The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-15 00:00:00

BOW-STREET.

A SAD CASE OF DESTITIITION.-A little girl, about 12
years of age, named Mary Ann Leech, was charged before
Mr. Hall with begging. . _ _

One of the officers of the Mendicity Society said for the
last two or three years he had known the child to be about
the streets, but he had never seen her beg and follow people
until yesterday, when he took her into custody. She ap-
peared very ill, and had scarcely any clothing on. He asked
where she lived, when she told him her mother and
father were both dead, and that ever since that she had
had to walk about the streets, and sleep, and get a little to
eat the best way she could.
Mr. Hall said it was a shocking thing to see a poor child
in such a condition, and asked where she slept last night.
The child said in Old Pye-street, Westminster. Some
time ago a good lady took her to the workhouse, in York-
street, where they took her in, but turned her out the next
morning. She had not a friend or relative in the world.
She felt very sick and ill, having had nothing to eat for a
long time.
Mr. Hall then sent for the relieving-officer of the Strand
Union, and having explained to him the circumstances of
the case, he instantly took the child to the Union, in order
that its pressing necessities might be immediately attended
to, and some inquiry made into the real facts attending its
expulsion from the workhouse at Westminster.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

DEFRAUDING WEST-END TRADES3IEN.—WiIIiam H.
Palmer, a young man, who was taken into custody at
Guernsey, by Sergeant Joy 9 C, was charged before Mr.
Knox, with obtaining some lace of the value of £7 from
Mr. Septimus Augustus Whitfield and others, laceman, of
142, New Bond-street, by fraudulent means.
William Henry Painter. assistant to Messrs. Whitfield
and Co, said that on the 27th. of May last, the prisoner
called and asked for some lace, stating that he was sent by
Mr. Roche (a customer). He (witness) then communicated
with Mr. Septimus Augustus Whitfield, one of the firm,
who told him to let the prisoner have the lace, and he then
gave him eight pieces of the value of £7, and the prisoner
took it away with him and also the invoice.
Mr. Knox said it would be necessary on another occasion
to have Mr. Whitfield present, as it was Mr. Whitfield who
had ordered the assistant to lee the prisoner have the goods,
believing that he came from Mr Roche.
Sergeant Joy, 9 C, said that he received information in
May last, that the prisoner had obtained goods from Messrs.
Whitfield and Co., and other:West-end tradesmen, by frau-
dulent means. He traced the prisoner to Jersey and Guern-
soy, and on Monday last succeeded in apprehending him
at the latter place. On telling the prisoner that he was a
police officer, and that he had a warrant to take him into
custody for defrauding Messrs. Whitfield and Co., and
others, at the west end of the town, he replied, " Yes, it's
all right, my name is Palmer. I certainly have done it,
and it is all through horse-racing, for I have lost from five
to seven hundred pounds in horse-racing. I was in hopes
before this that I might have been enabled to pay all the
tradesmen I have defrauded."
Mr. Knox said he supposed some one from Mr. Roche
would be in attendance.
Sergeant Joy said there would be, and that there were
several other cases against the prisoner.

Mr, Knox remanded the prisoner.
ANOTHER CASE.—Elizabeth Hensley, formerly house-
keeper to Mr. Spode, of Rugeley, Staffordshire, was
charged with obtaining money, and also endeavouring to
obtain some curtains by false pretences from Messrs. Sewell
and Cross, Compton House, Compton-street, Soho.
From the evidence of Henry Flanders, warehouseman to
Messrs. Sewell and Cross, it appeared that on the 9th of
June last the prisoner went to the shop in a state of great
excitement and apparent grief, stating that she was house-
keeper, to Mr. Spode, of Rugeley, Staffordshire (a customer
of the firm), and that she had been robbed of her purse on
her arrival at the London station of the Birmingham Rail-
way. As Mr. Spode was a customer of the house, Mr.
Hubbard, one of the firm, asked the prisoner, as she had no
money, whether a sovereign would assist her, at the same
time advising her to write to Mrs. Spode, acquainting her
with her misfortune. The prisoner said 30s. would be better,
and the money being handed to her she then sat down and
wrote a letter to Mrs. Spode, telling her of the misfortune
she had met with, and begging Mrs. Spode to write to her
by return of post. After some conversation with the assis-
tants the prisoner suddenly recollected that Mrs. Spode had
told her to select some curtains, and some being shown the
prisoner, she chose curtains to the amount of £25, ordering
them to be sent to Mrs. Spode. The goods were sent, and
then the prisoner's fraud was discovered.

Mr. Knox said there was no doubt that all the prisoner
had said about the curtains was to cover the affair of
the 303.

Mr. Sharratt, steward to Mr. Spode, said that the pri-
soner left Mr. Spode's service in April last year.
Butcher, 137 C, deposed to taking the prisoner into cus-
tody at Birmingham yesterday, on her leaving the borough
gaol, when she said she was sorry for what she had done.
There was another charge against the prisoner for a similar
offence at a fishmonger's in Oxford-street.
Remanded.