The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-26 00:00:00

nently from their institution, but thought it neces-
*ll:lt an t,:;.atniiic znould be in xcje

Ins UT

Lite interests and well- being of the other inmates of
the asylum.
The MAGISTRATE said, that the prisoner ought to
feel extremely grateful for such leniency as had been
exhibited towards him, and ordered him to be im-
prisoned, and kept to hard labour, in the House of
Correction for six weeks.
The prisoner, who appeared thoroughly hardened
and obdurate, was then removed to the cells.
HAMMERSMITH.

Frederick Hare, driver of the cab No. 1,4'32, badge
No. 2,518, appeared to answer a summons under the
Metropolitan Carriage Act (6 and 7 Vic., cap. 86)
for having on the 6th inst., during his employment,
used abusive and insulting language to James
Stevens, waterman, No. 157, at the Knightsbridge
stand.
The complainant deposed that he had been water-
man at the Knightsbridge stand for the last six or
seven years. A few minutes past eight o'clock on
the morning of the 6th inst. be noticed the cab 1,432
on the stand, without any driver attending it. About
ten o'clock a policeman earns up to witness, and asked
complainant where the driver was, and he told him
he did net know. The policeman then took the
number of the cab, at which moment the defendant
came up. Complainant immediately asked him why he
had leftthe cab unattended for upwards of two hours,
when the defendant replied that he should do as he
thought proper ; he had been to his breakfast. The
defendant then wanted to put his cab before the man
who was by right the first cab on the stand, when he
asked defendant how he could think of doing such a
thing. The defendant then instantly began to abuse
witness, using the most horrible language that could
possibly be conceived.
In cross-examination, complainant admitted that on
the afternoon of the same day he refused the defen-
dant a pail of water to wash his cab.
Mr. Wolfe having addressed the magistrate on the
part of the defendant, and contended that it was evi-
dent there must have been something insulting in
the complainant's tone or words,
Mr. PAYNTER said, it was very true that there ap-
peared throughout the case that there was no provo-
cation given the defendant to induce him to use the
horrible language he had done, and even if there had
been the provocation suggested, it would not have
justified the dreadful language used. He had deter-
mined in all such cases of horrible language uttered
by cabmen in the public streets and roads, to punish
them severely, by giving them the full period of im-
prisonment of two months. As, however, it appeared
the defendant had never been summoned before, he
would not do so, but would fine him 40s. and costs,
or a month's imprisonment.
KINGSTON.

Hugh Matthews, a man about thirty-five years of
age, dressed in seedy black, was brought before the
Mkyor of Kingston and another borough magistrate,
charged with obtaining money under false pretences,
from the Rev. R. Gandy, the vicar.
It appeared from the evidence adduced on the
first examination, that the prisoner went a few days
since and left a letter for the vicar, who is well
known for his benevolence, and stated he would call
again in a day or two. As the prisoner had been
relieved only a few weeks before, some suspicion
was excited in the housekeeper's mind, thought not
in her master's, who is a valetudinarian, and seldom
leaves the house. The police were communicated
with, and Police-constable Holloway, 226 V, who
was in plain clothes, saw the prisoner leave the house
with a letter in his hand. He accosted him, told
him he was a begging-letter impostor, and he must
give him up the letter he then held. He did so, and
it proved to be one from the vicar, enclosing half-a-
crown. The constable took the prisoner to the
station-house, and upon searching him found a list
of charitable ladies and gentlemen living in the
neighbourhood of Wimbledon, Merton, Kingston,
Ditton, Walton, and Weybridge. He also found
fragments of letters, evidently received from various
benevolent parties. The prisoner said at the station-
honse that he was a classical teacher, and that his
father was a clergyman of the Protestant Church in
Ireland, but had been dead some time. His inten-
tion was, when he could get a few pupils, to open a
school, and he should not have written to the vicar,
but that he 1 ad been disappointed in a remittance
from his mother in Ireland.
The constable reported that he had made diligent
inquiries with respect to the prisoner opening a school,
but could not learn that he had made a single step
towards opening one.
The prisoner asked the Bench to place any Greek
or Latin author in his hands, and he would convince
them them that he was as he had stated himself to be,
a scholar. He also proceeded to quote several Greek
and Latin poets. He admitted it was a disgrace for
a classical man to ask alms, but he was in distress,
and he did not know who to apply to but clergymen
or other gentlemen.
The MAYOR said he was sorry to see a man like
the prisoner, who, according to his own showing, was a
person of no mean attainments, placed in such a posi-
tion. He had not the excuse of want of education,
and, therefore, his offence was the greater. The
prisoner would be committed as a rogue and vaga-
bond to the House of Correction, at Brixton, with
hard labour, for one month.
THAMES.
_

Charles Watkins, a powerful young man, was
charged with committing a violent assault on Thomas
Nott, on the River.

The complainant, an elderly man, and much in-
ferior in size to the prisoner, appeared before the
magistrate, with his upper lip bound together by
adhesive plaisters, and he could not speak without
great difficulty.
It appeared that on Sunday evening the com-
plainant, who is the Sunday ferryman between the
Alderman's-stairs, Lower East Smithfield, and the
opposite shore, was engaged by a gentleman to cr•
vey him alongside the Ajax, screw steamer, which
had just arrived from Cork, to bring a gentleman
passenger and his luggage on shore. The complain-
ant was accompanied by a boy, who went up the
gangway ladder to hand down the passenger's lug-
gage, and after depositing a basket in Nott's boat,
was about to hand down a box, when defendant, who
is also a waterman, and was in his boat alongside re-
ceiving passengers, seized the box and said it belonged
to one of his passengers. Nott said it did not, and
attempted to snatch the box from him, on which the
defendant uttered a dreadful oath, and struck the
complainant a tremendous blow on his mouth with
his clenched fist, which not only divided his upper
lip, as if it had been severed with a knife, but
loosened several teeth. The complainant very for-
tunately fell in-board, and when he recovered from
the effects of the blow the blood was streaming from his
mouth, and he threatened to give Watkins into cus-
tody. The prisoner directly struck him again, and
knocked him backwards. He repeated the blow as the
complainant was rising, and rendered him senseless. He
was proceeding to further violence, when Jones, a
Thames police-constable, No. 29, who saw the whole
occurrence from the deck of the steamer, rushed down
the gangway ladder, and took the prisoner into cus-
tody. The complainant was bleeding from the mouth
for an hour and a half after he received the blows,
and it was stated by Jones that he narrowly escaped
being drowned, and that he was in a very weak state
from loss of blood.
The prisoner, in defence, said he was struck first,
and stood in his own defence.
Mr. YARDLEY said the defendant had committed a

very savage and unprovoked assault, and he had just
inquired of Mr. Simmons, the chief clerk, whether
there were any means of preventing the defendant
plying on the river again, for he was totally unfit for
his occupation, and was informed there was not. A
man who had so little control over his passions as the
defendant, was quite unfit to have the management of
a boat on the river, and he could assure him, if the

complainant, whom he had so grossly assaulted, had
been drowned, he should have committed him for
trial on a charge affecting his life. He sentenced the
prisoner to pay a fine of 51., and in default committed
him for one month to the House of Correction.
_ _

Mark Knight Darke, chief mate of the barque
Agnes, from Honduras, lying in the West India
Dock, was charged with smuggling 4ilbs of tobacco.
An officer named Rattray, on searching the pri-
soner's chest, as he was leaving the dock, found the
tobacco concealed among his dirty clothes. The pri-
soner said it was a portion of 101bs. which he pur-
chased as a sea stock for the voyage, and was unable
to consume it all, and he thought he had a right to
smoke what he had purchased, Gn shore as well as at
sea ; and he repeated this statement before the Magis-
tratf, and said he knew of no law to prevent him
smoking his own tobacco.
Mr. YARDLEY said the law prohibited all persons
smoking tobacco and cigars in England till the duty
was paid, but seamen were privileged to consume
tobacco duty free on board ship. He fined him 4/.
His tobacco was forfeited to the Crown.
Tho:nas Ivory, aged 24, a market-gardener, of
Devon s-lane, Bromley, was charged with obtaining
2s. by false pretences from Ann Billings, landlady of
the Stearn-engine beer-shop, Stratford-hollow.
On Saturday afternoon the prisoner called on Mrs.
Billings, and represented that he had left a basket of
apples at the Stratford station of the Eastern Counties
Railway, for Mr. James Dickinson, a carpenter, of
38, Charles•street, Bromley, who was employed on
the new works there, and that Mr. Dickinson had
directed him to ask Mrs. Billings for three shillings,
which he would refund to her. On the faith of this
reprepresentation the money was advanced to the
prisoner. On the same evening Mrs. Billings ascer-
tained from Mr. Dickinson that lie had never sent
the prisoner for the money or received any apples
from him. Mr. Dickinson gave evidence to that
effect, and added he knew the prisoner by sight and
had made some small purchases of him. When the
prisoner was apprehended by Wiggings, 53 K, he
made a full admission of his guilt, but gave no ex- I
planation. His motives for compromising bis cha-

racter and risking his liberty were inexplicable, end
rot OT,3:slnl-
acted ai,,hvnebtly unfore.
Mr. Pelham cross-examined the witnesses, and
made some observations for the prisoner, who was
committed to the Central Criminal Court for trial.