The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-29 00:00:00

CLERKENIVELL--(THIS DAY).

EXTENSIVE ROBBERY.—William Carden, a labourer,
was placed at the bar before Mr. Corrie, charged with
stealing a quantity of lead piping and other articles, the
property of Mr. William Osborne, a builder, of King
Henry-street, Kingsland, under the following circum-
stances :

It appeared from the evidence of the prosecutor,
that having for a long period been robbed of a quantity
of lead piping and other building materials from some
villa residences which he is constructing at Kingsland,
he yesterday gave information to the police, which led
to the apprehension of the prisoner. The policemen
went to a marine store shop dealer in the neighbour-
hood, and having asked if he had bought some lead, he
was answered in the negative, but was told that the
prisoner who lived close by had on Christmas Eve
offered a hundred-weight of lead for sale. Finding that
to be the case, the constable went to the house of the
prisoner this morning, and, having apprehended him,
proceeded to search the house, when he found some
copper among a quantity of lead piping and a number
of other articles, some of which the prosecutor stated he
thought was his. The prisoner gave very contradictory
accounts of his possession of the property, which were
on inquiry contradicted.

The prisoner, in defence, said that he was innocent,
and that he could prove that the whole of the property

was his own.
Mr. Corrie said he should remand the case for a
week, in order to give the police the opportunity of mak-
ing further inquiries.
The business of the Court did not commence until 25
minutes to 11.

PROFESSOR FARADA Y'S LECTURES AT THE
ROYAL INSTITUTION.

Yesterday this eminent chemist delivered the first of a
juvenile course of six lectures on chemistry, at the
Royal Institution. Though avowedly designed for the
instruction of the young, and therefore presented in a
most familiar form, the lectures of so distinguished a
professor cannot fail to be replete with interest even for
those who have long made the science their study ; and
this was abundantly proved in the introductory lecture
of yesterday. Of Professor Faraday it may without
the slightest hyperbole be said that he makes the details
of his science as interesting as a faity tale. The extreme
lucidity of his explanations is only exceeded by the
admiraable manipulation which conducts his experiments.
With a view to disembarrass his subject of all repulsive
technicality, the learned professor declares his intention
of commencing his course by dealing with the most
familiar objects, and those that were always at hand—
fire, air, and water. By some very obvious experiments,
he illustrated the difference between the mechanical and
the chemical properties of air and water. The first he
showed by an instance of the common fountain ; the
latter by igniting a small piece of potassium by the con-
tact of water. He next considered the phenomena of
combustion, showed the different degrees of combusti-
bility of various bodies, and illustrated the importance
of air as a supporter of combustion by some beautiful
experiments with licopodium, or "pantomime lightning."
Combustion without flame was then exhibited, in what
are commonly known as sparks ; and the important
influence of such agents as nitrate of potash and chlorate
of potash in promoting this species of combustion was
illustrated. This led him to explain these solutions.
He showed that, though not inflammable themselves,
even on contact with flame, they were capable of produc-
ing p•werfully explosive compounds, when mixed with
sulphuret of antimony and other substances. So power-
ful was the effect of these salts in some cases as to
render the presence of the atmospheric air unnecessary
to support combustion. This he showed by burning
phosphorus, mixed with nitrate of potash, at the bottom
of a vessel full of water. The learned professor then
proceeded to decompose some chlorate of potash by
heating a retort containing the same with charcoal, in
order to eliminate the principle which in these salts
tended to support combustion. The result was oxygen ;
and a variety of beautiful experiments followed, all tend-
ing to establish the conclusion that oxygen was the
great supporter of combustion. The lecture was listen-
ed to throughout, by a crowded audience, with the
closest attention.