The Sun.
London, England, 1854-01-27 00:00:00

witnesses in support of the said charge of setting his
house on fire :

Sarah Bulb, 27, Thayer-street—l know the the pri-
soner. Yesterday week or the day before, I can't
exactly say which, I went out upon an errand and saw
the prisoner go into the house at 20 minutes past 10.
In about 5 minutes I came back, and just as I got op-
posite to the house I heard a dreadful noise, and almost
at the same moment the prisoner came out of the pre-
mises. I saw flames through the fanlight of the shop-
door and also from the bottom of the window. I said to
him (prisoner) for God's sake go back to your house, for
it's in flames, when he said in reply to my assertion,
" Oh, d—n the house," and he ran away as fast as he
could up South-street. 1 knocked loudly at his door,
and also at the door adjoining, and in a short time a
great crowd had collected. I then went home, not
liking to mix myself up with the number of persons
who were at the house. The noise I heard was like
that of a gun going off. The house was on fire when
I went back. I could not get near to it owing to
the crowd. When the prisoner left the house he had
a bundle.

Robert Hutchings—l have the charge of a fire-escape.
On Tuesday night, the 17th instant, I was called to a fire
at 36, Thayer-street, and on my arrival there I found
the shop in flames. I made my way in and saw that
the woodwork of the window, and the shutters was on
fire. There was a quantity of shavings in a state of
ignition upon the floor, and there was a box of lucifers
just above the gas-pipe ; the cock of the main pipe to
the gas was turned on full. I tried to turn it off, but
could not, and I at length stopped up the opening with
a cork.

Mr. George Turnham, landlord of the Angel, 37,
Thayer-street, said I heard a knocking, and ran out. I
saw that the shop was in flames, the door was fastened,
and I and some friends of mine made our way in. On
entering the shop we found upon the floor shavings,
which were burning—they had evidently just been
lighted. I lost no time in procuring buckets of water,
and the fire was then after some time put out. I went
down stairs, and in the kitchen I found an old man and
his wife and three or four children.
Other evidence of a nature strongly eliminating the
prisoner was go into, and the prisoner, who denied in
toto the charges preferred against him, was remanded.

HAMMERSMITH.—Thos. Walker and Wm. Thos.
Holloway were charged with committing a violent as-
sault upon Mr. Benjamin Baker, a clerk in the employ
of Mr. John Newson.

A gentleman named Duvall, owner of property in Peel-
street, Kensington, and Mr. Newson was appointed the
agent, who in his absence authorised his clerk, the pre-
sent complainant, to act in his behalf, and to collect the
rents. A female named Spiller had occupied No. 15, in
Peel-street for many years, and when the complainant
entered upon his duties he found her a weekly tenant
paying 7s. a week. She neglected to pay her rent
for some considerable time, and was in arrears to the
amount of 211. The complainant gave her notice to
quit, several months ago, but she did not quit the pre-
mises until about the end of October last, when she
gave up the key of the house on the consideration of the
rent being forgiven her. The key was delivered at their
town office, and at the time she yielded possession of
the house she said it was empty, and that there were
no lodgers upon the premises. Subsequently the com-
plainant sent some men to repair the house before letting
it to another tenant, when, to his astonishment, he found
the defendant Holloway domesticated in the house with
his family, and upon seeing the complainant he offered
to become a tenant, which the complainant refused, and
told him that he was a trespasser, and that he must
leaye the house. He then said that his child was very
ill, and that it would be dangerous to remove it. Ul-
timately, the complainant allowed him to remain in
the house upon sufferance until the child was better,
as he did not wish to appear arbitrary to him, under
the circumstances. Upon another visit to the house,
the complainant met with another surprise, in beholding
the other defendant in the house, and it turned out that
he was also living upon the premises. Walker ten-
dered the complainant money as rent for living in the
house, and asked him to allow him to become a tenant.
The complainant refused both offers, and desired him to
leave the house. Matters remained in that state until
Thursday morning, the 19th inst., when the complainant
proceeded to the house in question with some men, for
the purpose of ejecting Walker and his goods out of the
place, if be refused to leave quietly; The defendant
Walker was asked to quit peaceably, which he refused,
and the men commenced taking some of the things out
of the rooms. Both defendants resisted violently, and
in the affray in the passage Holloway caught hold of the
complainant's hair, and also bit him severely on the back
of his hand. The other defendant also struck him vio-
lently in the back, and endeavoured to prevent the goods
from being removed. After some difficulty Holloway
was carried into the street, and the other defendant ran
into one of the rooms where his goods were, and bar-
ricaded himself in, while Holloway gained admission
into the house by means of climbing over the wall of
the adjoining premises. Mr. M`Leland, a broker,
was also present, and had accompanied the com-
plainant into the house. Walker's door was subse-
quently broken open, and all his goods removed into the
street. He was then told to leave, which he did from
his own room, and he then walked into the room occu-
pied by Holloway, and said 'he was the guest of Hol-
loway. lie afterwards returned to his own room and
placed himself in the extreme corner. The complainant
and his men then laid hold of him and carried him to
the stairs, where he caught hold of the banisters, and
in his resistance they were all broken and they came
down to the passage, where the defendant laid himself
down. He was then picked up and carried into the
street.

The defence was that Mrs. Spiller was still the tenant
of the house, and that defendants were her lodgers.
But as she was not called as a witness, and the sur-
render of her tenancy was sworn to,
Mr. Paynter said there did not appear to him to be
a shadow of a defence, and in fact he considered the
case completely undefended. He then• described the
case as being the most wanton and disgraceful trespass
that had ever been brought before him, and said the
defendants had held possession in open violence of the
law to prevent and obstruct the lawful owner from
securing his own property. He fined Holloway the
sum of 31., or one month's imprisonment, and Walker
the sum of 30s. and costs, or 21 days' imprisonment.
The defendants Walke't and Holloway were unable
to pay their fines, and they were locked up.

ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.