The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-22 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS, Dec. 21.

(Before Mr. Sergeant ADAMS, Assistant-Judge, and
a Bench of Magistrates.)
William Squires and William Weekes were in-
dicted for an assault committed upon a gentleman
named Hardwick.,,

Mr. Parry conducted the case for the prosecution.
It appeared that the prosecutor is a gentleman who
is extensively engaged as a shipper of goods to the
colonies, and lives at N 0.12, South-street, Finsbury. In
the course of the last month the prosecutor entered
into an arrangement to buy two pianofortes from the
defendant Squires' for the sum of 461. One of these
instruments only was delivered in due course of the
agreement on Saturday, the 24th ult, ; and for that
the prosecutor at once gave the defendant a cheque
for 231. The second, however, was not delivered
until late in the evening of the following Saturday,
but on its being tried by a professional friend of the
prosecutor it was found to be of a very inferior
character. Upon this discovery being made, the
prosecutor called upon the defendant Squires, and
told him to fetch the instrument away, as he would
not keep it at any price. Ile also desired that
he would give him the average price of the two, so
that he might at once pay him any difference there
might be in the price of the pianoforte which had
been in the first instance delivered and the amount of
231. which he had already paid for it. Squires ac-
cordingly put the average at 251. for the.bettermost
instrument, and all. for the inferior one; but he at
the same time said that he would fit up another,
which should be of an equally good quality with the
first, the prosecutor offering to make up the differ-
ence by paying in the whole 48/. instead of 461. as
originally agreed upon. Thus they parted, with the
understanding that Squires was to send for the in-
ferior instrument. Accordingly, on the 3d of the
present month, Squires, in company with the other
defendant, Weekes, proceeded to the house of the
prosecutor. Weekes is the proprietor of some vans,
and had conveyed the pianoes to the prosecutor's.
When the two defendants had entered the house,
the prosecutor, having been called down stairs, pointed
out to them the inferior instrument as that which was
to be removed. After they had taken that out of the
house the defendants commenced making preparations
for the purpose of taking the other one also, where-
upon the prosecutor interfered, remarking that that
pianoforte suited him, and, as he had paid 231, towards
its value on the delivery, he should keep it. Squires
would appear at once to have flown into a rage, ex-
claiming that as he was to take one he would take
both; he laid hold of the prosecutor by the coat-col-
lar and swung him round to Weekes, who then held
him by the cullar with both hands until the defendant,
with the assistance of four or five other persons, had
managed to accomplish the removal. In consequence
of the noise which was npie, a Mrs. Pettifer, to whom
the house in question belonged, came into the room
where this scene was being. enictA, when, seeing the
prosecutor in the rough handling of the defendant
Weekes, she went up and told the latter that he
ought to be ashamed of himself for his conduct.
Weekes, instead of expressing any symptoms of re-
gret, said that if she had been swindled out of her
property she would have adopted just the same steps
for its recovery as those which they were acting upon.
Several witnesses were called in support of the case
for the prosecution, all of whom spoke in the most
positive and distinct terms as to the violence of the
treatment the prosecutor had received from the two
defendants.