The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-07 00:00:00

GUILDHALL.

William Jordan, of 89, Waterloo road, who had
his arm broken, was charged before Alderman Law-
rence with being drunk, and incapable of driving his
horse and cart.

Robert Allen, 321, stated that about nine o'clock
the provious evening he saw the prisoner (who had
been bailed out) driving a light spring cart down
Ludgate-hill, and when opposite St. Martin's Church
the horse fell, and Jordan, another man, and a female,
were thrown out of the cart. The woman was taken
to a surgeon's in the neighbourhood in an insensible
state, and it was found that one of her thumbs had
been fractured. The other man had his wrist broken.
Witness took the prisoner, who was very much in-
toxicated, to the station, and charged him with being
drunk and incapable of driving his horse, upon which
he was locked up. About two o'clock in the morning
the prisoner complained of a great pain in his arm,
upon which he was taken to the hospital, and on exa-
mination it was found that he had broken his arm in
two places, although he had not given the slightest
intimation previously of having received any in-
jury. His arm was set and he was afterwards
bailed out.

Alderman LAWRENCE asked the prisoner what he
was ?—Jordan replied that he was a butcher by trade,
and certainly was tipsy when the accident occurred.
He and his friends had suffered severely through his
folly.
Alderman LAWRENCE—WeII, you have paid dearly
for your indiscretion in getting intoxicated, and _I
hope it will be a warning for you in future. You are
discharged.
Jordan thanked the Alderman, and then left the
court.

Sir PETER LAURIE took the opportunity of stating
publicly that there was no want of hospital room in
the City for cholera patients. He had been to St.
Thoma. s Hospital, and had ascertained that due pro-
vision had been made at that noble institution for the
emergency of the times ; that hitherto no cholera
patient had been refused admission ; and that there
was ample preparation should such patients be
brought in. He had also been to St. Bartholomew's
Hospital that day, and he was gratified to find that
ample accommodation had been also provided there,
and that there were at that house several vacant beds.
MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

An elderly woman made the following statement
to Mr. Hardwick :—One of her daughters was mar-
ried to a bricklayer named Thomas Read. About
four veers ago her daughter was confined, and another
of her daughters went to nurse her. The husband
took advantage of the circumstance to reduce his
wife's sister, and the result of the intercourse was a
little boy, now about three years old, by whom she
was accompanied. The child had been sworn to the
father, and an order to pay a stated sum per week
made on him. The child was given into her care by
her daughter, and she continued to maintain it, with
what she could get from the father and her own
labour, up to the present time. For some time past,
however, the father had refused to contribute to the
support of his offspring. The mother of the child had
totally abandoned it by going off with a man to Aus-
tralia. Now, as the whole burden of the child's
maintenance was thrown upon her, and as she was a
woman who worked for her living, and far advanced
in years, she was totally unable to keep the child,
and she wished, therefore, to know if the Magistrate
would assist her to get the child into Marylebone
workhouse, as that was the child's parish.
Mr. HARDWICK having procured the attendance of
Mr. Carter, one of the overseers of Marylebone, in-
quired if the parish objected to take the child into
the workhouse, under the peculiar circumstances of
the case ?

Mr. Carter was quite willing to do what the law
required, but he apprehended the law did not reach
the present case. The parish could only act against
the father through the instrumentality of the mother,
except in certain specified cases, and this was not one
of them.

Mr. HARDWICK said the parish was empowered to
act against the father where the mother was either
dead, insane, in prison, or transported. In a case
like the present, where the mother had gone to a
colony of her own accord, the law make no provision
to enable the parish to act; still, if the parish was
willing to try the question, he would have no objec-
tion to issue his summons against the putative father.
Mr. Carter said he was always unwilling to com-
mence proceedings in cases where he felt any doubt
of being able to carry them on to a successful issue.
It was astonishing how well th© defects and omissions
of the Bastardy Act were understood by persons who
came within its operation, and how eager they were
to shelter themselves from the penalty by laying hold
of any legal flaw or difficulty. However, he would
do what he could in the present instance, and he
would lay the case before the board to-morrow (this
day).
The grandmother was ordered to attend Kith tl.e
deserted little child before the Marylebone board at
twelve o'clock.