The Sun.
London, England, 1836-11-16 00:00:00

to the safety of ships and barges entering and leaving the
docks that the Dock Master should have sole controull The
sentence of the Court is, that you be imprisoned in the
House of Correction for six calendar months, and pay a
fine of 101., with liberty to speak to the prosecutor.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSION-HOUSE.

The president of a benefit society, held in Aldgate, called
the " Brothers of Humanity," was summoned before the
LORD MAYOR for having refused to pay over to a member
the sum of 10/., the funeral enpanses of the complainant's
wife.

The complainant had paid 2s. 4d. a month for twelve
years to the society, and was, by the rules, entitled to all
the privileges. His wife having unfortunately died, he
applied for her funeral expenses, but was refused, upon the
ground that when he entered the society he falsely repre-
sented that he was a married man. Now it was true he
was not married to his wife upon becoming a member, but
then he had lived with her for twenty years, and had been
frequently called in church with her, and the only reason
they had not been joined together in matrimony until
lately, was that there was some dispute between him and
her friends.
The defendant said that the society would not have he-
sitated a moment about the claim if the claimant had not
only deceived them by stating, upon becoming a member,
that he was a married man, but by endeavouring to foist
upon the officers a forged certificate of marriage. The
fact was the ceremony took place only eleven weeks ago.
The LORD MAYOR (to the claimant)—ls it true that
you have lived 20 years as the husband of this woman ?
Claimant—lt is, my Lord, and I never lived with any wo-
man but herself. Here is the certificate of our marriage.
He here produced a marriage certificate, which was dated
August, 1836, and submitted, that to deprive him of his
claim, when he always acted towards his wife and consi-
dered himself as her husband, would be an act of cruelty
and injustice.
The LORD MAYOR—But it was unnecessary for you to
tell lies about the business. The society seems to be very
fairly disposed towards claimants, and the officers say that
you tried to impose upon them by a false certificate.
Claimant—l did not. It was a mistake of theirs.
Defendant—Let him produce the certificate which he
exhibited before us. The erasure is quite palpable. The
certificate he now produces is a correct one, which has
been just obtained.
Claimant—l can't produce it, for it was rubbed to
pieces in my pocket.
Mr. Hobler—lt is very well for you that the forged
certificate was net impounded. I can tell you that if it
had you might have been sent to Botany Bay for the forgery.
Defendant—We were the more strongly induced to resist
this claim, my Lord, because we found that the claimant
had married the woman in order to get the 101. for her fu-
neral expenses.—(A. laugh.)
The LORD MAYOR—Do you mean that he contemplated
her speedy death ? Defendant—Not a doubt of it. The
circumstance is an extraordinary one. On the day he
married her she was in a dying state, and he, apprehensive
of her immediate decease, insisted upon her going to
Church, pretending at the same time to the neighbours
that he was taking her to an hospital. She was carried
from the coach into the church, in the yard of which her
earthly remains were so soon to be deposited, and the Cler-
gyman was shocked at the apparition, and reprehended the
man who could think of conveying a woman in such an ex-
tremity to the church from her sick bed.
Mr. Hobler—lt would appear that the clergyman thought
the case was rather unwarrantable, for he has charged, as I
perceive by the papers, a sovereign for performing the cere-
mony.—(A laugh.)
Defendant—He certainly censured the claimant most
sharply. The man, however, very coolly took back the poor
woman to her bed, from which she never afterwards rose,
and in answer to the questions of the neighbours, he said
that his wife was refused admission to the hospital.—
(Laughter.)
The LORD MAYOR said the case was certainly one of
a very singular kind, and asked the claimant whether he
had any observation to make on the allegations against him ?
The Claimant replied that it was true his wife was very
ill when he was married ; but he married her because his
conscience told him that the ceremony ought to take place
as soon as possible, and he would refer to all her friends
and relations whether he had not uniformly acted as her
husband.
The LORD MAYOR said that he was of opinion that the
society should pay part of the expenses of the funeral, but
not the whole.
The President most willingly consented, upon the part
of the society, to pay a moiety of the money demanded,
and asked whether they were obliged to keep such a per-
son on their books.
His LORDSHIP replied that there was no ground for re-
moving him.