The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-07 00:00:00

ornE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 7, 1860.

OLICE INTELLIGENCE—Feb. 6.

MANSION-HOUSE.----A foreigner, who gave
the name of Oralia Peake, but who had been pre-
viously accused on more than one occasion under
other names, was charged with stealing a diamond
pin, value £3 35., from Mr. Richard Taylor, of 147,
Strand, bookseller.
The prosecutor said he was looking in a window
in Cheapside, when he felt a pull at his scarf, and
on looking round, saw the prisoner withdrawing his
hand. Immediately after he found that his scarf-
pin was gone, and consequently he collared the pri-
soner, who, passing his hand behind him, dropped
the pin upon the pavement. Witness held the pri-
soner till a policeman came up, who took the pri- 1
soner into custody, while a lady who had picked up
the pin handed it to witness.
Sophia Carter said she saw the prisoner put his
hand behind him holding out the pin, as if to pass
it to a confederate, but as no one took it he dropped
it on the pavement. Several boys began to scramble
for it, but placing her foot upon it, she kept it there
till she had an opportunity of picking it up, and
then gave it to Mr. Taylor.
The policeman who apprehended the prisoner said
he found on him only three farthings and a knife.
The prisoner, although long-resident here, af-
fected to be ignorant of the English language, and
an interpreter was, therefore, employed, through
whom the prisoner impudently denied that he
touched the pin, or thought of doing so.
Mr. Alderman Hale inquired whether anything
was known about him.

Mr. Goodman (chief clerk) said, yes, he had been
there repeatedly, and some gentlemen a:, one time
interested themselves in him so far as to endeavour
to get him restored to his native country, but as he
was a native of Rome, and had been banished as a
political offender they failed in this, and the pri-
soner had ever since favoured London by making it
the scene of his predatory operations, for which he
had been several times imprisoned.
Mr. Alderman Hale said be would pnt a stop to
the prisoner's operations for a time by committing
him for trial.

BOW-STREET,—Henry Taylor, a Post-office
letter-carrier and sorter, at a salary of £BO a year,
was committed for trial on a charge of stealing
three letters, containing, respectively, a miniature
portrait, a box of pills, and a piece of knitting,
which had come into his possession in the course of
his duties at the General Post-office.

On Saturday the prisoner was detected by Smee,
the police officer attached to the General Post-
office, in the act of destroyir.g and concealing the
envelopes of several letters, and appropriating their
contents. He was taken into custody, and the
letters being traced by means of the fragments of
the envelopes (which were put together so as to
render the addresses legible), the owners of the
three articles mentioned were discovered, and the
property identified. At his lodgings were found
several pocketbooks, of the description generally
used for Christmas and New Year's presents, all of
which had evidently passed through the post, the
impressed stamp being plainly legible on the
leather covers, as if it had penetrated the envelopes
in which they had been enclosed.

WESTMINSTER.—Owen Gullivan, an itine-
rant fishmonger, was charged with violently stab-
bing and wounding his wife Eliza in the throat.
The prosecutrix, who appeared in so weak a state
as to be scarcely able to give evidence, said that on
Saturday night she went to Regent-street, West-
minster, where she met her husband with his
barrow crying bis fish for sale. She asked him
how he got on, when he complained of being very
unsuccessful, and swore at her loudly. As he
turned directly, with the intention as she thought
of going home, she followed him to give him the key,
which he took. Shortly after that he took some-
thing from his barrow, immediately upon which he
hurried towards her, and without utteringa word she
felt that he had given her a blow in the neck. It
was with a knife, and she became insensible and
knew nothing more. A very large knife with a
long, sharp blade, such as is used by hawkers of
fish, was here produced and identified by the pro-
secutrix as the one carried by her husband with
his barrow.

James Tanner, a clerk, confirmed this statement.
He saw the man suddenly rush towards the woman,
who immediately afterwards cried out " Murder!
I'm stabbed," and on going to her he found her
bleeding profusely from a wound in the throat.
John O'Brien, 269 B, proved apprehending the
prisoner, who said he was very sorry.
A certificate was handed in from Mr. William
Peale, of Marsham-street, Westminster, which
stated that he had examined the complainant, and
found that she had a long incised wound on the
neck, inflicted by some sharp instrument. She had
lost a considerable quantity of blood, and the wound
might have proved fatal.
The prisoner was remanded for a week.
John Jackson and John Davenport, privates in
the Grenadier Guards, were charged with the fol-
lowing gross outrages.
Emma Rigalsford, 11, Lower Simmonds-street,
Chelsea, a very respectable looking young woman
of 19, said that, between 11 and 12 on Sunday
night, she and her father and mother had just loft
Buckingham-gate, and were crossing towards James-
street, when being overtaken by rain, her father
stopped behind to put her mother's cloak over her
head, and complainant got a few yards in advance.
At that moment Jackson came up, laid hold of her,
and tried to turn her cloths over her head; she
screamed out and got away from him, and was about
to run across to her father and mother when both
the defendants caught her together and threw her
down. Her fattier came up, when they attempted
to strike him. He called for the police, and Daven-
port, taking off his belt, was about to use
it, when, seeing a policeman coming up, he put it
on again.
The mother and Elizabeth Mitchell, a young wo-
man who was passing. confirmed this account. The
defendants used very bad language to the mother,
and while the 'father was stooping to pick up his
hat, which they had knocked off, they pushed him
down in the mud, and served the mother the same,
and the latter and the daughter's clothes were so
spoiled that they could put none of them on that
morning. Mitchell added, that she heard Daven-
port ask a gentleman to give him the price of a
pot of beer. or quartern of gin. The gentleman re-
fused to do so, when Davenport said that if he did
not comply with his request he would give him
" domino" with his belt, which he was flourishing
at the time in his hand. The gentleman ran away
and the soldier after him for some distance, when
he returned to his comrade, and then the attack
was made upon complainant.
The police proved that both the defendants were
drunk. Jackson walked quietly to the station ;
but Davenport threatened to knock somebody's
brains out.

Mr. Paynter wondered what the sentry and
picket at Buckingham Palace and Wellington Bar-
racks could have been about while this was going
on ; he should have thought, if there had been any
place in London free from risks of this sort, it would
have been the particular spot where this affair had
occurred. One would have conjectured that at the
entrance of the Queen's Palace no outrage of this
sort could have been committed without the inter-
ference of the sentry or picket.
The constable said the disturbance was so great
that he had heard the cries from a distance.

The sergeant of the Grenadiers who was present
said, that if the sentry had been on the alert the
soldiers would have been taken by the picket.
Davenport said he never touched the girl. The
other prisoner made no reply.
Mr. Paynter said they had both disgraced the
uniform they wore by the commission of this gross
outrage. It was disgraceful that a respectable girl
returning •home with her parents on a Sunday
night could not pass along the streets without being
attacked by soldiers in this shameful manner, It
was fortunate for them that they had not used
their belts.

Davenport was committed for two months, and
Jackson for one, with herd labour, in the House of
Correction.

WORSHIP-STREET.---Edward Leach Lemke,
a middle-aged man of respectable appearance, was
brought up for final examination, charged with
fraud.
The prisoner,
it was detailed some weeks since,
hadf or along time been in the habit of calling
upon tradesmen and others, and. representingl him-
selfwe as the secretary or officer of aetraldeeets,
approtedction
society in the City, offered to
o
owed
dg
thtoemth. e,mln, anthdissuweayleghaellwyatshep
e statedl' n
bgy ;!'lr.
Lewis, of Ely-place, for the prosecution, to have,
recAved more than £2OO, withoat benefit to any_
body but himself, and, haying been given into cas-
tody by one person whom he had so defrauded,
other cases were gone into against hire, and, on his
being remanded to the House of Detention, Was
there struck with paralysis, presenting, on his being
next brought up, supported by his wife and one of
the officers, a most miserable and helpless appear-
ance. He himself entreated mercy, saying the
surgeon of the gaol had assured him he would n ever
recover, but the magistrate had a doubt of this,
and, the prisoner having formally pleaded
guilty to one of the minor charges—minor, that is
to say, as to the amount he had_ obtained—he was
again remanded for the f act he.alleged to be more
positively ascertained.
The prisoner was no-A. apparently
as helpless as
before, and a cer',ficato was handed to the
Bench' from the
4mefficalofficer of the House of

Detention, stating that the prisoner's illness
was not assumed, and that he would in all likeli-
hood continue in the same state he was then in.

The gentleman attending for the society very
much regretted to hear this, but the object in pro-
lecutinff the prisoner, it was obvious, had only been
for the joint protection of the association the name
of which the prisoner had been so injuriously using
and of the public.
The magistrate saw this in the same light ; and,
in answer to a renewed appeal" from the prisoner
for a merciful consideration of his offence, which
had resulted so miserably for him, told him that if
it had not been so distinctly proved that the afflic-
tion under which he was now labouring was an
actual suffering, without dissembling or exaggera-
tion on his part, he should have undoubtedly sent
him for trial, to be followed most probably by penal
servitude ; as it was, he should deal with him sum-
marily upon the one case to which he had pleaded
guilty, and for that he should send him to the
House of Correction for four months, but for im-
prisonment only, as hard labour in his position was
out of the question.

phreys turned round to the other boys and said,
'What the deuce are you at ?" With the assistance
of Mr. King, a solicitor, I took him from his seat.
Mrs. Draper said, " He has done nothing."
By Mr. Yardley—l saw Wright move his legs
and strike the seat.
Wright—Why, two boys were kicking on each
side of me. I did nothing.
Mr. Thompson, in answer to other questions by
the magistrate, said Mrs. Draper was sitting two or
three seats in advance of Wright, and said he had
done nothing; it was in her ordinary mode of
talking.
Mr. Yardley—At that time, you tell me, there
were great noises in the church ?
Mr. Thompson—Yes, sir ; fearful noises.
Mr. Yardley—You cannot say what she said
disturbed the clergyman ?
Mr. Thompson—No, sir.
Mr. Yardley said the evidence amounted literally
to nothing. It might be there was a very great
disturbance in St. George's Church deserving of the
highest censure, but the churchwardens had not
got at the head and front of the offenders. It was
of no use to bring a lot of boys before him unless
there was some evidence against them. There was
nothing that was tangible. It was not Pretended
the prisoners acted in concert, or disturbed the
clergyman. As to the little boy, the churchwarden
could not say he kicked the scat. It was as likely
to be some one else as he. With regard to Mrs.
Draper, her offence was literally nothing. She
had only said " He has done nothing." Unless
Mr. Howell could carry the case further, there was
literally nothing against the prisoners.
Mr. William Warwick King, solicitor, of College-
hill, who had been engaged in some of the prosecu-
tions at this court on behalf of the Rev. Bryan King
and other clergymen of St. George's, confirmed the
evidence generally of Mr. Thompson, and added
that while the people in one gallery were. singing
" Rule, Britannia " the people in the opposite gal-
lery were singing " We won't go home till morn-
ing, till daylight does appear." Mrs. Draper said
" Why do you touch that boy ? " in a louder tone
than ordinary. When Mr. Thompson put his hand
upon Wright the boy said " I will summon you."
There was a great deal of noise in the gallery where
the boy Wright was. The noise, confusion, and
riot were terrible, and a scandal and a disgrace to
a Christian country.
Mr. Yardley—l perfectly agree with you, sir.
It is perfectly shocking. Have you any other evi-
dence, Mr. Howell ?
Mr. Howell—No, sir. All I can say is the
churchwarden is desirous of putting down these un-
seemly riots. It is a great pity those who do not
approve of the ceremonials and services of the rector
and clergy do not stop away.
Mr. Yardley said the case amounted literally to
nothing. He hoped the general remarks he had al-
ready made, andthose he was about to make, would
do some good, and that he should not again hear
of these frightful disturbances in a plasm set apart
for the worship of Almighty God. He was, how-
ever, almost inclined to despair of it—he utterly
despaired of it. (Sensation.) He had said all he
could in the way of advice, admonition, and remon-
strance. The strong arm of the law must be applied
I to put an end to the outrageous proceedings in St.
George's Church, for things were carried on to an
extreme. If the general disturbances were ever so
great, and whether persons went to the church with
one common design or not, they ought to be pro-
ceeded against for a riot; if it could be proved they
were acting in concert it would aml;sYnt to a conspi-
racy. He would point out how stringent was the
protection thrown over our churches ana chapels,
and what severe penalties people were subjcetetl t°
who were guilty of brawling in church or chapel,
or disturbing a congregation. Mr. Yardley, after
quoting the acts of Queen Mary. and William and
Mary for the punishment of persons disturbing a
congregation, or disquieting preachers, said the
penalties of fine and imprisonment to be summarily
inflicted by magistrates were very severe, and
ho and his' colleague would put those acts in force
when 'necessary. Mr. Yardley then went on to say
there was a more recent act of Parliament, 7 and 8
Geo. IV., cap. 30, the Bth clause of which enacted,
" that if any persons riotously and tumultuously as-
sembled together, to the disturbance of the public
peace, shall unlawfully and with force demolish, pull
down, or destroy any church or chapel, or any chapel
for the religious worship of persons dissenting from
the United Church of England and Ireland, duly re-
gistered, every such offender shall be guilty of felony,
and, being convicted thereof, shall suffer death as a
felon." The capital punishment was repealed, but the
punishment was still very severe—penal servitude
or transportation for life—and he (Ar. Yardley)
hoped people would take notice of the words " begin
to demolish, pull down, or destroy any church or
chapel," and the serious consequences that would
follow uuy attempt of the kind. A still more recent
Act, the Bth and 9th Vic., cap. 44, sec. 1, enacted
" that every person who shall unlawfully and mali-
ciously destroy or damage any picture, statue,
, monument, or painted glass, in any church or chapel,
or other place of religious worship, or any statue or
monument exposed to public view, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanour, and being convicted thereof
shall be liable to be imprisoned for any period not
exceeding six months, and, if a male, may during
the period of such imprisonment be put to hard la-
bout', or be once, twice, or thrice privately whipped."
.. Mr. Howell said that act was passed for the
better protectien of works of art and scientific and
literary collections after the destruction of the Port-
land Vase in the British Museum.
Mr. Yardley—Yes, and also applies to pictures,
statues, monuments, and painted glass in our
churches and chapels. I would have put that act in
force if it had been proved that the prisoners before
me had injured the monuments and painted glass in
St. George's Church last night. The third and fourth
clauses of the same statute enacted " that any- per-
son found committing any offence against this Act
may be immediately apprehended without a warrant
by any other person, and forthwith taken before
some neighbouring justice of the peace, to be dealt
with according to law; and every person who shall
abet, counsel, or procure the commission of any
offence against this Act, shall be punished as a prin-
cipal offender." It should be borne in mind that
magistrates had to deal summarily in such cases, and
accessories were liable to conviction as well as princi-
pals. It would be going out of his wry to say what he
would do if a case was made out under any of the
statutes he had quoted. Whenever a case of creating
a disturbance in a church was made out, he could
answer for himself, and also for his colleague Mr.
Selfe, that the summary powers intrusted to
them would be put in force. He hoped what he
said would be taken by the prisoners, and by others
in that court, as a warning. if any person did in-
jury to the statues, ornaments, or painted glass in
a church or chapel, the plinislinient Was six months'
imprisonment and hard labour. If there was a riot
or tumultuous assemblage in a church, every one
present or taking part in it was liable to be indicted,
and ptotild tines joining in shelf Ail offetiee might
be induced, in a moment of excitement, to go IV-
ther and peril their lihertt kit the test of their
livet, and bring their friends to grief ail their iiVes,
A stop must be put to these notorious scenes, which
had been going on' every Sunday for a long time.
It was not a onestiln of rood doctrine or bad dee-
trinti Mietiier the services tie Bbidaeted in St:
George's Church wore objectionable or not, lAt
whether mob law was to be tolerated in this coun-
try. He could not help thinking i th 9 persona
Whose duty it was to preserve la* and order in the
church had exerted themselves itith id9re vigilance
and zeal; thCO: st?enes, so disgiicettil id
tlih country, would have been long since put down.
Let every person who heard him rely upon it, that
if any offenders were breafaht hitst dr hieol-
leagues laW as it stood would be put in force:
Once more, he tnust say, a stop must be put to these
outrageoUs and Prbticetiiiihst nothing
tangible could he proved against the four prisoners,
and they must be dischargßd. They knew best asiaa"
they went to Fq. George's Chureb. on Sun* flight;
110 assumed they did not go there for a good pur-
pose. Perhaps them Weht With the intention of
bathg• Present at a disturbance. If they did that
again they might find themselves involved in serious
consequences. If any *kited persons Went td
church to destroy property the punishment was six
Motithi) imprisonment and hard labour, and they
might probably go further, and involve themselves
in a charge of riot, and subject themselves to two
years' imprisonment; or be concerned in the par-
tial demolition of the interior of the sacred edifice,
and then the punishment would be penal ser-
vitude for life. He was afraid things would go
on from bad to worse, until persons were brought
before him on charges involving a sentence of penal
servitude for their natural lives. He hoped the
peaceable -and well-disposed would join the autho-
rities of the church in restoring peace in the dis-
tracted parish of St. George, and for ever putting
an 'end to a state of things which every rightly-
constituted mind must sincerely deplore. If it
should happen there were any more of these dis-
turbances in St. George's Church, lie hoped the
ringleaders, the principal offenders, would be
brought before him.
Mr. Howell—l hope they will, sir. I feel much
obliged to you, and so does the churchwarden, for
the great pains you have taken in explaining the
I'law, and I hope, sir, it will have its proper effect.
Mr. Yardley—l lope it will. 1 hope those who
have heard me will profit by what'l have said. r
:hope for the best.
Mr. Howell—The gas columns, the galleries, and
the banisters of the reading-desk were greatly
.damaged last night.
Mr. Yardley—Keep your eyes open and be vigi-
lant, and further damage will be avoided. -
The following statement has been prepared on

behalf of the rector and clergy of this distracted
parish :
__ _

"There was no disturbance at all at St. George's church
till after the appointment (by the vestry) of the Rev. Hugh
Allen as lecturer, a clergyman whose opinions it is hardly
necessary to say are violently opposed to those of the rector
of St. George's. Mr. Allen preached for the first time on
Sunday, May 22, 18,59. On that day he intruded himself
upon the rector's usual afternoon service, though warned
by tho curate not to do so ; and whereas the usual hour for
the afternoon service was 4 o'clock ho commenced the ser
vice at 20 minutes before 4, so as to pre-occupy the church
and hinder the curate from conducting the usual parochial
service. This gave rise to great confusion and disturb-
ance for the first time in the church. When it was decided
by the Court of Queen's Bench that the lecturer should
have the use of the church at a reasonable hour, which the
rector might appoint, the rector offered him the use of the
church at 5 o'clock on Sundays, that is, after the rector's ser-
vice, as suggested by the Court; but on his expressing a wish
to have his service before the parish service, this was at once
agreed to, and it was arranged that the lecturer's service
should be at a quarter past two. The lecturer himself had
wished that it should be at half-past two—the rector that it
should be at two o'clock, from the fear, which subsequent
events justified) of some unseemly collision. Ultimately it
was settled that the lecturer's service should be at a quarter
past two. It will be seen by this that, so far from the hour
of the lecturer's service being any real grievance (as was
afterwards alleged), the rector even extended the privileges
accorded to the lectut:
or by the decision of the Court, and
offered him the choice (ht. having his service either after or
before the usual parochial service, and it was the lecturer
himself who preferred that it should be before the rector's
service. That the rector judged rightly in wishing the lec-
turer's service, if it was to be befoie his own, to be as much
before as possible, is proved by the ioct that many of the
lecturer's congregation habitually remained in church after
their own service was ended, to annoy the rector and his
congregation at their service, which followed soon after,
while the rector's congregation, on the other hand, neve,-
once sought to give any annoyance or to interfere in any
way with the lecturer's service.
" After having been closed in September by order of the
bishop, who hoped that this step would put a• stop to the
disturbances, on the 6th of November the church was re-
opened after the bishop's arbitration ; but, so far from the
rector's concessions being met by a corresponding spirit on'
the other side, the riots bgan anew with more violence than
ever. The mob took possession of the seats occupied by the
choir, and turned the clergy and choir out of their places in
the church. They:shouted the responses aloud in the most
indecent and outrageous manner, sometimes into the very
ears of the officiating minister ; they tried to stop the prayers,
lessons, and sermon, by continued coughing and hissing,
stamping of feet, whistling, and slamming pew floors. They
turned dogs, howling from the effect of drugs pm yosely ad-
ministered to them, into the church, on one occasion, and
on another occasion crackers were let off, and munical in-
struments used in the church to disturb the service,. On
more than one occasion clergymen and laymen were
spat upon, pelted with stones, and had mud thrown in tteir
faces in the streets. In short, the mob behaved just as the
dregs of society would behave anywhere if they thought
they might do so with impunity. Whether the local au-
thorities really did their best to check, or even to discoun-
tenance these disturbances, is a matter Which those who
have read the papers must judge of for themselves. The
presence of the police in church for several weeks hindered
the outrages of the mob for a time, but the force was sud-
denly withdrawn on New-year's-day, notwithstanding the
earnest request of the rector that the withdrawal might be
gradual, and the riots are now worse than ever.
" As it had been stated that the rector has forced a choral
service on an unwilling congregation, it may be as well to
state the origin of the choral services at St. George's. In
1844 the churchwarden illegally locked up the organ, and
refused to allow it to be used at service at all, paying the
organist's salary on the express condition of his refusing to
play ; and this he did because the rector continued the use
of the church militant, which was advised by the late
bishop. After remaining for several months without any
music whatever, members of the congregation at last agreed
to pay a choir, so as to be independedt of the use of the
organ, and in this way the choral service was begun, which
has been continued uninterruptedly from that day to this—
a period of fifteen years. No one can reasonably suppose
that the choral service which is used in all cathedrals, in
several parish churches, and at :the special services for the
working classes at St. Paul's and Westrainstor Abbey
could be any real cause or justification of the riots in ques-
tion.
" About four years ago the rector invited some clergy
men into his parish, who proposed to establish a mission in
some large and poor parish, without any expense to the
;ehioners themselves, subject, of course, to the Bishop
par.,
. ~
et, the t, ocess. Two mission chapels have since been opened
by thernin the
(parish of St. George's, with Sunday and
daily services, ._,ree to all classes alike. They have esta-
blished and mainte.!ned Sunday and daily schools. Under
their advice aid encomgement ladies have been associated
together to visit and relieN:
e the sick and to rescue the poor
women of that neighbourhood from sin and misery. Very
considerable expense has been inCurred in this way for the
spiritual welfare of the parish, and :ouch good has really
been effected by these means, while the return which they
have received has been to be sneered at am jusulted, on some
occasions put in peril of their lives, and to have their
chapels invaded, and the services interrupted a riotous
mob. Is it just and fair, then, that this state of things
should be allowed to continue at St. George's ? NAtihz are
those who violate no law themselves to be deprived of the
protection of the law ? Can it be believed that there is stvy
religious principle whatever in the riotous mobs which are
thus tolerated and connived at ? Can it be believed that no
way could be found of putting an end to such riots if they
occurred at St. George's, Hanover-square, or St. James's,
Piccadilly ? All that is asked for is fair play, and that
Divine worship in St. George's-in-the-East should not be
deprived of that protection which is extended in this land
to all forms of worship."
The vestry have appointed Thursday the 16th
inst. for the election of a lecturer in the room of
the Rev. Hugh Allen, M.A., who has been pro-
moted to the rectory of St. George's, Southwark.
It is to be hoped that their selection will not tend
to increaae the unhappy divisions which at present
prevail in the parish. There are a' considerable
number of candidates; but it is thought that the
choice of the vestry will fall upon one of the 101-
lowing gentlemen :—The Rev. George Eastman,
13. A., of St. John's College, Cambridge, rector of
Drayeot Foliatt, Wiltshire, late curate of Stepney ;
the Rev. Thomas Richardson, of St. Bees' Theolo•
gical College, incumbent of St. Matthew's Church,
St. George's-in-the-East; the Rev. J.P. Courtenav,
8.A,, late curate of Whitechapel.