The Sun.
London, England, 1833-08-09 00:00:00

W ORSHIP. STREET.

Yesterday a case of importance to tradesmen came
before Mr. BENNET and Mr. TWYFORD, the sitting
magistrates.

Mr. Richard Morgan, a linen-draper in the neigh-
bourhood of Russell•square, appeared, by adjourn-
ment, accompanied by Mr. Hobler, his attorney, to
answer the complaint of Messrs. North and Par-
tridge, of Shoreditch, linen-drapers, who charged
him with giving a false character of a young man
named John Wild, who had entered their service as
shopwan, and is now in Newgate, awaiting his trial
upon a charge of robbing them.
The statute relating to masters and servants em-
powers the magistrates to impose a penalty of 201.
upon any defendant convicted of giving a false
character to enable any individual to enter the ser-
vice of another.

Mr. North stated that between three and four
months since he was in want of a shopman, and
John Wild applied for the situation, giving a refe-
rence to Mr. Morgan as his last employer ; corn-
plainant accordingly waited upon Mr. Morgan, who
gave him an excellent character, and stated (as the
complainant alleged) that the young man had left
him only three weeks previously.
It appeared, however, that Wild, who had re-
ceived the character of " an honest, sober, and in-
dustrious" young man, was found to be the reverse.
He lived only three months with his new employers,
and was supposed to have been robbing them dur-
ing the whole of that time; but his expensive ha-
bits, and the diminished receipts in the shop, ren-
dering him at length suspected, a plan was laid to
put his honesty to the test. A person was sent to
the shop, who made purchases of him to the amount
of 195., and paid with money previously marked for
the purpose. He accounted for only part of the
amount ; and Groves, a sergeant of police, being
sent for to search him, found in his pockets two
half-crowns of the marked money, and also two silk
handkerchiefs belonging to his employers. He was
then taken before a I\lagistrate, and committed to
Newgate for trial.
The defendant, when he first appeared to the
summons, strongly denied the imputation that he
had practised a deception upon the complainan..
The character which he gave was justified by the
young man's conduct in his service, and he denied
that he had made a false statement of the time of
his leaving.
Mr. North strongly asserted that the representa-
tion which the defendant made to him was, that the
young man had left him only three weeks, and to
prove that he had left ten months previously, the
complainant called two females, in whose houses the
young man had lodged during that time.
One of the females stated that Wild occupied
her lodging three months; and the other that he
afterwards lodged with her for about thirty weeks,
up to the time of his entering the employ of Messrs.
North and Partridge. He slept at the lodgings
during that time, and was sometimes there by day,
but they could not undertake to swear that he had
been unemployed during the whole of the time.
After much conversation, and some angry re-
marks between Mr. North and the defendant, who
threatened hint with an action in return for the pre-
sent proceedings,
The Magistrates postponed the decision of the
case, that the complainants might have an opportu-
nity,if they could, of producing further evidence.
aged 19, servant to
bury-street, Islington,
HATTON-GARDEN.
i‘iryefisaterrryd:yarStiastr
,ahofSlicw
alicior
n,
was brought before Mr. Sergeant SELLON and Mr.
LAING, charged by her master with having mali-
ciously administered a quantity of laudanum to his
child, about three months old, with intent to deprive
it of life.

On Wednesday last the child appeared very
drowsy, and at length it fell off into a sound sleep,
in which it remained for several hours. In the
evening witness went to the kitchen, where he

found it in such a profound sleep that all efforts to
arouse it were of no avail, and fearing that some-
thing ailed it, a surgeon was sent for, who gave it
as his opinion that laudanum had been administered
to the infant, and that it was in an exceedingly dan-
gerous condition. Antidotes were applied, and
every remedy adopted to save the child, but it was
still lying without the least hope of recovery. Wit-
ness being aware that his wife or himself had never
administered such poison to the child, nor given
their sanction for the prisoner to do so, they imme-
diately suspected the prisoner, whom they ques-
tioned upon the subject, and on threatening to give
her into the custody of a policeman, and telling her
that it would be worse for her if she did not speak
the truth, she confessed that she had given the child
laudanum twice in the course of the day, and wit-
ness ascertained that she had purchased some
laudanum at a surgeon's in the New North Road,
Islington, and on searching the garden, a laudanum
bottle was found concealed, which the prisoner had
owned to having placed there.

Mr. Sergeant -SiLLoN—Have you any reason to
suspect that she had cause for revenge or spite
towards the child ?

Mr. Parry—l recollect in the morning she was
reproached with some negligence in her work, and
she went away sulky and muttering to herself; and
shortly afterwards I found the child in a sound sleep.
Edmund Wray, police•constable, 90, N division,
yesterday morning received information that a child
belonging to Mr. Parry had been poisoned. He
proceeded to the house of that gentleman, and found
the child in an apparently dying state. The pri•
soner acknowledged having given it poison, and the
bottle he Lund concealed in the garden.
Mr. Sergeant SELLON thought it a strange and
melancholy case, ar►d he remanded the prisoner, with
directions that the surgeon and other witnesses who
could throw any light upon the subject be re-
quested to attend the next examination.

Rosetta Butler, a fashionably-dressed young
woman, was finally examined charged by William
Venables, of the firm of Venables and Co., linen-
drapers and haberdashers, of Lamb's•Conduit-
street, Brunswick-square, with having stolen 46
yards of black silk, value 71., their property.
She said nothing in her defence, and she was
fully committed.

Her husband, a respectable-looking young man,
with tears in his eyes, said he held a respectable
situation, and his connexions were respectable. He
could not account for his wife's misconduct, unless
it proceeded from a temporary aberration of intel-
lect. He could produce eminent persons to speak
as to his respectability.
Mr. Sergeant SELLON—Respectable people often
commit themselves. I cannot assist you. You
may avail yourself of your friends' assistance when
she takes her trial.

The applicant quitted the office extremely agitated,

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

Mike O'Connor, a milkman in the neighbour-
hood, brought his wife Norah before Mr. DYER yes..
terday, for having given him a beating with his
own shillelah, about a month ago. Mike, when he
presented himself before the magistrate, exhibited
that " devil-may-care" sort of appearance in dress
and demeanour, so peculiarly characteristic of many
of the lower orders of Irish. He had over his usual
dress a couple of thick frieze great coats, with his
shirt quite open in front, so as to expose a brawny
chest, which resembled strongly in colour and hir-
suit character, the hide of a buffalo. A favourite
" dudeen," his inseparable companion, was, out of
pure politeness towards the magistrate, for a few
minutes taken from his mouth, and thrust into his
coat-pocket, in such a manner that some inches of the
stem were visible. Altogether, be showed that
mixture of fun and ferocity—with an unreclaimable
propensity for whisky, which rendered his appear-
ance anything but prepossessing. His wife, on the
contrary, wore the exterior of a hard-working
woman. Mike, it appeared, had been daily at the
office to urge the execution of the warrant ; but as
soon as his wife made her appearance yesterday,
with characteristic amiableness he had set about
vainly urging her to let him psy the " expenses"
and discharge the warrant, upon condition that she
should stand trate.

Mike told his story with sundry episodes; from
which it was with difficulty gathered, that on a par-
ticular day his wife " Norry" had taken his stick
out of his hand, and laid it with hearty good will
over his shoulders. He begged, therefore, that "his
Honour would bind her down to pace and quiteness
wid him for ever."

Norah, in defence, said that Mike was so given to
drink that he had almost dissipated a good property
which he formerly possessed. He would sometimes
get into a cab early in the morning, ride about all
day, and then come home drunk and demand money.
He had been sent to prison for a short time for hav-
ing assaulted some woman ; and the day he got his
release he came home and insisted upon having all
the money that was in the house. She refused to
give it him ; upon which he pulled out a " thun-
dering tomahawk" and began to break in pieces all
the furniture. She seized him by the neck, and
continued to hold him until assistance arrived. The
defendant concluded by wishing " bad luck to the
day when she married that big, ugly joker."
Mr. DYER asked if her husband was at all times
right in his head ?—The woman replied, that if he
got too much drink he was quite mad.
" Not right in my bead," said Mike, pulling out
a whole bundle of greasy papers, " rade them—they
are my resates. That'll tell you if lam right in my
head or no. Sind, phase your Honnor, for my
friend Danell O'Connell, the Mimber for Kerry, or
his Honnor the Marquis of Lansdowne, God bless
him, he'll give me a karracter."
Mr. DYER, on receiving a promise from both that
they would keep the peace towards one another for
twelve months, allowed the warrant to stand over.
11like left the office, and took his station in the
road, haranguing upon the merits of his friend, the
" Mirnber for Kerry," to a motley audience, which
was attracted by his grotesque appearance and vo-
ciferation.