The Sun.
London, England, 1834-01-06 00:00:00

armament to the coast of Holland, in the month I
of November, would have been dispensed with,
if our Ministerial Contemporary had, some two
or three years ago, made the discovery that the
" speedy settlement" which he so often predicted
would be no advantage to Belgium, but, on the
contrary, would have the effect of diminishing
the prosperity which, in consequence of her un-
settled relations with Holland, she at present
enjoys. Let us see what that state of prosperity
is. One of the proofs of the flourishing condi-
tion of the new State is, that the cry of manu-
facturing distress has gone up to the Throne
from every part of the country. The most re-
cent evidence of this sort is the petition of the
manufacturers of East Flanders, who have joined
their testimony of the deplorable decay of busi-
ness, since the revolution, to that of their brethren
of all other parts of the kingdom. The cotton
trade, which was very prosperous during the union
of Belgium and Holland, is in a most depressed
state, for its best and almost only market
has been closed against it, since the separation
of the two States, Another proof of "the
prosperity" of Belgium is, that there has been
ever since the revolution a rapid falling off in
its foreign commerce. In the last year the num-
ber of ships that entered the port of Antwerp
' was 150 less than that of the year 1832,
although in the last mentioned year the siege of
the citadel caused the Scheldt to be closed for
upwards of six weeks ; but though no such
interruption has taken place during the past year,
the number of ships entering the port has fallen
off to the extent which we have stated, and the
Journal d' Anvers is our authority. Again, the
increasing standing army seems tolerably con-
clusive proof of the remote prospect of anything
like a settled peace which is entertained by the
Belgic Government, unless, indeed, they keep
up the army as a pretext for fleecing the
already-impoverished people by the rapa-
cious ingenuity of a war-budget. In either
case the situation of the country is truly melan-
choly. The army for the present year is to be
augmented by a new levy of 12,000 men,
making the enormous amount of 110,000 regular
troops for the defence of Belgium—exclusive of
the moveable civic guards—a country having but
about 4,000,000 of inhabitants, or about one-
fifth the population of Great Britain, and yet
keeping up a larger standing army than that
which is maintained by the British empire,
which is itself too large, at present, for the re-
sources of England, and useless as to the main-
tenance of the national honour, which our
Fo-
reign Minister has as readily sacrificed to Rus-
' sian ascendancy as the Government, with
their 110,000 men in arms, have sacrificed the
national independence of Belgium to the Cabinet
of the Tuileries.—Morning Herald.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE, JAN. 4.

QUEEN-SQUARE.

Yesterday Charles Miles and Caroline Miles,
the latter not more than about nine years of age,
were brought up in custody, charged with having
in their possession and uttering counterfeit coin.
The prisoners were remanded until the solicitor
for the Mint could attend.
WORSHIP-STREET.

Yesterday a case of some importance as respects
the management of the retail beer-houses was
decided by the Magistrates of this establishment,
upon the information of S. H. Perry, an inspector
of the G division of police, against Agnes Maria Ing,
as licensed proprietress of a beer-house in White-
cross-street, the sign of the " Daniel O'Connell, the
Patriot," for allowing reputed thieves and other
persons of notoriously bad character to assemble
therein.

It came out in the course of the inquiry, bow-
ever, that the defendant, although the licensed and
therefore the responsible person, had but little con-
nection with the house in question, being resident
at Clerkenwell, where Mrs. Alartha Ing, the mother,
has been many years established as an ale-brewer.
There were several beer-houses about town licensed
in the names of different members of the family,

but conducted either by their servants or other
persons. The managing man at the O'Connell, for
instance, was stated to be the person employed as
brewer at Clerkenwell. The defendant's brother

appeared on her part with Mr. Wooller, her attorney
and was accompanied at the several examinations
by a number of friends, amongst whom were Mr,
Warde, Mr. Rayner, and other members of the
theatrical profession, Mr. Ing himself being known
as the author of several successful minor dramas.
The information which the defendant was called
upon to answer had its origin as follows :—The
Metropolitan Police Act, 3d William IV., chapter
19, section 31, enacts that, '= Whereas suspected
persons and reputed thieves frequently assemble to-
gether in ale and beer-houses, ready-made tea arid
coffee-shops, and other places of public resort, for the
purpose of devising or planning felonies or other
offences; and although their evil purposes are suffi-
ciently manifest, the power of his Majesty'sjustices
of the peace to demand of them sureties for their
good behaviour bath not been of sufficient effect to
prevent them
from carrying their evil purposes into
execution ; it shall therefore be lawful for any con-
stable, headborough, patrol, or watchman, or other
person, to apprehend such suspected person or re-
puted thief, to be conveyed before a justice, and by
him committed to prison as a rogue and vagabond,
if there appear ground to believe that the person
was in such place with such intent or purpose as
aforesaid." The owners of such places are also ren-
dered liable to a penalty upon conviction for har-
bouring such characters.
It was alleged, many thieves and other bad cha-
racters were frequenters of the O'Connell, where
a sort of judge and jury court was held, and on
SAnday evening, the Sth of December, while the
business of the Court was proceeding, a large body
of the police, under inspectors Brindley and Perry,
surrounded the house, and apprehended all the com-
pany found in it, to the number of 84 persons. The
particulars of the case were fully stated in the re-
port of the examination at Worship-street on the
Monday, when the " Judge" whom the police had
found sitting, as it were, at nisi Arius, trying a
member of the club for breaking a tobacco-pipe, was
placed at the bar, in full costume, with the jury, the
officers of his Court, and other captives, of whom
twenty-five were identified as coming within the
description in the clause of the Act above recited.
All were cautioned and discharged, however, except
two, who were convicted, and sent to the tread-
mill. The information was afterwards laid against
the licensed owner of the house.
Inspector Perry, in support of the information,
stated the circumstances under which the eighty-
four persons had been taken into custody in
the defendant's house. It was proved by him
and inspector Brindley and numerous constables,
that twenty-five were notorious persons, six of them
having been already convicted, and had been ob-
served as frequenters of the house for several
months preceding.
Mr. Wooller observed that his clients had no
knowledge of the character of such persons, and
had never been informed of it, or cautioned by the
police, as lie submitted they ought to have been
before such proceedings were resorted to.
Mr. BROUGIITON said it was the duty of the I
owners of such places to do all in their power to
keep them clear of bad 'characters ; but here were
persons speculating in licenses for a number of
houses, the business of which was carried on by
other persons, themselves not knowing, nor per-
haps caring, what proceedings took place in them,
and looking only to the profits to be derived from