The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-12-24 00:00:00

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herrings, sprats, lee. into the coolie), to sell, and they
bought the holly, us their rehire to Landau from St. At-
ban's, and gave Its. for
Thu cart belonged to Crawford. Illwood appeared the
least dotiecrned its the transaction, and was en assistant to
Crawford ; he was therefore discharged. The holly, saws,
and pick-axe were forfeited; and Crawford was convicted
of having the property in his possession without being sblo
to give a satisfactory Bement of it to the M4gistiate." He
was sentenced to pay a line oleos. and in default was cum-
milted fur one month, and to be whipped.
QUEEN-SQUARE.
HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

Yesterday, Thomas Hilton, private in the Coldstream
Regiment of Foot Guards, Wli brought up from the Watch-
house, charged with highway robbery.
It appeared that the prisoner had met a gentleman at a public-
house, near the Almonry, late on Sunday night; the gentleman
was in a state of inebriety, and treated him with some porter ;
after which they left the Itoto,e, and the prisoner undertook to
convey him safely home; hut they had not proceeded far be-
fore he took off the gentledian's hat, anti ran away with it.
A cry of " Stop thief !" was raised, and Boyd, the watchman
in Princes-street, saw the prisoner coming towards him running
very fast, with the hat in his hand ; he endeavoured to stop
him, but the prisoner turned short into Bennett-street, where
there is no thoroughfare, and on being closely- pursued by
Boyd, he d opped the hat upon the step of a door, where it
was afterwards found. Boyd still chased him, and closed upon
him in the corner where he secured him. . . .

The prisoner admitted having taken the gentleman's hat,
but said that he only took it in order to induce hint to walk
home quicker, as it was getting late.
I The Magistrate ordered the prisoner's serjeant to he sent
for. The serjeant soon afterwards attended, and gave the
prisoner a good character as a soldier, but said he was rather
wild ; was sometimes absent from the evening roll, and on
Sunday night he did not attend. lie was only two years in the
regiment.
The Magistrate was sorry that soldiers of the Guards were
so far lost in their honour and understanding, as not to be
better conducted. There was no less than four of them now in
'Fothil-llelds, and it was the wish of their officers, that they
might be punished whenever they offended against the laws of
their country. This was a most serious, offence against the
primmer ; he pot the prosecutor in bodily ftrar, on the King's
highway, an offence which would send him for trial for his
life. The prisoner was then committed for re-examination.

LAMBETII-STREET.
ROBBERIES IN ESSEX.

Notwithstanding the activity of the officers of this esta-
blishment to put a stop to the depredations upon the Essex
farmers, the robberies are still curried on to a very great ex-
tent. Scarcely a night passes but some person is robbed of
nearly all his poultry, which is the principal object of plus-
der. Admiral Harvey, a short time ago, lost almost every
fowl he possessed in one eight; and Mr. Whitfield, of the
Eagle, at Woodford, was robbed one night of sixty fowls,
and another night of seventy ; his eh;efly consisted of the
game Neils, for the breeding of which he is celebrated. The
robberies are principally carried on by the means of farmers'
servants, who come to town with the market•earta, and con-
vey the stolen property in the same manner, to receive which
some persons arc generally on the look-out at the east end
or the town.
On Saturday morning, at six o'clock, a cart slopped in
Whitechapel, and the suspicious appearance of the driver,
named Edmund Lair, excited the atteution of Richard Plun-
kett, an active officer of Whitechapel, who perceived a seek
in the cart, and demanded to know what it contained. Law
said he did nut know. Plunkett opened it and found eight
geese and thirteen fowls, which he took possession of, and
at the same time took Law into custody, and from infonna-
' tion ho afterwards received, he apprehended Peter Miller,
14'm. Allen, Abrakrave Pollard, and Thomas Webb. They were
all yesterday brought before Sir Daniel Williams and Mat-
thew Wyatt, Esq. the Magistrates of this office.
Plunkett conlinned the foregoing statement, and added,
that the fowls were scarcely cold when he seised them.
John Dungett, a watchman, slated, that he saw Webb in
the cart, and that Law and another man, whom be does not
know, were there also.
Mr. Payne, a gardener of the Barking side of Essex, stated,
that on Friday night or Saturday morning, a shed near Isis
house, in which be kept fowls, was broken into, and a quan-
tity of geese and fowls stolen. Two fowls and three of the
geese produced he wresoto as being his property, and he bad
' no doubt they were all his.
Law and Webb were fully committed for trial. Miller was
discharged, and Pollard and Allen were banded into the etas-
tody of Mr. Luke Miller, the Governor of the douse of Cor•
rection at Barking, who had a warrant against them for
stealiogdeer and cutting wood in Hainan Park, the property
of the Hon. Long Wellesley.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.
CHRISTMAS DINNERS.
William Bankea, a pork-butcher, in Tottenham Court-mad,
charged James Richardson with stealing a pig from the win •
dow of his shop, on Saturday night, value 35. Tne .hop-
keeper was •ppriiod of his loss by a female customer who
happened to conic into the shop at the time (about ten
o'clock), when be pursued the prisoner, who threw away
the pig. He was ultimately taken in Chenies Mews, Bed-
ford •sinare.
The prisoner pleaded drunkenness in excuse. He was
fully committed.
A woman of the name of Monday charged a very respect-
able-looking man, named Davies, with wrenching a basket
out of bar hand, on Saturday night, in Drury-lane, contain-
ing a leg of mut ton, a piece of hei•f, and a pair of shoes, and
also with bruising her arm in UM scuffle.
A watchman confirmed the woman's evidence, and stated
that ho retook the basket from Davies, who was very much
in liquor.
Tho prisoner in his defence said. that he was an officer of
excise, and that be had reason to believe that the woman bad
smuggled spirits in her basket.
The Magistrate (Mr. Roe) very severely reprehended the
conduct of Davies, and said be should certainly report his
conduct to the Commissioners of Excise, ualcas he recom-
pensed the woman for the assault, and the inconvenience he
had put her to : having done which, the Magistrate dis-
charged him on paying his fees.
A youth who on Saturday night gave his name Smart and
Sharp to different watchmen, and about two months since
staled himself to Westcott the officer to be Ames Nem, was
brought from St. Giles's watch-house to answer the charge of
Desmond and Reynolds, two watchmen of St. Giles% fur as •
miming the character do Police Officer, and 'hewing a staff
as his insignia of office. It appeared the prisoner was passing
through St. Oiles's with a man who was in a beastly state of
intoxication, and it was on the watchman wishing to take
charge of his Iriend that the poisoner chewed his mock au-
thority.
In Isis defence, the man of many names said be bad been
buying the staff for his father, who is a constable in Worces-
tershire, and that be merely showed it to prevent his friend
freed being taken to the watch-house. It appearing, however,
that this was not the first time he had been guilty of this of.
fence, and having no visible means of support, the Magi-
strate committed him, with an instruction that be should
give 24 hours' notice of bail.
- -- •

A long lank knight of the bod was accused by a Charley,
with having his "beer on board" on tisturia.gy night.
The kight's excuse was, that he had been finishing a joh of
work at Pentormilley, and in consequence had got a drop of
*meat extra. On promising not to repeat the dose, his Wor-
ship dismissed him. _

John Collins, a pauper of St. James's, was ordered lo find
bail for committing a riot in the hal: of the workhouse, on
Saturday.

A country lad was brought up fur offering a bundle of ash
plants fur sale yesterthir morning at eleven o'clock.
The buy, in his detince, said his father was a gardener at
Fulham, and that he found them in a ditch wiles So was look-
ing fur dwarf role plants.
Remanded till Thursday, to girt. time for inquiry of Leigh
and Kennedy, nurserymen at Fulham, where the boy said his'.
father worked.,
A countryman, named William steel, from Beckley, in Oa •
fordshire, accompanied by a little talkative woman, op-
to his Worship for the restoration of his wife ; tor, as
his (items and oracle said, he was neglecting his business
and squandering his money, by running after his relentless
rib here in London. . .

......__ _
It appeared by the statement of the forlorn suitor, that be
had been married to the lady about two months, and after
having gone through all the crooked pnths of the new Mar-
riage Act in London, be took his bride to pass the honey.
moon at his mansion in the conutvy but the fair one prefer-
ring a state of " single blessedness'' to the sweets of matri-
mony, declared candidly that she did not like connubial bliss,
and took French leave of her new lord and home. The hus-
band, all love and desperation, followed her to this great
" refuge for the destitute," and having blond out where his
cold-hearted sponse is, lie wanted the Magistrate to compel
her again to share his bed ; but his Worship demurred to this.
to the coarse of conversation it came nut that the farmer's
conduct did not exactly arise from pore disinterested love,
but because the lady had a fortune, wifich he had received at
their marriage, but in the ardour of his all.,ction had return
ed to his " soul's pride." This immense fortune, viz. sal. be
wanted again to put in his pocket.
• The Magistrate told him that certainly he had a right to
the lady's fortune if he could hear arty tidings of it, and with
this assurance the Oxfordshire agriculturist and his fair
adviser left the office, apparonUy well satisfied.
• Mars Meredith was charged by her master, Mr. Bray, of
$l. James's-place, liampstead-road, with a most extensive
robbery.
• Mr. Bray staled, that the Prisoner had been in his service
for three months, and having reason to suspect her lie sent
for an officer, who found on lien person thirty-six duplicates
of articles belonging to Mr. Bray, besides some wearing ap-
parel of Mrs. Bray's, which the winner found between her
gown and petticoat.—Fully committed.

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