The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-11 00:00:00

SOUTHWARK.

INDUSTRIOUS PICKPOCKETS.—Robert Turner and Tho-
mas Leack, two boys, between 14 and 15, were charged
before Mr. Woolrych with picking pockets.
From the evidence it appeared that a police constable
who was on duty perceived the two boys together in the
Borough, last Saturday evening, and suspecting that they
were young thieves, he watched them. He saw them pick
several gentlemen's pockets of their handkerchiefs, and
took them into custody.

Both prisoners denied the charge, and were committed
,o prison for one month each.

A MUSICAL MENDICANT.—..Denis Burke, whose accent
proclaimed him a native of the " Emerald Isle," was
charged with begging.

Policeman L5B said that about half-past 8 o'clock on
Saturday evening he saw the prisoner in the Lower Marsh,
Lambeth. He was singing, and received money from dif-
ferent persons. On being desired to move on he went
about 15 yards further, but in doing so occupied about
half-an-hour, and during that time continued his vocal
performance. He took him into custody, and 2e. 7d. was
found on his person.

The Prisoner—l was only singing, and never knew that
singing in the open streets was begging.
Mr. Woolrych—lf you get money by singing openly ii
is begging according to law.

The Prisoner expressed some surprise at this decision of
the worthy magistrate, and was dismissed with a caution
not to repeat the offence.

THAMES.
THE GROOM AND HIS MASTER.—George Smith, a groom
in the service of Mr. Poole, a gentleman residing in the
Mile-end-road, was brought before Mr. Paget charged with
assaulting and wounding his master.

The prosecutor had occasion to find fault with the pri-
soner for not properly cleaning out his stables. Some
words and a scuffle ensued between them, and the prisoner
threatened to hit Mr. Poole with a pitchfork. Mr. Poole
immediately took the pitchfork from the groom's hand and
told him to leave the premises. The prisoner directly
struck his master a violent blow on the mouth and
wounded him.

Dr. Ansel], who dressed the wound on the complainant's
face, said it was 3 in. in length and a third of an inch in
depth.
._

Tstriking his master, and said the
woundhe ispwrasoinneflr admittedwithicted
thenail of his thumb.
Dr. Ansoll, who is a gentleman of great experince in his
profession, and is Medical Officer to the Poplar Board of
Works, said he would take upon himself decidedly to say
the wound was inflicted with a sharp instrument. It was
a clean cut. The thumb nail could not have inflicted such
a wound.

Mr. Paget belived the prisoner had used a knife. It was
a most cowardly and malicious act. He sentenced the pri-
soner to be imprisoned two months and kept to hard labour.

LONGFELLOW, THE POET, IS said to be engaged on
a new story in verse, the incidents of which are drawn
from the war. The measure Is chiefly hexameter, and the
poem will possess some of the characteristics of " Evan-
geline."

GOETIIE'S VISIT TO HEAD-QUARTERS.—" As a de-
licious intermezzo, we may remark that Goethe, who
had come to the Prussian head-quarters as a commissary
for Weimar—' a tall, handsome man, always dressed in a
court suit, powdered, with a hair-bag and dress sword, who
looked like a minister'—was only a ' fellow' in the sight of
the old Prussian Junkers. An old corpulent major, who
marched with his battalion into Weimar, joined a party at
a wine-house. A young officer asked him whether be had
good quarters. Well, well, decent. lam with one (ethe
or Gothe—douce take me if I know the fellow's name.
it must be the celebrated Gilthe." It may be so : yes,
it may be. I felt the fellow's teeth, and he seems to me
to have flies in his bead.'"—Sir Lascelles Wraxall's Posthu-
mous Book of Miscellanies.

DR. TURNBULL'S EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS IN
CURING DEAFNESS.—The Abbe Moigno, at one of
his late sittings, stated that the learned doctor had cured
several persons deaf and dumb from their birth. The
patient is made to stop both his ears ; Dr. Turnbull then
places his watch on the subject's forehead, and if the tick-
ing is heard he thereby argues that the nerve is not para-
lysed, and that his method of cure may succeed. He then
pours a neutral liquid of his own composition into the ear,
and a few minutes after the spectators are surprised to find
that the patient can hear. From that moment the cure
commences, and is almost always crowned with success.

Mr. Martin, 16, John-street, Crutched-frairs, said I have
a deposit and current account in the Bank of London. On
the Bth of November I had £2,800 on deposit there. I did
not give the prisoner any directions as to the £1,600,
transferred from deposit to my current account. I did not
know of any such transaction having taken place until
after the prisoner was in custody. The sum of £1,600 has
not been transferred. On the Bth of November I did not
draw a cheque on the Bank of London for £6OO. I did
not receive the bank notes for £5OO and £lOO, of which the
particulars have been stated.
Mr. Mash—l am in the employ of Mr. Mortimer. I have
the care of his cash account, and I am in a position to
know what cheques he drew on the Bth of November. Mr.
Mortimer did not draw a cheque on the Bank of London
that day for £l,OOO or £1,600. He did not receive the
bank notes spoken to during the examination from the
prisoner.
Mr. W. F. White—l am a clerk in the Bank of London.
It is my duty to enter particulars of notes of the Bank of
England received at the Bank of London during each day.
I find in the proper place for bank notes received an entry
for £1,600 in bank notes received for Mr. Taylor. Those
notes are the same as those spoken of and produced by Mr
Mullins.
Another clerk in the Bank of London, who had charge
of the deposit ledger, said—ln 1865 I debited Mr. Richard
Martin's account for £1,600, the initials are in the pri-

soner's handwriting. We have no more than one depositor
of the name of, Richard Martin.
Mr. Mullins said that was all the evidence he had against
the prisoner.
The Lord Mayor then cautioned the prisoner, and asked
him what he had to say in answer to the charge.
He merely replied—l leave the matter in the hands of
my solicitor.

The Lord Mayor fully committed him for trial.

The Case of Mr. Tommey.

Mr. Tidd Pratt, the Registrar of Friendly Socie-
•
MANSION-HOUSE.--THIS DAY. ties in England, has just made the Report of the
Thomas Wood, one of the cashiers of the Bank of London, proceedings of his office for the year 1864, or rather
was placed before the Lord Mayor, on remand, charged that report has been printed by order of the House
with having stolen the sum of £1,900 and £1,600, the pro- of Commons since the month of July, and is now
perty of his employers, the directors of the said corporation. accessible to that large part of the communit Mr. Mullins said the prisoner was a cashier in the Bank y
of London, and from circumstances that had transpired an directly interested in the condition of these Unions.
Nor is the report without interest to thousands not
examination of his books and papers had been made,
and a fraud amounting to £3,500 had been die- immediately connected with the Societies, but to
covered. His books showed a greater amount of whom the official returns present reliable data for
money in hand than was really the fact, and studying the condition of many classes among
on the last occasion that ho made up his cash and posted whom such inquiries by private persons, however
his book, he represented that he had £3,000 in hand,when
on examination it was discovered ho had but £1,300. The zealously pursued, are beset with difficulties. The
law itself, carried into effect by a public officer, is
prisoner made it appear that £1,600 was to be transferred
from Mr. Martin's deposit to his drawing account, and only partially successful in obtaining information as
a debit note for that amount was passed through his to these bodies. A knowledge of the exact state of the
book, and there ought to have been a credit note funds and the number of members of each society,
made out, by the prisoner crediting his drawing ac published every year, would be a great protection
count with the £1,600, but no such note was passed
to the working classes themselves, and a consider-
through the bank, as it was found in his
desk. He was then taken into custody. The prisoner able check on local abuses. But the wholesome
had made certain fictitious entries in the names of two publicity directed by recent legislation is not so
of the depositors in the Bank of the names of Martin and readily or generally given by the managers of these
Mortimer, and thus helhad been able to conceal his fraud. Societies as it ought to be. The present annual
The prisoner received gold for three Bank of England report closes with a complaint of the registrar of the
notes, one for £l,OOO, one for £5OO, and one for £lOO from
neglect with which the official forms sent to be
one of his fellow-clerks. The second robbery of £1,900
had been discovered since tho prisoner had been in cus-
filled up by the trustees and officers of the
tody. None of the cash has been recovered. Societies are treated. Last year 22,511 blank

forms were sent out by the registrar, but only
10,398, considerably less than half, were returned,
filled up with the details the law requires for pub-
lication. The Act of Parliament is certainly a
new one, and its object may not yet be clearly
understood. Mr. Tidd Pratt ascribes the gross
neglect of a duty rendered as easy to perform as
it possibly can be to the fact that "it generally
happens " the omission to make the return "is
owing to the accounts not having been kept or
audited." If this is really the case in any large
proportion of 10,000 or 11,000 societies, the state-
ment ought to excite the attention of the members
of those bodies without loss of time. But the more
hopeful view of the present inattention to the require-
ments of the law is that the meaning of the act is
not yet understood, and this defect is one that time
and better knowledge will remove. The law would
protect many thousands against fraud if they would
take advantage of it, which at present they do not.
Notwithstanding this and other defectsin the ma-
nagement of friendly societies, the principle on which
they are founded is very popular, and the number
of the institutions themselves appears to be increas-

ing. During the past year the Registrar received
only 120 notices of the dissolution of societies, 65 of
which have been gazetted as dissolved ; while he has
certified the rules of 1,056. A still larger number
have made alterations in their rules which the Re-
gistrar has approved. Thus cases of organisation are
far in excess of those dissolution—an encouraging

fact, as it indicates the increase of foresight and pro
vident habits.
The Registrar has still to lament another defect in
the management of friendly societies, though he
hopes the evil is decreasing, and is able to show that
the working classes themselves are becoming aware
of the injurious consequences of a very old practice.
It is that of holding the business meetings of these
clubs at a publichouse, with the accompanying obli-
gation of drinking for " the good" of the establish-
ment. The score run up is the landlord's rent, and
very dearly is the occupation of his room for an
evening paid for on these terms. Unfortunately, it
is often very difficult to obtain the use of a room on
other conditions. On this subject, and that of " an-
niversaries, " Mr. Tidd Pratt thus remarks :
" The Registrar still continues to receive complaints by
and on behalf of members of old-established societies with
respect to the compulsory payments they are required to
make monthly and annually for beer and the anniversary
meetings. The place of meeting, as stated on a former oc-
casion, should, if poasible, be at some public institution or
school-room, and if that cannot be obtained, and there is no
other place except an inn or a publicho use, a certain fixed
payment should be made for the hire of the room, lights,
and fire, with a stipulation that no beer, &c., should be
brought into the room until all business is concluded, when
each member shall pay for any refreshment he may require.
When an anniversary or annual feast is held, the contribu-
tion thereto and attendance thereat shall be voluntary,
though there seems no legal objection to a rule that every
member who lives within a given distance should have a
ticket sent him, which, if not returned at a certain time,
onr - 1.J.r0 the day of the feast, he should be re-
-quired to pay for ; but a better plan appears to bo for the
stewards to keep a book in which each member who in-
tends to dine shall enter his name, and pay a monthly cu,,
tribution for that purpose. This regulation of course could
not be incorporated as a rule, nor would the money sub-
scribed form any part of the funds of the society. As the
compulsory payments for beer, &c., are of no benefit to the
members, but for the good of the house,' and as no such
payments are inserted in any rules certified under the 18th
and 19th Vic., cap. 63, it appears desirable in future legis-
lation to provide that 'no such payments shall be made
any laws, rules, or regulations of any friendly or benefit
society to the contrary notwithstanding.' In reports of
previous years the Registrar has had to mention instances
of largo expenditure for drinking purposes, and the evils
arising from clubs being held at publichouses, on which
subject there has from time to time been considerable dis-
cussion in the press and other periodicals ; and although
the mischief is not now carried on to the extent it used to
be a quarter of a century ago, yet the evils now existing are
sufficient to cause a desire for a reform in this matter."
As a proof that a feeling against this forced ex-
penditure is growing up, the Registrar quotes a letter
on the subject from the organ of the Society of Fores-
ters, in which the effect of the practice in encourag-
ing intemperate habits is fully illustrated.