The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-31 00:00:00

Tin SUN, rLONDON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, iB7O.

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OSBORNE, Dec. 30

The Queen drove out yesterday afternoon, accompanied
by Princess Beatrice, and attended by the Dowager
Duchess of Athole.
Colonel Du Platt was in attendance on horseback.
Her Majesty walked out this morning, accompanied
by Princess Louise.
Prince Arthur and Prince Leopold also went out.

Prince and Princess Teck left Frogmore yesterday.

THE SEIZURE OF BRITISH SHIPS.
The Rouen correspondent of the Times writes on
December 26th :—" An incident much to be regretted,
but scarcely to have been avoided, of which some account
will probably have reached you by telegraph, oe.
curred a few days ago on the Seine. The
French have numerous gunboats on the river, with
which, starting from Havre or from Quillebceuf, where
the Seine begins to broaden towards the sea, they make
reconnaisances as far as possible in the direction of Rouen.
On the 21st one of the gunboats had advanced to within
a short distance of Duclair, where, on the right bank of
the river, the Prussians are established in some force.
Duclair is a litt.e port or landing-place, about half way
between Quillebceuf and Rouen, and the Prussians had
already begun to block the passage at that point when
the approach of the hostile craft was announced. For-
tunately, or unfortunately, five English colliers, unladen
and carrying nothing but ballast, were at hand. They
were just what was wanted to complete the naval barri-
cade, and the Prussians; using them for that purpose,
sank them. The owners will lose nothing, since the
Prussians have given a bond of indemnity; but the thirty
odd seamen who manned the vessels, and who were
forwarded yesterday to the care of Mr. Leefortin, her
Majesty's Vice-Consul at Dieppe, are certainly to be
pitied. It is to be hoped, however, that the indemnity
payable by the Prussians will be sufficiently large to
cover the loss of wages these poor fellows must otherwise
suffer.

LAW AND POLICE.

A HEARTLESS ROBBERY.—James Hickling, aged 30
years, an iron moulder and driller, was brought before
Mr. Paget at the Thames Police-court, charged with
stealing two skirts, a cloak, a shawl, and a time-piece, the
property of Mary Ann Woodcock, a poor but respectable
widow, now living at 209, St. Leonard's-road, Bromley.
In the early part of November last the prosecutor was
dwelling in the same house as her brother-in-law, the
prisoner, who has the unenviable privilege of being a
lazy, hard-drinking fellow, seldom, if ever sober. She
left home on the 17th of August to fulfil an engagement
as nurse to a lady, and returned on the 26th, when she
found that her boxes had been forced open and the
articles above-named stolen. She gave immediate infor-
mation to the police, and Norman, a clever detective of the
K Division, was placed on his track, but did not find
him until yesterday, when he returned to his old haunts,
and thought the robbery had " blown over," but Norman
soon taught him the reverse, and arrested the prisoner.
The whole of the property was produced by a pawn-
broker, who said the prisonerhad pawned it. Mrs. Sarah
Greenacre said she was also sister-in-law of the prisoner,
and the prosecutrix had a box in her room which the pri-
soner forcibly broke open and abstracted the contents.
The prisoner, in defence, said he took the property, and
he would redeem them when he got into work. Mr. Paget
could not allow a serious and cruel robbery to be com-
promised in that manner, and committed the prisoner for
trial.
CAUTION TO NEWSAGENTS. —John Wall, a young man,
who gave his address " Betts' lodging-house, New Church-
court, Strand," was charged before Mr. Knox, at Marl-
borough-street police-court, with stealing, outside a shop
in Tottenham-court-road, a parcel of newspapers, the pro-
perty of Mr. Edwd. Curtice, newsagent, Holywell-street.
Sergeant H. Rogers, 38 E, deposed that at about 7 o'clock
that morning he was told the prisoner had got a parcel of
papers in his possession which he had no right to. He
went after the prisoner, and on coming up with him in
Endell-street found he had a parcel of papers under his
arm.' On asking him where he had got them, he said that
a man running away with them threw them down and he
picked them up, and that he was going to take them to
the owner, " Mr. Smith." He told the prisoner that he
would have to go with him to the station, as he knew him
to be a thief and to have suffered four months' imprison-
ment and twelve months' imprisonment for a similar thing,
and he took him there. Mr. H. Beeson, in the employ of
Mr. Curtice, said a parcel containing upwards of a hundred
of the morning papers was given to a driver to leave at
Mr. Stevens' shop, in Tottenham-court-road. Richard
Abrahams said he gave the parcel to a lad, heard the lad
call out " papers," and saw him put down the parcel and
leave it as usual at Mr. Stevens' door in a side passage.
Mr. Stevens deposed to hearing the lad call out " papers,"
but on going to the door there was no parcel there. The
previous convictions having been proved, the prisoner was
committed for trial.

kFFAIRS OF SPAIN
MADRID, DECESUIER 29

The excitement created by the attempt to assassinate
Marshal Prim has not abated. Crowds assembled in the
streets to-night, and in some instances revolutionary re-
marks were indulged in. There are rumours that the
Ministry of War is in possession of information which
leads to the belief that a wide-spread conspiracy exists,
the members of which are pledged to remove by
assassination the known enemies of Republicanism. Three
arrests were made to-day. The police and military are
active. General Sickles and other foreign representatives
called and left congratulations at Marshal Prim's house
to-day. The Marshal's wounds are more serious than
was at first supposed, and some fears are entertained
of inflammation in the hand and shoulder.