The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-07-14 00:00:00

BOW-STREET.

On Wednesday afternoon;al3ii.ll;Ls was leaving the office,
a very decent-looking WOll/114, about forty years of age, tamed
Crowhy, was broaght in by Bishop, the officer, charged by Capt.
Knox, of the East India Company's service, with otnstantly an-
noying him and his family, by coming to his housei and refusing to
leave the door, and occasionally attracting the notice of passengers
by her complaints and lamentations. The defendant was accom-
panied by her daughter, an exceedingly intereating child, about
eight years of age, who stood weeping by the aid: of her mother
while the charge was heard.
Captain Knox suited that the defendant had lived in the service
of the late Lieutenant-General Brown, who was bridle, to his (Cap-
tain Knox's) mother, with whom he now resided, in North•terrace,
Hampstead-toad, and in consequence some fancied claim
upon the General, she was constantly coming to the house, and sit-
ting upon the steps of the door, refusing tt, go away until her de-
mand was complied with. If she had at,y claim, the law was open
to her to recover, and she could proceed in a regular way. That
morning she placed herself at the door, and remained there for ye.
veral hoots, with her child, weeping and wailing, and refusing to
go away, although repeateelly warned that she would he given into
custody.
The defendant. while Captain Knox was making this statement,
stood leaning against the table in a truly pitiable state of nervous
agitation.
Mr. hexes, after telling her in a tone of kindness that if she had
really any claim, she mutt take legal stees to entorce it, and not
annoy the family of Mrs. Knox in the way described, a.siced her
what she had to say ?
" Oh ! Sir," said the defendant, " when you know my case you
will pity me, and you will perceive how incapable I am of having re-
course to the law to enforce my claim." She then proceeded to stated
that she had been for 22 years housekeerer to the late Gen. Brown,
haling at first, at his pressing solicitations, left her husband to
live with him. The General was strongly attached to her, and she
was honoured with his most unbounded confidence. She managed '
his expenditure in household matters entirely, and he always told
her, teat whatever might happen to himolie should be provided for,
for the whole of her life. She had two children while she lived
with him; the first one a boy, for whose education and future
welfare the General promised to provide, and the girl who
now stood beside her. The boy, however, died sonic time ago.
While in the service of the General she always kept a regular ac-
count in a book of the money she expended, and a swirly settle-
ment took place between them. On a page in the last boos she
ever used, the General wrote a few lines, signifying his intention to
bequeath to her the sum of SUL annually for her life, and contain-
ing an injetiction to his surviving relatives to pay her that suns.
In the early part of May last General Brown died, and she then
found herself cast upon the world, with her poor child, destitute.
Mrs. Knox, the General's sister, administered to his effects, and
came into possession of 50,1100/. • and when she (defendant) made
her claim for the annuity prortli;cd, and, indeed, bequeathed to her
by General BroWn; she refused to pay it, or do any thing at all for
her. The consequence was that site became in a short time in want
even of the common necessaries of life, and it was only a few hours
before she was taken ue that she had pawned her bed-furninue to
procure food for herselt and child. The defendant's feelings so
overcame her at this part of her statement, that she fell ints
hys-
terics, and the office rang with het cries. When she recovered site
handed to Mr. Halls the book of which she had spoken, and in
which the bequest mentioned was written in a very peculiar hand,
which Captain Knox, withoat hesitation, admitted to be the
G .nerars. . _ .

Captain Knox said the defendant had been over and over again,
when she made her claim, referre I to Mrs. Knox's solicitor, who
was the proper person w investigate her suppived claim.
Airs. Crowley said she had been several times to the Solicitor,
but he refused to do any thing unless she brought a letter from
Mrs. Knox, which that lady uniformly refused to give. She (de-
fendant) had shown the writing iii the book to Mr. Roblin, at the
Mansion-house, and to Mr. Roche, the Vestry Clerk of Covent-
garden, who both pronounced it to be unquestionably a legal be-
quest. She had a son by her husband, who was now a Captain in
the East India service, and she bad a letter in her hand from him,
in which he stated that ha was coming home shortly, and that he
would settle an allowance up m her sufficient to support her re-
spectably. [This letter was handed to Mr. Halls.] All she
wanted, themore, if Mrs. Knox would not pay her the annuity,
was a trifling advance or money, to keep her from starving until
her son came borne, but this wall refused to her.

Mr. HALLS s tid her case certainly seemed replete with hard-
Rhin, but still he was bound to say, as u Magistrate, that she wits
wrong in going to Mrs. Knox's house, and refusing to go when she
was desired to do re. He could not, however, help thinking that
it would be as well for Mrs. Knox and her son, the Captain, to re-
consider the matter, and to ask themselves whether the unfortunate
defendant was not a fit object for the exercise of their beuevoLnce,
even supposing she had no legal claim.
At the suggestion of Mr. Ha t.i.s the case was adjourned until
yesienlay, Mrs. Crowley promising not to go near Mrs. Knox's
notice in the mean time.
Yesterday morning Captain Knox came, accompanied by b's
Solicitor, and being questioned by Mr. HALLS as to whether it
was the intention of himself or his mother to assist the defendant,
the Captain replied in the negative. He and his mother, said the
Captain, were better judges of the case than any other persons
could be, and they had determined out to make Litt defendant any
allowance.

This declaration seemed to excite considerable astonishment in
all present, and in none more than Mr. Halls, who, with some
warmth, said he could not help viewing such conduct as being not
only extraordinary, but he had no hesitation in saying, extremely
disgraceful to the parties upon whom the poor woman's claim
was made. She had, it appeared, spent the best of her days in the
service of General Brown, and it could not be denied that she had
been a &Wind and a most valuable servant. She was now in dis-
tress, and although it was too evident to admit of a doubt even,
that the Oenet.:l had intended to provide handsomely fur her, yet
his relations, who had come into the possession of a large property
by his death, refused to give her even temporary aid. Even it
they were not legally liable, they were morally bound to give her
assistance, and their refusal to du so was, lie repeated, in his epi-
nion, disgraceful.
At this period Captain Knox and his Solicitor suddenly left the
Office.

Alr. HALLS told the poor woman he would do all he could to
scree her, and he had ❑o doubt that the public, if her cttse were
known, would sympathise with, and contribute to relieve her
distress.

The worthy Magistrate then gave her some money, an example
which was followed by several gentlemen in the office ; and, finally,
a letter was given to her, addressed to the officers of St. Pancras, in
which parish she was residing, recommending theut to prosecute
her claim agaiust Mrs. Knox. The poor creature departed, shed-
ding tears of gratitude.
Afar!, Bartlett, a respectable-looking young woman, was fully
committed for trial, on three distinct charges of obtaining goods
from tradesmen, ut Kensington, under pretence that she was house.
keeper to Lord Holland.

HATTON-GABDEN.
EmßEzziAmm.—Yesteulay Thomas Ncuton Staniar wisj

brought tip for re-examination, under a charge of fraudulently
emherzling various sums of money entrusted to his care, on account
of his employer, Mr. John AVilson Neille, varnish-manufacturer,
of Maiden-lime, Battle-bridge.
On the former examination, Mr. Neille stated that the prisoner
watt in his employ as traveller and collecting clerk, and during the
last few months he had discovered various deficiencies in his P.C.
counta, to the amount of from 601. to PI. One cage wax then fully
sustains 1, evidence I eing adduced to prove the payment of the
money on account of the prosecutor, which money the prisoner
fraudulently applied to his own use. Mr. Neille seated that he had
nearly four hundred customers, many of whom lived in the subtolni,
and he therefore requested a fortnight a time to make the neccasary
inquiries amongst them.
Two additional cases were discovered in the interval, wherein
zoney had been paid by the parries to the 1 rirroner, on recount of
ffis employer, which bad never been accounted fie in the pro-
per way.
A Solicitor attended for the defence; but the cases were too fully
sustained to admit of anything being offered in extenuation of the
offence.
Neille expressed his determination to prosecute, in order to
set an esample to others, as this species of plunder had latterly
heroine of very frequent occurrence ; and unless some cheek were
put to it, tradesmen would be exposed to the most imminent risk,
as regarded their capital, and confidence would be wholly destroyed.
' he prisoner was fully committed for trial.
BIIUTAL ASRAULT.—Sarah Vo/entine, a very finely-dresird
personage, wts brought up under a warraat by Kirby, an officer
of this establishment, charged with violently beating, and other-
wise ill-treating Mary Valentine, a miserable. looking little girl,
sister to her husband.
The poor child, it appeared, had been employed as a menial
'mint in the house of her brother, at Cow-cross, Smithfield, mid ,
the wife having sonic averbion to her, at all times used her with the
moat shacking severity, frequently keeping her without food for days,
and then brutally treating her when she complained of hunger.
On Monday last she gave her a tank to perform, which she was un-
equal to, from weakness of constitution ; and the defendant, on
coming home, beat her with a stick until she fell on the pavement
in the yard, and then repeatedly kicked her in the stomach. Rime
perwma who lived in the Muse, rearing that die girl would be mur-
dered, called in the street-keeper, but lie was refused admittance.
and *as obliged to make It:a way through Ca window. lie found
the yoor child lying on the ground, her breast, neck, shoulders, and
arms being one contused mass of livid flesh ; and, when sufficiently
recovered, she eagerly begged to be removed to some place of
safety, as she was afraid that her sister would murder her alien the
offi e: went away.
The Overseers of the perish said, that from the repreaentatiors
of several respectable persons in the neighbourhood, they had been
induced to take the poor girl into their workhouse, until a suitable
situation could be provided lot her.
The defendant very impudently mid they had no right to inter-
fere at all ; if she had slapped the girl, it was only fur her good, as
she was inclined to be very slothful and dirty. She hoped the Ma-
gistrate would not suffer the parish to remove her sister rem under
her protection.
The Magistrive, however, thought that the Overseers would be
much more met ciful to the poor orphan than her own natural rela-
tives, and recommended that she should not be sent back. The de-
fendant was likewise ordered to find good bail.