The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-12 00:00:00

UNION-HALE

Yesterday John Whitby Nebon, a respectable-looking
young man, with both his hands dreadfully cut and lace-
rated, was brought before Mr. COTTINGHAM, charged
with alarming the family of Mr. Rogers, in Bronte-place,
Walworth, and breaking sixteen squares of glass'in one
of the windows of their house.

Miss Mary Rogers stated that on the preceding night,
about twelve o'clock, the defendant drove up in a cab,
and having knocked at the door, the moment it was
opened he rushed into the house and ran up stairs. She
ran after him into her bedroom calling out for assistance,
when he seized her by the wrists and endeavoured to throw
her down, but she resisted with such determination that
he did not succeed, and on hearing footsteps he imme•
diately rushed towards the window, which he could not
throw open, and he then began to smash the glass with
his hands, and never stoppeduntil he broke sixteen panes,
besides shattering the window-frame to pieces. The de-
fendant then jumped through the aperture he had made,
and got out on the sill of the window, which was twelve
or thirteen feet from the ground, and at this moment
two policemen and some of the neighbours, hearing the
outcry, got into the room and secured the defendant, who
was covered with blood and lacerated.
Mr. COTTINGFLtM asked the witness whether she had
known the defendant previously to the night in question?
And her reply was, that she had never seen him before,
and could not account for such conduct.

Mrs. Rogers stated that she was going to bed at the
time, and on hearing a noise, and that her daughter was
calling for help, she threw up the window-sash and called
for the police, being afraid at the time to open her own
room, as there were no persons in the house but herself
and daughter. The witness also stated that she had no
recollection of ever having seen the defendant before.
And she added; that neither she nor her daughter had
yet recovered from the effects of the alarm into which
they had been thrown by the extraordinary and outrage-
ous behaviour of the defendant.
A cabman stated that the defendant hired his vehicle
about half-past ten o'clock on the preceding night in the
Haymarket, and desired to be driven to No. 25, Bronte-
place, East-lane, Walworth. The defendant did not ap-
pear to be under the influence of liquor, and spoke to
him quite rationally, but when the door of the house
where he was sat down was opened he rushed into the
passage, and witness did not see him again until he ob-
served him on the outside of the first-floor window, the
pains of glass in which he smashed, before he got out en
the sill.

Mr. COTTINGHAM said that it was the most extraor-
dinary behaviour he had ever heard of, and that the man
who committed such violence must be labouring under
insanity. The Magistrate added that he was desirous of
hearing any statement, either from the defendant or any
of his friends, if he had any in attendance.
The defendant, who appeared to be suffering great
pain, while the blood was oozing through the dressings
on his hands, made no reply; but his mother, who seemed
in great trouble of mind, said that her son was a maniac,
and that he had escaped from his home, which was in
Bower-street, Commercial-road East, at an early hour
,on the preceding afternoon.
Mr. COTTINGHAM said that great neglect was attribut-
able to his (the defendant's) friends for allowing so dan-
gerous a person to go at large.
The defendant's mother here described that her hus-
band was master of a ship in the present Lord Mayor's
employ, and that being paralyzed he was unable to fill
the situation; that the family, had recently returned
from Hobart Town, and that their efforts to get the
young man, the subject of the present inquiry, into an
asylum were unsuccessful, and that they were not in a
condition to pay for his admission into one of the private
lunatic asylums.
Mr. COTTINGHAM said that it was quite evident it was
dangerous to the community to allow such a person his
liberty, and that upon the production of a certificate of his
insanity, if the family were not in a condition to have
him placed under proper restraint, his admission into one
of the public hospitals for such patients must be pro-
cured.

Mr. Mullinger, a gentleman residing at Walworth,
who witnessed the greater part of the defendant's con-
duct, undertook to apprise the Lord Mayor of all the cir-
cumstances of the case, with a ♦iew that his Lordship
would exert himself in obtaining the required admission
for such a patient.
The unfortunate young man was they given up into
the charge of his friends.

POLISH BALL AND CONCERT AT GUILD-
HALL.—Our readers will rejoice to learn that there is
every prospect of. this fete going off with the utmost
eclat, and that, brilliant as the Polish Balls of former
years have been, they are likely to be eclipsed by that
which is appointed to take place on Wednesday next,
the 17th inst. The concert will possess an unusual at-
traction in Miss Adelaide Kemble, who has most gene-
rously consented to forward a charity in which, we un-
derstand, she takes a deep personal interest, by devoting
to its aid those high talents which have already won for
her:_a fame so universal and deserved. The lighting and
decorations of the hall and concert-room are to be on the
same scale as at the banquet last Tuesday, and the at-
tendance in person of the noble and distinguished patrons
and patronesses is expected to be more numerous than on
any former occasion, whilst it must be highly gratifying
to the friends of Poland to find amongst those illustrious
personages the names of those the most opposed in poli-
tics, yet thus united, cordially, in marking their sym-
pathy for a brave, but unfortunate people. We trust
the hall may net be over-crowded, but it strikes us that
the present price of tickets might be judiciously raised.
At present they are so low as 15s. for a gentleman's
ticket; 10s. 6d. fbr a lady's; and one guinea for a ticket
admitting a lady and a gentleman. We remember that
on former occasions the only fault we had to find w4ll
the Committee of Management was, their not rotriaing
sufficiently their issue of tickets, and the consequent
crowded state of the hall. Perhaps, where a ball is given
with a charitable purpose, we ought not to be over scru-
pulous; and shall, therefore, say no more than that, in
common with, our readers, we wish every success to so
spirited an effort to assist the needy and shelter the des-
ttute,

CORN-LAWS.—On Tuesday night a lecture on
the Corn-laws was delivered by Mr. George Thompson,
i❑ Briato-street Church, Edinburgh. The audience,
which was highly respectable, amounted to about four-
teen hundred, and was admitted by tickets at sixpence
each, admitting two, The lecture lasted nearly three hours,