The Sun.
London, England, 1833-07-26 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

T 0 WN-LIALL.

Frederick Bickerton, a young man about 30 years of
age, most respectably dressed, appeared to answer a sum-
mons for an assault upon Mrs. Mary Watson.
Mrs. Watson, who was handsomely dressed, stated that
she resided at No. 2, Ciarence crescent, in the Borough.
On Friday she missed from her parlour window a gera-
nium, and suspecting the defendant had taken it, she asked
him for it. He denied all knowledge of it ; a few words
ensued, which brought the complainant's husband from
his bed room on the first floor. A scuffle took place, and
the defendant struck her several times in the face, which
gave her a pair of black eyes, from which she was now
suffering.

A solicitor, on the part of the defendant, cross-examined
her as to how her husband and herself procured their liv-
ing, to which she snappishly replied, " I cha'n't tell you."
Solicitor—l must let the Magistrates know a little
about you. Pray is this petition in your husband's hand-
writing ?
Mrs. Watson—l can read the writing, but can't tell
who wrote it.

The husband, a man about 30, dressed in an entire
suit of black, here stepped forward, and avowed it to be
his handwriting. The solicitor then produced another,
which he also admitted
_to have been written by him.
_ _ _ _ -

The defendant said the blow was intended for the bus•
band—she stepped in and received it, and he would make
what compensation the Alderman thought tit ; but as he
had been brought to the bar of this office he would, though
he suffered by it, expose the system of trickery and fraud
practised by the complainant, her husband, and many others,
who subsisted by the humanity of that public they were
hourly deceiving. This petition, which I now hold in my
hand, I will read—it is drawn up in the band.writing of
the husband, and was taken from him on Sunday last,
while begging in Holborn—

" Nature for my children, when I see them asking me for
bread, without the means of raising it for them, forces me to
make this appeal to a benevolent public. Illness and the want
of employ has forced me to sell everything I possessed to keep
a wife and four young children from starving. My wife is at
this time dange:ously ill. Being destitute of the means of
raising my family the necessaries of life, lam forced to lay my
case before a humane public. My only dependence is as. 6d.
per week from the parish. I will satisfy any one of the truth of
his statement."

The next, your Worship, continued the defendant,
the one carried by Mrs. Watson—

" My present situation of life is caused through the greatest
distress ; for four months my husband has been confined to his
bed through a long and severe illness, during which time I
have parted with every thing I possessed to keep three young
children from starving, having but lately recovered from my
confinement with my fourth child, and being destitute of a
meal's victual's to give my poor babes compels me to lay my case
before a benevolent public."

Nor is this all, your Worship, for those black eyes which
she has got have been a source of good harvest to her—(A
laugh)—for her husband has manufactured a fresh peti-
tion for her, setting forth that bar husband, after beating
her most unmercifully, bad converted their furniture into
money, and then deserted her and her infant family. Pity
was aroused, and by this new stratagem, they made a great
deal of money. Then, besides, the husband sells petitions
ready cut and dried —(A laugh)—and to much for begging
letters ! They live better than many a tradesman's family,
and for upwards of ten years Watson has sever earned a
farthing, his family and himself living entirely by begging.
Watson—l am in bad health, and can't work ; besides,
you go begging too.
Defendant—l know I do; but I was a hard working
shoemaker before I knew you, and you led me into it..
Complainant—Beside., you go about with two children
begging, telling the people they are motherless twins.
Defewlant—l know it ; but who procures them fur
me? Why, you. I don't mind what you say, now I
have done with it, I have got a trade.

The colloquy would have continued, had not Mr. Al.
derman THORP put an end to it by ordering the defni.
dant to pay the expenses of the summons, 3s. With
tespect to the expose that had been made, he had nothing
to do with that.

The defendant, on leaving the office, said he was glad
that it had happened, for be should now leave a life of
vagrancy, and stick to his lapstone.

DREADFUL SHIPWRECK.

We give the following most distressing account of the
loss by fire of the Hibernia, bound for Van Diemen's
Land, with p issengers, from a letter of Mr. James Easby,
millwright, Richmond, Yorkshire, who was one of the
passengers :
'On the sth of February, 1833, about 11 o'clock,
a.m., an alarm of fire was given, which was soon ascer-
tained to be but too true. The second mate, who acted
as steward, had gone into the storeroom, and, while in
the act of drawing a bucket of rum, let a lighted candle
fall into the spirits ; and instead of giving the alarm, en-
deavoured to extinguish the flames by throwing about the
store room the blazing spirits, which dreadfully burnt his
legs and arms, and set fire to a quantity of tar, pitch,
spirits, straw, &c. As soon as the alarm was given, the
decks were scuttled, and water poured in—every exertion
was used to arrest the progress of the all-devouring ele-
ment, but to no purpose; in less than two hours all hopes
of saving either ship or property were abandon( d, as the
between decks and lower hold were full of smoke and the
flames were breaking through the between decks. The
captain now ordered the boats to be launched, which was
done. Giving me some charts, books, &c., he ordered
me to get into the long boat and take care of the few pro.
visions which were saved from the sailors forecastle and
cabin. Oh ! what a scene of horror now took place—
some were seen dressed up in their best clothes as if going
to a ball—others were profaning God's name with the most
awful execrations—while some were on their knees, suppli-
cating his mercy.
__

" Now shrieked the timid,
And stood still the brave."
" There were 232 souls on board, and the boats would
not hold more than a third of the number ; they were
filled in a moment, and dropped astern. As the ship was
still going, we drifted away, picking up a few who swain
from the ship or floated on pieces of timber. The whole
of the sails and masts of the noble Hibernia were now in
flames, and in a few minutes fell into the sea. And now
a most dreadful scene presented itself,—all endeavouring
to get upon the masts, with the expectation of being picked
up by the boats, there being only the sad alternative—the
flames or a watery grave ; those who got upon the rafts
had neither water nor provisions, and, if not picked up,
would linger out a painful existence, and at l ist be starved
to death, there being little chance of any ship coming that
way. We were now in 5 degrees south lat., and 20 west
long., in the south-east trade winds, having a fair wind
for Pernambuco, in South America, on the Brazilian coast.
We all met, that is, the boats, and determined to make,
if possible, Pernambuco, though at a distance of 1,200
miles, and having very little provision and no water. It
was a most heartrending sight to see so many in distress,
and unable to relieve them, the boats being quite filled, and
the long boat in a leaky state, requiring eight men to bail
water to keep her afloat. We rigged out a jurymast, and,
with the aid of a top gallant studding sail, were enabled
to make good way. The Hibernia was not more than
one mile from us to the windward—many poor creatures
clinging to the bowsprit to keep from the flames as long
as possible, waving their hats for us to go and relieve them.
The doctor and four sisters were clinging to a rope at the
stern of the ship. We would fain have taken them in,
but the captain told us it would be at the expense of our
own lives; so we abandoned all hopes of saving them.
By the help of an old bed-tick we lengthened our sail, and
in a little time lost sight of the Hibernia, and all our
property, and all our hopes. Next morning the chief
mate in the pinnace boat left us, and we saw him no more,
he having on board 17 souls. We had given him charts,
compass, and sextant to navigate with. We bad nothing
to eat from breakfast until next day at 12 o'clock, and
then only two table spoonfuls of preserved beef, and 2 oz.
of brandy night and morning, for seven days. On the
night of the 6th, a man died from fatigue and hunger.
On the captain making his observations at 12 o'clock, he
informed us that we were 490 miles from Pernambuco,
with a light breeze. We had no water the whole time,
and gave up all hopes of ever again setting foot on land.
On this day we killed one of three small pigs, which we
had on board—eating it raw, and supping the blood with
as much eagerness as if it had been wine. Hunger is
fine sauce, but our hunger was nothing to our thirst.
Had I been possessed of a thousand worlds, I would wil-
lingly have given up all for a draught of water. Many
drank sea-water, though warned against it—several of
them became quite delirious. There were 52 souls on
board, besides eleven in the captain's gig, which we had
in tow.

1' At 20 minutes past three o'clock, the man at the helm,
to the joy of all, cried out, " A sail a-head." We stood
down upon her, after hoisting a sailor's red shirt, as a
signal of distress; but all hopes were again lost, as the
ship had not seen us, when we completely despaired.—but
to the great joy of all, we perceived her mizen top sail
leached, and her main sail hauled up. We then shouted
tor joy, and in 20 minutes we spoke her. She was the
Lotus, of Whitby, from Portsmouth, with convicts and
soldiers for Van Dietnen's Land. They took us on board,
gave us some grog, water, and provision ; but a old
Major Schatv ordered us into our boat again—we made a
stand to a man, and declared we would rather the soldiers