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Leader (1850-1860), 3rd September 1859, Edition 2 of 2, Page 5, consistent with the hypothesis of poison...

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      Naval And Military. Two Delinquents Belo...

      are practising musketry , and , by the aid of our organized militia and new volunteer corps ,, we are bringing a knowledge of arms to the population ge Lords of the Admiralty have this week paid their official visit to Portsmouth Dockyard for the t ) urpose of inspecting the different establishments and the ships building or fitting there . At the rieffin" store a deputation of the ri-gers of the dockyard % ? aited upon their lordships to lay before them their claims for increased pay , & c , and were understood to receive a favourable reception ., J he seaman ri " "er urges that the pay and allowance of the seamaii ^ scrving afloat having been increased , the seaman rigger hat an equal right to an advance . Every "ship now fitted out in our dockyards ; is fitted from deck to truck by these men , who , from the work thev have to perform , must be the very best of their p ' rofession . ... ' ¦ ,, . _ , __ , ___ with the ringleaders

      Four seamen , charged being in the late outbreak at Castelmare , on board the Marlboroug ' i ¦ were tried by a court-martial which assembled onboard her Majesty ' s ship Hibernia in Valetta harbour on the 25 th of August . The charge was held not to be made out to the extent expected . Three were condemned to receive 50 lashes and two years' imprisonment for mutinous conduct , and the fourth to one year ' s imprisonment . These four seemed to have been picked out from some 300 or 400 , anl identified chiefly by their voices , as the decks were in darkness from the closing of the ports . . ¦ The 18 th company of Royal Engineers have completed the erection of a stio ' ng 3-jruiv battery , which commands the entrance to Weymouth harbour . They have since commenced the formation of a battery of large dimensions to sweep the entire coast between " \\ uymouth and Portland . This , batten ' will mount 50 'Armstrong . cannon .

      No 493- Sept. 3, 1859-] The Leader. 1001

      No 493- Sept . 3 , 1859- ] THE LEADER . 1001

      Tug Volunteer Corps. Upon This -Importan...

      TUG VOLUNTEER CORPS . Upon this -important topic we find the following excellent observations in the columns of a contemporary : — " It is probable that the attitude hitherto assumed by the Government towards the rifle cbrp § may hereafter have to be modified to meet the requirements of the occasion ; and , amongst other points , it will become a serious question whether some distinct encouragement might not be afforded to the formation of clubs . ¦ It would , of course , be ' impossible for the Go veiyi incut to grant ail except under uniform and rigid conditions ; but it is to be hoped that no spirit of pedantry will lead to , those conditions being unnecessarily burthensome or exclusive in their operation . The present is no moment for a too scrupulous nicety . We must beware

      lest military etiquette and official routine rob us of the services of men who , if reluctant to submit to the minute regularity of rigid discipline , still possess all the great essentials of good soldiers , and would be entirely reliable in the moment of danger . It would bo a great misfortune if the Government should give the country any ground for supposing that it regards rifle clubs with dislike or suspicion ; , and though its chief and most direct support will of course he given to the bodies in more immediate connexion with itself , it would be very desirable that the public should by made to understand , in the most distinct and unmistakable manner , that the formation of rifle clubs is viewed with no unfavourable ) eye by

      the highest authorities . "—There nro some indications of heartiness in the reports of the various corps this week . The London Rifle Brigade have determined to apply at once for the rifles which have been promised by the Government ( in the proportion of twenty-five per cent . ) , so us to be able to coiUjmence practice forthwith . —At Birkenhcad four corps have boon formed , which aro enrolled us the first four companies of the Cheshire Kirtos . Mr . George Harrison , of Birkenhcad , who'employs a large nuinhor of men at the Canada works , is about to establish an artillery corps at his own expense . — The Liverpool Rifle Companies go on satisfactorily . —Thu most putriotio ^ spirit has been evinced throughout Cornwall , and no dllHc ' ulty is likely to bo experienced in obtaining a sufficient force along

      the whole of the oouist . —At Bristol upwards of . WO men uro enrolled . — -In various parts of Essex and Norfolk small companies have been formed . —At King ' s Lynn , it was statod , at a mooting hold on Thursday , that thirty-six members have boon onrolled wii q would provide their own outfit , and that twenty more would join , but could not defray tliftt oxponse . The committee have determined not to recominen 1 any gentlemen as oflloors who have not soon service . ' —Surrey lias produced ono or two companies . —The first company of the Devon Volunteor Artillery Corps , mi laboring sixty mon , rocoivod from lior Majesty ' s Government , on Thurslftst , two now guns , for field or battery , as woll as an ammunition waggon , which arrived at Tupshain In charge of a , sergeant , a corporal , anil two gunners .

      Consistent With The Hypothesis Of Poison...

      consistent with the hypothesis of poisoning b } arsenic , by antimony , or by both these poisons , nor is death fairly ascribable to them ; and that there is no chemical proof whatever that either antimony , arsenic , or any other irritant poison , was ever feloniously administered to Isabella Bankes . " SirG . Lewis is understood to have consulted with his colleagues ; and he has also had a long interview ori the subject of the trial with the Lord Chief Baron , but the result is not known . Mr . IT . J 5 . Sheridan , M . P ., attended on ¦ Thursday at the Home-office with a petition to the Queen , signed by Mary Smethurst , the prisoner ' s wife . Mr . Sheridan urg-.-d upon Sir

      LAW , POLICE , AND CASUALTIES . In the matter of Dr . Smetiiurst ' s conviction the public are still left in uncertainty as to whether the sentence will be carried out or not . Three of the medical witnesses for the defence , B . W . Richardson , M . D ., J . L . W . Thudicum , M . D ., and Francis C . Webb , have addressed a letter to the Home secretary , stating their view of the case in a scientific point of view , leaving circumstantial evidence entirely aside . They come to the following conclusion : — " That the symptoms and pathology of Isabella Bankes were consistent with dysentery occurring in a pregnant and previously iinhcalthy woman , and her death is fairly ascribable to such producing cause . The symptoms and pathology of Isabella Bankes are not

      G . Lewis the deficiency of evidence against and numerous arguments in favour of the prisoner ; and Mr . Sheridan then introduced the wife of the prisoner , Mary Smethurst , and Mrs . Smith , the mistress of the boarding-house at Uayswater in which the three parties reside 1 . ' The statements which these two ladies made were listened to-with the greatest attention and patience by the Secretary of State , and various [ joints were , cleared up and explained ' which-had been left in mystery at the trial . Mr . Sheridan urged upon Sir George Lewis his opinion , founded upon the public feeling , that a rc ^ prieve was positively necessary , if only to afford an opportunity for further investigation .

      A woman named Zipporah Wright died at Poplar lately under circumstances of a suspicious character . She . had recently given birtli to a child , the father of which was a man named Royal , and she complained that the coffee , & c , which he gave her made her ill . After an illness of a very distressing character , she died , and on her body being subjected to a post mortem examination , a quantity of poison , cilled eanthnrid .- ?< 5 . was discovered . On the morning before she died her paramour absconded , and so strongly did suspicion point to him that the coroner ' s jury returned a verdict of wilful murder . The prisoner has just been apprehended , and undergone his first examination- at the Thames Policecourt .

      At Canterbury , private Patrick Tierney , has been tried by court-martial for severely wounding Sergeant Brady , 6-tth regiment , with his bayonet . The prisoner appears to have committed the crime when under the influence of liquor , as it was shown by Staff Assistant-Surgeon Page that he was , after being arrested , in a state bordering upon delirium tremens . Tho prisoner in defence stated that he had been drinking too freely , and that he was in a Btate of delirium . Ho also urged that the injury inflicted and the place chosen for the purpose were not such as a man would have done or selected who intended to commit murder , that no malice hud been proved against him , and concluded by throwing himself on the mercy of the court . Tho result of the inquiry will not ' bo known until it has been submitted to tho Hor ' se Guards .

      A man named George Cox , of Steeple Ashton , Wilts , had a quarrel with his sister , Hannah Cox , a few < lays ago , respecting a watch belonging to thoir brother , now in Australia . In his passion the brute struck his sister several times violently on the head , from the effects of whiehshc has died this week . IIu has been committed on a charge of manslaughter . At Lydney , near Gloucester , a retired physician , named Puwuall , has been residing in tho hcuiso of a surgeon there , having been about three weeks proviously discharged from a lunatic asylum as ourod . On Tuesday morning this unfortunate man had a return of his malady , ami murdered ono of tho servant girls , by cutting \ viv throat , before any help could be interposed to savo her , He has been committed to Gloucester gaol .

      . Tumos Turner , a Tabouror , and a man mimed Kocfe , wore chargod before Mr . Elliott , at Lambeth Police-court , with attempting to poison liouuru Turner , wife of tho flrat-miined prisoner . According to tho evidence , a quantity of sugar of lead had been mixed with some beer , a portion of which was drunk by tho woman Turner and another woman , both of whom wore taken ill . A remand was ordered for further investigation . A case of . hjdcous brutality was Investigated at Clerkonwoll Polico-couijti , » on Monday , in which a mnthor seems to liavo dlvoutod horself , not only ot

      heir woman ' s nature , but even of her human nature . The charge against her was that she had pulled her daughter , dying of consumption , q > ut of bed , and dragged her about the room by the hair of the head . From the evidence it further appears that the poor girl expired in a few minutes after this treatment . Meantime the woman is committed to prison for an assault upon a neighbour who interfered to protect her victim . A lad named Henry Williams , who had been clerk in the service of Mr- White , West India merchant ; Avas committed for trial at the Mansion House on a charge of theft . It was stated that the prisoner had cashed several cheques , amounting to upwards Of £ 150 , and applied the proceeds to his

      own use . . A case was yesterday brought under the notice of Mr . Dayman , at Westminster Police-court , involving the question of whether certain coal delivered to order were " Silkstones , " and so whether a breach of the Coal Act had been committed . There being some hiatus in the evidence , however , it was found necessary to withdraw the prosecution . Some persons have removed the cups from , and otherwise injured , the drinking fountain in Endellstreet . The gentleman who erected it called upon Mr . Henry at Bow-street , and expressed a hope that the police would be on the alert to prevent similar depredations for the future . We hope so , too . Mr . Yard ley has fined a man , named Robert Jacob , £ ¦ 20 , who was charged before him at the Thames Police-court , with attempting to induce a nian-ofwar ' s-man to desert from the royal navy , and enter the American merchant service .

      Intelligence reached Dublin on Thursday , of the loss of Lord Drogheda ' s schooner Fancy , 140 tons , off the coast of Sligo . Lord and Lady Drogheda , and Major Foster , Aide-de Camp to the Lord-Lieutenant , and crew , have all -fortunately been saved ; but a vast amount of valuable property has gone down , with the vessel . The Crj-stal Palace steamboat pier , at Battersea , was on Thursday carried away by the strength of the tide and firmly fixed under the arches of Vauxhall bridge . . . . . . the Sound

      On Tuesday an accident occurred in , oh board H . M . screw steam sloop Pioneer , Commander "Reilly . She was getting up steam , when the main steam-pipe burst , close to the communication . John Dunn , leading stoker , was on the point of openina the valve , and suffered severely ; scv e ^ nt ! ie ; mr < n " wnrc imirh scalded-, especially -in their faces . Mr . J . A . Leicester , seeoud class engineer , prudentlv shut off the communication ; he escaped uninjured . The ship was speedily enveloped in steam , but aVthorc was a smart south-west breeze , its effects were most detrimental aft . Boats from the ship 3 of war , with their surgeons , were soon alongside , and the wounded taken in cots to the naval hospital . fire at

      Tho ship Piantagenct was destroyed by Demerara on tho 27 th July . She had on board at the time 5 . 50 hhds . of sugar and 357 puncheons of rum . The whole of the latter was destroyed , but a portion of the sugar was taken from the wreck in a very damaged state . In the face of some suspicious circumstances it is almost impossible to avoid coming to the conclusion that the fire was caused by an incendiary . On Wednesday the river steamer , Bride , struck on a sunken barge at London Bridge , nnd filling with water went down almost immediately . Fortunately the passengers were not many in number , and got safely conveyod on shore . The barge had sunk the same morning ' , and thu captain of the luckless steamer had not received notification of the fact .

      The wife of a brickhiver niimed Davis , at Miudstonc , w ; is foun . l on ' Thursday with her infant daughter suspended from the . bed rail , bath being dead . The act must have boon that of the mother , who had fur some time been in a desponding state of mind . , ,. , , m- _ ,. An oscnpo has been made from tho Artillery prison , at Woolwich , of five men , who wero awaiting sentences for various offences of which they hud been convicted . Four of the prisoners were subsequently captured in a very clever manner , but the fifth is still ut largo . ,,

      I It Gland. Stki's Have Boon Already Tak...

      I It GLAND . Stki's have boon already taken to convene a mooting of the Irish Liberal members on an early clay m Dublin , for the purpose of promoting the policy enunciated by the Catholic prelates in their pastoral address . Moan while fresh thunderbolts are being forged by the bishops * to bo launched at the Queon 8 Colleges in Cork nnd GUI way , with the intunt of battering thoso institutions to tho ground us dangerous in tho oyoa of the Sovereign Pontiff and Ills dologoto in Ireland . In the ensuing month of October ,, says tho Times , some fresh work will do cut out' for tho aipw Irish Secretary . Mr . Richard (/ Gorman , jun ., ha » left Dublin on

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 3, 1859, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_03091859/page/5/