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Leader (1850-1860), 22nd May 1858, Edition 1 of 2, Page 490

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      thought of the hurry when it has once got into the theatre , but remorselessly insists on the execution of the evening ' s entertainment as if no effort had been req uired to open the theatre at all- Impatience and ingratitude—these are the characteristics of that delicate monster , the British public . Accordingly , there was a " row" in the amphitheatre , and when the curtain finally rose for " God save the Queen , " the anthem , was gone through amidst a deafening uproar , which Jlr . Costa tried ineffectually to drown . Regret was sincerely felt , however , if not expressed , by the more reasonable part of the audience at the painful absence of Mr . Gye on an occasion

      redounding to his honour as the creator and organizer of all these wonders and delights . We may add , that the appurtenances of the theatre , the lobbies , the crush-room and refreshment-rooms , were much admired for their large and liberal proportions , but that the grand staircase was generally considered inferior to the former one . There was a little irregularity in the admission and refreshment departments in the hurry of the imperfect preparations ; but , taken all in all , the arrangements were as creditable as they were surprising . One remark , however , we cannot forbear from making : the prices of admission are on a scale which renders the commercial success of the

      theatre absolutely dependent on the exclusive patronage of a very limited class of society . Is this prudent ? It is , at all events , questionable ; but time will decide . Les Kugiienots has "been played during the week , and the tlieatre is now in complete working order .

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      CRIMINAL RECORD . The Coventry Murder . —Five men have been in cnstody , under suspicion of being connected with this murder . Three of them , however , are discharged , aucl tie other two are under remand . V Kobbeby ExTKAOEDiNAitY . —A robbery has been committed at Pawlish of a nature quite unparalleled for audacity . A mau presented himself at the house of Miss Constance Brown ( the lady recently personated by the woman who has been convicted of robbing Messrs . Hunt and Rbskeli ) , stated that be was Mr . Inspector Field , of the detective police , and said lie had come from London . to search for a quantity of missing plate which , he said , lad been stolen by Miss Brown . He added , that he

      desired to perform his duty leniently , but that , if there was any resistance , he should call in the services of some other officers from London whom he had brought -with . ' ] iim . After resorting- to other threats of the same nature , he was permitted to make a search . He broke open a dressing-case of Miss Brown ' s , refusing to allow one of the inmates of the house to go and fetch a locksmith , as lie said he could not suffer him to quit his sight . Out of this case the sham policeman took a ring which he said he had been searching for for the last seven years . The trunks of the lady ' s maid were next examined , corded , and sent of to the railway station , at the direction of the visitor . Finally , the plate-chest - was overhauled ; and , the examination being then completed , some Madeira was ordered , and the pretended policeman remained till a late liour , enjoying himself . The female

      members of the family appear to have been rather fascinated by his manners , and to have felt , grateful to him for the agreeable way in which he performed a painful duty . On leaving Dawlish , the fellow had the marvellous audacity to call at the police station , and request the constables to keep a look on the hou 30 which he had just robbed . Handbills liavo been issued by Mx . Field , offering a reward for the apprehension of the thief . He is believed to bo the samo person who recently personated Mr . Field nt the house « f a nobleman in Portlaud-plaee , and obtained from him a cheque for 60 / ., on the plea that his son was in great difficulties . When presented at the banker ' s , it was necessary that tliia cheque should be endorsed ; and , by writing Mr . Field ' name on it , the impostor has made himself liable to a charge of forgery .

      Murder at Wakefibxd . —An inquest was held at the Sun Inn , Flocton , near Waluifield , on Monday evening , on the body of Thomas Kilner , butcher , a young man -who was killed with a coul rake , by a man named "William Henry Norbury , in n public-house quarrel . The jury returned a verdict of Wilful Murder . Mukdrk in- DrcRBYsmuK . — Two men at Unatone near Chesterfield , quarrelled over their supper Into last Saturday night , when one of them drew a knife , niul stabbed the other in the breast and stomach . The wounded man rushed out into the street , and fell down dead ; and the othor was at once tukcii into custodv .

      IJuuor , AUY iNTiiii City . —The whnvf of Messrs . F . and W . White , corn-merchants in Upper Thainos-. street , has been broken into and plundered b y a gaii |{ ot burglars from the river . The , thieves rowed thcmsolves at high water alongside the river front of the preiniwus in a Cuatom-houso skiff , and then entered tho various countiiiK-housca from tho water-side , breaking th < ciu open with crowbars and wodgos . As , notwithstanding tho great extent of the wharf and tho large amount oi property it contains , it i . s always left unprotected « t night , tho burglars met with no opposition , and tlicro--foro succeeded in rilling tho counting-houses of uc ( . u-Bidcrablc portion of their contents , jiucl in

      nossi-BHiiu-themselves of nearly all the money which they found in the clerks' desks . What , however , seems to have chiefly attracted their cupidity , was a large iron safe containing 2 cwt . of copper money . Being unable to force this open , they carried it out of the counting-house to the external Vail of the wharf , where they endeavoured to lower it into the skiff ; but the great weight of the safe evidently overcame them , for it missed its murk and fell on to the edge of the boat , which it capsized , when both

      safe and skiff sunk together . At daybreak the following morning , the body of a man recently drowned was picked up at BlackfriaTS ; and it is supposed that he is one of the thieves who committed the robbery at the corn wharf the previous night ,. and ' probably was in the skiff when it was upset . The iron safe was found embedded in the mud of the river at low water , alongside the wharf , by the workmen on their arrival at six o ' clock the next morning . None of its contents had been stolen .

      Murder on Board an American Vessel . — -Three American seamen , named'James Thorn , George Williamson , and John Shields , have been apprehended at Liverpool on tlie charge of murdering Henry liarwell , a fellow seaman , on board an American ship , during" her voyage to England from New Orleans . On tlie evening of the day that the ship commenced her journey , Shields went into the "forecastle , and , having forcibly dragged Barwell from his bunk , struck him several heavy blows with a sling shot he had in his hand , whick finally knocked him down . Shields was afterwards joined by

      Williamson , and 'Thorn , when the three men attacked Barwell together , and beat him with a belaying pin until he was killed by tbe blows . His body being soon afterwards missed from the deck of the vessel , it was ascertained on inquiry that it had been thrown overboard . On the" arrival of the sbip hi the Mersey , the United States Consul was informed of what had ' happened , and Shields , Thorn , and Williamson were shortly afterwards taken into custody in a lodging-bou-e at Liverpool . They were remanded until the American minister could be communicated with as to what steps should be taken in the matter .

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      GATHERINGS PROM THE LAW AND POLICE COUUTS . The Lord Mayor communicated to the reporters at the Mansion House , last Saturday , the following letter from a Mr . M . Young , throwing some light upon an . international question of great importance : — "I saw in the Times that Luigi . Spadoni , a Roman , had been condemned as a confirmed and adept pickpocket to three months' imprisonment and hard labour . Having accidentally had communication with this Italian , and knowing that you willingly listen to all true statements , I venture to inform you of what I knew of him . I have to sitate that I Diet him at an Italian ragged school in this neighbourhood ( Albany-street ) , kept by a benevolent English lady . As I have been a good deal in Italy , I questioned him as to liis occupation and his motives for coming to England . He told me he was a

      stonemason , hud left Koine , to find work , got as far as France , found no means of employment , was sent by Franco to England I , they must have paid liis passage ) , and he was now starving , and would gladly work or return to Rome if he had the means , lie showed me his passport of 185 G to confirm his story , This was in tho mouth of November . We assisted him with a very trilling gratuity to work his way down to Dover , and furnished him with letters to friends there , who were to pay his passage across , 7 s . He went , but no one would take him on board unless ho was furnished with sufficient money to go the whole way to Italy . These , I suppose , are French regulations ; though they scud these poor wretches to us they will not allow their own shores to be burdened with them . The friends to whom he w « 3 recommended supported him at Dover , and paid his journey to London in December last . He did not

      revisit tlie school , and in his destitute atatc it is to be feared that , under the tuition of the bad diameters who congregate in . Field-lane , ho has taken up the discreditable practice of stealing pocket-handkerchief : ; . Me is too stupid to become an adept , and most likely did it to get into prison rather than starve , as ho told me he had begged the police to put him in prison or anythingif ho could but have food If tho country is liable to the expense of keening these foreigners in prison , surely it would be bettor cither to prevent their landing or oblige thorn to work at some honcxL calling . Tho kingdom of Sardinia obliges every stranger to provo hi . s means of living or working- by tho testimony of some householder before they allow him to mjido . "

      An Irishman amis charged at tho Worship-street police-office last Saturday with having assaulted and throntcned the life of ono Ikiihonliol , an JVlgorinc gentlumnn residing at Priory I 1 < hiho , Waiulnworth . Tho latter presented liiinscuC in court , in his native continue , and "« aid that he had been in tin : . service of tho French , both in Algeria and the Crimea . lie , had hinc « conic to Kntfliiiid , " as the cherished home of freedom , " and had purchased somu building * in IMulbeiTy-cnurt , Whitechapel , which ho had ordered to bu oli-ansud mid repuinid ; but the wild Irish dwelling there , resisted all t-llbrla nt improvement , and refused to \ n \ y their rent , lie . nec ! ordiu } jly went there himself , aci : ( ini | umied by hia agent , and was iibitimlly surrounded by a host of savn&ci

      ruffians , who subjected him to gross outrage and personal violence before he escaped . In . consequence of this , he caused the ringleader to he apprehedded . J& answer to the usual interrogatory by tie ' magistrate-as to whether he was in bodily fear from the violence oC the man , the Algerine indignantly replied , " Fear him I Bismalah 1 no ; but I fear my own passion , if h « puts upon'me the same indignity again , and I do not wish to slay him . " The Irishman was ordered to pay a fine of ten shillings , and to enter into recognizances to keep the peace . .

      A poor Irishwoman has applied at the Worshi p-street oifice for assistance under circumstances which led to an . important investigation . A few days previousl y , a young woman named Caroline Murray had been cliarged by the porter of the Shoreditch workhouse with stealing a flannel petticoat ; but , as no evidences ? as offered , she -was discharged , and , on leaving tue court , was seized with the pains of labour in the midst of a pouring rain , in the street , aud was there delivered of a child . The Irishwoman rendered great assistance , and she was now rewarded with ten shillings . She then charged a Mr . Collyer , a medical gentleman in the neighbourhood , with having refused to render professional assistance to the poor woman Murray . A lady who had also been present said

      tli at Murray herself frequently begged Mr . Collyer to ' attend her , even offering him money to do so ; but lie ' refused , and ordered her to be taken to the hospital in a cab . Mr . Hammill , the magistrate , ordered an investigation to be made ; and in consequence , several of the vorkhouse authorities and Mr . Collyer attended . The latter said that he was hurrying at the time to fulfil several professional engagements , and had not time to attend to the woman . With respect to the woikhouse porter ,-Mr . Hammill said that , if the authorities were satisfied with his conduct , that was sufficient ; but ifc

      was his opinion that the man was grossly culpable , inasmuch as knowing that the woman was ia such a state , and not offering evidence from that . cau . se , a 9 avowed by him , he ought at least to have procured a cab . Manifestly , greater attention was due in all such matters than had been shown in this . He trusted that a woman in such a precarious condition would never be taken before any-magistrate for the future , and lie was confident the guardians deeply regretted tlmt the neighbourhood had been shocked by such a lamentable and disgraceful scene .

      Mr . Kolt , Q . C ., appeared on Tuesday , in the Court of Probate , on behalf of Prince Bahadoor of Ou . de , an > l moved for letters of administration of the property in this country belonging to the deceased uncle of the Prince . Sir Cresswell Cresswell said he could not hear the case because it was not " contentious business ; ' ' and , after a short discussion , it was arranged that a petition should be filed by the Prince of Oude , ami a : i answer be put in on the other side , iu order to bring- the case within the rules of the court . The false " Signor Borromeo , " alias Dr . Tucker , was on Thursday tried and convicted at the Middlesex

      Sessions on the charge of obtaining money by fall-e pretences from the Morning Star . It will be recolleeted that he furnished imaginary reports of an imaginary Italian Conference ; and that , though pretending ' to be an Italian , he is really an Irishman . One of the witnesses for the prosecution was Henrietta Ann Shelley , a girl whom he had entrapped into a false marriage , and who was much distressed in giving her evidence . Tlie scoundrel was sentenced to a year ' s Lard labour , and was removed protesting his innocence . A triple charge of bigamy is still hanging over him , and on this he will probably be arraigned in a few days .

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      OlUTUAliY . Tin : VuciiKSiS av Oklkax . s died on Tuesday morning at her residence nt Richmond . She was tho youngest daughter of Frederick Louis , Hereditary Grand-Duke of Mecklciiburg-Schweiin , by his second marringc with the Princess Caroline , daughter of Charles , Grand-Duke of Saxe-Weimar . Her 1 loyal Iligluiess was born on the 21 th of January , 1811 , and consequently w . is furly-four years of ago . The Princess was brought up in Jhe l ' rotcstant faith , but of course embraced Roman Catholicism on marrying tho Duke of Orleans . She appears to have been a lady of a most amiable disposition , and to have filled her liigh position , whether in times of iiro . spcrity f > r those of reverse , in an oxcmp-lnry manner . The Prince Consort , shortly after the sud news readied the Queen at Buckingham Palace , left town for lvichniond on a visit of condolence to the relatives of tho ( Inches ? . The Duchess of Cambridg e , and the other in embers of tho lloyal family , likewise paid visits to tlio eNiled Royal family soon after tlie intelligence was received . Mn . Licwis Loyd , tlie founder of the London banking linn of Jones , Loyd and Co ., and father of Lord Overstone , died nt tho close of last week , in his nincty-Iin' . year . Dioatii ok ANOTincn Uayki . ock . —Lieutenant . C \ V > - Ilaveloelc , of the ( Jhoorku Regiment , nephew of the lute Mnjor-Ciencnil llnve . loclc , lias been shot < it'ad from a hut . in an obscure village on tho road to Av . hn ^ hur , while routing out some rebels avIio were olwtmotintf the progress of ouv soldiers . Tho Lieutenant bciloiigi'd to Sir Edward Lugard ' s column , and had nerved as a volunteer nith his nude . His rumains won : brought into . 1 amilioro , nnd buried there , llu i . s greatly regretted by his comrades .

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      ¦ ¦ ¦ - ¦ ¦ . ¦ ¦¦ : ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ . ¦ . ¦ .. ¦ - ¦¦ ' ¦¦ ¦ ' i 490 THE LEADER . [ No . 426 , May 22 , 1858 . '

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), May 22, 1858, page 490, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2243/page/10/