The Sun.
London, England, 1825-08-30 00:00:00

A VILE IMPOSTOR.

GUILDIIALL.—Yesterday, Mr. Butterworth, the Common
Councilman, and another gentleman of the parish of St. Dun-
stans, Fleet-street, attended before. Mr, Alderman ATKINS,
for the purpose of entering in some explanations relative to
a case that occurred here cn Saturday, reports of which that had
appearecOn.-the Sunday. Papers, and copied-into most of the
dAtily journals that morning, reflected very strongly upon the
rcliaracterof the parish-officers.
The short facts of the case..were.thesez—A poor woman ap-
plied to Sir James Shaw for his interference in her behalf. She
stated, that though she was residing in the parish of St. Dun-
, stacclind the overseers had actually relieved .her more than
ortEe, they had suddenly come to the determination of refusing
her all further relief. The assistant vestry-clerk had been to
the house where shelodged, and by using threats of 'having the
person with whom she was Imprisoned, if she harboured her any
longer, had been the means of forcing her to walk the streets all
the previous night, all admittance to the lodging being posi-
tively denied to her. Another woman, who rents an apartment
at \.o. 2, Apollo-court, Fleet-street, and whose bed the appli-
cant had shared, corroborated her account of the threats used

by the ass6tant7vestryclerk, not only to her, but to her landlord
also, if they harboured her anTionger. -The applicant said, all
that she wanted was about Bs., to enable her to get a pair of
shoes and a gown, that she might go, to a place of serv►ce, where
she had been recommended. Sir James Shaw reprobated in
very strong terms the very improper mode adopted by the parish
to rid themselves of this poor watilan. He gave her a half so-
vereign out of his own pocket, direete+l an order to the overseers
for her immediate relief, and after coinmending the conduct of
the woman wha had shared her bed with the applicant, told
her she might continue so
,to do without fear of ham' or mo-
lestation.

Mr. Butterworth now said, that he wag quite apfe, from the
statements of the case that had appeared, some eiplanation was
due to the public as well as to the parish officers, whose conduct
was seriously impugned. The woman dime to them under
very suspicious circumstances. She had been residing some
time in St. Andrew's, Holborn; she had been relieved by the
magistrates at Hatton-garden, with a shilling, and had slept in
St. Dunstan's only one night, on purpose, as it appeared; to
claim relief in the morning, and saddle herself upon that
parish. All this looked very suspicions. They had, however,
relieved her with 4s. which it would be allowed was a suffici-
ent sum for a single woman for one week. She had no sett'.
ment with them, and had she been able to give any account-if
her settlement, they would have passed her to it. As to the
story of her being expelled from her lodging, he had brought
the landlord of the house, who would state that he had express..
ed his disapprobation of the conduct of his own lodger us soon
as he discovered she had taken in a bed-fellow, and had threa-
tened to shut them both out of the house, before he knew any
thing of- the woman's application to the parish officers. Sir
James Shaw would feel he had been entirely imposed upon
with respect to the character of these women, when he
should learn that the pauper, instead of fitting herself nut
for the place she had spoken of, with the money the worthy
Alderman had given her, had, with her companion, got
beastly drunk, behaved themselves very riotously in the
course of the night, and on the landlord's going up-into the
room to remonstrate with them, he found that each of the,
women had got a man in bed with her, and he, for the credit
his house, bundled the whole four of them into the street
together.
Mr. Payne, the clerk, said, the statement before Sir James
Shaw fully warranted the expressions it called from him, as it
did appear they had attempted to rid themselves of the pauper
in an unjustifiable manner.
Mr. Alderman ATKINS declined hearing,the witness or wit.
nesses Mr. Butterworth had brought, and expressed some sur-
prise that the parish officers did not inquire more promptly and
thoroughly into the cases of persons claiming relief as casual
poor, with a view to their immediate removal, and the saving of
the parish purse. If this woman did, not belong to St. Dun. ,
stan's, she ought to have been removed legally before It be- I
came necessary to relieve her a second time. The reports in
the newspapers did mischief sometimes, but they often proved
of immense advantage, as had been experienced by him in a
case that morning, where some journeymen hatters had corn.
bined and subscribed to keep cut of the way the material wit.
ness in a deeply-laid system of robbery upon a country menu-
facturer. The Newspaper reports, however, had led to the
discovery of his retreat at Gravesend, and lie had been brought
up by warrant this day.
Mr. Butterworth expressed himself strongly in favour of
police reporting, and hoped his answer to the charge against the
parish officers would be allowed to go to the public, and here
the matter rested.
A THIEF AND A WATCH3IAN.

lliAßLßOitouoin-STnEET.—•Yesterday James Clarke, a
powerful-looking fellow, was brought from St. Pancras watch.
house, upon the following charge :
Cousins; the watchhouse-keeper, said, that about 6 o'clock
'on Sunday morning he saw the prisoner passing quickly along
through Buckingham-street, Fitzroy-square, with a bag appa-
rently well filled upon' his shoulder, and a parcel of umbrellas
under his arm. He came up with him, and asked him what
he had got in the bag, and not being satisfied with the answer
given by the prisoner, and suspecting it was stolen property,
he insisted upon seeing the contents. Upon hearing this de-
termination,
_the prisoner suddenly threw himself against a post
and pretended to be taken very ill, at the same time that wit-
ness saw him gradually disencumbering himself, and prepar-
ing to make battle ; but he told him, that if he attempted any
resistance, lie would knock him down ; at the same time tak-
ing; out his staff, which, however, he had no sooner done, than
the prisoner sprang at him, snatched his staff from his grasp,
and struck him a desperate blow with it on the head, which cut
him severely. 'Witness then closed upon him, and they both
came to the ground together; but the prisoner bging a much
stronger man than him, he (witness) called out to a man who
was just then passing, and whom he knew to be one of the
watchmen of Marylebone parish, to come and assist him, in
the King's name, but the watchman refused, and gave as an
answer that he was come off' duty, and he had no business to
interfere. After rep,eatedly calling to hiM, and threatening to
report him, he did cohse up, witness and prisoner still struggling
on the ground, and ultimately assisted in securing the prisoner.
Cousins now produced the bag and its contents, which were
a large leg of mutton, a sirloin of beef, a pair of shoe brushes,
a bottle of blacking, a roll of butter, a pair of iron pincers, a
loaf of bread, a fishing-line and hook, with some pheasant's
feathers sticking to it, besides the silk and cotton umbrellas,
five in number, which he carried under his arm.

A young woman in the service of Mrs. 'robin, of No. 3,
Great George-street, Ilamstead-road, as cook; stated that the
leg of mutton, the sirloin of beef,' and the butter produced she
could identify. and she left the whole secure, as she thought,
in the safe under the area, on Saturday night, but when she
got up in the morning, she missed them.
There were no owners to the umbrellas or other property.
The prisoner told in his defence a long story, as improbable
as it was long, " the burden of which was that he met a man
dressed in a shooting jacket, &c., on that morning, who asked
him if he wanted a job, and gave him all these things to carry,
but he neither knew the man's name nor address. He was com.
mitted for trial.