The Express.
London, England, 1855-03-06 00:00:00

THE POLICE COURTS.

MANSION-HOUSE.
Francis Fowler was brought before the Lord Mayor, in
the custody of Daniel Forrester. the officer, charged with
having uttered a forged cheque for 1,6001.
Mr. Weston appeared as solicitor for Messrs. Bodding-
ton and Co., in whose names the cheque purported to be
drawn.
Mr. William Norton, clerk in the banking house of
Messrs. Marten and Stone, Lombard street, said-1 produce
a cheque for 1,5001., purporting to be drawn by Meters.
Boddiogton and Co., and payable to C. Walton, )ieq. The
words, 0 Loss, per the Mercury" are on the cheque, which
is dated 4th February, 1855, and endorsed F. Prowler. It
was presented at our house on the sth February, by the
London Joint Stock Bank, and the amount was paid by me
through the clearing clerk.
Mr. Alfred Scri , cashier at the London Joint-Stock
Bank, said—l de not know the prisoner personally. We
have no account in the name of Francis Fowler. This
cheque was paid to me, to the credit of Francis Fowler, on
Monday, the 6th of February, and was cleared in the usuall
manner through the clearing-house. The amount was re-
ceived, and carried to the credit of Francis Fowler. I have
not seen the prisoner on the subject.
Mr. SansuelJelly, clerk to Messrs. Boddiogton and Co.,
of St. Helen's-place, West ladle merchants, said—l know
the prisoner. He has been in the same service, and left the
house in January 1 know his writing, and I believe the
endorsement, and the whole of the writing in the body of,
the cheque, and the signature, to be in his handwriting.
In answer to a :question from the prisoner, the witness
repeated that he believed the whole of the writing on the
cheque to be the prisoner's.
_ The Lord Mayor—Does it resemble the writing of any of

the firm ?
Witness—lt resembles that of Mr. Davis, who more gene-
rally signs the cheque. In the cheques are the letters U. A.,
signifying the " underwriting account." The prisoner from
his employment in the house would be aware of their being
two disticct accounts. He was in the underwriting depart-
ment. I know Mr. Davis's writing. We had no loss on
the ship Mercury at that time.
Mr. Richard Davis, partner in the firm of Boddington
and Co., said—The prisoner had been is our house about
eighteen years. The cheque produced is not in my writing,
neither is it in that of my partner, nor has it been drawn
by my authority. I think it necessary to state that I have
several other cases against the prisoner.
' Mr. Weston, the solicitor to Messrs. Boddington and Co.,
said, that as the cases were extremely complicated, and in-
eluded matters of robbery as well as forgery, a reamed for
some days would be necessary.
The prisoner was then remanded for a week.
WORSHIP-STREET.
William Brown, a surly-looking youth, about 16 years of
age, was charged by Mr. Thomas Pettifer, a City mission-
ary, with a serious offence.
It appeared, from the evidence of Mr. Pettifer, whose left
arm was suspended in a sling, and enveloped in bandages,
that he was engaged in conducting the religions exercises of
the pupils in the school-house, North-street, on the previous
afternoon, when he was interrupted by a loud uproar and
disturbance outside, accompanied by a continuous hammer-
ing at the door, w..lch was ultimately buret open, and at the
same moment • pistol was protruded into the school-room,
and Instantly discharged. On hearing the report, which oc.
easioned the utmost consternation and confamon, witness
immediately hastened out into the street, where he found
the prisoner, who was pointed out to him by one of the
female attendants at the school. as the person who had com-
mitted the outrage. Witness at once seized him
by the collar, but had no sooner done so than
the prisoner uttered a shrill whistle by way of
signal, and he was shortly afterwards surrounded
by a mob of at least 100 of the lowest characters in the dis-
trict, several of whom were armed with sticks, with which
they commenced an unmerciful attack upon him, and struck
him repeated blows about the head and other parts of the
person, which compelled him to relinquish his hold of the
prisoner, who effected his escape, but he was afterwards
traced out, and given into custody. The complainant
added that in the course of the attack upon him he was
struck pound times by the prisoner, and that he had been
ever since in • state of eatrems personal suffering from the
effect. of the brutal treatment to which he had been
subjected.
Mr. D'Eyneourt severely animadverted upon the gross
nature of the outrage, and ordered the prisoner to pay the
penalty of 61., or to be committed in default for two months
to the House of Correction.
The magistrate requested our reporter to acknowledge
the receipt of a cheque for 101. from the Goldsmiths' Com-
pany, and of a donation to the same amount from the
Salters' Company, for the purposes of the poor box.
CLERKENWELL.
Humphry Lynch and John Shea, two Irish labourers,
were charged before Mr. Corti* with riotous conduct is the
burial-ground of the Trinity Church, in the Grayirkek-
reed.
It appeared that the defendants accompanied the body st
a child to the above ground to pay a respect to its Mill&
When the coffin was placed in the grave, the Rev. Dr.
Worthington was about to read the usual Martel service,
but this was objected to (the parties being Rowituriets), anti
an unseemly wrangle ensued, during whisk des no.
man's book was knocked from his Wok and the ps weepy
seizing the pickaxe and shovel, ennemassed severing the
coffin with earth. The sexton and his sisistants tried to
recover their implements, and a melte ensued, which led to
the prisoners being given into the emetedy of the poling.
A gentleman present explained to Iksnugistssee
that as the law prevented a Rosasaist mcisieter home
satiating is • protestant burial aisle
h emotes
is to have the service read previous to dews the
*din, and after • portion of consecrated las boo
pipped with Nis body, tbs Maids of the dogma has as