LONDON.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXIII, Issue 2699, 27 June 1868, Page 6

LONDON.

(feom our own cokeespondeut.)

London, Ist May, 1868. On Saturday last, the 25th of April, a telegram was received in London, announcing the attempted assassination of the Duke of Edinburgh, by a Fenian assassin at Sydney, on the 12th March last. The first feeling of the public was that of incredulity ; they could not believe it possible that an amiable and excellent Prince, who had never identified himself in any way with party politics, and who had always been remarkable for his popularity among all classes of his countrymen at home and abroad, should have been made a mark for the assassin's bullet. But when all doubt upon the subject was removed, the feeling of incredulity gave way to one of horror and dismay at; the atrocity of the deed. Yet, withal, the sad news was not without its bright aad cheering aspect — the wound was not fatal — the life of the Prince had been spared, — amafcter for much thankfulness. Full details of the plot, and the manner in which it was conceived and carried out, are at present wanting., The only intelligence which has reached us has been by telegram ; we know that the shot was fired at a picnic party, which was attended by the Prince for a charitable purpose, that the bullet was extracted two days afterwards, that the patient was out of a danger, but that his medical advisers recommended that he should immediately return home. We are also informed that the name of the assassin was O'Farrell, and that he avowed himself, when captured, to be a Fenian — that he was speedily brought to trial, convicted and condemned to., death on the 31st of March, the date of the latest telegram which has at present reached us. We have, therefore, every reason to presume that the miscreant who thus sought to take the life of an amiable and unoffending Prince, who had acquired the affection and esteem of his countrymen in every place that he visited — has long ere this paid the forfeit of his crime with his own life. From what we know at present, there is reason to believe that the assassin was the emissary or tool of some of the Fenians here at home, and that he was instigated to commit this atrocious crime by motives of revenge for the execution of the Manchester "martyrs" in November of last year. But this only adds to the infamy of the deed. It is almost impossible to convey to you an adequate idea of the deep and painful sensation which this dastardly act has produced in every corner of the country. That it has been regarded with equal horror at Sydney, and indeed in every part of the Australian colonies, is abundantly evident from the fact that £1000 reward is said to have been offered by the .Government of New South Wales for the capture of every accomplice connected with the infamous transaction ; and it is already reported that one at least of those accomplices is in the hands of justice. Of course everybody here who feels the least interest in colonial matters is deeply sensible of the disappointment and regret which the trusty and loyal colonists of New Zealand must experience in connexion with this untoward event — considering the expectations that had been raised, the hopes that had been entertained, and the preparations that had been made for giving the gallant Prince a reception befitting his own dignity, and suitable to the character and importance of your colony. It may be, however, and it is earnestly hoped that the intended visit is only postponed, and that at some future period, when the passions and animosities of the hour shall have passed away, the Prince will turn his face once more to the South, and sojourn for a while under happier auspices, among those who are now doomed to disappointment for being deprived of the opportunity df exhibiting their loyalty to the old country and to their Sovereign in the person of her son. Following close upon the unpleasant newg from Sydney, came the welcome intelligence of the defeat and doath of King Theodore, and of the storming and capture of Magdala. This news came to hand by telegram on Monday morning last, the 27th of April. -The satisfaction which it caused was intense, and helped greatly to counteract and dispel the gloom produced by the previous telegram from Sydney. We are all of course overjoyed at the immense success which has attended the Abyssinian expedition. Indeed we were quite unprepared for such a complete triumph. Of course it was fully expected that in the long run we should gain a victory over our sable antagonist — King Theodore — whose troops would never be able to hold out against our Armstrong guns, our shot and shell, our breech-loading rifles, and the sabres of our cavalry ; but that in the brief space of three days, beginning on Good Friday and ending on Easter Monday, we should have put Theodore and his grande annie utterly hoys de combat— -discomfited, dispersed, and destroyed them, while we stormed and captured their stronghold of Magdala and laid it in ruins — although it stood upon what looked like an impregnable rock, at an elevation of 4000 feet above the surrounding plain — this was what we did not venture to expect, but it has happened, nevertheless. Telegraphic despatches—brief, but pithy—alone have

reached us up to the present moment. But we know that our troops have been successful beyond the most sanguine expectations— that the captives are all safe and have been liberated— that "the object for which the war was undertaken have been attained," and that our troops have already turned their backs to Magdala and their faces homewards, and that they have left the Abyssinians minus a King, but free to choose a monarch from among the crowd of dusky chiefs or princes who will not fail to put in their claims to the crown of'Ethiopia — as the legitimate successors or otherwise, of the famous Queen ofSheba. The fame of this great victory has already spread all over Europe and America, and is probably known by this time in the remotest corners of our Indian Empire, where it will not fail to produce its due moral effect upon the millions who are subject to the sway of Great Britain, and will afford a useful lesson to all those whose minds are impressed by a grand display of military and physical force, enhanced by all the adjuncts of modern science, as applied to the art pf war. Our French and German neighbors — no mean critics in such matters — have already given us great credit for our successful achievements in the Abyssinian war, and are full of praise and admiration for the skill exhibited by Sir Robert Napier in the conduct of this remarkable enterprise, which -will go far to restore our military prestige in the eyes of the world at large. Up to the last moment nobody could conjecture what course King Theodore had resolved upon taking — whether to treat, to fight, or to retreat and hide himself in some unapproachable fastnesses, which abound in his dominions. This latter was what we feared he would do, and we were also apprehensive lest at our approach he would order a massacre of the captives ; but this he avoided. On the contrary he did what we hoped — he stood his ground and fought as long as he could, until a great part of his army was demoralised, and threw down their arms and fled. He then temporised, and made some show of treating, but yet without surrendering himself, although he gave up at once, and sent into the British camp, all thecaptives. He then, as it would seem, retired from behind his intrenchments with a few trusty followers, and took refuge in Magdala, where he fought at the head of his troops, until all hope was lost, when, we are told, he put a piatol to his head and blew his brains out,. lest ho should fall alive into the hands of the victors ; our Armstrong steel guns, 8-inch mortars, and rocket batteries did the rest. And there ended the memorable storming and capture of Magdala.

The debate on the Irish Church question was resumed in the House of Commons on Monday night. Ifc was upon the first of Mr Gladstone's resolutions—to the effect that it is necessary that the Established Church in Ireland should forthwith cease and determine — in other words, that it should be disendowed and disestablished, regard being had to existing and vested interests. After several nights' discussion the debate was brought to a clo?e last night, and resulted in a defeat of the Government by a clear majority of 65. After this it will scarcely be possible for the Cabinet to retain the reins of Government; and Mr Disraeli has announced his intention of stating on Monday next what course the Ministry propose to adopt. Some time ago, when the resolutions were first introduced he declared that if beaten the Government would "appeal to the country," but I think it is doubtful if he will expose the House to the delay, inconvenience and expense of an election, with but little prospect of gaining thereby a majority for the Tory party, especially as the business of the session is in a fearfully backward state. The only alternative therefore would seem to be for the Disraeli Ministry to resign, and if they do so, there can be but little doubt that Mr Gladstone will be invited to form a Cabinet, and that Mr Bright and Mr Lowe, will be offered seats in it — a few days and we shall know all about it.

The cause cdlebre which has heen pending in the Court of Chancery for the last week or more, was this day brought to a close, but judgment has not yet been given. The case was that of Lyon v Home, in an action praying the Court to set aside certain deeds of gift by which the plaintiff', an elderly widow lady, upwards of seventy years of age, had made over the bulk of her personal property, to the amount of about £60,000, to the defendant— Daniel Home— a gentleman well known all over Europe and America as what ia called a " spiritualist" or " medium" — that is to say, one who professes some innate and involuntary power to hold communications with departed spirits in the other world. It would seem from the evidence adduced at the trial, that the old lady, who is herself a believer in " spiritualism" if not an actual " medium," made the acquaintance of Mr Home about a year and a half ago, and she now alleges, that from her first interview with him he obtained by his spiritualistic powers, such a complete influence and control over her mind, that he induced her to adopt him as her " son," and to make over to him, by deed of gift, several large sums of money — which she did in the course of a very few weeks after the acquaintance commenced — butunderlheimpression, as she now alleges that she was acting in accordance with the will of her deceased husband, with whose spirit she declares Home professed to hold communication ; and she further states that she was kept in a perfect state of thraldom in this way for upwards of a twelvemonth, until at length she began to doubt her " son Dan," who by this time had adopted her name, and to suspect that the pretended messages from her deceased husband were all fictitious ; and she was further confirmed in this impression by other spiritualists, who told her that her " son" was nothing bettor than an impostor, and that she had better go to law at once to recall the deeds of gift made under " undue influence," and so recover the money with which she. had so liberally and lavishly endowed her " dear boy." This is the substance of her story, and it is supported by numerous affidavits ; but, on the other hand, Mr Home denies the whole of her allegations, and maintains that he never exercised or attempted to exercise any influence, spiritual or otherwise, over her, but that the gifts were freely given on her part because she took some unaccountable liking to him, and in reality wished him to entertain towards her a different sort of affection than that of a son ; that, moreover, she was ambitious of being taken by him and and introduced into the society in which he moved, and that as she had no relatives of her own to leave her money to, and was anxious to spite her husband's friends, with whom she was not on good terms, she therefore thought proper to make over her money to him. This story, whioh is set forth with great detail in the defendant's answer, is supported by affidavits — even more numerous than those put in by plaintiff -so that one is puzzled to know on which side the judge — Vice-Chancellor G-iffard — will eventually decide, but I believe the general impression is that the deed of gift will be set aside. The story, as reported in the papers— reads a

good deal like romance, and shows to what extent "spiritualism" is believed in by persons of high intelligence and educationsuch as Mr and Mrs S. C. Hall, Gerald Massey, the poet, and other literary persons of note in London society.