The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-22 00:00:00

WORSHIP-STREET.

Five athletic Irishmen, named Dennis and William Began,
William Geoghan, John White, and John Sullivan, were
placed at the bar before Mr. Broughton, charged with having
resisted and severely maltreated several constables of the 11
division, two of whom were confined to their beds from the
injuries they had sustained.
It appeared from the evidence that between eleven and
twelve o'clock on the preceding night, as police-constable
19S was on duty in Spitalfields he was called upon to quell
a violent uproar in a court at the back of Commercial-street,
Whitechapel, on proceeding to which he found a large body
of Irishmen, who had just left a wedding party in the neigh-
bourhood, engaged in one of thae general encounters which
form among them the usual conclusion of such ceremonies.
On interfering to put a stop to the disturbance he was forth-
with knocked down by the eldest of the Regans, and several
others of the Irishmen immediately set upon and kicked
him terribly as he lay upon the ground ; when another
officer came up, and while springing his rattle for
assistance was also knocked down, and his rattle wres'ed
from him and dashed to pieces upon the pavement. The
noise of the rattle, however, brought two other constables,
named White and Doughty to the spot, but they bad no
sooner entered the court than a joint attack was made upon
them by the prisoners White and Dennis Regan, who
finished by felling them to the ground with the truncheons

they had Laken from the other officers, and with which they
had been laying about them in the most merciless and
criminate manner. On of the prisoners in the -eouree of the
encounter suddenly drew a clasp-knife from his pocket, and
declaring with an oath that ho would rip up the first con-
stable who attempted to secure him, made a desperate lunge
at one of the officers, which cut completely through his belt
and part of his clothing, but the man was fortunately over •
powered and secured before he was able to carry his mur-
derous threat into execution. After a desperate contest,
which lasted in the whole for nearly an hour, a strong re-
inforcement of police was dispatched thim the station-
house, and the whole of the prisoners were eventually taken
into custody.
Nearly all the officers who had been engaged in the dis-
turbance exhibited marks of the severe treatment to which
they had been subjected; and a certificate from Mr. Mears,.
the divisional surgeon, was handed to the Magistrate, which
stated that the constables White and Doughty had sustained
such serious injuries on the head and other parts of the per-
son that they were confined to their beds in a dangerous
condition, and that some considerable time would most pro-
bably elapse before they would be able to attend to give
evidence.

The prisoners made the usual defence in such cases, mu-
tually throwing the chief blame of the transaction upon their
companions, and all of them expressing contrition for the
violence of which they had been jointly guilty; but
Mr. BROUGHTON considered them all equally culpable, and
having intimated his intention to commit them, ordered them
to be brought up again that day week, to allow time for the
result of the injuries the constables White and Doughty had
suffered to be ascertained.