The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-26 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS—Oct. 25

(Before Mr. Sergeant Adams, Assistant Judge.)
Thomas Powell, 42, was indicted for having unlaw-
fully assaulted Mary Ann Davis, with intent.
The defendant in this case lived at 69, Windsor-street,
Islington, and stood in relation of step father to the pro-
secutrix, a girl 13 years of age. The offence imputed to
him was committed on the 21st inst., and the evidence
of the girl clearly showed that though he was not guilty
on the first count, he had been guilty of most scandalous
conduct towards her.

The jury found him guilty of a common assault, and
The Assistant Judge sentenced him to four months'
imprisonment.
Florence Driscoll, a young man attired as a sailor, was
indicted for committing an assault on Emma Gooding,
with a felonious intent.

The prosecutrix, who said that she had been a wait-
ress at a tavern in Doctors' Commons, stated that she
was now keeping house for her brother, who had lost his
wife, in Lucas-street, St. George's. On the 13th inst.,
about three in the morning, she was returning from No.
2, Caroline-street, where she had been to a party, when
she was accosted by the defendant. He threw his arm
round her neck and tried to kiss her, upon which she
told him to let her alone, or she should call out for pro-
tection. She succeeded in getting away from him and
ran away, but he followed her, and committed an as-
sault upon her, the nature of which she described, and
which was set forth in the first count of the indictment.
She tried to push him away, but could not, through ex-
haustion. He held her about two minutes, and, attrac-
ted by her cries, a policeman came up and took him
away from her.
In cross-examination she stated that she went with
her sweetheart to the party at No, 2, Caroline-street.
She did not know the name of the person who gave the
party. It took place in the first floor. Her sweetheart
went away between one and two o'clock, leaving her
there, although he lodged in the house. She did not
know the names of the persons she was left with, she
had never seen them befare.
Storey, 149 K, stated that on the morning in ques-
tion he heard a female voice exclaim " Let me alone or
I will call for protection." In consequence he mPde his
way to the spot whence it proceeded. He heard a
sound as of persons running—then they stopped, and he
heard screams for police. When he came up he saw the
defendant with his arm round the prosecutrix's neck.
With one of his hands he was pulling her clothes about.
The prosecutrix was pushing him away, and as far as
witness could see was making every effort to release her-
self from him. Neither of them saw him until he had
got hold of the defendant. He had some difficulty to
get the defendant away, and the prosecutrix was greatly
excited. The defendant's dress was disarranged when
he took hold of him.

Cross-examinci -Irae defendant said to the prosecu-
trix " Why did you take my money ?" She denied that
she had taken any money from him. No sum was men-
tioned by the defendant.
The prosecutrix was recalled, and swore that she did
not receive money from the defendant.
The policeman said the prosecutrix volunteered to be
searched when at the police station. She declared that
she had no money about her.
The charge contained in the first count, that of the in-
tent, &c., was withdrawn, and the learned counsel for
the defence did not contend against the evidence as to
the assault.

The jury found the defendant guilty of a common
assault.

The Assistant Judge, after conferring with the magis-
trates on the bench, said he was not at all satisfied with
the account the prosecutrix gave as to the reason of her
being out. It was very strange that a young woman
should go with her sweetheart to a party where he
lodged, and the persons giving it quite unknown to her,
her sweetheart leaving her there for two hours, and
allowing her to go home at 3 in the morning by herself.
Mr. Parry said that the prosecutrix, even admitting
that she bad been guilty of imprudent conduct, was
entitled to protection from such an outrage as the de-
fendant had been guilty of.
The policeman said he had ascertained that the prose-
cutrix lived with her brother, a master shoe-maker, at a
most respectable house in Lucas-street, but he had not
inquired about the house in Caroline-street referred to.
The prosecutrix was keeping company with a young
man (a blacksmith) with whom she went to the house
in question on the night of this transaction.

The Assistant-Judge said the prosecutrix must be
protected from such conduct as had been proved against
the defendant. Under the circumstances, the sentence
was that he be imprisoned for one month.
Susan Keene, 39, was indicted for stealing a sheet,
value ls., the property of the trustees of the parish of
Saint Mary, Islington ; and Emma Atkin, 19, for felo-
niously receiving the same, well knowing it to have
been stolen. The latter pleaded guilty.
It appeared that Keene was an inmate of the Isling-
ton workhouse, and Atkins was admitted as a vagrant
on the night of the 11th of October, and lodged in the
ward appropriated for that class of persons. Next morn-
ing Keene was (seen by another pauper at the door of
the vagrant ward, as if speaking to some one through
the keyhole, after which she went to her own room, and
returned in a few minutes with a white cloth, or what
appeared to be a white cloth, which she threw up to
an iron- grating over the vagrant ward door, and it was
caught by the hand of some person inside, and drawn
through the bars. Atkin was afterwards searched, and
a sheet, which was afterwards identified as the property
of the parish trustees, was found upon her.
Keene, in her defence, said she only threw some
bread tied up in a white rag to the bars, for the tramps,
as she knew they were pressed with hunger, being
brought into the house at night from the streets, and
kept till morning without anything to eat or drink.
The bread she threw wan some she did not want.

The jury found her Guilty.
It was shown that in May, 1851, Keen was convicted
of a similar offence, robbing the Islington workhouse.
The Assistant-Judge sentenced Keen to one year's
and Atkin to six month's hard labour.
Esther Kebble, 25, was indicted for stealing two mus-
lin caps and five pieces of muslin, the property of the
Committee of of the County Lunatic Asylum at
Colney Heath, and further for stealing a cotam night-
gown and a cotton apron, value 2s. 6d., the property of
Elizabeth Greville. The prisoner pleaded guilty to the
first charge, and not guilty to the second.
In answer to questions put by the Assistant-Judge to
the matron of the asylum and Elizabeth Greville, the
prosecutrix in the second case, who was a nurse at the
asylum, it was stated that the prisoner had been a nurse
at the asylum since July last, and she was suspected of
dishonesty, in consequence of Greville having noticed on
her apron some strings which she had missed some
time before. A search was made, and the other articles
mentioned in the indictment were discovered.
Sentenced to six months' hard labour.

Thomas Johnson, 20, and John Smith, 19, were in-
dicted on Monday for stealing a coat, the property of
Olaus Alson, and a coat, the property of Emanuel Lar-
sen, in the ship Emigrant, in the port of London.
It appeared that on the 14th inst. Mr. George Wil-
son, the chief constable of the East and West India
Docks, saw the prisoners going in a hurried manner
along the south quay of the dock. Knowing their pre-
vious character he followed them, and asked what they
were doing there, but they made no answer, and ran off,
one to the right and one to the left. He caught John-
son, and a gentleman held him while he went after
Smith, who was stopped 150 yards off by some labourers.
Smith was secured in a shed, and Mr. Wilson fetched
Johnson, and then took both of them to the police-
station in the dock, and the coats which each of them
were wearing were identified shortly afterwards as the
property of the prosecutors, having been stolen that day
from the foresail bowline of the Emigrant. The vessel
was lying alongside the quay, so that any person could
step on board, and both prisoners were seen on the
vessel shortly before the coats were stolen.
The jury found both prisoners guilty.
Former convictions were proved against each of them,
and it was stated that Smith had been committed n• less
than 16 times.

The Assistant-Judge sentenced them each to four
years' hard labour.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

GUILDHALL.— William Smith, describing himself
as a medical student, was placed at the bar charged with
being drunk and disorderly, and with assaulting a lady
in St. Paul's-churchyard and otherwise annoying her,
also with assaulting the officer in the execution of his
duty.

Sirs. Lack, of 46, Seckford-street, Clerkenwell, said
she was in St. Paul's-churchyard on the evening previous,
when the prisoner addressed her and behaved in a very
rude manner. He placed his hands upon her, and other-
wise persisted in annoying her, so that she was compelled
to give him into custody.
The officer said he tried to persuade the prisoner to go
away, and on his refusing he attempted to remove him,
but the prisoner being a tall and powerful man threw
him (the officer) on the ground and held him down un-
til assistance arrived, when witness got up and with
three other constables carried prisoner to the station,
for he positively refused to walk.
Sir R. W. Carden said persons holdinsz a respectable
position and belonging to an honourable profession like
the prisoner ought to know better than to misconduct
themselves in such a manner. However, ladies must
be protected, and he therefore fined the prisoner 40s.
for the assault upon the officer, 20s. for that on the lady,
and ss. for being drunk.
The fines were immediately paid.
_ _

Mrs. Margaret Freeman, was again brought up and
committed for trial on the charge of stealing 15s. from
the shop of Mr. Brookes, a chemist of Fleet-street, in
whose house she lodged. An application was made to
bail the prisoner, on account of her being in an advanced
stage of pregnancy, but as Mr. Brookes had lost between
201. and 301. in the same way and discharged several of
his servants in consequence it was considered an aggra-
vated case, and the application was therefore refused.

CLERKENWELL.—Tohn Cahill, of No. 20, Tyn-
dalls-buildings, Gray's-inn-lane, was charged with hav-
ing wilfully and maliciously stabbed William Mullins,
by which his life was placed in danger.
It appeared that legal proceedings had been insti-
tuted under the Lodging-house Act against a party
named Sullivan, residing in Tyndall's-buildings, for not
having duly registered, and in defiance of the decision of
the magistrate and the original landlord, they persisted
in keeping possession, although every means were
adopted for the purpose of ejecting them. On Sunday
night last John Bryan, the landlord's agent, renewed his
efforts to get the Sullivans out, which led to great ex-
citement, and ended in Mrs. Sullivan making a false
charge of robbery against Bryan, who was on Monday
brought to this court, and discharged by Mr. Tyrwhitt,
free from imputation. This led to further exxcitement

and ire, and the prisoner Cahill was heard to say that he
would " skiver" Bryan or any of his party. On Mon-
day evening, a formidable gang of the lower order of
Irish assembled in a public-house in Gray's-inn-lane,
where a row ensued, in which the prisoner and Mullins
were concerned, and the latter was said to have been
stabbed by Cahill with a knife. He bled profusely and
was taken to the Royal Free Hospital, Gray's-inn-road,
where his wounds were dressed, and where he now lies
in danger.

A surgeon's certificate to that effect was produced.
The prisoner positively denied the charge, saying that
he had not a knife in his possession, and it was a per-
son named M'Hugh, who stabbed Mullins. He called
several witnesses in support of this defence.
Mr. Tyrwhitt, however, under the circumstances, re-
manded the prisoner, as from the present condition of
Mullins, and the nature of the evidence, it would be
necessary for him to attend at the hospital to receive
his deposition, and
The prisoner was accordingly remanded.

LAMBETH.—Ann Bull, a well-dressed, middle-aged
female, who is the keeper of a low house in Granby-
street, Waterloo-road, was charged with grossly ill-
treating Eliza Bull, a little girl of eleven years of age.
The complainant, an intelligent child, said she bad
been living with her aunt, the prisoner, for about three
years, and during the whole of that time had been
treated with the greatest harshness. On Saturday last.
the prisoner having found fault with her about her
pinafore being wet, although it was not so, ordered her
to strip her clothes off. She did so, and while perfectly
naked, she set her to scrub the stairs down, which she
was obliged to do in that state. A week ago she said
her aunt struck her on the head with a saucepan, and
inflicted a wound which bled a good deal.
Police-constable Kitchen, 109 L, deposed that about
two o'clock on Saturday last he was sent for by a neigh-
bour of the prisoner's, and on looking through a windov,
saw the last witness in the act of scrubbing down the
stairs without a vestige of clothing on. He spoke to
the prisoner on the subject, and her reply was that the
girl was very bad and unruly, and she had done it to
check and improve her. On questioning the girl he
found that she had been subjected to so much cruelty
that he felt it to be his duty to take her to complain to
his worship.
Two young women spoke of a series of ill-treatment to
which the poor child had been subjected by the prisoner.
The prisoner, in reply to the charge, said the com-
plainant, her niece, was so obstinate and bad that she
was compelled to be a little strict with her, and called
two common girls who lived in her house to swear that
she had treated the unfortunate child most kindly.
These witnesses answered the questions put to them by
the magistrate so glibly and carelessly that Mr. Elliott
threatened to commit them to prison for perjury.
The magistrate, after commenting in severe terms on
the gross conduct of the prisoner, sentenced her to six
weeks' imprisonment and hard labour, and directed that
the child should be at once taken to the workhouse, so
that she might be sent to the country to her parents.

SOUTHWARK.— A cab-driver, 6,235, was sum-
moned by a gentleman named Willoughby for demand-
ing more than his fare. The complainant was driven
from the Russell-squaie end of Gordon-square to the
South-Eastern Railway terminus, London-bridge, via
Little Britain, Newgate-street being stopped up. At
the end of his ride 2s. was demanded, which complainant
alleged was 6d. too much.
The ground was measured, when it was found that
the distance was 3 miles and 272 yards. Complainant
had therefore to lose the measuring fee, and pay the
cabman for loss of tune.

FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE of YESTERDAY.

At the Court at Windsor, the 24th day of October, 1853
present, the Queen's most excellent Majesty in Council.
It is this day ordered by her Majesty in Council, that the
Parliament, which stands prorogued to Thursday, the 27th
day of October instant, be further prorogued to Tuesday,
the 29th day of November next.
DOWNING-STREET, OCT. 22.

The Queen has been pleased to appoint Richard Yates
Cummins, Esq., to be Assistant Colonial Secretary to the
Government of Mauritius ; Stair Douglas, Esq., to be
Chief Clerk in the Colonial Secretary's Office; and Frederic
Robert Nixon, Esq., to be Guardian of Woods and Forests
in that colony.