The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-19 00:00:00

ALLEGED HIGHWAY ROBBERY

IN STRANGE WAYS.

On Saturday morning, information was given at the
B division police station, to the effect, that as Mr. Peter
Roylance, provision merchant, Hanging Ditch, was pro-
ceeding home on Friday evening, between nine and ten
o'clock, he was robbed of a gold watch and seals, while
between the weighing machine and the first toll bar, on
the Bury New road. The robbery, it was stated, was
effected by three men, who struck him violently cn the
back of the head, causing a great effusion of blood; and
another blow, he said, dislocated his shoulder. In con-
sequence of immediately becoming insensible, he said he
could not describe any of the men. As soon as the in-
formation was received at the police office, Mr. Berwick,
the chief superintendent, despatched Inspector M'Mullen
to make inquiry into the case, and he learned from Mr.
Roylance that he had walked from Plymouth Grove to
Broughton-lane, on the evening in question, having
called and changed a sovereign on the way, at the Legs
of Man public-house, at the bottom of Portland-street.
From subsequent inquiry, however, it was ascertained
that he did not change the sovereign at the Legs of
Man, but at the Strangeways toll-bar.;
The above are such particulars as we could learn of
this singular case on inquiry at the police-office. Oe
making inquiry yesterday morning of Mr. Roylance, we
were informed that his father, after visiting a relative in
Plymouth Grove, left that house about a quarter or half-
past eight o'clock in the evening, and proceeded straight
homeward; his son stating that he is not at all aware
that his father called at the Legs of Man, or changed a
sovereign anywhere, save at the Strange-ways toll-bar.
About a quarter after nine o'clock, just as he was passing
the shops and beer-shop at the corner of Broughton
lane, he was struck, from behind, a heavy blow on the
head or shoulder, he does not remember which, from the
effects of which he fell, and then saw three men about
him, but almost immediately became insensible. On re-
covering his senses, he found himself lying on the
ground, and he got up, suffering much from the in-
juries he had received, which he believes to have
been inflicted by some blunt instrument ; and he sup-
poses he must have received several severe blows,
as his shoulder bone was fractured, and he had
also two or three severe bruises on the head, and
he bled very much from the head and shoulder.
On recovering himself, he found that his gold lever
watch, with gold seals and key, attached by a black rib-
bon, was missing; that the right pocket of his trowsers
was torn open, and a number of small keys, which were
in that pocket were gone. He had then two sovereigns
in his waistcoat pocket, and a little silver money ; but
he suppioses they were alarmed and ran off without
searching his pockets minutely. He subsequently pro-
cured a cab and reached home a little before ten o'clock.
Such is the statement of Mr. Roylance himself. We
have still to notice those given by the toll bar keeper
and by a cab-driver. The bar-keeper says that Mr.
Roylance was twice at the bar-house that evening, the
first time about half-past nine or twenty minutes to ten,
and the second time in about ten minutes afterwards.
The first time he knocked at the bar-house door, and on
the keeper coming out asked him where the gate led to.
The keeper told him, to Broughton, and Mr. Roylance
then asked if the way to Broughton was not in that di-
rection (pointing towards the town), and being told that
it was the other way. he thanked the keeper and went
on towards Broughton. From this circumstance the
bar-keeper believed Mr. Roylance, who daily passes up
and down the road to his residence, to be in a state of
intoxication. A few minutes afterwards, a cabman,
named Emanuel Birkbeck, on passing through the gate
with his empty cab, after taking a fare to Broughton,
told the bar-keeper that he had just seen Mr. Peter Roy-
lance, in Broughton-lane, and that he said he had been
robbed of his watch. Nothing more passed at the time,
and Birkbeck drove on townwards. A few minutes after
this, as another two- wheeled cab (the bar-keeper thinks
the number is 94, painted in black figures on the yellow
body of the cab) was also returning empty to the town,
when Mr. Roylance again came up, and hailed the driver,
and asked him if he could take him home. The driver said
he could, and Mr. Roylance then asked the bar-keeper
to give him change for a sovereign ; and, this being done,
he got into the cab, stumbling in doing so, so that the
bar. keeper still believed him to be intoxicated, and was
driven off. Neither on the first nor on the second occa-
sion that he saw and conversed with the bar-keeper, did
he say anything of having been robbed ; nor did the
bar-keeper observe any blood about his head or neck.
On these circumstances becoming known to the police,
inquiry was made of Emanuel Birkbeck, who states that
he was returning townward, along Broughton-lane, he
was hailed by Mr. Roylance, near Lodge's nursery gar-
dens, about a quarter before ten o'clock at night. Mr.
Roylance told him he had been robbed, and wanted to
engage the cab to drive after them. Birkbeck said he
would give him every assistance he could, and asked if
he should drive him home. Mr. Roylance said he might;
but he refused to go inside, and said he would sit on the
box with the driver. Birkbeck was then seated, and
Mr. Roylance was climbing up when the horse started
off; Birkbeck pulled up ; but Mr. Roylance lost his ba-
lance and fell over the box across Birkbeck's legs, and
pitched with his head and shoulder foremost on the
ground, on the opposite side of the cab to that on whichhe was climbing. Birkbeck says he saw he had cut his
ear with grazing against a part of the cab in falling; but
he got up again, and declined to go in the cab, so Birk-
beck proceeded on his way towards the town. We shall
effer no comments on this singular matter, further than
to add, that it is probable some at least of the severest
rpeesrtstlotnoa
fl
hisi j sustainedufrailelsfrom
thebox of the cab. That by Mr.Roylance
has
the
been robbed of his watch there can be little doubt ; but
how, by how many, where, and with what degree of vio-
lence, are matters which the above circumstances leave
T w
te h were
enveloped in doubt. Mr. Roylance has been attended
since Friday by Mr. Thorpe, and on inquiry yesterday
morning we learn that he is progressing favourably. Ile
suffered great pain in the shoulder, but this s a favourable
—Manchester Guardian.
symptom, indicating that the severed parts are re-unttinig

How TO MAKE A QUARTERN LOAF OUT OF A
DEAL BOARD!—To make wood flour according to Pro-
fessor Autenrieth, the wood, after being stripped of the
bark, is to be sawed transversely into disks of an inch
in diameter. The saw-dust to be preserved, and the
disks reduced in a pounding mill. The whole ahould
now be boiled, or subjected for a length of time to the
action of cold water, which will free it from anything
harsh or bitter. It is afterwards to be dried and ground
in a flour. The ground wood is next baked into small
flat cakes, with water rendered'slightly mucilaginous by
the addition of some marshmallow roots, linseed or
lime- tree bark ; an ounce of mallow-root is suffi-
cient for eighteen quarts of water. The cakes are
baked until they are brown on the surface ;
they should be again broken, re-ground, and re-baked.
The Professor found fifteen pounds of birch flour, with
three pounds of sour wheaten leaven, and two pounds of
wheaten flour mixed up with eight measures of new
milk, yielded thirty-six pounds of very good bread. The
Learned Professor tried the nutritious properties of
wood flour in the first instance on a young dog ; after-
wards he fed two pigs on. it ; and from the success of the
experiment he attacked it himself. His family, he says,
ate it in the form of gruel or soup, dumplings, and pan-
cakes, and found them palatable and quite wholesome.--
Abridged from Quarterly Review.
A " STRIKE " AMONG TIIE MAGISTRATES.--It is
rumoured that our metropolitan magistrates have
been putting their heads together, and come to the
determination of making a combined call upon the
Government for an increase of salary. We wonder
if the gentleman who lately committed the ship carpen-
ters for refusing to work with an individual they did not
like. is one of the members of the magisterial ° strike ?"
—Dublin Pilot.