The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-02-25 00:00:00

THE TRICKS OF LONDON.

At the Marylebone police-court, William Jdhnstdne, aged
32, who rJfitsed to give his address, was charged with being
condoned with an titter man not in custody in attempting to
etal £3 10e. from John Low, a n prlvide in the 11th
Brigade of the 114:11 Artillery, under the following circum•
stances

The prose,utor, who was decorated with two service
no, dell and wore three good conduct stripes, said he
was looking at a time-table Affixed to a wall near
En, tau station about three o'clock in the afternoon,
when the prisoner st pped, apparently for the same
purpose, and remarked that the time-table was very
conveniently placed. After a short conversation he in-
vited the prisoner to have a glass of beer. The latter
replied that he took nothing steerager than peppermint,
and Virg, went to a publichonse. There the prosenutor
had a glass of peppermint and the prisoner a glass of
punch. A young man, who seemed to be a
stranger to the prisoner, entered the public-
house, ordered a glass of ale, and entered into
conversation with tnetn. He said he had a brother
in the Royal Artillery, and on that account began
to take an interest in the prosecutor. Learning
that the latter was an Irishman he hailed him as a
contain man, and introduced himself as Mr. O'Connor,
of Dublin, who, the prosecutor might have heard, had
just won the day in a lawsuit, and become the possessor
of between £7,060 and £B,OOO. O'Connor 'mired the
prisoner, who said he was of the canto nationality, to
prove his confidence in a countrg man by lending him
£lO for a few minuses, promii.ing to return double the
amount. The trial of honesty was to be made in the
street. It was agreed that the prosecutor should accom-
pany O'Connor in order to see that he did not run
away with the prisoner's money. Not altogether liking
the r, sponsibility thus thrown upon him by the pri.
Boner, the soldier held O'Connor with se firm a grip
that his charge remonstrated with him, assuring him he
had not the least intention of running away. After
walking some 30 or 40 yarbs they returned to the pri-
soner, and O'Connor restored the I:10. The two men
then demanded a simi'ar mark of confidence from the
solo inn He told them that he had not so much
money, but said he was ready' to intrust all he had
to their keeping, and, looking in his purse, found three
novereige s and a half, which he placed in O'Connor's
hand. He allowed the two men to go rotund the
corner of the etre e', but as soon as they were out of
sight he felt some misgivings and looked round the
corner in time to see that th, y were running away as
fast as they could. lie shouted 'Stop thief !'' and
dashed after them at once. Finding that they were
pursued they stopped, hesitated for a moment whether
to turn back or trust to making their escape by flight.
This gave the prosecutor time to overtake O'Connor,
from whom lee got bask his money ; then seeing the
prisoner stooping over an area to throw away some
coin, he released 0 Connor, who eff.cted his escape,
and held the prisoner until a constable came up. The
coins thrown away by the prisoner turned out to be
Hanoverian medals.
John Read, a pollee constable, said that he searched
the prisoner and found two f.:5 Bank of Elegance notes
in his tosesnion as well as Ns. 6d. of good money.
The witness sail that three Cr four robberies had been
effected by similar means during the last week in the
neighbourhood of Easton-square.
Themes. istrate sentenced the pri.oner to be kept to
hard labour for three months in the House ef Correc-
tion, and directed the police to make inquiries during
that time, so that if any of the persona who had be en
robbed were able to identify the prisoner, he might be
azain taken into custody at the expiration of the
present sentence.

The annuli meeting of Diolentitg deputies was held
on Tuesday, at the City Terminus Hotel, London. Resole-
ins were pulsed, accepting the sally Introduction of the
University Test. 11111 as all rdir,g a reasonable hope of its
passing this session, approving the Baiala 811 l as introduced
ny Me. ()Morrie Itimgvu, M. P , and declaring that the time
had arrived for pressing forward Mr. Miall's proposition to
dleondow the Church of England

WILL THE GERMANS ENTER PARIS P
A French Correspondent of The Times thus speculates on
the prapmed entry of the Germans into Palle :

Such triumphs have been the reward of victory ever
coca war began in this world, and will probably be
claimed by the victor as long as war exists. To so
:-
diem who have fought long and achieved laborious and
hardly-earned success it would, perhaps, 6- difficult to
refuse this recompense, although it could be safely
withheld before Vienna after the short campaign of
1366. lam one of those who con view the matter
calmly. The march Into Paris is only the outward and
visible proof of a defeat which none among us can now
attempt to deny—one drop more in the cup of bitter.
ness which we seem destined to drain to the dregs.
But with the masse, it is not so, The outward
and visible sign is everything to them. The Ger-
man aoldio rs marching into Paris will to hundreds
of thousands here ba the first positive Laurance
they have received that Paris surrendered on the 23:h
of 3anuory. This people has been up to the very rod
deceived, and willit gly deceived, with words. The
Coo pifulation has been called an `• Armistice,' and that
has sufficed to roe mcile them to the fact of giving no
the Fors, the guns, the arms of the soldiers, and of
the whole gar. ison being made prisoners of war. Had
the name been given to the thirg from the outs- t we
might have had a fearful riot, and this in some measure
I admit, excuses the dec,i;. For some days past the
word "Capitulation" has indeed begun to be freely
used, and the public has Rot accustoraed to it;
but one comfort remained. The most popular
papers took pleasure in repeating that Paris was still
inviolate. "The German hordes," they sail, "Ind
net ventured to pollute Paris with their presence, so
imposing was the Holy City even in her great distress."
The Parisian pullic liked to read this aort of thing,
and tried, not without success, to believe je, It was
pleasant to think that the barbarians—like that
awe-stricken slave who dared not slay Caius Marius—
had been seized with respect on the threshold of Parisi.
an I would not presume to more r. It was pleas rrit to read
and to write, but probably it was not very prudent as
regarded the enemy. All this has to be unsaid now, and
the paperer are beginnir g to tutor the public into an
"at itude" of calm oiguity, say iog, with truth, that
vulgar cm Lasky and impotent hostility would he equally
unbecoming. I would file, to feel sure that the ails hoe
will be followed, but, in my e Li on, it is to be feared
that there will be both curiosity and bortiiity. A
stray shot is soon fired, and one stray shot may pro-
duce terrible consequences. It may well be that the
Germane do not respect Paris as PA i ians understand
it, but, knowing Paris as I do, I should, were I in
the place of the Germans, at any rate fear and Oistrust
her. Pali, is very I 1.. i ot at present, and still very dull
—no woo k and no play, the dullest of all cen-ini Ms.
We have no heart to play; and as to wotk, even
were there orders, the motel i its for almost every trade
are wantir g. Our star k of every description of raw
material, and especially of that necessary article for
every handicraft, fuel, is exhausted, and up to th's
time we have been replenished only as regards the moat
pressing want—food. The revictualling, collective and
individual, goes on steadily and maces-fully, and can.
duct s much to tle stood humour of the public. The
change in the co untenancem, and especially in the com-
plexions of the paoole, is very perceptible. That
yellow, earthy tint which, far more than leanness, will
ever remain connected in my mind with the urem 'fry of
the siege, has almost diaappeared. I do not think
Parisians will be troublemorre till they have picked up
a little bodily arength. When hungry they were
dangerous, and they may become so again when
replenished ; but the revictualling process is an ab
sorbing one and diverts the attention from all else for a
time.