The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-31 00:00:00

THAMES

ROBBERY BY A DOMESTIC SERVANT.—Louisa Radford,
aged 15, was brought before Mr. Paget, charged with
stealing a diamond ring, valued at £25, a gold brooch, some
articles of millinery, and other property, belonging to her
master, Mr. J. M. Freeman, surgeon, and medical officer of
Mile-end Old-town and St. George-in-the-East.
Mr. Freeman, who is a very humane and kind-hearted
gentleman, was reluctant to proceed against the girl, and

if certain conditions were complied with, would at once
withdraw from the prosecution ; but on Mr. Pagot saying
he could not make terms with the prisoner, he said ho
must go on. Mr. Freeman said it was a most unpleasant
duty to prosecute his servant, and made several excuses
for the prisoner. He said, he lived with his family at No.
361, Mile-end-road. The prisoner had strange peculiarities,
and. among others a want of memory. A bracelet
and other things had been missing, and when
the girl had boen informed they were lost,
and the articles had been named, she produced them. Ono
day a drawer was accidentally opened, and one of his chil-
dren recognised some property belonging to his son. The
prisoner was spoken to about it, and she said, " Oh, yes, I
carried them about in my pocket for some time." A few
days after that he went to a drawer and missed a diamond
ring worth £25.

Mr. Paget—Was the drawer unlocked?
Mr. Freeman replied in the affirmative. The drawer
had been unlocked many years. There were diamonds
in the next compartment of the drawer. He wore the
diamond ring at intervals, and sometimes put it away for
two or three days. Inquiries had been made by the police,
and the property could not be found. A valuable brooch
was missing. At last the prisoner's box was opened, and
some sleeves and other articles of Millinery, an ivory
counter, some cartes de visite, and other things were found.
They belonged to him and his family. On the discovery
being made, the prisoner said, "Oh dear, no. I never put
them there at all. Mrs. Freeman or Miss Freeman must
have put them there to ruin me." The ladies were anxious
to save her, as ho was, and sent for her parents. They
wished her to be discharged and sent about her business,
and not prosecuted ; but the police, from inquiries, had no
doubt the girl had taken muchproperty, and said she ought
to be prosecuted. He did not believe the girl took the
diamond ring and gold brooch for the ordinary purposes of
theft, and that those articles had either gone into the canal
near his residence or down the water-closet. She had taken
it, admired it for its beauty, and put it away again, or lost
it. Her memory was very defective.

The prisoner made a long defence. She exhibited no
signs of mental incapacity. She said she picked up
the cartes de vi3ite on the floor while cleaning it
and being on her knees at the time, and with a
scrubbing brush in her hand she put them in her hand,
intending to restore them. She knew nothing about the
cuffs and other things owned by Mrs. Freeman. She had
never seen the diamond ring and brooch. They were never
lost in the house, she was certain. Last Tuesday Mr.
Freeman said to her, "Have you seen a ring lying about?"
Next day ho said, " I will give you a sovereign if you find
the ring." Yesterday "he went on so about his diamond
ring," and called in a policeman and sent for her parents.
The girl then went on for some time in a deprecatory
style relating to the arrangements of the house, which
there wcli
there was nothing to find fault with but want of respect
on her part towards a kind master and mistress.
Mr. Paget remanded the prisoner for a w
•

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE—This day,
--__

(ny MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.)
GRAVESEND, Tuesday Morning.—Frince, from Guernsey.
DEAL, Tuesday Morning.
Arrived

No arrivals.
Sailed—The Monarch (in tow), for London.

pALTEnTs3i IN STAFFORDSHIRE. Returns have
been published of the state of pauperism in the
county of Stafford in the first week of the present year. The
general result is that there is for the whole country a slight
increase in the number of inmates in the workhouses, and
a somewhat larger decrease in the outdoor paupers. Tam-
worth, which showed a considerable increase last year, this
year shows a decrease, the recipients of relief being less
than in the first week of 1863. There is a marked increase
in the number of paupers relieved in the Walsall union. In
the union of Newcastle-under-Lyme only one person in 50
IN'fIS in receipt of relief, whilst in the small union of Seisdon,
near Wolverhampton, one person in 13 was an actual pau-
per. Next to Newcastle, Cheadle, Stone, Burton, Leek,
Wolverhampton, and Stafford stand best for t 4 small pro-
portion of paupers to population ; while next to Siesdon in
the general prevalence of resort to parochial relief came
Tamworth, Lichfield, West Bromwich, and Dudley.
DETENTION OF TRAINS FROM SNOW'.—The trains
running into Leicester have, in many instances, been de-
layed by the unusual quantity of snow which has fallen.
In one cutting the snow had drifted to the depth of be-
tween six and eight feet. It is also reported that 'several
shocks of earthquake were felt in Leicester on Friday
morning. •