The Express.
London, England, 1864-10-26 00:00:00

CURIOUS CHARGE AGAINST A POLICE
INSPECTOR.

At the Mansion-house Police-court yesterday
John Leonard, Inspector of the City Police, appeared before
Alderman Sir IL Carden, who wee sitting for the Lord
Mayor, in answer to • summons takes oat by Sedeant
Payee, the Coroner for the Oily of Leedom, charging him
with • violation of duty as an impeder of the patios force.
Berjoant Payne was thee 'worm sod stated that he bad
ocomion to bold an inquest at Bt. Bartholomew's Hospital
upon the body of a mace named Charlet Vie Ridout, who had
shot himself. A letter which he produced, which was
originally sealed up sod addressed to the coroner and jury,
was tuoded to him by Gee of the police. He did sot know
whether the defendant was there or not. The letter was
trued in a desk used by the deceued man, and wee proved
to be in his handwriting. At the conclusion of the
inquest be expressed his opinion that it war node-
, eirable to publish such a -letter in the newspapers,
but he was very much astonished to find the sect
day that in a report of the inquest the very
worst paragraphs of the letter were inserted, and the com-
plaint he mode was that the letter had been opened by the
polio. in violation of their duty, sad handed to the reporter.
His object was not to punish, tut to prevent such as ocour-
rents is future. He had privately seen Inspector Leonard,
who had acknowledged the opening of the letter, sad ax-
=a wish that no further notice would be takes of it,
had told him that if it were • private matter he
would be happy to let It rest, but as it wao • matter in
which the public were concerned he could not do so. Mr.
Leonard had expressed his sorrow, although he certainly
did not say it ruse he who had opened it, but he said he
had copied it, sad the reporter had it from the police-offios.
- - -

Mr. Woutaer rid Serjeant Payne was mistaken when be
mid the defendant acknowledged that the reporter got a
copy of the letter from the and in answer to
Kr. Woutoer's question, &demi Payne said he understood
him so. The report was seat up to his house, but he did
not read it through as he was very Duey and bed not time.
He did not say it was indistinctly written. It was plainly
written. He read it aloud at the inquest, and there was a
reporter present. The reporter asked him for the letter to
take a verbatim copy, but he did not allow him to lave it,
and the next day he saw in the papers an epitome of the
letter. 'mina°, Leonard called up= him and told him
that when the letter was found the man was still alive, and
that it was clearable to find the address of the wife, and the
letter was opened with that object, but he did not recollect
whether he mid they could sot obtain it otherwise. He
said it was not he who opened it. and said he would bring
the man before him who did so ; bat be did not require
that.

Air R. Cards. asked what the commons charged the de-
fendant with!

SerjeaniPSyne said it charged him with a violation of
dirty in opening a letter addressed to the coroner and the
jury.
Wontner maid be we. not desired by the defendant
to stop the came upon any teehanal points, on the contrary,
he was desired to obtain all the facts and lay them before
the court, when he was sum, instead of having violated his
duty, he would be mad to have acted with ooneidersbn
humanity. The deceased, it appeared, worked at a guns.-
heard
factory, and on the report of a pistol having been
heard some one proceeded to the spot where deceased was
at work, and it wee then found that he bed shot himself,
and wounded himself severely. Be wee, bowever, found to
be still living, and wee takes to the hospital, and inquiries
were made with • view to ascertain his address, that his
wife might be communicated with, and his desk wee
searched and the two lettere were found, u had been stated.
The one addressed to the wife was opened, but there wee no
address there, and no ore ia the establishment knew where
he resided. All possible ioquiriee were made, and the polio*
I actually expended 9s. in cab hire in endeavouring to bad it
I out, but to no avail, and the letter wan opened, little dream-
' ing that the oorooer would object to it. There was, however,
no addren in the letter, and *meow proceeded to Stratford,
wbeucethe address wee leant from a boy who bad ones deli-
, vexed a letter at deceased's houe. Defendant directed the
Uttar to be opened thinking that it might win in discover-
leg the whereabouts of the wife. Tbe letter was read by
the coroner at the Upset, and what appeared in the
newspapers were porticos which bad been taken down in
short-hand at the time, and he wee prepared to prove by
the reporter himself that none of it wee furnished by
the pollee. The defendant had been 26 years is
the force, and wee naturally Indignant at loch a charge
being knight spinet him ; and he (Mr. Weidner) wee
sure, when Sir Robert had beard all the fade, he would
think with him, that instead of having committed any
breach of duty, Impactor Leonard bad need a wise discre-
tion and acted with peat humenity in endeavourin by
every means, even to the opining of the letter, to obtain
the whereabouts of the poor wife, is order that she might
be with her dying husband during his bat moments, he
being at the time hovering between life and death.
_ _

Mr. Wotan': called Inspector Everett sod Sergeant Pep-
pier, who proved the facto am he had stated with regard to
the apes's( of the letter ; sod Sergeant Penning Ailed that
he, by impeder Lemuel's dinotroa, took the two !Weis
up to Omer Payee's bailee, and gave them to his clerk,
who took them in to him and returned with them, saying
that Mr. Payne had not then time to read them ; that
they were very indistinctly writteo, mad they must be pro-
duced at the unmet ; and by thin Mr. Weaker shoved the
motive for oopyier the letter, which he said wee to assist
Serjeast Payee.
llir. Geary, the reporter who was present at the inquiet.
was called, and said the letter waa read by the corer at the
itiquest, sod he took down some porticos in shorthand ; the
I rest hi Gould pot follow, se it misled distinctly read ; and
that what appeared in the newspapers was the soP7 of his
abort-hand motes, sad he had co oopy from the polies officer,
nor was he aware that any copy had beta takes of it.
Serjeant Payee pea several questioee to the witserra, but
elicited nothing of any importance.

Si, Robert Carden mid he had paid attention to the evi-
dence, and he gave Berjeast Payne credit for hi desire to
benefit the public, but at the same time be could not see that
the evidence which had been produced showed say violation
of duty on the part of the police inspector, who wee in a
position to use his own discretion in many mat-
ten, and in this, as he had always dace, be had used a
very wise am. The MAO was alive, and he had done
all in his power to onside the poor wife to be
with him when be breathed his last, and he might
have lived a weak, or not an hour. lie certainly thought
there was no evidence of a violation of duty. It was a very
serious charge, and it was quite right that it should be
thoroughly investigated, and he must say that it would
have received a proper attention, ad the facts would have
been thoroughly laid open, if the matter had teen taken be-
fore the usual authority—the Commissioners of Police. As
fsr as be could see the defendant bad only acted in the
cause of humanity, and he should dismiss the summons.
In conclusion, Sir Robert said be was quite suss if all the
tuts, as they had been laid before the court, had been
known to Serjeuat Payne, the summons would not have
been taken out.

Serjcent Payne said he could sot have knows them. He
did not object to the opfting o the letter to secert►io the
address, but be tboasht it ought to have bees sealed up
again ; and basing tbaoked the alderman for hie attention to
the ass, he lett the bench.

SHOCKING CROKET'Y TO ♦N AGED WOMAN.—
Yesterday the Liverpool borough wooer held an inquest
upon the body of en old woman, earned Ellen Jews, a
widow, who bad lived with her daughter in a cellar in Upper
Mannetreet. The medical testimony showed that death
bad resulted from want and neglect, accelerated by aloes-
sive drinking. Witnesses who had known the lemma •
long time stated that she and her daughter, Elisabeth Peck,
bad been addicted to hard drinking. A month ago the de-
ceased became very ill, and since thee had beea enable to
leave the cellar. The daughter bed cautioned drinking,
sad, to obtain mossy for drink, she had stripped her mother
sad pawned the clothes. On one ooasetoe, when drunk, she
bad fallen upon the old women. During the latter part
of bee illness the deceased had had no covering but a dirty
blanket, sod so bed hot a couple of chain. The jury inti-
mated an iatentiou of Sadie( a verdict of manalangliter ;
but the inquiry was adjourned for farther e►ideos.

Pzarzer BALL= Rzwrotuus, without walking
inooavislisoo, .r expire by Da Dory's &Doke= literalsata
Arable* Food, which saves My Maass kts oast la other
and Dens ti stostatb. nerves, low, Um. sad inteatl=l2
chronic or meat disorder'. 60,600 eases ananally of dyspepsia
(Indigestion). ceaslipatloa, Mambas. couch, cosoussOksie, wad-
Ws, nobility In old or youNg.—Ds Jury sad Co.. No. 77. Bawl-
street. Loodon. W. In Mak lib.. to. IkL : 1/16. YU, M. all
pocore and obszolst‘—(Advarglammat.l

-rffs WIZ OS 'Emma.

The bill against the 'wagoner was submitted to
the greed jury yesterday, &boat one o'clock, and they were
sesseiderabie time to dehbeiratisa upon it. It appears that
an alteration has beau wade in the counsel for the prosecu-
tion. wed the ewe for the wows will be wanoted by the
Boliaitor-Oeseral, Bedew* Beneath*, Mr. Hansen, Mr.
and Mx. Besaity. The primmer will, as bee been
already stated, be defended by Kr. &rhos* Parry, Mr.
Metcalfe, and Mr. Bailey. All sorts of minx= are
'Boat with reference to the case, and it was cur-
rently reported yesterday that • defence of the most
extraerdiaary character was to be set up for
the prisoner. The trial will certainly lest twit days,
and if witnesses to facts should be celled for the
prisoner, it will naturally leogthen the case, and it will in
all probability not be concluded before Saturday. There
are fifty-one vitae, to be examined for the prosecutios,
but a great many of than merely depose to fasts of a formal
character, and there are, probably, not more than six or
sight of the witnerses whose evidence may be considered
material, but some of them, and particelarly Matthews,
the cabman, will no doubt be subjected to a
mere cram-examination. The sheriffs have been

almost overwhelmed with applications for admiral= to the
court, but they have returned one uniform sewer to these
applications, which wee that they considered them ought to
be no favouritism with regard to the admiraion to a court of
justice, sod that every cos would be admitted to the °aura
to the extent of its capabilities for providing for their ao-
oommodatiou wittiest interfering with the doe administra-
tion of justiee. Shortly after three o'clock the grand
jury came into the Old Court with a number et bilk., and
liemag them was s tee bill for wilful murder against the
prisoner Frans Moller. Although the prisms: understands
English pretty well, the Treamory have retained M. Albert
to act as interpreter, in can his nervier should be required.