The Sun.
London, England, 1838-12-11 00:00:00

SURREY SESSIONS.

EXTRAORDINARY CASE.-=Yesterday Frederick Nicholas
Somers Thomas, surgeon, residing in the Grove, Camberwell,
and William Boys, his groom, were indicted for stealing eight
mahogany chairs, a table, some spoons, and several other
articles, the proporty of Henry Myers Seeley, of the Com-
mercial-road. The trial of the prisoners, which excited a
considerable degree of interest, owing to the apparent re-
spectability of Thomas since his residence at Camberwell,
lasted nearly the whole day.
Mr. CHAMBERS, on the part of the prosecution, said
that it was instituted for the purpose of punishing par-
ties for a very extraordinary and audacious robbery.
.The prosecutor was a highly respectable man, living
in the Commercial-road, Camberwell, and, some time
since, he entered into a speculation with a French-
man, named Detour, for carrying on a chocolate manu-
factory. For this purpose, the prosecutor placed the
Frenchman in a house at Camberwell, which he furnished,
and he was to superintend the manufactory of the article
already named. Prosecutor having had occasion to visit
the Continent in the month of September, on his return he
found that the Frenchman had absconded, and the house
which he inhabited was completely putted, all the furniture,
bedding, crockery, pots, pans, and kettles being taken away.
In the course of the prosecutor's inquiries on the subject,
he ascertained that the prisoner Thomas and h isgroom
n
were seen in the act of leaving d been
g
Louse which had
robbed, with mahogany chairs in their posses,ion,ln

The CHAIRMAN summed up, commenting upon the evi-
dence, particularly on that given by one of the witnesses
called for the defence, who at first said that she knew Dr.
Thomas to be one of the men whom she saw carrying off the
furniture, and that she had seen him driving a piebald horse.
Now, it was known that Dr. Thomas was in the habit of driv-
ing such an animal, and the same witness afterwards comes
forward and says that he is not the man. There was some-
thing very extraordinary in Thomas's sending the sweep
down the chimney, and it does not at all appear that the boy
had any possible motive for misrepresenting the fact. On
the part of the prosecutor it appeared that the Frenchman
had the key of the house from which the furniture was
stolen. And be might have entered into negotiation with
the prisoner about the removal of the property. There was
another extraordinary circumstance, that of finding sixty
pawnbrokers' duplicates on the doctor. It would be the
duty of the Jury to contrast the el idence for and against
the accused parties, and if they had a doubt, to give the
prisoners the benefit of it. For a professional man it was
also a matter of some surprise that the doctor moved about
from place to place in the manner he did.
The Jury consulted for a short time, and returned a ver-
dict of Guilty against both the prisoners.
The prisoner Thomas exclaimed, " Surely the Jury have
made a mistake ! I could have brought 500 witnesses to
character—why this is most extraordinary."
Here an elderly respectable looking man pressed forward,
and, addressing the Court, said, pointing to the prisoner
Thomas—" That man is a swindler : he contrived to take
away a sister of mine, and got hold of her property, amount-
ing to between 400/. and 500/."
Prisoner—l deny the accusation. I was her executor.
Thii is a most infamous conspiracy against me ; my mother
is a lady in her ()en right ; the papers in the possession of
the policeman will show that the transaction now alleged
against me was unfounded.

The sentence was, that the prisoner Thomas be imprisoned
for twelve calendar months in Brixton Gaol, to hard labour,
and the other prisoner Boys for three months.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSION-ISO USE.

A poor-looking object, named Jordan, who appeared to
be imbecile, was brought before the LORD MAYOR by Mr.
Campbell. The unfortunate man had been found soliciting
for charity.
Mr. Campbell said he did not come to charge the poor
creature with the offence of vagrancy, of which be had,
strictly speaking, been guilty, but to prevent him from pe-
rishing in the street.

Alderman PIRIE, who sat for the Lord Mayor, asked
whether the parish had been applied to?

Mr. Campbell said (as the reporter understood him) that
there was no relief to he obtained at the City house, in Can-
non-street, to which destitute persons had been recently re-
ferred, but the name of the relieving officer was given. The
assistance, however, to be obtained under such circumstances
was but trifling indeed, and here was an object of great com-
passion, who must parish if left to shift for himself.
Alderman PIRIE-It goes against my feelings to send
such an unfortunate, helpless creature as this to Bridewell,
but I have no alternative. But he shall be taken good
care of there.

The poor man was then removed to Bridewell, under
particular directions.
The two female children of a woman named Maria
Burcher were brought up for begging.
A policeman stated that on Saturday, at five o'clock in
the evening, he saw the two poor children half naked and
shivering on the steps leading to London-bridge. He took
them to the station-house, and found in their pockets eight-
pence halfpenny. Their mother, who was up to all the
tricks of vagrancy, was, the officer said, in the justice-room.
The mother—Oh, my Lord, I know nothing of what
they do. I goes out to wash a little, and as I have no-
thing to give them I suppose they go to look for some.
Alderman PIRIE—What a wretch you must be send out
these poor infants in such dreadful weather.
The little girls said that their mother sent their little
brother to another part of the town to stand for charity.
The mother—l won't do it again, my Lord, if you let
rhe go no*.
Mr. Pewtress said that at the Union the children were
known to be- professed beggars, and that the police were
obliged to bring them before the Magistrate.
The mother—But we won't do so again, I tell you.
Committed to Bridewell, the children under special di-
rections.

BO TV. STREET.
John Hannon, who is charged with causing to be en-
graved, and having in his possession, a plate of a note of
the Toronto Bank, value ten dollars, and also with causing
to be made a stamp to resemble the signatures of the Pre-
sident and cashier of the bank, was yesterday brought up
for further examination.

After an inculpatory statement of Mr. Bush, the soli..
citor for the Society for the Prevention of Frauds and
Forgeries, Mr. Wooler said that there was not sufficient
evidence to warrant the Magistrate in committing the
prisoner.

Ultimately the prisoner was remanded till Wednesday
(to-morrow).
A person named Sullivan was brought here, charged by
police constable with being destitute and walking in the
streets during the night.
Atterel, the constable of the Strand Union workhouse,
deposed that the defendant was brought to the workhouse
by the officer, and provided with supper, but on being slsown
into the sleeping-room provided for the destitute poor, he
refused to go to bed, and became very violent, using im-
proper language towards those who had supplied him with
supper, and declaring that the bed was not fit for him to
sleep upon.
Mr. Kirby, the relieving officer, stated that since the
practice of bringing the houseless poor to the workhouse,
before taking them before the Magistrate, had been adopted,
the streets were almost cleared of beggars, and if the same
admirable regulation were to be followed throughout the
metropolis it would be attended with the most benefical
results, particularly during the winter.

The defendant was then sent to prison for a month, and,
at the expiration of that time, he will be passed to the
parish to which he belongs.
Mr. Inspector Musgrave stated that the police had re-
ceived instructions to convey all destitute persons in the
first instance to the workhouse, instead of the station-house.