The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-15 00:00:00

MARYL E BON E.
A very gentlemanly -looking, middle aged man
named John Hervey, who, it was stated, had been a
banker in Guernsey, but was now living at 32, Surrey-
street, Strand, was placed at the bar before Mr.
Broughton charged with having stolen a leather case
containing a gilt-edged Bible and Prayer-book from
the parochial chapel, Kentish-town.
Mr. Humphreys attended for the prisoner, who was
accompanied to the court by a number of highly
respectable persons, his friends.
Sergeant Sibsey, 16 S, deposed that on Saturday
afternoon last, about four o'clock, while on duty at
the station-house, his attendance was required at the
chapel close by, and on his arrival there he found the
prisoner with Mr. Kentish, the verger, who gave him
into custody for stealing the property in question.
Mr. BROUGHTON —When you took him what did
he say?
Witness—He said he was very sorry. How he
came to possess himself of the article he knew not,
and added, that he did not take them out of the
chapel; to which Mr. Kentish replied, that he had
taken them out, and that when he (Mr. Kentish) fol-
lowed him and brought him back to the chapel he
took the case from his pocket and threw it into one of
the pews. The property turned out to belong to Mr.
Bulwer, Brecknock-terrace, Camden-town. Witness
conveyed the prisoner to the station-house, when he
said he had been looking at some tombstones, and that
upon one of them was an epitaph upon •i woman who
had died in childbirth ; the words were applicable to
his case, as he Lad lost a beloved partner under similar
circumstances, and he caught arp the case with the
view of referring .to the passage, having done which,
he thought he had put it down again in its place.
Mr. BROUGHTON—What did the verger say to that ?
Witness—He said, " ,>TA true, for you took it
out of the chapel."
Mr. BROUGHTON—Did the verger tell you whether
anything further passed or net? Witness—Yes, he
told me that when he stopped the prisoner he (the
accused) said, " Make no Doke, and I'll return with
you ;" and that when they got back to the chapel he
threw the case into a pew, but not the one from
which he had taken it.

Mr. BROUGHTON inquired if either the verger or
the owner of the property was present; and he re-
ceived a reply in the negative
Mr. Humphreys submitted to the magistrate
whether he thought there was any occasion for him
to make any particular remarks, inasmuch as no one
connected with the chapel had deemed it advisable to
prosecute the case. The prisoner was a person of
undoubted respectability, and the party who had
given him into custody was no doubt fully satisfied
upon inquiry that there was nothing wrong intended,
in support of which position he (Mr. Humphreys)
alluded to the production of a paper by the sergeant,
on the back of which the prisoner had marked in
pencil, 2d Kings, chap. xix., v. 3, from which the
epitaph previously referred to was copied.
Mr. BROUGHTON said it was of great importance
that it should be known and felt that justice should
at all times be dealt out with an even hand, and that
no favour might be shown to any person on account
of his moving in a respectable sphere of life. Re-
spectability was the principal ground on which the
learned gentleman, Mr. Humphreys, relied for the
prisoner's discharge, but he (Mr. Broughton) felt that
he could not, consistently with due regard to the
proper performance of his duty, for one moment
think of adopting the wished-for-course. The worthy
Magistrate, after making some further remarks ex-
pressive of his surprise and disapprobation with re-
gard to the extraordinary apathy evinced, and giving
his opinion that if a pcor half-starved and ragged
creature had committed the act there would have been
no reason to complain of the paucity of evidence, re-
manded the prisoner, on bail, at the same time giving
directions that summonses should be issued compel-
ling the attendance of the verger and the owner of
the books.