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against this harmless being has testified to the Protestant fidelity of the enlightened inhabitants of Wymondley . A year ago a mob broke all his windows , and such performances have been repeated from time to time , in spite of the efforts of the police . But during the first week in this month the popular superstition was alarmingly excited . A poor Irishwoman applied to Mr . Lucas for shelter , and being lodged in the stable where a bed was made up for her , she gave birth to a still-born child . A report was forthwith spread that this woman had been neglected and ill-treated , and her
child had died in consequence . On Monday , the 2 nd of August , four men came to Mr . Lucas and asked for some beer , after which they demanded gin . On being refused they became abusive , and at last began to break the windows , in which sport they were joined by many others . The rioters continued to pelt the house for some time , one stone striking Perry , an Irish servant of Mr . Lucas , and breaking two of his teeth . They declared that they would break the house down and pull Mr . Lucas out . Perry fired at them with blank charges , but this was ineffectual . At last he put some small shot into his blunderbuss and sent this
amongst the mob , after which they retired . The chairman of the magistrates after severely commenting on the conduct of the rioters , fined them 20 s . each , and sentenced them in default to a months imprisonment . At the same time , he felt it necessary to caution Perry against using such weapons as pistols and blunderbusses . They were always dangerous weapons , but especially in the hands of an Irishman .
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MECHANICS' INSTITUTES . We have been furnished with a report of the Yorkshire Union of Mechanics' Institutes . The fifteenth annual meeting of t hat association was held at Skipton , on the second of last June . The object of this union seems to be generally to promote co-operation amongst mechanics' institutes , and especially to afford facilities to the associated bodies for obtaining the services of lecturers of eminence . The report shows some increase both in the number of institutes in the union , and in the number of members comprised in the whole . The association now contains 123 institutes , numbering in all above 19 , 000
members . The annual incomes of these institutes amount together to between 8000 Z . and 9000 £ . Their libraries contain above 95 , 000 volumes , and during the past year they have had above 388 , 000 books in circulation . Mr . T . J . Pearsall , the agent and lecturer of the union , who is paid mainly l ) y contributions , independently of the subscriptions of the members , delivered fifty-six lectures during the last year , to the associated institutes . The committee of the union have in their possession a hundred and four manuscript lectures for
circulation among the institutes , lhe report contains a list of lectures , with the terms on which they maybe engaged , and also of gentlemen who are prepared to lecture gratuitously . The committee of the union recommend the formation of popular singing classes in connexion with the various institutes . The advantages of savings' banks for small sums , are also set forth . In connexion With one institute , n penny savings' bank lias produced many good results ; others have provided garden allotments for their members , greatly to their satisfaction .
The committee in their l-oporfc point out the fact , that our present laws do not invest such associations us these with efficient powers , either for the regulation of their affairs , or the management and protection of their property . It is observed , that a trust deed would involve peculiar diHieulties in regard to books and movable property . In accordance with this suggestion , a resolution was panned at the meeting of the union , recommending the mechanics' institutes throughout the kingdom to unite in an application to Parliament for an act to remedy them ; evils . A petition waa also recommended , praying that copies of" parliamentary reports and other documents , or such of them as might seem desirable , might be afforded to institutions of this kind , free of expense .
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WHAT IS AN OUTLAW ? Onk of thin formidable class of gentlemen bus addressed Hit ; following amusing letter to the Kditor of the Times : —• " Ri it , — I have just escaped from a dreadful calamity— the more terrible because ku excessively mysterious . 1 hardly know how to write ( lie words ; but , Sir , for I ho last fivo months 1 have been ' an outlaw . ' " Jfow I became so 1 scarcely know , oxeept that in endeavouring to assist a friend I burnt my lingers , and went to a lawyer to have them cooled . 'J'hw , afler sovoral payments at ruinous interests , resulted in a certain hohch of procoHHOH , the climax of which was something that , as 1 was told , boro tho portentous title of ' HxeoutionF " Tho many friends who nyrnpathized witli mo on such an occuttiou . tmU loudly gayo wo the honoiifc of their expo
riencc , advised me to what is technically called , ' Keep out of the way , ' But as I had no objection to pay , provided any respectful creditor would wait the arrival of my funds from abroad , and as , if he would not , I was quite willing to spend the intervening period between his impatience and my capability in that Ultima Thule of the law ' revenge , ' a prison , ' I continued to frequent all places of public resort , pay visits , and attend my club as usual . "' I wore a charmed life . ' My lawyer-creditor was rampantly objective to delay , but perseveringly reluctant to lock me up . ' So far , so good , I thought him singular , but considerate , and reckoned that , as the lawyer had made all the costs he could , the ' friend' might be coming into operation . Vain delusion ! I took up the Globe one evening at my club , and found myself declared an outlaw .
" An outlaw ! "What could it mean ? You must know , Sir , that I am a foreigner , though thirty years resident in this country ; and here was I , who had never injured any one , who never once in those thirty years committed a breach of the peace , who never entered in my life a magistrate ' s office , publicly pronounced and placarded in the newspapers an outlaw ! Worse than all , I could get no information about my condition as such . To all my inquiries as to what it was to be an outlaw no man could give me an exact reply . Every one agreed that it was something very dreadful . Some said I could be shot down
by any one , like a dog in August under a Lord Mayor s proclamation , by a policeman . Another hinted that it ¦ was something between Robin Hood and a ward in Chancery . Some laughed , and recommended the immediate purchase of ' russet boots , ' and a forester ' s costume , with bow and arrows , a polished quiver , and horn and belt , and finally a grave old friend of mine , an old gentleman of great experience , ruefully shook his head as he piteously communicated to me , with tears in his eyes , the melancholy tidings that I could no longer sue anybody , or bring an action in the courts of law ; and , worse than all , that I could not be made a party to a suit in your
Chancery . ?• ' "Well , then , I was an outlaw , and so I continued for five months ; yet I never left my residence ; I ate , drank , and slept the same , received my change from cabmen , paid my bills , visited repeatedly mj solicitors , and even indulged in the occasional contribution of a letter to the editor on political questions , giving my name and address ; nor did I suffer other inconveniences during the whole period than the occasional jest of a friend , or the monstrari digito of here and there some quidnunc clubbist , "who seemed to regard me as a savage running wild in the midst of civilization .
" Nevertheles , it gave me oftentimes an uncomfortable twinge to know that I was something that I ought not to be , though no one could tell me what that was , and to feel just the same as other people . One fine morning , however , the spell was broken by the rude presence of an officer and his myrmidons , who summoned me from my breakfasttable to a ' lock-up-house , ' with its beds at 6 * . a-night , and other charges in proportion . " Here , when the day of settlement and liberation at last arrived , the mystery was solved . The proceeding to ' outlawry , ' though producing no possible effect , enabled my lawyer friend to add another large sum to his costs , by a process which , however excessively annoying to his victim friend , added no additional security to that originally obtained by him—namely , the ' execution , ' at enormous costs , which , with those of the outlawry , added exactly one-fourth more to the original amount of my ' friend's '
acceptance . " I don't pretend to understand your laws , Sir , —that task lias long ago been given up by men of all countries , even your own ; yet , after all , as I am a foreigner , and have paid so dearly for it , I should feel deeply grateful to any of your readers , whether legalists or amateurs , who shall inform mo what is the ' meaning , cituse , and effect / of being first made and ihcii unmade " London , Auir . 14 . " " An OuiXAW .
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EXPRKSS TRAINS . Tjik coroner ' s inquest to inquire into the circumstances of the accident at Stiimlon-bridge , on the London and North-Western Railway , which took place on tho 5 th of this month , was held a few days ago . Tho express train from Liverpool was , on that occasion , unusually heavy , and wa » twenty minutes behind its time on arriving at Crewe . As is usual in such cases , an additional engine was attached to the train to help it up the incline , and was detached on arriving at the top . It is usual for the extra engine then to run on to Whitinore , which is two miles and a half distance , and there to shunt on to the down line , while the train passes . In this ease , the down line waw occupied by a train of cattle wagons , when the engine arrived at Whifrmorc , and although there was a siding into which the engine might have run , yet in the hurry of the moment , the express train being close upon his heels , tho driver decided to go on two miles further , where there was a crossing by which he might shunt . It iseeniH that , either through his irresolution , or from Home other cause , he was not sufficiently in advance of the train . The ]> lae at which he pulled up wan in a cutting where the line makes a sharp curve , and the train ran upon him while he was in the act of shunting . The driver of the express train was killed instantly . The most important , witness , Price , the stoker of the express train , having sufi ' ered a fracture of tho lelt arm and of the loll thigh , was unable to attend upon the coroner , so that his examination took place in the place where ho waa lying . His cvidouco did M « t throw much fresh
light upon the matter . He thought that the e * + engine was not far enough ahead of the train atWV ?" more , to shunt . The poor man was unable to contin his evidence . On the jury returning to their ronnf the coroner referred to Captain Laffan , who wasl sent , whether it would not be desirable that the co pany should lay down some positive rules for the » uid " ance of drivers in an emergency similar to that wE ~ had led to this accident ? . Wluclu Captain Laffan said it was certainly most dpsiVaivr when an engine detached fronj . another with a Z ? shunting at the next station , that there should h » „_ 5 *
tive regulation for the engine-driver behind either fa « tT " at the station in question , or to approach it very cautfoS indeed , so as to allow ample time for the other to shT ? It appeared to be almost impossible for an engine to W a train going at the rate of forty miles an hour and t « shunt and get out of the way in the space of two or th ™ miles , unless the engine behind slackened speed . Th had been an understanding upon this subject which had been practically acted upon for years . The Rev . E . T . Codd ( foreman of the fury ) An ut , ^ . standing , but no direct rule P ¦ yi nder
-« Captain Laffan : An understanding- which had been in variably acted upon for six years * . Coroner : Do you not think it a very dangerous experi ment to cross with an engine at a spot where there is a curve on the line , and no signal or pointsman on duty ? Captain Laffan : Yes ; this should be prevented . The crossing and siding where the accident occurred were not at that time properly protected . Since then signals have been put up . These had been ordered , I understand months before , and the putting them up was only delayed in consequence of the number of other points that had to be protected in a similar manner . The company have been putting them up as rapidly as possible , and " , I believe , now nearly all the necessary points are protected .-The pointsman who had charge of the Standon coal-yard crossing was not a servant of the company , but of a privateindividual , to whom that siding belonged . It -would undoubtedly , be better that that man should in future be ai servant of the company .
The Eev . E . T . Codd submitted that a rule regulating 1 the speed of express trains under the circumstances of the accident would be desirable for the safety of the public . Captain Laffan had never known a rule limiting speed in the least available , because it was difficult for a driver , to know whether he was going 40 or 50 miles an hour ,, and if he were tied down to a particular speed , he would ! declare that he was going at that speed , although he might ; in fact be going at a much higher velocity . The Eev . E . T . Codd then suggested that it would pa 3 = > - bablv be better to insist on both engines going on * tor Stafford .
Captain Laffan said thaft would be a safe rule ,- but whether a better and a simpler one might not be devised was a question for experience . The assistance of the ^ pilot engine from Crewe was only generally required as far as Whitmore . Perhaps the best rule would be one that should provide for a safe shunting at the latter station . In , fact , there were several ways in which , accident mi g ht bo provided against . An auxiliary signal would do it , but that mighjb give rise to inconvenience sometimes , by stopping the express when it was not required . Another plan would be , to stop the express at Whitmore ; and a third mode would be , as you suggest , to send both engines on to Stafford . In answer to a question as to tho relative speed of tho two engines in such a case ,
Captain Laffan said that when a pilot engine was ietaclied from an express train , the driver of tho latterought , undoubtedly , to keep his eng ine so in command as to be able to pull up at a very short notice . There would , then be very little risk in the matter ; but if the express ' followed tho pilot at full speed , it would , unquestionably , bo a most dangerous practice . The Coroner thanked Captain Laffan for the informal tion ho had afforded tho jury ; and after ft-short consultation with tho jury , adjourned tho proceedings for a montui-
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ROYAL YACHT SQUADRON RMCUTTA . The Royal Yacht Squadron , as the parent institutlbir of the kingdom , has ever maintained a piw-emincntiposition and importance over thdjfcfcber . jpaorc recent , hut flourishing branches , and tho opeiufrig of the present regatta gives an earnest thatx notwithstanding tho closeness of one event upon another , it will prove us brilliant u meeting as on any former occasion . I '" - beautiful waters of the Solent arc now thickly dotted
with the mimic fleet , and tho display of their distinguishing colours , with the dressing of many ol them in their holiday bunting , gives an animation to the scene which , coupled with tho beauty of the surrounding country , it would be difficult to equal in any other part of England . Among tho fleet , of yachts now present hero arothe Xurifu , the Karl of Wilton ( Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron ); the Capricorn , Mr . C . R- - J
Tuihot ., M . P . ( Vice-Commodore ); the A larm , Mr . « - w > ph Weld ; the Uacchunto , Mr . 1 $ . Jones ; the P ear 1 ,, the Marquis of Anglesey ; the Wizard , Mr . William W .-Infield ; ( ho lone , Mr . Alimm } Iill ; the Elizabeth , tlw > Hon . Augustus Moreton ; the Nymph , Sir John Unyuy * Hurt . ; the Stella , Mr . Richard iVunklin ; tho Amazon ,, Sir John Welsh , Hart . ; the Sea Serpent , Lord O . rag " y the Osprey , Sir J . Petre ; tho Constance , the Many" *' ofConyngham ; the Gauntlet , Mr . Williimi P < '" ™ '*' tho Laurel , Captain O . II . WiUiuuiH , U . N . ; tho lui-
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794 THE LEADER . [ S ^ TtmD AY ,
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 21, 1852, page 794, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1948/page/6/
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