The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST Yl6, 1860.

THE NA VY.

A letter from Malta, dated Valetta, Aug. 11, half-
past 2 p.m., says :—" Her Majesty's screw troopship
Megmra, Commander Henderson, arrived here from
Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Gibraltar at 2.15 p.m.
of the 9th inst., bringing out 126 supernumeraries
for the fleet, and small detachments of troops, con-
sisting of Lieut. Tresilian, 3d Buffs ; Lieut. Ward,
22d Regiment ; Ensign the Hon. C. North, Rifle
Brigade; and 29 soldiers and soldiers' wives. The
Megmra left Portsmouth on the 26th ult., and
arrived that evening at Plymouth, where she took
in 1,000 bags of bread for Gibraltar. She left Ply-
mouth on the afternoon of the 28th, making a good
run under steam and canvass to Cape St. Vincent,
and arrived on the afternoon of the 2d of August at
Gibraltar, where she found at anchor her Majesty's
screw-sloop Greyhound, the paddlewheel-sloop
Scourge, and the gun-boat Quail, The Greyhound
left Gibraltar on the morning of the 4th for Malta,
but has not yet made her appearance. The
Megrera left Gibraltar on the same evening, and
arrived at Malta as above-mentioned, making the
passage from England, excluding stoppages, in
rather less than 10 days. She is to leave Malta on
Monday, the 13th inst., for Corfu, and will return
home with invalids. We have at present in port
her Majesty's line-of-battle ships Queen, Cressy,
and St. Jean d'Acre, which are making good their
defects, and they will leave in a day or two for a
cruise off the island; also the gun-boats Assurance
and Boxer, and the despatch boat Caradoc. The
Assurance is under orders to leave for Beyrout, and
to proceed under steam, on Wednesday next, the
15th inst. The Boxer is in dock, under repair, as
is also the sailing tender Kertch, which is being
converted into a floating tank for her Majesty's
ships at Gibraltar. Her Majesty's line-of-battle
ship James Watt is on her way from Candia to
Malta, having carried away the crank pin of her
engine, which will be put to rights there.
The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamers
Valetta and Ceylon left Matta on the Sth
instant, the former for Marseilles, and the latter
for Gibraltar and Southampton, with the China
and India mails. The Alhambra, of the same
company, arrived at 6 30 p.m. on the Bth instant
from N arseilles, with the outward overland portion
of the Bombay mail, and left for Alexandria after
replenishing her coals. A small English screw
steamer called the Ossian arrived on the Bth inst.,
in ballast, from Leith to Patras, and left on the fol-
lowing day for her destination. The second arrival
of French troops for Syria took place on the 9th
inst., by the French packet Borysthene from Mar-
seilles, which brought me 28 officers and 406 men.
She left the same evening for Alexandria and Bey-
rout. A large French steamer, the Amerique, has
just entered port from Marseilles with 1,100 men
and 24 horses of the French expeditionary force to
Syria. The troops are under the command of Gen.
de Beaufort, who, with his staff, immediately on
arrival, proceeded to the palace to pay his respects
to his Excellency the Governor. The Spanish war
steamer General Alava, Capt. de Lopes, arrived to-
day from Marseilles with the following passengers,
on her way to Alexandria :—Capt.-General Jose
M'Crohon and family, Lieut.-Col. A. Perras, Capt.
J. Blake, Commandant E. Arroynel, Brigadier E.
Salcedo, Mr. Armaque, Mr. T. Llesseras, and four
servants. Capt.-General M'Crohon, lately Spanish
Minister of Marine, is proceeding as Governor-
General of the Phillipine Islands to take up that
post. The French packet Indus arrived to-day
from Alexandria, and leaves this evening with a
mail for Marseilles. I understand that his Excel-
lency the Governor has applied to the Naval Com-
mander-in-Chief, through Admiral Codrington, to
have a re-examination, and, if possible, a periodical
survey, made of the dangerous shoal known as
Graham's Shoal,' lying in the Malta Channel, and
greatly in the track of steamers and sailing vessels,
and which, from its changeable origin and charac-
ter, has been so long a source of anxiety to ship-
masters. The last survey given to the public was
made by Lord Frederick Kerr, in her Majesty's
ship Scourge, and published with a lithographic
diagram, showing its surface and soundings in April
1851. At that time it had only 16 feet water; and,
according to Admiral Harvey's communication to
the Chief Secretary, under date the 13th of
April in that year, a considerable decrease of water
and increase of danger appeared from a comparison
with the previous survey."
Vice-Admiral the Hon. Sir R. S. Dundas, K.C.8.,
First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, accompanied by
Rear-Admiral Sir B. W. Walker, Bart., K.C.8.,
Controller to the Navy, yesterday visited Woolwich
dockyard, and went on board the screw steamship
Anson, 91, intended to be launched on the 15th
proximo. Their lordships, accompanied by the
Commodore• Superintendent, the Hon. J. R. Drum-
mond, Commander Hawker, Mr. Thomas, Master
of the Fisgard, Messrs. Thornton and Turner, Master
and Assistant-Master Shipwrights, afterwards pro-
ceeded along the wharfs, inspecting the various
ships under construction, examined the progress of
the Pioneer steamer, in course of fitment, to join (in
command of Master-Commander May) Dr. Living-
stone's Zambesi expedition, and visited the whole
of the ships, with which the basins are at presen
crowded.

The Hornet, 17, screw, Commander Elphinstone,
tried her speed at the measured mile in Stokes•bay
on Tuesday, and realised a mean speed of 8 knots,
This, although a low rate of speed for vessels of her
class, is considerably in excess of what she has
hitherto done.

The Princess Royal, 91, screw, and the Immor-
talite, 51, screw, in the steam basin at Portsmouth,
are both being hurried forward as much as possible
in their fitment for the first class in the steam
reserve.

The screw steam coast guardship Hogue, 60, hav-
ing had her bowsprit taken out, was put into No. 3
dock at Devonport on Tuesday. Her bottom is
very foul, and covered with mussels.
The screw steamship Brunswick, 80, was put out
of No. 3 dock at Keyham on Tuesday, and placed
in the basin.
The screw steamship Howe, 121, at Devonport,
having had her bottom coppered, will be put out
of No. 1 dock to-day.
The Admiral-Superintendent Rear-Admiral Sir
T. Pasley, Bart., went into Plymouth Sound on
Tuesday in his yacht, and paid a visit to the officers
of the Russian frigate General Admiral, which
sailed at 5 p.m. for Syria.
The crew of the screw steara frigate Emerald, 51,
Capt. A. Cumming, will be paid wages to-day.
The topmasts of the training ship Royal Adelaide,
Capt. Hall, at Devonport, were fidded on Tuesday.
The screw steamship Desperate, 8, was placed
under the shears in Keyham basin on Tuesday to
receive some manchinery.
Orders have been received at Devonport to com-
mission the screw steam-sloop Curlew, 9, and the
Espoir, 5. The former is to have a crew of 100
men, and the latter 60.
The new gunboats Heron and Dotterel, from
Liverpool, arrived at Plymouth on Tuesday in tow
of the merchant tug Emperor.
The paddle-wheel steam-sloop Geyser, 6, Com-
mander G. M. Jackson, got up steam on Tuesday
and proceeded to join the fleet with supernumeraries
' The steam storeship Supply, having landed several
cases of mosaic flooring and sculptured marbles exca-
vatedl, by the Rev. Nathan Davis, of the British
, , from the supposed ruins of ancient
Carthage, near
hauled into basin
the Bay'of Tunis, was yesterday
at Woolwich to discharge the
remainder of 'Cargo, consisting of returned stores
from Malta.
The Rhadamanthus, the Dee, the
Britomart, and the wizard `
were likewise tnken
into basin to be repaired, reladen, and brought for-
ward for sea, and to be fitted with their various
The Crew of the Rhada-
requisites for service.
man thus were paid six months,
Wages, and granted
leave on shore.
young gentlemen have
The following successfully
passed through a three days' competitive examin
Con at the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth a 13
candidates were entered for examination—m
essrs.
J. Pet erg. A. C. Canaan, IV. F. Campbell, W. G.
Armstrong, A. Tupman, W. W. Spalding, C. A. L.
Moore, A. M. '1". Gibson, and D. V. Mathias.
The following .appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty: —Commander E. W. Shaw, to
the Curlew, commi;i3sioned; Commander John M.

Jackson, to be Inspecting Commander of the Coast-
guard, vice Shaw ; Lieut. John L. Way, to the
Donegal ; Richard W. Hope, midshipman, to the
Hannibal ; A. E. Parkes, master, to the Curlew ;
J. E. Chapple, master, to the Tartar ; H. C. Sed-
mond, master, to the Firebrand ; J. Southwick,
master's assistant, to the Espoir ; R. Olivey, clerk,
to the St. Vincent; and H. Langworthy, clerk, to
the Impregnable.

•

one►, base he A. silver bugles presented to them by
thr; ladies of Hull, and about three weeks ago the
whole of the men were reviewed at Hesslewood.

SUMMER ASSIZES'.

WESTEUN CIRCUIT.—BRISTOL, Aug. 15.
(Vefore Mr. Justice Keating.)

JACKSON BY NEXT FRIEND V. WILLIAMSON.-
BREAC•H OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE.

Mr. Collier, Q.C., and Mr. Coleridge were for the
plaintiff ; Mr. Carter and Mr. Cole for the defence.
Mr. Coleridge opened the pleadings. The action
wv s for a breach of promise of marriage. The de-
fendant pleadeil first, that he did not promise ; and
second, that the plaintiff had been guilty of lewd
and unchaste co nduct, whereby ho was released.
Mr. Collier, in stating the case, said the plaintiff
was a young girl of only seventeen years of age.
Her father was a respectable man—a master car-
penter, living in Holborn ; he had several chil-
dren,, and had brought them up respectably. He
and his wife were both very honest persons, al-
though in a humblesphere of life. The defendant,
Mr. Williamson, was a victualler, and in 1856 he
was occupying a house called the Sugar Loaf, in
King-street, Drury-lane, London. That house
was. burnt down, and the plaintiff's father
being employed upon the rebuilding of it, he
formed an acquaintance with the defendant, who
at that time was a married man. They visited and
deank tea together. At that time the plaintiff was
only 13 years old. In 1857 Mr. Williamson's wife
died, and he went out of business for a time ; but
esally in 1858 he went into business again at a
tavern called the Three Tuns, New-street, Fetter-
lane. At this time the plaintiff was about 15 years
of sag e and the defendant proposed to her parents
that ;he should come and live with him as a sort
of upper servant or barmaid. The parents had a
good deal of objection to this; they did not like to
part with so young a girl, nor did they exactly ap-
prove of her going to live at a public-house. How-
ever defendant said he would take the same care
of her as if she was his own child, and would be a
father to her, and yielding to those importunities,
her parents unfortunately allowed her to go into
his service. That proved the plaintiff's ruin. In
a very short time the defendant seduced her under
a promise ,ef marriage. The poor girl for a long
time contrived to conceal her shame, and it was
not until she had been enciente several months
that her mother discovered the condition in which
she was. Her parents had all along relied on the
defendant's promise to behave to her as a father,
and when they discovered what had happened they
were of course greatly distressed. The mother
called upon the defendant to upbraid him with his
gross conduct, and he said, " Oh, don't think any-
thing of it. I always intended to marry your
daughter, and shall do so now." Upon hearing
that, the good woman's grief was a good deal
moderated. Subsequently, however, the father
went to him, when he renewed the promise, and
said the marriage should take place almost imme-
diately. Believing in his promises, the poor girl
made preparations for her wedding. The defen-
dant did not get the ring or publish the banns,
as he had promised, and the poor 'girl was
confined. After that he began to make excuses,
and when the father called on him after her
, confinement, and asked him to fulfil his promise,
he said, " Oh, she is too young." He visited
her several times after this, and repeated his
promise to marry. As he did not keep his
promise, the girl wrote to ask him to give her
a character, to enable her to get a situation if
he did not intend to make her his wife. He (Mr.
Collier) would now read the defendant's answer.
It was in these words—" This is to certify that
Elizabeth Jackson lived with me as barmaid, and I
found her strictly sober, honest, and industrious.
Grove-house, Kennington." The learned counsel
then proceeded to comment severely on the line of
defence adopted, which was adding insult to the
injury ho had inflicted, end was without foundation.
The plaintiff's case having closed,
Mr. Carter said he had to ask his lordship to
postpone the cause. He was instructed that Vincent,
who had been brought down from London as a
witness for the defence, had been threatened by the
plaintiff's party, and had been effectually got out
of the way. _ _

Mr. Collier said he could believe that 'Vincent
would not appear, but not for the reason stated.
Mr. Carter said the witness had been brought
down to prove the plea on the record. As he was
instructed, he had been threatened by the plaintiff's
attorney.

The attorney, Mr. Hutchins, indignantly denied
that he had seen the man.

Mr. Justice Keating—Don't let us have a scer.e.
It is right that I should state that I am not yielding
to Mr. Carter's application, because no proof has
been offered of what is suggested, and I am sure
the jury, until it is proved by evidence, will dismiss
the imputation from their minds. It is about the
time, however, at which I proposed to rise, and we
will see what the morning will produce.
Mr. Carter said he hoped to find the witness by
the morning, and the court then rose.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT—LIVERPOOL, Aug. 15.
Mr. Baron Martin took his seat on the bench in
the Crown Court this morning at 9 o'clock.
EMBEZZLEMENT AT LIVERPOOL.
Robert Brew Anderson, a person of gentlemanly
appearance, in the 68th year of his age, formerly
the manager of the Northern Hospital, Liverpool,
pleaded guilty to having forged and uttered several
receipts for money, with intent to defraud the
'trustees of that institution. There were two other
true bills found against the prisoner for similar
offences, to each of which he also pleaded guilty.
Mr. Bolton, for the prisoner, begged to direct the
attention of his lordship to one or two points in the
case. The prisoner had, it was true, pleaded guilty
to forging and uttering; but it would be seen that
the offence was more a case of embezzlement than
forgery ; indeed, it was forgery to cover embezzle-
ments. The prisoner, at the time he committed
th is offence, was the general manager of the Northern
Hospital ; and as such had the sole control of al:
the funds. He had received several sums and had
not accounted for them.
His Lordship—l know all the facts of this case
from the depositions.
Mr. Bolton—lt will be seen that since the charge
was made against the prisoner he has made every
restitution he could. It was true he had committed
forgery for the purpose of covering his embezzle-
ments, and not for the purpose of fraud. The pri-
soner had returned in the first instance £lOO, thus
giving up all he had. There were large sums pass-
ing through his hands, and from the great benefit
that the institution had gained from the prisoner's
services and exertions, he (Mr. Bolton) was sure
that the trustees were more than compensated for
the sums (about £900) he was deficient. The pri-
soner was a man with a family, having a sick wife,
and had only a salary of £lOO. This was not suf-
ficient to enable him to associate with persons from
whom benefit might arise to the infirmary ; and it
was to be regretted that the trustees had not remu-
nerated his services better. But the prisoner had
pleaded guilty, and he (Mr. Bolton). in his name,
begged the court to look mercifully upon him. Tne
prisoner entirely threw himself on his lordship's

mercy.
His lordship, in passing sentence upon the pri-
soner, said there was one observation made by the
learned counsel in which he perfectly agreed, namely,
that the crime to which he had pleaded guilty was
more like embezzlement than forgery, but it was
embezzlement of the worst kind. He hardly knew
of a case with worse features than that of a person,
while professing to be engaged in the collection
of money fob' a charitable institution, to ap-
propriate such moneys to his own purposes. It
could not be permitted for a person to go about
collecting moneys, sometimes from poor persons
who wished to do charitable acts, to appropriate
them to his own use, and to cover his own defalca-
tions. This was as bad a case as it was possible to
conceive, and there was no doubt but that it would
carry with it its own punishment in a certain de-
gree ; but it could not be allowed to go unpunished
by th law. His lordship then sentenced the pri-
soner to 15 months' imprisonment, with hard
labour.
The prisoner was then removed from the dock.
TIIE DRICKM AKERS' STRIKE AT OLDIIAM.-CHARGE.
OF MURDER.
James APlutyre, 34, and Michael Brett, 27, de-
scribed in the calendar as briekmakers, were in-
dicted for having, on the 27th of June last, caused
the death of Richard Richards, a navvie, at Old-
ham.

Dr. Wheeler, Q.C., (with whom was Mr. Fearn-
ley), appeared for the prosecution ; and Mr. Hig-
gins dcfended the prisoners.
In this case, it appeared from the' evidence of the
several witnesses called, that on the morning of the
day in question the two prisoners were at work in
a brickfield belonging to Mr. Gill, in Oldham
About noon they went to a public-house, the Mare
and Foal, where they had some drink. At this
period there was a strike amongst the brickmakers,
but beyond the fact that such an event had taken
place, it did not interfere with the case, except that
the deceased was dressed in the same girl) as the
brickmakers, and hone?, it might be that he was
mistaken for one of that class. A boy named Ker-
shaw 'was assisting them in the field, and went
with the two prisoners to the public-house. After
being in the tap-room for a short time, the deceased,
who was passing along the road, was called to the
public house by the prisoner M'lntyre and asked to
have a glass of ale. He said he had no objection,
and a glass of ale was handed to him, and, while he
was hi the act of drinking it, the glass was dashed
out of his hands by M'lntyre, he was knocked down,

kicked about the head and face, and received such
injuries that he died on the 10th of July of lock-
jaw from the effects of the wounds he had received.
The lad (Kershaw) swore on the present occasion
that it was the prisoner M'latyre who had knocked
the deceased down, and that the other prisoner
(Brett.) had kicked him about the head and face
while he was on the ground, but in cross-examina-
tion the witness admitted that on a previous oc-
casion, when before the magistrates, he had sworn
that he did not know who had struck the deceased.
The jury retired, and after being in consultation
for three-quarters of an hour returned a verdict of
not guilty against each prisoner.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.-Aug. 15.

OLD COURT.
Elizabeth Weekstead, 30 was charged with
feloniously attempting to drown her child, Mary
Ann Weekstead, with intent to murder her.
Mr. Lilley conducted the prosecution.
This case was one of a very dreadful character.
It appeared that the prisoner was an Irishwoman,
and that she was a soldier's widow, aria
received a pension, and that the child in ques-
tion was an illegitimate one, five months old. On
the sth of July the prisoner received her pension,
and she came home to her residence in Hooper-
street, Westminster-road, in a mad state of
drunkenness, and behaved very violently to'several
people who were in the house, and also threw the
child about in her own room. After this the child
got into the yard at the back of the house, and it
began to cry, and the prisoner exclaimed " You
-- bastard, I'll do for you," and jumped out of a
window into the yard, and took up the child and
threw it with great violence upon the ground. A
young man, named Patrick Wall, who lived next
door ran up and picked up the child. Before she
threw it down the prisoner struck the child a blow
with her clenched fist on the head, and when Wall
had taken the infant from her she asked him to give
it to her, and said she would take it indoors. He
gave her the child, and the moment the prisoner
had possession of it she ran to the water-butt that
was in the yard, and in which there was about
three feet in depth of water, and threw the child in
head-foremost and walked away. The child was
rescued immediately by the witness Wall, and the
prisoner exclaimed, "Bring the young -- in; I
will do for it on the quiet." The prisoner then fas-
tened herself in her own room, and it was broken
open by a female neighbour, who found her lying
on the ground with her hair all about her face, and
upon her inquiring what she had been doing to the
poor child, the prisoner rushed at her and stabbed
her in the face with a knife.
Evidence was also given that when the prisoner
was delivered of this unfortunate child she said that
she only wished it was dead, and she appeared to be
afraid that her having the child would be the
means of causing her to lose her pension; The in-
fant, it appeared, had not suffered any material in-
jury from the brutal conduct of the prisoner, and
it was stated that it was thriving and doing well.
The witnesses for the prosecution admitted, in
answer to questions put by the prisoner, that they
, had not seen her in any way illuse the child before
this occurrence, and that she generally treated it
kindly.
The officer who apprehended the prisoner said
that she acted very violently, appeared like a mad
woman. He took the child to Mr. Wagstaffe, a
surgeon, and observed that there was a lump on its
head as large as a hen's egg.
The prisoner, when before the magistrate, made
a statement to the effect that she did not know
what she was about on the day in question, and she
now put in a written paper in her defence, in which
she stated that she was the widow of a soldier who
lost his life in the Crimea, and that she received a
pension from Government as his widow. The child
in question, she said, belonged to another soldier,
who had promised to marry her, and would have
done so if his regiment had not been ordered
to India. With regard to the offence of which slie
was accused, she said that she went with some
other soldiers' widows to get her pension, and they
induced her to drink some spirits, to which she was
unaccustomed, and she became mad drunk and did
not know what she did.
Mr. Justice Williams summed up, and
The jury returned a verdict of guilty, but re-
commended the prisoner to mercy on account of
her previous kind treatment of the child.
The learned Judge, in passing sentence, said
that it was a most melancholy case. The prisoner
appeared by drink to have transformed herself
from a kind mother to a wild beast, and notwith-
standing the recommendation to mercy of the jury
he felt compelled to pass upon her a severe sen-
tence, and to direct that she should be kept in
penal servitude fol. the space of three years.
The prisoner, when the sentence was pronounced,
commenced screaming and howling, and wanted to
know whether her" dear child" would be allowed
to be with her, and she was forced out of the dock
by the gaolers in attendance.
Mary Allen, 40, was charged with unlawfully
and maliciously assaulting Caroline Lefevre. In
other counts of the indictment the prisoner was
charged with assaulting the prosecutrix and causing
her bodily harm.
Mr. Lilley
cacsoentdou tetLe jury
edthesaidp
rtohsee cfuatcitosni,ie and
shouldin
opening the
have to lay before them were of such a nature as
must necessarily excite the sympathy of every one
who heard them, and ;:e, therefore, requested them
not to allow their feelings to prevail unfairly against
the prisoner, but that they would look calmly at
the evidence which will be laid before them, and
give their verdict uninfluenced by the prejudice
that must naturally be created by some of the facts
that would be deposed to.
The circumstances of this case have been very
recently and very fully Isid before the public. The
prisoner was a schoolna stress in Redcross-street,
Southwark, and it appeased that about three years
ago, Caroline Lefevre, the prosecutrix, a child nine
years old, the daughter of a labourer in the service
of Messrs. Barclay 'and Co., was sent to the pri-
soner's school, and after being there about two years,
she expressed a desire that the child should not any
longer come to her as a scholar, but that she should
be with her as a companies. From this time there
appeared to be no doubt that the prisoner had
treated the poor child with the greatest possible
cruelty, that she was in the habit of beating her
with a cane and a thick stick, which she actually
broke while assaulting her, and which stick was
found in the prisoner's house with blood upon it, and
, upon one occasion, for some trifling fault, she burnt
her on the hand and the neck withal ot iron. When
she was taken away she was in a most dreadful
state, her body and arms being covered with bruises
and wounds, one of the latter at the back of the
head being of a very extensive character.
Caroline Lefevre, the poor child whose treatment
was the subject of inquiry, deposed to the various
acts of cruelty she had received from the prisoner,
and she also said that one day the prisoner made
her fetch the pan that was in the school-room, and
she insisted upon her eating some of the filth that
was in it, and placed a small quantity in her mouth.
She spat it out, and the prisoner then told her that
:f she did not swallow some, she would poke it down
her throat with a stick, and in consequence of this
threat she did swallow some. (This statement, as
may naturally be imagined,. caused considerable sen-
sation in the court.) She also stated that the pri-
soner not only struck her with the cane and the
stick, but that she had also struck her with a poker
and a fire shovel.

The prisoner inquired of the witness how she
came by the injury at the back of her head.
The child in a most artless manner replied,
" You did it, g►overness." She then burst into tears,
and evidently entertained a strong feeling of terror
of the prisoner.

Mr. Justice Williams (to the prosecutrix)--Why
did you not tell your father when you went home
how you was treated ?

She replied—l was afraid to do so, because I
knew I had to go back to my governess.
Several neighbours of the prisoner were examined,
and they proved that upon many occasions they
had seen her beat the poor child in a most brutal
manner, and that when she bled, from the injuries
she received, the prisoner told her to go and wash
herself at the water-tap.
One Of the witnesses was asked by the learned
judge why she did not apply to the authorities, or
give some informatipn as to the conduct of the
prisoner towards the child, and she replied that the
neighbours used to talk upon the subject, but they
appeared to think that if they interfered they would
only be told to mind :heir own business.
The prisoner, whet called upon for her defence,
put in a written paper, in which she asserted that
the prosecutrix was a very naughty child, and
addicted to thieving and other bad habits, and that
she punished her in crder to cure her of her bad
propensities, but only did so moderately. She did
not appear to (icily that she had forced the child to
eat the filth, but expliined that the reason for her
doing so was that the child had put some into her
(prisoner's) plate wQe her back was turned one
day for a shot t period at dinner time, and that she
thought she would serve her the same., She also
admitted that the chAd was burned one day, but
said that she was ironnig at the time, and the child
Per.isted in pulling the mat upon which she rubbed
the iron away front h3r, and she was accidentally
burned while doing so.
The jury found the prisoner guilty of the whole
charge contained in the indictment.

The learned judge, in passing sentence upon the
prisoner, said that in all his experience he did not
remember any case where one human being ap-
peared to have acted with so much cruelty to
another as she appeared to have acted towards this

poor child. He therefore felt himself called upon
to inflict the full punishment fixed by the law for
such an offence, which was, that she be imprisoned
and kept to hard labour for three years.

P OLI 00 INTEL LICENCE-Avy. 15.

-

GUILDHALL.—ROBBERY OF £2OO BY A BOY.
—James Daniel O'Connell, about 15 years of age,
in the employ of Messrs. Ridsdale and Co., solici-
tors, of '5, Gray's Inn-square, was charged before
Alderman Abbiss with absconding with £2OO be-
longing to his masters.

Mr. Francis J. Ridsdale said—The prisoner has
been in our employ rather more than a year and a
half. On Friday last I gave him, between four and
five o'clock in the afternoon, the sum of £3OO in
Bank of England notes to pay into Messrs. Childs'
bank, at Temple-bar, to our account. There were
seven notes in all, consisting of one for £lOO, No.
94,226 ; one for £5O, No. 34,526 ; one for £5O, No.
34,787 ; one for £5O, No. 34,600 ; one for £2O, No.
19,449 ; one for £2O, No. 58,561; and one for £lO,
No. 34,446. I also gave him a cheque for £24 6s.
10d., making in all £324, 16s. 10d. He never re-
turned, and I have not seen him since until this
morning. I gave him our bankers' pass-book at
the same time with the money.
Mr. Josiah Butler, clerk to Messrs. Child and Co.,
the bankers, said the prisoner came to our bank on
Friday afternoon last, a little before five o'clock,
and handed me the pass-book produced. He also
gave me a Bank of England note for £5O, No.
34,526; two of £2O each, Nos. 19,449 and 58,561 ;
one for £lO, No. 94,446 ; and a cheque for £24 16s.
10d. The amount of the notes he gave was entered
on the back of the cheque, and, with the latter,
made up the sum of £124 16s. 10d., which he paid
into our bank to Messrs. Ridsdale's account, I
entered the amount in the pass-book, and he then
desired me to give him change for three bank notes,
one for £lOO, No. 94,226 ; one for £5O, No. 34,600 ;
and one for £5O, No. 34,787. I asked him how he
would have it, and he said he would take £lOO in
£lO notes, £5O in £5 notes, and £5O in sovereigns.
I told him it was usual for customers to write
their names on the back of the notes when they
required change, and asked him why he had not
done it, and he replied that it was all right, as they
wanted change in the office. Before giving the
change I referred to our senior clerk, who directed
me to pay the prisoner if I knew him as coming
from Messrs. Ridsdale's, and knowing the prisoner
was in the habit of paying in money on account of
Messrs. Ridsdale's firm, I gave him the change as
he wished, consisting of ten £lO notes, Nos. 84,138
to 84,147, both inclusive; ten £5 notes, Nos. 79,338
to 79,347, both inclusive; and £5O in gold. He
counted the notes, and remarked that there were
only nine £lO notes. I told him he could not see,
upon which he said he had something in his eye,
and upon counting them a second time, he found
them correct.

A fashionably-attired young man, who declined
the usual oath, on the plea that he was a member
of the Society of Friends, declared in the prescribed
form, and "solemnly and sincerely affirmed" that
his name was Bowden, and said, the prisoner came
to my father's shop on Friday afternoon, and pur-
chased some hosiery goods, which ho desired might
be packed in a black leather bag. He asked per-
mission to change his shirt, for which purpose I
took him up stairs to a room on the second floor.
He gave me three sovereigns to pay for the articles
he had bought, and when he came down stairs I
gave him the change, which was 14s. 3d. I did not
go into the room again until I received a letter from
him on Monday last, dated from the Station Hotel,
Hull, stating that he had leftbehind him a banker's
pass-book, containing £5O in bank-notes, and re-
questing me to forward it to him without delay, as
he had to pay the money away. He said in the let-
ter that he remembered hearing something drop,
which he believed must have been the pass-book,
which he said I would find under the looking-glass
stand. I looked as he directed, and found the pass-
book, already produced, and in the pocket of it I
found ten £5 notes, Nos. 79,338 to 79,347 inclusive.
The prisoner also left behind him the things which
he took off while changing his clothes, and he told
he would send for them. I asked him his name,
and, after some hesitation, he said it was Smith.
Soon after I received the letter Hann, the officer,
called, and I showed it to him.
James Hann, a City officer, said—On receiving
information of the robbery, I made inquiries, and
ascertained that the prisoner was seen entering Mr
Bowden's shop about five o'clock on Friday after-
noon, and on going there on Monday morning I
saw the letter received from the prisoner. I imme-
diately
telegraphed to Hull, directing the police
there to apprehend the prisoner, and I wont down
the same night and found the prisoner in custody.
Mr. Ridsdale, jun., went down with me, and when
he charged the prisoner with stealing £2OO, the
latter said he was very sorry, but that he had no
intention of stealing them when Mr. Ridsdale en-
trusted the notes to him. He said it never occurred '
to him to steal the notes until he got to the end
of Chancery-lane. He then added that he paid in
£lOO in notes and a cheque for £24 odd, and re-
ceived the change for the other notes as already
described. He was searched by the Hull police,
and seven £lO notes, £3B 43. 6d. in money, a silver
watch (Frodsham's make), and a gold guard, a gold
and cameo pin, a set of three gold and cameo studs,
a meerschaum pipe, tobacco pouch, portemonnaie,
and pocket-book were found upon, him, all of which
he said were purchased with the proceeds of the
robbery.

Ili; being the whole of the evidence,
Alderman Abbiss cautioned the prisoner, who
had declined to cross-examine the witnesses, and
asked him if he wished to say anything in answer
to the charge ?
The prisoner said he was very sorry. He had
nothing to say but that he was guilty, and he hoped
the things he had bought with the money he had
stolen would be given up to the prosecutor.
The prisoner was then fully committed for trial.
- CAUTION TO PAWNBROKERS.—Misses Ann and.
Barbara Reeve, who carry on the business of pawn-
brokers in Redcross-street, were summoned for not
complying with the Act of Parliament which re-
quires that the name and address of every person
pledging property shall be legibly written upon the
ticket referring to such property.
Mr. Robert Beech said his object in laying the
present complaint was not to recover the goods .
pledge, or for any other purpose timn the public
good. The Act of Parliament had expressly pro-
vided that the address of every person pledging
property should appear on the ticket,. and that was
the only check or means of tracing cases where
the property had been stolen the parties pawning it.
In .the present instance his housekeeper had been
robbing him to a considerable extent, and although
he had about a dozen tickets relating to property
belonging to him which
..his housekeeper had
pledged at the shop of the defendants, not one of
those tickets had any written address upon it. At
the earnest solicitation of the housekeeper he had
been induced to forego prosecuting her but his duty to
the public rendered it necessary that he should bring
the matter under the notice of the magistrates, in
order that the very wholesome provisions of the
act of Parliament might be enforced.
The foreman to the defendants said that the
omission complained of was the result of careless-
ness on the part of the young man who had taken
in the pledges. He had been repeatedly cautioned
about it, and was HOW about to be discharged in
consequence.

Alderman Abbiss said—lf it had occurred in a
single ticket only, he should have considered it
was merely an accidental omission ; but, from the
tickets produced, it appeared to him to be rather
the rule than the exception. It was most important
that the act of Parliament should be strictly en-
forced, otherwise there would be no check at all in
the disposal of stolen property, or clue whereby to
trace the persons pledging it. He therefore fined
the defendants 40s. and costs, which was imme-
diately paid.

HAMMERSMITH.—DOINGS IN THE.KITCIIEN.
. —Sarah Hogsfiesh, a middle-aged woman, described
as a cook, was placed in the dock before Mr. Ing-
ham, charged with robbing her master, Capt. Wm.
Thomas Hall, of No. 5, Stanley crescent, Notting-
hill, under the following singular circumstances :
Mr. Martin defended the prisoner.
Abraham Goldsmith, footman in the service of
Capt. Hall, stated that the prisoner had been cook
in the same family for the last 12 months, and he
had seen her take things, such as bread and meat,
out of the house. Tier son had been in the habit of
coming to the house to dinner. The last time was
on Sunday week, and he then sat down to the •
table with the rest of the servants. The cook carved
for him and also for the rest. He had seen him
there before, as many as a dozen times or more.
Witness believed the prisoner did not inform her
master or mistress of her son dining with them in
the kitchen. The food he had seen her take out
was sufficient for a reasonable person's dinner. He
had seen her take it away once within the last fort-
night, and on two or three occasions before. He
first told his master on Tuesday. He had had no
quarrel with the cook.
In cross-examination, the witness said on Tues•
day he was called to reveal alt he knew of the pro-
ceedings in the kitchen. He had heard that the
prisoner gave warning to leave on Monday week.
The last time he saw her take food from the house
was either on Thursday or Friday in last week
since she had given warning.
William Scott, coachman to Capt. Hall, said he
had seen the son dining in the kitchen frequently.
It was pretty nearly every Sunday for some months
past. He made a communication to his master on •