The Sun. — London, England, 1831-07-18 00:00:00

that the act of seeking reparation in a Court of Jastice was to be imputPd to Mr. Deacle as a great crime. He commenced by stating that " lie was sorry the plaintiff had placed himself in the situa tion in which he now was, to complain of circum stances which his own conduct bad brought on him. Be was sorry this county, which was settling down into a state of peace and quiet, should again have its attention roused by those circumstances which had so lately disturbed its peace and alarmed its inhabitants. for the purpose of holding up to contempt the Ma gistrates of this county, and to bring up again that spirit of disturbance which they saw was quieted." Now this sort of high and lordly language was held after all the evidence of the plaistiff had been given, and with no evidence to meet it. One would sup pose from it that Mr. Deacle was onSir, his trial. It is as much as saying—how dare you, to complain of any severities used towards you in arresting and conveying you to gaol ? Are not t hese Magistrates— and may they not do with you seed all others as they please ? Whet) one bears a case of this kind, met in so lordly a mariner, one is strongly tempted to draw the inference, that Magistrates are only astonished that people should presume to ques tion them for anything they may do. Mr. Bingham Baring ought not to have needed the monition of the Journals of the Metropolis to see the danger to which he was exposed from this prosecution. The making light of what, if proved, amounted to so se rious an impeachment of his character as unneces sary severity towards unresisting prisoners, one of them a lady, by not taking those steps to set him self right with the public, which he now sees he must take, is the worst part of the business, as it appears less indicative of consciousness of innocence, than of an imperfect sense of the estimation in which the acts charged, if proved, ought to be held. When a gentleman is accused of what he considers reproachful, however innocent he may feel himself, he is not the less impressed with the necessity of establishing his innocence. So much we have deemed it proper to say with regard to this case. It is certainly not one which can be trifled with.— Morning Chronicle. Having predicted all the mischievous consequences of that measure of mock-relief to the poor, the Beer Bill, before it passed into a law, we arc not sur prised to find that it is already very generally dis covered to be a nuisance that, for the sake of the morals of the country, ought to be abated. If our statesmen had more foresight, they would have need of less repentance; and if they could take good ad vice, independently given, instead of estimating the value of their proposed measure by the servile opi nion of interested flatterers, they would not waste the time of one Session in passing Acts which must be altered or repealed in the next. The present Government are not responsible for tile Beer Bill, except so far as that several individuals constituting the present Ministry supported the Bill, and antici pated wonderful advantages from it to the public in general. They had pretty strong proof of what sort of advantages they were, soon after their ac cession to power, when they found that the rioters of last winter, against whom they sent forth the Judges armed with the terrors of special commis aions, generally made those beer-shops, which had been called into existence by their favourite Bill, their places of rendezvous; while, in some in- 1 stances, the beer-shop keepers returned the com pliment by leading on the rioters. Soon after wards we recollect that the Lord Chancellor him self, in his place in the House of Lords, ex pressed his doubts of the advantages of the Beer Bill, and his suspicion of its having been productive of no inconsiderable mischief. The fact is, the public had been misled regarding the nature of the Beer Bill by a delusive cry regarding " free trade," as if it were desirable that intoxicat ing drinks should ever be freely retailed, like bread, or the other necessaries of life. We recollect that, a few years ago, Sir Robert Peel himself forcibly pointed out the pernicious consequences of opening the trade in beer, in the way since effected by this Bill, and yet he was one of the Government that passed this very Bill ; and when it was under dis cussion this weathercock Statesman, with his usual Aptitude for veering to whatever point of the com pass seems to suit his present purpose or advance his immediate interests, argued against all his former arguments, and, with oracular gravity, con tended that his own previous opinions were those of a false oracle ?. The object which Sir Robert Peel arid the Duke of Wellington proposed to effect by this Bill was not an experiment upon the principlecrf " free trade." They disclaimed the theory, and professed to introduce the measure as one of prac tical anti substantial relief to the poor. It was " a tub to the whale"—a delusive boon to stay the outcry for the repeal of the Malt Tax—a mea sure that would, indeed, afford the poor relief; a relief connected with their domestic comforts, by enabling them to brew a wholesome, cheap, and nutritious beverage for themselves, instead of being tempted to waste their health and wages in drinking stuff which is too often both a physical and moral poison, in sottish enjoyment, away from their families, in the midst of bad com pany, in the dens of vulgar dissipation. We arc glad that Mr. Sadler intends to move a repeal of the malt tax. We repeatedly told the Government, at the time when the Beer Bill was under discus sion, that into whatever hands they chose to trans fer the power of licensing ale-houses from the Jus tices, where, undoubtedly, it had been greatly abused, they should, as a matter of police, preserve those principles of the old laws which made it im perative upon the person applying for a licence to vroduce testimonials of character, and also to show that the house was necessary for the public accom rriodatinn ; or, in case of abandoning these wise and salutary provisions, we called upon them to intro duce a clause to prevent the beer from being con sumed upon the premises, which would have pre vented the mischiefs and disorders that are now so justly complained of by the public, and by various Grand Juries, who have witnessed the unhappy working of this Bill. We are astonished to hear the Chancellor of the Exchequer talk of remedying the evils of this statute by conferring new powers on the police; that would be indeed to attempt curing one evil by another—a law so fertile in mischief as to baffle the present powers of the police s Lould not continue on the statute book.—ilforning In reviewing the proceedings of the House of Commons during the past week, the public cannot fail to be surprised at the little that was done for the public service, and above all, the little progress that was made in the Reform Bill. With respect to the former, nothing, literally nothing, was done ; while, with regard to the latter, the only progress tfox was made was that of crossing the threshold of the Committee, and actually effecting the disfran ehisement of one rotten borough. At this rate of progress it would take somewhere between five and six month to get the Bill through even the House of Commons ; and as heavy bodies move at a comparatively slower rate, a full twelvemonth would not be too great an exten,ion of grace to the more solemn deliberations of the Lords 7 . Now as we are fully convinced that the spirit of the present times is by no means suited to bear with such unreasonable delay, and that it behoves both Houses of Parliament to be more expeditious in their proceedings than suited the convenience of one of during the past week, we would fain hazard a f t ;; observations for their benefit, and that of the public, ip this respect; and in the first place, we would remark that, if ever impudence was personi fied, or delay and chicanery, without any justifiable object in view, adopted, to frustrate a wise and necessary measure, it has been in the debates which have hitherto taken place on the Reform Bill. That measure has been discussed and re-discussed by men of all parties, and all opinions, and all principles, until there is not a point about it on which a new idea can be started, or a new view unfolded. The rotten boroughs have not only been an eye- Fore, but a %lOet of loathing and disgust for the last half century—there is no man, woman, or child, above the age of ten years, who, if asked, whether Manchester, Birmingham, and other large manufacturing towns should be represented in preference to boroughs of not one-twentieth part of their population, would not answer that they ought —nor in any impartial, unprejudiced, and equitable mind could there exist the slightest doubt that it is much better to give votes to that numerous class of the population renting houses of 101. a year and up wards, and thus secure their support of the institu tions of the country, and the preservation of its pro perty, than to throw them out of the pale of the elective franchise, and array them, at some future period, either on the revolutionary side, or that of an indifference equally fatal to both. Nay, more, the country has declared loudly by its voice, not once, but often, that it will have a Reform in its re presentation—that it will have the Bill, the whole I Bill, and nothing but the Bill—it has also returned • a majority to the House of Commons, before whom I the Members with no constituents, and the borough- mongering faction generally, must give way, sooner or later; and how impudent is it then—nay, how mischievous to the trade and the tranquillity of the country—on the part of these rotten Members, who represent no part of the people or the country, and only hold their seats by the sufferance of some Peer of the realm, whose orders they are bound slavishly to obey, as the West Indian slave his master, to get up sight after night in their places, and by a repe tition of the same clamour, and of the same foolish arguments, to delay the completion of a measure which they know must, and will, be carried, and to which, in their hearts, leaving private, and selfish, and slavish interests out of consideration, the purest character of justice belongs ? But this is not the only accusation which we have to prefer against these worthies : we accuse them, also, of a breach of faith. They form a party, and they have no minated a leader, and they pretend to abide by his decision; but, notwithstanding all this ap pearance of a regularly organized army of opposi tion, not only have the troops fought without orders from their commander-in-chief, but the gallant and great captain himself has broken the stipulations of a regular treaty; and after abjuring all factious op position, has proved himself the most factious of the factious ! In proof of these observations it is only necessary to refer to the fact that Sir R. Peel, on the introduction of the Bill, stated his determi nation to make his stand against it on the second reading, and if foiled by a decided majority, to con fine his endeavours to that of effecting such amend ments in the Committee as the Bill might be sus ceptible of; and how have he and his party ad hered to this understanding ? Was not the Bill read a second time by an overwhelming majority, and the principle of it thus carried ? Was not the prin ciple of it again contested in a debate of four teen hours, on the motion for the House re solving itself into a Committee on the Bill ? And has not Sir Robert Peel, independent of numerous amendments, of which notice has been given by different Members of his party, given a notice of his determination to retry the principle anew ? These proceedings, we allow, are fairly in unison with the character of the party from which they emanate ; and it is because they are so—be ' cause no justice or fair dealing can be expected from them—because the trade and commerce of the country are injured by their proceedings, and its tranquillity exposed to jeopardy that we now call upon the Government and the representatives of the people to do their duty with greater energy and vigour, than characterized their proceedings during the last week. With those who keep no faith with others, no faith ought to be kept—with those who only oppose measures for the mere sake of oppo sition, annoyance, and mischievous delay, some shorter method of dealing must be adopted. Is it to be tolerated for a moment that a petty boroughmongering faction should be allowed to shield its unmanly and useless opposition under those forms which were imagined and framed for the preservation of the public liberties, but which they employ for their destruction ? Is a measure, in fact, which the country has already adopted as its own, to be frustrated, or unnecessarily and mischievously delayed, because it is unpalatable to those who have long preyed on the vitals of the country, and who are in opposition simply because the carrying of it puts an end at once to their return to power ? We address these observations to Lord Althorp and his friends :—to the Reform Members in the House, we say, " be instant in season and out of season" — lend your aid in every debate—be present at every division, and do not let it be imagined for a mo ment that you are not worthy of the high trust re posed in you—that you are not in earnest in the people's cause! There has been one reckoning with you, and whether the Bill be carried or not, there will soon be another.—Morning Advertiser. Both the principles and practice of the existing Administration recall very forcibly to our minds the ambitious faction of the " Girondists." The French historian Mignet, in delineating that party, seems inspired with a knowledge of till revolutionary causes ; and his description is singularly applicable to our actual Government. " They formed," says he, " the party which was called the Girondist, and which, in the Revolution, was but a party through which things passed (park de passage) from the middling class to the rule of the multitude. They had not, at that time, any projects of overthrow ; but they were disposed to maintain the Revolution (Reform) by every practice whatsoever." His Majesty's Ministers are confessedly in this posi tion —confessedly, we say, because they are perpe tually endeavouring to urge upon their friends and aristocratical opponents that nothing can, after their expulsion, be formed into a Government but the pickings of the Hume and Warburton party, the Moritagnards of the Commons. The similarity of condition is therefore perfect, but the similarity of policy is equally so ; not that we admit the State to be so desperately circumstanced, though we could easily shew that it is as desperately conducted. he Girondists, by wielding recklessly popular rights and popular violence, exalted into power a third party in the State, which for a while only permitted their Republican existence. Our Ministers, ad vancing by similar gradations, and retaining office under the tutelage of the mob, their acknowledged successors, offend all the precepts both of wisdom and of law. Both parties, unable to carry matters at their pleasure, had recourse to intimidation ; " the Chiefs of that party," says Mignet, " their excited the multitude ;" the violent meetings of the 17th July, and the petition signed in the Champ-de-Mars on the altar of France, find their parallel in the mobs and incendiary petitions of November last. Both parties by this means got into power. " The King," Mignet writes, " alarmed by the unrestrained vio lence of the Assembly against the Members of his Council, had no resource left but to choose his new Ministers from the victorious party. An alliance with the actual Afaslers of the Revolution was all that remained to save liberty and the Throne." They proved thorough Whigs towards their Sovereign), being, in the language of the his torian, " exigeants a son egard;" and the Foreign Secretary, M. Roland, was lavish of the cant so prevalent at the present day, urging the ;Monarch " to calm men's minds, to strengthen his authority, and make himself boldly the King of the Revolution (Reform)." Louis XVI. broke with the Gironde, and they quitted office. So the House of Commons defeated the present Administration, which was in danger of the same fate. What was the policy of both ? An appeal to the madness ant the violence of tile people. It is curious to observe :he methods by which the one attempted to recover and the other to retain what they valued so dearly. Our Mi nisters, o c f so t tn l i i irs e rtei r t i du a t t ui i nation, ,a the dissolved mree tfuo xdts. ng s to T th h e e ir h o is , t , o n ria s n ee r u •e r m it a y rk an s, d " th T a l t ie of G t i l r i :r ß ide e. , considering l'eutedrPg: iny) petition ;oo nnt I;tehbeGo both hiCeo:nl eztryi volution (Reform), looked to . the recovery of their departure llni.plyThe f i r r om obi t e lie King,C o Constitution. t u u t t s io i power,r% nvnesa was, not : v t i o t prescribedidloe utdethrone b n ye however,tt hhee to bring hiret back among them. With that view they had re-1 course to the imperious petitioning of the multi-1 tude." The efforts of the French Gironde produced the well-known 20th of June, the forerunner of the horrors of the 10th of August; the efforts of the English Gironde produced the delegate Parliament, bornanandrisntuocrtruarcy and edi the in violence, for o orrthef a deg k r i a n d g a d t o io m n . The history of the French period is closed, that of the English career is just began ; but if there be truth in experience, the event, though incomplete, is not undiscernible. His Majesty's Ministers, how ever little alarmed by the prospect of a revolution, may be touched by a remembrance of the fate of their prototypes ; the Girondists, endeavouring to repel the encroachments of the peop le they had ex cited and used, became at last the prey of the mon ster they had created. 'We foretell the same for the Cabinet of Lord Grey should this B ill be carried ; and when smarting under loss of station and of pro perty, they may re-peruse for their comfort the eulo gies of the Radicals and the Lord Alayor's speeches. —II4O ening Post. About two years ago, we adverted at some length, to the wretched mode by which, in this metropolis, the place of a Court of Appeal, in cases of capital conviction, was supplied. The reliance on the sub sequent trial by the King in Council, and the Home Secretary, had a tendency to render Judges and Juries less vigilant in the discharge of their duty ; while, from the private nature of the trial, or rather inquiry, instituted by the Council and Home Secre tary, the evidence must necessarily b e partial and irrelevant. In a Morning Ccnternporary of Friday, it is observed : " The Old Bailey Sessions, which terminated on Fri day last, exhibited the appalling spectacle of no less than seventy-seven persons receiving the awful sentence ' to die acording to law,'—by far the greater part of them for offences which, in the eye neither of reason and huma nity, nor of justice and public policy, call for any such punishment, and on whom, it is well known by the Judge who passes the sentence, there is not the most remote in tention of carrying it into effect. Some years ago an Act of Parliament was passed, authorizing the Judges on the circuits simply to record the judgment of death, instead of passing the sentence, where there was no necessity or intention of carrying it into effect. This law, however, which went to strip our criminal code of some of that severity which it had retained in word and not in deed, it was found, by some happy quibble, or nice distinction between sense and meaning, did not extend to the greatest criminal Court in the kingdom—the Sessions-house in the Old Bailey—arai therefore the metropolis of the kingdom, from whence improvements generally emanate, has the solitary distinction of still witnessing the degrading and mischievous spectacle of the law pronouncing through its organ sentences of death upon persons, not one-fourth of whom upon the average ever ought to receive such sen tence at all—or would receive it in any other part of the kingdom—and not on one-fourth of which fourth it is ever intended that this sentence shall take effect." On this subject, a very valuable light has been thrown, in a small volume, just published by one who has, unfortunately for himself, had but too good an opportunity for studying the working of the sys tem, in a three years' imprisonment in Newgate. We allude to a volume " On the Punishment of Death in the Metropolis," by Mr. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, characterised by an uncommon talent for observation, and shrewdness of remark. The vo lume contains many valuable hints, on several sub jects connected with criminal law —as, for instance. the New Police, and the means for improving it; but, at present, we shall notice what he says respect ing the fourth and fifth trial of criminals : " That it is right (says the author) to speak of the pro ceedings before the Council as a trial, seems to be proved by the two following circumstances, not to mention others : —First, The Old Bailey Judge passes sentence of death on almost every capital convict indiscriminately, quite re gardless of facts in the case, which, if there were no fourth trial, would surely induce him to pass a milder sentence. Secondly, It will be seen by Table No. 1., that of 451 sen tences of death passed by the Old Bailey Judge, 396 were reversed by the Council. The fiction, or rather pretence, of this law or custom is, that the only duty of the Council is to exercise the King's prerogative of mercy to certain persons who have incurred the penalty of death ; but the fact is, that every member of the Council knows that in a great majority of the cases which come before him, the penalty of death has not been really, though it have been legally incurred ; and that in such majority of cases sen tence of death was passed merely in order to take the case before the Council for an alteration of the sentence. " The circumstances attending this fourth trial will be incredible to those whose attention has not been in any measure directed to the subject. " First, The question to be determined by the Court of Appeal is of the deepest importance to the accused : it i s the question of life or death. " Secondly, The Court which decides this important question is a secret Court, the Members of which, I be.. lieve, take an oath of secrecy. " Thirdly, The sittings of the Court are held at the residence of the King, at Brighton, Windsor, or i n London, indifferently, without notice to the accuses!. " Fourthly, The prisoner does not appear before the Court, either personally or by Counsel, his only means of communication with it being by written petition to the King, which must be entrusted to the Secretary of State tor the Home Department. " Fifthly, The Court is composed, for the most part, of Cabinet Ministers, whose time is fully occupied with the duties of their respective offices, Parliamentary busi ness, and party politics. " Sixthly, The Court hears no evidence, and is bound by no known rules. The Recorder of London, indeed, who has presided at some of the previous trials, is present in the Council, and, I beleve, makes a statement con cerning each case ; but that he does not make a full re port of the evidence in each case may be inferred with certainty, since the average number of cases decided on at each sitting of the Council, is about twenty, whilst the time occupied in each sitting hardly ever exceeds a few hours, and occasionally is less than an hour. By way of illustrating the mode of proceeding before this singular Court, Mr. Wakefield takes the case of John 'Montgomery, in Returns to the House of Commons, from May, 1827, to May, 1830, p. 12. The difficulties which those who interested themselves in behalf of this man experienced in ob tainieg access to Mr. Peel, who afford no explana tion of the grounds on which the Council had de cided, would hardly be believed. From the circum stances stated, there seems reason for believing that Mr. Peel proceeded on data which could easily have been shown to be false ; but lie shrouded himself up in mystery; and the man, in despair, took poison and died. " Let not the reader (says Mr. Wakefield) suppose that this case has been picked out as especially illustrative of the bad character of the Court of Appeal. It has been eel( eted, because in this case something (though not much) is known of the proceedings of the fourth and fifth trials. In most cases absolutely nothing is known. In most eases, as in this, the question of life or death depends on facts, or at least statements quite foreign to the con viction ; which conviction is, in most capital cases, a mere form, and to the decree of the presiding Judge, which de cree generally amounts only to a sentence of agonizing suspense. In this case there was no lack of money, in telligence, zeal, or the necessary spirit at one time, or in fluence at another, for obtaining communication with the Judge. In most cases, the fourth trial becomes, as I have said before, the merest lottery; since the prisoner, shut up in the cells of Newgate, generally without money, often veryignorant, and nearly always without the least influ ence, must content himself with writing a petition, and leaving the rest to chance That the final decision of the Council is influenced by rumours it is not difficult to prove. To any one who shall deny this, being entitled to contradict me, I would ask whether,when urgent application was made to save the life of Joseph !Junto!), who was executed for forgery in 1828, the first Secretary did not state as one ground for refusing the application, that the prisoner had committed other for series for which he had net even been taken before a Ma gistrate? Did he, or did he not, commit such other for geries? Perhaps he did ; but where is the proof? Ile was not even charged with them by the persons whom it is said he defrauded. Should the least weight be at tached to mere rumours of this kind ? But this is not the question ; there can he no doubt that the decision of the Council is constantly influenced by rumours to the preju dice of prisoners. It would have been ao, probably, in the case of Montgomery, as to the rumour of his having passed a forged cheque, if great pains Lad not been taken to prove the rumour false; and very possibly it was so as to other rumours equally false, with which the newspapers teemed at the time of his apprehension. The question Is allowing the fact to be that the Council is influenced by rumours foreign to the conviction, whether the prisoner ought not t be inrormed of every thing to his prejudice ? As a strong proff of the inefficiency of the tribunal for arriving at a just decision, it will be seen by the Table No. 1., that of sixty-two persons ordered for execution by the Council, only fifty-five were executed ; the others having been spared in consequence of subse quent interference with the Secretary of State. This may be called the fifth trial." We fear there is but too much reason for arriving at the conclusion that, in the Lottery of Death in London, the prizes are drawn by the greatest criminals. " During the early part of my confinement in Newgate (says the writer), I used frequently to ask questions of the Keeper and Chaplain, as to the probable fate of certain convicts, whose appearance in chapel had attracted my no tice ; and for some time I was astonished by always re ceiving for answer in words to this effect- 4 it is impos sible to say—the Council decides—we know some to be more guilty than others, and more deserving of the se verest punishment ; but it so often happens, that those escape whom we think most guilty, and those suffer whom we believe to be least guilty, that we can never give an opinion on the subject.' I afterwards discovered that per sons under sentence of death in Newgate are engaged in a lottery, of which the blanks are death, and that au attempt to foretell the result in any case would be mere guess-work." " Sure, then, everything (lie afterwards observes) conspires for a right decision in the country, and fur a wrong one in the Metropolis. In the country it is probable that a man who does not deserve to be hanged will not be hanged, and that one who merits death will be killed. In London, on the contrary, the most experienced and artful offender has the best chance of escape, whilst the most ignorant, and perhaps innocent of convicts, is the most likely to be killed. It is, indeed, all a lottery, but with the chances conside rably in favour of a wrong decision." Out of evil often comes good. Mr. Wakefield deserves great credit for the unshrinking fortitude with which he has endeavoured to benefit the society against which he offended, by a communication of the results of his experience, under opportunities singularly favourable for the study of crime. His book is one of the most valuable accessions to cri minal jurisprudence which has been made for many years.—Morning Chronicle. POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MANSION-HO USE. On Friday Edward Birkett was brought up, charged with having disturbed the peace by fighting with John Flaherty. The quarrel between the parties arose in conse quence of a dispute about a wager on the late battle between Ward and Byrne. Flaherty had wagered upon Byrne, his countryman, to the extent of a bowl of punch, and the beverage was to come in on Wed- nesday night. The parties met at a public-house at the hour appointed, and drank the punch, but Fla herty refused to pay a farthing upon the ground that the fight was a cross. The landlord tilt!' applied to Birkett for the amount, but Birkett said, that as he was the winner, he had locked up his money; but although he was not chargeable with the amount of the bill, he would draw double the sum in claret, whereupon he let his fist fly into Flaherty's coun tenance, and caused a most alarming change in the articulation of the Irishman, by the sudden removal of three of his teeth. The claret, as the fancy call what followed the blow, carne copiously from the mouth of Flaherty, who, after blowing his Dose, spit his teeth into Birkett's eyes, and then belaboured him in such a manner as convinced him that no cross was intended at that moment, whatever might have happened between the pugilists in the field. The fight ended, in the present instance, in favour of the Irishman, but Birkett was the only person charged. The LORD MAYOR asked how it happened that the victor was not brought up as well as the van quished ?—The landlord said that Flaherty was so good tempered all the time he was fighting, he did not deserve to be made answerable for any thing that might happen, but the other was as sulky as could be, and didn't at all like what he got.—(A laugh.) Birkett said that Flaherty would not say a word against him if they bad both killed each other. — (Laughter.) He (Birkett) did not care about the punch, but it was the laughing of his opponent that he did not like, and Flaherty was so provoking, that the harder he was hit the louder he laughed. The LORD MAYOR—And did he laugh when he broke his teeth ? Birkett—Aye, louder than ever; whether he'd give or take it was all the same to him, and I'm sure if either of us had our life knocked out nothing could atop him. The LORD MAYOR—WeII, I shall discharge Bir kett, but if the other had appeared the probability s that I should act differently. B 0 TV-STREET. Smart, the proprietor of Mother H.'s, appeared before Mr. HALLS, on Saturday evening, to show cause why he had refused to receive a soldier who had been billetted upon him. The defendant was merely the proprietor of Mother H.'s rooms; and although he supplied eatables for the establishment, he was not the per son in whose name the winelicense was granted, and therefore the billet could not apply to him. In answer to questions put to him, Smart replied that the wine license was in the name of a person named Muskett, who was a wholesale wine-merchant in the city. The billet-clerk said that the plea set up by the defendant was a mere ruse to escape the liability of the billet, and he hoped that the Magistrate would see the trick in its proper light. It was high time that houses of the description kept by the defendant should be made to share in the burden which all licensed victuallers were obliged to bear. Mr. HALLS should order the soldier to be received into the house forthwith, and the defendant would disobey the order at his peril. The defendant, who appeared by no means to relish the introduction of such a guest, reluctantly left the dice, followed by the soldier and his cor poral. MARY LEB ONE. A shoemaker, about four feet four inches . in heighth, who gave his n ame James Richards, resid ing at No. 10, Gray's-buildings, Manchester-square, was placed at the bar , before W. flosKiNs, Esq., under the following charge : lle appearance the merriment (Nh iel was as ludicrous of the Magistrate, as well as all who were in the office. inhe extreme) xtr oe The defendant, who se stature is above described, was dressed in the new fu ll-dress j acket of one of the first Regiment of Grenadier Guards, the waist buttons came below the bend of his knees, and the front of the jacket came half-way down his legs, and under it he had a ragged black apron which gave it the appearance of a petticoat ; indeed, he was well " dressed for the part" of Moll-Flaggon, and looked Liston in miniature. A Police constable, of the D division, stated that early on Friday morning he was on duty in Oxford street, where he met the defendant, who had a doode" in his mouth, and apparently plenty of liquor in his head; he was also very noisy. From his most singular appearance he questioned him as to his possession of the coat, to which he replied, in very abusive terms, saying that the coat was his own. Witness told him to get home, and keep out of the way of the military picquet, which would shortly be going their rounds, and for the good advice he the picquet, and said he was as brave and as great a soldier—(Laughter)—as any in the King's service. A great mob had collected round in consequence of his curious appearance, the tail of the jacket trailing on the ground. Witness was obli ge d, for the purpose o f dispersing the mob, to take the defendant to the station, where he endeavoured to make his escape. Magistrate—Well, Mr. Richards, what have you t o say to the charge, and how do you account for having on that military g armen t , which would en velope half a dozen others of yo u r size Mister Richards looked very sheepish, and said he had met with an old friend of his who had that day been discharged after a service of twenty-five years, and they went to a public-house and had some thing to drink. As to the coat, he supposed he and t h e g renadier had made an exchange.—(L aug h ter) The Magistrate said that was u n lik e l y , as his (defendant's) coat would only fit a lad of ten years o f a ge. He should fine him ss. for being. drunk, and Is. for his discharge. This being paid, the little would-be warrior turned to the right about and marcbed off in double quick time, without re ceiving the word of command. In an hour after Richards was discharged a tall man, about six feet and a half in height, came puffing into the office to make inqttiries about his coat, and said Richards and he had met and took a friendly glass or so, and having conversed about the wars Richards said—" Blow me if I should not like to see how I look in soldier's clothes," arid re quested the loan of his coat for a minute. Having put it on he strutted about the tap-room, and then strutted out of the house, and must have been parad ing the streets in the jacket some hours when taken up. He (the applicant) had been looking for him all night, and as he had been discharged he should have great difficulty in finding his jacket. As for Richards's coat it would not fit a good sized wax doll. The poor soldier then departed. MARLBOROUGH -STREET. A respectable-looking man named Poynter, a driver of one of the Windsor stages, was charged with stealing 31. 10s. from the person of Aaron Emmett, a market-gardener residing at Tolworth, in Surrey. Emmett, who appeared to be slightly inebriated, stated that about one o'clock that day he was stand ing at the White Horse Cellar, Piccadilly, waiting for a stage-coach to convey him home, when the prisoner came behind him, put his hand into his coat pocket, and drew out a bag containing the sum mentioned. The prisoner, immediately after effect ing the robbery, handed the bag and its contents to a companion who was standing upon the spot to re ' ceive it. He (Emmet) never lost sight of the prisoner until he was in custody of a policeman. The prisoner in his defence said, that he was passing by the White Horse Cellar, when he felt himself seized suddenly by a police constable, who told him that he was charged with picking a per son's pocket. At fist he only laughed at the mat ter, thinking that a joke was intended to played upon him ; but when he found that the charge was really serious, his indignation was so great that he knocked down his accuser. _ _ Mr. DYER inquired if the prisoner ha•l been searched ?—The constable replied in the affirmative, and said that the property had not been found upon him. Mr. Clements, an inspector of the C division of police, suggested the propriety of searching the prosecutor. The Magistrate had no objection, although the prosecutor showed much reluctance. Mr. Clements proceeded to examine f mmet's garments, and, concealed in the knee of his trousers, was found the identical purse, containing the 3/. 10s. which he bad charged the prisoner with stealing. Mr. DYER in strong terms animadverted upon the scandalous conduct of which Emmet had been • guilty, in causing a respectable man to be appre hended, and publicly charged with a crime of which he, Emmet, knew him to be perfectly innocent. Poynter was of course set at liberty, and he de clared that he would bring an action against Em met for false imprisonment. LAMBETH-STREET. On Saturday a well-looking young woman was brought before Mr. \VALKER, by Henfree, the beadle of Mile-end Old -town, in order to her be ing sworn that she did not know the father of un illegitimate child, of which she had been lately de livered, and which had become chargeable to the hamlet. Henfree stated, that the young woman obstinately refused to disclose the name of the father of her child to the officers, and the consequence was that the hamlet would be burthened with its entire sup port. The overseers were of opinion that she could tell the name of the father if she wished, and, at their request, he brought her before his Worship, in order to her being sworn that she did not know the person, or where he was to be found, or disclose all she knew. The young woman knew no more of the matter than she had already stated to the parochial officers. Mr. WALKER desired her to repeat what that was, when she said that she was returning, one evening after leaving some clean linen at a house in Gracechurch-street, and while passing through Leaderahall-street, it came on to rain very fast, and being without an umbrella she took shelter in a gateway. While standing there a genteel-looking young man addressed her, and pressed her to go with him to have something to drink. After some hesitation she went with him to a gin-shop, where he gave her a glass of liquor, and on getting into the street she found herself getting quite stupid, and in a minute afterwards became quite insensible. She was quite unconscious of what happened to her from that time until about an hour afterwards, when she awoke and found herself alone and lying on a shamble in Leadenhall-ma►ket. She felt very sore and bruised all over her, as if she had been severely beaten ; but she had not the slightest idea that any improper liberties bad been taken with her person. She assured the Magistrate in the most fervent man ner, that she had never, before or after this occur rence, known another man, nor wus conscious of her situation until within a few hours of her con finement. She added, that she had been under the care of Dr. Billing, of the London Hospital, for three months previous to her confinement, and that that gentleman had never mentioned to her that she was in a state of pregnancy. Mr. WALKER asked her if she should know the young man whom she spoke of as having given her the liquor. She did not think she could recognize him if she met him in the street. Mr. WALKER remarked, that her statement, though it appeared very improbable, might, never theless, be true. He then gave directions that she and her infant should be taken care of for the pre sent, and be brought before him again in a week. In the mean time he should see Dr. Billing on the subject. UNION-HALL. On Saturday Miss Jane liztrchell, member of a highly respectable fatally, was brought before Mr. CHAMBERS and Mr. HONE, charged with shoplifting. On being brought to the office and placed in the slip, the accused exhibited great torture of mind, and paced up and down the small place allotted for her reception with a quick step, wringing her hands and uttering forth loud sobs. In the height of her ex citement she made a spring up at the iron-railings which surround the place of her confinement, and tried to destroy herself by an ineffectual attempt to wound herself in the neck with the spikes. Care was taken afterwards that she should not repeat the attempt. From the evidence, it appeared that the prisoner, who seems to be in rather a delicate state of health, was in the habit of daily taking a morning's walk towards Camberwell. During one of her walks, about a month ago, she happened to be taken ill, and walked into the shop of a Mr. Drewe, a shoe maker on Newington -causeway, where every atten tion was paid to her by the wife of the shopkeeper, and for which she expressed at the time much gra titude. Since that occurrence took place, the ac cused generally called every morning at Mr. Drewe's shop, where she used to remain for some time sitting to rest herself before she went home. On a recent occasion several pair of ladies' boots and shoes were discovered to be missing from the stock, which is an extensive one, but so high an opinion had Mr. Drewe and his wife formed of their visiter, that they never-harboured the most re mote suspicion that she was the thief. A few days ago, however, as Mrs. Drewe was passing a pawn broker's shop kept by a person named Mul lins, within a short distance of her own house, she observed several pairs of ladies' hoots which she at 1 : r it andl whichot t once knew to be the ma nufacture of her hus band, they became withinapplication possessed o to the of them, .man ner eam the shopman at once n e related that they had been purchased at various times dition. Mrs. Drew y e answering the prisoner's escrp having acquainted her husband of the oteumstsnce, me a s from a female recisel they requested the pawnbroker to detain the person %Nilo next presented boots of the above description for sale at his warehouse. On Saturday, according to daily custom, the prisoner called at Mr. Drewe's shop, and took a seat in her usual place near the shop window, which had a large assortment of boots and shoes displayed therein. Having rested herself, the prisoner they► left the place, and had not gone more than ten minutes when Mr. Mullins's shopman came running to inform them that the lady was then at his employer's shop, from whom he had purchased so many pair of boots and shoes of the stolen pat tern. Mr. Drewe immediately proceeded to Mr. Mullins's, and there found the prisoner with a small wicker basket containing three pairs of boots, which he tidentified as having been stolen by the prisoner that morning fron► his shop. Mr. Mullins's shop man also produced twelve pairs more of boots and shoes, which had been purchased of the prisoner, all of which were identified as the property of the complainant. On searching the prisoner, a purse was found containing some sovereigns and silver. She made no statement in answer to the charge, and was fully committed. PUBLIC MEETING OF THE WORKMEN AT TREDEGAR IRON-WORKS. " Tredegar Iron-works, July 13, 1831. " We have been going on so peaceably since my last, that I should have little to communicate was it not from a local occurrence which, in the immediate neighbour hood, has caused very considerable sensation ; and as it appears to have sprung in a great measure from the late troubles at Merthyr Tydvil, I think it right to put you in possession, as it shows, on the one side that the men are well disposed, and on the other, that there is a reciprocal good feeling on the part of the mas ter—in truth, as I said before in my former letters, without the intervention of a few evil disposed, the ma jority are good and loyal subjects. " I shall endeavour to give what has occurred, as re lated to me by an eye-witness, for from unavoid able circumstances I was not present to partake of the general festivity. You may easily imagine front the satisfaction prevailing among us, the occasion was only wanting on the part of the inhabitants and workmen t) show their admiration and respect for S. Homfray, Esq. who resides here. The opportunity at length offered,and never within the memory of the oldest individual was there so much true and genuine rejoicing. From the highest to the lowest there was one simultaneous expression of attachment and gratitude. " It appears that S. Homfray, Esq., had accompanied his friends to Newport, to welcome home Sir Charles Morgan to the house of his ancestors (Tredegar Castle) on Tuesday last, and intended to remain about four days. In the interval it was correctly ascertained by his work men, he would be home on Saturday evening last, whereupon a few of the workmen met and consulted on the propriety of meeting their master in a body on his return, and as soon as their intention became known, every one, inhabitants and workmen,were eager to participate. Accordingly, at four o'clock in the afternoon a large party of the workmen, headed by about forty gen tlemen of the town on horseback, who represented those connected with the trade of the town, proceeded about five miles on the road to Newport, escorted by C. Williams, Esq., and fifty gentlemen and yeomanry, where they met the worthy Magistrate, when R. Fothergill, Esq., pre seated an address to him from the workmen and towns people, expressive of their regard and gratitude for the kind and liberal protection which, they had experienced from him during the late unhappy events, and offering their hearty congratulation on his safe return. " Mr. Homfray returned thanks in a very feeling manner, assuring them that they might rely upon hint on . all occasions when their interests called for protection in eventful times. The worthy Magistrate was received with deafening acclamations. " The procession then moved to Tredegar, where it vilot ' met by an immense multitude, and the evening was spent with the greatest mirth and hilarity, and joy seemed to prevail in every countenance." COUNTRY CORN MARKETS. DURING LAST WEEK. Wheat. Barley. I Oats. Beans. Per Quarter. Is.tos.ls. to s. s. to s. s. to s• Carlisle !64 33 :31 36 •"'",., Ilexham •52 70 33 31 22 29 50 5 ' Morpeth !62 69 138 40 22 30 38 44 Penrith 62 39 3t ."^:„ Sheffield I 71 32 30 Winchester 159 :0 34 41 23 34) 42 Per Bushel. s.d. s.d. s. d. g. d. s. d. s.d. s.d. g„. Carmarthen .. 7 3 BS. 4 4 5 9 2 0 9 0 0 ,„‘" Coventry 70 901 4 8 54 36 40 5 6 ", Newcastle (staff:) !93 9 9 6 0 66 39 40 56 v - Northallerton 7 0 933 (1 n 46 3 3 40 5 9 6 196 10 0' 59 62 46 50 78 8 g 5wan5ea.,,...,...; 8 6 90; 4 6 49 30 39 00 9, A v Warwick:9o lOO 46 50 22 26 73 Per 8011. Barnardeastle.....,. 17 6 19 610 0 0 0 S 0 9 0 0 0 11 Durham l5 9 1901 90 10 0 50 76 10 0 , 0 Richmond 0 20 0 . 10 0 10 6 74 94 106 6 Stockton .117 3 IS 01 9 0 10 0 6 6 7 6 0 0 WAKEFIELD rksi,ire CORN MARKET.-July 15. Wheat, Red, Norfolk and Stiffblk, 525. 58s. to 625. tine 676. ------ Lin. and Cam. 52.5. Ms. to lils. fine 6: 44 sfis. fils. to 645. fine 60 5 . . --- White Ms. fils. to 645. fine 695. -- Foreign, Red 50s. Ms. to 605. fine 6. 5 '• White 565. fibs, to 645. fine 6 90 . Barley, Norfolk and Suffolk 24s. to 325. tine 3 6, . ------ Lincolnshire 23s. to 30s. fine :WA. --- Yorkshire Wold 295. to 30s. fine F' s ' --- Foreign -s. to -s. fine --'' Beans, Small l7s. to 40s. fine 42.5. ---- Tick Ofis. to 395. fine 415 Oats, Potato 24s. to 28s. fine 39 4 * --Poland s. 235. to 265. fine eh , . a -- Friezland and Small -s. 21s. to 255. fine ` 27° ' - Mealing l2d. to 14d. per Stone. Shelling 33s. to 365. Ott. per I,oa+ Malt 19s. 445. fine 48s. per Load. Rapeseed Cw t. MINING INTELLIGENCE. Tons. 0 Quantity of Copper Ore sold at Iledruth last Thursday 3,121 0 Average Produce 1)N Quantity of fine Copper Amouut of Sale, 2 0 ,336/. 17s. Od.—Average Standard. 98!. FRANKS--ANNUAL AMOUNT £2,326,5 75 —The Times of last week stated that the revenue 015 : 1 tained an injury to the amount of three hundred thous 01 , pounds annu a lly by t h e f ran ki ng sys t em . Th e f o lloWi g ' l ' calculation may be interesting :—Each Member of the l ' e ; gislature is privileged to receive fifteen, and give out t e i letters free daily—each letter is permitted to cover 1 . 4 ounce weight. The nutnher of Members of both House' 1,020. Each Member, therefore, can frank twentY - u v t . ounces weight every day. This multiplied by the null 3be t . of Memb e r s , 1,020, giv es 25,500 o zs., or 1,5621 1 100° g 13 cwt. 3 qrs. 22ilbs. The Post-office charge for packagei of an ounce weight is five shillings. The amount then c ' t 13 cwt. 3 qrs. and 221 lbs., or otherwise, 25,500 020 i ss. per oz. will be 6,3751. Finally, if this sum be MI; tiplied by 365, the number of days in the year, it will v- e r found to produce the grand total of two millions, ih re- d hundred and twenty-six thousand, eight hundred 07 " r seventy-jive pounds sterling !Of course it will apr a j that everything above is taken at an extreme point, 1 1, every day in the year included. The calculation is pi a e not to show how much is, but how much could be I°l3 by the franking system. BIRTHS. On the 15th inst. Mrs. G. R. Corner, of Canterbury-s c l u' Southwark, of a daughter. ~e, On the 15th inst. in Guildford-street, the lady of C. J, Esq On ~ S of a son. loe the 14th inst. at Leamington Spa, the lady of B. F. ,- Esq., of a daughter. f ' On the 16th inst. in Hatton-garden, Mrs. C. Heath, ° daughter. vo setf On the 15th inst. in Upper Brook-street, the lady of J. Esq., of a son. 1 o f On the 13th inst. at Richmond, the Lady Alice Pee , dauOghter. n the hall inst. at Weston Underwood, Derbyshire, the I'4 of the Hon. and Rev. A. Curzon, of a son. 11. 10 , On the 15th inst. in Green-street, Grosvenor-square, the Mrs. E. Fletcher, of a daughter. f •/' .1, On the 13th inst. in Manchester-square, the lady o f Coney, Esq., of a son. the On the 13th in-' - W ;h. - Ashford, Kent' inst. at . illisbrough, near wik of W. H. Edmonds, Esq. of a son. MARRIED. clir i ' 6 e On the 16th inst. the Rev. C. Hill, Fellow of Corpus -„1 t. College, Cambridge, to Emily Elizabeth, eldest daughter;,o, late Rev, G Puke, of Baythorne-park, in the county of '''. and Vicar of Wickhambrook at , hotel of his Excellency the 13 .:;,c1, ) „ 6 Ambassador, Paris, E. H. Ffienney, Esq., of the ti2cl Reg} IP% to Eliza, daught er of the Rev. Professor Lee, Prebend o , _ fP t,l, Vicar of Barwell, and Chaplain to the Right Flom tt e ~ Oil of Munster. , ,ii,i i v On the lith inst. at St. George's, Hanover-square, I`. , A , , eldest r son of N. Malcolm, Esq. of I'oltalloch, Argyllshir"se f "amb - atibev, Kent, to Harriet Mary, third daughter of th e Sir S. `C. Jervoise, Bart. of Idsworth-park, Hants. , DIED. ' tor s' C h i the 15th inst. at Chelsea, W. Tebbs, Esq., of D oc c° l,":nons, aged 5 9 . lO W : `'.l the 13th inst. in Argylhplace, J. Northcote, E 5 4, d '1 ills Stith year. ). , 'On the 1 3th inst. in Park-street, Windsor, Mrs. Strati of S. Og le ' Gel )C p t• E a‘ O (l li ili t tni l g i le e ' la l 4 s t t tal h ini in ia' s sdt t y l aj in lo'che ‘ i ‘ di impole-street, in his Stith year, , c os eldest son of the Rev. J..— r o :. ,o i r t t k i. l i e s y , ,C .Northumberland. Colonel o n f t he sec a o g i e : Governor of the Tower of London. d et On the 15th inst. at Hatton-garden, Mr. G. Miles, 3 C, el . " i d Dragoon Guards and Lien' on the 10th inst. in Charterhouse-square, Louisa Mar na ' ''a r...-- ughter of J. H. Spry, Esq., aged 18. -----. rhINTED AND M:ILI:MED By MURDO YOUNG, AT l'i P SUN OF'F',, U, 111, SIIIAND, LWOW:. f 3. ' Lord liotow Com m Will 1)1 burgh Moroi A' TION It tr second 'llia sent In Le inct sUch p 2d. noun! Tha pose o f of The farther 3d. HUTT( Thal 6i gned bOth i Th a oal a 11 0 4 e Fornr n , H berg fo for MI 7th. Ro ts() Th u ink the it', Ito ha w Comm; ~,, Bth. "IcKE Thai the thr lurhat P apers, T i P EAR 'Jo c k 1 o'clock I), men s : Goo, °ffice, t he day Pass Dirkm o C l n NV, ch T} o rigin ; 4PPerll auth or Lon ( ' 4 char ST. in h, IN \Ved❑ were Conn) lavni great 6th. 4r, jc