The Express.
London, England, 1853-06-18 00:00:00

BOW-STREET.

Thomas Kenna, a licensed ♦ictualler, was charged upon
a summons with having committed a violent suanit upon
George Joyce, the master of a ragged school in Yates-comi,
Clement's-lane, Strand.
. _

The complainant stated that he had been connected with
the school as teacher and muter about five years. One
evening last week ho had oxasion to reprove an unruly boy
and put him out of the school, after which, it appeared, the
child was visited with a fit outside the school. His oriel
attracted several persons to the spot, and among others the
defendant arrived, forced himself into the school-room, at
cased complainant of cruelly beating the child, and finally
struck him ud knocked his head several times against the
wall. He (complainant) was not aware that the child was
subject to flu, although he had since ascertained from the
mother that such was the fact.
Cross-examined—By reproving the boy I mean that I
struck him with a cane, about the thickness of my little
finger, which is used for pointing to diagrams. I was
three feet from him at the time. It is not my custom to
touch the boys with a eane, but he was extremely unruly.
The child is eight years old, and has but one arm. He
looks sickly now, because he has had hie head shaved. Im-
mediately on finding that the boy was in a fit I sent for
his mother, and I refused to allow strangers to take him
away to the hospital or elsewhere till the mother arrived.
The blow produced a slight weal upon hie bare neck, but I
did not intend to strike him there.

By Mr. Jedine—The object of ragged schools is to piek
up poor neglected children of the lowest. clan, such as ma
not get into the national schools. This boy had been with
us about two months, and was very disorderly. There are
about 60 boys be/caging to the schools, but there were
only 30 in the room on the enologin question.
The complainant's statement haws' been confirmed by
two witnesses (the housekeeper and another woman),
Mr. J. P. Doyle, a banister, addressed the magistrate for
the defendant, contending that his cheat had humanely in-
terfered on seeing a poor afflicted child lying outmode the
school-room door, beaten into fits by the master • and when
he desired to take it to the hospital, and found 'himself re-
sisted in his work of mercy by the man who had chastised
the child, he certainly pushed Mr. Joyce on one aide, and
as tke court was exceedingly narrow, might also have
knocked the schoolmaster's head against the wall. The
defendant, who was a neighbour, living next door, could
only have been animated by the best of motives throughout
the traumata.

—AZolleito;'s clerk, named Fitzgerald, was ezandsed to
support the defendant's statement, but the complainant said
that both the landlord and the witnewi were intoxicated,
and he came to that conchae° " because their breaths
smelt horribly." (A laugh.)
A woman, who was present. Woo conaidered that the de-
hadant oaly pushed the master to get at the c►ild.
By t►e wish of both parties, the mother of the ekild, a
poor widow woman, named Straka°, was thea ezantised.
She rated the child was subject to irritable fits, and at
such times it often required two people to hold him. He
had never eomplained of the usaterraad monied to like t►e
echoed.

13—y Mr. Doyle—l have been in peat distress, and have
been occasionally indebted to Mr. Joyce for relief dispensed
from the school.

Mr. Jardine did sot consider that the master bad used
undue severity is correcting the child, for everybody knew
that a very slight blow with a 'tisk or cane would rain a
mark on a child's neck. As for what followed, the muter
could not be held in any way rasponsible, although it war
easy to &demand how a clamorous mob of women and
children would reedit y visit upon him all the misfortunes of
the afilicted boy. The defendant, no doubt, listened to
what wee said very likely about the brutality of the school-
mutes in " Beating a poor boy into fita," aad leaving him
there ; and, acting upon the impulse of the moment, pro-
ceeded to chastise the complainant, without a word of in.
quirt' into the facts of the matter. Now, this ha was not
justified in doing, and, in this she of esboahnaston, it
would never do to allow a mob to suit ammo, ustrissoo
upon them in this way, especially when a police clout was
close at hand. Still, .the defendant's object was a humane
one, and for that reason the full penalty would not be en-
forced. His worship then fined tho defendant 11. and 2s.
coats.

Michael Barry sad Ann Barry were charged with a vie-
lent amault upon Patrick Sullivan.
All the parti,s lived in a low lodging-house in Parker-
street, Drury-lane ; and on Thursday evening the prisoners
were visited by a young Irishwoman who lived " over the
water." They went out together "on the drink," the
party having been joined by the complainant. On return-
ing to the lodging-house afterwards, the complainant began
to take liberties with the visitor, in the ' defendants' room.
He was remonstrated with by the latter and ordered out of
the room. He resisted, and struck Mrs. Barry, upon which
she retaliated upon him with a metal teapot, laying open
his head, disfiguring his face, and damaging him so seri-
ously as to
dressed.compel his removal to the hospital to have his
bald
It having transpired that all the parties were drunk ex-
cept the two defendants,
Mr. Jardine declined to adjudicate in the matter, leaving
the complainant to indict the prisoners at the sessions if he
thought proper to do so.
They were accordingly discharged.
MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

Alfred Clifford, tobacconist, 11fr, High-street, Blooms-
bury, and Clarke Workman, of Milford-place, Tottenham-
court-road, young men, dimmed in the style of ballet-
dancers, were brought up before Mr. Bingham, charged
with being drunk and disorderly.
Police-constable Silverton, 63 C, stated that about five
o'clock that morning he was on duty in the Haymarket,
when he saw the prisoners get out of a cab in a state of
• •
intoxication, and on the fare being demanded they refused
to pay the cabman. An altercation ensued, and a number
of people having assembled, attracted by their strange
attire, witness thought it his duty to convey them to tl
station.

The defendants, who admitted being the worse for liquor,
were fined bs. each, which was at once paid,