The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-10 00:00:00

PROBATE COURT.

The Judge Ordinary and a Common Jury were occupied
the whole of the morning in hearing the cause Bowker v.
Bury. The question in dispute being the validity of the
writ of the testator by which he left the whole of his pro-
perty to his wife absolutely. It was contended that the
testator was not in a fit state of mind when he executed the
instrument, and also that he had already made a former
will which he had not revoked. The property in question
amounted to about £2,000. The case will not conclude till
a late hour.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE—This Day.

MARLBOROUGII-STREET.

SERIOUS DEPREDATIONS BY ERRAND BOYS.—Thomas
Sullivan, a boy who has only been in the employ of Mr.
Cooper, surgeon and chemist, of Moor-street, St. Martin's-
lane, for about a week, was charged before Mr. Tyrwhitt
with robbing his employer.
Mr. Cooper said that in conseqUence of information he
received that the prisoner, his errand boy, had been offer-
ing some fancy soaps for sale, he communicated with the
police, and that morning Sergeant Shore, 11 F, searched
the prisoner, but found nothing in his possession belonging
to him (Mr. Cooper) but a pocket knife. The knife was not
of much value, but, as he had missed several things while
the prisoner had been in his employ, and had been robbed
by his errand boys during the last four years, to the amount
of nearly £3OO, he felt compelled to make an example of the
prisoner.
Sergeant Shore, 11 F, said in taking the prisoner into
custody he first said ho had not taken anything, but after-
wards that he had, and then put the articles back as he
could not sell them. He had seen the boy's father, who
seemed to take no interest in him, and had got him into Mr.
Cooper's employ by falsely representing that he had never
been in employ before, whereas he had been dismissed from
a previous situation for dishonesty.
Mr. Cooper said his object was to get the boy corrected
I as a lesson to him.

Mr. Tyrwhitt committed the prisoner for 21 days.
A GANG OF JUVENILE THIEVES.—Henry Hayes, a boy,
was charged with stealing nine scarfs of the value of £2,
the property of Mr. Henry Robert Wilson, draper, of 10,
Cranbourn_street, Leicester-square.
11 appears that the prisoner and another boy went into
Mr. Wilson's shop this morning about eight o'clock, and
asked for some thread. A young female went to the back
part of the shop for it, and on her return to the counter the
boys left. Directly after Mr. Wilson missed the scarfs
from the counter, and on going into the street saw the
prisoner and the other boy with four others walking along
in conversation. He followed them, and heard one of the
boys say, " How much will they fetch ?" and another reply,

" Is. or ls. 6d. each," He then seized the prisoner and the
other boy who had been into his shop, and in the prisoner's
apron found the scarfs. The other boy managed after a
struggle to get away. The prisoner was then handed over
to Crown, 215 C.
A remand was granted, that the other might be found.

Frightful Occurrence at the New Govern•

ment Offices, Westminster.

Great excitement was occasioned yesterday afternoon in
the immediate vicinity of the Government offices at White-
hall, owing to the following melancholy accident, by which
several persons were seriously, and it is feared, one or two
fatally—injured.

Large conttacts to erect new Government offices have
been entered into, and a number of houses were razed to the
ground on the south western side of Downing-street, and also
in King-street and Charles-street, Westminster. The space
thus cleared extended probably 300 feet in one direction, and
200 feet in the other. Upon this site the foundations of the
new offices had been dug out, the concrete beds formed,
and since then an immense forest of scaffolding had been
erected, in order for the contractors to proceed with
all possible despatch with the erection of the various
buildings. Upon the top of this scaffolding, it is necessary
to state, were immense beams of timber, supported by heavy
uprights, fastened with iron dog stays; and upon the top
of the last-named were what is technically called " gantries,"
large timbers about Oft, square, and which stretched hori-
zontally the whole length of the scaffolding, and having iron
rails similar to those in use on a railway for the purpose of
the " travellers," heavy pieces of machinery, to pass along
when large pieces of stone were required to be lifted.
Whilst the men were so engaged yesterday afternoon the
weight of what they were lifting strained the "gantries"
and the ponderous machine caused the dog stays
to start, and the other portions of the woodwork
got out of gear, and the consequence was that the travel-
ler and four men who were at work were precipitated
to the ground, a distance, it is believed, of 30 feet. The
poor fellows were struck by the timber as it fell and were
also injured by the traveller, so that it was at first thought
they had all been killed. A strong body of the A division
of police immediately came from Gardner's-lane station, and
assisted in getting the unfortunate men out of the ruins.
They were at once removed to the Westminster Hospital,
where Mr. Watts, the house-surgeon, did all that surgical
aid could devise to alleviate the sufferings of the unfortu-
nate persons. _ _

. -
One man, named William Power, aged 33, of Cheshire-
cheese-court, Chelsea, was found to have received serious
injuries to his head, his lips were cut opm. and his fore-
head knocked in. Very little hopes are entertained of his
recovery.
Henry Pritchard, of 54, Hanover-street, Pimlico, was
found to have his head, face, and ribs seriously injured, but
not quite so badly as the former.
Miles Hughes, of 2, Gardner's-lane, who was only mar-
ried on Sunday last, has also received injuries to the head,
hips, and back.
Joseph Lamb, of John-street, Walworth, was only in-
jured on the arms, and after being attended to by Mr.
Watts, he expressed a wish to go home to his family,
which request was complied with.
There will no doubt be a rigid inquiry as to the cause of
the accident.