The National Register.
London, England, 1818-10-11 00:00:00

GUILIMALL.

J. Smith, a man of respectable appearance, was charged
with emberiling nearly 7001. the property of Mr. Fagg, of the
Bell and Crown, Holborn. Mr. Fagg stated,Sliat the prisoner
was employed by him in the booking office, and hail lived
with him three or four years. In the prisoner's accounts there
was a deficiency, according kilns own statement; there was,
besides, a deficiency art•ing (tom the nonpayment of the
servants' wages of 50 or COL The servants colild prove they
had not been paid their wages; and the books would slew
that he (Mr. P. ► had been charged is ith them by the prisoner.
The sows Appropriated by the prisoner, taken sepatately,
were neeessarPy small, but collectively, they amounted to the
above smn. —l44o4tuird.

A respectable tradesman in the City applied to the Magis.
trate, its his private room, to grain a warrant for the %Norte.
Lewitt') of his own sister arwl a servant morn, with whom site
had thought proper to elope, and was ry n itholat his consent.
Illagistritte—" Pray, Sir, is the lady a minor?"
Applicant —" A minor! the J-1! she is within a year of
tray own age, and I am nearly threescore!"
Magistrate—" I ant afraid your application to me will be
of no use, for you cannot even show that you have any legal
controul over the lady. Vim may, itoca'rert relate Ike cir-
cumstances, and if I can assist yen I ss ill."
The tradesman then proceeded, with much warmth, to in-
form the Magistrate, that the lady had heeU his housekeeper,
his nurse, and his every comfort for more than 20 years, for
he 1 if was 4 hatebelor. The only domestic in the family,
with the eseeptioN of a cook-maid, was a man aged about 40,
of grave wool sober habits, amine d Michael, who had been all
his life in the set vice of the family. His sister will; constantly
sounding the praises of " steady sober Michael;' and the
result was, that she eloped with him, leaving a letter addressed
to the complainant, stating that she could not resist the en-
treaties of t• the dear fallow" to make him happy. 'The fu.
gitives were now living in Alderscate street. He had soli-
cited his sister to retorn, but to this she would not consent,
unless accompanied by her husband. He determined upon
trying whether or not the law could compel her to act as he
wished, and at the same time punish the perfidious Michael.
The Magistrate said he felt h for his distress ; but lie
was surprised at his application, as it was a matter of which
a Magistrate could not possibly take cognizance. He would
recoanuoad him to ar rcpt of the terms proposed by his sister.
To this the applicant would not for a moment listen, and
departed in bitter wrath, vowing vengeance upon the head
of pour Michael.

On Wednesday application was made on the part of
Sunday newspaper, to the Sitting MagiArates (Thorp and
Waithman), that a warrant might issue to apprehend Mr.
Thomas Acton, of 130, St. Martin's-lane, for attempting to
commit n fraud upon the establishment. The individual com-
plained of being mascot, the circumstances which had given
alas to the application were immediately investigated. It
appeared that on Sunda v, the 27th of Sept., a case purporting
so have ocenrred at the Puddle Office, Bow-street, appeared in
7tle Englishman, under the head " A Son of Misfortune;' and
the following day was copied into The Times and other Jour-
nals. The case in question was a narrative of a long train of
misfortunes, alleged to have been related to the Magistrate at
the above office by an individual calling himself an attorney,
vibe was stated to have applied for relief for a wife and two
children. who were buffeting under extreme dish ess and pe-
ssary, hronglit an by disease and other unfortunate circum-
stances. The publicity given to the case bad the effect of
indacing many humane persons to send money to be applied
to the use of the individual mentioned. Inquiries were ill
consequence made at llow.street tnr the address of the sup-
posed attorney, when, to the astonishment of those employed
to find his residence, they were infoi 'hell that no such ease as
that reported had eve, taken place at that office. This led
to farther inquiry, but the matter could be traced to no
source. _ _ _

The applicant en behalf of The Enctiahnsmasaid,lie had been
occupied for several days in endeavouring to find out the
unfortunate attorns %, and went to almost every house in the
neighbonrhood of Drury-lone, where kc was stated to reside.
but without success. Convinced at length that the whole was
a gross faliricatioit, and dotes inured. along with the other gen•
ticmcn eminceted with The Englishman' if possible, to find out
author, they learned at their office, that the article in
question was furnished by a Mr. Acton, who bad been in the
ibit of supplying them with.intelligence of various descrip-
- lions. The original copy written and signed by that indivi-
dual was also finind. Since the publication oldie report Ac-
ton had gent a bill to The Evlishman office, in which he charg-
ed 155.61. for furnishing that ucport. On a subsequent day
be called for the payment of that bill, but the fabrication hav-
ing been discovered. he was told it had not been examined.—
The proprietors of The Englishinun, feeling that it was a ditty
they ow eil, not only to themselves, but In contemporary jour-
nalists, that such a ease should be properly investigated and
exposed, the worthy Magistrates were now requested, if they
should be of opinion that there were sufficient grounds to jus-
tify such a proceeding, to hold Acton to
Tile original copy of the article, together wall the bill, were
then handed to the Magistraica.

Mr. Acton, being called upon to answer the complaivant,
add d the Magist►ates. He had, he said, been called
'rpm/ very ruiespi ctediy to answer A charge of a serious na.
tare for until the present application had been made, he was
not aware that auy such proceeding had been in contempla.
tion. The charge was of such a nature as to affect his cha-
racter and reputation most materially, but he disavowed the
offence imputed to him altogether. It had been for a con_
siderable time past his occupation to supply ditlerent news-
papers with interior articlesof intelligence, and in imrsnance
of this occupation he was in the habit of attending various
public-offices. In the course of this attendance he had formed
• slight acquaintance with an individual whom lie had fre
qiiently met at How Street. and other offices, mid who, Ilke
many other persons, attended those places merely for his own
semerit. It was well known to the official persons now
present, that there were a great number of individuals who
made it a daily practice to attend at police offices, and other
courts, as spectators, to pass away the (line. On Thursday,
the 24th of September, lie (Mr. Actors) met the individual he
had alluded to in the evening, in Catherine Sneer, Strand.—
A Iter the usual salutations, the latter asked hiin (knowing
that he was CI 1111 l rcted with
wanted" a good story," or words to that effect. Ile replied
he did, And tlisy went together to a tavern iu Russell Court,
Drury L• ne, where the person related the narrative of the
•-rortunate attorney, esmetiy, as to eireauustances, as it sub-
iiviy appeared in lee Englishman and another Sunday
jonriml. He (Acton) took notes attic tate us it went on, and
in the COUr3C of the smut evening mute out the case. On