The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-23 00:00:00

CROYDON PETTY SESSIONS.

(Before Mr. G. H. Lucas, Chairman, and Messrs. Suther-

land, Simeon, and Wilkinson.)

CONVICTION ("/F THE RECTOR OF CAREiHALTON FOR
AN ASSAULT.—OR Saturday, the Rev. Cator Cator, the
rector of Carshalton, appeared before the bench to answer
two distinct charges of having committed violent assaults
upon two boys named Carr, the sons of poor people liv-
ing at Carshalton.
The ease appeared to excite a good dial of interest,
and a number of the principal inhabitants of the Tillage
were present during the proceedings.
John Carr, the complainant upon one of the sum-
monses, a lad apparently about thirteen years old, de-
posed that last Wednesday he and a younger brother,
and some other boys were playing infront of the rectory
at Carshalton, when the defendant came out and ordered
them away. They did so, and he went home to his
mother's cottage, and was in the • bed-room when
Mr. Cator came in and told him to go and
fetch his brother. He did so, and the moment
they entered the cottage Mr. Cator seized hold
of him,and beat him with a stick most dreadfully.
He fell on his knees and begged for pardon, but he
continued to beat him, and he afterwards beat his
younger brother until he broke the stick. The boy, at the
request of the magistrates, exhibited his back, which
was black and blue from the shoulders to the loins, and
it was evident that he had been beaten most cruelly.
It appeared that the boy had nothing on but his shirt
and trowsers at the time he was beaten. _

In answer to questions put by Mr. Cator, the boy
admitted that he and the others were playing at hockey
in front of his house, and that they were ordered away
and returned.
Mrs. Carr, the mother of the boys, deposed that Mr.
Cator came to the cottage on the day in question, and
appeared to be in a violent passion. He asked if her
boys were at home, and she told him that her eldest boy
was in the bed-room, and she would bring him out. She
opened the door, and Mr. Cator rushed past her into the
room, and told the boy to go and fetch his brother.
He went out for that purpose ' • and while he
was gone, the defendant asked her for a stick,
and she gave him one, thinking he would only frighten
the boys, and that a parson would have more Christian
feeling than to use it in such a cruel manner as he after-
wards did. Witness at the same time told him that her
husband was gone to Croydon to try to sell a few things
to get them food, and that when he came home he would
beat the children if they had done anything wrong. The
moment the boys came in he seized the eldest by the
arm and began to beat him with the stick as hard as he
could. The boy kneeled down and begged for mercy,
but he shewed him none, and behaved more like a brute.

After he had done beating the big boy, he commenced
beating the other, and she was so overcome by the defend-
ant's conduct that she nearly fainted away.
The CHAIRMAN asked whether the defendant told her
what the boys had been doing, or why he beat them ?
The mother replied that all he said was, that they had
been annoying him. She added that the youngest boy
was very ailing, and subject to fits, and while Mr. Cator
was beating him he fell down and rolled about the
ground, and she was so much excited at seeing her chil-
dren treated so cruelly, that if she had had the power
she would certainly have done the defendant some
mischief.

The magistrates told her that she must give her evi-
dence calmly, and repress her feelings.
She replied that it was impossible for a mother to do
so under the circumstances.

The witness, in answer to questions put to her by the
Bench, denied most positively having authorised the de-
fendant to beat the children, and she said she gave him
the stick believing that he only intended to frighten
them.

Mary Grove, the next witness, deposed that she was
in the cottage when Mr. Cator came in, and she saw him
hide the stick under his coat, and when the boys came in
he shut the door and began beating them in the way
described by the mother. The little boy fell down, and
Mr. Cator still kept on beating him, and he turned quite
purple in the face, and looked like a corpse.
Mr. &snort inquired of the witness whether the
younger boy was not subject to fits ?
She replied that he was, and anything that excited him
was likely to bring them on.
In answer to questions put by the defendant, the wit-
ness said that the mother did give him the stick, and that
she said it would break no bones, but she denied most
positively that she asked him to beat the boys or gave
him any authority to do so at all, much less in so cruel a
manner.

By the BENCH—The object of the mother in giving the
stick appeared to be that Mr. Cator should threaten the
boys with it, until the father came, when she said he
would beat them if they had done anything wrong.
This being the whole of the evidence, the magistrates
called upon the reverend defendant to answer the charge.
The Rev. Mr. Cator, who, it should be stated, appeared
to bo a robust young man, said that the only answer he
had to give was that he had been very much annoyed by
the boys playing directly under his windows, and on the
day in question he ordered them to go away. They did
so, but immediately he went in they returned, and the
elder Carr was smacking a whip and making a noise.
He went out again with a pencil and card in kis hand,
to take their names, thinking to frighten them ; but
they all ran away. He went to the cottage to complain
of the boys, and the mother told him that she could do
nothing with them, and gave him a stick, telling him it
would break no bones, and he certainly used it to the
best of his power upon the elder boy, but he denied hav-
ing struck the y•unger one at all. About five o'clock
the same day the father of the boys came to his house,
as he thought, for the purpose of thanking him for what
he had done; but instead of that, he was led to believe
that he wanted him to bribe him, which he declined to
do, and the next day he received the summonses.
In answer to a remark from the bench, Mr. Cator said
that the spot in question was the place where the boys
of the village usually resorted to play, but it was very an-
noying to him, and he frequently complained to them and
ordered them away.
The BENCH reminded the defendant that two wit-
nesses bad sworn positively that the mother never gave
him authority to beat the boys.
The defendant declared that she did.

Mr. WILKINSON (to the defendant)—You admit that
you used the stick with all your force
Defendant—l certainly did ; but Ido not consider I
did the boy any important injury.
Mr. SIMEON said he supposed that if the boy had had
his coat on at the time, the injuries would not have been
so severe.
Mr. VirmitiNsox—Oh, if he had had a coat of mail on
it would not have hurt him at all ; but that is not the
question at issue.
The defendant declared that when he went to the
cottage he was not at all in a passion; but he admitted
that the act of beating the boy did excite him.
The magistrates then consulted together for a short
time, when the Chairman addressed the defendant, and
said, it was with considerable regret he had to announce
the decision of the Bench, that they were under the
necessity of convicting him of an assault, and they con-
sidered it a great aggravation that it should have been
committed by a gentleman in his position. He (the
Chairman) trusted that, although the defendant had not
expressed any regret, that he must, upon consideration,
feel that even, according to his own statement of the
circumstances, the correction he had administered was
most severe, and far beyond what ought to have been ad-
ministered for the offence the boys had committed. The
Bench, therefore, felt it their duty to inflict upon him a
fine of 41. for the assault upon the elder boy, and a fine
of 1/. for the assault upon the younger one, and also
the costs.
The defendant said that the boys were so very aggra-
vating that he believed any gentleman on the bench
would have acted as he had done if he had been placed
in the same position.
The CHAIRMAN said he was very sorry, and he be-
lieved the other magistrates felt the same, to hear him
attempt to justify his conduct. If he had gone out of
his house with a stick and punished the boys at the time,
there might be some allowance made, but his conduct in
going to their own home and beating them in such a
cruel manner, was quite unjustifiable.
The defendant paid the amount of the fine and costs,
and left the Court.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE,
WANDS WORTH.

IMPORTANT PROCEEDINGS UNDER THE SANATORY
ACT.—An investigation of considerable importance to
the public, arising out of an Act recently passed, giving
the guardians of the poor power, upon the production of
a certificate, signed by two medical men, to remove
nuisances within their district which might be and are
prejudicial to the public health, took place at this Court
to-day.

William Roberts, James Roberts, and William Price,
persons living at Sadler's place, Putney Lower Common.
were summonsed for permitting an accumulation of offen
sive or noxious matter, consisting of refuse, dung, and
cinders, on certain plots of ground occupied respectively
by the defendants, the said accumulations being danger-
ous to the public health, and contrary to the provisions
of the 9th and 10th of Victoria, cap. 96. The inquiry
excited great interest, and several gentlemen from Putney
were present, amongst whom was Dr. Ridge. Mr. Field,
solicitory and clerk to the board of guardians attended to
conduct the cases. The defendants hating pleaded not
guilty,

M. Thomas Newman Cochrane, relieving officer for
the
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They had separate heaps in front of their houses ; he
saw them on the sth of November. The matter from
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Jameswa s very Roberts's
Mr. George Macilwain, of No. Albany-yard, and
Putney Lower Common, surgeon, stated, that the certifi-
cate 'll that and
d these the
accu-
mulations
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els
were dangerous to life.
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produced was signed by him, and the contents were
true. Ile knew Sadler's-place ; it is in the vicinity of
several houses ; and there are heaps of noxious matter
generally placed there, which he believed the defendants
laid claim to. The heaps were constantly being taken
from and added to during the last five years. These
collections were very injurious to the health of theinha-
bitants ; the atmosphere, contaminated by the gases
arising from these heaps, was rendered unhealthy, and
those breathing it were liable to fever. Witness lives
to the windward of the nuisance, and is, therefore,
fore, not annoyed. Witness was.much interested i
n the
measure before it received the sanction of Parliament,
and materially assisted the Government in carrying it
out. He considered accumulations of dung, refuse, and
cinders, evolved carburetted or sulpburetted hydrogen,
either of which were poisonous acid. He certainly con-
sidered cinders were noxious matter, and his reason for
thinking so was that scarce one particle out of 1,000 of
cinders, underwent a perfect combustion, and the noxious
gases that abound in the original coal were not destroyed.
It was here stated, that the heap of cinders alluded to,
was what is called breese prepared for briehmakers, and