EXTRAORDINARY PROCEEDINGS IN HIGH LIFE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 68, 3 February 1862, Page 1 (Supplement)

EXTRAORDINARY PROCEEDINGS IN HIGH LIFE.

The inquiry into the silledger] hnisicy of William Frederick Windliam, Esq,, of Fellbrig Hall, Norfolk, was brought to a conclusion ;.n Ssiturday. The

strictest privacy was observed tlir,,:.;:iiout, sui4B»;oiisequantly we are not in a position to present our render?

with a report of tlio proceedings, but having been at no little pains to learn the cirenmtfanees surrounding this mysterious and in every way remarkable case, we arc enabled to publish the following facts, which may be relied upon as trustworthy aud authentic.

Iv order that the reader may obtain a perfect understanding of the case, it will be necessary to repeat some of the facts mentioned in our impression oi' Saturday. On the Oth of August last Mr. AVinlhnm obtained his majority, and came into possession of a large estate in Norfolk, which ha i been devised to liim by his father, who died about seven years ago Fellbrig Hall, the family mansion, is a noble buiiJing. Tiie pictures, bronzes, and articles of vertu in liv' hall are estimated to be worth .£IOO.OOO. Tlio adjacent estate is of great extent, ci nsisting of parts, ia.-ms, and woods. The timber, indeed, would fetch a fabulous sum, as the trees for a century or more have been untouched by the woodman's axe. In addition to this princely fortune, Mr. Windham i.s lieir to smother esiatc, now iv Chancery, producing about. £20,000 a-year, but this he will not come into possession of until lie attains the age of twenty-eight.. The next heir to this latter property is bis uncle. Major General (..'luu-les Ashe Windiisim. With this uncle and ot'icr relatives young Mr. Windham was not on the best of terms', and he accordingly executed a deed Ism-ing the entail, in order to prevent any of the proper!y from passing into their hands.

Tiie proccuflings before the Lords Justices, the Kight I lon. Sir .1. L. Knight Bruce, and the Eight Hon. Sir It. T. Turner, originated in a petition signed by Mrjor-truneral Ashe Windham, Captain Windbiim of Croinor, the Marquis of Bristol, Lord Alfred Hervey, M.P., Lady Listowell, and'others, praying that a writ de lufiatico inquirendo might issue against young Mr. Windliam. The investigation took place on Friday and Saturday at the Court of the Lords Justices in Lincoln's Inn. That the doors should have bsen closed and the public rigorously excluded is a circumstance much to be lamented. The interest of society demands that a matter involving consequences so serious, and which may possibly lead ultimately to this young gentleman being'consigned to a/loom which is dreadful to contemplate*, should be tried in a court open to all the world, instead of being beard in Hie obscurity of a secret tribunal. It is understood that Mr. Wyndhnm himself desired thai the proceedings might be public, but on this point he was overruled. <?*

In support of tbe petition tbe affidavits of General Wimlhaiii, Lord Alfred Hervey, ami other relatives, wore read. They alleged a variety of lianun-scarum boyish pranks on tbe part of Mr. Wiudham. A great many particulars respecting the extravagant lire he i-jd in town wei'a also entered into, and great stress was laid upon the marriage which lie liad contracted. The facts respecting this unfortunate alliance are, we believe, as follows : —Sir. Wiiidinun, upon coming into his immense fortune, was unhappily led into society by no means fit for a gentleman of bis station of life. Among bis acquaintance was a lady named Agnes Ann .Rogers, better known by the name of Agnes Wilioughby, whom he accidentally .saw riding in Hyde Park. Of this lady, who is possessed el" considerable personal attractions. Mr. iVindbaia—became deeply enamoured, and made her a proposal of marriage, which, however, she lit first refused. This may be accounted for by the fact that she was already in possession of £2,000 a-year, which she must necessarily give up on her marriage. A solicitor was consulted, and the lady eventually consented to change lier name from Rogers to Wiiutliam, on condition that £800 per annum should be at once settled upon her for her separate use, and that her husband, on attaining twenty-eight years of age, should increase this sum to £1,500. Tins was done, .md tiie marriage was solemnised at St. John's Wood Church, on the SOtli of August last. As might have been expected, it turned, out a most unhappy one, .md at the expiration of about a month they parted : not, however, before the fair bride bad been presented by her husband with jewellery to the value of £14,000. She returned in a short time, aud has resided with him at intervals until a- few dajs ago, when she again left him. These circumstances tire now alleged against Mr. Windliam, as tending to show that lie is of unsound mind, and incapable of joiiducting liis own affairs. Other allegations state that he cut down a large number of trees on bis estate, that he was of dirty habits with regard to his person, that he was guilty jf cruelty to animals, and that he was in the habit of .hiving a locomotive engine, attired in the costume of a railway guard. One of his former servants deposed, amongst other matters, that he used to snore very loudly at night, and tliat she thought Ik; could not be right in his mind; whilst another deponent stated that be told Mr. Windham's father of his son's defective intellect when that young gentleman was only five years oi'age. It was also stated that Mr. Windliam bad a most inordinate appetite for fuod. The statements of theiuedk-al gentlemen concerned for tiie petitioners were rather vague and unsatisfactory, dwelling more upon the state of Mr. Windham's mind in general without entering into details. Indeed, one doctor did not even venture to assert Mr. Windham was insane, but contented himself with expressing an opinion that it was extremely improbable tliat he would be capable of managing his affairs.

To rebut these charges, a mass of medical testimony mis brought forward, tending to show that Mr. Windliam had conducted his affairs in a manner which precluded all idea of insanity, and t'nt bis puerile freaks and expensive habits were only what might be expected from a young gentleman whose education had been neglected,, and" who bad a large ■sum of money at his command. It -was aflirmed that, with the exception of the purehsuo of jewels f'.ir bis wife, lie had invariably acted in a way which clearly showed that he knew the value of money, and was not too ready to part with it. The allegations tliat lie was guilty of cruelty to animals met with a flat contradiction. Several gentlemen who visited him at Fellbrig Hail, in September last, assorted that he then behaved in a perfectly rational manner, and exhibited no sign whatever of aberration of intellect.

The Lords Justices, after hearing the affidavits on either side, considered that a prima facia case had been uiade out, and allowed the prayer of tlio petition. A cominis&ion of lunacy will therefore be issued, and a jury cmpa-unelled to try the que.rtioii whether William Frederick Windham is, or is not capable of managing his own affairs. This investigation will, of course be a public one, and, no doubt, the facts of the case will be thoroughly sifted.

One incident relating to this extraordinary affair is worthy of especial notice, .as it tends in some degree to elucidate the manner in which the evidence against Mr. Windham was procured. When lie found that doubts were entertained as to his sanity, lie at once called in five eminent physicians, who Vad an interview with liirn ot more than two hours' duration: .and the result was that they declared him of sound mind. J'i.rs Wiudliain, however, who was present on the occasion, had an idea that Dr. N*eale, one of the medical gentlemen, liad been in communication witli MajorUeuersil Ashe Vvindham : nnd iv order the better to ascertain the fact, slio invited Dr. Ncale and Mr. Chvynne to dine with her husband and his solicitor, Mr. Bury Hutchinson, at the Huston hotel. The invitation was accepted. What conversation tood place it is of course impossible for us to say, but certain it i.s that it resulted in a quarrel." Dr. Neale, in a frenzy, hurled a glass at. Mr Hutohinson's head, which had the. eifect of stunning him. He then seized a chair, and dealt a tremendous blow at the luckless solicitor, felling him to the ground. Mrs Wimlhnm fainted away, while her husband, who upon this occasion evinced a large amount of common sense, li;i.?tcucd to call in the slid of the polieo. These functionaries soon made their appearance, and Dr Ncale was conveyed to the police station in Little Albany street, on a charge of assault. On searching him, however, it was discovered tliat he had in his possession, a number of papers relating to Mr Windham's defence, which, Mr Hutchinson averred, had been extracted from his pocket. The matter now assumed a much more serious phase, and a charge of feloniously stealing from the person was superseded to that of assault. .In the coiu-se of the evening Major-General Wiudham attended at the police station, and bailed out Dr Neale, who duly attended at the Marylubone Police Court the following' morning to answer the chnrajos preferred n^aimt him. The caw;, hovrver, wiw privately settled, and the doctor wsw discharged from custony. By what, nmans this swlrlcm ehfiiUT. in the pm*eciiibr"s intentions was etivcted we do not pretend to say; but that the charge wsis made nnd dismissed, as we hs-.ve stated, an inspection of the police sheet at the Little Albany street "station, under the date of the 7th instant, will

CAour.ricit Blast in Favouji op Tohacco.

—" Paterfamilias" writes to the Times on the subject of smoking, expressing astonishment at the .severe -regulation against the practice in force at "Woolwich Academy. "There can be no doubt that smoking is a habit, or vice, if you plcass, which has of late years much increased among the upper clsisses of this country. The best Havannah tobacco has, I am sorry to say, doubled in price. There is not a club in London which does not now possess a commodious smoking room. But last week till1. Illustrated London JYcvm published a striking sketch of his Royal Highness the Heir

Apparent cantering cheerily across Newmarket Heath wit!) si cigar in his mouth ; his I>oyal Highness the Commandcs'-in-Chief may be seen any morning smoking his way down Constitution Hill to his duties at the War Office ; our Cabinet Ministers sire known to smoke in their offices, our Judges to refresh themselves wi)b a smoke as soon as they can escape from their foul and ill-vonti'si-ted Courts ; the smoking rooms of the

i lohcs of Parliament attest the prevalence of the hn'n't n.;no!i£f the members of our Legislature ; I have myself seen the pout laureate enjoying his clay pipe ; <md 1 have no doubt, sir, that many of the silliest, literary contributions which pass under your chastening pen sire strongly impregnated with the flavor of tobacco."

"Sticir X.i.vr.? MrxciLKD" (Byron). — The names of tbe churchwardens of St. Luke's Church, Bristol, are Duck and Drake, tbe bellriuger's mime is Chick, and the two sextons hear the appellations of Pain and Fear. Wilfa Sliintliird.

Spanish Oertificatks. —We have reason to believe that the Spanish government is fully impressed with a sense of the absolute Joss wl;i<;h the existing blob upon Spanish finance inflicts upon the country, and tl at. moreover it. is very a'ivious to remove it by frankly milking sin arrangement with the certificate holders. Tiie diiiiculty is to do tin's without wounding I he miimir propre of the people and of tbe Cortes, r.nii without confessing tliat the country has been in thev.Tong in lnKvtf'l'ire denying what is now recognised as a righteous claim : for wore sin impression of this kind to be excited, the prestige of the government might be tarnished, and occasion might even be i-i-en for that sort of scandalous tsdk in which Madrid delights. So delicate sui affair must, therefore, be managed with caution mvi judgment. There are, however, many ways in which an accomplished statesman may do right without crying pvcettvi. Possibly the Spanish government lnpy elect to go to tho Corles and say,— when tlifi country was poor, we made an arrangement, with a certain ela-s of the foreign creditors, which, though tii.-y signified their iicccptsincn of it has always been" lVLVurdnit by them wth dissatisfaction. Spain, now rich and prosp:TOu=, can afford to be generous and magnanimous. Authorise us, therefore, to niiikc such hud such arrangements, by which the holders off how1 claims shall receive a bonus that will complexly satisfy them, and remove tiie only bar to the rise ofthe credit of Spain to a level befitting her rank among tho nations of the world." The Spanish statesm in who shall do this will deserve well of his country, and it ought to be held in lsisi-ing remembrance by it. And the statesman who ought to (io this is tbe present Prime Minister of Spain, who hiui succeeded in establishing his auminifiyiv.rion upon si basis of stivi'.gth unhappily unknown for a long scries of years before.— Aloney Market Review.

JfoTF.s ox Tiiy, Ciiixksk. —It is well known that gunpowder, the mariner's compass, tho art of wood engraving, &c, wre in possession of tbe Chinese Centura's before they wuro benrd oj' in Europe, from books which iiavu been placed in our bands, it would appear that they am equally sicquainiod with palmistry, physiognomy, and phrenology. The probability is that long previous to tbe discoveries of ijavnta-, iiuii Gall, and Spiirz'tciin, this extraordinary people were in the hsibit, not only of predicting future event by tho liii'as in the hand, but of studying cha-rsictr-i" in fie puculinritips in theiiice and the developments of the head. One of the volumes in question is called 1-li-Sliiinar-Poo, or "A Looking into tho Future Book," and is devoted to tiie interpretation of the cabu'isiic network of lines 011 tbe psihns ; the other contains pome fairly-executed wood-cuts, representing different styles of features and craniums, the various organs bPing mapped out as minutely as in the publications of Combs, anil other enthusiasts in phnmologie science. The Hi-Siiung-Jim, or fortuneteller, is said to be an important personage among bis countrymen.—it/. A, Mail.

Mkxtcak Uaxditti. —Mr. and Mrs. Robert Chawner, M. J. DeL'porte, and two Germans were travelling in a Mexican dilligence on the 3rd August. Messrs. ChawneraudDeliinorte bad with them pistols, and Mr. Chawner fearing robbers, advised his wife that, in esise of an attack, she was to throw herself on the floor of the conch. 'Nothing happened to- disturb the journey until the dilligence had passe:; Ozum-

billn. A short distance this side of that post, eight robbers suddenly came tip, and without using any of their usual menaces fired into the coach. Mrs. Chasvner who was in the act of following trie instructions of her husband, received one of the balls in her back, and full wounded on the knees of her husband. Another ball struck Mr. Delaporte in tbe knees. Mr. Cliawner, with bis bleeding and dying wife on his knees, extricated his pistol and fired one shot, which brought down one of tbe cowardly assassins. The criesof his wife, that called for his attention, prevented him from firing again ; and M. Dohiporte was too much stunned by his wound to offer any resistance. Tbe robbers, nevertheless, fired something like a dozen shots more, but, fortunately, without doing further damage, and then abandoned their murderous attack. Mrs. Chawner expired some two hours bafore the dilligence arrived in the city of Mexico, and M. Delaporte on the morning of the sth.

Tub Ctendakjie and tub Drowntko Man.— Alpbonse Ksirr relates the following incident, which is related to have occurred not long since at a village in Normandy : —" As si gendarme was -walking along the banks of si small river, he suddenly lieaid cries for help from a drowning man. lie hastened to the spot, and saw the man struggling in the water. Without a moment's hesitation he threw off part of bis uniform, plunged into the river, seized the man, and brought him to land in 11 state of insensibility. Proper restoratives having been applied, the man came to himself, and earnestly enquired the name of his deliverer. ' No. matter about my name,'coldly replied the gendarme ; ' but yon must give me yours, arid your address, too.' —' But I really must know who "you are, and 1 trust you will come to see mo.' — ' Ob ! as to my name, you will find thsit at the bottom

of the procc--verbal.'—l really do not think any such formality requisite. I shall alwvys be ready to own my obligation to you, and these good people sire all witness of your noble siction.'—'What noble action '!•' asked tiie gendarme. ' Why, your risking your own life to save mine' —' I did nothing of' the kind ; I saw you in the water in si forbidden part of the river, and 1 jumped in to arrest you —not to save you from drowning—and must now draw up a proces-vcrbiil of the fact, and summon you before tho Judge de Taix.' All persuasion was useless; the procos-verbsd was drawn up, and in due course tho

defender appeared before tbe Judge do Paix : when it was satisfactorily proved that lbs accused liad fallen into the river while watering a horse, and bad thus narrowly escaped drowning."

Axothkh Mn.iTATCV Muhdkh.—A shocking murder was committed at Corfu on the 2Gth of last month. A soldier of the Ist Bsiltsilion, !)tli regiment, Private Ohadwick, shot corporal l)onollun,of tiie same regiment. Tim unfortunate eor|K>ral was iv his barrac.krooni, stiUidin.se up on his bod, arranging some of liis things in the rack which is fixed above it, when Private Ohadwick entered, nnd without even ntisiug his rifle to his shoulder discharg.;d the contents into his side. The murderer was immediately secured, but the unf'ortu-

nai.e victim expired in the greatest agony after lingering for two days in the hospital. The immediate cause of ihi.s horrid crim was the award of six days' confinement to iprivn'ks. 1 v which Ohadwielc had been sentenced byt; j o.iiojr roimusmding his regiment for insubordinate conduct : :.!ie corporal. Donollan was shot on the dOfch of Oct."■or, and died on the morning of the 28th. The same ;iy an inquest and court of enquiry were held, and the general court-martial, which, ssit on the ;50th, sentenced the murderer to be

hanged. The sentence was carried into effect on the Bth instant, on tiie South IV.-ade in the citadel of Corfu. Thus, while the- Clearys and M'Oalfrays are still awaiting their trisil in Kngland, i,he murderer of Corporal Donollan sit Corfu, has expiated bis crime on the spot, and no doubt this prompt retribution will prove the most radical cure for these barbarons outrages. The controversy which bsis been opened respecting the ammunition, which is by the rules of the service entrusted to the keeping- of the soldiers, will, perhaps, result in the introduction ol some measure of a preventive character. Prompt and condign punishment on the sjiot is, however, after perpetration of the crime, if not a remedy for the identical crime that has boon committed, certainly the measure most calculated to inspire, by the suddenness of tbe example, a wholesome, dread of the consequences attendant upon the rash indulgence of vindictive passion. The. following account of the scene which took place sit tbe execution i.s from a private letter: —" Tbe band went to the prison to conduct him to to the place of execution, and ho was placed amidst a guard of eight soldiers, having their arms reversed and walking in slow time, the clergyman at

their bead. They entered tbe chapel, on tiie outside of which the awful event was to take place. Before

h;ra<yinfir him they tied bi-i feet and adjusted tbe cord around bis neck. Tiie scaffold was placed nine feet from the ground, and, owin,tr to tins negligence of the executioner, tbe body in falling broke the rope, ami the man fell moaning- on tbe ground, close to his cofiin. He was taken up and hanged a second time. It was indeed a frightful sight to see him so tortured. The whole of the garrison were present, and everyone ■wna sliocked at . tins uew mode of tnkins?' a^\'sm_Q.