The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-19 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

BOW-STREET.—George Arrell, a young man in the
mploy of Scott, the bill-sticker, appeared to a summons
charging him with having destroyed two posting-bills of
the Haymarket and Adelphi Theatres, the property of
Mr. B. Webster.

For several weeks past a species of warfare has been
arried on between the rival bill-stickers of Drury-lane
nd the Haymarket Theatres, owing to a disputed right
of boarding, The scene of the present battle was in
Long Acre, where by the permission of Mr. Burstall,
the builder, the placards of the Haymarket and Adelphi
were displayed upon the hoarding in front of some houses
elonging to that gentleman, who stated that he granted
he privilege exclusively to the above theatres, although
admitting, in cross-examination, that he allowed Mr.
lbert Smith a portion of the space for the accommoda-
on of "Mont Blanc."

Evidence having been given relative to the destruction
the posters by the defendants, who was found covering
them with lamp-black.

Mr. Driscoll- (the defendant in previous cases) stated
that he was employed by Mr. Webster to obtain by fa-
vour, purchase, promise of " orders," or otherwise, the
best boardings that could be procured in and within ten
miles of London. It was then his duty to affix to these
the priiiate boards or frames belonging to Mr. Webster,
and place the bills upon them; but Mr. Scott, the Drury-
lane bill-sticker, who had almost a monopoly of the trade,
and employed a great many men, was constantly autho-
rising persons to efface or destroy them.
In cross-examination by Mr. Fenton, the witness ad-
mitted that the Drury-lane bills (about 251. worth) were
blacked first, but he denied having authorised any one to
do it. He knew who did black them, and on being
pressed, said it was a bill-sticker named Wells.
Mr. Webster, the lessee *of the Haymarket, expressed
his regret that this battle of the bill-stickers should con-
tinue, for he had done all in his power to avoid collision
with others by securing his own sites, which he had only
accomplished by a considerable outlay.
Mr. Jardine, after suggesting the terms of peace,
ordered the defendant to pay ss. for damage and costs
of the summons.

MARYLEBONE. --John Welch, a labourer, was
charged by Colonel Tovey, 54, Cambridge-terrace, Hyde-
park, under the following circumstances
The colonel, whose left eye was blackened and much
swollen, deposed that on the previous evening, between
seven and eight o'clock, while sitting at his dinner-table,
two of his female servants rushed into the room in a
great fright, and informed him that two men had been
endeavouring to force their way in at the front door, and
that they would not go away. He immediately got up
and went to the door, when seeing a man standing out-
side, he told him if he did not be off directly he would
send for the police.

Mr. Broughton—Was the man you speak of, Colonel,
the prisoner ?
Complainant—l have no doubt of it.
Mr. Broughton—Upon your telling him that, what
took place ?
Complainant—Prisoner said to me, in a determined
tone and manner, " I'm starving, I want relief, and re-
lief I must have." I called him a vagabond, and again
desired him to quit; adding that if he did not do so at
once I should give him into custody ; upon which he
told me that I and the police might go to —. I ob-
served that he had something in his hand, and fearing
that he meant to act violently towards me, I turned
round and seized hold of this, a piece of boxwood, some-
what in the form of a " ninepin," weighing about 101bs.,
and gave him to understand that if he persisted in stay-
ing where he was I should break his head. I went
round the corner to look for a policeman, when prisoner
followed me, and desired me to hit him. I saw two
other fellows near at hand, and was retracing my steps
hastily, when prisoner gave me a tremendous blow on
the loins, and attempted to trip me up, which he would
have succeeded in doing, had I not contrived to support
myself by placing my hands against the wall. I turned
round and made a blow at him with the piece of wood,
and he then gave me numerous blows. I got into my
house almost senseless, and soon afterwards my servants
came to me saying that two police officers had arrived
to take me into custody on a charge of assault. I went
with the officers in a cab to the station, where I ascer-
tained that the prisoner, who said he was much hurt,
had been taken to the hospital.
Mr. Broughton—You have said, Colonel, that you
struck at him. Did you hit him ?
Complainant—l did, but not until after he had as-
saulted me, and tripped me against the wall. I think I
must have struck his arm.

Prisoner—Did you not make a kick at my body when
I asked you for a ticket for the " Refuge" for the
night ?

Contplainant--I made no attempt to kick you, neither
did Y(JU mention a word about a ticket to me.
4ry Wall and Anne Livesay corroborated the evi-
denek as to the assault upon the colonel.
ergeant Allison, 8 D, said the prisoner came to the
sta'cion, where he stated that he had been assaulted by a
gentleman in Cambridge-terrace, merely because lie had
asked for a ticket for the Refuge for the destitute. Pri-
soner went with him, and pointed out to him the resi-
clence ; on witness going in, leaving prisoner in the care
of another officer, he saw Colonel Tovey bleeding from
the left eye. He took prisoner to St. Mary's Hospital,
where his arm was dressed, and he was subsequently
locked up on the charge preferred against him by com-
plainant.
Saint, 183 D, said that one day last week he saw the
prisoner on the steps of several doors in Cumberland-
place, and on asking him what business he had there, he
abused him, and challenged him to fight. Upon finding
that he was about to be taken into custody, he took to
his heels and escaped.

The prisoner's answer to the charge was that he merely
asked for a ticket, and that the Colonel made a
the lower part of his person, at the same time calling kick
atu
loudly for a knife. He could not get one from either of
his servants, when he picked up the piece of wood, and
aimed it at his head. He put up his arms to defend
himself, and upon one of them he received a blow which
njured him very much. " After that," said the pri
soner, " I did give him a tap ; and that's all I have to
tell you. I took possession of the stick, and carried it
to the station-house."
_The servants were both recalled, and they said that
Prisoner made no mention whatever respecting a ticket

for the " Refuge," neither did they hear the Colonel call
for a knife.

Mr. Broughton to Colonel Tovey—Did you ask for a
knife ?

.
Complamant—l did say "Bring me a carving knife,
and I'll settle him."

Mr. Broughton—Do you wear that you did not
assault the prisoner until after he struck you on the
loins, and tripped you up ?
Complainant—l do, sir, I certainly aimed at his head,
but he put up his arm at the moment of my doing so.
In reply to the Magistrate, Colonel Tovey said he
would rather the case were decided summarily.
Mr. Broughton characterised the outrage as being one
of a most ruffianly description, and for that outrage he
must pay a penalty of 51., or go for two months to the
House of Correction.—He was locked up.

LAMBETH.—Henry Godsall Johnson, alias Captain
Johnson, who has been in custody for several days on a
charge of obtaining from a wido'w lady named Stewart,
by false representations and a promise of marriage, rail-
way shares to the amount of 6001, and also money to a
considerable amount, were placed before Mr. Elliott for
further examination.

Mr. Robinson attended to prosecute ; and Mr. Parry
appeared for the prisoner.
The first witness called was

Mr. Ralph William Grey, who deposed—l am private
secretary to Lord Palmerston, and am well acquainted
with his lordship's family, and I am enabled to say that
the prisoner is certainly not a nephew to his lord-
ship. Ido not know the prisoner, nor have I ever, to
my knowledge, seen him before. The letter produced is
in the handwriting of Lord Palmerston. The letter
alluded to was as follows :

" Broakilands, Oct. 12, 1852.

" Dear Sir,—l have to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 9th instant, and to express my regret that I
cannot assist you in the matter to which your letter refers,
as I have no means of obtaining appointments for anybody.
" I am, dear sir, yours faithfully,

"H. G. Johnson,'Esq." "PA-I:MERSTON.
Mr. Grey, in continuation, said—There is a Mr. John-
son a consul at Antwerp, an old acquaintance, and, I
believe, a distant relation, of Lord Palmerston, but lam
not at all aware that the prisoner is a son of this Mr.
Johnson.
Mr. Robinson—Can you account for the friendly man-
ner in which Lord Palmerston had addressed the pri-
soner, or the party to whom his lordship had addressed
that note ?
Mr. Grey—ln no other way Vian that his lordship
was under the impression at the time that he was ad-
dressing the son of his old friend, and presumed that
that son was respectable.
In his cross-examination by Mr. Parry, Mr. Grey said
he was, not acquainted with the contents of the letter to
which the note put in from Lord Palmerston was an
answer, as he was not private secretary to his lordship
in October last. He had been informed, though he did
not know the fact of his own knowldege, that the prisoner
was son to the consul at Antwerp, and brother to a
Queen's messenger.
Mr. Robinson here intimated that he should call wit-
nesses who had been summoned to trace the notes paid
to the prisoner for the shares belonging to Mrs. Stewart.
The Prisoner—l admit I sold the shares, and received
the money for them.
Mr. Robinson—Then I now submit that the case of
Mrs. Stewart is ripe for committal, and I shall require
Mr. Grey on the trial to prove the fact he has before
stated, that the prisoner is not the nephew to Lord Pal-
merston, as he falsely represented himself to be.
The rrisoner—l never represented myself to be the
nephew of Lord Palmerston. I did say truly I was a
relation, but I never said I was Captain Johnson.
Mr. Robinson—There is sufficient proof that you re-
presented yourself as the nephew of Lord Palmerston,
and I now call for your commitment.
Mr. Elliott inquired if there were any further charges
against the prisoner, when
Mr. Dawson, a tailor and draper at Bedford, said he
knew the prisoner very well. In the year 1845 the
prisoner came to live at Bedford, and resided there for
some time as a gentleman, and went by the name of
Captain Johnson. He gave witness a liberal order
for clothes, and was in the habit of borrowing his
horses. In the latter end of October, or the begin-
ning of November, the prisoner requested the loan of
a valuable mare to drive to Northampton with, saying
he should be back on the following or subsequent day ;
but from that day until that morning he (witness)
had not caught sight of him, nor had he heard any ex-
cept very slight tidings of his valuable mare subsequent
to the prisoner's flight, after doing him to the tune of
671. Witness employed a lawyer to look after the cap-
tain and his mare, but the only thing he could learn of
either was, that the mare had been taken in a cart to the
station at Euston-square, some short time after the pri-
soner had her, by a shabby-looking fellow, to take away
some hampers of wine.
Prisoner—As' my counsel has not been instructed in
this case, I should be glad to be permitted to ask the
witness a few questions. The first question I wish to
ask the witness is this, whether he is quite certain that
I am the person who had the mare I
Witness—l am quite sure you are the person.
Prisoner—Are you sure it was not Mr. Douglas l
Witness—Yes, I am quite sure it was no person but
you, - - - -

Mr. Robinson—l suppose you had abundant oppor-
tunity of seeing the captain, and cannot be mistaken in
his person now ?
Witness—Yes, sir, I am quite certain he is the man.
The clerk of a wine merchant, in Pall-mall, deposed
that in 1845 the prisoner was introduced to his employers
as a most repectable gentleman, and gave an order for
choice wines to the amount of 1091., which he de-
sired should be forwarded to his residence, No. 1,
Victoria-terrace, Bedford, which was done. Soon
after, the gentleman who had introduced him called,
and said that he had been grossly deceived in the cha-
racter of Mr. Johnson. In consequence of what the
gentleman said, witness proceeded to Bedford, and had
an interview with the prisoner, who told him that the
wine was in possession of Captain Douglas, and that if
he would call on the following day he should make it all
right. He accordingly stopped in the town that nigh,
and on going to No. 1, Victoria-terrace, on the follow-
ing morning, he discovered that the prisoner, and a
female who was living with him, had bolted in the night
From subsequent inquiries which he had made, he (wit-
ness) found that the wine had never found its way to
Victoria-terrace, Bedford, but had been taken to New-
port Pagnel, and at that place redirected and sent back
to town.

Mr. Elliott—Did the prisoner make any representa-
tions at your employer's house, upon which the wine had
been sent to him, or was it merely on the introduction
of the gentleman you spoke of that you let him have the
property?
Witness--On the introduction of the gentleman, who
thought him at the time to be a person of the highest
respectability.
Mr. Elliott—Then, that being the fact, you will
not be able to make any case against the prisoner at
present.
Mr. Howard, of Bedford, who was present at the
last examination, here said that he had forgotten to
mention that the prisoner came to Bedford with an ac-
complice, a Captain Douglas, who assisted him in his
swindling practices. There was one tradesman present
whom they had swindled to the tune of near 2001., and
they ruined a poor confectioner by purchasing from him
a valuable horse, for which they gave him a bill of ex-
change so worthless as not to be worth the paper upon
which it was written.

Mr. Wells, a cabinet-maker and upholsterer, said that,
besides supplying the prisoner with the whole of the fur-
niture to furnish his house, and other goods on hire, he
had borrowed 10/. of him.

Mr. Parry contended that there was no proof what-
ever of his client using any false pretence to the trades-
men at Bedford. He was authorised to state, and he
could do so without fear of contradiction, that Mr. John-
son was the son of Mr. Johnson, who had resided at
Bedford for many years, and who was at present consul
at Antwerp, which appointment was given to him by
his friend and relative Lord Palmerston. He was also
brother to a Queen's messenger, who was also, he under-
stood, appointed by Lord Palmerston, and had been born
at Bedford in 1810, and all he had done was merely to
state that he was the son of his father who had lived
so long amongst them. Tradesmen in this, as in many
instances of a similar description, had only themselves
to blame for the reckless manner in which they forced
their goods on comparative strangers. As a proof of
this he begged to read a letter addressed by Mr. Howard,
the gentleman who took so active a part in these
proceedings, and who seemed to evince so strong a sym-
pathy for even Mr. Wells, the respectable tradesman who
had been last examined, and who gave his evidence with
such extreme fairness. The letter he alluded to was ad-
dressed to Johnson, Esq., Victoria-terrace, and was
as follows :

" Sir,—l hope you will excuse me in saying that I hope
you will allow me to supply you with fenders and fire-irons,
because I think you will consider that it is not proper in
Mr. Wells, knowing, as he does, that I am an equal pro-
prietor of Tictoria-terrace with Miss Green, and that we
built it partly to promote our respective businesses—it is,
therefore, painful thus to be supplanted, as it were, upon
one's own ground. If, therefore, you will allow them to
be returned, I will supply them, either upon hire or other-
wise, and upon the best terms. Will you allow me or my
son to wait upon you to receive your orders for any arti-
cles you may require ? and you will much oblige, sir, your
obedient servant, JOHN HOWARD.
The learned gentleman ably contended that, apart from
the moral offence, there was no evidence to convict his
client of fraud or larceny.
Mr. Elliott committed the prisoner in the case of Mrs.
Stewart, but remanded him in the case of horse-stealing.

A LONDON PARISH WITHOUT A RECTOR.—A repre-
sentation is about being made to the Bishop of London
by some of the most influential inhabitants of Wapping,
that their parish has now been for some months past
without a rector, on account of failure to present on the
part of the principal and fellows of Brazenose College,
Oxford, who are the patrons of the living. It appears
that the Rev. John Parry, the late rector, died on the
sth of August last, and although the officials have been
in daily expectation of receiving the nomination of a
successor, no notice of any appointment has yet reached
them. Upwards of five months have thus elapsed since
the death of Mr. Parry, and unless the college nomi-
nates a successor within the next three weeks, the pre-
sentatiOn will lapse to the bishop of the diocese. The
rectory of Wapping is worth abo'ut 3001. a year.
The much-vaunted French steamer Napoleon, what-
ever may be her sailing properties, appears to be suffer-
ing from a chronic disorder, which the doctors pronounce
as organic and, incurable. To speak without metaphor,
the machinery of this formidable-looking craft has• suf-
fered so complete
expectationsm odl steamer. that"...Nfx l Standard
a hd ae
dr a
unbegeiecemaneennta se tat oinde
d.a m
op
ft hheesra nags uti
hn e
ue

THE WEATHER AND ITS INFLUENCE ON
THE COUNTRY.

(From the Leeds Mercury.)

The long continuance of rainy weather, and the floods
which have occured in various parts of the country,
have excited a pretty general feeling of uneasiness in the
public mind in relation to the effect which may be pro-
duced upon our next harvest, and the disturbing influ-
ences which speculation in foreign, corn, arising out of
apprehended scarcity of grain, might have on the circu-
lating medium, and consequently on all the industrial
interests of the country.
We have been endeavouring to ascertain to what
extent the apprehensions of the public are justified by
what has already occurred, and the prospect for the
future, so far as it can be discerned at this very early
period of the year, and we have arrived at the following
result.

On all the high and dry land we believe the sowing of
wheat has been, for the most part, completed ; but on
the low and clay lands, that has not been the case—they
still remain to be sown, and that cannot now be done
till the spring. It has not unfrequently happened that
spring-sown wheats have turned out as well, and some-
times even better, than the autumn sown corn ; and it
is to be hoped that it will be so this year. If the weather
should now take up, there is nothing in what is past to
cause any serious apprehension for the future. We
strongly incline to the opinion that much more wheat
has been got into the ground than is generally sup-

posed. _ _
Soon after the last harvest we expressed an opinion,
that notwithstanding the defective crops in the southern
counties of England, the wheat crop of the entire king-
dom would be very little, if at all, short of an average
crop. We are now strengthened in that opinion.
The inferior wheats of the south, according to the mil-
lers, are producing a stronger flour than was anticipated.
In some parts of the country the yield per acre has been
extraordinary, and the quality excellent. A large quan-
tity, fully as much as usual, of old wheat remained on
hand at the time of the last harvest, and the supplies of
that wheat are still considerable.

In consequence of the partial failure of the potato crop
and the prosperous condition of the labouring population
of the country, the consumption of flour has been very
large, and the price of it has risen considerably. It is
not now at an extravagant rate, or likely to be so. Thus,
while it is not placed beyond the reach of the operative
in any degree, by unnaturally high prices, the grower is
amply remunerated by what he obtains for his produce.
Had the corn law been still in existence, a fir different
state of things would now have been in operation, weigh-
ing down the energies of the people.
According to the best information we can obtain, we
believe we may confidently say, that no speculation in
foreign wheat is going on at present in Yorkshire, and
that in London it does not exist to an extent worth
notice. What speculation there is in foreign grain is
almost confined to the general merchants of London,
many of whom are importing grain for the purpose of
supplying return freights for ships which might otherwise
have to come back in ballast, or, what is more probable,
go to other ports to seek a loading.
From one cause or other, there can be no doubt
that the surplus wheat and flour of foreign countries
will, under any circumstances, find their way, in greater
or less quantity, to this country, where they are always
sure of finding a market at higher or lower price ;
but unless our prospects in relation to the next harvest
become decidedly bad, the imports of foreign wheat and
flour will not be to such an extent as to create a drain
of gold that would produce a general disturbance of the
trade of the country.
An opinion prevails in some quarters that the Bank of
England will advance its minimum rate of discount
another half per cent. Should the idea prove well
founded, the advance will not be caused by speculations
in corn ; and even then, money will be cheap enough
for all legitimate purposes. The large amount of bullion
in the Bank coffers, and the very extensive arrivals of
gold from Australia, lead to the belief that no scarcity
of the precious metals need be apprehended.