The National Register.
London, England, 1818-11-16 00:00:00

UNION HALL.

Mr. Horsley and hi+ friend attended at this office with an
application similar to that lortle at flow-street. Carter, the
witness who followed the filon nho carried away the child,
represents him as very stunt, a.,,nit 5 tact 5 inches high, be-
tween thirty and forty ye,4l 4 of age, Ye! y 1141 k eony.exion,
dark curly hair, rultoLl fare, no whiskers, esse,l in a short
blot cunt, with yellow nation+, yeilow breeches, with a piece
of notched leatn.lr tinder the strings at the knees, half Wel.
lington or anele bouts. His appcataace altogether was that
of a groom.

Mr. Horsley expressed his suspicion of a man named Ste.
yens being al,u concerned with the above named parties in
stealing the child, lie having been in the habit of meeting the
servant gii I, when she n, is out with the children, and walking
with her, and having been seen in her company the day or
her absconilinE.

FRAUDS NY i•tmEMEN.—George Kilby, a fireman, belonging to
the Sun Fire-office, and two other tiremen, applied to the Magistrates
for an order to rt.c.:ive the rewards to which they claimed to be en-
titled, under the Act of Parliana .it, for attending with their engine;
to extinguish a fi,e, at tac hawk! of Mr. Wedd, of Shad Thames, in
the parish of St. John, Southwark.
Mr. Wedd, a gentleinan of great respectability, opposed the claim
of the firemen, and sated the particulars of the whole transaction.—
Oa the 3uth of October, his cook went up stairs and informed him
that toe kitenen chimney required cleaning, for that a considerable
quantity in soot had cedlected at the lower part, and there was an
appearance of Wale of it being on fire. He gave directions that a
entinney-sweeper should be sent for, and the necessary operation
performed. The sweeper arrived, attended by a boy ; the soot coi-
-1 vied at the bottom of the chimney, amongst which several sparks
of tire were perceptible. shovelied down. Tile boy was immedi-
ately sent up, swept the chimney in the usual manner, and then de-
mended wituout having iliscaned any appearance whatever of tire in
any other part. Kilby, the fireman, came into the house at the same
taw with the chimney sweeper. in the most ituthOotis manner, and
after the lapse of several minutes, said he should go and fetch the
engine. Me. Wedd reinoustritted upon the absurdity of fetching an
engine when there was no tire. Kilby replied, that there was tire
enough fur him, and saying something which implied that he should
nut harry Mimed*, went away, and in about half an hour after the
departure of the sweeper three engines arrived at the door; of which,
Kilby's was the first. There had not been the least appearance of
tire on the outside of the house, either by a greater quantity of smoke
than usual, or any other means. There was no al:tr n whatever in the
house, but Kilby =mesh' unrequited, and, without asking permission
of any person, nninethately upon his entrance ran down into the
kitchen. In consequence of Mr. Wedd's refusal to pay the rewanls,
application was made to the parish officers, and to them he trans-
mitted an account of the affair. They, in reply, informed him, that
this particular species of imposition had increased to a mod alarming
degree ; and requested him, on benalf of the parish, and for the be.
nein of the public, to lay the particulars of the case before the Ma-
gistrates.
John Livel, master chimney-sweeper, residing in llorsleydown,
after being sworn, stated, that he was the person employed by Alt.
‘Vedd on the day in question, and by the whole of his testimony cor-
roborated the statement made by that gentleman.
Kilby, the fireman, said nothing in support of his claim, but that
he considered he had only performed his duty.
The Magistrates rejected the claim, and cautioned the firemen to
be more circumspect in future.