INTERESTING HISTORICAL EVENTS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 457, 17 April 1912, Page 7

INTERESTING HISTORICAL EVENTS.

AN UNLAWFUL, PAPER. At the time when the compulsory stamp on each copy of newspapers was fourpence, and duty on the pound of paper threepence, the "Examiner" newspaper —a journal which advocated the principles of Free Trade with remarkable ability— was the first journal which systematically called attention to Press taxation by inscribing its price on the first page, thus : "Taxes on knowledge, 4d. ; print and paper, 3d." On July 9, 183.1, a newspaper was started by a writer named Hetherington, bearing on its front page the title : "The Poor man's Guardian : a Weekly Newspaper for the people, Published contrary to 'Law,' to try the power of ''Might' against 'Right.' " Not withstanding the vigilance of the Government, this unlawful paper was continued until December 26, 1835 , anjl within that period 500 persons suffered imprisonment for selling it. Hetherington was four times convict ed of publishing it—twice imprisoned for six 'months. The frequent prose cution of the vendors of the "Poor Man's Guardian" compelled them to conduct the issue of the paper to the public with extreme caution. The sellers hid them in their hats, their pockets, or inside their shirts, and retailed them one by one, as oppor tunity offered, while the publishing office in the Strand was constantly watched by the police. Here amusing scenes often took place ; sham parcels were made up, and men and boys started off with them at furious speed,, the police following hard upon their heels. While this was going on at the front of the house, the real parcels wers frequently sent off by • door at the back. Scouts were therefore constantly on the look-out as to the whereabouts of the police, and the issue took place by day or by night, as circumstances made possible. Hetherington himself frequently entered the premises in the dress of a Quaker, and had to make his way out by the same way as the papers themselves. He was at length brought to trial on June 17, 1834, in the Court of Exchequer, before Lord Lyndhurst and a special jury, the information being filed by His Majesty's Attorney-General. Hetherington conducted his own defence, and to such good effect that ths prosecution failed, the jury returning a verdict for the defendant, on the ground that they did not think that the ""Poor Man's Guardian" came within the Act.

A SMART SEA FIGHT. Among the old sea-dogs of whose tenacity and prowess Britain is so justly proud, was Sir R. G. Keats, who fought one of the smartest actions in the annals . of the British Navy on July 12, 1801, when the British, under Sir James Saumarez, defeated the Franco-Spanish squadron in the Gut of Gibraltar. Keats was on the Superb, and just as the shades of evening began to deepen he succeeded in running vessel in between two Spanish three-deckers, immense vessels, and engaged them both at the same time ; then, a midst the dense smoke and gathering darkness, lie slipped away, and overtaking another of the Spanish vessels more proportionate to his own in size, engaged it, and soon compelled it to surrender. Meanwhile, the two three-deckers, not perceiving his escape in the darkness, continued to pound into each other, until they both caught fire, and were consumed together, thus giving to Captain Keats the unique honour of having by a masterly manoeuvre caused the destruction of two first-rate line of battle ships belonging to the enemy, and the capture of another of equal force,, with only a trifling loss on his part. NAPOLEON ON BOARD THE BELLEROPHON. On July 15, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte went on board the British man-of-war, the Bellerophon. Hopeless after Waterloo, he abdicated on June 22, and retired to Malmaison, virtually a prisoner. As the King was returning to Paris, Napoleon was, _to say the least, inconvenient on French territory, and he was sent to the Isle of Aix. He embarked on board the Saale frigate, in the hope of getting to America ; but the British blockade was too severe. When he found there was no chance, he sent Las Cases and General Lallemand ostensibly to inquire whether passports had arrived to permit him to pass the blockading squadron, and allow him to go on his way to tli2 New World. Of course, the reply was in the negative, and, in the course of conversation Captain Maitland observed, "Why not seek an asylum in England ?" Knowing he was not safe in France, Napoleon adopted the suggestion, and wrote thus to the Regent : "Your Rcyal Highness,— Exposed to the factions which divide my country, and to the enmity of the greatest Powers of Europe, I have terminated my political career, and I come, like Themistocles, to throw myself upon the hospitality of the English people. I place myself under the protection of their laws, which I claim from your Royal Highness, as the most powerful, the most consistant, and the most generous of my enemies.—Napoleon." Accordingly, he and his suite went on board the Bellerophon, where they were received by Captain Maitland find his officers, the Emperor saying, "I have come to throw myself on the protection of your Prince and laws." Pie was treated on board with every con-

sideration, and dined off his own gold plate, and when he visited the Superb lie was received with all the honours accorded to Royalty, with the exception of a salute being fired. The fleet set sail for England next day. Napoleon was eventually banished by the .British Government to St Helena, where he arrived on October 15, and died there nearly six years later, from cancer of the stomach. VICTORIA CROSS REGULATIONS WORTHILY BROKEN. It is not difficult to understmd how it is that, excite-l by the fury of battle, and sustained by the plaudits of their countrymen, there arc never in action wanting brave ni:?n ready to encounter almost certain death. All honour to such heroes ; but even greater credit/ is due to those who, unwarmed by nny previous excitement, in the midst of peace, m cold blood, risk their own lives in order to save those of others. It must therefore, have been a source o> satisfaction, both to soldiers and ci.i.'ians, that the regulations ccn ainod in the fifth clause of the Royal Warrant instituting the Victoria Cross were broken through to reward Private Timothy O'Hea, Ist Battalion Rifle Brigade, for his cool courage on July 9th, 1866. On that date "a railway van, containing 2,000 pounds of ammunition, on its way from Quebec to Kingston, under the charge of a sergeant and a guard of the battalion, was discovered to be on fire on reaching Danvills Station. It had been ignited by a spark from the engine. The van was immediately shoved down the line, away from the station, and the alarm given. The people living in the vicinity fled froir their houses, for fear of the explosion. Private Timothy O'Hea, on? of the guard, ran down to the van. forced open the door, removed the covering from the ammunition, discovered the source of the fire, hastened to get water, and extinguished thf flames. A braver or more daring act it is impossible to imagine. A subscription was immediately set on foot, and a purse handed to the brave rifleman, and he subsequently received the Victoria Cross for this courageous act." The fifth clause of the regulations is as follows : "It is ordained that the Cross shall only be awarded to those officers or men who have served in the presence of an jnemy." Thus, though O'Hea fully merited the distinction conferred upon him, the bestowal of the Cross in this instance was a distinct violation of the statute.

THE BATTLE OP OUDENARDE. The position of Oudenarde, a small town of East Flanders, on the banks ol the Scheldt, at the verge of th€ Belgian frontier, was at one time considered to be a point of strategic importance, and it was here, on July 11, 1708, that the British and Allies, under the Duke of Marlborough and the Prince Eugene, gained one of th< most celebrated victories in the Wai of the Spanish Succession. The French army, numbering 100,000 men, under the Duke of Burgundy and Marshals Du Berri and Vendome, were besieging a small British force in Oudenarde when Marlborough gave battle to them, and the fight lasted till night put an end to the conflict, by which time the French were totally defeated. Although the French troops far outnumbered those of the Allies, they were handicapped by having commanders who disagreed on the plan of action. During the 1 a 1;tle, in which Prince Gcoi'ge, afterwards George 11., too'v a distinguished part, the French lost a'o't 20,000 men, including deserters, villi" the Allies' loss amounted tn , 0 0 ;. The War of the Spanls'i !.? ' • rs' :• arose out of Charles 11. o* H f\ , t his death in 1700, leaving ro h ' ■ ' Louis XIV. of France rr-j 1 i

grandson, Philip, Duke o" n.o King of Spain, witli l> 1 lilc < Philip V. The House of Ha n produced a rival in the pnr c cn < f t'-. Archduke Charles of Austria, an' r Srand Alliance, comprising En b.nl, Holland, Germany, Austria, an' Portugal, resolved on sipror!.in~ th claims of the Archduke Chirlcs, w'lile Louis XIV. was supported by Sra : n and Bavaria. When the war canic tc a close in 1713, Philip, by the Treaty ot Utrecht, succeeded in the Spanish throne, but at a great sacrifice to France, who lost among other places, Gibraltar, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia.