The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-01 00:00:00

WANDS WORTH.

E. Davis, a slim-made young man, was charged with
burglariously breaking into the Nag's Head, Lower
Wandsworth-road, Battersea, and stealing property to
the value of 10/. _ _

It appeared that on Friday night, about eleven o'clock,
Mary Mtmday, the servant, was retirin to bed, when
she observed one of the windows open in the tea-room,
which is on the first floor. This window adjoins the
roof of an outhouse, from which a -person could get in
and out. She had closed the window at half-past nine
o'clock, but not fastened it ; observing a shirt belonging
to her master lying near the window, which should have
been in his room, she made an alarm.
Mr. G. Pinnock, the landlord of the Nag's Head, said
that in consequence of information he received from his
servant, he examined his bed-room, and found that the
drawers had been ransacked of a pair of breeches, a
coat, a shawl, a cloak, cape, waistcoat, and other articles
of wearing apparel, his property. He then sent for the
police, and in the interval discovered that his brother
had been robbed of a frock•coat and jacket, which ho
kept in the pot-shed. Suspecting the prisoner, from
having seen him loitering about the premises on several
occasions, and more particularly from having seen him
pass the front door about ten o'clock that night with a
large bundle in his possession, he caused the police to go
to his lodgings in the neighbourhood, where he was
found, with the whole of the property in his possession,
and, after a desperate resistance, was taken.
The prisoner declined making any defence, and was
fully committed to the ensuing assizes at Guildford.
TIIAMES.

Three active stout young fellows, who gave the names
of Thomas Robert?, alias Barnes, John. Willis, alias
Mackenzie, and James Whittall, alias Walker, were
brought before Mr. Ballantine, charged with stealing a
silver watch from the sailing barge Beim, and attempt-
ing to commit other robberies on the river.
On Sunday morning, shortly before five o'clock, Mr.
John Knight, the master of a large Essex sailing barge,
Called the Bettis, then lying off the West India Dock en-
trance at Limehouse, was awoke by the noise of footsteps
in his sleeping cabin, and upon opening his eyes he saw
Whittall in the act of taking his watch out of an old
shoe which was hanging over his head. Mr. Knight
seized the prisoner by the jacket, and raised himself
from his bed, the prisoner at the same time dragged
himself away, leaving part of his jacket in the hands of
Mr. Knight, who tumbled out of his bed bead foremost.
The prisoner immediately ran up the ladder, and Mr.
Knight seized him by the foot when he reached the
top of it, and held him fast until the fellow pulled
out a knife and threatened to murder the prosecutor,
who let him go, but rushed on deck after him, and
saw him and Roberts in the act of desceding the ship's
side into a boat containing Willis and another man. The
whole four rowed away and were pursued by Mr. Knight
and one of his apprentices, who sung out for the police.
A Thames police galley, containing three constables,
hearing the cry, joined in the chase, and the thieves,
being bard pressed, landed at Fletcher's ship-building
dock. The police. and others were soon upon them, and
a fight took place. The robbers, who were armed with
knives and iron bars, attacked the people who attempted
to capture them, and Inspector Luton and his men were
compelled to use their truncheons, and dealt some hard
blows before they overpowered the fellows. One of
them made his escape over the wall into the street. The
prisoners were secured. They went on board the
Arcadian, lying off Deptford, about an hour before
they were captured, and were in the act of unscrew-
ing the ship's bell, suspended to a beam forward, in
front of the windlass, when Mr. Justice, a tide•waiter,
who was in the cuddy, hearing footsteps, came upon
deck. The prisoners made a precipitate retreat.
Mr. Justice attempted to secure Willis and Whitten
as they were getting over the ship's side, but they
knocked him down and threatened to send a knife into
his body if he attempted to follow them. They rowed
away, and Mr. Justice called out "Police." Another
boat, containing two men, no doubt confederates, imme-
diately came alongside the ship, and said, " It's all right,
master; this is a police boat, we'll row after them;" and
they did so, but made no attempt to overtake them. The
boat the prisoners were in had been stolen from George's-
stairs, Deptford, where it was made fast alongside the
City of Glasgow steamer, and the sculls used by the pri-
soners were the property of Mr. Mitcheson, shipowner,
and had been stolen from another part of the river.
Inspector Falconer, of the river police, said that three
of the gang, who used to work with the prisoners on
the Thames and Medway, were convicted at the Maid-
stone Assizes on Saturday, and sentenced to ten years'
transportation.
Other officers of the land and river police proved
numerous convictions against the prisoners, who, they
said, were the terror of everybody when at liberty.
Mr. BA.LLANTINE—I shall commit all the priSoaera for
trial; and I hope they will be sent out of the country.