The Sun.
London, England, 1851-05-16 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
BOW-STREET.
Yesterday John Mark, alias Cotton, an escaped con-
vict, John Law, Anne Law, John Hughes, and James
Davis, were brought up in the custody of Thornton, the
detective officer, charged with being concerned in com-
mitting a highway robbery.
It appeared that on the night of the 7th instant, as
Mr. Ebenezer Peacock, of Wilstead, was returning
home from Biggleswade market he was stopped by three
men dressed as " navvies," who took from his possession
35/. in country bank-notes, a 10/. bank-note, a 5/. note,
and 10 sovereigns, in a knitted silk and bead purse, a
gold watch, with a short gold chain attached, with the
entire contents of his pockets. The first-nrniod prisoner
also answers to the description of a convict named Cot-
ton, who eff.:cted his escape with another from Dartmoor
Prison, in Devonshire, on the 15th April.
Mr. HALL inquired if the evidence about to be offered
related to the escape from prison, or to affect all the
prisoners as to the highway robbery?
Thornton replied, that from the description given in
the Police Gazette, he had no doubt that Mark was the
man, the marks on every part of his person answering
it in every particular, coupled with the tact of his having
found lying on the bed in which he was apprehended, a
flannel shirt having the letters D. P., and the broad ar-
row stamped upon it, and he also found in the same
room a gold watch and chain, with a quantity of money,
and other property in the possession of the others,
which he had reason to believe was a portion of what
Mr. Peacock had been robbed of, although he was not
yet in a position to prove that they were directly con-
cerned. The prisoner Mark was under sentence for ten
years, and it was a remarkable fact that he found all
the prisoners in the same house, which was advertised as
being the same to which the escaped convicts were in the
habit of writing letters.
The prisoner Mark denied that he was the person
alluded to, his height, age, and other marks not agreeing
with what was stated against him; besides, where he
was apprehended was a common lodging-house, and the
property produced was not discovered until he had been
conveyed to the station.
Thornton submitted that he had given sufficient evi-
dence to cause the prisoners to be remanded, particu-
larly as he was anxious to receive further instructions
from the Solicitor to the Treasury as to what course he
ought to pursue.
Mr. HALL said that an escaped convict could be pro-
ceeded against whenever he was apprehended, but there
was some difficulty in what manner to treat the present
case, there being a suspicion of a highway robbery in
another part of the country, and he would order the pri-
soner to be reminded.
WORSHIP-STREET.

' An elderly man, nansed Jesse Ludford, described as a
''lass•melter in Dodd's-place, Bethnal-green, was brought
befire lir. Mammal, in the custody of Rowland, the
warrant officer, charged with having violently assaulted
and otherwise ill-treated his wife, by forcibly placing
her upon the furnace in his workshop, whereby she had
sustained serious pPrsonel injuries.
'From the evidence of the complainant, one of whose
arms was shockingly scorched and inflamed, and her
face much swollen end contused, it appeared that on
the afternoon of the 6th instant, being in want of
money to procure food and other necessaries for her
children, she went into a small factory adjoining the
dwelling-house, where her husband was at work,
and requested him to supply her with some, but was an-
swered with the most abusive epithets, accompanied by a
positive refusal. On renewing her application, and
upbraiding him with his unfeeling conduct, she was im-
mediately seized by the defendant, who carried her to
the furnace, in which a strong coke fire was burning for
the purpose of melting glass, and thrust her down upon
it. She managed to escape at that time without sustain-
ing much injury, but was again seized by the defendant,
who repeated the same barbarous conduct twice after-
wards, and on the last occasion her hands and arms were
dreadfully burnt and her dress partially destroyed. The
defendant then renewed the attack upon her, and, after
beating her unmercifully with his fist, seised her by the
hair, and repeatedly dashed her head against the wall of
the apartment. She had been compelled previous to
this to obtain warrants against him, and he had been
committed to prison for his cruelty towards her. The
complainant added, that ever since the last attack she
had been under the constant care of a surgeon, and
was still suffering severely from the injuries she had
received.

The complainant's daughter was also examined and
fully corroborated her mother's evidence.
In answer to the charge the defendant said that his wife
had assaulted him first by scratching his face, and that
she had accidently fallen into the fire while he was en-
deavouring to repel her violence.

Mr. lislimna, said that a more cold-blooded and
brutal outrage had seldom come under his notice, and
he should order the defendant to pay a penalty of 51, or
he committed in default for two months to the House of
Correction.

THAMES.

ASSAULT AND HIGHWAY ROBBERY.—TWO notorious
fellows, named O'illiant Wall and Joseph Prince, who
haunt the infamous locality, Brown Bear-alley, and re-
side at 11, Groen-yerd, Whitechapel, were finally exs-
mined, charged with assaulting Morris Hackett, a Por-
tuguese, of the ship Heroine, lying in the London
Docks, and stealing 15s. from his person, about one
o'clock on Wednesday morning.
The prisoners, in their defence, said they merely
asked the prosecutor what he was doing with the young
woman, when he pulled out a knife, on which they
rushed upon him to prevent him from doing them any
mischief.

The.prosecutor denied this, and said he had no knife
about him; a fact which the constable also attested.
Th 937 were both committed for trial.

SHIP NEWS.
GRAVEEMND, MAY 15.—Wind N.E., light, fine.
Arrived—Ocean, from Rotterdam; Antwerpen, from
Ant"P; Lord John Russell, from Harlingen; Famo,
frooa Calais ; Jolliffe, from Havre ; Earl of
Auckland, from Rotterdam; Trident, from Porto Rico;
Fantoine, from Jamaica; Monarch, from Calcutta; Ca•
roline, from Callao; Ellen from Uddemalla; Nieholaus,
roam William Nichol, from the South Seas;
Minerva, from Memel; Richard Hindson, from Oporto;
Australasian packet, from Cadiz; Calypso, from Jamaica;
Anne Maria Elizabeth, from Denmark; Paul, Irina Sff°7

police magistrates ; and from Lord Murray, Court of
Session, and Mr. Bach, a well-known German jurist,
the report says, " Upon considering the subject with
the assistance thus afforded them, as well as with
the advantage of some personal experience on the
part of most of their own members, and after look-
ing at the objects of the coroner's office, the objections
to its present constitution, and its position relatively
to the other institutions of the country, it became
a question with the committee whether the main-
tenance of a separate tribunal for inquiries into the
causes of death is, under existing circumstances, really
requisite, whether all such inquiries ought not in fact
to be treated as a part of the general criminal proce-
dure of the country, and whether they might not be
wholly committed (as they already are partially) to
the same authorities which have the conduct of
criminal investigations
principal objections which have been urged against
the existing system may be taken to be its ex-
pensiveness and (connected therewith) the immo-
derate exercise of the powers of the office, the cum-
brousness of its machinery, the exceptional mode
in which the coroners are appointed, the want
of sufficient publicity in their proceedings, and the in-
convenience and discredit conseqeunt upon the con-
current and originally conflicting jurisdiction of the
coroners and the magistracy." The following facts
are stated in the report :—" In the course of twenty
years the cost to the county of Middlesex for inquests
had increased nearly sixfold, having risen from
1,2841. in 1828, to 8,1931. in 1848. In 1828 the
number of inquests held in Middlesex was 1,151,
and in 1848, 2,449, showing an increase of be-
tween 112 and 113 per cent. In Westminster
the number in 1821 was 250, and in 1848, 326, the
increase being 30 per cent. only, whilst the
increase in the western division was 127 per cent.,
and in the eastern division 146 per cent. The in-
crease of population in the same time the committee
estimate at 30 per cent., whilst crimes against life
have diminished. In 1849, out of 2,674 inquests in
Middlesex, the criminating verdicts, including those
against persons unknown, were 36, viz., 18 cf murder
and 18 of manslaughter, and, taking the average of
ten years, the number of such verdicts has been less
than 1-4. per cent. of the entire number of inquests.
The committee recommend that measures be taken to
obtain an Act of Parliament to transfer to the magis-
trates the preseLt powers of the coroners ;
but, should the office be continued, the com-
mittee recommend the payment by salary, in-
stead of by fees, as at present; that the po-
lice should be employed to get up the evidence, and
to summon the coroner, instead of the parish con-
stables, who are now remunerated by fees. The com-
mittee have no hesitation in condemning the use of
juries at inquests ; and with regard to the consolida-
tion of the office with the jurisdiction of the magis-
tracy, they recommend that, if that suggestion be
adopted, the present appointments should not be inter-
fered with ; but that as vacancies occur, they should
not be filled up, and the duties at once transferred to
the magistrates. The committee think that, so long
as the coroner's office exists, the expenses attendant
upon it should be paid out of the Consolidated Fund,
and not out of the county rate." After recommend-
ing the appointment of a medical gentleman, at a per-
manent salary, to make post mortem examinations,
the report says :—" The committee would advert to
one measure that has been on several occasions sug-
gested by persons who have interested themselves in
the reform of the law, and which, though proposed
with a view to other proceedings, might, the
committee think, be applied with great utility to
those which form the subject of the present reference."
The measure alluded to is the appointment of
public prosecutors on the same footing to a consi-
siderable extent with the Procurators Fiscal in Scot-
land, to conduct criminal proceedings on behalf of the
Crown. To such officers, if in existence, notices of
all deaths apparently requiring the holding an inquest
might be given, and it would then be their duty to
inquire into the circumstances, and bring them, where
necessary, before the proper tribunal. It might still
be left open for any other individual to bring forward
on his own responsibility any case which the public
prosecutor might not think proper to take up. The
report will be extensively circulated.