19 AUGUST 1854, Page 3

The elections for the five delinquent and suspended boroughs have

taken place this week.

At Cambridge there were four candidates; the Tories brought forward two—Lord Maidstone and Mr. Slade, Q.C., the brother of Captain Slade in the Turkish service ; and the Liberals brought forward their former candidates, Mr. Shafto Adair and Mr. Mowatt. Unlike preceding elec- tions, there was a total absence of flags and music ; the Mayor and Town-Clerk came to the ground in a hackney-coach "with the insignia of office packed outside" ; and so little attractive was the occurrence that not more than five hundred persons attended on Parker's Piece. at the beginning of the day. Mr. Adair was proposed by Dr. Leap- ingwell, Esquire Bedell of the University, and seconded by Mr. George E. Forster, banker ; Lord Maidstone was proposed by Mr. C. Balls, and seconded by Mr. Henry Marshall. The proposer and seconder of Mr. Mowatt were Mr. Alderman Ekin and Mr. Alderman Smith ; of Mr. Slade, Mr. Ficklin and Mr. Alderman Wentworth. As the political opinions of the candidates were pretty well known, the speaking was al- most entirely personal, except where the Tory candidates digressed to at- tack Lord Aberdeen. It is remarked that the Liberals expressed ap- proval of the absence of flags and music, but Mr. Slade directly attacked the new Bribery Act, and Lord Maidstone seemed to regret that the elec- tion was to be a " dry " instead of a " wet " one. Mr. Slade 4 hearty contempt for the mob : he described himseg

who had fought and bled for his country—the brother of th died for their country, and of one who is now fight4gr battles. Somebody called out, ." You're a blackguard hooted him for insisting that the base truckling of

Russia had brought on the war. Respecting the Mclean* t'oo

Act on the election proceedings he said— o'" which 'eh'a "I differ from Mr. Adair as to the flags : I am very here today. I have no idea that a meeting like this, sorrspltOs et. hilarity, should be conducted like a meeting of Puritans and Methodist par- sons. My friends know I intended to come to the hustings in a mourning coach, but I was told that would be bribery. But this is only an experi- ment for a year : and I can promise you, if you send me to the House of Commons, you shall have your bands and your colours again. You shall not go to the poll two and two like a Quaker's funeral. All these proceedings tend to reduce merry old England to the condition she was in previous to the Great Rebellion; and it is to preserve you from that miserable condition, and the consequences that followed, that the noble Lord and I have come to de- liver you. ' The show of hands was in favour of Mr. Adair and Mr. Mowatt. At the close of the poll, on Thursday, the numbere were—Adair, 758; Mowatt, 733; Maidstone, 708; Slade, 696. Mr. Adair and Mr. Mowatt are, therefore, returned.

At Canterbury there were five candidates. In the Conservative inte- rest were the Honourable Charles Lennox Butler, brother of Mr. Butler Johnstone, the late unseated Member, and Mr. Charles Manners Lush- ington; Sir William Somerville appeared in the 'Whig interest; Mr. Auchmuty Glover and Mr. Purton Cooper as Radicals. Here as else- where, the chief Tory candidate, Mr. Butler, lamented that the colour- ticket system, which he described as a "charity," had been abolished. Were it not illegal to give colour-tickets to the poor freemen, he should do as all candidates had done for seventy or eighty years. The speaking 'was mainly of a local and personal character • relieved a little by the very Liberal speech of Mr. Purton Cooper, and the Church-and-State harangue of Mr. Lushington. The show of hands was on Friday ; gained by Sir William Somerville, and Mr. Glover. At the close of the poll the num- bers stood—Lushington 729 ' • Somerville 699; Butler 671; Cooper 403; Glover 41. Lushington and Somerville are, therefore, returned.

The notoriously corrupt borough of Barnstaple has returned two Con- servatives. The nomination took place on Wednesday, and the polling on Thursday. There were three candidates : Mr. T. Laurie, nephew of Sir Peter Laurie, and Mr. Guinness, of Dublin, but not the great brewer, Conservatives; and Mr. Tite, the architect of the Royal Exchange, Liberal. Mr. Tite rested his claims on local grounds; he is the chair- man of the North Devon Railway, and was instrumental in bringing it to Barnstaple. The show of hands was in favour of Mr. Tite and Mr. Laurie ; but at the poll the numbers were—Laurie, 333; Guinness, 323; Tite, 286.

Hull was contested by three candidates : Mr. Watson and Mr. Seymour, Liberals ; and Mr. S. A. Dickson, a Conservative Free-trader and foe to Popery. The proceedings at the nomination on Thursday, were without interest, and the Liberals gained the show of hands. The poll was taken on Friday.

The Maldon election commenced also on Wednesday. There were five candidates : Mr. Peacock° and Mr. Brantley Moore, brought forward by the Tories ; Mr. Quintin Dick, Liberal Conservative ; Mr. Lennard, Liberal, and Mr. M'Enteer, "the People's candidate." To secure due order and disarm the "roughs," an ingenious device was adopted—they were sworn in special constables, and labelled as such ! The speaking here was not of other than local interest. Mr. Dick reminded the electors that Mr. Peacocke had been unseated for Harwich, and Mr. Branaley Moore for Hull ; and neither could deny it. In his address Mr. Pea- cocke echoed Mr. Disraeli's favourite theory of our "territorial constitu- tion," and desired that the "Conservative" should be called the "Coun- try party," as their object was to resuscitate the country. Mr. M'Enteer declared for universal suffrage, the ballot, and freedom of election. The show of hands was in favour of Mr. Leonard and Mr. M'Enteer. At the close of the poll, on Thursday, the numbers were—Peacocke, 406; Moore, 399; Lennard, 335; M'Enteer, 215; Dick, 34. Peacocke and Moore are, therefore, elected.

Mr. John Henry Gurney, of the firm of Gurney and Co , bankers, Nor- wich, is spoken of as likely to succeed Lord Jocelyn as Member for King's Lynn.

By the joint efforts of Lord Stanley, who subscribed 10007., and the Corporation of King's Lynn, an institution, called the Athenmum, has been erected in that town, comprising a museum, a reading-room, a library, and a music-hall, altogether at an expense of 7000/. The Athenmum was opened on Wednesday, by Lord Stanley ; who delivered an interesting address on the great national want--education, and on the necessity of making the most of the facilities at the disposal of all, until the establish- ment of a national system, of which be is not sanguine. The death of Lord Jocelyn, his colleague, threw a shadow over the festivities; and at the close of his address, Lord Stanley paid a graceful tribute to the de- ceased.

"In Lord Jocelyn," he said, " you have lost a most valuable representa- tive, I a colleague and a dear friend. Neither loss is easily repaired. To the interests of this borough he was always devoted. His unvarying cour- tesy, his kindness, his amiable disposition, his love of labour for its own sake, his assiduous discharge both of his political and of his military duties, will here be long remembered ; and if we were to lose him, it is some consola- tion to know that he died the noblest of all deaths—a death in discharge of his duty. You are probably all aware, that when the fatal disease by which he was carried off broke out amongst the regiment which he commanded, he quitted his own residence expressly in order to share their danger' to en- courage them by his presence, and to dissipate a panic which, had it spread, might have aggravated the severity of the attack. In that service he was struck down ; and that was as much a martyrdom ta public duty as if he had fallen on the field of battle. It is indeed impossible that that event should not be deeply felt, and cast a gloom over this celebration. We are inaugurating our undertaking under marked and melancholy auspices. God grant that its future may be marked with happier omens; and that it may not only be an ornament to our streets and an honour to its founders, but that it may promote the wellbeing of the people of Lynn, and the good cause of education and of knowledge throughout England."

The harvest in the Eastern Counties is proceeding rapidly, and there

sdi ;Lax complaints either as to quantity or quality. -.r.x.nri-niattialeva Lieutenant Perry resumed its sitting on Monday, - of hearing the defence of the prisoner. It sat on that day, sigiseeday, and Thursday. The witnesses called for the de- is.liarvilt, the prisoner's solicitor, Captain and Paymaster . peefin,.raptaib John Chambers, late of the Forty-sixth but now of

: West YorkAilitia, Adjutant M.Alister, Lieutenant W. T. Wa-

s" :y;.` Major Stuart, latei of the Forty-sixth, Private Edward Lawler, Mr. pr.4-seriant„ and tbutenant Leonard, late of the Forty-sixth. Mr. Harrill deposed that he wrote the letter to Colonel Upton, upon the statements of which the present charges against Perry are based, and that Perry signed it. The letter was drawn up on information given to Mr. Har- rill by a reporter of the press, upon whose statements he thought he could rely ; and it was necessary because Perry had not been permitted to cross. examine the witnesses. Captain Corcoran deposed that practical jokes were common in the regiment; that Mr. Perry complained to him, and that be advised Mr. Perry to carry his complaints first to the field-officers and next to the Colonel. Mr. Perry told him that on reporting, Colonel Garrett said he was a fool for his pains, and like a child just escaped from his mother's apron-strings. He than advised Perry to apply to the General of the dis- trict : and he believed Perry had threatened to do so. He further stated that he believed Lieutenant Perry was shunned because he reported the officers who annoyed him. He had always found him kind and obliging, and remarked that he spent " the greater part of his time when off duty in playing on the eornopean with another young officer." Captain Chambers also spoke to the habit of practical jokes : Lieutenant Curtis had told him that Colonel Garrett said Perry was a fool for his pains ; he had heard it stated that Perry had threatened to report to the General of the district. Captain Chambers described how he and others had " dmwn" Knapp and Waldy ; but he was positive that Captain Nicholas was not present. "It would appear that it was Captain Chambers who had unintentionally led Perry to believe that Nicholas was engaged in the affair.] He further said that Mr. Perry had always behaved " like a gentleman."

It will be recollected that last week Lieutenant W. T. Waldy made a statement respecting Captain Nicholas, to the effect that he had never heard Captain Nicholas use opprobrious language to a young officer, and that he had never written a letter saying he had. A letter was handed in to the Court, admitted to be in the handwriting of Mr. Waldy, containing a direct statement to the contrary. That letter was as follows.

" Windsor, June 12.

"My dear Perry—If you are really going to exchange, I wish you would mention to your servant, Lawler, that I should wish to take him after you leave.. These are very jolly quarters: lots of women, and we have a drag for Ascot, and are going in grand style. You owe me 31.—that is, I owe it to you. I hope you may live till you get it. I have a good mind to exchange myself, being pretty well tired of the 'South Devon.' The drill is worse than ever, beginning at 7 a. m. and very often till 6 o'clock p. m. We are obliged to ask leave to go to London ; although there may be no parade on that day, it is all the same. How does Knapp bear his lieu- tenancy ? I think he will be taken down a peg or two; but you need not tell hint so, popular feeling being very much against him here. Coote has had several takings down here already ; the other day Nicholas told him he was a d—d son of a bitch of an ensign.' This was at mess, he having given Nicholas the lie direct. "Believe me, yours truly, W. T. WALD'S."

Cross-examined, Waldy could at first see no discrepancy between his evi- dence and Isis letter, which he did not remember to have written : he after- wards admitted the discrepancy, but could not explain it ; only saying that it was done without "forethought."

A letter written by Mr. APGregor, the army-agent, was also read, testify- ing in strong terms to the "honourable conduct' of Mr. Perry "in several pecuniary transactions." This was done to meet the evidence of Captain Sandwich, who had impugned the honour of Mr. Perry in that respect. Major Stuart's evidence went to show that no efficient steps were taken to suppress practical jokes, but that, on the contrary, they were encouraged. Private Lawler showed that the charge brought by Captain Colin Campbell against Perry, that he absented himself without leave was unfounded; for he had himself obtained the leave required from Captain Campbell. One of the points in the case does not come out with sufficient distinctness in the evidence. It is that certain companies were recently sent to Turkey out of their turn ; those companies being commanded by officers necessary for Perry's defence.

Lieutenant Perry read his defence on Thursday. The document, fully re- ported, occupies four long and close columns of the morning papers. It sets out with alleging a conspiracy, prearrangement of evidence, combination, and perjury among the witnesses for the prosecution. It complains that when Mr. Perry asked for the production of Lieutenant Shervinton's letter' all the correspondence respecting the "disgusting gesture" was produced, although Lieutenant Shervinton and Major Fyffe had agreed to treat the matter as a thoughtless jest. Then entering into an examination of the evi- dence in support of the four charges preferred against Perry, it takes the witnesses seriatim on each charge, dwells greatly on the "non ml ricordo" style of the evidence,—the want of memory in all the officers with re- gard to any facts that might tell in the prisoner's favour, and the fresh- ness of recollection in all that seems to tell against him. On the first charge—that when Mr. Perry reported, Colonel Garrett called him "a fool for his pains "—the evidence of eight witnesses is examined ; and as their evidence amounted to this, that they had never heard or did not recollect hearing Colonel Garrett use the words, the con- clusion come to is that the charge fails because the evidence is negative; whereas Mr. Perry's statement is an affirmative statement, and quite con- sistent with the witnesses', that they had not recollected or did not hear Colonel Garrett use the language imputed to him. On the second charge— that Mr. Perry had falsely stated that he had threatened to appeal to the General of the district—the evidence is equally negative. On the third and fourth charges—alleging that Mr. Perry had falsely accused Captain Ni- cholas of ill-treating young officers—Waldy's letter is greatly dwelt on ; and the tendency of the defence is to shake the credit of the witnesses who spoke well of Captain Nicholas. Much is also made of the admitted fact that the officers, under pretext of meeting to audit the mess-accounts, which they did not do, consulted together on the evidence on all the charges, and the letter out of which they arose, many of them before giving evidence. Having dissected the evidence for the prosecution, Mr. Perry restates his own case, and tells over again the story he told at the first court-martial, with some additional particulars.

Thus he describes how, instead of occupying his time in debauchery and in disturbing the comfort and wounding the feelings of his brother officers, he occupied his leisure hours in the improvement of his mind, in the culti- vation of music, drawing, and the modern languages, in the minute study of his profession ; and how he looked forward to the time when he should serve the Queen as a brave and able officer. He describes the degradations put upon him, their frequency, his complaints to Captain Corcoran, his reports to Colonel Garrett, the reply he received, and his threat to report to the General of the district; and tells how he consented to forbear at the officers' request. Although he is not morally liable for the contents of his letter, as he only signed it at the request of his legal adviser, yet he does not shrink from it, because he believes that its allegations are true. He dwells on the fact that certain companies were Rent to Turkey out of their turn, the officers of which were needed for his defence ; and he makes the most of the evidence of those gentlemen who did appear for the defence. Ile submits that the charges have not been proved, and he closes with a solemn asseveration of innocence. "I have now done, end I east myself upon your sympathies, and your love of truth and justice; for I solemnly declare, in the presence of this imposing assembly of British officers, and in the presence of my country and my final Judge, that I sin innocent of the charges pre- ferred against me ; and I leave myself, my conduct, and my reputation, in your hands, with a consciousness that you will do use justice ; and 'May God defend the right." A loud cheer broke from the audience as the last words were uttered, but it was of course at once repressed by the Court.

Major-General Wetherell then said, that as he could not admit the truth of some of the statements made by the prisoner and the inferences drawn therefrom, he must request that the Court would adjourn until next day.

The Chief Baron and a special Jury were occupied at Guildford, on Satur- day, in hearing an action for libel brought by Mr. Richard Boyle, a Roman Catholic priest, against Cardinal Wiseman : damages laid at 1000/. The de- fendant simply pleaded " Not guilty." It appears that the libel arose out of the contention of the Ultramontane and the Moderate Roman Catholic parties respecting the state of religious opinion in England. The Univers, the Intramontane organ, pretended that the whole population of England was about to become Catholic ; while the Anti de la Religion, the Moderate organ, replied to these and other exaggerated statements, and laid before its readers the real facts of the case. The articles were written by Mr. lvors, a Boman Catholic priest, and signed by M. Cognat, the editor of the journal. One of these articles was answered in the columns of the Univers, on the aad May, by Cardinal Wiseman, as it is alleged ; and the article was copied into the Tablet and the Catholic Standard. It contained an attack upon the Reverend Richard Boyle, accusing him of having been expelled from a re- ligious society—the society of the Jesuits, and made other charges against him calculated to ruin him. Mr. Edwin James, counsel for the plain- tiff, stated that Mr. Boyle had been appointed to the curacy of Is- lington by Dr. Griffiths, the predecessor of Cardinal Wiseman ; that be had spent between 300/. and 4001. upon his house there ; that no complaint had ever been made against him; yet that in 1850, shortly after the ap- pointment of Cardinal Wiseman, be had been removed to make way for Mr. Oakley, a new convert, whom the Cardinal had appointed to the post. lie remonstrated ; and requested that the money he had expended might be restored : but in reply, the Cardinal took from him his right to preach, to confess, and administer the sacraments. Mr. Boyle twice apologized, and the Cardinal said all was forgotten and forgiven. Dr. Grant, the Roman Ca- tholic Bishop of Southwark, allowed him a small stipend ; but since these proceedings even that had been taken away. The difficulty of the case lay in proving the authorship of the article in the Univers. It was signed "N. Cardinal Wisenian." Mr. Ivors, the Roman Catholic incumbent of St. Alexis, Kentish Town, deposed that he had seen a letter from Cardinal Wiseman to M. Cognat, with reference to the authorship of this article, and he was acquainted with its contents. Mr. James submitted that Mr. Ivors was entitled to give secondary evidence : but, after consulting with Mr. Justice Erle, the Chief Baron ruled, that secondary evi- dence could not be taken. Mr. Rees Gawthorne' assistant-secretary to Cardinal Wiseman, Mr. Prendergast, editor of the Catholic Standard, Dr. Grant, the Reverend George Spencer, known as Father Ignatius, and Mr. Frederick Lucas 31.P., were successively, examined, but none of them gave any evidence directly relating to the authorship of the letter. Mr. Lucas had an impression that the Cardinal had written a letter, and that it referred to Boyle, but he did not know what letter was referred to. Mr. James proposed to call Cardinal Wiseman himself to prove the publication of the libel, at all events to have him sworn as a witness. The Cardinal was called, and took a seat on the bench ; but the Chief Baron refused to allow him to be sworn, as he could decline to answer any question that would criminate himself. The Chief Baron ruled that there was not sufficient evidence for the consideration of the Jury, and the plaintiff was nonsuited.

At Chester Assizes, Clarke, a surveyor of taxes, and Haswell, a collector, both employed in Chester, were convicted of conspiring to defraud the reve- nue. They seem to have misappropriated large sums received for Income- tax, falsifying the accounts to hide their dishonesty. Haswell is an old inau, suffering much from ill health; and he was the subordinate of Clarke. Clarke was sentenced to imprisonment for eighteen months ; Haswell only for three months.

Richard Hughes, groom to Mr. Crowdey, of Chiseldon, was in love with the cook, but she preferred another man. In a fit of jealousy, Hughes seized hold of the cook, and cut her throat with a razor, it is feared fatally ; the woman's screams brought Mr. Crowdey into the kitchen ; Hughes fled, pursued by his master ; but before Mr. Crowdey could overtake him he had cut his own throat so effectually that he soon died.

A girl only nine years old has been committed to Warwick Gaol for the murder of an infant which she was employed to nurse. She was sent to fetch home some knives and forks; in a wood she appears to have cut the child's throat with one of the knives-' she then trumped-up a story of a man's having seized her and killed the infant.

The cost of the riots at Wigan, which will have to be defrayed out of the borough treasury, has been ascertained to amount to nearly 2000/. The greater part of this arose from the travelling expenses and maintenance of the soldiers called to protect the town.

There has been an explosion at the Government powder-mills at Herods- foot in Cornwall. A man walked into the drying-house with his trousers on fire, caused by a spark from the fire-place; the loose powder on the floor ignited ; the man saw this, ran for his life, and managed to get into a trench before the drying-house blew up : he was only bruised by some of the falling stones. Five tons of powder exploded, and the destruction all around may be imagined : fortunately, no more powder took fire.

Two children have been killed at Whitehaven by the fall of a portion of cliff on to the beach.

Last week, the National School at Cartel St. Mary in Suffolk was struck by lightning, while it was filled with children. Part of the building was knocked down, and three boys were killed by the lightning ; the thatched roof was fired, and the whole building was consumed. Mr. Hely, a surgeon of Ravenstone in Leicestershire, has been killed by drinking colchicum wine,—made of the seeds and roots of meadow saffron steeped in sherry. No label had been placed on the bottle, and Mr. Rely thought it was sherry unmedicated.