The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-17 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
BOW-STREET.

Police-constable Charles Branson, E N 7, was charged
with having been drunk- and absent from his duties.
The defendant pleaded Guilty, urging, in extenuation
of his offence, " that he had been only three months in
the force, and was a imrried man."

The inspector of the division deposed to the fact of
the defendant's abc-nee, and stated that he found, him
drunk in bed, at his own lodgings. His wife had re-
ported him as sick, and unable to attend to his duties,
and the constable told witness that he had au attack of
rheumatism, which disabled one of his legs.
Mr. HALL inquired as to the defendant's general cha-
racter, and was informed that the man was considered a
tolerably efficient constable. A few days, previously,
however, he was found drunk, and the Commissioners
of Police fined him ss. ; and it was during the progress
''
of this investigation that he again got drunk, and dis-
appeared from his beat, as already stated.
It was stated—and his Worship considered it a cir-
cumstance in the defendant's favour—that, having got
drunk, he went home to bed, instead of attempting to
resume his duties in a state of intoxication.
The inspector feared that the defendant's means would
scarcely enable him to pay the previous fine of ss.
Mr. HALL lectured him on the folly of persisting in a
course that must bring ruin upon himself and family,
and fined him 205., committing him for seven days in
default of payment.

LAMBETH.
William Wilmot Byrom, who has assumed innumer-
able aliases, and who has been in custody for a fortnight
on various charges of obtaining money by false repret-en-
tations, and inserting advertisements in the daily and
weekly papers, was placed at the bar before Mr. Norton
for further examination. Mr. Knight, a solicitor, and
Mr. Clarkson, the barrister, appeared for the prose-
cution ; and an attorney's clerk and Mr. Ballantine at-
tended on behalf of the prisoner.
The first witness called was Miss Frances White, of
Connaught• terrace, Edgware-road, who deposed on a
former examination to having lent the prisoner 201., and
his depositing in her hands as security three tea war-
rants, representing that the tea to which they referred
was of the value of 901., and told her that by taking
them to Mincing-lane they would be as good as a Bank-
note. Witness, on his saying this, expressed her sur-
prise, if such was the case, that he did not take them to
Mincing-lane himself, and procure the money he required
on them, instead of giving so large a premium for what
he required. The prisoner's reply was, that if things
were so done it would be most injurious to trade, and
that he would rather pay anything for an amount which
he might require on an emergency than take such securi-
ties into the market himself.
The mother of this witness corroborated her testi-
mony.
Mr. William Smith Adam, principal warehouseman
to Messrs. Clarke and Rowe, tea-dealers, in Arthur-
street West, deposed that he had taken samples of the
tea to which the warrants produced by Miss White re-
ferred, and found it to be perfectly worthless, or at least
not worth 2d. a pound. Their flavour was quite noxious
and any person knowing anything whatever of the qua-
lity of tea would not purchase them at any price.
Mr. Clarkson—Then they are not of the value of 901.?
Witness—Certainly not, nor 90d. The tea was origi-
nally black; but by some means, ho thought by an in-
fusion of copperas, an effort had been made to make it
green.

In his cross-examination by Mr. Ballantine, the wit-
ness said the tea in question came from China in its
present state, and the expense of freight and landing
would be about 3d. per pound. The usual course of
business in the tea trade was for the merchant import-
ing to dispose of them short of the duty ; and this being
done, the seller gave warrants for the different parcels,
which entitled their holders to clear them upon paying
the duty, which was 2s. 2-1-d. per pound, and the amount
also of the warehousing. The duty upon all teas was
the same, and there was nothing on the face of
the warrants to denote either the quality of the teas
to which they related, or of the amount that had
been paid for them. In reply to Mr. Clarkson, witness
said the duty upon the tea, to which the warrants pro-
duced referred, remains unpaid, and it, with the ware-
house fees, would amount to about 2s. 6d. per pound,
while they were not worth id. a pound. The teas were ilia-
dorted in 1842, so that they had been four years in the
warehouse. The cargo, of which they were a part, was
well known in ithe trade, and was what was called the
" fraudulent lot."
Mr. A. B. Richards deposed, that on the 2d of July
last he wrote a note in reply to an advertisement, and
was waited upon on the following day by the prisoner,
who represented himself as a watchmaker and jeweller,
and gave his name as Edward Blatch ford. Witness
ultimately agreed to lend him 301., the advertisement
being only for 25L; but on paying him the money he
paid him 5/. too much, which made 351.; for this the
prisoner gave him his note of hand, and as a collateral
security let him have a number of pawnbroker's tickets
for property, for which as much as 601. appeared to
be lent. When the note became due it was taken to be
presented for payment; but the house at which it had
been made payable was shut up, and had been so for
a length of time before, and no such person as Mr.
Blatchford was known there. He (witness) subse-
quently took part of the articles pledged out of pawn,
and found that they were not worth the money ad-
vanced upon them.
A tradesman in Camomile-street, Bishopsgate-street,
whose name did not transpire, deposed to having been
swindled out of a large sum of
.money by the prisoner
and another man.
Another person, who represented himself as a builder,
stated that he too had been cheated out of a sum of
money by a companion of the prisoner, and mentioned,
as a proof of the deep schemes and plans resorted to by
these fellows, that the advertisement, through the means
of which he had been led to part with his money, appeared
in the Builder; so that in lending the money he thought
he was assisting a distressed fellow-tradesman instead of
a swindler.
Mr. NORTON here called over the names of several
persons who have been victimized by the prisoner and
his associate, and who had since the last examination
forwarded communications and statements of their dif-
ferent cases to him (Mr. Norton). Only one or two out
of the whole having answered,
Mr. Knight observed, that numerous persons were
prevented from coming forward from the reluctance of
having their names placed before the public in connexion
with such transactions, or a dislike to have what they
considered to be their silliness exposed.
Mr. NORTON replied that he was quite aware of this,
and expressed a hope that the publication of the parti-
culars of this case which had already obtained, would be
productive of much good, as it would be the means he
hoped, of exposing an ingenious system of fraud, which
was being carried on to a very great extent, and place
the public on their guard agaitist such persons for the
future.
Mrs. Raymont, a lady from whom the prisoner had
received one sum of money, and his friend Mr. Barnes
another sum, upon their note of hand, and depositing
with her some tea warrants, was examined, and produced
both the bills and the warrans.
Sergeant Merrit, one of the officers engaged in the
case, said he had procured samples of the tea, and
had them tested by Messrs Thompson, tea-brokers, and
they pronounced them to be worth no more than 3d.
per lb.
Mr. Adam here examined the samples produced by the
officer, and observed that it was a little better than tha t
which he had tested.
Mr. Ballantine—l suppose it has less copperas in it
than the other ?—(Laughter.) Witness—l suppose
so ; at all events, it is a penny a pound better than the
other.
Mr. Clarkson—But still it is part of the " fraudulen
lot."

Mr. NORTON observed, that it was his opinion at the
last examination, and he was of the same opinion still,
that some unprincipled pawnbrokers had lent themselves
to the practices of the prisoner and his confederates, by
placing on their tickets a larger amount in the way
of loan than the articles pawned were actually worth,
and thereby assisted them in carrying on their system of
imposition.

Several persons in the body of the Court said that this
was the fact, and one said that on a subsequent examina-
tion of the prisoner he should bring forward a clear case
to establish the fact, and to show beyond dispute that
pawnbrokers lent themselves in such cases.

Mr. NORTON replied that he would be most ready to
hear such a charge, and if he found tho charge esta-
... _ _

blished against the pawnbroker he should live no
hesitation in placing him at the bar alongside" the
prisoner.—Remanded. .
__

THAMES.
William Lilly, a seaman, was brought before Mr.
Broderip, to answer a charge of running Silbs. of
foreign manufactured tobacco from the ship Blanche
Adamson, recently arrived from Cadiz. He was de-
tected coming from the ship with the tobacco in his
possession.

The prisoner made no attempt to evade the conse-
sqauiednicte swaosf
htihs e
firstil le ga l o
(Fe
ntransaction.and
begged H
fie ?
rp pleaded
mercy.
guilty,
Mr. BRODERIP said, the power of mitigation rested
with the Commissioners of Customs, and not with him.
Ho then inflicted the penalty of 1004 sued for, and com-
mitted the prisoner in default of payment.
It was understood the fine would be materially reduced
on petition to the Board of Customs, as the prisoner was
not previously known to the revenue officers.
Mary Liddle, aged 17, was brought before Mr. Brode-
rip yesterday, on a charge of robbing a poor woman,
named Maria Anderson, of 14s. and other moneys.
The prosecutrix, who resides in Mary-street, Poplar,
met with a severe accident on Monday last, and fractured
five of her ribs. She was taken home in an almost in-
sensible condition, and bled by a surgeon. While she
was reclining in a chair, faint from the loss of blood and
the injuries she had received, she felt the prisoner's hand
in her pocket, and accused her of taking her money.
The girl, who was that day employed in the house, said
she was a liar, and left the room. The poor woman
directly afterwards:missed her cash. Ou the next day
the prisoner was expending a good deal of silver, and
treating various persons with liquor.
She was committed for trial.

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GREATER AND LESSER SINS.—Dr, 'Brisbane. says
that when he was in South Carolina, one of his Baptist
brethren underwent a church trial for a very serious
offence. This Baptist brother had been the means of
separating a slave husband and wife for ever. He had
been importuned not to do it—to sell them both to one
master, and not wring their hearts with the agony of
separation ; but he said he " would see them both
in hell first I" He was brought up before the church,
and tried, for what, think ye ? For the inhumanity of
sundering man and wife ? No ; but for using profane
language ! His spiritual advisers and co-workers took
no thought of the crime of parting what God had joined
together, but they were very much horrified at the
profane expression used by their brother!--Emanci-
pator.