The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-31 00:00:00

RUSSIA.

Letters from Berlin of the 27th instant, in the
Kolner Zeitung, announce the death, at Warsaw, of
the Grand Prince Michael, who, it is asserted, died
from an attack of apoplexy.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
LAMBETH.

John Parry Hening, represented to be the secre-
tary, and Henry Roberts and Thomas Croton, collec-
tors to a sham society which they designated the
" Animals' Friend Society," were further examined
before Mr. Norton, on a charge of obtaining money
under false pretences.
It will be recollected that on the last examination
Mr. Lewis Gompertz, who was represented to be,
honorary secretary and treasurer to the Animals'
Friend Society, had been called to the witness-box,
and while there was charged by the prisoner Hening
with deceiving the public for many years, and told
that the dock was the proper place for him. Yester-
day Mr. Mellor, the barrister, appeared on behalf of
Mr. Gempertz, and, addressing the Magistrate, said
his client had been placed in so peculiar and painful a
situation on the last examination as to be unable at
the moment to give such information as would re-
move the slightest blame or imputation from his cha-
racter. The fact was that knowing something about
the prisoner Hening, he felt it to be his duty to
communicate with Horsford, the officer, who had
the case in hand, and that person felt it necessary
to summon and put him (Mr. Gompertz) in the
witness. box. He then stated what he knew about
Hening, and became so mortified and nervous at
the turn the case had taken, and the audacious
manner in which he was attacked by Hening, as to be
totally incapable of going into the required explana-
tion to prove his perfect disinterestedness, rectitude,
and humanity in the conduct he had pursued, and
had therefore left an apparent unfavourable impres-
sion on the mind of his Worship. There was one mat-
ter, however, in which he (Mr. Mellor). would admit
Mr. Gompertz was in fault, and that was adding the
distinction of " Esq." to some of the names of the
members of his committee, who, it might be consi-
dered, were not entitled to it ; but after all, that was
but merely the fashion of the day, and he doubted not
that in many similar societies the addition of " Esq."
would be found added to the names of persons who
were no more entitled to it than his Worship's office-
keeper, and for his own (Mr. Mellor's) part, he
wished it was abrogated altogether. The Learned
Counsel then proceeded to say, that as far back as the
year 1824, Mr. Gompertz became associated with Mr.
R. Martin, the then Member for Galway, Sir James
Mackintosh, and other friends to the dumb creation,
and by his zeal and activity established that which
was at present called the " Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals." Soon after he
became honorary secretary to that society, and
remained so until 1832, when some difference of opi-
nion took place between him and some members of
the management, which resulted in his withdrawing
himself from the society and establishing the Animals'
Friend Society, to which he became honorary secre-
tary and treasurer. He (Mr. Mellor) was prepared
with documents to show, that while filling th situa-
tion of secretary to the Royal Society, Mr. Gompertz
had met, not only with the approbation of the sub-
scribers, but of the public, as was manifested in a vote
of thanks being passed to him at each meeting ; but
on his leaving, a handsome gold medal, with an ap-
propriate inscription, was presented to him as a tri-
bute of esteem and gratitude for the zeal and ability
which he had evinced in the discharge of his duties.
Had Mr. Gompertz not been a gentleman of high
character he would not have received this tes-
timonial, and he (Mr. Mellor) was instructed
to say that since the formation, in 1832, of
the present society, as many as 30,000 cases of
cruelty to animals had been brought under the no-
tice of its officers. Increasing years, and the conse-
quent decline in energy, had rendered Mr. Gompertz
inactive, and the consequence was, that rival societies
had been started, and produced such an effect on the
Animals' Friend Society and its subscriptions, that it
had been obliged to struggle on for an existence, and
labour to keep its head over the water ; but still its
managers kept out of debt. It had been denied that
Mr. Gompertz's society existed, and the question
therefore was whether it was a bona fide society or
merely shadowing forth something without a sub•
stance. He (Mr. Mellor) was prepared to prove that
it existed, and that Mr. Gompertz had pursued his
path c f benevolence and humanity without the slight-
est reproach upon his character for 25 years, and it
was rather hard that his reputation should now suffer
through the mere insinuation of a person himself
deeply tainted with crime.
Mr. NORTON assured the Learned Gentlema that
he was induced to ask some questions on the last ex-
amination from the representation of Mr. Gompertz