The Sun.
London, England, 1824-02-03 00:00:00

CONTEVTS.

1. Faber's Treatise on the Three Dispensations.
11. The Hindou Press.
111. The Athanasian Creed; Archdeacon Wrangbarn's
Charge, and Letters in -

IV: Cileig's Leiter on the Church Xissionary Society, and
Bartlett's and Rickards' Replies. •
V. Sermons and Extracts on the loss of Friends; The Ex-
cursions of aSpirit; Gishorne's'Essays; Booker's Euthanasia.
VI. Wilherforce's Appeal ; Maitin's Counter Appeal ;
Bridce's Voice from Jamaica.
VII. American Epiceopacy.
Published by L. B. Seely and Son, Fleet-street.

THEODORE HOOK.

The following article respecting this Gentle-
man appears in Blackwood's Magazine, with the
signature of one of its favourite correpondents,
TIMOTHY TICIELS
"Mr. lloox's chief confidential clerk, whose duty it was
to make up the Treasury accounts of the Mauritius, made up
those of November 1816, with an error of 9,0001. in them ;
notwithstanding which, they were audited, and had been
passed corrected for two years. In the meantime he delivered
over the Treasury to a new governor, and received a certifi-
cate, which is published in the parliamentry papers on the
subject, from five principal officers of government, attesting
his correctness, and giving him, under their hands, a dis.
charge for the entire balance. Three months after this, the
chief clerk who, two years before, had made the error, report-
ed it himself to government—the error having given, of
course, opportunity in the interim, to any body who was
aware of it, to have abstracted the amount in money, at the
time of the transfer. An investigation of the affair was or-
dered ; and the second day of which, that confidential clerk
destroyed himself, without giving any clue as to the fate of
the money. He could not, in 'fact, stand the investigation.--
For this Mr. Hook is now in prison.
Nay more, so far is his case from being fairly understood,
that almost every body who thinks of it supposes that the sum
for which he has been arrested is the amount of the deficiency
in his chest—and yet it is no such thing. The sum for which
he is a defendant at the suit of the Crown, is made up, besides
the amount of the deficiency, of charges under different Acts of
Parliament, on the ground that he did not make the best bar-
gains for Government in sale of bills, and that he was not suf-
ficiently careful in the issue of specie, which he made against
paper, or local arrangements,—and other details which would
not be interesting to you, or .votir readers, and with which I
shall suppose we shall be regaled in due time from his own peu.
I allude to them, merely to show that he has been most stu-
ffmisrepresented, and most determinately misunderstood.
'Why, it may be asked, do I, living here, in this auld-warld
nenk, give myself the trouble of defending a man whom I
never saw, and whom, in all probability, I never shall see
or what is there in his arrest, which ought to call forth our
attention ? I shall just tell you. Ido not care a fig's end for
Hook—but Ido care for the intense plucklessness of our party.
It makes me perfectly indignant, at times, when I think of the
courage with which the lii lids have at all times patronized
their men, and the cowardice generally displayed by our Tory
chieftains. I shall not go back to Sir R. Walpole, for the
management of his Whiggish sovereignty would be too gross
and palpable for our times. They gave a place to Moore, their
lampoon-man--to Hallam, their great Balaamite--they posted
Sidney Smith, their jack-pudding parson—in fact, everybody
who could write a libel for them, or who had ever wielded a
pen in their cause, no matter how obtuse ailla nebless the tool
might have been, was rewarded. On the contrary, it appears
to be almost a fixed principle with us, that, whenever a man
does any thing for the cause of Toryism, he is to be imme-
diately given up—he is looked upon as a sort of thing of course,
and left to battle with his adversaries, not only without the
countenance of the great Tory leaders, but under a studious
withdrawing of their support. I must say, that they order
these things better among the Whigs.
" Let use not be so misunderstood for a moment as to be
thought to be praying for patronage. I despise such a thought
from the bottom of my soul. We know, North, how little of
that kind of thing we, for instance, either looked for or receiv-
ed. Thank Heaven, the general strength of Toryism just now
is so great, that we are independent of the smiles or the frowns
of any knot of ministerial people, whom we puff or abuse as
we please. But 1 must say that it is not fair, that because
a man has been active or has been suspected of being ac-
tive in their behalf, he should be conciliated away—that
he should suffer harder treatment than any body else, out of
mere candour and official deference to opponents. Now here
is a case, in which a gentleman, whom nobody at all accuses
of dishonourable proceedings,—whose affairs admit of equita-
ble arrangement,—who is labouring under difficulties brought
on by the negligence of people under' him and over him, is
treated with a degree of rigour never exerted against one but
the most marked criminal. Extents have been issued against
his property, which has been twice seized and sold, and against
his person, which has been thirteen or fourteen months in confine-
ment in one prison or other. All the little malice of an underling
board has been exerted against him, instigated by political
enemies, who hate him for his suspected support of Ministers;
while people in authority calmly look on, and content them-
selves with saying, " A very hard case this of Hook's. IVe
wish him out of it ; but, you know, it would not look well for
us to interfere."—Why?—The answer is at hand. " Because
we should be afraid that, if we did, it would be said, we did so
on account of his supposed connection with John Bull ;"--and
there is the plucklessness of which I complain, and which is the
reason of my writing you this letter.
This cowardice our Ministerial men carry into a thou-
sand departments. As I have often said, it is a sin nt:t visi-
ble among the Whigs. Had they a John Bull among them,
they would boldly stand. by him for his writings.in their be-
half,—not affect to cut him in his difficulties. I wish we
mull borrow this leaf out of their book; not that I wish for
any undue support for our literary people, but that the mere,
fact of their being for us should not deprive them of common.
justice. I hope Hook's business will make its appearance;
before Parliament this approaching session, and, when there,
that it will be fairly met by ministers. Arnow, them there is ati
least one man who ought to take the courage of speaking up,
1 mean George Canning. The Editor of the Anttjacobini
ought not to look on it as a crime unpardonable to be accused
(for it comes to that) of writing the John Bull."

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE.
Meiestoar-HotsE.—Yesterday a young man named Geo.
Plummer was brought before the LORD MAYOR, charged by
his father, a respectable old man, with having committed a
breach of the peace.—The father, who has been for many years
established as a stay-maker, in Princes-street, Minories, stated
that his son came on the previous morning at two o'clock, and
began to raise the whole house by a violent knocking. He dis-
turbed the family and the lodgers by loud outcries, and it was
found absolutely necessary to give him in custody. It was his
practice to disturb the house at midnight in this manner, but to
what cause such conduct was attributable neither father nor
mother could conjecture. The son, wilen asked by the LORD
MAYOR what he had to say in his defeneterwas-eo much agi-
tated that he burst into tears. Ile said it was extremely, pain-
ful for him to'be placed at a 'bar under a 'charge preferred by'
his father, but it was another imputation of an awful nature,
no less than that of having murdered his brother, which had
been cast upon him by his family, that had for a long time
made his mind unhappy and worked him up to commit those
breaches of the peace which he now lamented.
The LORD Mayon. questioned the father upon this extra-
ordinary statement.—The father said, that he had never made
such a charge against the unhappy young man at the bar, and
never-would have mentioned the subject, had it not been thus
publicly alluded to. The truth was, that he had another son
named Robert, who some years since was set up in business at
St. Alban's, where he succeeded in establishing himself as a
stay-maker. It was on the 18th or 19th of November, seven
years ago, that Robert, who had then been separated from
his wife upwards of twelve months, was said to have observed
her walking in a lonely part of the town of St. Alban's, with
a man, of the nature of whose acquaintance with her he
seemed to have no doubt. He disappeared from St. Alban's
the next day, without common icating.with any of his acquaint-
ances, disposing of, or making any arrangements from which
it could he supposed that lie contemplated an absence of any. length. The state of affliction to which his family were re-
duced upon hearing of this unaccountable departure and
absence, was indescribable. A reward was offered for any
information respecting him, but the only intelligence they
could obtain was merely conjectural, and described him
as having been seen at Redfern, in Hertfordshire, on
the day after he was missed from St. Alban's, get-
ting into a post-chaise, accompanied by a strange man.
—The family had written to all their acquaintances in
different parts of the world, but not one word of consola-
tion had they ever received. Such was his consideration for
his father and mother, that they were convinced he would not
keep them longer in suspense, if he had the power of making
them acquainted with his destiny.
Airs. Plummer said, that the prisoner told her about a month
after Robert was missed, that he was either dead or soon would
he dead, and that she might be convinced of the truth of it.
The dreadful fears occasioned by this communication were not
alleviated by an assurance made soon afterwards by George,
that Robert was dead—an assurance accompanied by the words,
" I know where he is; 1 know where he lies." Frequent',
since that period George had alluded to the dreadful subject,
but never had he been accused of being a party to the disap-
pearance of his brother. There was a younger brother How at
St. Alban's who had mentioned that George had told him that
Robert was dead; that he (George) knew of his death, but
would not snitch (tell tales). Both father and mother had,
until this statement, been in doubt whether their child had
gone abroad or been destroyed. .
The prisoner here said lie was sorry to be obliged to contra-
dict his parents, for whom he had the utmost respect. He never
had made any assertions to the effect stated;
The LORD Maxon considered it necessary to remand the
prisoner until the younger brother can. be brought from St.
Alban s.-_The prisoner was then remanded.
BOW-STREtT.--GeOrge 4urtin Low, who stated himself to
be a Colonel in the Colombian service, was yesterday brought
to this office from Covent
tgarden watch-house, where he had
remained from the Saturday night, upon a charge of violating the to undergo an examination
person of Emily White, a little
girl not quite 13 years of
terioue manner from the ho
age, and who disappeared in a mys-
strand.
use of M rs. Bliss, in Norfolk street,
•
Mr. Illesessa u et. was the presiding Magistrate, and from the
peculiar nature of the in i
Mrs. Bliss had been discharged,
qu-TY,the felt it his duty to take the ex-
aminations in private. et - " "
- elVeareu that on aaturuay, after
ver where the unfortunate girl, whose absence had excited so
much alarm, was secreted and at length found that she was
she used every effort to disco.
in lodgings in Villiers-etreet She sent information of the cir-
cumstance to this office, and Blackburn, one of the patrol, went
to the house pointed out,
where he was met by Mrs. Bliss and Mrs. White, the mother of the
ac at llleendgbuyl
fhoerreendi oatnh eernsthrae
nrceef,u saeldigditrofl.o.oupnefdntith
eeentering
.h
et 1(1 e
Blackburn
victima. s passage,
e
the girl shut herself in the parlour, and although repeatedly
f
unmanly lust seated oil the sofa in tears. She was immediately
o
taken before Mr. Minshull, and from the story she told, that
gentleman issued a warrant against Colonel Low, who was
apprehended, at eleven o'clock.
From the girl's statement yesterday, it appeared that the
Colonel had repeatedly taken liberties with her in Mrs. Bliss's
house, and that on the Thursday evening he met her in the
street, and took her to the Fountain, in Catharine-street, where
he endeavoured to effect his object by force. It would seem,
however, from the evidence of a surgeon subsequently examined,
that there wax some doubt as to the completion of the offence
charged. The girl added, that she remained at the Fountain
the remainder of that night alone, and that the next day she
was removed by the Colonel's directions to Villiers-street. She
said also that the Colonel had promised to take her with him
abroad.

The Colonel, in his defence, asserted that the girl had ac-
tually forced herself upon him, and that all that had occurred
was with her own consent. He denied having used any force
whatever.

In
the end Mr. Mixsittmi, who expressed his indignation
at the defence of the Colonel, ordered him to give bail, two
sureties in one hundred pounds each, and himself in two hun-
dred pounds. With this hail the Colonel • was provided, and
was forthwith discharged.—The Colonel is about-45 years of
age, and the object of his attack is an extremely interesting
looking girl, unusually tall of her age. She left the office in
the charge of her mother. Mrs. Bliss, whose name has been
implicated in this unfortunate affair, does not seem to have
been in any way privy to the designs of the defendant ; but,
on the contrary, invariably advised the prosecutrix to avoid
his presence, as well as that of the other male lodgers in the
house.

ROBBERY IN KEA' GARDENS.—The manager of an exten-
sive nursery ground was brought up in custody of Ruthven,
one of the principal officers, charged on suspicion of feloniously
receiving a number of exotic plants, the property of his Ma-
jesty, he well knowing the same to have been stolen. A long
examination of evidence took place, and the prisoner was
fully committed for trial under a late Act of Parliament,
which gives the power of prosecuting accessories after
the fact far felony, although the principal shall not have
been tried. This Act passed during the last Session of Parlia.
ment, and was brought in by the present Lord Chief Justice of
the Common Pleas. Previous to this an accessary could only
be tried fur a misdemeanor, unless the principal had been first.
convicted. Several gentlemen of the highest respectability bore
testimony to the unimpeachable character of the prisoner, and
bail to any amount was offered, but Sir It. Birnie felt it his
duty to refuse it.

QUEEN.SQUARE.—Yesterday information was given of the
following robbery of the Earl of Harrowby. On Sunday night
the Noble Earl and family were on their return from their seat
at Litchfield to their town residence in Grosvenor-square, when
in Totenham-court-road a portmanteau containing plate and
other property, was cut from the front of one of the carriages
in which were some of the household.

SuicinE.—On Saturday afternoon an Inquest
was held at the Yorkshire Gray public-house, Fitzroy-street,
Fitzroy-square, before TI omas STIRLING, Esq., Coroner
for the County of Middlesex, on the body of. Mr. Joust
Wars; haberdasher andliosier, Hanway-strett, Oxford-street;
who put a period to
..his existence by. 'cutting his throat with a
penknife on Thursday night.. The jury returned'a*erdict that
the deceased cut his throat in a state of menta3lterangement.--4
It appears that some family circumstances had greatly dis-
tressed the mind of the deceased.,