The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-20 00:00:00

_ALICE GREY.

WOLVERHAMPTON, Dec. 19.----This notable woman was
brought before the magistrates at a special sitting to-
day. Their worships assembled at ten o'clock on purpose
to take her case, two hours before the usual hour for
opening the court. Alice was brought to Wolverhamp-
ton from Stafford gaol last evening. Her appearance to-
clay was upon a remand from Saturday, when, before the
customary time for the commencement of the business
of the petty se;.sions here, she was brought up before Mr.
Leigh (atipeirdiary) and four other magistrates. The
the Rightploo. C.- P. Villiers, M.P., was also on the
bench. No evidence was then taken against her, and
when she was remanded Mr. Leigh told her that she was
remanded because Mr. Hill, the assistant-chairman at
the County Quarter Sessions, urged sonic objections to
his notes taken when she -was proseentrix at Stafford
being used as evidence in the case. Alice, who had com-
plained of having been called so early in the morning,
and being brought on her journey without her breakfast,
reseived the magistrate's notification in tolerable good
humour, and indulged in several jocose remarks. Among
others was an assurance addressed to the chairman, that

if he was as prepossessed with her looks as she was with
his, he would never seal her for trial. At the time for
bringing on the ordinary business at tho petty sessions,
Mr. Bartlett, her solicitor, complained loudly of his
client—a woman whom he believed to he unjestly im-
prisoned—being brought up and remanded—on what
evidence he knew not, perhaps on no evidence at all—
and remanded without any information being conveyed
to him of the intention of the bench to proceed with his
client's case out of the usual course. Such conduct was
most unfair and indecorous. .

To-day, in consequence of the early hour at which the
examination was commenced, there was no great throng
of the general public at the court, yet a large number of
the more respectabie classes of the town were there. She
was again defended by Mr. Bartlett, and Mr. Kitson
prosecuted her for the Treasury. A large number of wit-
nesses were examined, all corroborating the evidence
previously published in The Sun, showing that the boys
RAndall and Perry, who bhe deposed robbed her in this
town, were at the time of the alleged offence at least two
miles away. Most of the witnesses were cross-examined
by Mr. Bartlett. Evidence with reference to her false
representations at Birmingham was also given. Mr.
Stephens, the superintendent of the police force of that
town, deposed to the prisoner having obtained relief from
the poor-box of the court on the statement that she was
destitute.

➢dr. Bartlett took objection to the evidenoe of Mr.
Stephens, contending that it had no reference to this case.
Mr. Leigh said that the witness's statement showed
that the prisoner by imposition obtained money from the
poor•box of the Birmingham Court, and tended to chew
the practice of the prisoner. It was therefore admissible.
Any objection might be urged by counsel at the assizes.
Mr. Cooper, the inspector of the London and North-
Western Railway at Birmingham, deposed to giving her
a pass to Liverpool, and afterwards refusing it to her,
in consequence of seeing her in company with the Rev.
Mr. Morris.

Mr. Bartlett urged a similar objection to the statement
of Mr. Cooper, but it was overruled in like manner by
Mr. Leigh, when Mr. Bartlett said, `• If it should come
to a trial."

Mr. dill, the assistant chairman to the Court of Quar-
ter Sessions, gave evidence as to the prisoner's state-
ment when she prosecuted the boys at the Stafford as-
sizes, reading hie notes taken upon that occasion.
Inspector Bennett, of the Wolverhampton police, de-
posed, in additio❑ to his former statements, that he told
Alice at Stafford, after the committal of the boys, that
Nlr. Doni•thorpe, a reporter, had informed him that she
had made a similar charge at Birmingham against a
workman of that town, and that if he examined the Bir-
mingham Journal he would find the case reported there.
Witness was inspecting the paper named in Alice's pre-
sence, when she said, " Oh, you need ❑ot trouble your-
self, I am the person ;" and she was shortly after wards
arrested as an i.npostor.
Upon the completion of the evidence, which tended to
the establishing of a charge of perjury committed in
Stafford Quarter Sessions Court upon the occasion of the
conviction of ltAndall and Perry,
Mr. Leigh asked the prisoner if she had anything to
say why shs should not be committed for trial for per-
jury at Stafford, at the same time administering the
usual caution.

Mr. Bartlett, addressing his client, said,—" Don't you
say anything; say nothing."
Alice obeyed his instructions, and only remarked to
Mr. Leigh, " You are very posey ; that is all I have to
say."
Mr. Leigh—You will be committed upon this charge.
Mr. atrtlett—Do I understand that you, adopting
that course, will not allow me to make any comments
upon this case ?
Mr. Leigh—No. I do not see why you should. In
cases where the magistrates are in doubt they sometimes
call upon attorneys fur the defence to hear their state-
ments ; but in this case the magistratm are not in doubt,
and therefore do not call upon the prisoner's adviser.
Mr. Bartlett—What I should have submitted was—

Mr. Leigh—We do not want to hear what you would
have submitted.

Mr. Bartlett—Oh, very well.
Mr. Leigh--Call on the next case.
The prisoner was then charged with swearing falsely
in that court when the boys were committed for trial.
With the exception of that of Mr. Hill, the assistant-
chairman of the County Quarter Sessions, and that of
Mr. Hand, the assistant-clerk of the sessions court,
whose depositions contained similar statements to those
male in the first case,
Col. Hogg, the chief constable of Wolverhampton, was
the first witness whose deposition, previously prepared,
was read.
Mr. Bartlett objected to the document as evidence.
He said that the copy of the depositions which he had
received bore the signature as magistrate of only " Wil-
liam Warner," whereas Joseph Underhill was also a
magistrate before whom they were taken. He con-
tended, from the 17th section of Jarvis's Act, tbat to
render the depositions admissible as evidence the signa-
tures of both magistrates should be upon them.
Mr. Leigh said that it might have been that Mr.
Underhill did -Ixottear 'the whole of the case. At all
events, he should not allow the objection to have any
weight at this stage of the proceedings. It might 'se
urged by counsel upon the prisoner's trial.
The case then proceeded without any interruption to
the close, when
Mr. Leigh again asked the prisoner if she bad any-
thing to say in her defence, adding the usual caution.
Prisoner—lf I get off, you will eat your importunities.
You are likely to make mistakes on my behalf. It is a
great pity that you are so apt to make these mistakes.
Mr. Lsigh then read a letter from Mrs. Morris, wife
of the Rev. Mr. Morris, ♦icar of Hampton-in-Arden,
who met the prisoner at the railway station in Birming-
ham, and took her away and gave her some refreshment
at a coffee-house, when the prisoner alleged she received
the 41., of which she stated the boys robbed her. The
rev. gentleman was subpoenaed to give evidence to-day
against Alice. Mrs. Morris dated her letter from Wel-
lington, where she said that the summons reached her.
Mr. Morrie, she said, had lately been seriously ill of
paralysis, and his physician was of opinion that exciting
him might be productive of serious consequences. Under
these circumstances therefore she presumed that the
magistrates would not insist upon his presence. She
was willing to forward a medical certificate as to his
state of health.
Prisoner—Perhaps ho is in love. (Laughter.)
Mr. Leigh added that this accounted for Mr. Morris's
absence to-day. If he was sufficiently well, and the
gentlemen who conducted the prosecution considered his
evidence requisite, he would no doubt be required to
attend at the assizes and give evidence at the prisoner's
trial.
Prisoner—l wish that he had never come to the rail-
way station—that's one thing. (Laughter.)
Mr. Burtlett said Alice Grey can obtain good bail.
Will the magistrates admit her to bail ?
Mr. Leigh—Do any gentlemen to your knowledge
offer her bail ?
Mr. Bartlett—No, sir ; no gentlemen.
Mr. Leigh— Oh ! then, you lay stress upon the term
" gentlemen."
Mr. Ward, the clerk of the court, intimated that
Mr. Bartlett meant that there were tradesmen who
would be bail for her.

Mr. .Leigh—Well, I call any respectable tradesman a
gentleman.
Mr. Bartlett—What I mean is this—l stated that I
had been employed to conduct Alice Grey's defence by
private gentlemen—gentlemen living upon their property.
I therefore wished to distinguish between them and
tradesmen who I believe are ready to offer bail for her.
I am not, however, capable of saying that they will.
You will bear in mind that this woman has been already
tried—l will not say tried—indicted for the same offence
as that which is now before the magistrates. I hope,
Sir, that if the magistrates can take bail they will.
The magistrates refased to accept bail.
.MaTrigriPrisoner—lte.e.Lpreiisgohn—e r
yis
o wasua
wtpityihue
then
to e r
committedbe
me
oo
vn td h e lee
from also side ofthoen
court,
oh
uwt.
e secondratna n
chd
wass
soon afterwards conveyed back to Stafford gaol by
railway.

PRESERVATION Or LIFE AT SSA.—The Emigration
Commissioners, with commendable promptitude, after
being satisfied of its importance, have ordered Clifford's
plan or apparatus for unlashing, lowering. and disen-,
gaging ship's boats instantly, when laden with any crew,
to be fitted to the Aurora emigrant ship, now bound for
Australia, and lying in the West India Docks, Lime•
Ihouelh--SO4OC

METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS.

Yesterday, the gentlemen elected by the vestries of the
metropolis t') represent them at the Central Bard of
Works assembled, for the first time, at Burlington
House, Piccadilly, for the purpose of deciding upon the
necessary preliminary measures in regard to the election
of a chairman. At 11 o'clock, the time for which the
meeting had been convened, the boardroom, temporarily
granted by the Government, was crowded with the re-
p,

,wesentatives, there being if present and only one ab-
sentee. The reporters were admitted without hesitation,
and it was stated that the general public were not ex-
cluded ; but very few, if any, were noticeable. The
proceedings, though a little boisterous at intervals, were
on the whole conducted with a considerable amount of
regularity and moderation.,

In the-midst of the conversation which had sprung up
on all sides.

Sir JOHN SHELLEY, the representative of St. James's,
Westminster, begged to draw attention to the fact that
it was necesary for the maintenance of order that some
one should be called upon to preside over them until a
permanent chairman was elected ; and perhaps it would
be advisable to choose for their temporary president some
one who represented a large constituency. If such were
admitted, be thought Mr. Thwaites (of St. Saviour's,
Southwark) might advantageously be called upon to pre-
side ; but he (Sir John) objected to any perso❑ who was
a candidate for the office of permanent chairman being
called upon to fill this post. He did not know whether
Mr. Thwaites was a candidate for the office of chairman,
but if not there could not be a better man for the tern-
p rary chairmanship. He would, therefore, propose
that Mr. Thwaites do take the chair.)
Mr. TAYLOR (City of London) believed that Mr.
Thwaites was a candidate for the office of chairman.

Mr. TuwarTEs was very much obliged to Sir John
Shelley for bringing his name before the meeting to take
the chair on the present occasion. Of course it was a high
compliment. It had been asked of him whether, in the
event of his being elected to the chair now, he would be a
candidate for the chairmanship. Now it was quite true
that he had ■ot canvassed for such a post, or issued any
bill or advertisement, for he thought, and he was of opi-
nion that there would be several representatives present
who concurred with him that a body constituted as this
had been should be their own nominators. He therefore
preferred not intimating his own intention, but if the
board gave him an intimation of that kind, he should be
prepared to devote his time and intention to the duties
attending on the office of chairman. Under the circum-
stances, he thought it would be better if some other gen-
tleman were placed in the chair.
Mr. TAYLOR proposed Deputy Harrison (of the City
of London) as one well qualified to fill the chair on this
occasion, having been a member of every commission of
sewers for many years past, and he was not a candidate
for the other post.
Mr. Deputy HunliSoN explained that, although not
a candidate, he was yet of opinion that few gentlemen
in that room would be prepared to refuse the office of
chairman if elected thereto.

A REPRESENTATIVE thought that even their temporary
chairman sh iuld be beyond suspicion. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. ALEX. WRIGHT (Westminster) said that these pro-
positions having been abandoned, he would bring for-
ward Mr. Nicholay, who would make a declaration that
he would not accept the office of permanent chairman.
Mr. NICUOLAY (of Marylebone) then declared that he
would not accept of the chairmanship, and was accord-
ingly unanimously called upon to preside. Having as-
sumed the chair, he observed that he bad attended here
this morning to get information, and did not at all ex-
pect the honour which had been conferred upon him,
otherwise he would have come down better prepared to
discharge the duties, by studying the act beforehand.
The first business that had now to be attended to was to
ascertain the names of the gentlemen present who had
been elected by the different vestries. Now the Govern-
ment had placed this room at their disposal until the be-
ginning of next year, and perhaps some one was present
connected with the establishment who would receive the
names. _ _ _ _

Mr. THAVAITES thought it was very desirable that
their excellent chairman should have some assistance,
and perhaps some gentleman who was not a candidate
for the chairmanship wluld offer his services.
Mr. WILKINSON, of St. Pancras, having stated that
he was not a candidate, took his seat beside the chair-
man, and for the remainder of the meeting most effi-
ciently fulfilled the duties (by no means light) of honor-
ary secretary. His first proceeding was to call over the
names of the elected representatives flora a printed list.
When this had been effected,
Mr. TAYLOR informed the board that the list just read
was not an official one, inasmuch as his (Mr. Taylor's)
name stood last, whereas the City of London ought to
be at the top.
This discussion concerning the veracity and official na-
ture of several printed lists was prolonge I, and was even-
tually brought to a conclusion by the chairman inform-
ing Mr. Taylor that be (Mr. Nicholay) had no desire
whatever to displace the names of the City of London
representatives.
Mr. WRIGHT observed that the proper course would
now be to appoint a committee to receive the credentials
of the several representatives, and t) repsrt to the board
at its next meeting.
A REPRESENTATIVE remarked that it was quite certain
that there were several persons besides representatives
in the room, and some means should be taken to ascer-
tain that the gentlemen who held up their hands were
really those who had been elected t ) this board.
Mr. flows (St. Leonard's, Shoreditch) reminded the
board that they sat there as a representative body, and
it would be highly dangerous to the system to interfere
with the presence of the public. He therefore thong:it
that, as far as their accommodation permitted, the pub-
lic, and more especially the public press, should be pre-
sent.

Mr. CHALMERS (of Chelsea) likewise kindly interested
himself in the amount of accommodation afforded to the
representatives of the press.
Mr. TAYLOR, adverting to the remark about voting,
said that lie was quite sure that every gentleman present
possessed a sufficient sense of honour not to vote unless
he was a member of the board.
The CHAIRMAN called attention to the fact that they
were here in pursuance of the provisions of an act of
Parliament, one of the most important acts that had
been passed for a long time. The Government had
thought proper to accord to them local self-government,
and he trusted that they would conduct their proceed-
ings in such a way that they would not only be satisfac-
tory to the metropolis at large, but to the Government
also, and be a credit to themselves. The question as to
the salary of the chairman was, he thought the first
business to which they ought to attend.
Mr. HUNT (St. George's, Hanover-square), thought
that the chairman ought first to be elected. Such be
believed to be the meaning of the clause in the act.
Mr TAYLOR was of the same mind as the chairman,
and thought that they should take the latter pact of the
clause—that referring to salary—first. He regretted the
salary was fixed at se large an amount as 1,7001. for a
minimum. (Hear.) But he would not waste any more
time in lamenting what the Legislature had increased in
this respect, but he believed that 1,5001. ought to have
been made the maximum, and he moved that that sum
be the salary of the chairman.
Mr. D'IFFANGER (Marylebone) seconded the motion,
which was carried unanimously.
Mr. Hows thought that now they should proceed to
the appointment of a chairman, who should, in his
opinion, be a representative of the feelings of a majority
of that board. Every dty increased the number of can-
didates for that office. For his own part ho thought
they ought to make choice out of the two or three gen-
tlemen .vlio had the largest number of votes.
Mr. Hum' interpreted the act of Parliament thus—
that the person who was elected should have a majority
of the whole number of votes. If so, he must have 22
votes at least.
Mr. TAILOR differed from Mr. Hunt on this point.
Mr. Howegave it as his opinion that the board should
first decide upon the mode in which the candidates should
come bofore them ; and next, whether the election should
take place by ballot or open voting.
The CHAIRMAN presumed that there would be no such
election to day. And perhaps the board would do well
to consider whether or not the Chairman should be one
possessed of a seat in the House of Commons.
Mr. CHALMERS adverted to the fact that the Act of
Parliament left it open to the boardthtaotelct one of their
tehere would be
own body or not; and believing
found a man sufficiently well qualified among the repre-
sentatives present, he shou d move " that it was inexpe-
dient to go beyond the members of the board for the
choice of a chairman.
A RErRESENTATIVB Stlbrnitte
utd
this motion that it was ;
nand othot comper
e-
tent for the Chairman top
hon. representatives having urged various reasons
against it.
Mr. CHALMERS declared he would not press his resolu-

tion.
Mr. Wilton/. then moved " that the election of chair-
manbe by open voting, and not by ballot."
iN tr flows seconded the proposition, which gave rise
to a protracted discussion, which was eventually carried
with but one dissentient.
Mr. DOULTON (of Lambeth) moved that the number of
candidates be reduced to two, by striking out in turn
each candidate who had the smallest number of votes.
Carried unanimously.
Mr. WILKINSON said that perhaps it might now be well
to proceed with the nomination of candidates for the
chair.
Mr. DREW did not deem such a course advisable at
present.
Mr. TAYLOR thought that the most convenient and
better course would be for all gentlemen belonging to
this boarOand aspiring to this office new to declare them-
selves. But he woul I not stop there, for by the Act of
Parliament they were not limited in their choice to their
own merneers. He begged to move "that we do now
receive any application from any gentleman of this board
desirous of filling the office of chairman."
Deputy HARRISON conceived that the preferable way
would be to name a day for receiving all candidates'
applications. The hon. representative moved a resolu-
, tion in accordance with tbis opinion.
Mr. TAYLOR said that Deputy Harrison would not ex-
elude members of the Court from declaring themselves
candidates now or before the fixed day.
Mr. WIPP( likewise inclined to Weopinion that the