The National Register.
London, England, 1821-07-16 00:00:00

IN OR WIWI CITY SES.sIOAS.

On Tuesday last the Quarter Sessions for this city was
held at the Guildhall, before Wm. Backham, Esq. Mayor,
Steward Alderson, and a bench of magistrates. The
learned Steward, in his charge to the Grand Jury, very
ably directed their attention to the several bills before
them, and pointed out the law to their consideration,—
The Court was occupied some time with Removal causes,
but none that created particular interest.
John Berry, printer, of St. Peter's Mancroft, appealed
against the conviction of the magistrates, for printing aud
publishing a handbill at the last election for ayor of this
city, signed " A Freeman," without having a copy of the
paper he printed the said handbill from preserved by him,
or giving np the name and place of abode of the person
who employed him to print the said handbill, by which he
because subject to the penalty of the sum of 201.
Counsellor Robertson, in a very animated speech, con-
tended for the conviction. He said, the Court were most
particularly called upon to mark this offence in the strong-
est possible manner. The appellant had not only broke a
statute, but the circumstances attending it %VAS a most
outrageous offence in enormity, he had almost said !quilt-
gacy ; this handbill was a gross libel on a respectable
magistrate ; it not only vilified him as a magistrate, but as
a man, a gentleman, and husband. He grounded his ap-
peal on 51 Geo. Hi. an Act to secure the subject from
libellona attack--t that every printer shall retain a copy
of every paper printed by him, and not refuse to declare,
when called upon, who is to be considered before the law
accomitable."-- rim learned Counsellor then celled the

Sword I arer, whu proved that Berry was summoned be-
fore the Mayor, and refused to ptoiloce a copy of the pa-
per, or the name and place of his employ Cr, and was con-
victed deco& ilingly ; that at his first examination he denied
printing or publishing, but at the second lie acknowledged
Ia i 11l sell' to he the printer.
Counsellor Cooper, for the appellant, rose and addressed
the Court as follows:—'r Gentlemen, my learned litend is
first bound to prove that the hill was printed for gain,
profit, or reward, before lie can possibly confirm this con-
viction. I contend lie has but very indifferently proved
that Berry was the winter of the liandhid; and supposing
lie was the printer, it might not have been for reward, but
originate iu pa, ty zeal, and apply tio more to Alilei man
Matsh than to any other Alderman on the bench.
Sword Beater sweats that Betty admitted the printiiig,
but first lie said No, and afterwards Yes. Why, gentle-
men, the poor Mall was so frightened that he did nut know
what lie said. (lily think of my poor client's situation—
shot up ill a Council Chamber, the Mayor un one side,
Aides men un the other, Mr. Sword Benner, and other ci-
vic authorities, (tying to obtain his confession—first lie
did 'dint it, diet' lie dial not; the Coin( would he divided,
and pairpe helm e they decided on ,ticli a yes or no from
a man so ell cimisiaticeil. The bill appears to me only au
appeal to his fellow•citizens to elect a punier, limiest, and
taillight magistrate to fill the office of Mayor, and I believe
these is not the evidence Ilip.re ought to be before the
Court to confirm the conviction."
The Court retii eil, and on returning Mr. Steward AI.
derson said lie Was sorry to say that the Court considered
Ilse handbill a scandalous libel, and deserving their just
reprobation; but desirous to extend every lenity to the
appellant, under all circumstances, and finding by the
Act that they had the power of mitigation, they would
mitigate the penalty to 101. and however they might be
inclined, they could not go below that 811111, as it might
encourage a recurrence of this evil, and nut sufficiently
mark their sense of the offence.

'I he Court called on Berry to apologize to Alderman
Marsh ; he said, he did not intend in any way to apply
the paper to him, bit if the worthy Alderman thought
otherwise, he was ready to say lie was very curry for hat,.
lug dune it.

Volta.
GUILDHALL.

FORDED FIVE POUND NOTES.—George Lee and
Elizabeth Brown, whose cases have already been before
the public, were brought up on Fru! ty for filial exami-
nation, before Mr. Alderman Thomas Smith, the sitting
magistrate. A new case, in addition to the five already
preferred against them, was brought forward by Mr.
Alaynard, the Rink solicitor, in which, however, the
fema'e prisoner did not appear to have been at all impli-
cated. Thomas Cloney, brother in law to Mr.
who keeps the Red Lion public-house, in Great Wind-
mill-street, St. James's, stated that the prisoner Lee came
there on Friday, the 4th of May, in the name of Mr. C.
Rickman' of Upper Marylebone.street, for one gallon of
llodges's best gill, in payment for which he tendered a
(urged 51. note, and received 41. 4s. in change. Mr.
Rickman being a customer, no suspicion %vas excited,
and no inquiry therefore made until the note WaS returned
11:1111 Messrs. Meux as a forgery.
Mr. Maynard observed, that he had now given evi-
dence upon all the charges which he meant to prefer
against the prisoners. A clear and very strong case was
made out against the male prisoner, Lee ; and he trusted
the mag,:strate must feel that he ‘t a. a fit object for pm-
secntion. With regard to the temale prisoner, inquiry
had been made, from which it appeared she was an un-
fortunate girl, and that her commxion with Lee had been
but short. ''here were, certainly,good reasons to believe
that she must have been acquainted with the nefarious
practices of her companion; but as it was possible that
she might have been drawn in by hum, and as there was
no proof that she had taken au active part in the uttering
of the forged notes, the Bank were willing to consider
her as innocent. and would nut press further proceedings
against her.

-The prisoner Brown being questioned, said she had
known the prisoner Lee only about a month, and de.
claret] she WAS wholly unacquainted with the practices
he was carrying on. She had, it scented, been taken
from the public streets by Lee, and selected, probably,
Irons the circumstance of her being in a state of preg-
nancy, a situattoti well calculated to aid hint in the
deceptions he was practising. Altera suitable admonition
from the alderman she was discharged.
In the course of these examinations a charge was pre-
ferred against Lee by a persgti front whom he had ittreti
a horse and net, 1- been reiurned. The
statue he gate al that Urlle was Loy. As the seszitins

THE NATIONAL REGISTER

were so near, and the probability was that he would be
convicted of a capital offence, the charge was dropped,
and the prisoner fully committed for uttering the forged
51. notes.

EXTRAORDINARY SPEED.-00 Wednesday D. Crisp,
the celebrated pedestrian, returned to town from Sul-
mouth where he was engaged fur a wager of 25 guineas
to rim trout that place to the Castle-yard in Exeter, and
back again in five hours, a distance of 32 miles, over a
hilly country. lie started precisely at six o'clock in the
morning, accompanied by two gentlemen on horseback,
and arrived at die Castle.gate in Exeter, ten minutes be-
fore eight, performing the first 16 miles in one hour and
fifty minutes; he rested twenty minutes and took some
refreshment the gentlemen did the same, and procured
bests horses, he then returned to Sidmniith, where he
arrived with ea-e twenty minutes within the time al-
lowed. On the 15th of this month he is to commence
tits Herculean task of walking 1000 miles in as many
successive half-hours at Nottingham, being half the time
the same number of milts were peril 111 l red by Captain
Bar!clay. Great wagers depend on this match.
• Drcadfid accidersi.—Tiltirclay, as Mr. a master
bricklayer, and two labourers were erecting a scaffold to
the back front of a house, Nu. 30, in Porland-street,
the ledger which supported it, from being rotten, snap-
, 'sett in two, and the three unfortunate men were preci•
pitated to the ground, a depth of about 40 feet. Mr,
' l3all had one of his legs broken, the bones protritiling
through Isis stuck tug, and otherwise bruised all over, lie
was taken up insensible acrd carried home on a shutter.
—The two unfortunate labourers, one of whom has a
wife and four children, had each several hones broken.
'They were taken op covered with blood and bruises,
apparently in a lifeless state, and carried to the Middle-
sex-ho-pital, where they remain wimuut the smallest
hope of recovery.
About a mouth ago, two whales of large dimensions
were found, forsaken by the title. at a p,,tut called ln-
tierwell, in the bay of Wiglown, in Galloway. Tizese
peaceful Arctic wanderers were first observed by a party
of seafaring youths. who had been out on a fishing ex-
pedition, and who immediately thought of securing the
prize. To work, therefore. they set, and as a substitute
Mr an anchor, hit upon the somewhat dangerous expe-
dieut of making fast the boat to the back fin of the
largest fish. But the animal, whose leviathan carcase
was half buried in the sand, and which had hitherto
made no resistance, wr.s very far from relishing this tin•
civil interlerence, and, shallow as the water was, he
soon began to beat it so lustily, and with such good effect,
that had not the party prudently changed their moorings,
they mi6ht have perished in a storm of their own cre-
ating. Accommodating themselves to circumstances,
they commenced an attack upon the hinder parts of the
whales, and, rude as their implements were, succeeded
in filling the boat with about a ton and a half of blub-
ber! With this cargo they immediately stood for the
town of Wigtown ; and after providing themselves with
a cable, anchor, hatchet, saws, &c. they returned to In-
tier well ; but by this tune the tide had flawed, accom-
panied hy a smart breeze trout the N. W., and wafted
the carcases or both the fishes far beyond the reacts of
these anexptr.ented a-sailants.

On Friday se'nnight an accident happened near the
Fleece, at Brook-street, Essex, where the road is rather
narrow, and at a point in which three vehicles were in
the act of passing each other; one of them was a higler's
cart going trout Chelmstord market to Londoit, loaded
with fowls, the proprietor of which was treating a rela-
tion, said to be from Clare, in Sutiblk, with a ride to see
his friends in town, when the wheel of the cart CAM: 111
contact with another so violeutly, as to jerk the pour
man twin his seat, and his head fell between the fore
and alter wheel of a stage waggon ; and was crushed to
atoms; it is needless to stale that lie installs!), expired.—
A nearly similar accident occurred to another person in
the road mar Ilford, and attended is ail circumstances
aillIOA as drenlinl ; but the unfortunate suilervr, we
hear, still lingers in the utmost agony.
FlKlL—About half past eight o'clock on Thursday
evening, a most alarming tire broke out in the house of
Mr. Clarke, brisker, in Clerkenwell Green, which for
some time burnt with almost incredible fury. The fa-
mily (with the exception of the servants) were at Sad-
ler's Wells at the time, but by the exertions of the sur-
rounding populace the greater part of the extensive stock
in trade was saved. A considerable time elapsed before
the arrival of any engine. The Sun was the first whicn
(Wile to the scene of conflagration, but unfortunately no
water conkd be procured for some time, consequently the
flames raged with unabated velocity, and soon became
master of the entire premises, which were by ten o'clock
completely consumed. The utmost confusion Was wit.
uessed at the two a, joining houses, oceuptcd by Messrs.
Goode and Miller, persons in the same business, and
ankles of furniture were to he sect) isitching from the
windows into the street. In short the whole Green was
one complete mass of articles, the greater part of which
is materially damaged. The fire caught the rear of the
house of Mr. Goode, which was consiaerably damaged.
Fusin the contusion that prevailed we c.itild not learn
whether the parties are insured or not.

Juicide.—ln the night of the sth inst. G Hassell, Esq.
drowncd himself in a deep itinul on his it premises,
about a half a wile front his house at Chu'shury, in the
Chiltern hills, Bucks. He served the tillice of Sheriff
tor the county in 1818, and Bird nninarried.
THEATRICAL MODESTY.-111 a letter published
in an American paper last month, by Mr. KHAN,
in excuse of his conduct at Boston, where, because
the audience was not so brilliant as he thought it
ought to have been in compliment to him, he lett
the house abruptly, and refused to play the part he
had undertaken, lie says " the present existence of
the first theatre in Europe is feumlea on the abilities
which they (1. c. our tronsuthouic brethren) ath.et
to despise"

123

Daring case of Robbety.—The following mos
atrocious robbery was committed on Saturday at
Greenwich, and information was given of it on
Monday afternoon at the Public-office, Bow-street.
Mrs. Welding, the wife of a gentleman's coach-
man, occupies the house No. 12, Alfred's-buildings,
Greenwich, the next dwelling to which is uninha-
bited. Oa Saturday she was in the house alone,
and at eleven o'clock in the morning a man, dressed
rather " shabby genteel," knocked at the door, and
asked her if the next house was to let, as he wished
to look at it. She said it was, but she had not the
key, and was about to shut her door, when he rushtd
in, and seizing her by the throat, said, " he was
come for money, and money he must have." She
escaped from his grasp, and ran up stairs, intending
to give an alarm at the window, but he followed
her closely, and just as she reached the landing.
place, he knocked her down with some heavy in-
strument, and swore if she made any noise he
would murder her. He then tore out her car-rings,
cuttin,, both her ears through in doing it, and beat
her about the head until she was quite senseless.
She continued in that state, as she believes, for more
than an hour, and when she recovered her senses
she with difficulty procured assistance from a neigh-
bour, and it was found that the ruffian had broken
every lock in the house, and had stolen 401. in
bank-notes, a watch, and a considerable quantity of
wearing apparel. The husband of the woman gave
information of the robbery, and added, that his wife
was not expected to recover the effect of her wounds.
A very accurate description was given of the rob-
ber, who it is hoped will not long escape the pu.
nishment he so richly merits.
On Friday night, about nine o'clock, the city of
York was thrown into a state of great alarm, by the
ringing of several of the church bells, arid the cry
of " Fire !" Crowds repaired from all parts of the
city to the place where the fire had broken out,
which was in the Castle Mills, behind the county
gaol. The cause, &c. of the fire was as follow :
The mills are in the occupation of Mr. T, Hopps;
but Messrs Simpson, whose large mill, near North-
street, was lately destroyed by fire, have also made
use of them since that event, and had a large quan-
tity of flour, &c. there that evening, when the fire
commenced. It appears that the millers left the
place apparently safe, between seven and eight
o'clock, and that about nine b person passing by dis-
covered it to be on fire, and gave the alarm. A
large beam had very improperly been connected with
the flue of the boiler of the steam engine ; and had
most probably been burning very long before it was
discovered. An engine from the barracks, and two
trout the city, were immediately procured; and by
eleven o'clock the devouring element was entirely
subdued. A large quantity of the flour, &c. rescued
from the mills, was guarded by several of the bar-
rack soldiers. The property was all of it insured,
and we hear that the total damage is not estimated
at more than 2 or 3001. With great pleasure we
also add, that no lives were lost on the occasion,
nor did any serions accident whatever occur.

Extraurilinary Bullock.—There is ut rresent to
be seen on the farm of Nunfield, in the immediate
vicinity of Dumfries, an ox of the Teeswatcr or
short-horned breed, and of the following extraordi-
nary dimensions:—

Ft. In.
Length from the no•e to the top of the rump II II
Girth round the middle l9
Girth round the heat t 9 7
Height of the slicuhter tt
Height from the hind foot to top of the rump 6 6
These measurements may be relied on as perfectly
cotreet. Independently of his great size, this ani-
mal is extremely handsome, and by the time he has
had exl•cricnce of the oil-cake and other luxuries of
an English tlwm.yard, he will probably form a
greater curiosity than the celebrated " Caps-All,"
the largest ox ever exhibited in Scotland. At pre-
sent he is supposed by competent judges to weigh
nearly 280 stone English; and he is both higher
and stronger in the bone thaa " Caps-All ;" there
is no saying to what size he may ultimately attain.
Till within these few month•, Mr. Gibb, the pro-
prietor, had paid little attention to the keeping of
this extraordinary &mined ; as a proof of which we
may mention, that lie was one season wintered, in
addition to his r.ianerc, tar the low rate of 10s. and
fed only on wheaten straw. He is exactly five
years old, and was purchased in Carlisle market
when only one year old, for 91. sterling—a price
sufficiently liberal, considering his age and condition,
and which Mr. Gibb was induced chiefly to give,
on account of the largeness of kis bone. But the
speculation is likely to turn out a very good one, as
Mr. Gibb has disposed of this ox our the handsome
price of WO guineas.
A SPY.--Mitaieil, the spy, whom Mr. Baines
exposed at a meeting of the county of York, and
whom our readers will recollect Mr. Lambton ob-
served upon at the Durham county meeting on the
Manchester transactions, as a man deterving of ex-
ecration to tl.e latest posterity, is at present *au
Newcastle.

iDzits'crtpt-

LONDON, JIONDAY, JULY IG.
Thrce o'clock, p.m.

The Metropolis at this moment wears much more
• the appearance of a town preparing to resist a be-
sieging army than the capital of a kingdom on the
eve of witnessing the Coronation of a • Sovereign in
whom they might hope for the union of the charac-
term of King and Father. Troops, horse and foot,
regular and volunteer, are pouring in from all quar-
ters, and a report has reached us (which we most
ardently hope and devoutly wish may be unfounded)
that sixty rounds of ball-cartridges have been served
oat to each of the three regiments of "Guards, who
will be tan duty. Should the use of these be ren-
dered necessary, what a dark page of history will
that be, on which is recorded the achievements of
the day devoted to the consecration of his present
Majesty !!—We repeat our hope, that there may be
no truth in the.reix+rt, but we have it from a quar-
ter, so likely to be well-informed, that we tremble
while we hope.

The Paris papers have by degrees ventured to
. depart from the reserve supposed to have been im-
posed upon them respecting the death of Buonaparte.
Some very liberal remarks have been published on
his character and genius, and the influence of both
upon France. This must have been done with the
concurrence of the Government and Censors, for it
would have been a paltry stretch of power, to pre-
_vent at least some degree of justice to be done to his
memory. Much may be said, now that he is dead,
which would not have been suffered when he was
living, and this relaxation of the restriction of the
public press is politic on the part of the Government,
us it is consonant to the feelings of the community.
The triumphs of Ypsilanti are noticed in the French
and other foreign Journals, and the news from the
Greek provinces will become daily more interesting
and important. This Chieftain was in the environs of
Remnick on the 17th ult. with a body of men, con-
sisting of 9000, and, judging from his late accession
of strength, it is probable that the Greeks expect as-
sistance in a quarter which from the commencement
of the insurrection they calculated on having protec-
tion. It is believed on the Continent that a rupture
between Russia and the Porte is not very remote, as
certain indications on the part of the Cabinet of St.
Petersburgh justify the presumptions, though the
Marquis of Londonderry, it would appear, thinks
otherwise. The Noble Lord, however, is not an
infallible statesman, and in calculating upon the
neutrality of the Emperor Alexander, it will be found
probably, that " he reckons without his host ?"
Austria is not without her suspicions, and carefully
keeps her barrier on the frontier, and refuses a passage
to every individual. We shall not be surprised to
hear, before the end of Autumn, that the union of
the Holy Alliance is dissolved, and that a new war
will agitate the Continent.
The French Five per Cents. are 85( 40e..—Bank
stotk, 1,5301'