The Express.
London, England, 1853-07-09 00:00:00

THE POLICE COURTS.

BOW-STREET.

After disposing of the ordinary night-charges Mr. Henry
sent for the governor and door-keeper of St. Giles's work-
house, to explain the grounds upon which they had refused
admission to several destitute women the previous night.
Inspector Dodd stated that on Thursday evening a poor
woman, who bad been only confined three weeks, and whose
infant was in a very sickly condition, applied at the police-
station in Bow-street for a night's shelter, as she had been
turned out of her lodgipg• from inability to pay her rent.
She said that she bad ts ied to get into St. Giles's work-
house, where she had be en for a short time one° before,
but the porter refused to ad.mit her. Accordingly witness
directed a constable to accouleany her back to the work-
house, as she had been lately sleeping in the parish, and
when the officer arrived there he found u many as nine
other half-fumished women—some of whom had been
turned out of their lodgings, with thei, children, for the
same reason—all waiting at the door. He ascertained that
they also had been refused admission into .the workhouse,
and had been consequently standing there some hours. The
constable spoke to the porter. and begged him to give the
women some shelter for the night, especially, es a heavy
storm was raging at the time ; but he closed the d.lor upon
them again, and left the applicants still exposed to the
torrents of rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning.
After giving them some temporary shelter at the station-
house, the inspector sent them up to the Strand Union
Workhouse, to Cleveland-street, where they were instantly
admitted, it being then three o'clock in the morning,
although none of them had been lately sleeping in that
parish, or had acquired any right to the protection afforded
them.

Mr. Henry, after hearing the statement of the governor
(who knew nothing of the circumstances himself, and said
the porter was unable to attend), expressed a strong opinion
ourrt. elrvidortottentioasn experiencediparedw
ittir
ontletrho the
and
re-
minded them that if either of the women or children had
died in the street, the porter or relieving-officer, or both,
might have been indicted for manslaughter. He should
certainly write to the chairman of the board upon the
subject.
Rose Logan, a respectable-looking woman, was re-
examined on several charges of shep-lifting.
An immense variety of property, consisting of jewellery,
packets of kid-gloves, toilet articles, rolls of silk, boots and
shoes, furs. &a., was found at the prisoner's residence, a
well-furnished house in Arbour street, Commercial-road
East. Only a portion of these had been identified. A bank
note for 401., which had been sent by her brother in Cali-
fornia, was found in her pocket, besides a letter, from which
it appeared that she was to receive another from elm for
1001., in a few weeks. She had, besides, 61 sovereigns in
her house. _ .

The prisoner, who offered no defence, was committed
for trial.

Robert Barrage was charged with a series of brutal
assaults upon his wife and daughter, a young woman, about
L 7 years of age.
The elder complainant had been married 18 years to the
prisoner, who was in the habit of earning from 301. to 3.55.
per week, the whole of which be constantly squandered
away in drunkenness and debauchery, and compelled her to
support him and their family of five children by her in-
t:meat labours at the needle. Between 1 and 2 o'clock
that day he returned home, partially intoxicated, and sul-
lenly demanded what she had provided for his dinner. Oa
telling him that she had nothing in the house but ;some
bread and cheese, he assailed her with the moat scurrilous
epithets, mad commenced besting her with all his force
east the lea and face. Oa hearing her screams for as-
ablimaly Mt daughter rushed into the room and endeavoured
W rasa ler from further ill-treatment, but the prisoner
instantly seised her by the hair of the head, and after pluck-
ing out several handfuls, struck her a violent blow on
the face, which canted the blood to gush from her mouth,
and dashed her back against the wall. The prisoner then
caught up the I o'ter, and swearing that he would dash her
brains out, made a desperate blow at her head, which would
inevitably have killed her on the sp-.4, if she had not con-
trived to evade it by a rapid movement, and before he had
tints to renew the attack the weapon was wrested out of his
band by two men who ran in upon hearing the uproar, sad
ultimately gave him into custody.
The prisoner's daughter, an interesting young women,
who cried bitterly while giving her evidence, fully corrobo-
rated her mother's statement, and added that her father
was in the habit of conducting himself towards them with
savage brutality when he became intoxicated, which
occurred almost daily for a long time past.
Police constable Orton, N 244, who took the prisoner into
custody, said that he had been repeatedly called upon to in-
terfere for the protection of the complainants front the vio-
lence of the prisoner, but they had always hitherto abstained
from pressing the charge against him.
Xr. Hammill, after expressing his determination to en-
force the law to a rigorous extent in all cases of this descrip-
tion, ordered the prisoner to be committed to the House of
Correction for the separate terms ot four and two months for
the assaults upon his wife and daughter, and to be kept U
hard labour for the full period.

Thomas Readon, a powerful•looking young man, was
charged with having committed a violent assault upoa
Catharine Sweeney, by whom he has had three children.
The complainant, who carried a child in her arms, said
she bad left the prisoner about nine weeks, and had since
lived at No. 16, Jennings'-buildings, Kensington, neat
door to where the prisoner lodged with his father and
mother. The prisoner, in the first instance, had provided
Der with the lodgings, with the understanding that he was
to pay for them, and also add to the support of her child,
but he had not done so, nor had she sworn the child to Dim,
and all that she required was protection from his
violence. Shortly after nine o'clock on Wednesday evening
last, she was returning home from a bard day's work with her
child in her arms, when alto saw the prisoner sitting at the
door of his house. She went up-stairs to the room she
occupied, without taking any notice of the prisoner, ant
while she wits sitting down undressing her child, the pri-
soner, who hatt followed her, entered the apartment, and,
without any provocation, ho struck her a violent blow on
the side of the head. He then dragged her across the
room by the hair of her head, and struck. her several severe
blows non her breast and body. He also kicked her, and
while arming a blow at her herd with his fist, he struck the
child against the wainscot of the room. He afterwards
knocked her down, and while in that position he again
kicked her about her body. She was rendered insensible
from his brutal treatment, and her body was covered with
bruises. The prisoner was quite sober at the time, and
afterwards said he had beaten her in consequence of her
hrvin ill•used the child, which was quite untrue.
Mrs. Sarah Hancock, the female searcher at the Police
station, stated that she had examined the complainant, and
found that one of her breasts was in a very bad state, ap•
patently from recent violence, and was covered with bruises.
Her shoulder was also bruised, and the thick part of one
of her arms. Ther were bruises on the lower part of her
body, as if she had been severely kicked. The swelling
of the parts had in some degree subsided, and the bruises
were then turning yellow.
Mr. Burden], sentenced the prisoner to be imprisoned for
three mouths with hard labour, under the Aggravated As-
saults Act.

Mr. HANNAY delivered his fifth lecture last even-
ing, at the Institute, Edwards-street, Portman-square.
llissubjectonthis occasion was political satire and squib
writing, under the House of llanover. In treating this
topic in a brilliant and sketchy manner, he introduced
briet notices of the lives and works of Cleveland, Marvell,
Chatterton, and Bums. The lecturer also noticed several
minor writers apolitical pasquinades, and entered into a
discussion of the merits of the satires in the Anti-Jacobin.
Mr. Hannay strongly decried the supposition that thero
was any literary merit in the writings of the mere libellers,
and drew a strung contrast between such lucubration, and
the stern reality of Swift's savage vrcesrn, Of the classical
perfection of Pope. lie concluded by quoting some of the
beat epigramsof Burns.

THE CUILDUALL STRUCK BY LIGIITNING.—During
the thunderstorm which raged on Thursday night one of
the buttresses close to the stained glass window at the coat
end of Guildhall was struck, it is supposed, by lightning,
and a portico knocked off.