The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-01 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIG.ENCP.—Jan. 31.

THAMES.—Ann Pavia, a very fat and vulgar
woman, the landlady of an oyster, refreshment, and
wine-rooms, 20, Grace's-alley, Wellclose square,
appeared before Mr. Selfe to answer a summons
which charged her with assaulting Ann Allen, a
servant girl, under circumstances of a very peculiar
nature.

Mr. Charles Young, solicitor, conducted the pro-
secution, and said it was quite unnecessary to state
who and what the defendant was, or the sort of
answer she would give to the charge.
The complainant, an orphan, about 17 years of
age, said she entered the service of Mrs. Pavitt on
Monday week. On Friday night last she was at
the door of the house in Grace's-alley, when three
or four sailors entered the shop and called for re-
freshments. Mrs. Pavitt showed them into a back
room where there were no windows. The other
female servant, who was foar or five years older
than complainant, followed them into the room,
The gas was on only with a little glimmer, and
Mrs. Pavitt called her into the room. She thought
she would have to wait upon the sailors, but she
was called in for the most infamous purpose. The
sailors began pulling her about, acted with great
indecency towards her, and raised her clothes. She
screamed aloud for help, and tried to get out, but
was unable to do so in consequence of the door
being held fast by her mistress, who called her a
little fool, and told her to submit to the wishes of
the ruffians in the room. She exclaimed, " No, I
will not," and kicked at the door. The sailors all
this time were taking indecent liberties with her.
She screamed aloud over and over again, and in two
or three minutes her mistress opened the door and
said, " I'll have no screamers here," ordered her to
leave the house, and refused to pay her any wages.
It was 11 o'clock at night, and when she asked for
some money to get a lodging, her mistress threat-
ened her, and said, " If you don't go, I will kick
you out."
In answer to a question from Mr. Selfe, the wit-
ness said the servant women laughed when the
sailors pulled her about, and did not resist them.

Mr. elfe—How did you find means to employ a
solicitor ?

Roche, the gaoler of the court—l will explain
that, sir. The poor girl has neither father nor
mother, and Mr. Young, on my suggestion, kindly
took up the case gratuitously.
Mary Palmer, a married woman, wife of a la-
bourer, said the complainant came to her at eleven
o'clock, and stated how she had been treated by the
sailors and her mistress. She protected the friend-
less girl from motives of charity.
The defendant made a long address to the magi-
strate, vilifying the complainant in a scandalous
manner, giving the biography of herself, husband,
and ten children, invoking the Divine vengeance
on her head, and the most frightful punishments
on herself and all that belonged to her, if she was
guilty of the conduct imputed to her. After pro.
ceeding in this strain for some time, and making
frequent appeals to Heaven to witness her inno-
cence and sufferings, she said the complainant ab-
sconded from her service on Thursday night ; that
the scene as described with the.sailors never hap-
pended ; that the girl stole £1 45., and some dresses
of her fellow-servant, and that she had been on the
look-out for her ever since to give her into custody.
Two women were called, who swore positively
that Ann Allen absconded from Mrs. Pavitt's house
on Thursday night, and confirmed everything their
mistress had said; but, on a searching cross-ques-
tioning by Mr. Selfe, involved themselves in a mass
of contradictions.

Mr. Young said that Mr. Yardley, who presided
in that court 13 years, had declared Mrs. Pavitt
to be the worst character in the district, and that
was saying- a good dealt and he had also declared
upon another occasion that Mrs. Pavia and her
witnesses ought to be indicted for wilful and cor-
rupt perjury.
After three hours' investigation,
Mr. Selfe said he wished to divest himself of all
that happened before on one side or the other;
but when perjury and subornation of perjury, and
the most outrageous blasphemy was practised
and spoken time after time, he found it difficult
indeed to restrain his prejudices. Mrs. Pavitt was,
without exception, the most wicked woman he ever
saw in the whole courze of his life. Every apzear-
ance of Mrs. Pavitt in that court had been marked
with the most conflicting testimony—that extraor-
dinary conflict of testimony which rendered it quite
impossible for him to divest his mind of what hap-
pened before. The prisoner had the audacity
to accuse an honest and respectable girl, was guilty
of petrjury, made the most solemn asseverations to
Heaven, continually invoked the Divine vengeance
while she was uttering her vile slanders and false-
hoods, and then called witness after witness, whom
she had suborned, to commit foul and deliberate
perjury. He could hardly conceive wickedness more
diabolical, more appalling. The prisoner had, by
false and specious pretences, enticed the girl away
from a respectable place to ruin her, both body and
soul, and to make her as degraded as herself and
her servant woman, Caroline Crook. Taking into
consideration the circumstances under which the
assault was committed, the audacious profanity of
Mrs. Pavitt, and her attempt to effect the ruin of a
friendless and virtuous girl, by putting her into a
room with half-drunken sailors at 11 o'clock at
night, he should ill discharge his duty if he did not
inflixt a severe sentence. He should not fine Mrs.
Pavitt again, She would have to undergo impri-
sonment and hard labour, and it was fortunate the
new law met such a case as this. The assault com-
mitted by the defendant was trifling—only just an
assault in law—,but it was the circumstances by
which it was surrounded that rendered it peculiarly,
atrocious. He sentenced the prisoner to be impri-