The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-09 00:00:00

LAW AND POLICE.

DANGERS OF RAILWAY TRAVELLING.-At Worship-
Areet, Alexander Smith, an engineer, was charged with a
robbery in a railway carriage. It seems that the prose-
cutor was travelling on the North London Railway,
fro-a Broad-street to Homerton, between eleven and
twelve at night, in a second-class carriage, when he was
suddenly attacked by all the other men in the ccmpart-
rnent. He was afraid they would throw him out, but they
contented themselves with robbing him of some silver.
Two of them got out while the train was in motion, but
the prosecutor succeeded in detaining one of his assailants.
The prisoner was remanded for a week.
ACTION AGAINST MR. SIMS REEVES.— A case which
vill excite some interest came on for hearing in the Chel-
tenham County Court lately. The action was brought
by Mr. George Hodson, lessee of the Cheltenham Theatre,
against Mr. Harrison, the agent to Mr. Sims Reeves.
It was said that Mr. Hodson arranged that a
concert should be given at the Royal Old Wells Theatre,
Cheltenham, on the night of the 17th December, at
which the chief singers were tp be Mr. Sims Reeves,
Miss Bankes, Madame Patey-Whytock, and Mr. Patey.
Mr. Reeves came to Cheltenham, and, as was alleged,
stayed at the Plough Hotel. But when a large and
fashionable audience had assembled, and all were on the
tiptoe of expectation, Mr. Harrison, the agent, had
to come forward and announce that the great tenor
was suffering from bronchitis, and was too ill to sing.
Next night, it was said, Mr. Reeves sang at Worcester,
and it was contended, therefore, that he was not ill.
Hence the action. It was now stated that the bailiff of
the court had been unable to serve Mr. Reeves with a
subpcsna, in consequence of his uncertain movements. The
case was adjourned that a special bailiff might be em-
ployed.
EXCISE PROSECUTIONS.—Two prosecutions against the
keepers of refreshment-houses in Panton-street, Hay-
market, have been undertaken by the Excise, for selling
wines, spirits, and tobacco without a license. In both
cases the offence was fully proved by constables who had
visited the houses in plain clothes, and had been supplied
with all they asked for. Mr. Knox said he believed this
sort of thing had been going on for a long while, and
he should inflict the full penalty on both offenders—£so
for spirits, £5O for tobacco, £2O for wine, and £2O for
refreshments.

AN IMPOSTOR.-At Tunbridge Wells Police-court, a
man was charged with feigning to be deaf and dumb. It
was shewn that he called at several houses and wrote on a
slate that he could cast nativities. He was sentenced to
three months' hard labour.

THE BOARD OF WORKS.—At the Bow-street Police-
court Edward Hughes, the chief accountant of the Metro-
politad Board of Works, was charged on remand with em-
bezzling £2,005. The evidence was chiefly gathered from
the prisoner's own private pass-book. The prisoner was
again remanded.

The 111anchester Guardian notes that while the
Reform League as a body has decided to memorialise Parlia-
ment in favour of secret voting, ono of its members, Mr.
Holyoake, has proposed an independent and highly origi-
nal course. Mr. Holyoake justly enough nfl ms that
many quiet people are often scared from the polling bootho
by the scones of violence which constantly disgrace our
contested elections. This ho calls'' enervating decency"
and " deplorable propriety," and ho desires to see a law
passed which shall compel every elector to record his vote,
thus "enforcing among electors recklessness of personal
sacrifices and a manly spirit of fighting and fearlessness."
Our informant thinks if Mr. Holyoake had had a little ex-
perience of an election mob, say in Ireland or Blackburn,
he would alter his opinion about "the manly whit oyht-
_
and fearlessnem" _