insanity—a homicidal and suicidal impulse beyond her
control. She was still suffering from disease of the
brain. In summing up, Mr. Justice Erle cautioned the
jury, that the plea of "uncontrollable impulse" in bar
of conviction, was a dangerous one, and required to be
well weighed, for every crime was committed under
some impulse. If the jury should be of opinion that,
owing to the unfortunate relation in which she stood
with her husband at the time, the prisoner was induced
to meditate the commission of some acts of violence either
towards herseIf or others, and that this created an excited
condition, which, operating upon her brain in its diseased
condition, drove her to a state of temporary insanity,
during which she committed the act with which she was
charged, he was bound to tell them that this would not
excuse her from the consequences, and it would be their
duty to find her guilty of the crime of wilful murder.
The jury consulted for two hours, and then returned a
verdict of "Not Guilty," on the ground of insanity.

An important Question of Copyright has been decided
by the House of Lords, upon a writ of error brought
upon the unanimous judgment of the Court of Exchequer.
The parties to the suit were the music-publishers
Mr. Jeffrey and Mr. Boosey. The facts of the case are
these:—In 1831, Bellini the composer, then residing in
Milan, assigned the copyright of "La Sonnambula" to
Ricardi, also a resident in Milan. Ricardi came to
England in the same year, and assigned the copyright
to Mr. Boosey, who published the opera, complying with
the usual regulations. Subsequently, Mr. Jeffrey
published a cavatina from the opera, without licence from
Boosey. Hence the legal proceedings. The question
was, whether Ricardi, an alien, could assign a copyright
to an English subject? The Court of Exchequer
decided that he could not, and a verdict was entered for
Jeffrey. The Court of Exchequer Chamber reversed
this decision on appeal; and then the case was carried
before the House of Lords. After arguments, the judges
were consulted, when Mr. Justice Crompton, Mr. Justice
Williams, Mr. Justice Erle, Mr. Justice Wightman,
Mr. Justice Maule, and Mr. Justice Coleridge expressed
the opinion that the publication in this country by
Jeffrey gave Boosey a right of action against him,
inasmuch as that the assignment of the copyright and
property therein was a complete and valid assignment.
Lord Chief Justice Jervis, the Chief Baron, Mr. Baron
Parke, and Mr. Baron Alderson, intimated a contrary
opinion. The Lord Chancellor, Lord Brougham, and
Lord St. Leonards, concurred with the minority, holding
the law to be, that a foreigner, residing out of England,
cannot make a valid assignment of a copyright; but if
he resided here, subject to the law, and published his
work, then the law would protect him. The judgment
of the Court of Exchequer Chamber was then reversed.

An afflicting case of Destitution has transpired in a
coroner's inquest lately held on the body of a child
named Charles Guvin. His parents were a French
couple, who, having been driven from their native land
by the recent revolutions there, arrived here about two
years ago, their ultimate object being emigration to
America. But their means were so completely exhausted
that in a short period they were reduced to the utmost
poverty. Their furniture was seized for rent, and they
were compelled to give up their lodgings in Southampton
Row, and turn into the streets, in which they would
have had to wander but for the humanity of the mistress
of a lodging-house in Rathbone Place, who allowed
them to occupy a room until their condition was bettered.
In this apartment the family slept upon shavings, it
being denuded of every particle of furniture. Their
chief, and indeed only food, consisted of boiled onions
and bread, given them by the other inmates of the
house. The little boy, a most beautiful child, according
to the description of the witnesses, gradually pined away,
while its parents bore all the indications of dire want, the
father having the appearance of aliving skeleton. Medical
aid was not procured for the child until it was too late.

The capital sentence on the Spaniard, Yzquierdo,
convicted last month at the Hertford assizes, of the
murder of a boy, has been commuted to penal servitude
for life, on the ground that it is unknown what took
place between the boy and his murderer—whether the
Spaniard received any provocation.

A Riot, with loss of life, has taken place at Airdrie, in
Scotland. The greater part of the population of that
town are miners, of a mixed race of Irish, Scotch, and
English. Religious feuds run high among them. On
the 12th of July the Orangemen gave offence by a
demonstration; the Roman Catholics treasured the
remembrance of the insult. Subsequently races were
held; for the occasion a liquor-booth was kept open all
night by a Mr. M'Intire; here the Orangemen assembled,
and a fiddler played party tunes. Early in the morning
the Catholics collected, armed, and attacked the tent;
there was a desperate fight, and M'Intire and another
man were so much injured that they were left in a
critical state. A toll-keeper, M'Culloch, was attracted
to the spot by the noise; he was immediately attacked
and beaten so ferociously that he died in an hour or two.
The police arrested a number of the rioters, but matters
still looked so threatening that a despatch was sent to
Glasgow for soldiers, and fifty of the eighty-second
regiment arrived during the day. Fortunately,
however, there was no necessity to employ them.

The case of Pierce Somerset Butler against the
Viscount Mountgarret has been tried at the Kilkenny
Assizes. It was a suit instituted by Mr. Pierce Butler,
the nephew of the late Colonel Butler, to recover
certain estates from Lord Mountgarret, the alleged
illegitimate son of the late Henry Butler. The
circumstances which transpired on the trial are of an
extraordinary and romantic kind. Edmund Butler,
the son of the eighth Lord Mountgarret, had four
sons. The eldest, Edmund, was created Earl of
Kilkenny; the second was Somerset, the third Henry,
the fourth was the late Colonel Butler. The Earl of
Kilkenny was a lunatic, and had no issue: Somerset
had no issue; and if Henry had no legitimate issue, the
estates would belong to the issue of Colonel Butler. In
1794, Henry Butler, a man of great personal attractions,
seduced a Mrs. Barrington, fled with her to the continent,
spent his fortune, became addicted to play, and
deserted Mrs. Barrington, who died abroad in great
misery. For some years there was no trace of his
career, but in 1809 he was at Brighton. At the same
time a Mrs. Colebrook, widow of a Colonel Colebrook,
described as a most fascinating woman, and possessed of
£1500 a year in jointure, to be forfeited in case she
married again, came to Brighton. She met Henry
Butler; a connexion ensued; a child was born; and to
avoid scandal, they buried themselves in the solitude of
London, attended by a faithful servant named Sarah
Stride. The child died; and another, subsequently
born, also died. In the year 1810, the pair proceeded
to Edinburgh, there to be privately married. But
before this could he accomplished, a young Irishman
named Taaffe supplanted Butler, and in his absence
supplied his place. In 1811, Butler returned one day
to Edinburgh; and Taaffe being in Mrs. Colebrook's
bedroom, the servant was ordered to keep Butler out
of the house. Butler, however, forced his way in; and
Mrs. Colebrook, locking Taaffe in her room, intercepted
Butler on the stairs, and taking him to another apartment,
summoned witnesses, and espoused him according
to Scotch usage. For some time they lived as man and
wife; but want of money driving Butler out of the way,
Taaffe reappeared; and Mrs. Colebrook knowing Butler
could cause her jointure to be taken away, fled on board
smack with Taaffe to Berwick, in disguise, and lived
with him near Whitby. Meanwhile, Butler went to
Harrowgate; formed an intimacy with a Miss Harrison;
and married her there, in the parish church. That
lady is now alive, and is the mother of Lord
Mountgarret. In the meantime, Taaffe, against the wish of
his father, married Mrs. Colebrook; but subsequently,
finding that she had been actually married to Butler,
he went away to Italy, and never returned. Mrs.
Colebrook fell into great poverty, and entered a suit
against Taaffe to force him to maintain her as his wife;
but Taaffe's father met the suit by showing that she
had been previously married to Butler; so the action
failed. Somerset Butler died in 1826, Henry in 1843,
and the Earl of Kilkenny. The claim of the plaintiff,
founded on the alleged illegitimacy of Lord
Mountgarret, then accrued; but it was stated that he has not,
till now, been able to assert it for want of means. He