great advantage the proposed bounty, which would pay
rent for two years, or produce one loaf per week if
spread over the five. The contingency of the ballot also
is made much of.

NARRATIVE OF LAW AND CRIME.

At the Warwick Assizes on the 28th of July, an
action was tried at the instance of Constant Derra de
Meroda, against G. Dawson, H. W. Tyndall, R. Peyton,
and A. Ryland, to recover Damages for False and
Malicious Imprisonment. It will be remembered, that
in August last year an Hungarian lady, styling herself
the Baroness von Beck, visited Birmingham, and was
accompanied by the plaintiff, who acted as her secretary.
They were invited by Mr. Tyndall, a solicitor in
Birmingham, to take up their residence at his house,
Madame von Beck being at the time in ill-health. In
consequence of circumstances which afterwards
transpired, the lady and her secretary were taken into
custody by the police at Mr Tyndall's house, on the
night of the 30th of August, and lodged in the borough
prison. As they were being brought up for
examination before the magistrates on the following morning,
Madame von Beck died. But depositions were made
by Mr Dawson, Mr Peyton, Mr Arthur Ryland, and
Mr. Richard Peyton, which alleged false pretences on
the part of Von Beck, mainly on evidence derived from
Hungarian sources; charging her with being no
Baroness but a spy, and averring that her real name
was Racidula. Mr. Charles de Soden, a foreign
interpreter, alleged that she was a spy in the pay of
the Foreign Branch of the English Police: but that
charge has never been substantiated. The result was,
that the magistrates found no case against Derra, and he
was discharged without imputation. He then brought
the present action, claiming £5000 damages, against
Mr. Dawson, Mr. Peyton, Mr. Tyndall, and Mr. Ryland;
alleging that they had falsely and maliciously procured
his arrest and imprisonment. Certain depositions were
then handed in as having formed the ground of the
proceeding; but among them was no warrant of arrest
and no statement of charges. Mr. Baron Alderson
interposed, and asked for the warrant. No answer was
made.—Mr. Gem, Clerk to the Magistrates, in answer
to a question by the Judge, said he was present at the
second hearing, when the prisoner was discharged.—
Mr. Baron Alderson: "How did it come on? One
would suppose that even in a police-court they would
follow the ordinary rules of justice. One would suppose
that it would be brought on upon some warrant being
read."—Mr. Gem said it was not the practice. The
charge was stated verbally before the magistrates, and
then the case came on.—The Judge: "But is not that
charge reduced to writing?"—Witness: "Not at the
moment: when the witnesses are sworn the charge is
reduced to writing."—The Judge: "I suppose, if you
were to do everything regularly, you would not get on
at all. But it is very hard on other people."—Mr.
Gem stated, that, the charge being abandoned, the notes
he had taken of the second day's hearing were not
drawn up as depositions, and were not signed.—The
Judge: "It is really very irregular. When a man is
accused, let him have the accusation read, so that he
may know afterwards who makes the accusation, and
who calls the witnesses. What remedy has a person
situated as this plaintiff is? You should have
something to show who prosecutes. Was there no police-
sheet signed by the man who gave the parties into
custody?"—The witness said that in all probability
there was.—The Judge: "Then, why is not that
produced?"—Subsequently, Mr. Baron Alderson said,
"The whole proceedings connected with the depositions
and the informations were of the most disgraceful and
irregular character;" and Mr. Justice Coleridge agreed
with him in that opinion.—Finally, after a great deal of
evidence had been taken, chiefly respecting the Baroness
von Beck, her right to that title, and her character, the
Judge concluded that there was no case for a jury, as
there was no evidence of the issue of a warrant, and
consequently no proof that it was issued upon a "false
and malicious statement." Constant Derra was therefore nonsuited.

A most painful case of Matricide has occurred at
Birkenhead. Elizabeth Thomas was a widow, who
lived at the village of Prenton with her three sons,
William, Joseph, and Samuel. William was twenty-
three years old, Joseph twenty, and Samuel nine.
They all lived happily; the mother going out charing
and to wash, and the elder sons working as labourers.
Some months ago Mrs. Thomas called in Mr. Byerley, a
surgeon, to attend William, who complained of headache
and drowsiness. Mr. Byerley bled him and gave
him medicine, and in about a fortnight he got well.
Three weeks after, he again grew ill; but to the surgeon
he always appeared rational. Blisters were applied, and
he again improved. This lasted, however, only a short
time; and his manner became sufficiently singular to be
noticed by both his brothers and his mother. The
symptoms increased; and on the morning of the 30th
July Mr. Byerley again ordered him to be blistered on
the back of the neck; and his mother spoke to the
surgeon about sending him to a lunatic asylum. But
she did not live to do it; for in the night of the next
day William murdered her in her bed. The story is told
by the evidence taken at the inquiry made by the
magistrates at Birkenhead, before whom William Thomas was
taken. William and Joseph went out on Saturday
night, leaving behind their mother and Samuel. William
returned first, and told his mother not to sit up, as he
would wait for Joseph. Mrs. Thomas went to bed,
where she slept with her youngest son. This part of
the story was narrated by Samuel, crying bitterly.
After he had been some time asleep, he was awoke by
his mother "knocking against" him. He saw his
brother "kneeling on his mother with a candle in one
hand and a razor in another." "William put the candle
down, and laid hold of my mother's throat with one
hand, and drew the razor across her throat." She
wrestled a little, but "soon lay down quite still."
"After he had cut my mother's throat, he hauled her
down." Samuel was then carried to William's bed;
whence, looking out, he saw his mother's head on the
top of the stairs being dragged down. By and by
Joseph came home, and was frightened by seeing a light
in the back-room window." I walked into the house-
place [a cottage sitting-room is so called in Lancashire],
and William called out from the back-room, who was
there? I said 'It's me.' He then came down. When
at the foot of the stairs, he said to me, 'Joe, I have
killed my mother, and buried her in the garden,
comfortable; and she will be a good deal better off. I
have made her comfortable. Don't you go and say
anything.' I cried out, and asked him where Sam was, and
he said, 'He is up-stairs in bed.'" Joseph then
carried Samuel to the house of a neighbour. [Just at
this moment he was requested by one of the magistrates
to speak more audibly; when the prisoner, at the top of
his voice, and in a shrill tone, exclaimed, "Speak up as
they can hear thee, Joe: nobody can hear thee speak,
man."] Joseph called up the neighbours, and several
came with him. "We searched the premises and the
garden. The first thing that we saw was the bed and
bolsters lying on the ground. There was a good deal of
blood upon them. We then saw a mound of new earth,
and we commenced digging. About two feet under the
soil we came to a hand sticking up. We then cleared
away the earth, and found the body of my mother,
Elizabeth Thomas. She had only her shift upon her.
There was a blanket wrapped around her. It was very
bloody. There was a rope tied round my mother's
waist. The body was then taken out, and conveyed to
the house. I became too much affected to observe more,
and went into the house. William, all the time that
we were searching for the body, was sitting in the house
talking with a man from Prenton." Both the brothers
spoke as to the strange and excited manner of William
during the past twelvemonth, and especially during the
last week. Samuel said he was generally kind to his
mother, and she to him. They never quarrelled; but
he would sometimes sauce her. "A few days ago, I
heard him sauce her." Joseph said, "I considered him
wrong about the head for a twelvemonth back: his
oddness showed itself in getting foolish, and during the