The Sun.
London, England, 1830-01-19 00:00:00

BOW-STREET.

Yesterday Mr. Stockdale, the well-known pith.
fisher of Harriette Wilson's Memoirs, appeared be-
fore Sir R. BIRNIE, accompanied by alady of about
forty years of age, and rather corpulent, to answer
to a charge of assault preferred against him by a
Mr. Mill, clerk to Mr. Delmar, a solicitor wHo re-
sides in Surrey-street, Strand.
The complainant stated, that Mr. Stockdale, ac-
companied by the female now preient, came to Mr.
Delmar's office in the course of that afternoon, for
the purpose of demanding some accounts, on behalf
of the lady. He told the defendant that he was
directed to held no communication with hint, and
requested he would be good enough to withdraw.
This, however, he refused to do, and the lady and
he sat down in the office, declaring they would not
stir until the accounts were given to them. Mr.
Delmar then came in, and upon seeing Mr. Stock-
dale, immediately ordered him_ to quit the office.
Mr. Stockdale refused to do so, and n police-coo-
stable being called in, Mr. Delmar desired he would
remove the intruders; whereupon the constable,
took Mr. Stockdale gently by the shoulder, and told
him he must quit the house. After some altercation
Mr. Stockdale, the lady, and the constable left the
office together, but had been gone only a few minutes
when the constable returned, followed by Mr. Stock-
dale and his companion. The defendant was about
to push his way again into the office, when he (Mr.
Mill) stepped forward and told him if he did not
retire peaceably he would himself expel hiat, upon
which Mr. Stockdale struck him a blow on the
mouth, and said, " Now take me to Bow-street, if
you like." The constable was immediately desired
to take Mr. Stockdale into custody for the assault,
and this was the charge which he (Mr. Mill) pre-
ferred against that gentleman.
Mr. Stockdale, in reply, stated that he was au-
thorized by the lady who was present to demand
front Mr. Delmar an account of certain sums which
that gentleman had paid for her, and that account
was the more desirable, as the lady understood that
some of the items had been (unintentionally of
course) paid twice over. He brought the lady with
him to convince Mr. Delmar that she had autho-
rized him to act on her behalf, a fact whicit that gen-
tleman had questioned when he demanded the ac-
counts on her behalf a few days before. Mr. Stock•
dale proceeded to state, that after he left the office in
the first instance, he followed the constable to -de-
mand his name and number, as he conceived he had
acted very unwarrantably in intcifering when no
breach of the peace had been committed. As to the
blow, he declared he had struck none, although his

land might have " slipped," and hit Mr. in
be face.

The police constable saw Mr. Stockdale strike Mr.
Mill, and in his opinion the blow was not accidental.
Sir R. BIRNIE said, that the present charge ap-
peared to be of a vet), trifling nature, and arose out
of a peaceable demand of certain accounts, which
the solicitor, it appeared, had refused to furnish.
Mr. Mill said that the lady had already been fur-
nished with the accounts in question.
The lady here stepped forward and denied this
adding that she had been cruelly used with respect
to a certain bond, by which an annuity of 5001. had
been secured to her.

Mr. Stockdale declared that the lady was a most
persecuted woman, and-the history of the bond of
which she had spoken, and which he had signed as
her trustee, would reflect very little credit upon the
parties who deprived her of the benefits which she
was entitled to derive from it.
Mr. Mill denietrdthe- assertion of Mr. Stockdale --
which he declared was wholly untrue. ." But what
can you expect from Mr. Stockdale ?" he added;
and, pointing to the lady, he continued, " This is
the celebrated Harriette Wilson, Sir Richard, and
secondNr
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Memoirs.
,
that
her name was Harriette Wilson. She was the
widow, she said, of an officer of high rank in the
army, and knew nothing of the person named.
Mr. Stockdale also denied that his companion
was Harriette Wilson, but even if she were Har-
riette Wilson, he added, that circumstance would
not alter the transaction, and money would be just
as acceptable to a solicitor, even although it came
from Harriette Wilson herself. Solicitors are not
very particular as to the mode in which they obtained
money, or the persons from whom they get it.
After some further acrimonious language had
passed, in the course of which the female declared
that in consequence of her being deprived of the
benefits of the bond, she had nearly famished in the
streets,

The parties retired, and Mr. Stoekdale entered

into his personal security in the clerk's orrice to be
forthcoming at the sessions, to meet.the complainant's
charge.

RDDLCTION•AT PORTSMOUTH AND

PLYMOUTH.

A most important measure has been adopted by
the Admiralty, which, while it retains at present in
the service of Government a large body of workmen
who would otherwise have been discharged, and
who, with their families, would probably have been
thrown upon the parishes, effects a very consider-
able saving in the public expenditure, The allow-
ance of chip-money to the artificers in the several
dock-yards, which at this port alone amounts to
12,0001. a-year, is to be withdrawn from the men;
so that at the sacrifice of a small portion of their el.
lowance, which in no case is more than sixpence,
and in many instances only feurpence and three-
pence per day to each artificer, no less than between
two and three hundred men are saved from that dis-
stress which under any circumstances, but more
especially in this inclement weather, would have
befallen them had the intended discharge been
carried into effect. We understand that this mode
of reduction emanated from a suggestion of Cs' eorge
Smith, Esq., Secretary to the Navy, wilt, is now
employed here to make such arrangements -as may
be likely to decrease the expenses of our Dock-
yulds. We feel assured, from Mr. Smith's perfect
knowledge of the reveille of business in the yards,
that the whole of the alterations. will be attended
with beneficial effects to the public.—Devonport
Tcleabra,?i,
Orders have been "received this week from the
,Lords of the Admiralty, directing the payment of
chip-money to the workmen of the Dock-yard to
cease on the first of next month. Their Lordships,
in communicating their directions, observe, that
there was no other alternative than that of dismissing
one-sixth of the workmen to effect the necessary
retrenchments. Their Lordships, it appears, have
taken the circumstance fully into their serious consi-
deration, and judge the measure they have adopted
to be the least likely to produce individual distress,
which was ordered by them to be made known to
the workman, Their Lordships, at the same time,
intimate, that should there be any desirous of leav-
ing the yard, in consequence of the deduction cf the
chip-money, such persons are to be permitted to
leays forthwith. It is also signified that the reel!-
b
latious against carrying out chips, &c., arc to be
kept iin toll force.—any person acting contrary to
them is to be discharged immeditLely. This re-
tenchment will be a sevieg in this yard alone of 8,000/.
per annum ; end in the Dock-yards collectively up-
wards a-f between 30 and 40,0L01, per
Ramps/fire Telegraph,.