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Leader (1850-1860), 28th May 1853, Edition 1 of 1, Page 514

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  • Departments (1)
    • THE STORY OF MENDACO
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  • Transcript

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      Untitled Article

      tlie Tablet Irish . And they will do well . For they will leave that in the heart of the University which will tor ever prevent her from selling herself to another . Lord Derby for that protection which she ought only to owe to her own merits and to the gratitude of the nation . Oxford contains the monuments of six eventful , centuries . Each variety in the architecture of her colleges marks the change or fall of dynasties , of systems , ana ot creeds ; and in her streets men may moralize over all the vanities of royal , priestly , and intellectual power , bne nas survived convulsions which seemed to threaten the yery existence of society ; and she has seen the fiercest enthusiasm grow cold , the loudest faction become mute and the most famous and terrible names dwindle to a turgid epitaph or a sorry bust . Yet she has not learnt faith in hersell . She has not yet discovered that her mission relates to

      interests whicli no political revolutions can affect , and that it is her true dignity and her true strength to take her stand upon those interests alone —to mete out to all merit the honours which no intrigues can buy—to place the crown on every illustrious brow—and to bring up citizens and statesmen of all parties in the knowledge of justice , and in the love of truth . She has now been a Tory University for two centuries ; and ot all her chequered annals , the history of these two centuries is the worst . A torpid and corrupt prelacy—a priesthood not relying on truth alone , but on Test Acts and penal ] aws—a Church which abetted and sanctioned the greatest follies and the worst injustice of the State—legislators who pursued class interests with a blind selfishness and a reckless immorality unsurpassed even in despotic counsels —such are the historic monuments of that disastrous and

      disgraceful epoch . Science and speculation were banished , theology only worried Pissenters or commented on the Articles , all tests of merit were abolished , every degree was sold to every applicant , the duties of education were shamelessly neglected , immorality of every kind filled every order in the place , sinecurism and corruption rode rampant , and the ghastly pretence of orthodoxy made more hideous the deformities which it could not _ veil . Such a University could have no trust but in princes . Oxford squires and Oxford rectors were the great pillars accidental

      of tyranny and intolerance , and nothing but an split in the High Tory party prevented the University from conferring the Chancellorship on the incarnation of justice , truth , and Christian virtue , in the person of Lord JEldon . Even when some better men arose , and the sense of duty began to revive , the old leaven still worked . Victorious despots received at Oxford the last excesses of adulation , nntempered by any plea for justice to the world . The Duke of Wellington was mado Chancellor because ho was ignorantly supposed to be an enemy to freedom , and Sir Robert Peel , trained up in intolerance , was renounced because his heart was turned to j ustico .

      Untitled Article

      " THE DERBY . " Tiie " Olympic Games" of England , Epsom ltaces —• our only occasion of " national" holiday-making- —have this year surpassed all precedent—in the spirit of tlie running , the interest of the contest , and the circumstances of the gathering . The ; " Derby" day was very fine : crowds , exceeding all former crowds , iilled tho Epsom trains , and trooped along the highway in comic varieties of conveyance , and the race course itself presented at tlie time of tlie start a highly coloured picture , where anxious faces , guy dresses , beautiful horses , and fluttering Hags of every hue , first caught the eye . There has never before been such a splendid gathering on Epsom Downs . Tho start for " the Derby" was

      well-managed : all got oil ' fairly in a cluster , 'lhe first horse to take the lead was Lord Derby ' s Umbriel ; Cheddar , Cincas , Orestes , Kthclbcrt , Ninnyliaminer , Rattle , Pharos , Honey wood , Filbert , West Australian , and Sittingbourne—followed close , nearly in the order of thnir iiaincs . At " tho turn into the straight , " Umbriel ( Lord Derby ' s ) begun to drop oil " : Rattle then took the lead , but was soon passed by Cineas , pressed c lose by Went Australian , and Sittingbourne . At the distance West Australian took tho lead , and Sittingbourne canu : next : the struggle now lay between the two , the contest was very close , the excitement f * reat , as tho two rivals neared home : but West Australian

      kept lhe lead , and won by a neck . ( 'iiieaH and Rataplan wen ; good third and fourth . Mr . Bowes is the owner of West Australian , and lias nioro than once won tint / , honour the loss of whicli grieved Lord George licntinck , almost as much us the " ruin" of the West Indies . In ] N : $ 5 , 181 : 5 , and 1852 , Mr . Howes has won the Derby each year . Tho fashionable visitors on Wednesday were , a . s usual , many ; the most noticeable aro the Duko of Nemours , and tho French Ambassador . It may lie remarked , that 'West Australian ban been tlie favourite in "Iho lima ; , " nw \ has

      not been honoured by " the prophets . " iheC . arew Slakes were won by Mr . ( . 'larke ' s Syktw ; tlie Kpsoin Town Plate , by JNlr . Diinkald ' s Sunny ; and the Great Exhibition l'lale , by Mr . Ma penis ';; ( 'lair do Lune . On Tuesday , the opening day , the (' raven Stakes were won by Mr . Milner ' it ( irapesliol ; ( In ; Woodcote Stakes , by Mr . ( . '( KijM-r ' H CoMiorHtono ; the Manor Vhiio , by Mr Saxon ' H Cnlot ; and the Ileatlicoto IMutc , by Mr . Howard '» V : \ Vh Paw . Catherine Hayes won the Oulu-H ye » tcr « lay . A novelty in Ibis year's arrangements is the dit > eonUuuuuco of pigeon expresses ; wires reaching lh 0 K ,. Jlml Btimd HvrvhlK 1 () toi ,, Krapl ,

      messages to town . In London the evening was celebrated by the tumult of returning " Derbyites , " and by the u sual bal masques , at Vauxhall and Cremorne .

      Untitled Article

      WAGES . Two things have prevented any striking steps in the wages movement this week . The holidays , which the operatives have spent joyously as befits prosperous workers , have obviated any close collision of the masters and the men ; and the easy success of the men in some quarters makes our record less piquant- The facts show that the action towards better terms is extending almost to every place and every body of operatives in the kingdom . At Mossley , the spinners follow up their late conceded demand for higher wages , by a claim for shorter hours : this has been , a 3 yet , refused . A like result has followed the demand for an advance of 10 per cent , by the weavers at Blackburn , Stockport , and Darwen . The " strike" of tbe South Shields shipwrights is in progress . The first and very reasonable demand of the men was a half-hour for tea ; but this having been inconsiderately refused , they simplify their claim , and stand out for 30 * . a week . Some masters are still obstinate , but the men are being rapidly employed on their own terms in neighbouring yards . The Kidderminster carpet weavers are concerting a general claim for wages equal to those given to the weavers in the North . The Spital fields weavers are stirring with a similar intent , and are encouraged by the local clergy ; while the saddlers and harness-makers of Worcester have joined tlie advancing operatives ; they have obtained from their masters an . hour of leisure

      each day , and in lieu thereof have given up their twelve nights vacation at Christmas . This is a sensible alteration , as short intervals of leisure are sure to work well . The general rise in the respectability of working men is evinced by three interesting items . In Nottingham the desirability of getting better houses for the working classes is engaging the serious and thoughtful attention of the master manufacturers . In Devonport dockyard the men have been lately called together an hour earlier than usual for drill ; they naturally complained of suffering this tax on their time without receiving an equivalent , and having lately asked an interview with the captain-superintendent , to the surprise of the old stagers there was the " unusual scene in the dockyards" of a superintendent receiving courteously , and considering carefully , the remonstrances of " the men . " On the Great Western Railway the employes on the line have a literary society ; its progress is reported this week ; it has now 1375 volumes in its library , and the large donations from the directors express the proper feeling of the employers .

      Untitled Article

      . JOURNAL OF RAILWAY " ACCIDENTS . " We have been compelled , by tho amount of those railway " constants" which directors term accidents , to return to our improved method of recording them : — Fki day , May 20 . —Two " accidents" occurred on tho Belfast Junction Railway . In one case , a pointsman having reversed tlie points , tho train ran off the line . Tho carriages were much injured , but the passengers escaped unhurt . The " stupidity" of tho pointsman is held unaccountable ; ho has been put in gaol . In tho other caso , the pointsman seems not to have got notice of a special train , but . seeing it approach ho mado the proper preparation , and there wns no bad result . Satuiiday . —On the South Wales Railway , last week , tho mail train from Gloucester to Chepstow dashed against a goods engine standing "disabled on the line . " Tho guard of tho train has been wounded ; the driver has been much injured and is still in danger . Monday . —An inquest , on the death of Charles Canning , tho porter on tho South Western line , who was killed by a special train , was held . Tho train which killed him was a special train , employed to convoy the Chairman of the Company and tho Locomotive Superintendent on a surveying expedition , and tho accident arose from no notice of the coming of tlie truin having been forwarded along tbo line . A verdict of Manslaughter against tho Chairman and Superintendent has been found . Tuiokday .- A collision took place on tho Caledonian railway . A mineral tram going to Edinburgh ran into a passenger train stopping at . Slatoford on its way to JCdinburgb . Jfot . li trains were on the mime lino of rails . Eleven passengers were injured- two seriously ; and the engine * and carriages of tins mineral train were seriously damaged . The driver of the mineral train has been arrested .

      WnDNiiNDAY .- A fatal accident occurred near Annan , on tho Glasgow and South Western Railway . Wlnlo tho , | . niin , small and light , wan proceeding on a straight pnrtoi the road tho engine ran oil" tin ' s rails , down an embankment about , live feet , high , and into an adjoining field . Two vans and one carriage were drugged after , 1 ml . the couplings of tho engine fortunalolv hroke , and tho other carriagci , though disturbed , were not iipnot . Tho engine-driver was found lying under tho engine insensible , his right , leg cut , oil ' and his hvnd injured ; hn died in a i ' tw bourn . Tho stoker was injured ; his leg was lorn ofl" below the kneo , and immediate amputation at . the Miijjh wan found necessary . Ilo is still in danger . r p | 1 ( , " citumi" of thin occurrence in as yet , unknown . Another very painful accident took plaoo on Miis day . A thinl-clasn t . ruin from JHeotwood to Preston ( l < ancaohiro airl "Yorlinhiro Railway ) stopped at tho Lea-gate station , not . on the rails next tho -station ( tho

      Floetl / Ullll *> C > V / U & 14 <\> . J . J-IC . » - » - ' •_»•* -. - » M . * -m . V - ^ r — — — . _ Thursday . —The fatality of "the line" seems to extend to everything connected with it . At Louth a young man was engaged in making fog-signals for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bail way , when an exp losion of the powder occurred ; the fragments of the manufacture were hurled in all directions , and the young man was frig htfully mutilated . He died in a few hours .

      «¦ ¦!¦ VJfc + wood trains always running on the other line of rails ) A passenger was about to step from the tram at me station side , when an official seeing the express tram approaching , hurriedly exclaimed , " Don't get out . » ° me of the passengers hearing the loud cry , caught the last words only . Thinking the official ordered them to Get out , " fearing a collision , and hearing the whistle ot the approaching train , some twenty made a rush from the carriages . Some cleared the adjacent fence ; but a gentleman named Holden , and a young servant girl from Jrreston . were crossing the rails when the express train dashed up and knocked them down . The whole train passed over them , and they were literally smashed to pieces . The accident might have been avoided had the officials adopted the simple precaution of locking the doors at the side ot the carriages facing the other line of rails .

      The Story Of Mendaco

      THE STORY OF MENDACO

      A stbange tragedy has been acted in a small Italian town in Piedmont . Mendaco was a person of fortune , and held the position of syndic or mayor of his native town , Veigotti , some twenty-four miles ' from Genoa . He became violently enamoured of a young and handsome woman of the same place , Maria Giusto , at the time a widow with four children . An illicit connexion ensued between them , and after some time , Mendaco , with the connivance of his mistress , resolved to get rid of his wife by killing her . His scheme was most artfully contrived . On the night selected for the murder he invited two of his friends to sup with him and his wife , as he stated his intention of going on a journey the next day . He took care to display on this occasion the most affectionate

      kindness for his -wife , who , after some time , retired to rest , leaving her husband still at supper with his boon companions , whom he plied so copiously with liquor , that they fell at last intoxicated on the floor . The mistress of Mendaco , as concerted , now made her appearance , and the two wretches set about their horrible work . Stealing into the chamber of the sleeping wife , the husband succeeded in strangling her with a cord , while his accomplice smothered her cries by stopping her mouth with her hand . What added to the horror of the act , was the fact of the poor victim being enceinte at tho time ; in her agony she gave premature birth to a child . The deed once done , the assassins coolly proceeded to carry out the plan previously settled on . While the woman washed the linen of the bed and floor , the husband carried the corpse into the adjoining garden of a neighbour , with whom his wife had lately

      had a violent dispute , thus hoping to cast this foul murder on an innocent man . At daybreak Mendaco roused up his drunken companions of the previous night , and the three left the house together . In a few momenta Mendaco pretended that he had come off without money , and returning together to the house , he cried out from the outsido to his wife to throw him his purse . His paramour , who was secreted in his wife ' s chamber , awaiting this ingenious manoeuvre , throw out the money demanded , without showing herself , and Mendaco ' s friends naturally thought and declared that his wife was in her bedroom when they all left the house in company . When the murder was discovered , suspicion naturally fell upon the unfortunate man in whoso grounds the body was discovered , and he was arrested and thrown into prison . This nefarious plot was , however , providentially defeated . Two of Mendaco ' s children had overheard the death cries

      of their unhappy parent , and , in spite o" tho menaces and entreaties of tho guilty father , they revealed what they had overheard . Tho arrest of tho true criminals followed ; upon trial they both confessed and accused each other , and were both condemned to death . ( Sad to relate , tho poor man who was first arrested , and detained in prison , tost hia senses from torror . ) Upon tho first trial both wore condemned to death ; but a second ono was ordered for some informality . The result was the same , and a second condemnation was registered against both tho criminals . Eepoated efforts were mado to navo tho woman from execution . A deputation of noble ladies belonging to tho Miserieordia went , lately from Genoa to Turin to intercede with tho King and Queen for a commutation of tho sentence , but , tho case was too atrocious to merit it .

      Tho ;() oi April was named for the execution of both , at , ( 5 a . m . Even heforo daybreak tho -streets wero filled with anxious multitudes to witness tho melancholy procession . Tho soldiery lined both sides of the way from tho prison to tho spot of execution , which it ) situated at tho extreme end of tho Old Mole , as it is termed in Gonou . At , a quarter to six o'clock a single cry was heard from tho Mole , "A la Torta" which announced tho arrival of tho criminals at the gate afore-mentioned . An involuntary movement , like a shudder , passed over the multitude , and breathless silence ensued . Ja a few minutes was Been a cross covered with black and carried high in tho air . Tho members of the Mmorieordia , in bluek cloaks and with their faces masked , followed . The wretched wnmnn

      then appeared , borne on a chair by two monks , for terror had deprived her of all strength and nearly of consciousness . A detachment of ( jcnilarmeH succeeded . IOvery eye was -straining alTtvr Meiuljioo , but , ho had been humanely detained at . Mm gate below till tho execution of his accomplice was over . In a few moments more tho executioner ascondod tho fatal ladder , followed by the . miserable woman , who was sustained on either side . A priest mounted tho other ladder , and prayed in a loud voico while tho cord was fa-stoned to tho scaffold . Suddenly tho poor wretch was soon swinging in tho air , having been pushed from the ladder by an assistant , below . To the general horror tho chief executioner then sprang directly on tho head of tho dying criminal , supporting himself against tho beam nbovo , and triod by the weigh

      Untitled Article

      Vi „ . THE LEADER , [ Satprpay ^ _________ __ . __ _ . — ——————— i ——^————

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), May 28, 1853, page 514, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1988/page/10/