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K/ ; THE LEADER. ¦ : -[No. 356, Saturday...
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ACCIDENTS AND SUDDEN DEATHS. Isaac Cliff...
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THE VALIDITY OF OATHS. Tiiio folly of ou...
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THE ORIENT. T"EBSIA. The Persian troops ...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The News Of The Present Week Certainly D...
Mr . Kin glare Las seized hold of the true gist of all these questions . We see nurabers unemployed in tte midst of prosperity , trades kept down while prices are rising , our foreign commerce endangered by diplomatic bungling , ail because our Govern ment , on . a professedly representative basis , avww edly represents only a class , ou 3 y a seventh of & e people , and practically leaves tlse rule of affairs to some few families istfce state . 3 Let the coiustftaencies in the first place send better representatives of themselves into Parliament , let them insist upon extending the franchise to the real English people , and we should soon find out a way to manage matters rather more in accordance \ rith English opinions and with the substantial interests of the whole body of the people . . .
As to commercial morality , society may view itself this week in the mirror of the court of law . The winds and waves have been ravaging our coasts , wrecking ships , destroying life . The Tyne is written down in the same list with the Northern Belle , the Violet , and many another fine vessel . Crews have been destroyed in . a body—swept away ; but the destruction of property , of ¦ happiness , of life itself , bears probably a small proportion to the destruction of pxoperty , happiness , and life through the vices of society—vices , na great part , let us note , maintained by the inverted justice and the inverted morals which are statutable law .
Take tke case at Newcastle , where Mr . James Watson is prevented from recovering a lawful debt in a court of law because he will not take upon himself to say that there is a state of future rewards ¦ and pimishments . Because he is not a liar and a hypocrite—concealing his real opinion , and asserting what few of us could prove in a court of lawhe is outlawed . A mean plea is put in to bar his just rights , and the court , by an existing law , is compelled to give the award to meanness and lawlessness .
Sometimes a noble protest comes from the seat of judgment , as this week in sentencing Pierce , Burgess , and Tester , when . Mr . BaronMartin uttered words -eloquent from their simplicity and their heartfelt truth . Our readers know the story of the great bullion , robbery—how Agau planned , the other men profited by it , and when he was ' lagged for another offence , how Pierce defrauded Pajjny Kay , the mother of Agab ' s child . Piebce had left the employment of the South Eastern Railway Company , but Tester and Burgess were still servants . On them the sentence is fourteen years transportation .
on Pierce—not technically a servant violating his trust—two years' imprisonment with hard labour , and some solitary confinement . " But I do declare / ' said Baron Martin , " that if I stood in that dock to receive sentence , I should feel more degraded to be in your place than in that even of either of your associates . " Agar gave SOOOZ . stock to be invested for the benefit of his child awid its mother . "This you stole and appropriated to your own use . It is a worse ofience , I declare , than the act of which you have just been fotind guilty . T would rather have been concerned in stealing the gold than in the robbery of
that wretclved woman—call her harlot , if you -will and her cliild . A greater villain than you are , 1 believe , does not exist . " It is indeed bad for society when commercial men and the servants of commercial men learn trade to convert it into fraud . But far worse would it be , if men could look on and see a defenceless woman defrauded , a child and its mother despoiled , and not sympathize with the lather , helpless to protect them , or with tile noble protest <* ' Baa-on Majitin , who did not coneeal Ins sympathy with the man . or the woman , low as they stood .
. REDrATH is transported for life , —a just punishment-, while Kent , his weak tool , is acquitted , as TOany another tool of each master swindler would be i aJl could b « put into ihc dock tli * t have passively perhaps unconsciously , subserved Ihcso frauds ^ , i ! }} w ? wih nor Uobson , nor Agar ., had equalled the cold villany of Pierce , and it , is a healthy sign that Judge and audience know how to discrumnaito between tlieir elaborate crimes Acaimt property , and bis hca * tl » ss revolt against liaman icelmg .
K/ ; The Leader. ¦ : -[No. 356, Saturday...
K / ; THE LEADER . ¦ : - [ No . 356 , Saturday ,
Accidents And Sudden Deaths. Isaac Cliff...
ACCIDENTS AND SUDDEN DEATHS . Isaac Clifford , a roan employed nt the brewery of Meaaw . Russell and Martin , Keadrng , fell on Thursday -week into a Urge reservoir of bailing liquor . Ho was on a Ladder above thia receptacle , into which ho was hbout to lot somo cold water but , in reaching over to
eret at the tap of the cistern , lie lost his balance , and was - precipitated into the scalding liquid . He was draKRed out with all celerity , and conveyed to the hospital but liis head , face , and chest were so fearfully injured Halt he died at night . —Another accident of a similar * 5 n & has occuned st Liverpool on t * ft « wae day . A charity schoolboy was endeavouring to take a piece of bee ^ weighing fifteen pounds , from a coppac , -when the weight overbalanced Mm , and , falling in , h « -was so seveidtv scalded that he died oa Friday -week *—Some
other deatia flp « m scalding are reported 5 b tbm / papers . An inquest "has been J * eM Tsefove Mr . Bakar , at the ' London Hospital , on . the body of a child , aged four years , "who , during tbe absence of an elder sister , drank some boiling water from the spout of a tea-kettle , which caused its death & short time afbeT . Two other iaquests were held before tbe same corottcr , on fee bodies of children , aged three and five years , who were killed from the effects of scalding water . In each case , the jary returned a verdict of Accidental Death ..
The guaTd of a luggage train has met with a fatal accident at the Ilkestori Junction , eight miles from Nottingham . He was stepping on to the break before the train had stopped , when it was jerked , and tbe man was pitched over . He -was frightfully mutilated , and died soon after his removal to the Nottingham General Hospital . Sir Joseph . Paxton has had a narrow escape at Sydenhani . He was riding in a carriage di & wn by two horses , one of whicli , a hunter , took fright and darted
off . The driver was thrown from the box , and the wheels passed over his legs . The horses then ran against a , gas lamp-post , which , was knocked , down . Sir Joseph h « re availed-himself' of the momentary stoppage to get out , after-which the horses again ran off , and finally dashed against some iron railings , severely injuring themselves , and smashing the sailings and the carriage to pieces . The animals were then x-emoved to the Crystal Palace stables , and the coachman was provided with medical attendance .
A woman has died in Guy ' s Hospital frorn the effects of a glass of Burnett ' s disinfecting fluid , taken in mistake for gin . The liquid is white , like gin ; but , being made of chloride of zinc , it caused ulceration of the stomach ., and subsequently death . A lamentable occurrence took place in Dorset-street , Spitalfields , about one o ' clock , r . si ., last Sunday . A large stack of chimneys gave way , and , falling through the roof , carried that down also , destroying the upper part of the house , and burying the inhabitants in the ruins . Two young children belonging to a poor jsailmaker were dug out , shockingly mutilated , and were conveyed to the London Hospital ; but one of them died on the a-oad , and the other shortly after its arrival . An old man named Cuthbert escaped in a remarkable
manner . He was found in the same room , but almost uninjured . He stated that while sitting in his own room , above and near tlie fire , the flooring sank beneath , bis feet , and he with it , through the intervening floors . All the other families were out of the house , or the loss of life must have been still more lamentable . The remainder of tlie building is shored up , and tlie thoroughfare stopped . A great many houses in Bethnal Green are in a dangerous condition , and the officers appointed by the building act are incessantly occupied . A Mr . Whalley , of Welsh Whittle , fell down suddenly in the streets at Preston , and expired . Disease of the heart is supposed to be the cause . Upwards of 5 O 0 Z . in cash and notes were found in hie pockets , besides a receipt for a deposit of 8500 ? . in a Preston bankinghouse .
A melancholy accident happened at Colmellie , in th « upper part of the parish of Edzell , on Old Chriatmasday , which is still kept as a holiday in the glen , and generally taken advantage of for out-door amusement . David Duke , youngest eon of Mr . James Duke , farmer , Colmellie , and another boy , were amusing themselves shooting small birds ; while passing through a fence , tho gun went off accidentally , and the contents were lodgod in David Duke ' s side . The wound proved fatal in a short time . The other boy ia nearly distracted . A perilous leap was taken a few days since during a hunt with Mr . Koch ' s hounds at Bolton-hill , in Pembrokeshire . The whipper-in , James Morgan , in taking
a hedgo jumped his horso into an unfeneed coalpit thirty feet in depth , wluch lay unobserved on the other side of the hedge . Man and horse went down tho shaft , at the bottom of which was a depth of eighteen feet of water . Fortunately , tho sides of tho pit had been made sloping , so that , before the horse was entirely submerged , he gained a footing on tho slope , where ho maintained his hold . ' Tho rider was thrown into tho wnter , but on rising grasped the saddle , and thus held his head above ¦ water until assistance arrived , - when he was safely drawn up , perfectly uninjured . The horso was next drawn out , also unhurt . They soou recovered from tlie accident .
The Validity Of Oaths. Tiiio Folly Of Ou...
THE VALIDITY OF OATHS . Tiiio folly of our present system of refusing a man ' s testimony in a court of justice on account of particular opinions in connexion with religion , waa again evinced tho other day in the Newcastle County Court , in tho case of a Mi \ James Watson , a bookseller , who brought an action ngainst tho treasurer of the Chartist News-roonae
to recover 14 s . lid . for periodicals supplied to that institution . On <* e plaintiff appearing in the witness-box , tho defendant ' s solicitor catechised him as to his faith . MEr . " Watson , said he believed in the existence of a God . " Whom we knew as the Supreme Being ? '' interrogated the lawyer . . Mr . Watson answered , "I cannot exactly tell what yon Tcnow ; but I believe in & Supreme Being . " Tbe lawyer then proceeded to the subject of " a future state of rewards and punishments . " On this head , Mr . Watson , said he was not prepared to give a decided «* swer ; he hatdly knew whether he did or did not be . Beve . He wished the le & raied gentleman to explain to him what he meant by " rewards and punishments . "
The lawyer -suggested heaven and hell as his interpretation of that phrase , and aslced Mr . Watson if he believed in them . "I believe there are such things talked about , " replied Mr . Watson ; " but whether there are such things I can't tell . " Oa this , the lawyer contended that Mr . Watson ' -s evwteaoe oouW aot be received , and the Judge ( Mr . Losh ) concurred . There being no other witnesses in attendance to establish the claim , the plaintiff wa 3 ¦ nonsuited , and he was required to pay the costs of the defendant . In the course of the discussion , Mr . Watson said that , if the defendant had been , called into the box , " he could not have taken an oath , and been honest in reference to the matter . "
"Mr ., Story , the lawyer ( who must assuredly consider that he has had a retaining fee from the genius of orthodoxy ) , made the following Tampant exhibition of himself in the interests of his distinguished client : — "The man who would give such answers as these is infamous in the eyes of the law . " The Judge : " It is not because he is infamous ; but because he can't be believed . " Mr . Story : " I say that the form used is ' infamous . '' He cannot be leard in any court of justice . " The Judge ( addressing the plaintiff ) : " Suppose you are sworn in any particular way—do you consider that you would be
in any way "bound by what will take . place hereafter in the waj' of punishments or rewards for it ? " The plaintiff : " No , I don't , sir . " The Judge : " Then I can't take your evidence . " Mr . Story : " Your honour ought to direct that he should be removed from , tlie -court . A man who would give utterance to opinions of this sort- " The Judge ; ¦ " He has a , right to his opinion . " This calm and sensible observation put a stop to Mr . Story ' s vulgar insolence , and the case ended . But with whom rests the sympathy ? and what are we to think of the association which was reduced to such a defence ?
The Orient. T"Ebsia. The Persian Troops ...
THE ORIENT . T"EBSIA . The Persian troops despatched iato the province of Ferzah , of which the head-quarters are at Ferzah-Subzawar , have occupied ( says the Hfoniteur de VArmife , on the authority of accounts from Teheran ) the fortresses of Gourian , Lach , and Djouweine , situate in Seistan and in Ferzah . The Shah ' s army has established itself without difficulty on all those points . There has been only a slight skirmish between the cavalry of Dost Mahomed and the Persians . The hitter remained masters of the field . The Affgham appeared discouraged , and a great number « f tribes , long opposed to Persia , were every day making their submission . " The British fleet in the Persian Gulf , " says a despatch from Marseilles , " is hastening its operations , in order to have them terminated hefore three months , the period of the excessive heats . The English are inciting the Governors of the provinces to separate from the Shah . The Shah is making great preparations for defence , notwithstanding the penury of his finances and the fear of revolt . The Persian army lias taken possession of all the towns situate on the road to Candahar . The Russian flotilla , in the Caspian Sea has already landed troops in the Persel Islands , alleging the ancient treaties of alliance between Russia and Persia . The Russian Ambassador , Annikoff , had quitted Teheran , it was aaW really charged with a mission to demand assistance for Persia at St . Petersburg . " Tho Patrie announces , on tlie authority of a letter from Kalisch , that tlio troops of the last Polish levy but one have received orders ^ to leave immediate ^ ' for the Caucasus . It is believed that they are to reinforce the corps of observation , of 40 , 000 men which it is asserted is assembled on tho extreme frontier of Persia . " It appears , " adds tlxoJPatrie , " that serious operations are expected in the beginning of spring , to counterbalance tho probable results of the English expedition to the Persian Gulf . " CHINA . Accounts have been received from China a fortnight later timn those by tho last mail . The dates aTe to the 20 th of November from Shanghai , and tlie 25 th of November from Canton . From the latter place , tho news is important . Fighting had recommenced , and the Americans had made common cause with the Knglish . It is added that throe Americans had been captured and behoadod , and that their heads hnd been stuck by the Chinese on tho city walls . Buainesa was , of course , wholly suspended , and a report was current that Shanghai had been attacked and taken by tho rebels . This , however , in believed to- be without foundation . — 2 'imes . ^ Tho memborB of tho East India and China Associa-I tion , London , hnve Addressed a communication to Lord I Clareiwion , bogging him to insist on the right of Englfah-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 17, 1857, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_17011857/page/2/
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