The Sun.
London, England, 1838-09-26 00:00:00

UNION-HALL.

Yesterday James Sharlock, a deaf and dumb man, charged
a young man named Roberts, also labouring under a similar
imperfection in his speech and hearing, with stealing the sum
of 1/. ss. from him in a public-house.
A difficulty arose as to how the examination was to be en-
tered into, owing to the complainant and prisoner being both
deaf and dumb. As soon as the prisoner was placed at the
bar, both he and the complainant commenced a conversation
by signs, with the aid of their bands, the fingers of which they
moved with great rapidity ; and it was evident they perfectly
understood each other by their looks and gestures.
The policeman who took the accused into custody was
called into the tap-room of a public-house where the parties
were both sitting drinking together, and they both appeared
to be inebriated, but more particularly the complainant. The
latter person, by taking out his purse, and exhibiting it quite
empty, made the people present ".:understand by signs that he
had been robbed of IL ss. which had been taken from the
purse; and he accused his companion, the other deaf and
dumb man, with taking the money. The accused, however,
by his gesticulations, treated the matter with the ut-
most sang froid, and was quite willing to bst searched on the
spot, which was accordingly done, but no money found ; still
the compl‘inant insisted on the charge being taken, and the
accused was conveyed to the station-house.

As it was quite impossible to make out what was passing
between the accused and the accuser, the magistrates sent for
one of the teachers belonging to the Deaf and Dumb Asylum
in the Kent-road. Upon this person's arrival he stated that
both the complainant and the prisoner had been brought up
at the above asylum, and, agreeably to the Magistrate's re-
quest, he acted as the interpreter on the occasion, by means of
the system taught the afflicted inmates of that excellent insti-
tution. In the sequel, however, it turned out that both the
young men had drank to such an excess that neither knew
what he was about, and that while in that condition the corn-
plainant had lost money to the above amount, but how or in
what manner there was no evidence whatever to ascertain.
The accused consequently was discharged.
John M. Cleland, a boy of fourteen years of age, was
charged with throwing stones at the locomotive carriages on
the Greenwich Ilailroarl.
From the statement of a policeman it appeared that as the rail-
way carriages were proceeding along on the previous afternoon
the defendant began pelting stones at them, one of which
struck a pane of glass in one of the windows and broke it.
At the time of the occurrence the defendant was standing in
Church-street, adjacent to which the railroad passe, and from
which he had an opportunity of amusing himself in the man-
ner described. When taken into custody he had two other
tolerably large-sized stones in his hands, which were no doubt
intended to follow the one which he bad previously flung at
the carriages. In the course of the inquiry the dangerous
consequences of such conduct as that pursued by the mis-
chievous defendant was described, especially upon a railroad ;
and it was stated that several youngsters were in the habit
of throwing stones at the carriages, which to hit was consi-
dered by them as a wonderful feat, when they were passing at
their full speed.
The Magistrate, having given the defendant a severe lec-
ture on the mischievous effects which might have risen from
his conduct, fined him for the offence, and in default of pay-
ment committed him for fourteen days.