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THE ENGLISH SUEZ MAIL.

From the Euglish journals to hand by the Tararua—the latest date from Loudon being the 19th February—we make the following extracts : ENGLAND. Final arrangements have now been made on behalf of the London and English provincial bankers, to introduce a Bill into Parliament early next Session, prohibiting the Scotch banks from establishing branches in England, and directing such branches as have been already established to be closed, unless the privilege of note-issue in Scotland is surrendered. In the event of a resolution to inquire into the matter as a preliminary to such a Bill being carried, it is proposed that an interim Act should be passed, prohibiting the Scotch banks from establishing any new branches in England until the inquiry has been made, and a reasonable interval for taking action upon it has elapsed. An independent maiden lady, named Elizabeth Scott, died suddenly the other day. The deceased, who was 72 years of age, though in possession of an income' of £4OO a year, lived alone at 13 Avenue-road, Lewisham, without a servant, or even the assistance of a charwoman, never associating with any one. It was observed by an opposite neighbor that the house remained shut up for some days, and not seeing anything of the old lady, information was given to the police, upon which Inspector Ings, with Sergeants Jewell and Hayward, proceeded to the house, and, obtaining no answer, effected an entrance through a back window. On getting into the back kitchen they found the deceased dead on the floor, where she had apparently lain a week. A cursory search through the house resulted in £B2 iu gold, £4 7s. 6d. in silver, and Is. 7d. in copper, being found secreted in little bags between the beds and mattresses. The deceased was possessed of upwards of £IO,OOO invested in consols, the dividends from which realised £4OO a year. Two cupboards which were locked up and the keys missing were not searched, but were supposed to contain securities to the amount stated. It was believed she made no will, the only known relatives being two cousins living in Scotland. For many years she had been leading a life closely approximating to that of a miser, her only companions being a number of large fine Norway rats, which frequented the kitchen, and appeared to have been regularly fed. On deceased dying suddenly, the rats, when they had devoured all the food within read), commenced feeding upon the deceased herself, the fleshy portions of both bauds having been eaten away. The post-mortem examination showed disease of the lungs, which suddenly assumed a fatal termination. She appeared to have just curled her hair, and to have been in the act of partaking of her supper, when she fell off her chair and expired. The house is in charge of the police authorities, who will probably ultimately hand it over, with the wealth it contains, to deceased’s solicitor and her two cousins, who have arrived from ’Scotland to •claim the property. A fearful affair occurred in. Dalston a few days ago. A man well known in Leeds, named Lipmdn Louis Morrison, was “ wanted” on a charge of presenting false cheques. A London detective officer (Sergeant Moss) went down to Leeds, and he, along with Detectives Hunt and Northcliffe, had been making inquiries about Morrison for the past few days. It was found that a cheque for £Bl had been cashed at the bank of Messrs. Hydes, Bagley, and Co., of Leeds, on being presented there by Morrison’s wife. From inquiries which were made in Leeds, it was found that Morrison was in London, residing with a woman whom he had taken from Leeds, and on February 10 Sergeant Moss met him at his residence at Dalston, and arrested him. The prisoner was very violent, and during a desperate struggle he cat his own throat and died soon afterwards.

An extraordinary instance of concealment of sex has been disclosed at Liverpool, Amongst the prisoners committed for trial at the sessions on charges of felony was one William Seymour, a cab-driver. On being received at the gaol the prisoner was examined in the usual way, when it was discovered that “ William Seymour ” was a female. In answer to the prison officials, she stated that she had left her husband in consequence of his illtreatment, and had been a cab-driver for nine years, three of which had been spent in London and six in Liverpool.' During the whole of this time she had been successful in concealing her real sex. She was removed to the female part of the prison, and the indictment against her was duly altered, so as to prevent any technical loophole of escape when she shall be placed upon her trial. A new opera-house is about to bo built on the Thames embankment, by Mr. Mapleson and Sir Michael Costa. Another claimant to the Derwentwater estate has sprung up, and should the law be put in operation as intended, incidents will be revealed of a somewhat striking character. A petition embodying the facts, and relating the pedigree of the claimant in unbroken line from Sir .Francis Eadcliffe, father of the unfortunate Earl of Derwentwater, who was beheaded in 1746, has been presented to the Queen and referred by Her Majesty’s command to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who has since put himself in communication with the petitioner's advisers. The claimant is a woman in humble circumstances named Lovegrove, residing at Kingston-on-Thames, and her mother is said to have been greatgranddaughter to 1* rancis Radcliffe, the second earl, who was married to Mary Tudor, a younger daughter of King Charles 11. As a matter of course the Derwentwater estates were forfeited by attainder of James, the third earl, and the restoration of the family honors is solely the prerogative of the reigning sovereign. The Prince Imperial has passed ins examination at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, being seventh in proficiency of the cadets receiving commissions,, but first in fencing and riding. The Empress Eugenie and a distinguished party of visitors were present. The Duke of Cambridge, who addressed the cadets, expressed his satisfaction with the reports relative to the young Pnnce, pointed out the difficulties under which he had pursued his studios, and congratulated him on having attained to a high and honorable posiThe late extensive jewel robberies at the Countess of Morelia’s, at Virginia Water, and at Madame Van de Weyer’s, at New Lodge, Winkfield, have been followed by another, committed at Holly Springs, the country seat of the Earl of EUenborough. In this case the house was entered by the same means as at New Lodge, and the burglars having secured a large quantity- of jewellery, &c., made off. Towards midnight on January 6, the Lord Chief Baron was walking homo, in the Bayswater-road, when at some distance below the Marble Arch he was suddenly surrounded by four men, one of whom struck him a violent blow on tho head, while at the same time ho was tripped up and thrown to tho pavement. Fortunately Ids lordship was not stunned, and he at once defended himself with a thick stick which ho carried in his hand, whereupon tho men ran off, and his lordship was able to walk homo. Ho at first thought that ho hud only sustained a few bruises, but ultimately it was discovered that a rib had been broken. This injury, though painful, and causing some annoyance, has not at all in-

terfered with the performance of his duties, and his lordship is now rapidly recovering. The Nord , the organ of the Russian Chancellery at Brussels, publishes a violent article against England and its attitude towards the military Powers of Europe. # Mr. Lopes, member for Frome, having during the recess called the Home -Rulers “a disreputable band,” was questioned in the House on the subject by Mr. Sullivan, and having admitted the use of the words without retracting them, Mr. Sullivan raised a question of privilege, which ended, after an amusing and soothing speech from Mr. Disraeli, in Mr. Lopes withdrawing the expression complained of. The Earl of Pembroke, Under-Secretary of State for War, has sent a contribution of £SOO to the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, which relieved last year 10,028 persons. The great billiard tournament was brought to a close by the settlement of the between Roberts and Alfred Bennett. Each won five games. After the usual misses, Bennett, with 160 points start, made a losing hazard, and then Roberts, in a grand break of 213, caught and passed him. Bennett only once after caught Roberts—at 215 to 211—but from that point he was never in the match, though he played with such judgment and skill as induced many to think that up to almost the last he had a chance of winning first place. Roberta played amazingly well, as he has all through the handicap. He made 60, 62, and 64, both all-round and with spot strokes, and won the game in a minute under the hour by 140 points. Bennett’s best breaks were 37 and 51. Roberts thus wins the first prize. Alfred Bennett wins the second prize, Cook, Taylor, and Stanley each take equal shares as third men. Kilkenny wins three shares, Timbrell wins two shares, and Joseph Bennett takes one share. The receipts at the door, added to the £IOO given by Messrs. Burroughes and Watts, will be divided into forty-eighths, and each man will receive a rateable share according to the number of his games. Taylor wins the locket presented by Mr. Cook for the highest break ; it was 248. The handicap was in all respects a success.

SCOTLAND. A deputation waited on the Rev. Dr. Begg, Edinburgh, on February 13, headed by Colonel Macdonald Macdonald, of St. Martin’s, and Mr. Kidston, of Ferniegai', and presented him with £4670, in acknowledgment of the important services he has rendered for the maintenance of Prostestantism, religious education, and national religion. Dr. Begg suitably acknowledged the gift. The catch of herrings by the Anstnither boats has been unprecedentedly heavy, the quantity one day recently being so large that many nets sank to the bottom, ■while others "were tom and damaged.

The vacant riband of the Order of the Thistle has been conferred upon the Marquis of Bute.

A distressing affair occurred on January 30, in the house of Mr. A. Campbell, at Pollokshaw’s. About eight o’clock a mason named Thomson, and the wife of a furnaceman named Young were, with several others, having something to drink, and in the course of conversation Thomson produced a revolver from his pocket and commenced explaining its working to the company. Pointing it in the direction of Mrs. Young, he pulled the trigger, and the revolver, which was loaded with ball, was discharged, the ball entering the left side of the poor woman, causing her immediately to fall down.' Great consternation prevailed among those present, and after a while the injured woman was delivered of a still-born child. She lingered in great agony until the next day, when death put an end to her sufferings. Thomson was apprehended by the police, and was examined before the sheriff at Paisley, where he made a declaration to the effect that his action was purely accidental. He was committed to prison till an investigation is made.

The Theatre Eoyal of Edinburgh was burned to the ground on February 6. The fire broke out shortly after two o’clock, just when the weekly payments had been made and the treasury had been closed. The treasurer had not left the building five minutes, and happened to be in the house adjoining the theatre, when the alarm of fire was raised. Mr. E. H. AVyndham, the lessee, was not in the theatre, being confined to his house with a sore throat. What first excited suspicion of something being wrong was an explosion which occurred in the top of the building, apparently above the stage and property and dressingrooms. Information was at once conveyed to the principal fire-station in High-street. By the time the first engine arrived the flames had burst through the roof at the south end, and it was at ouco apparent to the spectators that there was no hope of saving the portion occupied by the stage and its accessories. So quickly did the flames spread that about twenty minutes to three o’clock they appeared through the roof, immediately over the auditorium. Several manual engines wore on the spot by this time, but the conflagration was so great that two which got into working order had not the slightest perceptible effect upon it. The stage effects burned with great rapidity, and at three o'clock the northern half of the building was gutted. A few minutes afterwards the greater part of the roof of this portion fell in with a crash, and the fire had then full mastery. In less than an hour the whole interior of the theatre was destroyed. Another steam engine arrived from Leith, and the firemen continued to play upon the burning mass till late in the evening, but only with the object of staying the fury of the flames. The walls alone were left standing. The fire originated from an explosion of gas connected with the lime-light apparatus used in the pantomime. This is the third time the Theatre Eoyal has been destroyed by fire within the last forty years. It was burned to the ground in 1853, and again about twelve years later, while under the present management. The building was purchased last year by a private gentleman who resides in Edinburgh, but who was at one time a banker in Loudon. He is fully insured. IRELAND. The neighborhood of Donnybrook has been painfully excited in consequence of a report that a house in Moreharapton-road had been burglariously entered by a gang of robbers, who had made off with a large quantity of valuable property, after having murdered a lady named Miss Ann Emma Geoghau. It appears that Miss Geoghan was sitting down writing a letter to her brother, who is in Bath, and while so engaged her attention was attracted by some noise. It was then half-past nine o’clock, and there was no person that she was aware of in the house but herself, as the servants were out. She continued to write, and on suddenly turning round she was terror-stricken by observing a rough-looking man approaching her. She screamed for help, and made for the street door, closely pursued by the robber, who came up with her in the hall, and dealt her a blow on the head, which all but deprived her of consciousness. When on the ground she received other severe blows ; and the murderer, in all probability thinking that the lady was dead, deliberately rolled her up in a large sheet and dragged her to the smoking-room, where she was loft lying bleeding on the floor. The robber or robbers then proceeded to look for plunder. Two boxes were broken open, and two valuable watches and £li in money abstracted from them. It was evident the perpetrator or perpetrators had to make a hasty retreat, as they did not disturb articles very portable and of great value which were within their reach. On the servants returning the alarm was given, and medical aid was promptly available for the injured lady, who was found to be in a most deplorable state. It was supposed that this robbery and attempted murder was the doing of a gang of notorious returned convicts now at largo in the city. Alderman Thomas Carty, J.P., of Drogheda, died some time ago in the possession of enormous wealth, in his lifetime estimated at £300,000. While living ho acknowledged no relatives, and was visited by none. After his death a number of claimants turned up. Eive of them, all previously in indigent circumstances, were allowed by the Court, the matter admitting of a plentiful crop of litigation, and several incidental suits are yet pending. Five of those who benefited by his death have since

died. The last remaining husband of the female claimants died the other day, and the only child they ever had —a son—died within a fortnight after he knew of the wealth of which he might have become pos* sessed.

The Austrian Government have completed a contract with Mr. Grubb, of Dublin, for the construction of an immense telescope, at a cost of £BOOO, for an observatory at Vienna. It will take four years to make. An old man, named Richard Moran, who lived in a wild and lonely district, has been murdered near Kilbeggan, in the county of Westmeath. The crime is supposed to have been committed for the purpose of robbery. It appears that the murder was one of almost unparalleled brutality, the unfortunate man’s head being nearly hacked to pieces. It was the boast of Ireland that murder for the sake of robbery was but little known, the distinguishing feature of such crimes having been of an agrarian nature. The local press states : “ There is no doubt that the crimes of robbery have been committed by returned convicts, and it therefore is not a pleasant reflection to know that a large number of perhaps the worst criminals in penal servitude have, by an extraordinary and unprecedented Act, been, during 1874, respited by the Government of New South Wales before the expiration of their sentences.” By the January mail a letter arrived from Australia, addressed to Moran, It was sent by one of his children, and is supposed to have contained money, as he had often received remittances from his family, all of whom are in that country. An extraordinary case came before the Court of Queen’s Bench, Dublin, on February 3. A Roman Catholic named Lemmon claimed the custody of his children from Ins wife, who was a Protestant, and a writ of habeas corpus was returned. The wife pleaded that her husband had some years ago been under restraint in a lunatic asylum, that he now showed symptoms of insanity, and that if he got the custody of the children he would desert them as he had done on a former occasion. The Court, after hearing the pleas of the parties, directed that the children should be handed over to the father. Immediately on hearing the judgment, the children, four in number, screamed piteously, “ Oh, mother, for the love of God, don’t leave us,” and gave way to paroxysms of despair. Every one in the court seemed deeply moved. The father in an excited manner attempted to tear* one of the children from the mother, when the Judge interposed and cautioned him. Ultimately the woman consented to return to her husband, and the parties left the court apparently reconciled.

Mr. James Gibson, Q.C., of Mountjoysquare. South Dublin, has just been returned to Parliament as M.P. for the University of Dublin, in the place of the Right Hon. John Thomas Bell, now Lord Chancellor of Ireland. ANGLO-NEW ZEALAND ITEMS. Mail communication with Australasia (says the European Mall) is occupying considerable attention just now in all the great centres of trade in this country, but more particularly in Loudon. It is seen that Australia and New Zealand has a great future before them, and that development must be the result of regular and reliable mail service. A fortnightly mail service, with the saving of three days in the transit of mails to and fro, will satisfy the exigencies of this largo and increasing trade, and deputations of leading city merchants are shortly to be convened to wait upon the Ministers of the Crown upon the subject. The P. and 0. Company is known to he ready with the most effective fleet of steamers, and could at once double their service. In order to accomplish the delivery of mails three days earlier —an immense boon to the general public, and saving to commercial men—the Postoffice will be memorialised to leave out Gibraltar and Malta. In this way, it is thought that letters might be delivered in thirty-nine days, or even thirty-five days, with fewer ports of call and less detention. There must be progress, and the time is not distant when steamers with powerful engines will make through passages via the Suez Canal, and render the service at once complete and efficient. Nothing, however, can be done without the co-operation of the colonies concerned.

The Nymph, screw-sloop, recently commissioned, proceeds to the Australian station, to relieve the Dido, which has been nearly four years in commission.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18750417.2.17

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4392, 17 April 1875, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
3,425

THE ENGLISH SUEZ MAIL. New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4392, 17 April 1875, Page 3

THE ENGLISH SUEZ MAIL. New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4392, 17 April 1875, Page 3

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