The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-07-25 00:00:00

A HARD CASE.

Mr. Benjamin George, Superintendent of Police
at Dunstable thus replieo to A Hard Oleo," which
appeared in the papers loot week
- •

. .
Sir,--‘lly attention having heen ...ireeted to an arttele In
The 1 illlrS of the LAI lost., headed "A Hard Ca•e," the ,
Insert!, r of the following statement will much oblige. On !
the night referred to by )our cerrespondent I vbeted the I
tramp ward about litllo 11.111. Before entering I looked
through the a induw, and saw a man light his pipe and then ;
de down 011 the straw. On entering the word demanded
his pipe. Ile several times denied Fan mg fetch an article, hut
aftere nob gave me one, ankh had been recen.ly lighted 1110 i
U.Ol wane. IBA. asked him for his tobacco; lie said he bad ;
001*, but otbeeybr..;. ,0011110Cti it. ahe was kneeling on
the straw with his back towards me, and appeared to he
coating an methieg. I oolered tom to ciime out if his tenth;
e,inn dint lint do.. I renn.ved ldtit to the passage shit iiriletol
him to turn out &I he had, and antonget en Inc oid rags I b.und
I three tioveretaus. la. lid In .ilver, anti IV. in cop era
•• Viiti might 101 w ashameit..l yonreelt I• imp se von
the hi Cm mannev." Ou inquiring I learnt that the
usuel questions were put to him by the Master of the ward
onto whether he h.el 3' money. pipes. or tobacco, die ,to
which he replied that he had beittim—that ea to pips and
tobareco lie never used them. I th, n lett the man and In-
formed the rel ; ming officer of what tail occurred, and stile
3.-quently eliot gel the p isoner with appli leg for relief,
having at tl.e time of suds appilcation Un his posse,idon
certain Incite) I, &C., of which 011 inouiry he did not make
correct and complete diaclowtre, cte. Ike man stated that
he had applied at tone puha...houses but could not get
lodgings I told time there were forty public-hewn in the
lawn, and he might Lave obtained lodgings e tth that money
upon him if he hod tried. On inquiry at the ',owes referrol
to it woo aseertained that lie was aeconipented by a dirty
female tramp at the time of such applicetion, whicill was the
muse of his being refused. B hen taken into custody he
gave the name of James Austin. lint on application to the
intoner of the ward he gave the name of John Coltings,
which a-as entered in the register. On being taken before
tan justices the charge wits duly read to him free, the
charge-hook by the elerk to the Judices, to which the
prisoner pleaded "Guilty," and on being convicted was
wetenced to fourteen du).* Imprisonment, and ordered to
pay the f 091,11 on stated.

IMPRISONMENT OF A SCHOOLMASTER
FOR HAVING A BIBLE in his HOUSE.
In the Honor of Countwats, on Mor,dav eveniuz, Mr.
Baines asked the Secretary of State forForeizn Affairs
if it was true that Julian tie Vargat, a Spaniali school.
maater at Malaga, had been imurisoned in a felon's
prison since the nth of March. and was now under
prosecution by the Fl-cal, who demanded a Beutence f
seventeen months' in tprisomnettt, ft.r having in la's house
a spauish Bible and 'Testament, and a few French Pro-
testant books not of a ontrocetwial character; and,
whether he would use the ftiendle i-Alnellet. of ti.j.
Gov.:run-out attit tint Cot crnment of Spain to obtain

_
ea- -abarillea—nwt of this !angina* persecutin, eo (elm.
kW to afford the public feeling of the rest uf Ettere,
Where the it ta of conscience at e now aclatowlad?edliy
the law of e out ries—notentant, I..cman l'atinakc,
ani even Mahometan.
Lord Stanley said he be:isred the facts of the case
to which the h..n. member referred to be as follows
A man of the name of Julian de Valve, a school-
master in Spain, had been imprisoned for some weeks,
and that his imprisonment was consequeut on the pro-
secution of the officer called the Face!. But there weve
Rome discrepancies in the account* that reached him.
The man was said to have taught Protestant ,latrines,
last whether this was sr was foot true he entild DOG say.
With regard to the latt r part of the question, he
&add only Ray that the quecion of interference with
regard to this matter was one of very great delicacy,
and though he had made a communication to the
Spanish Govenunent, asking that lenhttcy might be
extended to the man, that aimmutth atieu was of an
entirely friendly and nuoificild Antracter.