The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-15 00:00:00

THAMES.

STEALING LlNEN.—William Lewis, a sanctified-looking
fellow, about 23 years of age, described as a ahipirright,
who was formerly a distributor of religious tracts, and
Thomas Cooper, a rough-looking and neglected boy, aged
15, were brought before Mr. Selfe, charged with stealing •
quantity of linen from a yard in the rear of the house
3, William-terrace, East India-road, Poplar.
Abbott, a police-constable, No. 322 K, said that he met
the prisoners at half-past one o'clock this morning, near
Limekouse Church, at the eastern end of Commercial-
road. Lewis was carrying a bundle of linen. He stopped
the prisoners, and asked Lewis whore he had obtained the
linen, and where he intendei to carry it to at that
time of the morning. Lewis pointed towards White-
chapel, and said that was where he obtained
the linen. Cooper said, " Why don't you tell the truth,
and say where you got the linen from." He took the pri-
, sonars to the station-house, and Lewis then said he took
the linen out of a yard in the rear of a house at the corner
of William-street, occupied by Mr. Wyatt.
Mr. G. Wyatt, clerk to Young, Son, and Magnay, iden•
tified the bundle of linen, consisting of a sheet, a tablecloth,
a towel, two shirts, three night-gowns, two chemises, and
a bolster cover. The clothes' lines in the yard on which
the linen was hanging were lowered last night, and the
street door was locked and barred. Thismorning he found
the door unbarred and the linen gone. The prisoner Lewis
was the son of a respectable woman living two doors front
him, but had lately become a grpat reprobate.
The prisoner pleaded guilty to the charge, and Mr. Selfe
put some questions to the boy, who said he had been in the
Bethnal-green Workhouse a year ago, and left it, and had
been since wandering about the streets, getting his living
how he could. He met Lewis at a coffee-stall last night,
and he took him to Poplar, put him over a wall into the
prosecutor's garden, and proposed to break into and plun-
der his (Lewis's) mother's house, and plunder it of a box of
ivory, money, and other valuables. There was •
light in the back-room, and Lewis said it would
not be safe to commit a burglary at his mother's
house, and ho took the linen off the lines in Mr. Wyatt's
yard, passed through the yard and unbarred the street door.
Lewis gave him the linen to carry, and soon afterwards took
the bundle from him and carried it until stopped by the
constable.

Mr. Selfe—Have you any parents living ?
Cooper—My mother is dead, and my father ran away
from the Bethnal Green workhouse two years ago, and I
have not seen him since.

Mr. Selfe—Well, Lewis, what have you to may to this
boy's statement?

Lewis hung his head but made no reply.
Mr. SGlfe sentenced Lewis to six months' imprisonment,
with hard labour, and Cooper to bo sent to Fulham School
for three years.

-----_—__—_-
PoßTsmounr, Feb.—A sudden squall of wind
and snow burst over here yesterday about five p.m.
triter portion of a wall in the dockyard, which had bees
erected to prevent the escape of convicts in that direction,
was blown into the street adjoining, through which at the
time luckily no one was passing. No damage was don*
beyond the destruction a the wall. In the harbour at
accident occurred nearly attended with a loss of life. A
man-of-war's boat was leaving the Asia steam guardshill
for the Duke of Wellington, lying up the harbour, ell:
before getting clear of the ship's lee, hoisted the lug ga.%
On clearing the bow of the ship the whole force of the aqui"'
which was at that moment rushing down the harbenri
struck the boat's sail, and instantly capsised her. FoT:tos
the six men in the boat got on her keel, and held on 1,11"ov,
boat came to their rescue. The tvro remaining inert
picked up out of the water at the same time by a boat whiff
had put off from the Asia on witnestang the accident.