The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-12 00:00:00

LAW A\ I) POLICE.

THEATRICAL LITIGATION. —The case of Dear v. Webster
was again brought before the Master of the Rolls this
morning, when his lordship decided that the summons to
reverse the order of the Chief Clerk by the defendant
must be dismissed with costs. With regard to the
costs of the twe suits which had been instituted,
it appeared that owing to some inadvertence, Mr. Bouci-
cault's assignees did not claim the first week's profits in the
bill they first filed, and they had :o file a supplemental bill
in which it was included. The result was that in his opinion
the costs of both suits should be disallowed. His lordship,
on application of plaintiff's counsel, made an order for the
payment of £504 to the plaintiffs in one month.
DISAPPEARANCE OF A NURSE WITH HER MASTER'S
CHILD.—A commercial clerk named George Augustus
Mahon, residing at 15, Serle-street, Lincoln's-inn, applied to
Sir Thomas Henry, at Bow-street this morning, under the
following circumstances. Last Monday afternoon his ser-
vant was granted permission to visit her mother, and
allowed to take with her the baby, a boy aged three
months. She had never returned. Her parents had been
communicated with, and they allege that they accompanied
her back part of the way home, and left her between Leven
and eight o'clock on Monday. The recessary information
was given to the police.
SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST MOTHER AND DAUGHTER.—
Emily Scotch= was charged at the Westminster Police-
court on a warrant, with obtaining a situation by means of
a false character, in the service of Mr Compton, a Govern-
ment clerk, residing at 57, St. George's-road, Pimlico. The
prisoner said he took the prisoner into his service on tha
representation that she had lived in Mrs. Colonel Sherman's
family, at Wootten-under-Edge. This turned out not to
be the case, on the contraryshe proved to be a " fast cook, "
and invited her friends to the house without his knowledge.
The prisoner was remanded for a week for inquiries to be
made.

ROBBING AN AGED PARENT.—Johanna, Kennedy, a young
woman, was charged before Mr. D'Eyncourt, at the Marl-
borough-street Police Court, with robbing her mother,
Mary Fleming, 82 years of age, of the sum of 4s. 6d. The
prosecutrix said the prisoner, my daughter, took 4s. 6d. off
the mantel-piece, and went out and got drunk. She is in the
habit of taking the clothes off the bed and selling them and
getting drunk, and then coming home and beating me. Her
husband died two years ago in the workhouse broken-
hearted through her bad conduct. lam too old to boat
now. Prisoner—l had had a few glasses but did not take
the money. I prefer going to trial than being dealt with
here. Remanded for a week.

A SON ROBBING HIS FATHER.—William Teesdale Wilson,
aged 14, who has been twice remanded, and in custody or
a fortnight, was brought up on remand, at the Thames
Police Court, charged with stealing £2O in gold an a gold
watch, the money and property of his father, William Wil-
son, a foreman shipwright, of Deptfo d Ferry-road, Millwall,
Poplar. The prosecutor, a most respectable and ind strious
man, had been put to in ch trou le by the mis onduct of his
son. A fortnight ago tt e prisoner got up about four o'clock
in the morning and broke open his father's box, from which
he abstracted 20 sovereigns and a gold watch and chain,
with which he decam ed. A neighbour had seen the p
soner leave his father's house, and rightly sus ecting th t
ha was after no good informed the prosecutor, who got up
and missed his money and watch. The prisoner was appre-
hended with the watch on his person lie was again re-
manded.

RATTENING BY WOMEN.-At Airdree several cases of
" rattening" by women were heard before the Bailie.
Three of the defendants, Rose -,`Maloy, Margaret
McGriffans, and Margaret McAulay were charged with
assaulting a number of mill works. Their
method of " rattening " was peculiar to the
sex, and at least an improvement on the
Broadhead system. It appeared that the three were
annoyed at some of the girls working, and they set on
them, tore their hair, and threw stones at them. The
Bailie found them guilty, but dismissed them with an
Admonition.
A COCKFIGHTING QIIIBBLE.—Twenty-four men, re-
siding near Wigton, Cumberland, have been brought
before the magistrates at the Wigton petty sessions on a
charge of being concerned in a cockfight. Two policemen
stated that by skulking under the hedges they got within
a few yards of the cockfighters' rendezvous unobserved.
They waited about half an hour, at the end which
time two of the defendants each took a cook ai._, pitted
them. Both birds were clipped and spurred in approved
fashion for combat. The police allowed the birds to have
one fly and then they jumped into the ring and seized one
of the ,cards, a pair of scales, and some weights. They
identified the whole of the defendants except two. The
bench dismissed the charge on the ground that actual
cruelty had not been proved as required by law.
THICATRIO4 MANAGEMENT.—A curious point in con+
nection with theatrical management was brought before
the Master of the Rolls. lii 1861 Mr. Benjamin
Webster, the well-known actor, and Mr. Dion Boucicault?
the equally well-known author, agreed to carry on the
Adelphi Theatre for the space of three years, the receipts
of the house, with certain reservations, to
be equally divided. Disputes arising, the partner-
ship was dissolved,. and Mr. Boucicault becoming a
bankrupt a short time afterwards, Mr. Webster was
called upon 6o produce an account of repeipts and disburst
meats. This was done, but Mr. Boucicault impugnedthe
accuracy of the account? alleging that several items were
omitted. The matter was brought before the chief cleric
who allowed two items of £99 and £7B against Mr. Web;
star, the former being the amount realised from the letting
of saloons, and the latter for the Queen's box. Mr. Web-
oter contended that those amounts ought not to be in-
cluded in the partnership accounts, as they could not be
properly regarded as part of the general receipts of the
theatre. His lordship reserved judgment, but said the
point raised was a peculiar one, and would depend upon
the custom among the theatrical profession, as well as
the nature of the agreement arrived at between the
Partiet.

NARROW ESCAPE FROM AN ICEBERG.—Captain
Pickaud, of the ship Nestor, which has arrived at Mauri-
tius from Nantes, reports a narrow escape from being
crushed by an Iceberg. When in lat. 43 S., long. 2 E.,
the Nestor passed within four miles of an iceberg, about
two miles long, and very lofty ;' In the course of the day
many other icebergs were passed of various dimensions,
and in the evening an immense iceberg was suddenly
eprceived ahead. The course of the ship had to be altered.

HE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.—We are
given to understand that the late Mrs. Appold has left to
the Institution a legszy of one thousand pounds, payable at
the same time as the legacy for a similar amount from
her husband, the late Mr. J. G. Appold, F.R.S., A.1.0.E.
It is believed that both bequests have been made "for the
general use and benefit of the Society," without ,being
fettered with any conditions.