The Sun.
London, England, 1869-08-11 00:00:00

TILE POLICE AND THE PUBLIC.

One of the police cases which has been much commented
upon of late was settled by Mr. Elliott, at the Lambeth
Police-court, on Tuesday. George Lawrence, a police-
constable, No. 15 of the P Reserve, appeared on remand,
charged with having, on the occasion of the visit of the
Viceroy of Egyyt to the Crystal Palace, been guilty of
violation of duty in his office of constable, by violently
assaulting Mr. Joel Rowsell. It will be remembered
that Mr. Rowsell, a bookseller, of Kim- William-street,
Strand, stated that he was at the Crystal Palace on
the day in question. In order to see the dis-
play of fireworks, he with several others got
upon the tables in the third-class refreshment-room. He
stood upon a chair placed on one of these tables, when the
defendant came up and pushed him off, and caused him to
fall backwards amongst the crowd. lie asked the con-
stable for his name and number, and then wrote down the
latter. The defendant at the time thrust his helmet into
complainant's face, and said, " Oh, I suppose you are
only some hairdresser or cobbler out for a holiday." This
statement was fully borne out by Mr. George Thomas
l'arsons, a licensed victualler, of 150, Bishopsgate-street
The wife of this witness likewise complained of the de-
fendant endeavouring to push her off the table. Evidence
on the part of the defendant was called in the shape of
Police-constable 50 P Reserve, who said defendant was
on duty with him some six hundred yards from
where thin took place, and could not therefore
be the constable who committed the assault. —ln-
spector Robards, of the P Division, now stated that he
bad, since the last hearing, made inquiries, and there
v.-ere other witnesses present to corroborate the evidence
of complainant, as well as one party whose testimony he
was not aware was for one side or the other.—Mr. John
Thorpe, of Lower Norwood, said on the .day of the visit
of the Viceroy of Egypt to the Palace he was sta-
tuned at the counter of the third-class refreshment-
room, serving customers. The defendant and Lis
brother came to him just after the fireworks had
commenced and said, " We have been sent here to clear
the tables." Witness said he wanted the tables cleared.
The defendant, on getting to the table on which com-
plainant was standing on a chair, took hold of the latter,
but witness did not see ee,oelt.-- Mr. Have
you any doubt about the defendant being the constable.—
Witness : Not the slightest.—Joseph Harvey, a waiter at
the Crystal Palace, said that on the day in question he
was asked by complainant to take the number of the con-
stable who had assaulted him. The defendant, whom he
had known before, was the constable.

Defendant said he had witnesses who were there ou
duty, and called Police constable IL`Gillicuddy, 13 L
Reserve, who said he knew nothing whatever of the
affair. —Police-constable Sherring, li L Reserve, was also,
at the request of defendant, examined, but denied all
knowledge of the affair. —The defendant then desired his
character to be put in, and it shewcd that he had before
this borne an excellent one.

Mr. Elliott : I have considered well this case, and have
no doubt about it. You have chosen all through, instead
of meeting, as you might have done, the facts, to deny every
statement, at the same time calling upon others to aid
that view. I can, upon the face of the whole evidence,
come to no other conclusion than that of the untruthful-
ness of your statements, and my firm conviction that you
did, as described, misconduct yourself. My general
opinion of the force, as I find than, is that of a trust-
worthy and well•condur.ted body, and you have, it appears
hitherto borne a good character. I have done all that
possibly could be done to give you a fair hearing ; but
when you come forward and totally deny the evidence on
oath of many respectable persons, I have nothing further
left me hut to convict you of the offence with which you
are charg,d. You will have to pay a fine of £2, or in
default le iniprsoned for twenty days. Defendant, who
made no further comment on the case, paid the money and
left the court.

LAW AND POLICE.

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CHARGE OF POISONING.—A man and wife, named
Davy, were indicted at the Norwich Assizes with attempt-
ing to murder John Mayes Davy by poisoning him. John
Davy had been staying for a time with his brother, at
Pakefield, near Lowestoff. On his leaving to return to
his own home, at Swaffham, the prisoners pressed
very urgently some cakes upon him. Some of these
he ate, and they made him ill. He went to
the doctor, who declared he was suffering from poison.
The cakes were examined and found to contain white
precipitate. No motive for the alleged crime was
imputed, and it was declared on behalf of the defendants
that the precipitate was used in• mistake for baking
powder. Professor Taylor stated that although a poison
in reality, white precipitate was not classed as Inch. The
prisoners were acquitted.
STREET A cciDENTs.—A case in which injury and another
in which death was the result of street accidents came
before the notice of two metropolitan police magistrates
on Tuesday. In the former a drunken porter, while
curiously driving a horse and cart, ran into a waggonette,
throwing out two persons and alarming several others.
He was fined 40s. for furious driving, and ordered
to pay £3 towards repairing the damage to the vehicle.—
At Southwark a butcher was charged with causing the
death of a little boy nine years of age, Lut in this case it
was proved that the defendant was driving his cart at a
rate not exceeding four miles an hour.—At Marlborough-
street a gentleman was fined 40s, for furious riding in
Rotten-row, a policeman on, duty having deposed that the
defendant was proceeding at the extraordinary pace of
eighteen miles an hour.
DISCOVENY OF 4 COINING ESTABLISHMENT 1N BIN-
MINGHAM.—At the Birmingham Police-court William
Oram, tool-maker, of Aston-cross, and his wife, have
been charged with coining. Detective-serjeant Cooper and
twa other detectives visited the house on Monday morning
and found there, and on the persons of the prisoners, a
large number of counterfeit shillings and florins, as we'll as
moulds, white metal, a galvanic battery, chemicals, and
all the appliances of counterfeit coining. The woman
was discharged, there being a legal presumption that she
was acting under the coercion of her husband. The latter
was committed for trial at the next Warwick Asizes.

BaEACHES OF Plums:E.—Two breach of promise casei
were before the judges at the Manchester Assizes. In
the one case, a factory girl who had been partly educated
by a bcershop keeper, who intended at one time to mak.,
her his wife, but married another woman, was awarded
£lOO damages. The daughter of a gardener obtained
£2OO from a " general dealer " who had promised to
marry but did not,

CATTLE PLAGUE ORDEEB.—Her Majesty, b 7
Order in Council dated August 7, has revoked, in so far
as they relate to Great Britain, Orders in Council dated
July 28, 1856, and November 17, 1863, making regulations
with respect to the importation of animals and things into
the United Kingdom, for the purpose of preventing the
introduction of contagious of infectious diseases.

THE NORTH-EASTERN RAILWAY COMPANY IN
THE LAW COURTS.—The North-Eastern Railway Com-
pany were the defendants in two actions tried on Tuesday
at the West Riding Assizes. In one case Mr. Routh,
sccountant, Leeds, was awarded £25, for injuries sus-
tained by himself and his wife, in consequence of a
slight accident near the Ilkley Station, and in the
other, where the claim was made by Marchant,
professional jockey, for injury to his right knee caused
by a collision at Arthington, the jury assessed the
damages at El O.

THE FIAYDOOK ExPLosToN. —The inquest into
the eauBes wh7oit !ed to the deaths of co many victizos at
the late explosion at the llaydock Collieries was resumed
and concluded on Tuesday. The jury returned a verdict
that the deaths were caused by explosion of firedamp,
aggravated by gunpowder, and by care not having been
taken to remove the gas out of the cavity from which it
was supposed to have come. They recommended that the
'Jlasts should take place only at night, and the system
should be altered as well as the ventilation. The jury re-
fused to consider the explosion accidental, as their opinion
was that due caul badmitintil_leiceOL