The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-29 00:00:00

RETIREMENT OF MR. HARDWICK.

Mr. Hardwick, one of the oldest metropolitan magis•
trate', having been 35 years on the bench, yesterday re
Unfinished his public duties, his resignation, it is under-
sto having been reluctant!), accepted by the Hoene-
office. Mr. Hardwick, in a ldition to his sound julicial
qualifications, was an excellent3linguist, an advantage
particularly serviceable in this court, where a consider.
able portion of the business has referance to foreigners.
✓lr. Hardwick, as a magistrate, was honourably die-
inguished by the inflexib'e uprightness of his judgments,
in no instance allowing himself to be swayed in his (1,-
cisions by the rank or influence of the parties before
him ; his decisions being also remarkable for a clear per-
ception of the real merits of the case. The casual poor,
whose c'aims more particularly came out in poli.:e courts,
will lose a discriminating friend, the funds of the poor.
box having been always freely resorted to in meritorious
cases.

souniWAßK. TVilliana Chapman, a powerful
looking young fellow, 20 years of age, was charged with
committing a violent assault on his mother, an elderly
woman.

Directly the complainant entered the witness-box the
prisoner in a threatening tone, with his right hand ex-
tended towards her, exclaimed, " Remember you are
my mother. You must not swear my life away, or ven-
geance be upon your head !"
Mr. Combe 'asked the complainant what he son was,
and whether he was in his proper sense
She replied that he was a sailor, and bad not long
been in London from the Crimea. He was quite right
in his head, but he behaved badly towards her. On the
previous evening he went into bad company, and, hear-
ing where be was, she went after him to get him away,
As soon as he saw her he knocked her down and swore
he would murder her, and she believed that he would
have done so had not a constable came up and taken
him into custody.
. . . . . . .

Mr. Coombe ;eked her whether he ba'l illused her
before

She reluctantly replied that he had. Every time he
came from sea he squandered his money away, and then
found his way to her for more, which she always gave
him as far as she could, and as soon as that was gone he
illused her.

The prisoner, in a dogged manner, said he had no re-
collection of beating his mother. Same one must have
drugged his ale, which took away his senses.
Mr. Combo told him he was a cowardly ruffian, and
he should not be doing his duty unless he committed
him to the House of Correction for three months with
hard labour.

The prisoner hera turned round to the aged woman
and exclaimed, "Remember, mother, I'll have vengeance
for this. I'll make you remember this."
Mr. Combo told him he would have three months to
cool his temper, and most likely the punishment would
make him remember assaulting his mother.
Ile was then removed from the dock, when the old
lady actually tried to beg him off', but Mr. Combe was
resolute is sending him for three months.

LAMBETH.—Mr. Jonathan, Emmett and Mr. John,
Hensby, vestrymen, belonging to the parish of St.
George the Martyr, Southwark, attended before the
Hon. G. C. Norton, to prosecute a man named Black.
well, in a case of gross outrage, for which a summons
had been granted on the day before.
From the statements of the complainants it appeared
that on Thursday, about mid-day, they, in discharge of
their duty as members of the vestry of the parish, and

acting under the authority of the Nuisances Removal
Ao', proceeded to a house adjoining the George public-
house, in the Waterloo-road, to view a nuisance which
they bad been informed existed there, for the purpose of
its removal. They reached the top of the house without
much obstruction, and discovered a nuisance of the most
abominable description, and, in fact, the whole house
was in so filthy a state as to be unfit for human habita-
tion. At the top was a nook to which the ashes, slops,
and filth of the inmates were carried and emptied, and
this accumulation was in itself sufficient to create disease
and nausea, and required to be seen in order to form any
idea of its abomination. When returning downstairs,
after witnessing the scene they had but faintly described,
they were beset by the inmates, who assailed them with
all sorts of abuse, said the landlord (Mr. Morris) was an
honest and respectable man, and should not be robbed
by such thieves as they ; and, in fact, their situation at
that moment, and for some time, became one of consi-
derable danger. Among those by whom they were as-
sailed was a furious-looking Irishman three parts drunk,
who occupied an apartment on the 2d floor. This man
placed himself on the stairs before them in such a po-
sition as prevented their passing him, and though they
remonstrated with him, and told him who they were and
the object of their visit, he obstinately resisted their pro-
grese. On the contrary, he continued to abuse them, and
whistling a ferocious bulldog, of considerable size, as soon
as the animal reached him he deliberately set it on one
of them, Mr. Emmett, and attacked Mr. Hensby him-
self, and was assisted by his wife. Fortunately for him-
self, Mr. Hensby possesses much muscular power, and
to this, and this alone, ho owed his preservation from
serious injury. The object of his savage assailants ap-
peared to be to drag or force him into the room, in the
eentre of which appeared to be an open trap or hole
through the floor, and doubtless to drop him through it;
but fortunately be was enabled to disappoint them, and
ultimately made his way out of the house. Mr. Emmett
in the interim bad his work to do, for the dog, being set I
on him, at once made a rush at his legs. Fortunately
for him he was fortified with a pair of stout boots, and
as the savage brute approached him within the proper
distance, he succeeded in giving him a kick under the
jaw, which turned him right over. He, however, soon
returned to the charge, and for eight or ten times he
succeeded in kicking him about the same spat and turn-
ing him over, and at last the brute became so cowed and
exhausted as to show his tail and slink a say.
Mr. Hensby assured the magistrate that his position
way anything but pleasant, but that of Mr. Emmett he
considered to be much worse, and, as far as he had an
opportunity of witnessing it, he never saw anything more
extraordinary than the way in which he managed to
kick and throw over his savage assailant.
Mr.Eminett—l had not much to spare your worship,
for I don't think I was ever more exhausted in any
effort, and never, certainly, did I witness anything with
greater delight than the exhaustion of this furious dog,
and his walking away from me.
The name of the defendant Blackwell was called, but
he did not appear, and Lockyear, the officer, having
deposed to serving the summons on him personally and
also to having a narrow escape from the attack of the
bulldog while doing so,
Mr. Norton at once granted a warrant for Blackwell's
apprehension.

IN TilE ICE.

(Prom the New York Times.)

At a meeting of the passengers on board the
United States Mail steam-ship Arago, held on 20th
Feb., at the close of her fifth voyage from Havre
to New York, the following paper, expressive of
their feelings and view of the facts therein detailed,
was adopted, and ordered to be printed in two or
more of the New York newspapers : " The
steam-ship Arago left Havre on the 13th inst.,
and Cowes at about 2 o'clock on the following
morning. Weather as favourable as could
be expeeed in a winter passage enabled
us to make a prosperous run, without any
remarkable incidents, to the morning of the 22d
inst., when, at about 6 o'clock, icebergs were dis-
covered in the northern and southern horizons.
The usual interest was excited, though the surprise
at so unusual a sight at this season cf the year was
less, from the fact that the ship had encountered
ice in her outward passage, and had suffered some
trifling damage in the contact. Yet none were pre-
pared in the slightest degree for the formidable and
dangerous obstruction that lay in our westward
path. In the course of the morning, however,
fragments and detached masses of all shapes and
magnitudes began to appear, and so rapidly in-
creased in number that only by quick operation,
skilful management of the helm and engine, were
the dangerous encounters avoided. After running
the gauntlet of these swarming enemies for several
hours a clearer sea appeared before us, and we in-
dulged for a moment the hope of having passed the
danger. But very soon it was again discovered
directly ahead, and a nearer approach showed it to
be closely packed and utterly impassable. The ship
was then headed to the north, with the hope of
finding the end of the pack and doubling it. But
after steaming upon this course 30 miles, the most
powerful glass could discover no limit to the bar-
rier. Tho attempt to find a passage in that direc-
tion was therefore abandoned, and the ship returned
to her former position. The weather during the
day had been broken, and the afteruoon looked
gloomy, with occasional snow squalls, which added
temporarily to our discouragement. Night closed
in without the prospect of release from our embar-
rassing position. A moon, however, enabled us to
feel our way in search of an escape, but with little
success, ant morning found us still in the icy
neighbourhood. A south-easterly course had tikes'
us slowly along the broken edge, which was inter-
rupted by occasional bays and indentations.
During the 24 hours thus passed we had, with every
favourable circumstance, made scarcely any west-
ward progress, and had but little if at all improved
our position. Ice still enclosed us on every side,
and the clear water in which we were working was
but one of the deep bays which had at first the ap-
pearance of an open way to the westward. After
steaming for some time in that direction we were
again stopped, as upon the previous morning, by
a close pack ahead. The view presented to the
eye during this morning was truly magnificent,
and, dissociated from the sense of peril which our
position so well justified, the mind and fancy could
dwell upon the scene with the inteusest pleasure.
A vast icy territory passed in review before us in
our southerly course, which was now resumed as
the only hope that seemed left of deliverance. Ice-
bergs of varied shapes and sizes, that required but
little effort of the imagination to convert into archi-
tectural forms, and bring to the eye the illusion of
scattered hamlets, ruined cathedrals, columns and
arches,—the t e tutiful and grotesque forms of the
floating masses ad led new details to the scene of
which the ensemble was at once awfully grand and
charmingly picturesque. But the mind was little
disposed to such contemplations under the heavy
anxieties that began to weigh upon it as time wore
on without bringing any relief. The weather during
this'day, though still broken and unsettled, wes
more favourable than on the previous day, and
was watched with intense solicitude, inasmuch as
it was as important to our safety asit was unusual in
that locality. Its continuance was, therefore, de-
voutly prayed for as our chief dependence under
God. Had a fog shut down upon us or a gale
arisen, and we had then become enclosed in the ice,
we should have found but little room for hope but
in the especial interposition of a kind Providence.
Our course continued throughout the day to the
south-oast, with an occasional attempt to make
way to the westward. As evening closed, the ship
was hove to and remained quiet until 10 o'clock,
when a full moon shed its clear, soft light over the
sea, revealing the smallest object, and enabling us
to get under way and move with comparative safety.
Another night thus passed and Sunday morning
found us 180 miles to the south from our course,
and attempting to double what at last seemed to
be the southern cape of the icy region. As we
rounded it and took a north-westerly course, a new
but more scattered field lay before us, through
which we finally threaded our way in safety, and a
clear open sea once more revealed itself. Three or
four hours passed, however, before our minds were
reassured, or our faithful commander relaxed in the
least degree his vigilance. A fear that we might
again, and for the third time, find ourselves em-
bayed, kept suspense alive for several hours, until
night returned, without bringing new difficulties,
and finally hid from our eyes those we had so happily
passed. Fifty-four hours had thus worn away in
danger and embarrassment, during which time we
had sailed 220 miles from north to south before the
great barrier, and penetrated it to the westward a
distance of 30 miles, to meet it again, densely
packed as far as could be seen. From the extreme
point of our northing no glass could discern a pas-
sage
beyond, and immense icebergs were seen
stretching from the extreme southern point, where
we finally passed the pack. It is, therefore, within
the truth, to measure the extent of this enormous
icy barrier at 250 miles in length, and 50 miles in
breadth, stretching over more than three degrees
both of latitude and longitude."

PRISONS IN SCOTLA.ND.—The 17th report of the Gene-
ral Board of Directors of Prisons in Scotland is pub-
lished in the shape of a blue-book, of 100 pages. It ap-
pears that in 1855 the total number of prisoners admit-
ted into the General Prison amounted to 568, of whom
334 were male, and 234 female. This makes a total
number of 1,134 confined in the course of the year. 323
male prisoners were liberated by expiration of sentence,
and 254 were removed to England. At the close of the
year 543 prisoners remained on hand in the General
Prison, of whom 303 were male and 240 female. The
report is very meagre with regard to points of general
interest. One curious feature is the difficulty experi-
enced in obtaining the services of persons willing to in-
flict the degrading punishment'of whipping our juvenile
male offenders, owing to the inadequacy of the remu-
ner &on for the duty ; and it has been found necessary
to authorise the sheriffs to grant small annual salaries
(from 2/. to 51.) to induce officers to undertake the re•
valting task.