Potter's Electric News

TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF O'FARRELL. The trial 6f O'Farrell for the attempted assas- sination of the Duke of Edinbugh commenced on Monday, the 30th of March, and occupied two days. No attempt was made to dispute the facts of the case, and the defence set up by his counsel was that of insanity. The evidence which they ad- duced, however, while shewing that the prisoner had at former periods of his life suffered from tem- porary aberration—attributed to severe drinking -failed to prove that he was not in his senses at the time of committing the act. The rebutting evidence submitted by the Crown shewed that the crime must have been planned with care and deli- beration, and that the prisoner while about it had not shown any signs of insanity. None of the evidence tended to inculpate any other party, or to show that the crime was instigated by any organi- zation. The jury found the prisoner guilty, and he was sentenced to death. An address from the prisoner's relative was presented to his Excellency the Governor of New South Wales, praying that his sentence might be respited, and the case re- ferred to the decision of the Queen. His Excel- lency, on the advice of the Executive Council, declined to accede to the petition, and the execution of the prisoner was fixed for Tuesday, the 21st of April. From the time of his conviction the pri- soner maintained a quiet and reserved demeanour. A few days before his execution he was visited hy his sister, and daily received the ministrations of a Catholic clergyman. On Tuesday, April the 21st, L-Y at nine o'clock, the extreme penalty of the law was carried into effect in Darlington Gaol. The doomed man passed the night in his usual manner, and did not appear to suffer from any nervous excitability at his approaching fate. He was attended at an early hour by a minister of the relitious persuasion to which he belonged. Precisely at nine o'clock the Sheriff demanded his body, and O'Farrell ap- peared at the cell door in obedience to the sum- mons. He submitted to the process of pinioning i without a murmur, and walked unconcernedly to I the foot of the scaffold. Here he knelt with the priest, and for a few moments was engaged in religious devotion. He then mounted the "ladder with a firm step, and before taking his place under the drop looked up, apparently at L the rope and the I fatal beam overhead. He then took his place directly under it, and looked up again in a very composed manner, but whether vacantly looking up at the dread engine of death, or making a last appeal to Heaven for mercy, can only be conjec- tured. He however appeared thoroughly resigned to his fate. The cap was then adjusted over his face; he shook hsnds with the priest; the drop fell, and the last act of the Clontarf tragedy was over. A single contraction of the leg was the only visible sign of suffering, and death appeared to be instantaneous. After hanging the prescribed time, the body was taken down. and, not being claimed by his friends, was buried at Haslem's Creek. Be- fore his execution O'Farrell sent a letter to Mr Parkes, the Colonial Secretary, with an injunction that it should not be opened till after his death. On the evening of the day of execution Mr Parkes was questioned in the Legislative Assembly with regard to the letter, but declined to make public the contents. On the following day the letter was again asked for and refused, whereupon a member of the House rose, and read the following copy of the letter, declining at the same time to state how he obtained it:—"Being now about to appear before my Creator, I feel it my duty to give ex- pression to my heartfelt sorrow at the grievous crime I have committed. From the very bottom of my heart do I grieve for what I have done. I have hitherto said that I was one of manv who were proposed to do the deed had I not done it. I bad not the slightest foundation for such a state- ment I was never connected with any nian or any body of men who had for their object the taking of the life of the Duke of Edinburgh, neither was I in any other than in an indirect manner connected with any organization in Ireland or elsewhere, which is known by the name of the Fenian organi- zation. I wish, moreover, distinctly to assert that there was not a single human being in existence who had the slightest idea of the object I had in view when I meditated on, and through the merci- ful providence of God failed in carrying into effect, the death of the Duke of Edinburgh. J have writ- ten-to the printers of two Irish periodicals an address to the people of Ireland. So certain was I of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh that I stated therein that which I believed would be the fact; and I think I have more than implied that I was but one of an organization to carry the same into Z5 effect. I need but say that the truth of the latter portion rests upon a slighter foundation than the former; in fact, that, unless from mere hearsay, I had no foundation for stating that there was a Fenian organization in New South Wales. From continually' thinking and talking of what I may still be allowed to call the wrongs of Ireland, I be- came excited and filled with enthusiasm on the subject, and it was when under the influence of those feelings that I attempted to perpetrate the deed for which I am now called upon to sufler.- H. J. O'FARRELL." DIABOLICAL ATTEMPT TO BLOW UP A HOUSE.— A diabolical attempt to blow up a house and murder three people is reported from the Isle of man. On the night of Tuesday, about twelve o'clock, John Collister, who resides along with his brother and wife, near to Peel, in that island, was startled by hearing the noise of breaking glass, followed by a loud crash. He got up and looked out of the window, and saw a man whom he is said to recognise as his brother-in-law, named John Quine, strike a match. In an instant there was a terrible report, which shook the house to its foundations, tore up the floor, shattered the win- dows, and sent the slates and portions of the roof flying in all directions. As soon as the startled inmates had recovered from the alarm into whieb they bad been thrown, they descended into the room or kitchen, when they found that the explo- sion had been caused by a bag of powder being thrown into the room, the window being previously broken, and that this bag had been ignited by means of a fuse some 50 yards in length. Infor- mation was given to the police, who were speedily on the supposed offender's traces, and on Wednes- day he was arrested and brought before the high bailiff of Peel. It appears that for some time past considerable ill-feeling has been engendered be- tween the parties on account of a lawsuit which has been going on. The prisoner denied his guilt, but he was sworn to positively by Collister. Mr Kermode, ironmonger, of Peel, deposed that on the previous day the prisoner had purchased three pounds of powder and fifty yards of fuse at his shop. Prisoner did not deny this statement, but said that both powder and fuse were in his stable but on being taken thither by the police, neither one nor the other could be found. After examination, the prisoner was committed for trial on the charge of having attempted to murder three persons, as also upon that of attempting to blow up a house. The room in which the powder was thrown is exactly underneath the sleeping apartment of the Collisters, and had the powder been placed in a canister instead of a loose bag the consequences would, in all probability, haye been fatal, ——— 1—MMll"

MR. LONGFELLOW IN ENGLAND. On Friday afternoon Mr Longfellow, accompanied by his three daughters, his brother-in-law /(Mi Appleton), and his host (Mr. Ferguson, of Morton) Skid a visit to Corby Castle, the seat of Mr P. H. oward. On Saturday morning the committee o the Carlisle Literary. Scientific, and Mechanics' Institute presented to him at Morton an address of welcome. The committee was introduced by Mr Ferguson, as being,a deputation from the institute of which he is president. Mr Davidson, banker, vice-president of the insti- tute, then addressed the poet on behalf of himself and his colleagues; and, after a short speech had been made by Mr C. P. Hardy, the address of welcome was read by Mr John Sewell, as follows To HENRY VVADSWOKTH LONGFELLOW, ESQ. The committee of the Carlisle Literary, Scientific, and Mechanics' Institute desire to meet you on your arrival in the ancient city with an address of cordial welcome. They feel that to you, not only as an honoured guest from a great nation claiming kindred with their own, but as the author of works which, wherever an English speaking race is to be found, have contributed to its instruction, refinement, and elevation, the welcome of Englishmen is in a very special manner due. Among the various interesting memorials of the past which are to be seen in this ancient city, you will find many traces of the cruel Border warfare of former times, and as you take note how utterly every shade of the old hate is long past away, you may perhaps form a hopefol augury peace of your own native land—a land of the greatness of which Englishmen also are not without some reason to be proud. That ever-increasing bonds of friendship and union may subsist between these two nations, which have so much in common, is the earnest prayer of those who now have the honour to address you.' Mr Longfellow, upon receiving the address, said Mr President and gentlemen, being more accustomed to speak with the pen than with the tongue, it is somewhat difficult for me to find appropriate words now to thank you for the honour you have done me, and the very kind expressions you have used. Coming here as a stranger, this wolcome makes me feel that I am not a stranger; for, how can a man be a stranger in a country where he finds all doors and all hearts open to him. Besides, I myself am a Cum- berland man—(hear, hear)—I was born in the county of Cumberland, in the State of Maine- (laugbter)- 3,000 miles from here, and you all know that the familiar name of a town or country has a home-like sound to all ears. (Hear, hear.) And yet there is much strangeness in this now, when I come to the land of my fathers and find in it no trace of my family or name. If I am to find them at all it will not be in the streets of towns or on the outside of the houses of the living, but in the graveyard and on the doors of the dead. You can think, then, how very grateful it is to me, — how very pleasant, to find my name has a place in your memories and your affections. For this kindness 1 most heartily thank you, and I reciprocate all the good wishes which you have ex- pressed for the perpetuation of the ties of amity between our two nations. (Applause.) The members of the committee were then intro- duced individually to Mr Hongfellow, who shook hands with them all. The proceedings then terminated. On Saturday afternoon Mr Longfellow visited Edenball, the seat of the old Border clan of Mus- graves, where the cup called the Luck of Edenhall is preserved to this day with scrupulous care.

A GIRL SHOT BY A Boy.-At an inquest just held on the body of a girl named Ann Lacey, 16 years of age, the jury returned a verdict of Man- slaughter against Job Hussey, a boy who had i caused the death of the girl by shooting her with a gun. They were both in the service of Mr Honey- < burn, Revelshay Farm, Whitchurch Canonicorum, and Hussey persisted, in spite of repeated cau. tions, in pointing the weapon at the deceased and pulling the trigger. It is said, however, that there was no ill-will existing between them. BIRTH OF A SEAL.-On the 9th of this month one of the seals (Phoca vitulina) at the Zoological-gar- dens gave birth to a young one, which was at first L covered with an abundance of fine silky hair; this, as the animal wriggled about on the ground, was entirely shed, and formed a dense blanket or fur, on which it lay. In less than three hours the young i phoca took to the water, and swam about actively, endeavouring to suck as the mother turned on the I side. Unfortunately, however, there was no supply of milk, and the mother has since died in convul- j sions. since which time the young one has been fed by Mr Bartlett on milk and a small portion of cod liver oil, administered by means of a feeding-bottle. The young seal at birth was 32in. long, and weighed i 20Ib.-The Field. < THE BISHOP OF LLANDAFF OF RITUALISM.—The Bishop of Llandaff, in acknowledging a declaration j signed by upwards of 1,600 laymen of Monmouth- ] shire, against ritualism, reminds them that in his visitation charge of 1866 he stated, in words as clear < and explicit as he could command, that in his opinion J the sacramental theory which it is the avowed object j of the ritualistic movement to uphold is neither the t doctrine of the Church of England nor of the Church f Catholic of the very earliest age. With regard to ] 'practices' the Bishop says, that although he deems many of them to be in themselves matters of entire indifference, and though he thinks a narrow-minded exclusiveness or a disregard of decency and order in the conduct of Divine worship is as much to be deprecated on the one hand as superfluous cere- monialism on the other, he believes a great respon- j sibility will rest upon the clergy if, by the indutgence of their own self-will, they give needless offence. J THE WEATHER AND THF, CROPS IN THE NORTH. I The cheering prospects with respect to the con- r dition of the crops which prevailed a fortnight since are t-iving way before the drought, which is intensified by the unusually warm weather, and the price of corn, which was receding, has again turned towards an advance. Repotts from the North Riding, Dur- ham, Westmoreland, and South Northumberland ] state that where there has been any grass cut the ] crop, though an average, is by no means heavy, as ij was expected, while that not so forward in growth promises generally to be thin. Wheat, though less affected by drought, must. if dry weather continues ] much longer, be short in the stem, while the ear will ] be prematurely developed. The plant, however, looks well at present, and with early rain would prosper. The worst effects of the dry weather are feen in the spring sown crops, which a month ago were very forward, but have now received a severe j check, from which only immediate and copious rain i can recover them, of which there was no appearance 1 up to Saturday evening. Local thunder and other showers have occasionally faHen one such occurred •' in Durham on Thursday last, but the beneficial effects j have been very partial and transitory. Turnips. which are a great source of aliment for cattle in the grazing districts which abound in these counties, have a very poor appearance in many instances they have bad to be re-sown. The drought has encouraged the ravages of the fly, and the crop is to a large extent jeopardised in many districts.

A PATRIARCH IN BANKRUPTCY. The Exeter Bankruptcy Court was la4 week occupied in investigating the affairs of a gentleman named Francis Gybbon Spilsbury, who styles him* -elf An Angel of the Church of the Resurrection.' But though an 'angel,' he does not seem to have been exempt from the frailties of human nature. In the year 1862 Mr Spilsbury was a chemist, which busi- ness did not, however, very agreeably accord with his spiritual temperament. To gain a livelihood by the dispensing of drugs was to him obnoxious in the extreme, and he therefore relinquished the practice, and assumed the character of a saint, taking up his residence at Kew. The religious tenets of this patriarch,' as he calls himself, were in strict ac- cordance with those of Brigham Young, which allow its followers to exercise a freedom unsanctioned by European religions. Mr Spilsbury had two wives. The sect of the faithful to whom he preached unhappily was not a wealthy one, and the tithes which fell to his share as cardinal deacon priest,' were insufficient to meet his requirements, and con- sequently he soon bocame overwhelmed in difficulties. Mr Spilsbury kept a diary. Curious delusions and weaknesses of the human mind are here displayed. It is unadvisable at any time to enter all your thoughts and transactions in a diary, because it might accidentally drop into the hands of those who are not disposed to view it with that impartiality and in the same light as you would wish. This one of the reverend gentlemen was turned to a very singular purpose, i e. a daily prayer-book. On one day the landlord was importunate, and directly a prayer went forth for a little aid to pay my rent;' on another, the grocer and washerwoman grew restive" and the fervent petition was for money to pay thr grocer and washerwoman, and for a little more coal as well as many others of the same character. Tasft over a few leaves, and a flight from Kew,' anit a happy arrival at a habitation provided for me on t'.ie shores of the Atlantic,' strike the attention. 'fehe grocer and washerwoman say the saint forgot 13, pay them. The habitation so aptly provided was at Barnstaple in North Devon, where Mr Spilsb'ary, at the expiration of three years, was arrested and clapped into prison for rent. Whilst in this uneasy situation, he petitioned to be adjudicated a bankrupt. But, in the meantime, all his property had befn gobbled up by the detaining creditor, and theve were no effects remaining. He made himself a bankrnpt for debts amounting to £1.600, of which/only the sum of dElOO was actually due and recoverable—all the rest being fictitious. Mr Spilsbury Was released from prison, and he immediately packed np, not forgetting his spiritual spouses, and set sail for Utah, by which lucky step, as Mr Commissioner Andrews remarked,, he saved the authorities the trouble of transporting him. Mr Spilsbary was accordingly outlawed, but. he will rest safe in the bosom of his sympathising, brethren, residing in Salt Lake. City.

SOUTH WALES RAILWAY TIME TABLE. 4 » WEKK PAVg.— up TRAINS 5 aiatioiia. ■«. jclase.j class, 1 & 2; class. 1 & 2iclas&«- Vlil. Starting from a.m. a.m. a.m. am. p.m. p.m• 0 New Milford 8 35 jll 0 5 0 6 45 44 Johnston 8 50 11 15 5 14 7 0 9] Haverfordwest. 9 0 11 25 5 24 7 10> 14$Clarbesvo. Road 9 n jn 38 7 23 21 NarberthRoad. 9 26 ill 5t — 7 37 2«J Whitland 9 47 12 9 6 0 7 *9' 32 St.Clears 959 1224 8 I 40J Carmarthen Jnc, 8 50 10 17 12 45 6 27 8 I9f 60 Llanelly 9 40 10 57 1 35 7 6 9 6 72 Swansea 7 30 9 55 11 10 2 0 7 20 9 2° 77 Neath (dep.) 753 )o 3r 11 39 2 39 7 51 Iff -V 114 Cardiff 945 12 31 12 47 4 32 9 2 126? Newport 10 20 1 20 1 13 50 9 2« 143j Chepstow 11 JQ 2 20 1 41 5 52 9 51 171J Gloucester'dep.) |12 45 4 5 2 35 1&2 12 io 178 Cheltenham(arr) 1&2! 5 5 3 0 7 S5 11 30 208 Swindon ( dep.). 2 45 5 55 4 0 9 10 2 20 885 PadrlingVon 5 5 9 20 5 45 H 15 ■* 35 £ VKKK WAYS,—DOWN T&AIKS. 5 § iMr3"l,2,3,.rr&2,; Exp. |1, 2, •2 *• lclas8.i class.jclass.|l & 2| class.; class* Mil. St>ir ting from a.m.! a.m. a.m.] a.m. a.m. p. 0 JPaidington 6 {( 9 15 8 10 77 S'.yindon^&ep.). 9 2-5 Ill .7 'll 14 121 Cht' tenham (dep 6 10 10 25 .■• il2 10 Mai 114 {Gloucester(dep.) 6 35 U 10 12 55 1! 501 Ul.j Chepstow 7 44 12 16 1 45 1 49 158-i! Newport 8 35 1 0 2 30 2 21 1701 Cardiff 9 8 1 28 2 51 2 45 208 Neath (dep.) 10 57 3 13 3 58 3 K 216 Swansea Ill 5 3 15 4 0 8 0 4 225 iLlanen, ill 58 4 5 4 40 8 244$:Carmarthen Jnc. 12 49 5 21 5 21 9 25 5 253 jSt. Clears 1 4 5 33 S 3g 9 41 258.J; Whitlanci 1 19 5 54 5 34 9 55 5 50' 264 jNarber'h Boad. 1 33 6 7 6 7 10 8 — 270i,CIurbcstou Road 1 47 6 20 6 20 10 22 — 275? Haverfordwest. 1 58 6 32 6 32 10 34 6 26 280|; Milford Road 2 13 6 46 4? 10 48 6 41 285 New Milford 2 2t 7 0 7 0 10 58 6 (g SUNDAYS.— Ul- TRAINS. SUNDAYS. DOWN fkAlNS. 11 ■ 2> 3> 3, 1,2,3, l.XsTT & & class.I class, class. class, class.! class, claw- From a. in. I p. m. i p. m. From a.m. 4. m. i a. m. 6. m N. Tiil.'ll 0 5 0 Pa^ .j io 0 tfilRoadjll 13 5 14 Swiit..ej I p.m I a.WestJll 23 5 24 Chel. de( 1 20 Mai 31ar. Rd 11 36 — Glou. de\ 3 39 12 501 Sar.Rdt 11 49 5 50 Chep. 4 38 1 49 Whit. 12 1 6 0 New. 5 25 2 21 StClears* 12 15 Cardiff. 5 49 2 43 3ar.Jnc. 12 37 6 27 Neathrfe: 7 38 S 57 Cilanelly 1 23 7 6 Swan.rfel 7 55 4 3wan.<Zc 1 45 7 20 Llanelly 8 33 4 46 Neath. 2 22 7 51 Car.Jnc 9 20 5 25 Jardiff. 3 56 9 2 StCleafs 9 36 — !few. 4 28 9 24 AVhit 9 52 5 50' Jhep.j 5 6 9 51 Nar.Rd+ 10 7 31ou.de 6 25 12 40 Clar.Rd 10 23 Ael. aril & 2 H.West 10 34 6 20 SwiR.rfe 8 20 2 20 MilRoad 110 50 6 41 Pad.|i: 15 S5 N. Mil ill 5 6 5#

MILFORD BRANCH LINE OF RAILWAY. From Johnston (late Milford Road) to Milford. UP TRAINS—WEEK DAYS. r?TRAlNS* a. 111. a. m. p. m. p. in. p. in. a. in. P» llilford.rfep 1 <8 35 :o 55 1 50 4 55 6 40 11 0 4 « ohnston arr 8 45 11 10 2 5 5 9 6 55 II 10 IJL— DOWN I'R VINS WKKK DAYS. DOWN TPAtJ* a.m. a.m. p.m. p.m. p. m, a7 m7| p- lohnstonrfe^ 9 10 11 35 2 15 5 2(5 7 5 11 20 5 Jilford ..arr 9 20 11 50 2 30 5 35 7 20 11 30 5 IT

PEMBROKE AND TENBY RAILWAY. UP TRAINS-WEEK DATS. U,2,gov. 1,2. gov. 1,2. gov. 1,2,gov. FROM. — a.m. a.m. p.m. p.m. P,u1' Whitland 6 15 9 50 1 25 6 15 ^arberth 630 10 5 1 40 6 30 Xilgetty 64H 10 21 1 56 "5 46 Jaundt rsfoot 6 51 10 26 2 1 C 50 renby .dep 7 20 10 35 2 10 7 0 Penally 7 23 10 38 2 13 7 5 Vlanorbcer 32 10 52 2 21 7 IS L,amphey. 740 11 0 2 31 7 22 Pembroke 7 45 11 5 2 35 725 Pembroke Dock arr 7 53 11 15 i 45 7 35 —- DOWN TRAINS—WEEK DAYS. 1,2,gov. 1, 2.gov. 1, 2,gov~ 1,2,gov. FB.OM -"Tw a.m. a.m. p.m. v PembrokeDock dep 8 5 10 30 3 15 6 15 Pembroke .dep 8 13 10 38 3 23 6 23 Lamphey g 17 10 42 3 27 6 27 Waacrbeer 8 27 10 52 3 37 6 37 PcnaLy 8 35 111 3 46 6 45 renby 8 H l0 5 0 6 55 Saundersfoot 8 54 11 20 5 9 7 5 Kilgetty 859 n 24 5 13 7 9 N'arberth 915 (1 42 5 31 7 29 IViMtland 9 3Q 11 5,115 45 Printed and Published by the Proprietors, LLEWEII.IN and THOMAS WHICHBH DAVIES, A* Office in High-street, in the Parish of Saint In the County of the Town of HaferfordWtflt. Wednesday, June 17, 1868,