The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-14 00:00:00

THAWS.

James Spencer, alias Blach Jem, alias Jem the Logger,
a well-known thief, about 28 3 ears of age, was brought
before Mr. Ingham, charged with stealing 561. from the
person of Eliza Fordham, the wife of a wheelwright re-
siding at Stratford, while she was on her way from the
Bank of Etzland to her own home on Wednesday, the

26th of February.
A lad named .lames Green is in custody charged with
being concerned in the robbery, and the evidence
'against him was that he was apprehended by Mills; 306
K, and on the officer making him acquainted with the
charge, and asking him whether ue would be taken to
the house of the prosecutrix for her to identify him, or
be conveyed to the station-house, he chose the former
alternative, and she immediately recognized him as one
of the persons near her when she lost the money. Green
then said to Mills I'll tell you all about it; myself, Tim
Cassidy, and Tom Acheson, were in the Mile-end-road,
when we met Jem Spencer, and ho told us to go and pick
that pocket, and pointed to a lady among the crowd
looking at a Cheap Jack (a travelling vendor) near the
Mile.end-gate, and we did pick her pocket of a lot of
gold and gave it to another. Spencer snatched it
away, and gave us 21. each. We all bought a suit of
clothes at a shop near Shoreditch Church, and we took
a cab next day, and went to Romford, and there spent
the remainder of the money." On this statement Mills
detained the boy, one of a numerous juvenile gang that
infest the streets, and Mr. Yardley remanded him till
Monday. Police-sergeant Kelly, No. 2H, having heard
that Black Jem was wanting, sought after him in the
neighbourhood of that infamous haunt of thieves, Went-
worth-street, Whitechapel, and on Wednesday evening
met him in Brick-lane, a few yards from Wentworth-
street, with several desperate thieves. Sergeant Kelly,
who was in plain clothes, prudently followed him until
he met with another detective, named Wigley, No. 141
H, a powerful man, who, upon a signal from Kelly, had
the fellow in his grasp in an instant. The gang by
whom he was surrounded attempted a rescue, but, after
a desperate conflict, they were beaten off, and Spencer
was secured and conveyed to the station-house.
Mrs. Fordham, wife of John Fordham, of Stratford,
stated, that on the 26th ult. she went to the Bauk of
England with her husband and received some money,
which she deposited with some bank papers in a white
pocket-handkerchief, and put the parcel in her pocket.
She parted from her husband in Cheapside and went to-
wards home with her sister. She stopped at a crockery-
ware stall in the Mile-end-road, and directly after she
had made a purchase and left it missed the weight of
the gold from her pocket, and, to her dismay, found it
had been abstracted. She was then next door to the
Blind Beggar public-house. She recollected some boys
and a man were standing about her while she was. et
the crockery-stall. The man engaged her
tt
about a teapot she was about to purchase, and saidu
manapo
.
n
an
there was something the matter. She thought ai
was stouter than the prisoner, and not dressed so well.
A police-constable was appealed to, and .he refused to
interfere or to arrest the man she pointed out, because
he was not on duty.
Ann Dolby, sister of the last witness, was present when
she lost her gold, and told her mister to keep an eye
upon the man whom
suspected while she went in
near the place at
quest of a policeman, wshheo standingwas
the corner of North-street, and who would not give any
assistance whatever. The witness was asked to look at
the prisoner, and after doing so said the man who was
near her sister when she was robbed looked much clearer
in the face.
Mr. Iroaneat said that upon this evidence he did not
see how he could detain the prisoner.
Kelly said the prisoner was a returned transport and a
well-known thief. He believed the prisoner had been
twice transported. He knew him to be the companion
of thieves, and he was in company with two burglars
when ho took him into custody.
Mr. INGIIAM—That may be all very true, Sergeant
Kelly, but I cannot detain any man on suspicion without
evidence.
Mills said the prisoner had given a false address, and
that he was not known at the place where ho said he
lived.
Roche, the gaoler—Every
stitch which the prisoner
has on is quite new, your Worship.
Mr. INGHAM said the only tittle of evidence againo
the prisoner wag, that he had given a false address.
' Kelly entreated of the magistrate to rernsnd the pri-
soner till Monday, when Green would be again
brought up.

Mr. NonAm—Nn, I cannot; the evidence la too alfeki
to warrant u long remand. I .1101 remand him till tia.
tunlay Only.

Kelly—itl bring any Iron evidence to-day, will your
Worship be so bind as to hc.sr it?
Mr. INGHAM—Certainly. Lit the prisoner be locked
up ''
or the. present.

In the afternoon Spencer was again plaerd in the
dock, and a boy of chubtful character, mimed Joseph
Williams, aged 15, was brought forward by Kelly and
put into the witness-box. His evidence was very curious
He said—l was present last Saturday when Spencer met
Green, and he said to him, " I'm blowed if you are not
the best dip I ever met, Jem. You did that stout moll
(the prosecutrix) of the heavy (gold) `fit Cheap Jack's,
in Mile-end-read, and you are such a clever fellow that
I'll take you in the country with me." Grt et, answered
" No, I would rather atop at Harley's; you only gave to
21. each out of the 56 couters (sovereigns)." The wit •
ness arlded that he saw one of the printed bills, offering s
reward of 101., in a porkshop next day, and gave infor-
mation to Mills, which led to the apprehension of
Greene.

Mr. INGHAM asked for the prosecutrix, and was told
that she had gone home, and was so much afficted at the
serious loss she had sustained that she had been very ill
ever since the robbery, and that sho was glad to get
away from the court as soon as possible.
Kelly said he expected to be in po.session of further
evidence against Spencer end Green on Monday.
Mr. INGHAM—I will remand the prisoner till Monday

DOCKYARDS, &c.
(From the Times.)
The main question between the Dockyards and the
public, however it may be mystified, is as simple as it is
weighty. A demand of 2,011,3071. is made for ship-
building and repairirg, during the current year. The
charge, so far from being extraordinary, is recommended
by the First Lord expressly on account of its unusual
moderation. We generally spend a good del more than
this, so that 2,000,000/. is decidedly a low average to
take in discussing the nature of the outlay. It is asserted,
:hen, that the wear and tear of tho navy in these times
of peace is fairly and economical:y represented by the
aforesaid annual charge. Unfortunately it is hardly pos-
sible to bring these figures to the test of any populist
calculation; but we may, perhaps, approximate to some-
thing like a grasp of the vase by the considerations, fol-
lowing:—lt. used to -be reekoried "That a ship-of-war
cost in round numbers 1,000/. a-gun; that is to say, that
a three•decker stood as in some 120,0001.; a first-class
frigate, 60,000/., and so on. In some points of construc-
tio❑ and outfit it is not improbable that the expense may
have increased of late yeers, but, taking into account the
lessons of experience and the reduced price, not only
'of provisi,,ns, but of many kinds of stores, we may
tirly assume th it the total compute:len ought
aorta tly not to be excesthd at the present day.
Stipp ,se, then, that we launched annually a three-decker,
a 9u, and three first-class frigate 3; these would mount
together 360 guns, and the cost would be 360,0001. Add
five smaller craft, with an average armament of 20 guns
each;—these would absorb 100,0001. more. Steamers
are not so readily appraised, but if vie allow an expen-
diture of 240,0001. on such cons ructiens, and leave
300,0001. for repairs, we shall find that upwards of a
million remains unaccounted for in the gross charge of
the year. We shall be told that the " stores" alone
would consume this surplus, and that there are many ex-
penses which we have overlooked. Very likely; but
what we assert is that these expenses and these stores
ought to be regulated by the ascertainable wear and tear
of the navy, and nothing else; and that it is precisely in
proportion as they exceed this measure that they are
superfluous and extravagant. Shipbuilding charges
should be simply charges for repairing damages, and
supplying unseaworthy vessels by new ones—making
illowance, of course, for the possibility of an in-
creased demand upon the reserve. Let it be certi-
fied how long, on the average, a ship should last,
and what should be the effective strength of the fleet.
The calculation of the yearly wear and tear would then
tie easy, and we venture to say teat nothing like such a
supply as we have assumed above would be found really
necessary. Does an) body believe that a three•decker,
a 90, three 50's, four 28's, and steamers in proportion,
become fairly superannuated and disabled in the course
of every successive year? We should like to see the
estimates of the Atlantic and Oriental steam fleets for
such contingencies. As to " repairs," as they are
termed, Sir Charles Napier's letter will explain a good
deal of that business.

.11,40 We •••••••••
make bold to say that there is no single charge
in the whole expenditure of the country which is so little
defensible as this, for, as Mr. Cobden properly observed,
to appreciate its true enormity wo should remember the
capital already sunk in the concern. We have al-
ready an immense provision of ships, stores, basins,
docks, and foundries. We are in the position of an es-
tablishment well settled, with its premises and ma-
chinery paid for, and its business in smooth order, so
that, in fact, the demand of 2,000,0001. is merely to
keep the concern going. It is the very minimum of our
liabilities; it can never be materially less, though the
smallest provocation may make it indefinitely greater.
Yet this is the charge which is allowed to pass without
exciting half as much opposition as a railway extension
Bill! Where were the Financial Reformers on Monday.
evening? Our metropolitan Members have lately been
dunning us with the violence and clamour of their gas-
conades. They have formed themselves into a kind of
" brigade" with the attested resolution of extorting re-
trenehments from Government at any hazard and any
cost. 'Hwy have discarded argument altogether, and
have declared their unefterntile purpose of storming
every Cabinet which shall attempt to retain mantas taxes
or to substitute any others in their place. Whore were
they on Monday night, when the votes were taken of
which taxation is the natural and inevitable sequel?
What became of all the platform pledges so desperately
thundered at the Marylebone meetings ? No sooner
will Sir Charles Wood appear with his unfortunate
Budget than we shall find these gentlemen running
a muck at his proposals and denouncing one impost after
another, although the expenses to be defrayed out of
them are no longer within control. But what is the use
of prott sting against an outlay lifter the charge has been
actually incurred? and what is the value of that seal
which is only conspicuous in repudiating or eluding ob-
ligations, and becomes invisible or silent when practical
retrenchment is at stake? Mr. Cobden has laid it down
as the result of his anxious reflections that nowhere but
in these estimates can any material saving be

made. To this conclusion we suggest a corolla-I.y:—i
that nowhere but in the materiel and management of
the services is any large proposal for economy likely to
be carried. The time for action, therefore, was last
Monday night: yet an enormous amount was then voted
away with only a single division, and on that division 68
voices only were raised for economy. Mr. Cobden and
Mr. Hume did, indeed, record their protests, though
after a suicidal fashion, but nut a syllable had our re-
port to snow from any of those orators who, ten days
before, had stunned all London with their ♦ociferous pro-
testations.
We trust the Honourable Member for the West
Riding has by this time learnt a lesson of legitimate
•' tactics." If his true object is really to reduce
our expenditure, and not to weaken our defences,
he cannot avoid discerning that he has mistaken
his lino. It is a delusion, he says, to expect a re-
duction of outlay except from a reduction of force. The
delusion is exactly the other way. It is clearly hopeless,
as two years of experiment must have shown him, to an-
ticipate a re-adjustment of our defensive establishments
upon the scale he has suggested. We need not inquire
more closely into the causes of this result. In whatever
convictions it may have originated, the fact is perfectly
evident that he carries with him neither the House of
Commons nor the country in his proposal for cutting
down the two services as excrescences upon the structure
of the nation. But if, instead of directing his attack upon
seamen and marines, he had made a skilful disposition of
his forces, and reserved his onslaught for the shipbuilding
charges, he would have encountered no opponents be-
yond the officials committed to the system—a phalanx
which we have seen, of late days, it is not very difficult
to overthrow. The question is not one of caprice or delu-
sion. We see where the money goes to, even before we
are presented with the bill. The facts before our eyes.
no less than the testimony of good authorities, teach us
that there is gross mismanagement, that mismanagement
brings waste, and waste taxation. Yet, in defiance of all
these plain truths, the mischief is perpetrated still. and
while one party goes after its own inventions, and another
evaporates in platform oaths, the money for which all are
scrambling is glibly voted away.

WHAT TO DO WITH THE SURPLUS.
Literally, the real embarrassment of the Government
has been an ernLarras des richesses; for the chief diffi-
culty of the Cabinet has been what to do with the sur-
plus? Had it been a deficiency
uld on tbe Miniaystar es
had would
have been used to it, for they woly hto
fill up the hole in the Treasury from the public pocket.
but the surplus scans to give as much trouble as the
serfage, for no knows how to dispose of it. Tke
to distribute it stoo vbeercyarlirgihedvishre
firs4,ldca, and a very unhappy one, of the Chancellor of
awtasnobody would feel it— - principlet--
---
thhee Ecxocubnetqryuerib,
which, though very judicious in the cue a
where there is an unpleasant load of taxation
reverse of politic, where a benefit was to be distributed.
Sir C. Wood began dealing with his surplus as a waiter
at Vauxhall deals with a ham—by
attenuated slices, that half the cutting it into pooh
receipients would taste
nothing at all, and the few, who might be susceptible of
the flavour, would only have a relish engendered for
more. by their appetites
being whetted instead of
satisfied.

As the Chancellor of the Exchequer will, probably,
look to our pages
tions for his Bud in the
be exposed course of the w" k fur au gel-
viegw on
Friday, we will get, to .* o public
favour him with a hint or two, for which
he ought to, and perhaps will, be very mush obliged to
us. Instead of making everybody dissatisfied by invit-
ing the whole public to stand outside his cook's shop
and inhale the vapours emanating from the good things
within, and telling us we ought to be as well satisfied as
if we had made a c3pital meal, we strongly recommend
him to give a hearty good feed to those who want it
most, and trust to the patience of the rest to wait till
their turn comes. Let him take off the window-tax at
one blow, and if there is anything more to spare, let
him devote it to introducing a principle of something
like justice into the imposition of the income-tax. As
this arrangement would give nothing to our unfortunate
friends the agriculturists, and as it is unpleasant to hear
co
wouldnst
antlyptrhoepomse to atopelsncho thatlyroa ring of the British Lion,
we noble
but lugubrious ani-
mal's mouth with a lollipop, in the shape of an equalisa-
tion of the poor-rate.
If the Chancellor of the Exchequer would proceed to
the performance of the first part of our suggestion, and
hold out the promise proposed in the last, we will gna-
irantee himself and his Budget a safe passage by the
IParliamentary Train, and a happy delivery at the termi-
nus of the session.—Punch.

The Earl of Besborongh had an interview with Lord
John Rosati yesterday.