The Sun.
London, England, 1837-10-05 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.

FORD V. A CONVICTION OF B-oircx COMBE, ESQ.—This
was an appeal against a conviction of Mr. Combe, the Ma-
gistrate, who fined the appellant for refusing to pay a toll.
Mr. BODKIN, for the respondent, stated the facts of the
case. The defendant was a dairyman residing at Clapton,
where he kept a great number of cows. He had a right
of pasture for those cows on certain marshes in the
neighbourhood of Hackney, which marshes were situate
on both sides of the road in question where the toll alleged
to be payable was demanded. The cows, both in going
and returning from pasture, were driven partly along that
road, but did not, he would admit, proceed the distance of
two miles along it. He would also admit that the road
had been established upwards of 25 years, and that until
lately no toll had been demanded of him, and his cows had
been allowed to pass toll free. The only question in dis-
pute was whether his cows came within the excepting
clause of the General Turnpike Act, the 3d George IV.,
ch. 125, sec. 32, which excepted " all horses and other
cattle employed in husbandry" (evidently referring only to
beasts of burthen), either going to, or returning from,
pasture.

Mr. ADOLPHUS, for the appellant, said, if the Court de-
cided against the appellant the inevitable consequence would
be one of serious importance to the inhabitants of the
metropolis, for the dealers in milk must raise the price of
that necessary article of consumption if they were to pay
a toll for their cows in going and returning from pasture.
The toll, in fact, would amount to! nearly as much as the
value of the milk.

This last observation had evidently an effect on the Bench,
and after consulting together some time the Court quashed
the conviction, thus depriving the purveyors of that neces-
sary article of an excuse for increasing the price of chalk
and water.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSION-HOUSE.

ElUak Silkman, the Jew of Salee, who was a few days
ago charged with having induced a boy named Abrahams to
rob Messrs. Davis, the hardwaremen, his masters, of con-
siderable property, was brought up for final examination.
Abrahams stated the following particulars :—He had
about two years ago entered into the employment of
Messrs. Davis as an errand boy. He had previously been
in service at the house of a grocer, and while he was there
a Turkish Jew, who was called David, asked him for a
piece of gum, which he consented to let the Jew have. A.
soon as he got into Messrs. Davis's service, David asked
him for some hardware articles, and threatened if the re-
quest was not complied with to tell about the gum. This
led the way to the plunder which took place to a very great
extent. He gave some ornamental articles to David, and
soon afterwards the prisoner Silkman applied to him for
some of the same sort with which David had been supplied,
and said that if any difficulty was thrown in the way, he
knew what course to take. The boy said that fear of being
betrayed and punished worked upon his mind, and he stole
property whenever an opportunity occurred, and handed it
over to Silkman, who gave him 6d. or I s. for himself as a
reward for his exertions. At length, for the purpose of
possessing himself of plunder to the satisfaction of the Jew
Silkman, lie made a hole from one cellar to another, in
which a great deal of property was kept, and proceeded to
pillage in a wonderful way. When he first made the hole
and got in lie was much alarmed, and he told Silkman that
he was afraid to go at the work. " Oh (observed Silk-
man) stop it up when you are done ony good, and open when
you want to go again." Up to within the last few days he
had continued robbing, until he was accused by one of his
masters, and taken into custody by a policeman.
Th,t piisaner was committed for trial.