. The only person who could identify the 

 prisoner as one of the murderers was a girl of eleven years 

 of age. Her evidence was very clear and positive, but tne 

 Jury acquitted the prisoner. 



SCOTLAND. - 



Edinburgh.— On Monday the body of Mr. Kemp, weu 

 known as the architect of the Scott Monument, was touna 

 in the canal. He had been missing for twelve days pre 

 viously, and was last seen at the house of Mr. Lino, co 

 tractor for the monument, on whom he had called w a - 

 range about the progress of the works. It is sup po 

 that, on his return home to Morningside, he nan i 

 the way by the banks of the canal, and that ti e ni 

 being dark he had stumbled into the water at me : pi 

 where he was found, an open and dangerous point oe-i 

 Lochrin distillery. 



©Jcatrfcafe. fthe 



The Italian Opera.— The first operatic trial ot i 

 season was made on Saturday, when Madlle. lavami, . 

 in other words, our countrywoman Miss kdwaras, 

 merly a pupil of the Royal Academy of Music, rnaae ^ 

 first appearance before the most formidable auoie 

 Europe. Our readers are aware that her career in i ^ r 

 had been a series of extraordinary successes, i a 

 Saturday night the curiosity of the Opera P u °" c rfrf|J , 

 excited to the utmost. The Opera chosen for ■ ui ^ 

 of Madlle. Favanti was " Cenerentola. No soon ^ 

 the curtain rise, than the audience gave one oi w - ^ 

 couraging rounds of applause which are so well k i 

 this country. The first part of her first duet wu^ 

 and before the close of the first act, the a udie " ffaS 

 fully satisfied that a carefully cultivated vccai ^ 

 before them, with a voice remarkably fine m ouS 



S 



before them, with a voice remarKaoiy u«« - , on0 rous 



region, the A below the staff being as fll, \ !° a * thing 



as possible ; but whether she could really « cuieve ** to be 

 ,1 ., •_, : _ .._ „., era public was yet t 



,,. and the solo. , &P t 



achievement ot tne 

 compass of her voice ^ 



as pOSSlOie ; UUl wugiuci auc wui» »«""-* t t do 



that would violently stir an Opera public was J z0 



seen. She did this in the finale ; and the solo, * ^ 

 quei don che versa," was an achievement oi 

 brilliant kind. The wonderful c( 



here perfectly exhibited, and the w»»- ~— » were 8U - 

 which she touched the most distant inter* m is oi 



rairable. This display of a most remarkable j ^ 

 execution, and of a voice that reached Iiom , ^ lbe 

 region of the contralto compass to the u ;8 hus j a sBi> 

 1 soprano, roused the audience to the greatest «w 



