The Express.
London, England, 1855-10-08 00:00:00

THE POLICE COUNT&

MANSION-HOUSE.

A man, whole name wee stated In the
Sir Peter
list to be 1,
Williams' Worsted, was broughtbefore Sir Peter Laurie,
charged with having uttered I forged chastise for 1601.
Mr. Edward Stinnett, sleek is Se private din ,
of the Bank of Mislead, sell-1l de nee know the prlweg.
This day, at about 11 Vele* the phew ems to the
private drawing-01De*, and presented to me the &sine pro- ,
dead for 1501. (The cheque, which was written upon
plain paper, was as follows :—" Friday, October 6, 1856.
To the Cashiers of the Bank of England.—Pay to Mrs. Ann
HAW, or bearer one hundred sad fifty pounds starling.—
W. Cotton.") We have such a customer on the private as:-
want a. Mr. William Cotton. There is a slight re-
semblthee in one syllable of the name to the corre-
sponding syllable in our customer's writing. In other
respects then was no resemblance. It is one of
our roles not to pay over the counter cheques which
ars not on printed forms without first submitting them to
one of the principals, and taking his expressed directions on
the subject. The cheque produced is upon plain paper.
That excited my suspicion at once ; but the cheque was not
at all executed in such a maser as for a moment to have
deceived me. When he presented it for payment he said he
wanted 20 fins and 6 tens. I said to him that he had hatter
step to the principal, and I at once introduced him to Mr.
Wheeler.
Mr. W. 0. Wheeler, deputy principal of the private
drawing Oleo, seid—Tliis morning the prisoner was intro
dined to me by Mr. Stinnett, who at the same time handed
me a cheque. I asked the prisoner from whom he had
brought the elteepart, end what him instructions were re-
specting it. Re maid he brought it from Mrs. Rolfe, and
that he was to take back bank notes for it; that she was
• housekeeper, and resided in Seymour-place Marylebone,
but what the number of the house was he damn know. I
then asked him if he knew the drawer, Mr. W. Cotton. Ile
replied that he did : that Mr. Cotton was a person of pro-
perty, bad property in the Bank of England, and th..t
cheques of his drawing had been paid then before. I
asked him if he personally knew Mr. Cotton. At first he
said he did, but on being premed he said that all he knew
of the gentleman was from Mrs. Rolfe.
Sir Peter Laurie—Prisoner, do you wish to ask the wit-
nem any question ?
Prisoner—Not a word.
Mr. Wheeler—The writing bears no resemblance whatever
to Mr. Cotton's.
The primmer, without being asked any (petition, said—
It wan my writing_; my name is William Cotton.
Remanded till -Teensy.
Mr. Samuel Fennell, of 78, Leadenhall.street, was sum-
moned, at the thetas°e of the City Commissioners of Sewers,
for having, as the informatloa stated, made or placed against
or is front ef his house certain reflecting lamps, which they
considered to be an annoyance, fa soasequenee of the same
projeedag into, endangering, or rendering less commodious
the along the said street.
11, solicitor' and Mr. Dew, chief clerk to the
esamAtelesen, attended. The penalty for each violation of
the Semen Act is 61., and the particulars of the cue had
been detailed on a former occasion, but a postponement of
le= had taken place, the commissioners not being
Ss Inflict the fine without giving the defendant fall
opportunity to retract his plea of not guilty, upon taking
legal advice upon the question.
Mr. Fecinell,who is the patentee of the gas light reflectors,
said he had been prepared with the necessary proof and
evidence that the lamp referred te was neither an annoy-
ance, • projection, nor an obstruction within the meaning
of the amt, and his impression upon receiving the summons
was that matter of proof was required by the commissioners
of each a character as would convince the magistrate that
the lamps came within the meaning of one or other
of these terms, bat upon referring, upon the suggestion
and with the aid of Mr. Goodman, the chief clerk to the
Lord Mayor, to the act, he foul d, to his surprise, that what
appeared to him to be indeed every arbitrary power had been
vested in that public body, and that the opinion expressed
by their caw was to be den conclusive evidence.
His object In placing the reflectors was not only
to benefit his trade but to prevent the robberies
which were so easily perpetrated in darkness, and
the accidents by which so much danger was incurred
. is the seine neighbourhood. As, however, the commissioners
possessed the power ascribed to them, he had of course
determined to abide by their regulations, and had removed
I the cause of offence to the court, although of certain utility
to the public.
Mr. Tyrrell, having ascertained from the inspector that
I the reflectors bed been effectually removed, said—Raving
' been strongly called upon to Proceed in this Cale I am
hardly doing my duty in sot asking the ringietrate for the
infliction of a fine, but ea the defendant his apologised and
withdrawn the cause of complaint I feel pleasure in with-
I drawing the ec=plaint itself, with the asearassee, however,
that if the offence be repeated the condemnation and its
r sousequeeen will immediately follow. The oommissioeen
have to perform a very onerous duty, and in the performance
they ought to be assisted instead of opposed by their fellow-
citizens in pressing the due observance of • law which.
though perhaps productive of inconvenience to some, will
be found to be a wholseome enactment, and to operate for
the good of the civic community.
Sir Peter Laurie said the defendant acted very prudently
fa determining to submit to the regulations, as the magis-
trate, if called noon to adjudicate in the ease under the
1164th section, could not possibly do otherwise than convict
and inflict.

Bear-Admiral Digby was summoned before the Lord
Mayor en Thursday, for having refused to pay the conductor
of an oessibets sixpence, the alleged fare from Tottenham-
court-road to the Bank. The g I fare demanded by
the conductors is bargains' and the admiral had offered
that sus to the complainant. _ _

The ooaduetor prOduced a copy of his list of farm as
enumerated within the door, from which it appeared that
he was authorised to make the greeter charge.
Admiral Dishy said ha had refused to pay the sixpence
upon public ground.. The usual charge, as everybody knew,
from the place from which he bad set out to that at which
he had arrived was the smaller sum, and the list in the
omnibus of which the complaisant was the conductor was ,
not only almost invisible to those within, bet when seen was '
so to: fated with respect to the prices and destleatioes as to
be wholly unintelligible. It was therefore in the power of
this clue of persons, who seemed to have the public at their
mercy as to that kind of accommodation, to make whatever
charge might suit their iodination.
The Lord Mayor said he regretted that it was in the
power of the conductcr to charge whatever price for ac-
commodation he might think proper to place in the list at
the inside of the door, and that the magistrate had no power
by the act of parliament to tenuity the evil.
The Admiral, is paying the demand of the conductor and
costs, said he hoped that a stir would be made against the
absurdity of leaving it in the power of omnibus °weers to
vary at will the charges for accommodation, and that
some means would be adopted to compel • more palpable
exhibition of charges, so that the public might have en
option.