15 SEPTEMBER 1855, Page 3

'60 Vrrittium.

The intelligence of the fall of Sebastopol spread with electric speed through the country. The enthusiasm of the provincial towns surpassed that of the metropolitan city. Bells rang everywhere ; guns were fired here and there ; flap were hoisted in great-numbers; there were spon- taneous displays of fireworks, spontaneous making of bonfires, much playing of music, and universal rush of the population into the streets. The excitement of Monday evening was not at sIl diinirrished- on the fol- lowing day. At Plymouth, Chatham, Sheerness, and other places, official salutes were fired. It may be said that all England gave itself up to re- joicing on Monday night and Tuesday.

" A hero is no hero to his valet de chambre," has been an accepted saying; but we live in days when greater feats are performed than the reverse of Voltaire's witty mot—we live to see County Members heroes in their own counties. Sir John Tysaen Tyrell, of Boreham House, Essex, was on Tuesday presented with a portrait of himself, painted by Mr. Lucas, and subscribed for by friends and constituents, not all of the same political hue. The ceremony took place at the ancestral seat of the Tory Baronet, and was followed by a banquet. In simple hearty phrase, Sir John uttered his thanks, and at the close appropriately remarked— . " I have nothing further to say than to invite you to accompany me to the tent yonder, where I hope we may spend the remainder of the afternoon in a manner not disagreeable to any of us. Certainly it is a most fortunate thing that we have so fine a day, and that we have taken Sebastopol—(Loud cheers and laughter)—for it is needless to point out how very unpleasant it would have been if the day had been rainy and we had not taken Sebastopol." (Renewed laughter.) At the banquet, the chief speakers were Sir Harry Smith, Mr. G. Round, and Mr. Bramston.

The annual meeting of the subscribers and friends of the Birmingham Industrial Free Schools was held on Monday evening ; Lord Hardwieke in the chair. Just as the proceedings were about to commence, the news of the capture of Sebastopol arrived ; and Lord Hardwicke, announcing the fact, remarked that the feelings it called forth tended to set aside the interest he felt on the occasion. There was great cheering, and at the request of the chairman the company united in singing the national an- them. After this the business of the meeting continued. The indus- trial schools are intended to provide education for destitute children who wander the streets. On the motion of Lord Leigh, seconded by Mr. Ad- derley, the report on the progress of the schools was unanimously pted. ado The Liberal candidate for Totness is Lord Gifford, son of the Marquis of Tweeddale. In an address to the constituency, he avows a coinci- dence.-of opinion between himself and Lord Seymour, now Duke of Somerset. In the war, he will cordially support the Government; on - home questions, he will promote free trade, and "vote for the removal of restrictions that fetter individual exertion or interfere with the free growth of national industry," vote for the abolition of church-rates, and "support further reform on the principles of the act of 1832,"—elaiming, at the same time the right to exercise his own discretion in reference to proposals submitted to Parliament for the purpose of defeating a Govern- ment or embarrassing a party.

Prince Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Plymouth Sound on Sunday, by the Ariel, from Cherbourg. He was received by the Port Admiral, Sir William Parker, and took up his abode in Government House. He is now on a visit to several of our ports.

After the enthusiasm exhibited at Birmingham respecting the Peel statue, it excites indignation to learn that the statue is not yet half paid for; while Mr. Thdlins, the sculptor, is answerable even for the expense of rails, lamps, and pedestal. The sooner Birmingham produces the thmasand Pounds required, the better for her t eputation.

In consequence of a petition from the Eastern Counties Railway Com- pany, the Commissioners of Customs have granted to the port of Harwich similar privileges to those enjoyed by Southampton and Newhaven as to the exportation of goods under bond.

Judgment was given on Monday by Mr. Hill, the Commissioner of the Bristol Bankruptcy Court, in the case of Thomas Wright Lawford. This bankrupt failed for nearly 60,0001., leaving behind assets furnishing to the creditors scarcely more than a shilling in the pound. He began life as clerk in the office of his uncle, Mr. Edward Lawford, late solicitor to the East India Company, now also a bankrupt living abroad. For eight years the nephew received a salary of 4001. a year from his uncle. At the termi- nation of the period, Thomas Lawford went on his uncle's recommendation to practise at Carmarthen. Here his gains were small, and he tried his hand at farming ; becoming at the same time agent for Lord Dynevor, and a tenant of his lands. For the agency he had received 3001. a year from 1840 to 1849, yet in the latter year he was 12,0001. in debt. He had expended mo- ney on the farms he rented without having any lease ; he had erected hot- houses to raise grapes for the London market; had engaged in a speculation for hatching chickens by steam, and even in a mining concern in Prussia. Being insolvent to the extent of 12,0001. he began to borrow, raising loans at one time amounting in all to 80;0001 from insurance companies, and other loans to pay the costs and interest of the former. the coat of these loan transactions is set down at 25,0001. in five years. It ap- pears that Mr. Edward Lawford, the uncle, then reputed to be worth 18,0001. a year, took part in the loons. On one occasion he asked his nephew to appear as the borrower of a sum of money he wanted "to com- plete the purchase of an estate in Bent," the uncle figuring as the security. Subsequently Mr. Edward Lawford effected loans in his nephew's name, without consulting him, and all the money of the first loans went through his hands. By him the 80,0001. was reduced to 44,0001. The certificate was unopposed. The officers of the court were of opinion that Mr. Thomas Lawford is a person whose intentions were honest, and that his errors have been caused rather by an over-sanguine temper and extreme infirmity of judgment than by want of rectitude.

Mr. Hill awarded a third-class certificate, suspended for twelve months without protection. Thomas Tutton, a young man accused of poisoning his father, at Bath, surrendered himself to the Dublin Police last week ; be was brought to Ens

land, and was examined at Bath on Saturday. The witnesses were a female servant, Mr. Harries, the-family, medical attendant, and a Dublin constable. The servant described how Mr. Tutton senior had been seized with sickness after taking beer and potatoes from the hands of his son, and detailed cir- cumstances of a suspicious nature. Mr. Harries deposed that be had de- tected white arsenic in the ejects from Mr. Tutton 's stomach, and on the different utensils in which the fried potatoes bad been deposited. The Po- • liceman stated that young Tutton denied his crime ; he surrendered be- cause of the accusationa in the newspapers. The prisoner cross-examined the witnesses himself. He was remanded.

An original impression that the murder of a little girl at Clifton was per- petrated by a maniac gains ground. A lunatic who has been found at Neath has dropped words referring to it ; and a woman tells a story of encountering a madman on the evening of the murder, near the scene.

Paling has been. committed for the murder at Cudham, and also on a charge of robbery.

Three burglars have been captured at Wingfield in Wilts, in a curious way. On Sunday evening, Mr. Meade, the Vicar, with all his household, went to the church of the village ; a little boy, son of the parish-clerk, no- ticed two men enter Mr. Meade's house ; he went to the church and in- formed his father ; the clerk publicly notified what was going on ; the service was stopped, and the whole congregation withdrew and surrounded the vicarage. Some of the men then entered the house, and seized three fellows who had packed up the plate ready for removal.

According to the Morning Chronicle, extensive smuggling operations are carried on in the Bristol Channel, on the Somersetahire side, where there are no Coast Guard stations. The goods smuggled are sent from France.

Four lives have been sacrificed on the Reading and Reigate Railway, and severe injuries inflicted on nine persons, by an "accident." Crosley an en- gine-driver was directed to take his engine to Guildford, and bring to Read- ing a London train. Finding that the stoker of his engine was not there,—he ordered a "cleaner" to jump up ; and without placing any lights on the en- gine, without looking whether the points were right for the up-line, by taking which only he knew he should avoid a train nearly due—without saying a word to the stationmaster, he put on steam and started out of the engine-shed on to the down-line. About a mile and a half from Reading his engine crashed against the down-train. The two engines were destroyed ; a luggage-van and second-class carriage were broken to pieces ; and the pas sengers were strewn about in every direction. Three were killed—Mr.

Fyrt- more, a banker's clerk at Reading; Mr. Belton, a military student; and Francis Beant, a gamekeeper. Crosley was found dead. Nine passengers were badly wounded—two are in danger.

The inquest was opened on Thursday. Jesse Ferguson, Crosley's stoker for the occasion, who was in the hospital, badly hurt, made a statement to the Coroner, which was read to the Jury. It exhibited very clearly Crosley's recklessness. He told Ferguson not to mind lighting the lamps till the en- gine was in motion,—a grave offence; Ferguson was trimming the lamps when the collision occurred. It was Crosley's duty. to direct his fireman to turn the points on leaving the station, that the engine might be put on the up-line—he gave no directions, and seems to have assumed that the points were rightly placed, which he ought to have known they would not be. His engine proceeded with the tender in advance, exhibiting no light ; and at the time of the disaster he was blowing off steam: the people 3.11 charge of the passenger-train were unconscious of his approach.

It appears from the evidence at the Coroner's inquest, held at Ferryhill station, that William Haigh, the unfortunate man who was killed while greasing a wheel of the railway-train which conveyed the Queen to the North, fell a victim to an excess of zeal. He had no orders to grease wheels while the train was in motion—indeed, the general orders prohibit such a dangerous practice : the axle was not very hot at the time ; if it had been, he should have signalled to the driver to stop. But Haigh, thinking that grease was wanted in the axle-box, left a carriage and got on to a foot-board ; he seems to have opened the box preparatory to putting in grease ; this was on the viaduct crossing the river Skerne; along the centre of this viaduct is a low wooden rail ; Haigh's head or body came into contact with this rail, and he was struck off the foot-board. The inquest verdict was "Accidental death." Haigh was a steady man ; he has left a widow and three children..

Thomas Newstead, a farmer, has been killed on the York and Scar- borough railway, near York—he strayed on the line while drunk, and a train ran over him.

Mr. Nicholson, organ-builder Macclesfield, has met with a singular death. He was in the act of " voicing ' or "sounding " a pipe, and applied his ear to it, when, from some unknown cause, a splinter flew out, entered his ear, and gradually penetrated to the brain. After three weeks' illness he ex- pired, suffering great agony.