The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-09 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.-Aug. 8.

BOW-STREET.—HIGHWAY ROBBERY AND
ASSAULT.—WiIIiam Walker, a well-dressed but
repulsive-lookicg young man, was charged with
the following outrage upon an elderly widow lady
named Sarah Gover.

The prosecutrix, whose face exhibited the marks
of a violent blow, stated that she lived at Tooting,
and had come to London with two female friends
to see the Exhibition. They did not know until
they reached the building that it was a half-crown
day, and not being able to afford more than a shil-
ling each, they returned to Charing-cross. They
were standing at the corner of Adelaide-street and
Chandos-street, Strand, at four o'clock, when she
felt a pull at her pocket. She saw a boy withdraw
his hand, and drop half-a-crown upon the pave-
ment. She cried out " That's mine," but at the
moment she received a blow which knocked her
down. She identified the prisoner as the person
who struck her, and who also picked up the half-
crow n .
Mr. Henry asked the prosecutrix, who seemed
almost exhausted, if she did not know Friday and
Saturday were half-crown days.
Witness—We thought it was Saturday only.
The prisoner, on being asked if he had any ques-
tions to put, said—Somebody gave me a blow with
an umbrella, and I swung my hand round in re-
turn. I did not see who I was hitting,
Sophia Harding, also a widow, from Bury St.
Edmunds, said she was in company with the prose-
cutrix and another female, and saw the robbery
and assault. The two boys who were with priso-
ner escaped, but the latter struck Mrs. Gover and
picked up the money.
Another witness deposed to having seen the pri-
soner strike the old lady in the chest and face with
such violence that he thought he had almost killed
her.

Thomas Davies, 9, Jermyn-street, bootmaker,
deposed to having followed prisoner to Covent-
garden-market, where he was stopped by Alder-
man, the beadle, to whom he said, "I only gave a
woman a bit of a blow."
William Prior, 62 F, found a half-crown on the
prisoner, and another constable stated that the pri-
soner had been once or twice before convicted of
robberies with violence.
Prisoner—That was a long time ago, and no vio-
lence.
Mr. Henry—What are you, and where do you
live ?
Prisoner—l am a tailor, only there is no work
doing now. Ido not live anywhere in particular.
I go about from place to place—lodging-houses'
coffee-shops, &c. I have no fixed abode.
Mr. Henry—l shall remand you for a week, and
then you will be committed for trial at the Old
Bailey.

MARLBOROUGH - STREET. HAYMARKET
REFRESHMENT HOUSES.--Matthew Thomas, John
Tucker, and Daniel Margusoff were summoned be-
fore Mr. Knox by the police; for that they being
licensed refreshment-house keepers, at No. 53,
Haymarket, did unlawfully and knowingly suffer
prostitutes to assemble and continue in the said
house. _ _

Inspector Draper, C division, proved that after
one o'clock, on the morning of the 25th of July, he
visited No. 03, Haymarket, and found 15 prostitutes
and seven men assembled there. Several of the
women were taking coffee : he knew that the whole
of the women there were women of the town. A
person, who represented himself as proprietor, was
informed by him of the number of prostitutes pre-
sent. Visited the house about two o'clock, and
found four women ; at half-past three visited the
house again, and found eight prostitutes there and
ten men.

- Police-constable, 292 A, confirmed the above evi•
dence.

The police stated there was no appearance of
drunkenness or disorder in the Louse. The women
were not of the humbler class of prostitutes; they
were all well dressed. The lower class of women
would not be admitted.

Mr. Sleigh, for the defence, was aware that other
professional gentlemen, on similar evidence, had
contended in vain that no offence under the Re-
freshment Licence Act had been committed. The
Queen's Bench had decided in favour of the view
hitherto taken by magistrates, but he was there to
contend that this decision was incorrect. His as-
sertion was that the Legislature never intended to
debar unfortunate women from entering public-
houses and refreshment-houses for the mere purpose
of refreshment, even though they might enter such
houses in numbers together. What the Legislature
intended was, that women should not enter such
houses for an immoral purpose. Now nothing of
the sort had been proved in the present case.
Mr. Knox said he did not want proof of that.
The act did not require it.

Mr. Sleigh said the evidence showed that the
women went into the house for refreshment only,
not as prostitutes ; and he was satisfied it was only
because the house was located in the Haymarket
that such a case was entertained by the Court.
Mr. Knox said the point had been argued over
and over again ; the same arguments had been
urged on him, and he had done that which he
thought most advisable. Under such circumstances
he had put down a case in black and white, and had
sent it to the Superior Courts, which had affirmed
the view of the law he had taken. In one case
where only seven women were present, and no in-
decency visible, the conviction was affirmed. His
view of the law was that power was given to a
magistrate to convict or not, as might be best for
the public interests, though certainly the act itself
made no such limitation. The question for him
now to determine was, whether it was for the pub-
lic interest that he should enforce the law with
strictness. When he sat at the East end of the
town he dismissed cases of a similar character. Bat
what was the fact in these cases ? There might be
only a few women inside the house, but there were
500 or 000 walking about outside. The Haymarket
was the great centre. He did not wish to speak
too harshly of the rascality of the prostitution of
grown women and young children, and even worse
crimes. The refreshment houses were part and
parcel of the system. It might have been better
had the clause been struck out, and that such houses
should be closed at certain hours ; but as long as
the law stood as it did, so long must he continue to
convict. If his decision were objected to the par-
ties had the right of appeal Because the defen-
dant's house was in the Haymarket he inflicted a
fine of 405., and costs.
In the course of his address Mr. Sleigh took occa-
sion to refer to the construction of the court, which
he described as the most inconvenient of all the
police courts, and in which he said it was not only
impossible for an advocate to hear his own voice,
owing to the court's vicinity to the street, but to
hear the observations which might fall from the
Bench. This circumstance not only placed profes-
sional men at a disadvantage, but also suitors of all
classes.

SOUTHWARK— Mr. William North, the pro-
prietor of the Surrey coffee-house, appeared before
Mr. Burcham, in answer to his bail charged with
committing a series of assaults on Eliza North, his
wife. The
'Tuesday charge waafst,erinnotohne,
when Mr. Burcham firstinstance, entered
into
adjourned it, as the defendant was under the influ-
enTcehoefedorminpkiaj
parties,annadntb,oathmie.aged female, said that
were much excited.
on Tuesday morning, between 9 and 10 o'clock, her
husband was a great deal under the influence of
iiquor, and attempting to count the money. She
went up to him, and told him not to bother himself
about that then, hut put it in his pocket, go to bed,
and count it when he was sober. He turned round
upon her, and called her dreadful names. She went
into the coffee-room, when he came up to her, and
demanded the keys, and tore her dress off her back.
She gave him the keys as soon as she could get
them, when he beat her and knocked her about
shamefully. She then went upstairs to her bedroom,
when he followed her, and illused her again, and
tore her clothes a second time. She then came to
this court, and obtained a warrant for his appre-

_
hension.
In cross-examination she said she never abused
her husband at all, neither did she provoke him.
other women. In fact, she was an angel in temper.
hold of his hair, and say he went
She did not lay
(Laughter.)
The defendant here denied the accusation alto-
gether. His wife, far from being an angel, was one
and was always p
by their servant.rove
worst-tempered and most jealous of women,
of the
abusing him, which he could
Caroline Whitehouse said she was servant at the
Surrey coffee-house, She recollected on Tuesday