them. Being satisfied of their intentions he took them
into custody. The prisoners protested their innocence.
They lived at St. Alban's, and had only come up for a
day or two, to see London sights. They were going back
to their farm the next day if they had not been so
shamefully suspected by the police. The magistrate
appeared inclined to believe their story, considering how
strongly it was corroborated by their appearance and
country accent. Inspector Chadwick begged to be
allowed to give the particulars of a dialogue which
passed between the prisoners in the cells of the station
house in Vine street, which he had overheard, and had
made a memorandum of, thinking it might be of service
in determining the true character of the prisoners. The
Inspector then detailed the following conversation, the
prisoners being in separate cells, giving explanations for
the benefit of the court.—Woman: Hallo! old fellow, it's
a bad job. Do you think we shall get a drag (three
months' imprisonment)?—Man: No.—Woman: P'raps
a deuce (two months)?—Man: No, not if you keep
dark (say nothing).—Woman: Well, if we get a
mooner (one month), I'll make it all right with the
screws (picklocks). If we'd a bloke (a solicitor), we
should get off. You mind that I cracked to the peeler
that we'd been from St. Alban's a week.—Man: You're
a fool to crack anything. When you're nicked (taken
up), never holler.—The magistrate was of opinion that
the familiarity with the swell mob slang indicated a
connection with the swell mob gang, and therefore remanded
the prisoners, to give time to the detectives to make
inquiry.

The Liability of Societies for Public Objects to Poor-
rates was tried in two cases in the Court of Queen's Bench,
on the 31st ult. The parochial authorities of St. Anne's,
Westminster, sought to recover a rate from the Linnean
Society in respect of the house occupied by the society
in Soho Square. As originally rated, the house belonged
to Sir Joseph Banks, who devised the remainder of the
lease to Mr. Brown, who underlet a part to the society.
When the term expired, the society took the whole,
underletting a portion to Mr. Brown. The society's
housekeeper also occupied two rooms. On the part of
the parish, it was contended that the society was not
supported by voluntary contributions; and that by Mr.
Brown's and the housekeeper's occupation the society
had a beneficial interest in the premises. Lord Campbell
decided that the society should be exempted, as it
is supported by voluntary contributions, and the letting
of the rooms to Mr. Brown is not for purposes of profit;
but the rooms which he occupies are liable to a rate.
The occupation of the housekeeper is necessary for the
purpose of carrying on the society, and therefore she is
exempted. The second question was, whether the
Zoological Society was rateable to the parish of Marylebone
in respect of its gardens in Regent's Park. Lord
Campbell said, the society deserved the highest
commendation, but was not entitled to exemption, because
its sole and exclusive object is not the advancement of
science, nor was it supported by voluntary contributions
within the meaning of the act. His learned brother,
Mr. Justice Erle, was a great promoter of science, but
when he became a fellow of the society, he probably
thought of the advantage which he himself, as well as
his family and friends, would gain thereby, and that
he made a good bargain by becoming a fellow. Rate
affirmed.

A dreadful case of Murder by a man apparently insane
has come before the Southwark Police Court. Rosina
Murray, a widow, let the rooms of her house in Mead's
Place, Newington, to many lodgers; among them to
an advertising agent, Henry Simmons. She slept in
the back and he in the front parlour. Very early on
Wednesday morning, the lodgers were roused from
sleep by screams; and one of them running out to the
staircase, saw Mrs. Murray, in her night dress, trying to
crawl up the stairs, and then fall backwards, Simmons
standing by with a bloody knife in his hand. Puxtey,
the lodger, instantly ran to the nearest surgeon, Mr.
Johnson; but he would not come. Puxtey fetched the
Police, and one of them brought a surgeon, Mr. Fleming,
but it was too late—Mrs. Murray was a corpse. The
body was dreadfully hacked with a knife; there was a
wound on each thigh, in one case severing a large artery,
which led to death from loss of blood. Simmons did
not run away. When Puxtey came down stairs, he
said, "The great bear is dead;" and on hearing this
mentioned in evidence, he said, "The cat flew at me,
and I took a knife and stuck it." When told that Mrs.
Murray was dead, he said, "I know better than that;
she can change herself into any shape." Mr. A'Beckett
remanded Simmons, in order that the evidence of a
little girl who slept with Mrs. Murray may be taken, if
she be able to give evidence. At the Coroner's inquest,
a verdict of wilful murder against Henry Simmons
was returned.

A case of Brutal Assault by a military officer on his
mistress was tried in the Court of Common Pleas on
the 31st ult. Ellen Walsh was the plaintiff, and John
Hatton Keane the defendant. The declaration
contained two counts, one for assault and the other for
detaining the plaintiff's clothes. The defendant
pleaded not guilty to the first count, and to the second
that he had not detained the clothes. Mr. Serjeant
Shee said that his client in this case was a beautiful
girl, only sixteen years of age, but although so young
he was sorry to say that she had led an immoral life,
she having been seduced at the early age of fifteen
years. When the case was expected to be tried about
three weeks ago, she was in court waiting to be
examined, but on last Sunday she left her home in an
unaccountable manner, and had not been heard of by
her friends since, and therefore he should be unable to
produce her to give evidence to-day. The defendant,
Captain Keane, was a man of fortune, about twenty-
five years of age, and he resided at Loughton, in Essex.
In August, last year, he met the plaintiff at a place in
the neighbourhood of Leicester-square, which was a
cigar shop, and he apprehended was a house of ill-fame
as well. He stayed there all night, and he induced the
plaintiff to go with him to Loughton; but in a few days
she returned again to London. The defendant, however,
again induced her to live with him, and she remained
at his house at Loughton until the 7th February last,
when she was taken by a child, who was the daughter
of the defendant's gardener, to a cottage in the
neighbourhood. She had been beaten in a frightful
manner, and was bruised and bleeding in various parts of
her body, as the witnesses would more particularly
detail. The day afterwards her mother saw the
defendant and reproached him with his brutal treatment
of her child, which he did not deny, but accused
her of being unfaithful to him, and threatening to
do for her when he caught her in London. Under
these circumstances the present action was brought
to recover damages for the assault, and also for some
clothes which had been detained from the plaintiff.
Mrs. Hutt deposed that she was a laundress at Loughton.
On the 7th of February last the plaintiff came to
witness about ten o'clock in the morning accompanied
by the daughter of defendant's gardener, and witness
consented to let plaintiff stop there until her mother
came. She was in a very bad condition, and appeared
as if she had been dragged about by the hair of her head.
There was a wound in her left cheek, her face was
bloody, her left ear was quite discoloured, her face
was all bruised, there was a mark as if of a whip half
round her neck, and witness thought her left shoulder
was bleeding. There was a great bruise on her knee,
her teeth seemed to be loose, and she could not take
anything while she was with witness. She stayed from
ten o'clock in the morning until the evening next day,
when her mother came in consequence of having been
sent for. The plaintiff's ankles were cut as with a
whip, and her night clothes were saturated with blood.
Mrs. Welsh and a surgeon deposed to the condition the
girl was in after the assault, and the jury almost
immediately found a verdict for the plaintiff—damages
£100 for the assault, and 1s. upon the other count.

The well-known case of Lumley v. Gye was finally
decided on the 5th instant, in the Court of Queen's
Bench. The Judges concurred in the opinion that the
rule for a new trial should be discharged. The evidence
alleged to have been improperly received at the last trial
consisted of letters from Mr. Gye and Miss Wagner;
but the Judges held that they were necessary to explain
the hurried visit of Mr. Gye to Hamburg, and the hasty