The Sun.
London, England, 1838-11-24 00:00:00

MARYLEBOIVE.

John Tomkins was charged with stealing a book from a
shop in Hanway-court.
The prisoner was remanded until Monday.
Between one of the witnesses, who appeared against
him, and Mr. Rawlinson, the following curious conversa-
tion passed :

Mr. RAWLINSON—What are you ? Witness—l have
been in the H division of police, but resigned, in conse-
quence of a report of drunkeness being sent in to the Com-
missioners. My reason for resigning was, Colonel Rowan
suggested to me that by so doing I would not disqualify
myself from a future situation.

Mr.RAwLiNsoN—Do you mean to say that Colonel Rowan
used these worth ? Witness—Yes.

Mr. RAWLINSON—Were you ever reported before?
Winess (with apparent reluctance)—Ncarly twenty times.
Mr. ItAwLiNsoN (to one of the inspectors)—ls it usual
to keep a man in the force, when so many reports were
against him ?
To which the ex-policeman said, he hal known instances
where there were forty reports against some men.
SHAM PARCELS.—A ma❑ named Burn was placed at
the bar, charged with having defrauded Mr. Brown, re-
siding in the New road, of Is. 2d., in the following artful
manner :

It appeared from the evidence that, on the previous
evening, the prisoner knocked at the door of prosecutor,
rote whose son's hands he delivered a parcel, for which he
demanded Is. 2d., at the same time stating that he was in
a great hurry, as the stage-coach was waiting for him a
short distance off. The money was given to him, and he
then quitted the place, and on the parcel being cpened
directly afters ards it was found to contain nothing more
than an old mutilated 4s. 9d. gossamer, not worth a single
penny. The prisoner was, in the course of the same even•
ing, traced to a public-house in the neighbourhood, and
given into the custody of a constable. He was at the time
much the worse for drink.
In reply to the charge, the prisoner said that some young
men had done up the parcel by way of a joke, and that,
to oblige them, he foolishly delivered it, agreeably to the
address thereon written.

lie was remanded for the production of further evidence.

QUEEN-SQUARE.

Jane Steer and Elizabeth Aliistead, two handsome look-
ing girls, attired in large silk cloaks and boas, were yester-
day placed at the bar, charged with shoplifting.
John Cooper, shopman to Mr. Harvey, haberdasher
and linen-draper, of No. 89, Lownes'.terrace, Knights-
bridge, stated that the two prisoners, who were servants
in the employment of Captain Eastwick, of No. 33,
St. Anne's place, Brompton, came into his master's shop
yesterday morning, and desired to have the Captain's
bill, as he was desirous of discharging the account.
They were requested to sit down while the clerk
made out the bill ; but they desired some articles
might be shown them, as they wished to make two or
three little purchases fur themselves. A quantity of blonde
quilling, gloves, lace, and other things were shown them,
none of which they approved ; but the shopman having
watched them narrowly, was induced to make some com-
munication to his master, and the prisoners were invited
into the back warehouse, where, a constable being sent for,
they were searched, and forty yai ds of very handsome
blonde quilling, fifteen yards of silk lace, and two pairs of
kid gloves, were found on their persons.
Mr. Harvey did not appear at all inclined to prosecute,
but

Mr. WHITE fully committed the prisoners for trial.

HA7'TON-GARDEN.

THE COAL TRADE.—Thomas Belt, a coal-dealer, of St.
John-street, Clerkenwell, appeared to a summons, to an-
swer the complaint of Tbomas Collett, of Thotnas-street,
Clerkenwell, for having supplied a sack of coals, being
15Ibs. deficient in weight, contrary to the Statute.
Mr. Robinson attended for the defendant.

It appeared that the complainant, who is a working man,
ordered a sack of coals of the defendant, to be sent to his
house. They were taken to his residence in a truck, when,
suspecting that they were short in weight, he requested
that they should be weighed pr'or to their delivery, in his
presence ; but the party who brought them having no
machine, they were delivered, when witness weighed them,
and found that they were 151bs. deficient. Such imposition
being practised upon poor people, who were in the habit of
purchasing small quantities of coals, he determined on
bri, ging the case forward, to check the practice.
Mr. BENETT perused the Act of Parliament, the 58th
clause of which stated that all coals less than 5601b5.
should be weighed previous to their being delivered to the
purchaser, but the 57th clause extended only to chaldrons.
The question here was, whether the coal-dealer was obliged
to carry a weighing-machine with a truck conveying only a
sack of coals. The Act did not allude to a truck, but it
was evident that the coals ought to be weighed previous to
their delivery.
Mr. Robinson contended that his client had weighed the
coals previous to delivery at his own house.
Mr. BENETT called upon him to prove that fact.
Mr. Robinson—Tha onus rests with the complainant
to prove that they were not weighed previous to their
delivery.
Mr. BENETT felt inclined to dismiss the case.

Complainant—lf you dismiss the case I am determined
to indict him at the Sessions, if it costs me 501. ; I will put
a stop to it,

Mr. Robinson urged that the case ought to be dismissed,
as the coals had been weighed, and that they were not com-
pelled to carry a machine with a truck.
Mr. BENETT said that it was a case of considerable im-
portance to the public, and he would not decide nor offer
an opinion until he had attentively considered the law re-
lating to it, and he postponed it till a future day.

UNION-HALL.
Yesterday two men, named King and Bullis, and a woman
named Smith, were charged with converting the proceeds of
a reticule lost in the streets by a lady, to their own use.
The The complainant stated that on her way home to Ken-
nington, in passing along the New-cut with her reticuleor
.
suspended by a string to her arm, it either dropped,the
string was cut, and she lost it. There was in the reticule
at the time a purse containing 9/., besides a pair of gold
bracelets and some other articles of jewellery. The day
following that on which the property was lost, the owner
gave information of her loss at the station-house, and offered
a reward of 51. for its restoration. Soon afterwards the
police of the L division traced the reticule to the possession
of the female prisoner, whose son, a little boy; said that he
picked it up in the New-cut, and took it home to his mother,
who, on examining the bag, found it contained the money,
bracelets, and other articles. The mother, however, instead
of giving information of the finding of the property at the
station-house, or instituting any inquiry relative to the loser of
it, immediately communicated the fact to King, a chimney-
sweeper, who was paying his addresses to her, and by him
to Bullis, the other prisoner, a member of the same trade.
A portion of the money was then sent out for brandy, rum,
and gin, and it appeared that while the cash lasted the
three prisoners were in a constant state of intoxication.
When they were taken into custody they were all under
the effects of liquor, and when they became sober an/ were
brought to this Office the woman described the manner in
which the reticule and money came into her possession, and
said that she always thought that whatever people might
find in the street they were justified in appropriating to
their own use. Acting upon this principle, she had shared
the money with her two friends in custody, and made a pre.
sent of the bracelets to a young woman who was going to
get married, and who expressed swish 0 wear them on the
night of the wedding.
. spentthey
t tthl.veomprisoners said a thatwoman
K nagr
artnido n ibt) other
thofatthtehenlyondeidY
it came,. but it as got
il, The girl to whom the prisoner gave the brace-
it' eas-j:. to tilt must.,
lets dellyg4 them p
no.atsigniqvuerre from whence

The prisoners were told that they rendered themselves
liable to be sent to take their trial for felony. Under the
circumstances, however, they were fined heavily, and in de-
fault committed for two months each.