The Sun.
London, England, 1834-09-10 00:00:00

QUEEN-SQUARE.

Yesterday John Akres and Mary his wife, and John
Brown, were placed at the bar before Mr. WHITE, charged
with stealing a large quantity of deal boards from time to
time from the Blind School in St. George's-fields,
Black-
friars-road, the property of Mr. Barron, a builder, in St.
Martin's-lane.

Police constable Clifton, of the B division, on the pre-
vious evening met the prisoners Brown and Mary Akres
near the Broad Sanctuary, Tothill-street. Brown was
carrying a quantity of new pieces of wood, and suspecting
that it was stolen he questioned him as to where he had
got it. He at first said that he had brought it from Par-
liament-street, but afterwards admitted that Mary Akres
had given it to him to carry for her. Not being satisfied
with the account he took him to the station-house. On
making farther inquiries it was ascertained that the hus-
band of Mary Akres was a private watchman in the
ployea-
of Mr. Barron, a master-builder, in St. Martin's-lane,
and that he bad been employed to watch some new build-
ing at the Blind School for the last three months which his
master had undertaken to build. On the previous evening
Brown and the wife went to the Blind School with his sup-
per, when he gave them the wood to take borne.

Mr. Brown, builder, of St. Martin's-lane, said that the
prisoner had been in his employ about a twelvemonth. For
the last three months witness had employed him as a confi-
dential watchman at the Blind School. He could swear to
the wood produced as his property : many of the pieces
his name marked on them. The prisoner must have sawed
the wood into lengths, which had depreciated the value
nearly one-half. He had gone that morning with the police
constable to search the prisoner's lodgings, and he found
nearly a cartload of sawed pieces of wood, which he could
swear were his property.
Mr. WHITE asked the prisoner Akers what he had to
say to the charge ? The confidential watchman, in his
defence had belonged to the Foot Guards, and was sworn in
at Queen-square office in 1819, and his character would bear
the strictest investigation for honesty, and was well known
to the officers of the Guards, any of whom would come
forward and give him a character. The prisoner, after ex-
patiating at some length upon the excellency of his charac-
ter, concluded by saying with great contempt, " As to the
pieces of wood, I just took them as pieces of odds and ends
to make the fire with, and I gave them to my wife, who
gave them to Brown to carry for her."
The other prisoners told a similar story, mid
Mr. WHITE said that he should commit them for trial.
Akres—l hope your Worship will adjourn this case, that
I may produce witnesses who will speak to my character.
Mr. WiirrE—l really do not think that any witnesses
as to character will do you any good at present. You had
better produce them at your trial.
The prisoners were all fully committed for trial, and the
parties bound over to prosecute.
The veteran pickpocket, Tit Shields, well known to every
police officer in London, having been nearly fifty years upon
the town, was brought before Mr. BURRELL by Dawson, one
of the officers of this establishment, charged with picking

the pocket of Mr. George Whitfield, a gentleman residing
at Frome, in Somersetshire, of a handsome snuffbox.
The prosecutor was in town on business, and had gone to
the Horse Guards to see the soldiers mount guard. Daw-
son, the officer who chanced to be passing at the time,
espied Tit Shields very busy at his old vocation. He
watched him, and saw Tit extract a snuff-box out of the
prosecutor's pocket with the greatest dexterity. Dawson
immediately seized him, found the property upon him, and
informed the gentleman that he had had his pocket picked.
Tit begged to be let off, and told his usual story when taken
into custody to excite pity, that the news of his being in
custody would be the death of his poor old woman.
Mr. Whitefield identified the snuff-box produced by
Dawson as his property, which he said was made out of some
of the timber belong*. to the ruins of Reading Abbey.
Mr. BURRELL asked the prisoner what he had to say to
the charge ? Tit Shields said that he was seventy-three
years of age, and he was just going up to see his son-in-
law, who occasionally assisted him. He just stopped oppo-
site the Horse Guards, when he saw the snuff-box lying on
the ground, and he picked it up, when the officer seized
him, and took him into custody for stealing it, a thing he
never did now. _ _

The MAGISTRATE fully committed him for trial.

UNION-HALL.

Yesterday John 111orr7s,7cOlVctin clerk in the employ
of Messrs. Bowling and Walker, the wholesale chemists
and druggists of Kent-street, was brought up, charred with
embezzling divers sums of money, the property of em-
ployers.—Committed.