The Sun.
London, England, 1825-03-23 00:00:00

STOCK EXCHANGE ASSAULT.

MANSION-HOUSE.—Yesterday, before the public business
of the Justice-room commenced, Mr. Harrild, of Friday-street,
entered the room in great agitation, with the neckcloth and
breast-pin of another gentlemen in his hand. He had, he said,
been most violently assaulted by a groat number of persons who
had the appearance of gentlemen on the Stock Exchange, and
held in his hand (exhibiting the neckcloth and pin) what he
found it necessary to drag from the neck of the most furious of
his assailants in his own defence.

As the charge was so seriouly brought, and such a number of I
gentlemen of respectability were involved in the imputation of
a barbarous and unprovoked attack upon a single man, the
Marshal was immediately sent to the Stock Exchange, to re-
quest the presence of some of the members who might be ab le
to describe the occurrence, and to bring the owner of the trophies
which had been torn away before the Lord Mayor.
Several of the most eminent Stock-brokers immediately at-
tended, and the case was gone into.
Mr. Harrilel stated that he walked in, or rather was hurried
in, with a current of people to the Exchange. He met no
opposition at the door ; but he was not long in the room
when a gentleman walked up to him and asked him whether
he was a member ? He made some reply which he did not '
recollect, and immediately a cry of " seventy," or some other
number, was raised, and off went his hat. In astonishment
he looked round for the aggressor, but the moment he did so
he received a shove from one, a push from another, a blow
from a third, and a kick from a fourth. He was then by a vast
crowd of persons (between 200 and 300 he conjectured) shoved
into the middle of the room, where he was beaten and kicked
without the least ceremony by the multitude. He however was
not idle all this while. As soon as he received the first insult
he resisted ; he called out " murder" frequently, and seized a
young man named Langhorn by the neckcloth, which he held
tight, and would have continued to hold along with tile owner,
had not somebody cut away the neckcloth behind, and left it in
the complainant's sole possession. Some gentlemen cried out
" shame ;" but without the least effect. The officer in attend-
ance witnessed the outrage, but refused to interfere in appre-
hending Mr. Langhorn, whose arm was raised to strike a blow
at the moment the witness got him by the throat. Finally, Mr.
Harrild was thrust out of the door, where he challenged the
person whom he had the principal conflict with to stand forth
and claim his property. He was then hooted with cries of
" thief, pickpocket," &c. and was obliged to seek protection at
the Mansion-house.

Mr. Capel, of the Stock Exchange, said, the treatment with
which Mr. Harrild had met was;he was very sorry to say, of
frequent occurrence in the Stock Exchange, but he begged to
be understood to confine the imputation of such conduct to the
very young members. All who were present in the Justice-
room were most (lecidedly opposed to every thing of the kind,
and it was well known that Mr. Hammond would readily give
a thousand pounds out of his own pocket to check so disgrace-
ful a practice as that of insulting a stranger for entering into
their room. It would, he believed, be found that in this case
there had been both mistake and exaggeration, as Mr. Lang-
horn was a gentleman of great respectability, and of course in-
capable of the violence attributed to him, and Mr. Harrild
might hare been led to think that he sustained more injury
than really had happened to him.
Mr. Clarke, who was then introducedto the Lord Mayor as one
of the most respectable men on the Stock Exchange, stated that
he saw Mr. Harrild three or four minutes before the cry of mur-
der ! was uttered, and asked him whether he was a member;
to which he replied that he undoubtedly was. Witness went
then about his business, and soon after he saw Mr. Harrild
seize Mr. L4ngliern by the neckcloth. He saw no blow given
upon either side. He regretted to say, that the younger mem-
bers and clerks were in the habit of knocking the hats off the
heads of strangers who went into the room.
Mr. Cannon, also a respectable member of the Stock Ex-
change, stated, that lie went up to Mr. Harrild, and said to him,
" Sir, as you appear to be a stranger it would be better for you
to go out ; to which that Gentleman replied as if he slighted the
advice. A tostle took place soon afterwards, and witness saw
Mr. Longhorn's throat in the grasp of Mr. Harrild, who nearly
committed strangulation.
Mr. Longhorn, of No. 13, Bloomsbury-square, stated that
he was standing near the door of the Exchange when Mr. Har-
rild seized him by the throat. He declared that he neither
struck, nor kicked, nor shoved, nor raised his hand to the com-
plainant, and that he might have been choaked if somebody had
not cut his neck-cloth behind.

Other evidence to the same effect was heard. It was admitted
that Mr. Marrild's hat was knocked off, and that he was shoved
about very unceremoniously, but not one saw a blow given.
Mr. Harrild repeated, that he had been struck, kicked, &c.,
and he intimated that he should appeal to another authority if
the Lord Mayor refused to interfere.
The LORD MAYOR said he was convinced, from his know-
ledge of the respectability of the parties who were ready to
make affidavit of the correctness of what they had stated, that
they had made a most impartial representation of the facts.—
He strongly reprobated the ungentlemanlike, the barbarous
practice which lie had known long to exist in the Stock Ex-
change, of disturbing persons who might walk in accidentally ;
but he was sure that the very you- g members alone were
chargeable. He hoped that the exposure of what had taken
place, and the strong reprobation with which the unmanly vio-
lence had met from the most respectable members of the Stock
Exchange, would for ever put an end to the disgraceful sys-
tem. His Lordship then said he should discharge the party
accused, as the testimony in his favour was of so powerful a
nature.

Mr. Harrild gave notice that he should indict Mr. Lang-
horn at the Quarter Sessions : he felt, he said, the effects of
blows and pushes in his arm and side.

COURSE OF EXCHANGE, March 22

Amsterdam
Ditto, at Sight
It ottettlant - 12 3
Antwerp l2 3
flawborgh lq 10 Si 171.
Altona
Paris,3 Day's sight
Ditto

Boitrdeaux, ditto
Berlin

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