MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1490, 22 January 1861, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

The New Submarine Telegraph Cable.— Several Birmingham manufacturers are interested' in the new cable whioh is intended to connect Algiers and Toulon in telegraphic sympathy.- The cable is made on an entirely new principle, being oomposed of hemp and steel wire, and is the invention and the patent of Messrs. John and E. Wright, of Birmingham. The wire used is manufactured by thenow process of whioh the firm of Webster and Horsfall are the patentees. Some idea of the extraordinary lightness of this cable may be gathered from the fact that it weighs a ton to the mile, and is by far the lightest aud strongest ever introduced. An attempt was made to lay it down during the gales of October. It was laid most successfully to within 40 miles of Toulon, when, owing to the heavy gales, the steamers could not approaoh the harbour, and it was necessary to cut ; but previous to doing so it was tested by the electricians on buard, and found perfect. It will be picked up and brought on to Toulon iv a few days, when the gales are over. During the voyage the cable was subjected to the most severe tests that can be applied. Five miles were paid out during a heavy sea in the Bay of Biscay, in 100 fathoms of water, and afterwards recovered in a perfect state, dragging up with it an anchor more than 2 cwt., thus proving that this cable can be laid in any depth of water, and taken up again if necessary. The test applied has proved its superiority,over all other cables as to its strength and fitness for deep water. We may add that the cable is laid down at the expense of the French Government.

Execution of a Murderer in France. — Another execution has taken place in France. One Millott was some time back condemned to death by the Court of Assizes of the Yonne for the murder of a aged widow, named Cierel, of Lixy ; but be entertained a confident hope that his life would be spared. After his condemnation he was lodged in the prison of Auxefere, and three nights back he was told that he was about to be taken away. " Where to ? " asked he, and he was answered '• to Paris," but he was conveyed to the railway and sent to Sens, where the execution had been ordered to take place. A rumour that he was about to arrive having been spread in that city a crowd assembled <it the station to see him. He was alarmed at this collection of people, and still more so at finding that instead of going to Paris, he was made to stop at Sens, with whioh oity he was well acquainted ; but he was tranquilised by some vague explanation given by one of the turkeys. He was lodged, in the gaol, and early next morning was awakened, and told that he was about to be put to death. He seemed for a moment thunderstruck, and then raised loud cries, and vehemently protested that he was innocent. He afterwards fell into a sort of stupor, and so remained until he was pinioned and placed in a cart. He then revived a little, and bent down his head, as if to avoid being seen by the spectators. On reaching the scaffold he made a slight effort to break from the executioner*, but soon became insensible, and in that state was placed beneath the kuife. A vast crowd had assembled to witness the execution, aud many of the people passed the whole night in the streets.

A horrible tragedy has just taken place at Bradford. A woman, named Gowland, in the absence of her busbaud, murdered, on the night of October 21, her two children, by cutting their throats with a razor, and then attempted to destroy her own life with the same deadly weapon. The Manchester Exnminei says :— Mr. Gowland is un engrossing clerk, and has been in the employ of Messrs. Terry and Watson, solicitors, of Bradford, for nine or ten months, coming to Bradford from Sunderlaud, near Durham. Shortly after 10 o'clock he knocked at the door of his house, which was locked, aud received no answer. He knocked repeatedly with the same result. He then smoked his pipe, and waited a short time. At length the door was opened, but he had previously heard a stumble against the door. He went into the house, whioh was in darkness, and on striking a light, he was horror-struck to discover bis wife with. her throat out and bleediug. sitting up iv bed, and her two dead children with their throats out at her side. The bed and floor were covered with blood. She had used two razors. The razor-strop was at the bed-side. , The children's throats were out from ear to ear, and they had apparently been dead for some time. Gowland 'immediately called in an ex-polioo officer named

Fawcett. .An alarm was raised; and others came with two or three surgeons. The wife received immediate attention from the surgeons, and was then sent to the infirmary ; a police-officer attending to watch over her. Gowland was taken into oustody, was was immediately afterwards released. His wife stated that she alone had cut the throats of her children, and then her own. She was calm and collected. Gowland states that jealousy has led his wife to commit this dreadful act. They have lived unhappily together, but it is said the husband has led an immoral life. They have separated twice, and were about to separate again. The wife was formerly the oook at the bishop's palace at Durham. She is 26 years of age, and her husband is about 30. His .wife aud ohildren were ill-used. The report at present ourrent is, that the woman had been subjected by her husband to a long course of ill-treatment, not only from his cohabiting with other females, but from his having in some degree left her and her two ohildren— both females —with insufficient food. From a letter found upon her person, from a sister at Hytton, it appears that she had left her husband twice from his bad conduct, and that she again intended to leave him. On Sunday, (Oct. 21) he had been out, and, it is said, in a house of indifferent fame, not far from his own house, where she had gone in search of him; but had been threatened with violence unless she went away. She retired, but, it appears, had gone home, looked the door, and taken the two infant ohildren-r-two and four years ot age — to the only bed in the house, with her, and that in the single room in an humble cottage which they had for some time occupied. Taking a razor to bed with her, she had deliberately out the throats of both her children, and then attempted to oommit suicide by outting her own. The wife oonfessed to the police-inspector that she alone committed the horrid crime, and that her husband was innocent. It was also clear, from the marks of blood between the bed and the door, that she had risen and actually opened the door, after the murders had been committed,, to admit him. The bloody razor was found upon the bed, and the whole scene resembled a butcher's shambles more than a human dwelling.

Mr. Wm. Howitt in Defence of Spiritualism.— Mr. W. Howitt has sent to a London contemporary a long defence of spiritualism against the attacks made upon that singular movement by Blackwood. He asserts that instead of resisting and evading scientific inquiry, Mr. Home, the great " medium," courts investigation of this description, and has exhibited-— if the spiritualists will allow us the expression — in the presence of Lord Brougham and Sir David Brewster ; " What is more, it is well known that it has been the practice of Mr. Home, on all oooasions to accept any invitation by gentlemeu and Christians to display the phenomena which came through him. He has exhibited scores of times before the Emperor of the French, and in the presence of any scientific man that the Emperor has chosen to name, Mr. Home has dove the same at almost every Court aud capital in Europe, and possosses the most unequivocal testimonials to the reality of his demonstrations from numerous crowned and learned heads If there be one thing more than another conspicuous in Mr. Home, it is his readiness to meet and oblige all respectable inquirers. During his late sojourn in London, he has repeatedly visited—on one occasion for a whole fortnight — Lord Lyudhurst, and has been the medium, at his Lordship's house, of most striking phenomena, to the entire satisfaction of that great lawyer and his family. Now, surely, Lord Lyndhurst is a highly scientific man, in the science especially essential to suoh inquiries, that of shrewdly examining and taking evidence of facts. Mr. Home has displayed similar phenomena in the houses of literal^, artistic parliamentary, and scientific people in London during the whole of last season. Mr. Faraday, we all know, wished to see table-turpiug, and he propounded a theory to account for it But his theory of involuntary muscular aotion in the persons who put their hands on the table was immediately stultified by the tables rising up far out of the reach of all hands. Mr. Faraday, has, I know, been repeatedly invited by a scientific friend of his to witness those more decided demonstrations, but he has steadily persisted in refusing to go near tables that rise up to the ceilings of lofty rooms. Dr Ash burnh am, the translator of " Reiohenbach " desired to examine these phenomena; he found no resistance or evasion; he saw them repeatedly, became oonvinced o( their reality, and publicly avowed bis oonviotiou ; aud I could give you numerous instanoes of scientific men who have wished to examine them and are believers, but they have their prudential reasons for preferring the anonymous. A distinguished physician and editor of one of our scientific journals has for several years made a stout fight against spiritualism. He went to Mr. William Wilkinson, solicitor, of 44, Lincoln's Inn Fields, and said, " You talk in the Spiritual Magazine wonder fa! things. I challenge you to let me see them." Mr. Wilkinson accepted the challenge, and took Mt. Squire, a well known American medium, with him to this gentlemen's house. The learned doctor invited a learned Cantab, and a secretary to a scientific society to meet them. They spent a whole day and parts of two other days with these gentlemen, allowing; them to make every examination that they pleased. In the course of this visit,

many astonishing things were done; a heavy table was flung from oue end of a room to another. A table constructed scientifically, to defy the efforts of the most raging lunaiics> and which had defied them, was, at the particular desire of the doctor, though it was strongly clamped 'and bound with an iron rim, torn to fragments." Mr. Howitt also adduces the testimony of Professor Hare, the " Faraday of America," and Judge Edmunds, " one of the most distinguished of the American Judges/ 1 in favour of spiritualism, his own belief iv which is. " as positive as a stone wall;"

A coroner's inquest was held at Leeds the other day ou the body of a child 19 months old who had come to her death from injuries inflicted upon her by a game cock. The bird has for some due been the terror of the neighbourhood, flying at any person, aud generally inflicting wounds on the head. About a month since it attacked the diseased, kuocked her down, and then flew at her head, causing several wounds. Blood flowed freely for several days, aud the poor little girl had continued fits of fright Ultima tely an abscess formed close to oue of the wounds near the right ear, and death ensued from inflammation of the brain. The surgeon, who attended the child, gave it as his opinion that the wounds produced the abscess, and the effusion of serum on the brain was caused by the abodss.

Several evenings ago a gentleman entered the coffee-room of Thomas's Hotel, Piccadilly, and, having ordered dinner, partook of it. About 6 o'clock he left the table abruptly, leaving untasted a pint of stout he had just ordered, and proceeded to the bedroom he had engaged oh the second floor. About two hours before, while dressing in the same room, be in • quired of the chambermaid the means of escape in the event of a fire in the house, of which he had great dread. He told her that being, some years ago, staying there he had a fearful dream of a fiire raging, and under its influence be had been compelled to leave his bed, and affeot his escape by the window into the street, and that he had one thigh over the sill of the window, when he providentally awoke <»ud found bis alarm groundless. On waking in the morning he found the window open as he had left it. He remarked in conclusion, "I don't know whether I shall sleep in this house or not. That shall make no difference to you; you shall have your fee," and he gave her a shilling. On the following morning, as he did not make his' appearance, and no answer could be obtained to calls, the door being looked, the police where sent for, and on the door being forced the uofortunate gentleman was found lying on the floor with a razor tightly clenched in his right hand; and his bead nearly severed from his body. On examining deceased's car-pet-bag it wa3 found to ooataiu a strange mixture of soiled socks, bettle nuts, halfsmoked* cigars, oigar-oases, and the two following memoranda :— •« Memorandum : If I should be found dead either from apoplexy or epilepsy, send word to my brother, the Rev. R. Cobbold, Worthem, near Diss, Norfolk." "I'm insured for £6000 under polioy dated 1844." In his pockets were found £80 in bank notes, and nearly 10s- in silver and oopper. The Prisoners o* the Irish Bul-qadb.—-The Dublin Morning News, which hsa received a letter from one of the wounded heroes, prefaces it with a dolorous complaint about the treatment they have reoeived. The letter is as follows : — "Near Livorno, en route to Genoa, Sept. 20,1860.— Sir,— You will perceive by the enclosed that I have faithfully carried out the instructions of to me respecting the cheques entrusted to my oharge at Perugia for our company ; but unfortunately I had not time to post it before the siege opened upon us. I send bore the schedule I make out ; do with it as is best know. You will surely excuse this sort of a note, remembering as you see that now we are prisouers-^I need say no more. I have not room, if I dared, to tell you all. I wish you could know all about our oaptain. Poor Allmal (qy Allman f ) whom you knew, fell dead by my side, shot through the heart. He never spoke. Instantly I myself was struck down. My gun was shattered out of my band, and as I lay on the ground I was hit again by a ball in the left hip, my trowsers torn to atoms, my wound but a trifle ; but our company escaped wonderfully, considering it might have been destroyed. We are after three days' fearful march. Oh, our poor fellows are used awful. You would see the blood ooziug out through oar shoes and wet over at the ancles, from streamiug down inside pur olothes from our wounds, stilt made to go fearful marches. But our, spirits are the same as ever. We are going they say to Genoa. I have, of course, given eaoh man his cheque, except fire or six, whioh I keep awating instructions. I suppose no letters can reaoh us ; but try. Dear sir seuct word to my mother of my fate. She lives at No. — , , Djbliu. It is no use her writing, as I may not get it yet.— Your obedieut servant, T. W. Brofhy "

A Mad Elephant.— The following letter is taken from the Bombay Times and Standard ;— " Coohin, Aug. — The iuhabitauts of Treehoor (a few miUs heuoej are iust now in a great fright, owing lo w 'newly trained elephant having goue and beoome ungovernable. It has already killed three men, and occasioned considerable damage to property. One of the men seems to have fallen a victim to his fury through his own folly. It appears that 1 'while himself and his elder brother (who were, both ' trainers of the animal) were on their way down a hill

j wi(!) (he elephant it suddenly revolt**'] and -.attempted to seize them. ( Fiu'diiig every effort to culm it unavailing, ihey took refuge on the tap of a bilge tree "close by. The animal pursued them $ but after a few minutes' fruitless endeavour to knook down the tree it descended into. the paddy fields below, and committed great dtevastion in the place. Afterwards while it was directing its way to. the village, the younger br^ner;. heedless of his elder's remonstrances', came. down from the tfob, and hastened t6 wards the elephant, id-i ? tending to reoall it to obedienoe in order to avert further mischief; But the animal, as soon as it caught sight of the man, furiously chased him, who, after running desperately about the fields for nearly half an hour, hid himself among the tall paddy shoots .in- a son>ewhat secluded place, The elephant, a While after missing its object was about resuming its course to the village, when the ill-fated man suddenly rose to see whether jiis pursuer had gone. The noise of the wateY and crash of the leaves occasioned by his *ising made the elephant, which was not far off, turn, and he Was discovered* JThe. infuriated monster at once dashed upofl him, and within a few seconds, the unforr tunate man was torn limb froni lirn]t», in . the very sight, of; his brotUer^who still continued on the tree. The animaVßOon after proceeded towards.the village, where withia the space of half an hoar, it killed two other persons ( Pdolicha) , destroyed several houses, and ruined, the bazaar, which was deserted by the merchants on _„ hearing of the approach of the beast.^ At 'length it entered the spacious premises of the pagoda, which is enclosed by- lofty granite walls of considerable strength and durability. Immediately on its en* trance, which was effeoted by the mau«uvres of its keepors throwing stones, tie., on its heels aud other vulnerable parts, all the gates were closed, and sWongly barricaded, to insure public safety. It would appear that sevefal expert elephant trainers were also within the enclosure, who voluntarily undertook the perilous task of quieting and taming the animal by dint of professional management. The ' pagoda, which has already sustained ft g od deal of damage by the attacks of the elephant, is their only refuge ; and, if that is demolished, the fate of their trainers is inevitable. The only alternative I see now is either to destroy the beast at once by bullets, or to starve it to a degree which would render it powerless, that the trainers may effect its capture." Elopement and Robbery.— At the Middlesex sessions, James Wildsmith, aged 2 1 , gunmaker, was indicted for steal* ing the sum of £ 1 15 ,in gold and silver, the money of James Perkins, and feloniously receiving the-same. Emma Perkins, aged 16, daughter of the prosecutor, was brought into court, and surrendered, being included hx (he indictment with the male prisoner oir the charge of stealing the money. The case was one of a very painful nature indeed as regarded the female prisouer, and a very aggravated one as regarded the man, who tin i instigated her to the commission of a very serious robbery upon her parents. The prosecutor was the landlord of the Brick" • layer's Arms, Gloucester-street, Commercial road; and the prisoner had been employed at a gun factory immediately adjaceut. Wildsmith used to go to the. house to get bis dinner, and by some means he oontrived*so to ingratiate himself in the affections of the female prisoner as to acquire a very considerable influence over her. By the instrumentality of a servant uamed Johanna Manning, communications passed between them, and the result was, that on the 18th o( September sherau away froni home with a bag of money amounting to about £115, which she actually took from under the pillow on which her mother was sleeping, and went off with the other prisoner to Liverpool, with the view of their going to Amerioa as man and wife. They were, however, in oonsequence of a telegraphic message being sent to Liverpool, traced by Soott, deteotive polioe officer, on board thesorew steamer North Amerioan, tbput to sail to Quebec; and were taken into custody, and the greater part of the money found in Wildsmiih's possession. As the girl had pleaded guilty, she was w-i/ a - Bua8 u a ess - The jury found VVildsmitb guilty of feloniously rtceiyinff. The assistant judge asked them if they believed the witness Manning had falsely sworn in order to deoeiye the. court The foreman saitPiKat wal: their belief, and they had intended to make a representation to that effect to the oourt. ; Tlie assistant judge- then ordered her into custody, and said be would consider what todo with her. She was removed to the Wostminster bridewell, Tothiil-fields. A~ statement was made that the girl bad. beau a source of trouble to her parents, and it was a very distressing oase. Her father was about seventy years of age. ' Mr. Sleigh said a lady was preseut who would take charge of her as an apprentice, and kee.p the strictest possible watoh . over her future oonduo^ and she might ultimately be rescued, under recognizance to produce her at any time the' court* might think fit to require h^r! attenilajioe ■ forjudgmeut upon the conviction. Th« as- ! sistaut-judge assented jta.J|?fs. course; and the reoognizanoes!; haying been enttere^ into, the giri was given up to the lady and her mother. Addressing Wildsmith, his lordship said hehadgraVely.'ooTisidered whether he ought not to sentence him to* penal servitude, but i|nder the circumstances the sentenoe upon him wa? two years' hard labour.-^. The prisoner sw|' it was not his doing; he had been regur jlarly ledinto it by the girl|and ManuiStt; ' iThe assistant-judge to]d l him that his conduot had been most disgraoeful.