The Express.
London, England, 1851-12-27 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 27, 1851.

THE POLICE COURTS.
WORSHIP-STREET.
Jocst Sturmo and James TAconas Hauges, described as
a gunsmith, were charged with having grossly conducted
themselves in a railway carriage towards a young married
Orman named Johnson, residing in Brick-lane' Spitalfh Ids.
Tin Nendainant stated float after spending the day with
aim of Ur Mends in the country, she got into a third•clasa
at the Poader's End station of the Eastern
Qwatjw Railway, on the preceding evening, with the in-
tonate of retuning to town, but had no sooner taken her
aMR flan sire was followed by the defendants, one of whom
est bwu dose to her side, and the other one placed himself
Immediately in front of her. As aeon as the train
was set in motion the defendant Sturmo suddenly seized
hold of her in the moat offensive and disgusting manner,
surd on turning round to demand an explanation of such
esedact, she was assailed by the other defendant, who sub-
jected her to a similar outrage. In spite of her indignant
remonstrances, the defendants persisted in the same insult.
lag conduct, which they repeated three times in succession
before they arrived at the Edmonton station, on reaching
which she placed herself under the protection of the station
master, who, on learning the facts, immediately removed,
her into another carriage, in which she proceeded on to
Stratford, whets) she renewed her complaints to the railway
officials, one of whom accompanied her to town, and gavel
the defendants into custody at the termination of the
journey.
Mr. Charles Hill, a tradesman, living at Dunmow, fa.
Essex stated that lie was a passenger in the same carriage,
and although it was too dark at the time to enable him to I
olnerve the conduct pursued by the defendants, he re-
peatedly heard the lady Tined them to remove their hands
from her, to which their only reply wee, "Oh, you are I
Irish." He felt so incensed at the gross indignity which
had been offered to an unprotected female, that he handed
her his card before she left the carriage, and considered it,
his duty, although it subjected him to considerable personal
inconvenience, to come forward to give evidence in support
of the charge.
In answer to the charge, the defendants strenuously dis-
claimed all intention to molest or insult the lady, and de-
-1 dared that if either of them had assailed her in the
'manner she had described it was purely accidental.
' Mr. Hazumill said that after the evidence he had heard
he could come to no other conclusion than that a gross and
wanton assault had been committed by the defendants, and
he should order them to pay a penally of 40s. each, or be
smelted in default for one month to the House of Cot-
seeden.
The magistrate acknowledged the receipt of the follow-
log seasonable donations fur the poor-box :—The first half
elra 5/. note from "J. C. I/. B. ;" 61. front "E. C. ;" 101.
from " C. V. ;" and " 11. W. C." 51.
MARLBOROUGH-STREET.
John Taverner, a lad, was brought up for final exami-
eaten charged with having incited Thomas Hammond,
errand boy in the service of Mr. W. Thornhill, cutler, No.
144, New Bond-street, to rob his employer.
From the statement of Mr. Thornhill it appeared that the
boy Hammond had been in his service about a mouth,
when from a communication made to him he discover,
the boy had been in the habit of stealing goods from the
shop to a considerable extent. The property stolen con-
sisted of razors, gold studs, knives, and similar sir ides,
and the total amount was perhaps not less thou 40/. The
articles had been sold for trifling sums to a great number
of individuals by the prisoner.
Thomas Hammond said a short time after he was en-
gaged by Mr. Thornhill he met the prisoner, a news boy,
with whom he had an acquaintance, and told lam where lie
was. The prisoner then begged him to get a dog c-dlar for
him. Witness could not get a dog collar, but ho stole a
telescope and gave it to the prisoner. From that time up
to the time of his apprehension he took various articles and
gave them to the prisoner, sometimes receiving from the
prisoner a penny or twopence by way of encouragement.
Half u-dozen persona who had bought articles from the
erisroduced them, and they were identified by Mr.
The prisoner was fully committed.
The forenoon was entirely occupied by cases of drunk
and disorderly, arising from a too liberal indulgence iu
Christmas cheer.
BENEVOLENCE.—From J. Kenyon, Esq 101. 10A. have
been received fur the poor-box.
LAMBETH,
-

John Merlin was finallyexamined on suspicion of
being concerned in the following robbery and outrage.
Mrs. Harriet Hitchcock, a lady residing iu Hall.moon-
lane, Dulwich, deposed that on the evening of the 10th
inst., about half-past 5 o'clock, while returning from Nor-
wood to her own residence, she heard the footsteps of two
persons coming clew behiirl, and hearing the men whisper
or speak in a subdued tout of voice, as the got closer to
her, she became somewhat alarmed, and had come idea of
going into the Tulse-hill Hotel for safety. Before reach-
ing there, however, the men passed her, and obsessing
them separate, and that one had approached the hotel for
the purpose, as she conceived, of lighting a cigar, she be-
came less alarmed and proceeded on her journey. On
reaching withiu about '2O yards of Thompsou's Cottage, she
again heard the footsteps "t the same party approach her sad
again heard the whispering sound of their soiree, and im-
mediately after received a desperate blow on the head
with what appeared to her to be a blunt instrument. Su
violent was the force of the blow that it caused her to reel
round, and she fell against one of the men, and caught hold
of his dress, though she was much stunned with the blow.
On falling against the man, she begged of him and
to kill her, upuu which he. said, " otto has touched
you." She replied that some person had shot la r, and
he said it was only a stone that had been thrown at him.
A gentleman's coachman here came up, and she (witnes-)
told him what had happened, hut ho said he should have
nothing to do with it, and told her to get out of his way.
At this moment a gentleman came up, and assisted her to a
cottage opposite, and the man against whom she fell ac-
companied them as far as the gate. The gentleman asked
her if she knew anything about tho man who had at-
tacked her, and she pointed out the man who went with
them towards the cottage as one of them, but that person
instantly ran away. Witness did not like to swear posi-
tively to the person of the prisoner as the man who had
struck her, or against whom she had fallen, but he strongly
resembled the latter.
James Laversham, a coachman to Mr. M'Andrews, a
gentleman residing in Tulse Hill-lane, said the priaouer
was the person to whom he had spoken on the night in
question, and was the person who Mrs. Hitchcock, the lust
witness, bad hold of when he cause up. From his cross-
examination however it was clear that the utmost reliance
could not be pineal en his recollection. It was also clear
that if the witness and a person who was with him had acted
as they should have done, the perpetrator of the cowardly
outrage by which the skull of a lady had been fractured
and net. Life put in considerable peril, might have been se-
cured, and his companion also.
Mr. Scott, after observing on the testimony of the last
witness, said he should place in the witness box the muter
of the prixoner,whose testimony lie felt certain would satisfy
the magistrate of the perfect innocence of the young man.
John Dear was then sworn and examined, and his testi-
mony bore out the assertion of the learned gentleman to
the extent that the prisoner was at once discharged.
Mr. Norton expressed a hope that the police would not
from this circumstance relax in their efforts to bring to
justice the perpetrators of the daring outrage.

EXTENSIVE ROBBERIES TT • BERVANT.--James
Whitworth, a light pones, In the service of Messrs.
Fletcher, Son, and Co., calico-printers, Manchester, was
charged yesterday at the Manchester Borough Court, with
stealing quantities of goods from the warehouse of his em-
ployers, at serious periods during the last two years. John
Ilorrocks, a fellow sersant of the prisoner's, said he re-
membered the prisoner having notice to leave his situation
on Thursday week. Witness met him that night, when
they had some conversation on the subject, and Whitworth
wanted him to bring away some fente and prints which he
had concealed in the warehouse, for the purpose of
carrying off at a convenient opportunity. Witness told
him, " He would tear them into ribbons first." He
found the goods stowed away in the place indi-
cated by the prisoner, and acquainted Mr. Howe (one
of the firm) with the circumstance. Elizabeth Eecicahall, a
d emetic servant, and Mary Kershaw, • person residing at
Blackleg, near Manchester, stated that the prisoner tad
sold them some shawls at Ids. to 17, each. They under-
stood from him that ho had the privilege of getting the
shawls out of the warehouse (the real value of the shawls
wee ken Us. to als. each). truss pieces had been put..
dosed arm him in the same way. It was shown in eel-
lases that the prisoner had for some time supplied two fent
dealers with goods, such as mufflers, handkerchiefs, mous-
selines-de-laine, aprons, and patchwork of various descrip-
tions. One of them had paid him about 10s. • week for
good+ on an average for the last two years. William
Hudson Kirke, shawl buyer and salesman at Messrs.
Fletcher's warehouse, gated that he remembered
purchasing a number of shawls about four years
ago. One of them had been on hand, and had been con-
tinually noticed by him for about two years afterwards,
when it suddenly disappeared, and he was unable to find
it to show to a customer. One of the shawls now produced in
court was the same. It was a l'aie.ey shawl of very peculiar
pattern. The prisoner might easily gain access to witness's
department, though he had no right to be there. Mr.
Howe stated that he had examined a quantity of goods
which had been found in the prisoner's house when he
was apprehended, and was able to identify most of them
as the property of the firm of which ho was one of the
partners. Inspector Maybury the detective officer who
apprehended the prisoner, said'that when he was searching
Whitworth's house, and found the goods, he asked him
where he had got them, and the reply was that
he had them from the warehouse. Mr. Berwick, chief
superintendent of the Manchester detective police, said he
bad witnesses who could speak to some ten or twenty
dress-pieces which the prisoner had sold in a similar man-
ner. The prisoner had also been trading largely to Awe-
rice, sending out Messrs. Fletcher's patterns to persons
there by whom they were used ; thus spoiling the market
for his employen. The prisoner made no defence, and was
committed for trial at the sessions. As very few of the
goods were missed at the time they were taken away,
it is difficult to estimate the total amount of goods stolen ;
I but, taking into account the injury done to Messrs. Fletcher
.! by the publication of their patterns, the loss to them is sup-
posed to amount to some thousands sterling.
How TO PROCURE KIIN.—A letter from Beyrout,
la the Oesareaktre Triestino, states that the Ottoman go
verament has ordered every Mussulman to pray for rain on
account of the great drought, and gives the following des-
cription of the ceremony: Every good 31shometan procures
a vine branch a 1.,) leaves upon it; he then recites a verse
of the Koran over each leaf. The vine branch is then rolled
I up, secured to • packthread, and cast into the sea, to be
drawn out when it shall have rained sufficiently.