In

1866 she learnt that her expectations could be very simply fulfilled by applying to Mr. Home. He was then resident secretary of an institution called "The Spiritual Athenæum," in Sloane-street. Mrs. Lyon read his book entitled "Incidents of my Life," and wrote to him immediately afterwards. Receiving no answer, she called, on October 2, and had an interview with him. Within little more than a week from that date she had given him a sum of 24,000l. Immediately after this Mrs. Lyon and Mr. Home adopted towards each other the warm language of "mother" and "son;" and on the 8th of November the newly made mother made a will, in which she assigned all her property to this affectionate son. On the ensuing 10th of December she presented Mr. Home with another 6,000l., to make up the 24,000l. to a round sum of 30,000l. Mr. Home then assumed the name of Lyon. Once more, towards the end of January 1867, she assigned him a mortgage security of 30,000l., taking care, however, meanwhile to have a strong legal deed prepared in order to secure the interest as an annuity for herself. At this point Mr. Home's star had reached its zenith. In February Mrs. Lyon called in Sloanestreet, and got back one of her letters. March she ceased to sign herself "affectionate mother." In May she saw a solicitor, who assured her she had been imposed upon; but she could not accept the lawyer's advice without consulting another "medium." The familiar spirit of Miss Berry confirmed her suspicions, and in June she had an interview with Mr. Home, in which she indulged in vituperation not less warm than her previous expressions of affection. She demanded the surrender of the mortgage, and Mr. Home in a subsequent letter to his "dear mother" offered to resign the deed provided she would leave him and his "in undisputed possession" of the first 30,000l., with permission to resume his own name. On the 17th the "mother arrested her "son" and threw him into Whitecross-street Prison; and this suit was instituted to set aside both the gift and the assignment of the mortgage. The judge was of opinion that the evidence proved that at the time when these gifts were made the relation of the defendant to the plaintiff was such as in cases decided by Lord Eldon and Lord Cottenham, when the Court held that the donor whilst making the gift was subject to hallucination, or under influence. Therefore there must be a decree for re-transfer of the 60,000l. by the defendant to the plaintiff, who was ordered to pay her own costs and those of Mr. Wilkinson, the solicitor. The defendant was ordered to pay his own costs only.

22.-The Irish Church Suspensory Bill read a second time by a majority of 312 to 258. The 5th June was fixed for going into Committee.

Mr. Rearden (Athlone) gives notice that on Monday, the 25th, he would ask the

First Lord of the Treasury whether it was true that Her Majesty, on account of ill-health, had gone to Scotland, and did not intend to return to England for the remainder of the season; and if so, whether it was the intention of the Government, out of consideration for her Majesty's health, comfort, and tranquillity, to advise her Majesty to abdicate? (Loud cries of "Order.") The Speaker: "The House has anticipated what had to say by its expression of opinion in regard to the terms employed in the notice of the hon. member. No doubt any question may be addressed by a member of this House to the confidential advisers of the Crown on any matter relating to the discharge of public duties, but such questions must be addressed in respectful and Parliamentary terms. The question of the hon. member certainly does not appear to me to be couched in such terms. (Cheers.)" Mr. Rearden thereupon apologized.

22.-The First Division of the Court of Session give judgment in the case of Tennent v. Tennent's trustees. The pursuer, Gilbert Rainy Tennent, brought the action for the purpose of asserting his rights, as partner of the firm of J. and R. Tennent, Wellpark Brewery. It was not disputed that he had been a partner in 1855, but the question now was whether, by a deed executed in 1858, he had forfeited all interest therein. The Court by a majority held that the pursuer had not established his case, and assoilzied the defenders.

Capture of Samarcand by the Russians. The force of the Ameer of Bokhara was said to have consisted of 400 Affghans and 8,000 contingents. The Russian General was at the head of 8,000 men with 16 guns. The battle occurred at the Khokan Gate of Samarcand, lasted from sunrise to breakfast-time, and ended in the death of from 300 to 400 of the defenders, and the wounding of 200. The Ameer's eldest son, Tora Kalan, was present, and, with Sikandar, proposed to hold out in the fort; but the citizens shut the gates against them, and Sikandar surrendered to the victors; Tora Kalan fled to Bokhara, 104 miles off, and the Ameer himself remained at Kermina. Next day the Russians entered the city, fired a salute at Timour's tomb, and seized the fort, with its stores and 23 guns.

24. The Invalide Russe announces the conclusion of a treaty between Russia and Khokan.

The Glasgow and Bordeaux steamer, Garonne, wrecked on her homeward voyage off the Land's End. At night, in thick weather, she struck on the Bucks rocks (about a mile and a half westward of Larnorna), filled rapidly, and in twenty minutes was totally lost with her captain, mate, two stewards, and fifteen of her passengers. Only two of the latter were saved. The inquiry instituted by the Board of Trade exonerated the owners from all blame,

freed the crew from the charge of having saved themselves without trying to save the passengers, and attributed the loss to the captain, who had not made sufficient allowance for the state of the tide to eastward of the vessel, and at a critical period was not sufficiently collected to give distinct orders, but abandoned himself to despair.

26.-Michael Barrett executed in front of Newgate for his complicity in the Clerkenwell explosion of December last. The convict had been respited from the date originally fixed to allow of inquiries being made into the alibi set up during trial. He made no public confession, nor did he directly or indirectly allude to the justice of his sentence. The number of spectators was not large, and they were observed to conduct themselves with unusual decorum. The Private Execution Bill having now passed both Houses, and awaiting only the Royal assent, this was the last public hanging which took place.

Explosion at Kensington Firework Factory, Liverpool, causing the death of three out of the five workmen employed on the premises.

Mr. Gladstone writes to advise the electors of Worcestershire in a contest presently going on in the county:-"The Government proclaimed ten weeks ago that they were friendly to religious equality in Ireland, provided it was brought about by endowing other Churches, including the Romish, in Ireland, not by disendowing the Protestant Churches; and by way of earnest they propose at once to create a Roman Catholic University, and to pay the expenses out of the taxes of the country."

President Johnson acquitted on the second and third articles of impeachment.

29. In the House of Lords Earl Russell again censures the Government for continuing in office without having the confidence of the House of Commons, or being able to carry their measures. In the Commons Mr. Disraeli intimated that Government intended to confine the work of the session mainly to the Reform Bills and estimates, Foreign Cattle and Telegraph Bills, with perhaps the Bribery and Bankruptcy Bills.

and read on behalf of Mr. Edmunds had been in his favour; they had cleared his character from any imputation, and showed that his conduct arose from mistake. It was, therefore, not without regret that his Honour had come to the conclusion that the arguments which had been used on Mr. Edmunds' behalf upon the other points of the case were unsuccessful. There was abundant authority to show that the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery over accountants to the Crown existed. That being so, there came the question of the discounts for ⚫ stamps. As to this, it was clear that if the sums on which the profits were made were Mr. Edmunds' own, he would be entitled to the discounts; if not, he would not be so entitled, on the well-known doctrine that a trustee cannot make profit of his trust. As to the question upon the construction of the statute, his Honour was clear that the sum of 127. 10s., charged for parchments, was one of those fees and emoluments in lieu of which the salary was given; and for these Mr. Edmunds must account. There would be declarations in conformity with the above rulings, and an account with all just allowances, and without any disturbance of settled accounts.

2. Came on in the Court of Queen's Bench, before Mr. Justice Blackburn, the case of ex-Governor Eyre. His Lordship delivered a long charge to the grand jury, in the course of which he reviewed the law of the country with reference to the declaration and exercise of martial law, from Magna Charta down to the present time, and said that to keep up martial law for a period of thirty days after an armed resistance had been put down was unreasonable; and no one could doubt that it exceeded much the prerogative of the Crown. A third and great question was whether Mr. Eyre caused Gordon and four others to be brought into the proclaimed district and tried. There could be no doubt that Gordon was a pestilent firebrand, in close communication with those actually in insurrection, and using violent language, but he did not think the evidence against Gordon amounted to more than that. He thought he was a violent pestilent agitator, whose injudicious language caused the rebellion; but that he was not a party to an organized conspiracy for a rising throughout the island. It was, however, generally believed at the time that he was so, and no doubt Mr. Eyre really believed that he was guilty. If they thought that Mr. Eyre considered at the time that Gordon was a violent fellow, whom it was better not to try by the ordinary law of the island, conceiving that by some technicality he might escape punishment, but to send him to Morant Bay, try him by court-martial, and get rid of him, it was an act of great and lawless oppression, and they ought to find the bill; but if they were of opinion that he acted in a contrary spirit, and used ordinary firmness, judgment, and moderation, and from a bona fide belief in the honest discharge of his duties, they would not find the bill. The grand jury,

It is

after a long consultation, returned a verdict of No bill. At the sitting of the Court on the 8th, the Lord Chief Justice sought to remove a misapprehension that Mr. Justice Blackburn spoke in the name and with the authority of his brother judges. "Had I understood (he said) that the law would have been laid down as it is understood to have been stated, I should have felt it to be my duty to attend in my place in Court on the occasion of the charge being delivered, and to declare my views of the law to the jury. I must add, as my justification for not having done so, that I certainly understood from the learned judge-though I must now suppose I misunderstood him that he deemed it unnecessary to raise the question of the legality of martial law, or the effect of the Jamaica statutes. As regards the very serious case of Mr. Gordon, I believe I am right in saying, that almost on the eve of the delivery of the charge, the opinion of Mr. Justice Blackburn himself was, that the apprehension and removal of Mr. Gordon were, in point of fact, unjustifiable. not without much pain, and only under an imperious sense of public duty, that I make these observations. The bar have known me long enough not to misconstrue my motives. I am influenced only by the desire of protecting myself against being held responsible for opinions from which I dissent, and to prevent doctrines from going forth stamped with the authority of this the highest Court of criminal jurisdiction in the realm-the House of Lords alone excepted-to which doctrines its assent has not been given." Mr. Justice Blackburn made a short statement in reply, in which he frankly acknowledged that he accepted the whole responsibility of his charge to the jury. Mr. Justice Lush being afterwards appealed to concerning the draft paper embodying the substance of the law intended to be laid down, wrote:-"I returned the paper to my brother Blackburn at the time, and I find it is now at his house; but I well remember that it contained only the general proposition mentioned by you in the Court yesterday, adding that the application of that principle to the particular case required him to tell the jury what was the law of Jamaica. In no other way did it refer to that law, nor did it state anything about martial law, or refer to the case of Gordon. I have shown this to my brother Blackburn, and he agrees that it is an accurate account of what the paper contains.”

2.-Negro riots at Washington arising out of a local election contest between the Radicals and Conservatives.

3.-Ex-Governor Eyre publishes a letter defending his administration in Jamaica, and justifying the steps he had taken to suppress the rebellion.

Mr. Bright attends a meeting of the Welsh National Reform Association at Liverpool, and delivers a speech strongly condemnatory of the Government and the Irish Church.

He was entertained at a public breakfast next morning in the Philharmonic Hall.

4. The report was issued to-day of the trials lately concluded of the war ships Warrior, Minotaur, and Bellerophon. These iron-clads were tried in the usual manner at the measured mile, and afterwards for six hours' consecutive steaming outside the Isle of Wight. At the measured mile the following were the results :Minotaur, 14411 per hour; Warrior, 1479; Bellerophon, 13.874. In the six hours' trial the Minotaur lost in speed 246 of a knot per hour, and her revolutions fell off 953 per minute; and the Warrior lost 143 of a knot, and her revolutions fell off 8 per minute; but in the Bellerophon the case was reversed-she gained 176 of a knot per hour in speed, increased the revolutions by 943 per minute, and developed about 200 more horse-power than on the measured mile. The Comptroller stated that these experiments proved that, with good coal and good stoking, there was but little difference between the results of a trial at the measured mile and one lasting for six hours on the open sea-all the circumstances being alike; that the bad performance of the Warrior, Minotaur, and Bellerophon during their cruise last autumn arose from causes over which the designers of these ships had no control; and that any judg ment on the qualities of these ships, dependent on such records, would be illusory and misleading.

Discussion in the House of Commons on Mr. Gladstone's letter to the electors of Worcestershire. In answer to Sir J. Bateson, Mr. Disraeli said he must have been imposed upon by an electioneering hoax, for the letter was not only a caricature of Mr. Gladstone's usual happy style, but contained assertions regarding the intentions of Government to endow the Roman Catholic priesthood which could not possibly be established. Mr. Gladstone owned the letter and defended the sentiments therein expressed by the following telegram forwarded from Downing-street to the Presbyterian General Assembly of Belfast :-"I am directed by Lord Derby to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 16th instant, on the subject of the increase of the Regium Donum. His Lordship desires me to inform you that he regrets that, as the estimates for 1868 have been completed, it is impossible for anything to be done this year. The subject

shall be borne in mind before the estimates for next year are prepared." Mr. Disraeli still disputed the assertion of the letter, and pointed out the distinction which existed between increasing the Regium Donum and endowing the Romish clergy. The Earl of Mayo also complained that an erroneous interpretation had been put upon his words.

5.-Mr. J. S. Mill presents a petition from the Home and Foreign Affairs Committee of Macclesfield, asking for a Select Committee to inquire into the circumstances attending the

JUNE

Committee, the discussion to-night relating principally to the minority clause as applied to Glasgow-which was carried in favour of Government-the lodger franchise, and voting

9.-Died, at Burrator, Devonshire, aged 65, Sir James Brooke, K. C.B., late Rajah of Sarawak.

The American poet Longfellow arrives in England. He receives the honorary degree of LL.D. at Cambridge on the 16th.

7.-Seventeen persons stabbed in the streets of Trebizond by an infuriated Persian.

8.-Preliminary investigation at the Marlborough-street Police-court, into the charges preferred against Madame Rachel (or Leverson) of obtaining various sums of money from Mrs. Borradaile, with intent to defraud. In 1866 the widow Borradaile, attracted apparently by the prisoner's advertisement of the power she possessed of making people "beautiful for ever," called and consulted her as to something being done for her skin. The prisoner undertook to renew the widow by the use of cosmetics, and also promised to provide for her an advantageous matrimonial alliance. For the first 1,000l. was paid, and through representations made regarding the love with which she was said to have inspired Lord Ranelagh she was induced to advance 2,000/. more in cash, 600/. in jewellery, and a bond over certain properties for 600l. She was even informed, without exciting any suspicion, that his Lordship had been captivated by her appearance in the bathroom; nor did the foolish, ardent letter dictated by Madame Rachel to a tool "William," who represented his Lordship at various interviews, move her to any other feeling than joyous expectancy. To such an extent did Mrs. Borradaile lavish her means on Madame Rachel, that the latter, emboldened by success, caused her patron to be thrown into Whitecross-street Prison on a charge of failing to complete certain pecuniary obligations in which she had got involved. This led to more exact inquiry being made as to the relation in which Mrs. Borradaile stood to the vendor of cosmetics, and the result was that she was apprehended on the charge of obtaining money and goods on false pretences. The case was tried at the Old Bailey in August; but the jury being unable to agree upon a verdict, were discharged, and Madame Rachel removed to Newgate to await a new trial. On the second trial before Mr. Commissioner Kerr, the judge "charged" the jury strongly against the prisoner, chiefly on the ground that one of the letters produced showed that the whole might have been dictated by her for purposes of fraud. The jury found Madame Rachel guilty, and Mr. Commissioner Kerr sentenced her to five years' imprisonment.

The Scotch Reform Bill passes through

10.-William Rodger, shorthand writer, sentenced to eight years' penal servitude, by the Edinburgh High Court of Justiciary, for obtaining jewellery at various times to large amounts from Messrs. Marshall, Princes-street, and others, the false pretences generally relating to his intended marriage with a young lady of fortune.

Died at London, aged 84, John Crawford, Oriental linguist.

12. Lord Mayo intimates that all negotiation for the granting of a charter to any Catholic University was at an end.

13. Came on in the Court of Queen's Bench, before the Lord Chief Justice and a special jury, the case of Risk Allah v. Whitehurst, being an action for libel against the Daily Telegraph, in which the damages were laid at 20,000l. The case arose out of the trial in Brussels, where the plaintiff was charged with the murder of his stepson, Readly. He now alleged that the defendant had, in a series of letters, which their special correspondent wrote from Brussels to the Telegraph, from the beginning to the end assumed the guilt of the plaintiff, and suppressed the great bulk of the evidence that was given in his favour; and that even when compelled to state some of the evidence given in his favour, they did everything they could to destroy its force. plaintiff further complained that the report was altogether an unfair, partial, and one-sided report; that during the trial the grossest libels and calumnies were circulated against him; that after these letters had appeared, and when the trial was over, the plaintiff acquitted, and his innocence demonstrated, a leading article appeared in the defendant's paper reiterating all the charges-not in an honest and

The

bold statement that the charges were true, but by insinuation and inuendo, declaring the belief of the writer that the plaintiff was a murderer and a forger. The trial extended over six days, and resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff damages, 960/. Another action against the Standard failed, as an explanation had been inserted in their case.

15. The Fell Railway over Mont Cenis opened for public traffic.

The triennial Handel Festival commenced at the Crystal Palace.

16. Mr. Bright's motion for a Committee to inquire into the allegations contained in a petition from the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, as to the dissatisfaction felt at the Confederation Act, rejected by 183 to 87 votes.

The ignominious defeat of the Marquis of Hastings' mare, Lady Elizabeth, first favourite for the last Derby, gave rise to more than usual disputes on "settling day." Admiral Rous writes that when the Days discovered she had lost her form "they reversed a commission to back her for the 1,000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket, and they declared that Lord Hastings would not bring her out before the Derby, on which he stood to win a great stake. I am informed that when Lord Hastings went to Danebury to see her gallop, they made excuses for her not to appear. If he had seen her move, the bubble would have burst; but the touters reported she was going like a bird. She has never been able to gallop the whole year. Lord Hastings has been shamefully deceived." Lord Hastings, in reply, denied that any deception had been practised on him, and stated that his second horse, the Earl, had been scratched by his own express desire and authority. This statement was confirmed by Mr. Henry Padwick.

17.-At a banquet in Merchant Taylors' Hall Mr. Disraeli delivers a manifesto on the Union of Church and State. "The Constitution of England," he said, "is not a paper constitution. It is an aggregate of institutions, many of them founded merely upon prescriptions, some of them fortified by muniments, but all of them the fruit and experience of an ancient and illustrious people. And the consequence of this peculiar constitution has been this one experienced by no other European nation-that in England society has always been more powerful than the State-(hear)— for in moments of difficulty and danger, in moments of emergency, there has always in this country been something round which men could rally; and by those means we have achieved the two greatest blessings of civilized communities, which are seldom reconciled-the enjoyment alike of order and of liberty. Now, among these institutions, not the least considerable is the Church; and it is in the alliance between Church and State-an alliance between equal and independent powers, which entered into a solemn covenant for the national good-that one of the principal causes may be recognised

why we have enjoyed those two great-blessings of freedom and order. To that union we are indebted for this great result, that the exercise of authority in England has been con. nected with the principle of religion—a union which, even in rude times, made power responsible, and which prevented government, even in comparatively barbarous periods, from degenerating into mere police-(hear, hear)a union which, in happier times, has elevated, and purified, and ennobled the exercise of power. And, my lords and gentlemen, in the age in which we live, the duties of govern ment each year become more social than political. I am at a loss to know how these duties can be fulfilled if the State be not in intimate relation with an order of men set apart, who, by their piety, their learning, and their social devotion, not only guide and control, but soften and assuage, the asperities of conflicting creeds." Turning to foreign affairs Mr. Disraeli said :-"When we acceded to office, the name of England was a name of suspicion and distrust in every foreign Court and Cabinet. There was no possibility of that cordial action with any of the great Powers which is the only security for peace; and, in consequence of that want of cordiality, wars were frequently occurring. But since we entered upon office, and public affairs were administered by my noble friend who is deprived by a special diplomatic duty of the gratification of being here this evening, I say that all this has changed; that there never existed between England and foreign Powers a feeling of greater cordiality and confidence than now prevails; that while we have shrunk from bustling and arrogant intermeddling, we have never taken refuge in selfish isolation; and the result has been that there never was a Government in this country which has been more frequently appealed to for its friendly offices than the one which now exists."

18. Mr. Gladstone's Suspensory Bill introduced into the House of Lords by the Earl of Clarendon, and read a first time.

-The steamer Feroze, with Sir Robert Napier on board, and the Mauritius, with Consul Cameron and General Staveley, arrive at Suez on their homeward journey.