The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-23 00:00:00

The jury found Scatterly guilty, and West not guilty.

Several Witnesses gave Scatterly a good character.
The Assistant-Judge said the marine-store dealers might

think themselves fortunate they were not placed in the
dock for receiving stolen goods, and he should refuse to
allow them any expenses. Hp sentenced Scatterly to be
imprisoned and kept to hard labour for four months.
In answer to Captain West,
The Assistant-Judge said he did not think there was any
imputation whatever against him.
AN AMERICAN INTENTION.

Frederick Thorneycroft, 29, was indicted for stealing a
silver-gilt watch and chain, and the sum of £l4 10s. 'and
upwards, the property and money of William Newman
Brake,in a dwelling-house. There was a second indictment
against him for stealing two scarf pins, value £6 and up-
wards, the property of Edward Fryer, in a dwelling-house.
The prosecutor in the first case is a surgeon in the Royal
Navy. In the month of February last he was staying at the
Norfolk Hotel, Norfolk-street, Strand, and on Feb. 24 he
went into his room, and soon fell asleep, and did not awake
till about nine o'clock the next morning. He was not sure
whether he locked his door, but on the following morning
on getting up, he found that his watch, money, and other
articles were gone. On the same morning Mr. Fryer, another
gentleman lodging at the Norfolk Hotel, found his door
handle tried, but no further attempt was made to enter his
room, as a light was burning ; but on a previous day he had
missed some valuable scarf pins from his dressing-table.
At five o'clock on the morning of the 25th the prisoner,
who had also been two or three days lodging in the hotel,
went away, staNg that he had to leave town by
an early train. On the Ist of March, Sergeant A ckrell, 15
F, from information which had reached him, went to Ber-
ners Hotel, Berners-street, and there he found that the pri-
soner was lodging, and he said he should take him into
custody for a robbery at the Norfolk Hotel. To this he re-
plied that ho had only just come from the country, but
afterwards admitted that he had been at the Norfolk Hotel.
He was then observed by the officer to bo fumbling with
something by the side of the bed, and on taking hold of
his hand found in it the instrument produced, which was
sknownused
of
" American tweezers," and it was
d for
of clipping tightly the end of the key
ub
tyh teh purpose e
which projects, beyond the ward, and thus enabled any one
to unlock a door from the outside as well as from within.
There was no doubt that this instrument enabled the pri-
soner to unlock the doors, and thus commit these robberies.
The instrument had been tried at the Norfolk Hotel, the
Berners Hotel, and the Great Northern Hotel, and it would
open every lock, even when locked inside, by turning the
key.

The Assistant-Judge remarked that it appeared locking
a room door afforded no security whatever.
The jury found the prisoner guilty.

The Assistant-Judge said this was an American inven-

tion, but he was happy to find that they had intelligence
enough in England to detect its rise. He should not then
pass sentence upon him, and in the meantime, between
then and the next session, if he thought fit to give any
account of the stolen property, it would be taken into con-
sideration in the sentence that would be passed upon him.

ASSAULT.
Peter Keenan, 73, was indicted for an indecent assault
upon Mary Ann Daniels.

Mr. Collins prosecuted, instructed by the Society for tho
Protection of Women and Children.

The prisoner was found guilty, and
The Assistant-Judge sentenced him to 12 months' hard
labour.

• PLUNDERM CABS.
Samuel Dawes, 24, and William Chubb, 27, were indicted
for stealing a portmanteau and other articles, value £3O,
the property of Arthur Phillip Hawthorne.
From the evidence of Mrs. Clow, it appeared that on the
night of the 27th of January, at half-past seven o'clock,
she saw a cab go along Compton-street, and one of the pri-
soners got up behind and took off a portmanteau and put it
on the pavement. The other prisoner then assisted to carry
it, upon which Mrs. Clow went up to them and made a re-
mark, when they dropped the portmanteau and ran off.
Having placed the portmanteau in a place of safety, she
went in pursuit of the prisoners, and lost sight of them. She
then gave information to the police, and at length Ser-
geant Ackrell, 13 F, succeeded in apprehending them.
Both prisoners were found guilty, and former convic-
tions having been proved against them, they were sen-
tenced each to be kept in penal servitude for ten years.