The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-29 00:00:00

IN. G, NOVEMBER 29, 1847

who had attended the deceased prior to and after her
death, and others, which were exceedingly voluminous
warn then read, and occupied between two And three
hours.

The prisoner, who was cautioned not to say rmything,
wal now full• committed to take his trial at the 01(1
Balky Sessions, for the Wilful Murder of his mother,
Mrs. _Francis Sheridan.

T►iRRItBLE GUNPOWDER ACClDENT.—Yesterday
(Sunday) a fearful explosion of gunpowder, by which
two persons were severely injured, occurred at No. 124,
High-street, Borough, in the occupation of Mr. llarris,
a till for. It appeared that Mr. Barna was engaged in
the first floor front amusing his children, by discharging
sms:l trains of gunpowder on the table—a reprehensible
pra,tice; whilst he was so employed, the contents of the
powder in a flask which he was holding suddenly ex-
ploded, making a noise like the discharge of a cannon,
at the same time terribly injuring one child in the face,
blowing off the flesh of Mr. Harris's right hand, and
forcing the windows of .the room out. Several persons
who were passing by at the, time, imagining that the
house was on fire, sent for the engines. Mr. Henderson,
the foreman to the I) district of the London Establish-
ment, quickly attended with two engines, when, upon
entering the place he found Ur. Harris bleeding most
cnriously, and the flesh from his hand sticking upon the
ceiling. Owing to the dreadful injuries the unfortunate
man had received, and the great loss of blood sustained,
he v as obliged to be placed on a shutter and removed to
the hospital, where he at present remains in a dreadful
stag• of suffering. The child was also so injured as to
be eb,iged to have surgical assistance. Fortunately the
house► escaped destruction.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
GUILDHALL.

Messrs. Ilawke, builders, in Billiter-street, attended
before Aldermen Hughes Hughes and Musgrove, to an-
swer an information filed by Mr. Woodthorpe, the dis-
trict surveyor, for neglecting to comply with an award
made by the official referees under the Metropolitan
Building Act, in respect to a house rebuilt by them, No.
8, Cullum-street, Fenchurch-street.
The matter was slightly touched upon in the begin-
ning of August, but the magistrates forbore to proceed,
that the defendant might obtain a rehearing before the
official referees-, and an amendment of their award; but
no alteration was made, and the surveyor now pressed
that the defendants should enter into a recognisance •to
amend the building as required.
The information set out the breaches of the Building
Act complained of, via., that the party wall being built
between two houses of a different rate, should, in respect
to thickness, have been adapted to the largest of the
two houses. They were both of the same height, but
as one covered a greater space of ground than the other,
a stronger wall was required to support the roof and
fabric. The wall was only 14 inches thick, where it
should have been 171 inches thick. A chimney-breast
pro, • •eted 13 inches beyond the wall, instead of not ex-
err ding 4111 inches. The ends of certain joists sad girders
were placed 'soarer than 9 inches' to openings in the
chimney-breasts; and, lastly, a hole had been left in the
top of the wall that the water might bo carried off the
two houses by the same gutter, instead of being carried
up in solid brickwork two feet above every gutter.
Mr. Hopgood, the solicitor for the defendants, ob-
jected that no conviction for the disobedience of the
award could now be made, as more than three months

had elapsed since the making of it; that the order pre-
sumed a control over the adjoining premises, to enter
and make alterations which the defendants did not
po seas; and that the district surveyor ought to have
constantly watched the progress of the work, and
pointed out the deviations as soon as they were com-
menced, and while they were remediable; and not after
the party wall had been finished.
Mr. Woodthorpe replied, he had done hit duty as re-
quired by law, and he was not out of time, as tho pro-
ceedings were commenced within three months.
After some discussion, in which it appeared that the
adjoining house was deemed ruinous, and an opportu-
nity of cG►nplying with the law might arise, the Alder-
men agreed to adjourn the hearing to a time of which
the defendants would have notice.
Mr. Alderman Musouovic suggested some modes of
amt•nding the faults complained ot.
Charles Carr was brought up for further examination,
charged with stealing a number of elegantly bound
Bibles, Prayer-hooks, and Church Services, from various
suburban churches. At one of them it was stated that
he went to the parish clerk for the keys, pretending that
he was an officer under the Commissioners for Building
Churches, come to take the dimensions of the accommo-
dation afforded. The keys were given up to him, as he
had the appearance of a gentleman, and he succeeded in
carrying off a number of books.
Charles Chambers, the assistant gaoler at this court,
stated that after the prisoner's last examination he called
him, and expressed concern for the anxiety shown by an
old lady, the pew opener at Hornsey Church, who was
brought to the prison to identify him, and who was
grieved by the loss of a Bible bound in velvet, with a
gilt cross on it, belonging to a parishioner. He said he
thi•ught that book was at a pawnbroker's named Towns-
end. Two days afterwards he sent for deponent to the
prison, and made a further voluntary statement, that
two handsome books belonging to a Mr. Casson, and
with that gentleman's name lettered on them, which he
had taken from Hanwell Church, were pawned at
Bassett's, in Great Queen-street. Witness went there
and found them, but they proved to have been stolen
from Acton Church, in August last.
At r. Bassett's assistant produced the books.
Mr. Casson, a retired gentleman, residing at Acton,
identified the books as his property. They were stolen
from Acton Chard', with a book belonging to a neigh-
bour, on a Sunday in August, and he gave information
to the police.
The prisoner declined making any defence to this
charge.
Mr. Alderman HUGHES HUGHES said, he must send
the else to a jury. Persons wore in the habit of leaving
their books at church, believing they would be safer
tit, re than at home ; and it was lamentable to find that
they had been sacrilegiously carried away by a person
whose superior education should have restrained him from
such a crime.

The prisoner was committed on a second charge of
steii!ing a Bible from Cripplegate Church.
Chambers produced a handbill, showing that a number
of handsome books had been stolen from llenvvell Church
by a person answering the description of the prisoner.
Ile Also handed in a letter from the V division of police,
that such a person had stolen a number of valuable books
from Teddington Church.
Thu prisoner, who is supposed to have given a false
na►ne, and appears to be very contrite, was remanded for
further examination on the Sth December.

Andrei, Wyness, a hairdresser, in Gray's Inn-lane,
the reputed father of the child with whom Mary Ann
Ilio4, the capital convict now in Newgate, is pregnant,
attended to answer a complaint that he was the fathergof
an illegitimate child of which Elisabeth Cape is the
mother, and which is now three years old.
The defendant stopped the case in limine by produc-
ing Cape's marriage certificate, showing she had married
since the birth of the child.
he admitted she was married a year ago, but her
Ip,band had deserted her.
Mr. Alderman HUGHES HUGHES said this objection
was certainly fatal.
The defendant offered to take and keep his child, but
the mother refused to part with it, and the parties were
dismissed.
The driver and conductor of Couling's Kennington
omnibus were summoned, on the complaint of Mr. Al-
derman Wilson, the former for loitering on his journey,
and the conductor for refusing to show his metal ticket,
and for not wearing it conspicuously.
Mr. Alderman Wilson stated that on Wednesday
afternoon he f, and the omnibus standing in St. Mar-
tin's-le-Grand. He asked if there was room? The
conductor said there was. He got in, but could scarcely
find room to sit down. He then said to the conductor,
"You are full now; aro you going on?" The conductor
said he was; but ho did not move for a considerable
time, and not till another omnibus came up. As he had
loit, reel so long, witness got out of that omnibusinto the
other. The conductor came and looked in after bim,
and exclaimed, " You aro a pretty gent., to get out of
'one omnibus into another." Witness looked for his
number, but could not see it. The two vehicles moved
on directly, the defendant evidently dodging and loiter-
ing to annoy its opponent. This was a hindrance; and,
when they got to Bridge-street, witness asked the con-
ductor to show him his metal ticket. He said, " Yes,
sir," but jumped up on his board, and called out, " Drive
on." The driver did so, and when he had got so far
that the number could not be seen, the defendant drew
the ticket out from under his coat, and held it up fur
inspection.
1 he driver urged that he was not liable for loitering.
The conductor said he 4,4 bo-
eatniP his time was not up. The alderman asked to
show him the number while he was letting out a lady,
and lie could not do two things at once
Mr. Alderman Wilson said he asked him after he had
set the lady down; and as to the driver's plea he should
know he must obey the law, which prohibits loitering in
preference to obeying the conductor, or he must take
the consequences.

Mr. Cowling begged to say it was the driver's first day,
and that the lowness of the fares was a justification for
loitering.
Mr. Alderman H. Hughes said he was afraid the fares
were too low, but it would not excuse loitering, and he
was sure it was bad policy to loiter. Who would ride
a short distance to save time, knowing that upon the
cheap fare and loitering system any one could walk as
far in a quarter of an hour as an omnibus would take
him in the same time ? Many customers were lost in
this way, and the low fares were made less remunerative.
He agreed with Mr. Alderman Wilson, that he
who had the control of the horses, must bo
answerable for loitering, and he had no doubt the
other defendant had been guilty of the conduct
imputed to him. The charge was !not rebutted.
He was glad to find that there were Aldermen moving,
as other portions of the public d d, and becoming per-
sonally acquainted with the annoyances they were sub-
ject to, He had often been annoyed too, and had
tlirea!ened to complain, but he had not the moral cou-
rage, like Mr. Alderman Wilson, to take the trouble of
doing so. The defendants, luckily, did not know they
were carrying an alderman, and an active alderman, too,
who had frequently done the public the set vice to com-
plain of the misconduct of cabriolet and omnibus
drivers. lie adjudged the driver to pay a fine of 55.,
and the conductor of 10s., for the offences laid to their
charge.
Mr. Couling paid the fines.
BOW-STREET.

Mr. H. Upton, of the Grecian dining-rooms, was
charged under the game-laws with selling a pheasant
without a license.
The information was prosecuted at the instance of
the Game-dealers' Protection Society; Mr. Lewis at-