Vruniurial.
An election of a Member for Lyniington took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. The candidates were Mr. Henry Grenfell, Liberal, and Lord George Lennox, Tory. The contest was very close, the numbers polled on Wednesday being, for Lennox, 148, for Grenfell, 122—the Tory winning by 26.
The Lancashire Reformer's Union held a meeting at Manchester on Tuesday. They denounced the conduct of the Lords in regard to the Paper Duties Repeal Bill as unconstitutional, and called upon the Go- vernment to assert the right of the House of Commons to levy taxes. A large meeting has been held at Bristol, to petition Parliament in favour of the Reform Bill now before the House of Commons. Mr. lienry Berkeley,, Member for Bristol, has, in his place, spoken slight- bigly of the measure.
The Manchester Chamber of Commerce has passed a number of reso- lutions on the subject of Indian commercial legislation. They direct their especial opposition against the duties on imports. They .declare that the duties imposed under Mr. Wilson's scheme will amount, in some closer, to a prohibition on cotton goods and yarns, that imports will dimi- nish, and exports, and consequently the remission of specie to India, will increase, and that the high duties, acting as a protection, will divert industry from agriculture to manufactures. In a petition to Parliament, they pray for a great reduction of the duties. Large meetings have been held at Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool, to promote the mission to Central Africa. Archdeacon Mackenzie, Lord Brougham, the Bishop of Oxford, and Mr. Basley, addressed the meeting at Manchester. Lord Brougham said :— The reverend gentleman who preceded him had dwelt on the defective exertions of civilized Europe to reclaim unenlightened Africa from her bar- barous state, and justly observed, in comparing our great cities, such as Manchester,. Liverpool, and Leeds, with ancient Carthage, that it was to be hoped we should not imitate the neglect of that predecessor of ours as a com- mercial community, but should extend to the Interior of that continent the benefits of the higher civilization and religion with which we were blessed. He hoped we should furnish this other contrast to Carthage, that we should not be subdued by any other nation. Of this he had no manner of appre- hension, because we were doing what Carthage never did—preparing our- selves in all ranks and classes to bear a hand in the defence of the country (Loud cheers.) The Liverpool Daily Post computes that during the present month 9000 Irish passengers have left that port for the United States. There were at the time 1500 on board vessels about to sail.
A Mr. Brear, of Lamb Lane, Bradford, was summoned on Monday to show tense why he should not support his widowed daughter, Mrs. Frith, and her six children. It was proved that he had property, but his reply was that his income from his calling was not more than 9s. or 108. a week. The two houses of 25/. each rental were mortgaged to the extent of 600/. in con- sideration of which he paid 601. a year interest and part principal to a build- ing society, and he was only the occupier of one of them, as other adult un- married children, with whom he resided, were in reality the occupiers. By a life of industry and severe economy he had acquired a little property., barely sufficient, with his own meagre earnings, to maintain himself and wife and single daughters. The Magistrates thought otherwise, and ordered the defendant to pay 6s. 6d. per week.
Sergeant Whitworth, master-gunner of Sandown Fort, in the Isle o Wight, has slain his wife and six children, and attempted to destroy him- self. The scene in his quarters was most shocking. The woman and three of the children, had been murdered in their sleep, their throats had been mortally cut with a razor or cutlass ; but one of the little children had evidently ran about the room during the perpetration of the murders, for the soles of its feet were stained with blood. Whitworth having failed to kill himself, reported the murders at the officers' quarters, where he talked in a most incoherent manner, and seemed to be labouring under some inexplicable delusion. A coroner's jury inquired into the facts, and delivered the following singular verdict :—" We are agreed to a verdict that William Henry Whitworth is guilty of the wilful murder of his wife and six children ; and thejury at the same time wish to add, if they may be allowed to do so, for the sake of their neighbours and the locality, that they are of opinion that the man was insane at that time." Whitworth will be tried at the Winchester Assizes.
Two men of the Military Train are in custody at Aldershott, on the charge of having murdered a woman by throwing her into the canal on Saturday night last. It appears that the deceased was one of those "unfor- tunates " who form the principal attraction of the numerous soldiers' public houses in the neighbourhood of the camp.
A Coroner's Jury, at Ashton-under-Lyne, has returned a verdict of man- slaughter against Benjamin Swire. He is a clog-iron and cut-nail manu- facturer. A boiler on his premises exploded, and killed a lad. After a careful examination, he was convicted of negligence in regard to the boiler.
While a body of Marines, at Chatham, were resting a moment from the fatigues of drill, one of them began to throw a somersault. His bayonet fell out of the sheath, point upwards ; and the poor man fell upon it. He died of the wound. [Thus we see the regulars, as well as the volunteers, are guilty of follies which cost them dear.]
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