The Sun.
London, England, 1833-12-24 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSION-HO USE.
The overseers of a parish were summoned by
Mary Gush, a young woman who has been almost,
from her infancy, a dependant upon parochial bounty.
She stated that now that she had an opportunity of
making herself happy and independent for life, the
parish officers of Bishopsgate refused to do their
duty, in helping her out of her present degraded
state. She had been, off and on, at the workhouse
for fifteen or sixteen years, and at last a gentleman
in the carpentering line, named Bill Flockton, axed
her to be his wife. As she was tired of a single
life, and Mr. Flockton had a matter of fourteen
shillings a week, she consented; and she applied to
the parish officers for their consent, but they refused.
--(Laughter.)
The LORD MAYOR—I didn't know that the pa-
rish officers had the power to prevent you.
The Beadle—l assure you, my Lord, that we
don't attempt to exercise any such authority. Of
course we don't encourage those marriages, which
so seriously burden a parish.
Miss Gush—Please you, my Lord, I don't want
to be no burden to the parish ; I wish to cut it al-
together, and I am blessed if ever I soil a pump in
the workhus again.
The LORD MAYOR-But if the gentleman you
love really loves you, why does he not take you off
at once and marry you? I would not ask the con-
sent of the beadle if I was he.

Flockton—Why, my Lord, you see when a man
goes all for to join himself to a woman wot comes
off the parish they gives a summut just to begin the
world with. Now these ere Gentlemen won't give
no such a thing, and they couldn't expect I'd take a
poor cretur like this ere to be my wife without a
summut of a Fortin, for I an't a living man if I an't
able to eat all my own wittles myself.—(Laughter.)
The Beadle—Their object is merely to get a
pound or two from the parish and to spend it in
drunkenness. They have no idea of getting married.
Miss Gush—What a thundering lie !—(A laugh.)
MyLord, this here dirty old beadle wants to prewent
people from being modest and winnow. It's a shame
to let sich willians live; they deserve to be hanged
up without judge or jury. Don't they, Bill ?
(Great laughter.)
Flockton—And no mistake. Please you, my
Lord, its this sort of consarn as sends so many poor
creturs upon the street, that havn't got no house nor
home, nor nothing, barring the flags, for to stretch
their bones upon. Its a shame to think of such
treachery.—(Laughter.)
The LORD MAYOR—I am afraid that if the parish
were to give you a fortune you would not do much
good with it. The lady's voice seems to be rather
affected, and it really sounds in my ear as if gin was
the cause of it.—(The young woman's voice had
that hoarseness which excessive drinking, if it will
give, is sure to perpetuate.)
Flockton—No, my Lord, the creeter got cowld
by sleeping in the open hair.
The LORD MAYOR— Well, you must manage the
business without my assistance. I can't compel
the parish officers to give you a fortune.
Miss Gush—Then I'm bless'd if we don't find a
way to burden the parish without marrying at all.
Won't us, Bill ?
Flockton—Blowed if we don't.—(Laughter.)
This promising couple then moved off; the car-
pentering gentleman having put on his hat before
he left the room, while the LORD MAYOR assured
them that if they were ever brought before him for
any offence he should not forget their conduct
that day.
Mr. Booker, one of the officers of Bishopsgate,
informed the Lord Mayor that the two lovers had
lived together in Petticoat-lane for the last twelve
months.

The LORD MAYOR received the following com-
munication from the Mayor of Lynn, enclosing the
notice which follows :

King's Lynn, Dec. 19, 1833.
My Lord,—Knowing your anxiety to protect the
tradesmen of London, as well as the community in general,
against the various systems of fraud prevalent in the pre•
sent day, I take the liberty to inform your Lordship of one

" Sir,—Not knowing any Gentleman in Lynn to whom
I could apply for information but yourself. I have taken the
liberty of troubling you, trusting you will pardon the same,
and oblige me with a reply.
" A Gentleman of the name of P., residing at Terrace-
walk, Lynn, has applied to me for clothes, not giving me
any reference or recommendation, but promising to remit
nae the amount through his bankers on receipt thereof.
Immediately after my sending Mr. P. 'a order, a Mr. J. C.
R. also sent me an order for a shooting coatee, velvet vest,
and three pair of shooting trousers, saying he wished to
dress like his friend, as they were going to a pigeon match
on Thursday (to-morrow). The writing of the last person
is very bad, and appears to me to be quite a boy's; and the
spelling is such that I cannot think of executing the order
without doing t-o on some certainty. For forwarding he
has written ‘forrediny ;' for double (bible and Po on,
which looks any thing but respectable."—(Loud laughter
followed the reading of the above paragraph.)
" I shall esteem it a great favour if you will kindly in-
form me if you possess any knowledge of them.—Am, Sir,
your obedient servant, " P. pro Robert Pulford,
"JOHN K. PELBY."

The LORD MAYOR said he regretted that the cor-
respondent of the Mayor of Lynn had been plun-
dered by means of so stale an expedient. The gen-
tleman who spoke of the pigeon march had used the
language which particularly well described the con-
duct of both speculators in plucking tradesmen, and
his Lordship really could not have expected that a
London man of business, especially in a line of trade
at v,hich all swindlers had a fling, and by means of
which they were enabled to carry on their plans
could have disposed of his property so incautiously.
His Lordship has, with a spirit like that which
distinguished the late Mayoralty, determined to rout
out of the City the troops of swindlers who infest
it, and has given instructions to some of the most
active officers to keep their eyes upon some new
firms which have appeared in the vocabulary of de-
predators.