The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-28 00:00:00

WANDS WORTH.

William Johnson, an assistant at a shooting-gallery
in :Battersea-tells, was charged before Mr. Paynter
with unlawfully firing off a loaded gun in a public
thoroughfare, and thereby wounding Major-General
Parlby.
Mr. George Stanley Hinchcliffe, of Hope-cottage, St.
Peter's, Hammersmith, paper-stainer, stated that on
Thursday last, between eleven and twelve o'clock, he
was on board the Bride iron steam-boat, Major-General
Parlby being also on board, and sitting by him. The
boat, which had come from Chelsea, was making for the
pier :at Thames-bank, and had nearly come alongside
when three men fired at a snipe on or near the beach.
The shots were sensibly felt by several of the passengers,
who were naturally alarmed. Major-General Parlby
and another gentleman exclaimed that they were shot,
and upon examination it turned out that a shot had
struck the former below the left eye. The Major-
General was reading a newspaper at the time, or the con-
sequences might have been serious. Upon looking to
wards the shore, a distance of a very few yards. witness
saw three men with guns, who had just been firing. The
defendant was one of them. Witness had felt the shots
strike on his hat and coat, he being with his back to the
fields. When the boat got alongside the pier witness
disembarked and went in pursuit of the defendant; whom
ho saw run into the British Flag beershop. The de-
fendant did not deny having fired a gun when taxed
with it.
Cross-examined by the defendant's solicitor—The
boat was not more than fifty feet from the shore when
the guns were fired. He could swear that the shots
that came to the head of the boat came from the piece
discharged by the defendant.
Major-General Parlby stated that on Thursday last
he was seated on the Bride steam boat reading a news-
paper, when he suddenly heard three distinct firings,
and immediately felt that he had been shot in the cheek,
some of the shot rattled against the paper he was read-
ing, and which he verily believed saved his eye. Upon
looking towards the shore he saw three persons with
guns in their hands, but he could not swear that de-
fendant was one. He afterwards saw the defendant in
the shooting gallery, and when taxed with the offence
he denied it. The General observed that it was only the
other day that a friend of his in the India board bad his
hand injured under similar circumstances.
The defence set up by the solicitor was, that a mistake
had been mede in the identity of the party, and he
called two witnesses, who both positively swore that only
one man had fired, and he had discharged a double
barrelled gun at the back of the shooting gallery, and
afterwards ran away across the field. The defendant,
who was employed to load the rifles in the gallery, only
came out when he heard the report ; he was then clean-
ing a rifle.
Mr. Hinchcliffe said the defendant was blind of one
eye, and that made him so positive as to his identity.
Mr. PAYNTER said that he had not the slightest doubt
but that the defendant was one of the parties firing on
that occasion, and that it was he that had wounded
Major-General Parlby, and had there been a charge of
shooting the General brought against the defendant in
another court, he was sure the jury would convict. He
should inflict the full penalty of Os., or three weeks'
imprisonment, and he recommended the shooting gallery
to be done away with, for it was evidently a most dan-
gerous nuisance, and could be indicted as such.
Mr. Dore, the proprietor, begged to assure the magis-
trate that he did trot, as it had been previously stated,
let out guns, and that several gentlemen had told him
the gallery was a great benefit, inasmuch as it (Avenel
the fields and lanes of many who would otherwise be
popping about them.
Mr. PAYNTER was still of opinion that the establish-
ment of shouting-galleries, especially in such public
places, was a nuisance, and they all ought to be abol-
ished. The fine was paid.