The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-14 00:00:00

[4; SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14,

LAW AND POLICE.

ROBBERY BY A NEWLY-ENGAGED SHOP ASSISTANT.—
Mary Ann Shirry, shopwoman, in the employ of Mk
James M`Darhy, laeewan, &c., of N0..31, Oxford-street,
brought; up at the )\-tr,xiborongth-street Police•comt,
before-Mr. Lushington, charged with stealing gloves, lace,
and a quantity of other articles of the value of 40, the
property of her employer. Mr. J. Alsop appeared for
the prisoner. The prosecutor said that in consequence of
some information he received yesterday, he called the
prisoner, who was in his employ as an assistant upstairs.,
and asked her what her teal name was, and she replied,
" Shirry." He then asked her if she had any other
name, and. she made no answer. 4le then put some
more questions to her, and asked to see her
boxes, and on her opening them he found in
them goods of different kinds of the value of about
,k,lo,*and she admitted having taken them from his shop,
but said she intended to put them back. He then gave
her in charge, James Middleton, local constable, of
Hanway-street, said he was called to the prosecutor's, and
prisoner given into his charge for robbing the prosecutor
and on going to her room the prosecutor found a quantity
of his property in her boxes. After being cautioned the
prisoner said she had taken the things, was sorry for it,
and did not know what had induced her to do it. In reply
to Mr. Alsop, the witness said he did not hear the pri-
soner say•ehe intended to put the things back. Mr,
M'Darby wished the prisoner to be leniently dealt with
as ho had ascertained she was the mother of one or two
children. In reply to Mr. Lushington, the prosecutor
said the prisoner had been in his employ only three weeks,
and- he had a character with her, but not from her last
employer. Mr- Alsop asked for 4 remand as he had only
just been instructed. Inspector Harnett, E Division, said
he had been informed that the prisoner got the situation
through an advertisement in the Christian Times, and that
she gave a false name. Mr. Lushington remanded tiw
prisoner that the inspector might make inquiries.

SCENE IN A GAY HOUSE.—John Gone, of 450, Lupus-
street, Pimlico, was brought up at the Westminster
Police-court, charged on three summonses with assault.
Mr. W. L. Smyth, who prosecuted, said the defendant
kept a house, commonly called " gay," and had young
women there who received the visits of gentlemen. A
Miss Gordon, who was under the protection of a gentle-
man, took apartments at the defendant's house, and being
ill had a young girl staying with her and a servant. Some
dispute arose after two days, in consequence of the
defendant's wife attempting to cheat Miss Gordon
out of seven shillings, and during the absence
of Miss Gordon, the defendant got into her
parlour window and ejected the servant. When
Miss Gordon and her friend returned home they
were both violently ejected by the defendant and turned
out of doors at half-past one in the morning in a drench
ing fain, after only being in the house two days ; when a
gentleman and the police came to their assistance, the
gentleman was violently assaulted and th e police threatened.
A lame defence was set up, and it was contended that the
servant and friend were not allowed in the house, but
Miss Gordon, who was the lodger, was not denied admit-
tance. The gentleman was the father of one of the parties,
and in pulling him out they all fell down together. Mr.
Woolrych was of opinion that the assault was violent and
uncalled for, and fined the defendant 51s. hi all, or six
weeks. The money was paid.
THE Scovcu LEGITIMACY OASE.—After an investiga-
tion of a week's duration, the Lord Chancellor delivered
judgment in the appeal case of Hill v. Ifibbett, in which a
young woman, named Sarah Hay, claimed to he admitted
as one of the heirs at law of a Mr. John White, who in
1869 died intestate, leaving personal property of the
value of £50,000, and real property worth £5,000 per
annum. It seems that about thirty years since Harriet
Hibbett, sister of the intestate, was supposed to have
gone to America, and in 1860 they were informed by
an old man named James Hay, that he was the widower
of Harriett. Hibbet, who had left him one daughter,
named Sarah. The latter, if this were accurate, woolld
be one of the intestate's next of kin ; but her claim was
opposed by a widow named Mary 11111, on the assumption
that Harriett llibbett was not her mother, the marriage
between James Hay and Harden Hibbet being, as it was
alleged, bigamous.—The Lord Chaneellor, affirming the
decision of Vice-Chancellor Janie, dismissed the claim
of Sarah Hay, on the ground that the marriage last re-
ferred to was invalid.

A FORMEN BANKER TN THE DIVORCE CouNT.—Lord
Penzance had an application before him to make a decree
absolute in the cause of De Beer v. De Heer and Mures.
This was a husband's petition for a dissolution of his mar-
riage on the ground of his wife's adultery. The petitioner
is salesman bo a large city firm, and sent his wife
out to Belgium for change of air. She there
made the acquaintance of the co-respondent, who is a
well-known banker both in Paris and Amsterdam. lie
accompanied the respondent on her way home, and was
guilty of adultery. It was proved that Mrs. De neer was
now living ender the protection of the co-respondent a
tho Place des Carmt.s, at Antwerp.—Lord Penzance
granted a decree absolute for 4 dissolutbn of the
marriags.

DAMAGES AGAINST THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY Com.
PANY.—At the Court of Common Pleas the case of Pur-
chose v. The Metropolitan Railway Company was heard.
It was an action to recover damages for personal injury
alleged to have been occasioned by the defendants! negli-
gence, On the 16th of July, 1869, there was an accident
at the King'scross station on the defendants' line of rail-
way, caused by the anticipations of tho persons at the
station that a train, which had been detained there five
minutes, was about to be run into by another train coming
on the same line of rails. -The passengers in the train at a
standstill were hailed to alight, which they proceeded to do,
and in the confusion several were 'injured. The plaintiff,
an upholsterer in Grafton-street, Brighton, allegedthat he
was one of the passengers so
.injured, and that he had
been ruptured. The railwaY company never heard any-
thing of the plaintiff's claim for a long time after the
accident, and it was proved that he was attended by Dr.
Addison, of Brighton, a couple of da•ys,after the accident,
and was treated for an ordinary bilious attack. Ile again
consulted Dr. Addision about six weeks afterwards, when
he was suffering from a rupture, but on neither occasion
did he appear to have mentioned to the doctor that he had
been injured on the occasion of the railway accident. Two
or three witnesses were called to show that the plaintiff
had been subject to attacks of nausea and headache, of
which he complained to a friend on the day of the
accident. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff—
£lso.

AN ACCOUNTANT SENTENCED TO PENAL SERVITUDE. --
At the Central Criminal Court William Bailey Coomb,
an accountant, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging
him with forging and uttering a transfer of 1,500 shares
of the, capital stock of the Great Eastern Railway
Company, The prisoner's counsel urged in mitigation
of punishment that he appeared to have yielded to
a sudden temptation in committing the offence, and
that there was an ultimate intention on his part to repay.
The prosecuting counsel, however, said he could not join
in the recommendation to mercy. The prisoner was con-
victed of forgery in 1859, and sentenced to. three years'
penal servitude, and before that he had been couvictea of
stealing a set of Mathematical instruments. The
Recorder sentenced the prisoner to seven years' penal
servitude.

AN " OFFICER" IN A POLICE COMT.—At the West-
minstdt pollee-court John* Gilbert Bentley Booker Booth,
known as Colonel Booker and Major Booth, was again
brought up charged with have fraudulently obtained
board and lodging by falsely representing that he was a
retired officer of the Guards. The prisoner said that he
had instructed counsel, who had not arrived,
but th© matters h 1 vestion were but debts. He
was a county magistrate and a gentleman, 'and had
property which would pay all these demands in full,
although he could not settle them at once. He was far
from well, and begged that the, bail ?night be redueed, as
the confinement at the House of Detention had seriously
injured his health. Mr. Woolrycli'said he must go for
trial, and remanded him till Wednesday to complete the
depositions.

A correspondent of the Journal des Debuts, published in
Paris, says that he took part in the actiOn last week,
and took from a dead Prussian an unfinished letter, in
which was the following passage We begin to grow
fatigued and weary, and Trochn has invented some new
mitrailleuses and blinded loco.diatlves which arc very
dangerous. it is final. time we. entered Paris, for the
army sutlers greatly, and is in despair at seeing Christnnas
approach without Gcvmany growing nearer. Happily
Paris is short of provisions, and must f." urrender tell
dayS. Were it etherwiiie . . ,"
.4ere the letter
breaks off.

NoncE.--KINAHAN's I 4). whisky Depot. Kinahan
and Co. have removed to their new and spacious premises,
No. Ga, Great TitehfizAd-street, Oxford-street, leading
from Margaret-street, Regent-street, and Market-street,
Oxford-street. Kinahan s Lb. Whisky.—This famous
and most delieleu9 old mellow spirit is the very cream
Irish whiskies, in quality unrivalled, perfectly pure,
and more wholesome thin the finest cognac brandy.
Can be obtained all over too hingdom, in the well-known
sealed and labelled bottles, Or in bond for exportation at
the LondowlDooks. Wholesale Agents to Messrs. Bass,
Guinness, and Younger, and Dealers in Foreign \Vines
anti Spirits.

TURKEY AND RUSSIA.

.There are some signs which go to indicate that Turkey
will not make such a vital question of the - Black Sea
neutrality as to reject all, means • of settlement.
The Independence • Beige, amongst other autho-
rities., • believes, indeed, that the Porte will
Offer no serious opposition. Its correspondent at Con-
stantinople says that General Ignatieff has completely
reassured the Porte respecting the intentions of Russia.
The Turkish GoVerument considers the question rather
am • European tha,n, an Ottoman one. ft
is aware . that the humiliation inflicted upon
Russia by the 'clauses of the Paris Treaty affecting
the Black Sea was infinitely more- dangerous for the
security of Turkey, owing to the animosity it would
create, than any freedom to the development of the Rll3-
sian Marine in the Maine. The Ottoman government,
in short, would have no objection to break down these
useless barriers, provided the Treaty were not affected any
further. •