The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-24 00:00:00

WORSHIP-STREET. John Parrott, a jobbing
butcher, about sixty years of age, who stood charged with
the wilful murder of his wife, Sarah Parrott, was placed
at the bar before Mr. Hammill for final examination.
Rebecca Beer, an intelligent little girl, nine years of age,
the daughter of the landlady of a house in Spicer-street,
Bethnal-green, in the upper part of which the prisoner
and his deceased wife had occupied a room, stated that
at an early hour in the morning of Wednesday, the Bth
instant, she was alarmed by a violent uproar in the pri-
soner's apartment, accompanied by screams of murder
and terrified exclamations from his wife, which conti-
nued without interruption for upwards of an hour, at
the expiration of which time she was desired by her
mother to proceed to their room to ascertain the cause
of the disturbance. On reaching the first landing, how-
ever she heard the prisoner's wife, groaning in such a
dreadful manner that she was afraid to proceed any
further, and entered the apartment of another lodger.
She had only been there a short time when the cries of
distress were renewed with increased violence • but after
lasting about a minute, they suddenly ceased altogether,
and immediately afterwards she heard the door open, and
the prisoner rapidly descended the stairs and hurried out
of the house. Everything remained perfectly quiet during
the rest of the day, and nothing was seen or heard of the
prisoner's wife until the same evening, when she was found
lying in a corner of the room perfectly lifeless.
James Ede, a lodger in the house, stated that on the
night before the fatal occurrence he was disturbed by a
low moaning from the deceased, who was lying outside
the street door, and whilst the wife of witness was ques-
tioning her as to the cause of her evident extreme suffer-
ing, the prisoner suddenly made his appearance, and,
after harshly ordering her to return to their room, ex-
claimed with an oath, " I will give you something to-
morrow for this." The deceased, who appeared greatly
excited and terrified, then accompanied him up stairs,
and witness never saw her again alive.
Police-constable Chapman H 38, stated that after
repeated unsuccessful attempts to trace the prisoner, vilo
had absconded from his residence shortly after, his wife's
death, he at length accidentally met him in the street,
and took him into custody. On asking him if his name
was Parrott, the prisoner boldly answered in the negative,
and having then charged him with the murder of his wife,
he positively declared that he knew nothing at all about
it. On their way to the station-house, however, the
prisoner admitted that he was the man he wanted, and
on witness remarking that "it was a bad job for him,"
he replied, "Oh yes, but I have got over all that at the
inquest."
The prisoner, who displayed an air of callous indiffer•
ence, was committed to Newgate for trial.

LAMBETH.—Mr. Fernandez, the keeper of a coffee-
house in the Waterloo-road, was placed at the bar before
Mr. Elliott. on a charge of robbing Mr. Henry Allen of
11 sovereigns.
The complainant, a young man of gentlemanly appear-
ance, who described himself as a surgeon, residing at
Brighton, deposed that, on the day before, he had drank
much more freely than he was accustomed to, and the
consequence was that, about six o'clock in the evening,
he became exceedingly drowsy and sleepy, and asked a
policeman to procure him a lodging, where he could
have a few hours' sleep. The constable took him to the
house of the prisoner, and he was shown into a bedroom,
where he lay down in his clothes. Before going to
sleep he counted his money, and found that he had 14 sove-
reigns and 10s. in silver, and he subsequently heard the
prisoner come into the room as often as four or five times.
The last time the prisoner came into his room he asked
him the time of night, and he replied one o'clock. He
then asked him to get a bottle of porter, and on taking
out his purse to give him the money for it he missed 11
of the 14 sovereigns. He instantly charged the prisoner
with robbing him, and subsequently gave him into the
custody of a policeman.
In reply to the questions of the magistrate,
The prosecutor said that, after counting the sovereigns
he put them back into his left-hand trousers pocket.
He was considerably affected with drink, but not so much
so as to be totally incapable of taking care of himself,
and had he been able to distinguish that the house was
a coffee-shop, he should not have gone there. He sup-
posed he went to sleep, but this he could not undertake
to say positively, but was quite certain he saw the pri-
soner come into the room four or five times.
In cross-examination Mr. Allen said that he was
stopping at Miller's Hotel, in the Blackfriars-road, and
that he was not aware that he was near his hotel when
he asked a policeman in the Waterloo-road to procure
him a temporary lodging. On leaving his hotel between
eleven and twelve o'clock on Wednesday forenoon, he
took fourteen sovereigns and some silver out with him.
He bad been in the company of two females from one to
five o'clock, and during a part of that time he bad stood
in front of the bar of a public house, and treated them to
drink. He had some soda and brandy himself, and sub-
sequently accompanied his companions to a house of ill-
fame. He parted with both at the door of the house,
and it was soon after that he met the policeman, and
asked him to get him a lodging. He had his coat and
great-coat on while staying at the prisoner's, and thought
the latter was buttoned up.
Stephen Perrin, L 156, said that about six o'cicck on
the preceding evening he saw the last witness on his beat,
leaning against a railing. He seemed much the worse
for liquor, complained of excessive drowsiness, and asked
him to procure him a lodging, as he lived a long way off.
He then took him to the house of the prisoner, who
offered him a bed, and he desired to be called at nine
o'clock, saying at the same time he was stopping at Mil-

"Then, I can't buy." I said I would see what I could
do, and I found change sufficient. He took a " five
pound" note out of a leather pocket-book, and gave it to
me. I said, "Is it a good one ?" He said, "Can't you
read ?" I said I had not my glasses. He pointed to the
note, and said, "Can't you see five pound note, Bank
of England ?' " and I gave him the change. He then
said I owed him sixpence, but he would call again on
Tuesday, and buy same more things. I never saw him
since till this day. The note was returned to me as
forged.

Marianne Nugent, assistant to Madame Charles, of
St. George's-place, fancy repository, proved that on the
11th inst. the prisoner uttered a forged note for Si. in
payment of the charge for two brooches.
Mr. Wilhelm, tailor, in the Poultry, proved that the
prisoner had called upon him on the night of the 15th of
December, and offered him a Si. note, which, upon com-
parison with a Bank of England note, he found to be a
forgery. The prisoner took him in a cab from place to
place, and was at last lodged by him in the station-
house, as no doubt remained upon the witness's mind
that he was aware of the spurious manufacture of the
note.

A gentleman from the Bank proved that all the notes
were forgeries, and the prisoner was committed for trial.
The Lord Mayor requested that the press would
acknowledge the receipt of 201. from the Grocers' Com-
pany, and three sovereigns from G. S., for the poor-box.

GUILDHALL.—Mr. Grafton, a watchmaker and
manufacturing jeweller, of Fleet-street, attended before
Mr. Alderman Copeland, to answer the charge of Mr.
George Alexander, a. gentleman residing in Warwick-
place, Pimlico, for defrauding him, by selling to him as
a gold link chain, one made of some other and inferior
metal.

Mr. Alexander stated that, a short time since, in pass-
ng through Fleet-street, a chain, ticketed as " gold,"
for under 205., attracted his notice. He went in and
looked at it. A very small key was attached, and he
said he should like a larger one. A bowl of keys was
handed to him, and he selected one. He asked if
they were gold keys, and the defendant said they
were, and that the price of the key selected would
be 308. However, after some bargaining, Mr.
Grafton agreed to take 2/. for-the chain and key. He
(complainant) afterwards showed them to a friend, who
on examination alleged they were not gold, and having
by inquiry at several shops ascertained that the key was
a gold one, and the chain was not, he went back to Mr.
Grafton's to insist upon having his money returned.
Mr. Grafton turned away, and, appearing to test the
chain, returned it to the complainant with the remark
that it was quite good enough. Complainant had it
tested again, and called once more, but Mr. Grafton
treated the matter with the utmost indifference, and re-
fused to return the money. Complainant after that went
to France, and seeing, upon his return, a report in the
newspapers of the case of the jewellers on Ludgate-
hill, who returned the money they had received for a
couple of spurious gold chains, he called again on Mr.
Grafton, and referring him to the newspaper report,
required him to take back the chain and return the
2/. Mr. Grafton declined to accede to that, and com-
plainant then proposed to refer the decision of the
fact as to whether the article was gold or not to a master
and workman, and Mr. Grafton appearing to assent, the
complainant called next day with a working jeweller,
expecting Mr. Grafton to call down one of his workmen.
They, however, differed in limine as to what was to be
determined, Mr. Grafton wishing the whole dispute to
be left to their arbitration, while the complainant would
only submit to them the ascertaining whether it was a
gold chain or not. Mr. Grafton, however, offered to
take back the chain, and return only 1/. Complainant
would not agree to this, when Mr. Grafton's shopman
proposed that it should be exchanged for a higher priced
one on payment of the difference, but the complainant
adhered to his first proposition of returning both chain
and key, and having his money again.
Mr. Blandford, a working jeweller, was then called,
who deposed that the value of the chain was about 4s.
Mr. Alderman Copeland asked if witness new any-
thing of the rats of profit laid on by retailers ?
Witness said yes ; some would be content with 75.,
and others might charge 14s.
Cross-examined—He could make such chains for less
than 15s. each ; perhaps for ss.
The chain being weighed and found to balance 41
sovereigns, the witness said that a gold chain of that
weight would be woz di 61.
Mr. Weston, of Church-street, Pimlico, stated that
the articles in question were not pure gold.
Mr. Alderman Copeland asked if the articles were
electrotyed or plated.
The witness could not say ; but he valued the key at
155., and always marked his own goods as cased or plated,
if they were not gold.
Mr. Alderman Copeland said that since he had heard
the charge against the Messrs. Benson he had received
from twenty to thirty letters in a day, complaining of
similar fraudulent transactions elsewhere ; and when
shopkeepers had the hardihood to ticket as gold, at 255.,
articles which they purchased by the gross at ls. 6d.
each, the whole question assumed such a serious aspect
that he should not be justified in disposing of this com-
plaint without consideration. It was sworn in this case
that the ticket was marked "gold."
The summons was then adjourned sine die, on the un-
derstanding that all parties were to receive due notice of
the further examination.
Mr. Alderman Copeland acknowledged the receipt of
201. for the poor-box from the Grocers' Company.