The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-06 00:00:00

venting persons crowding on board, the intentions of the
legislature could be carried into effect.

Mr. Alderman Lawrence stated that great complaints
had been made by the public of the overcrowding of
steamboats en the river, and the corpora'.,:on, with the
assistance of the Board of Trade, were determined to
carry out the provisions of this act, which was passed
for the protection of the public navigating the river.
With regard to.the suggestion of Mr. Newbon, the cor-
poration had no power to appoint an officer to attend
at the Tunnel pier, it being out of the jurisdiction- of
the city magistrates. He thought it would be well for
the directors themselves to appoint a competent person
at each of the piers where their boats called for passen-
gers, to see that no more persons went on board than
the number the vessel was licensed to carry. The penal-
ties in this case were severe, being a fine not exceeding
201., and a forfeiture of ss. for each passenger above the
number specified in the certificate. Under the circum-
stances of the case, he would fine the defendant 51. and
a further sum of Si. 55., being ss. for each of the 21
passengers beyond the number specified in the certificate.
In default of payment the defendant must be imprisoned
for one month.

Thomas Long, the master of the steamboat Waterman
No. 1, was convicted in the penalty of 201. ss. for car-
rying 81 passengers beyond the number mentioned in
the certificate for his boat, on Whit Monday.
Joseph Ball, master of the Woolwich boat Naiad, was
also convicted and fined 101. for carrying 40 passengers
on board his vessel on the same day beyond the
number permitted by the certificate granted by the
Board of Trade.

LAMBETH.—_A fashionably-dressqd young man, who
described himself as a professor of music, was placed at
the bar before the Hon. G. C. Norton, on a charge of
stealing a pianoforte, of the value of 151., the property
of Mr. Wilcockes, and two music books, belonging to
Mrs. Willan, a widow lady, residing in Brunswick-
street, Walworth.

From the testimony of Mrs. Willan, corroborated by
other witnesses, it appeared that on Tuesday week the
prisoner engaged an apartment at her house, repre-
senting at the time that he was a professor of music, and
engaged in that capacity at the Surrey gardens, and
said the piano would be of the utmost assistance to him,
as he had a great deal of music to compose for the gar-
dens. On the Thursday following the prisoner said he
was about to give a concert on the following evening at
the Royal Exchange Concert-rooms, Camden-town,
and asked Mrs. Willan if she had any objection to at-
tend to preside at the piano, and she consented to do so.
On the Friday afternoon the prisoner started the pro-
secutrix off in a cab, and soon after the prisoner came
to the house with Mr. Painter, a furniture broker, in
Gibson-street, Lambeth (to whom he had sold the in-
strument), and told the servant that there was no piano
in the concert-room, and that he had come to fetch the
instrument to her mistress. At eight o'clock in the
evening Mrs. Willan returned, after spending upwards
of two hours In the fruitless search for the Royal Ex-
change Concert-rooms, and then found that the piano,
which she had on hire from Mr. Wilcockes, and two
books were gone.
The prisoner did not deny the charge, and said that
the music books, were at the house of a tradesman in
Bond-street, who daughter he was teaching.
He was remanded to a future day.