The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-23 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE--Tan. 21.

-WESTMINSTER.—George Hales and Charles
Humphreys, privates in the Coldstream Guards,
were finally examined, charged with committing
the following outrages :
Lieut. Wm. Gilbert, of the sth West York Regi-
ment of Militia, residing at 25, Montpelier-square,
Brompton, said ;hat between 12 and 1 in the morning
of Wednesday he was passing along the Brompton
road, near Sloane-street, when he came upon the
defendants and two policemen (266 A and 39 B),
the former holding a noisy altercation with the lat-
ter, who were very quiet and well-conducted. The
soldiers presently becoming very abusive, and one
of them taking off his belt, witness thought affairs
were beginning to look serious, and determined to
stop to protect the police if necessary. The alterca-
tion between the parties lasted nearly 10 minutes,
when Hales, suddenly taking off his belt, rushed
into the crowd which had assembled, and, striking
indiscriminately with the buckle of his belt, struck
a lady on the head, cut a man's chin, and hurt wit-
ness's shoulder. Witness immediately rushed for-
ward and pinioned him, and then gave him into
custody, when he was so violent that the constable
was compelled to übe his staff.
Mr. Paynter inquired whether any provocation
had been given to the soldiers by the police.
The Lieutenant—Not the slightest. The only
thing that surprised him was the forbearance which
they exercised.
_ _

Mr.Paynterinquired whether the police had said
anything tending to make the defendants angry.
The Lieutenant answered they did not, but in the
mildest manner asked the soldiers to go home.
There was nothing said or done to justify the sol-
diers in being at all ill-behaved.
George Stevens, 266 A, said at about half-past 12
on the morning in question he was called to the
Clock-house, Knightsbridge, by the landlord, who
could not get rid of defendants. Hales came out on
witness's arrival, and then wanted to force his wily
in again, upon which witness prevented him, when
Humphreys came out, and, taking off his belt, said
he would knockthe first --down who approached
him. Witness endeavoured to persuade them to go
kome quietly, lest he should have to send for a
picket, when they would get into trouble ; but,
without listening to his advice, they both abused
him, and Hales taking off his belt, and holding it by
the leather with the bucklo as a weapon, rushed
into the crowd and dealt blows at everybody, strik-
ing the lieutenant on the shoulder, cutting a man's
chin open, and seriously wounding a woman on the
head. He took Hales into custody for assaulting
Lieutenant Gilbert, when he became very violent,
and witness was compelled to use his truncheon.
Hales then kicked him repeatedly in so savage a
manner that one of his legs was completely covered
with blood. He witnessed the assault by Humphreys
upon his brother constable. Both the defendants
were very violent all the way to the station, and
throughout the whole transaction used the most
filthy language. They were both the worse for
liquor, and swore they -would kill somebody that
night.
In reply to similar questions to those put to Lieu-
tenant Gilbert, witness stated that not one word
was said, neither was anything done to provoke or
annoy the defendants.
Henry Somerfield, 39 B, said he was called to the
assistance of Stevens, who ho found endeavouring
to persuade Hales, who was using very obscene and
offensive language, and trying to force his way into
the publichouse, to go home. Witness had not been
there many seconds before Humphreys appeared,
and, taking off his belt and swinging it in a violent
manner, swore he would kill whoever came near
him. Hales followed his example, and rushed into
the crowd, while Humphreys at the same time ran
at witness, and struck his hat with such violence as
to take a large piece out. He made a second blow
with his belt, which witness stopped, and, drawing
his truncheon, used it in-self-defence. Humphreys
then made a grasp at witness's mouth, endeavouring
to get his fingers inside, and threatening to skin his
face as he would a cat, but failing in his savage ob-
ject, he struck witness in the face, and then kicked
him more than once in the lower part of the abdo-
men. Witness was so exhausted that the defendant
escaped, but, running against a horse, fell down,
and witness succeeded in holding him down till
further assistance arrived, when witness, who could
scarcely breathe, was taken home in a cab.
Mr. Edward Penston, an independent gentleman
corroborated the above statements. The first he saw
of the affair was the police standing quietly by,
with the soldiers calling them every offensive name
they could think of, and expressing their intention
to murder everybody. He witnessed the assaults
upon the two constables, and from the ferocious
conduct of the defendants he doubted not but that
they wonld have murdered some one, as they had,
threatened, had they not been interfered with in
time.

Mr. Paynter asked whether there was anything
to blame in the conduct of the police.
Mr. Penston replied, nothing whatever, but quite
the reverse.

Dr. Pearse, 10, Regent-street, Westminster, sur-
geon to the B division of police, proved seeing the
two injured constables on Wednesday morning.
Somerfield, 39 B, had no external marks of injury,
but was suffiring from some internal injury, and
was under medical treatment.
Mr. Paynter asked whether a violent kick in the
lower part of the abdomen would produce such an
injury.
Mr. Pearse said it most decidedly would.
Mr. Paynter inquired whether the injury spoken
of was of such a nature as to come under the title
of" grievous bodily harm."
Mr. Pearse replied, it most certainly was. The
constable was so bad that he had but now left his
bed, and been brought to that court in a cab. As
regarded Stevens, 266 A, he was suffering from a

severe wound of the shin, and it would perhaps be
a fortnight or three weeks before he would be cured.
Mr. Paynter wished to know whether the man
whose face had been cut by Hales's belt was in at-
tendance.

A policeman replied he had been found, but had
a particular engagement, which prevented his at-
tendance that day.

Mr. Paynter intimated that he might be sub-
poenaed on the trial, and asked whether the woman
whose head was cut had been heard of,

The policeman replied he had made every inquiry
but had not been able to discover her.
Mr. Punter having read the usual form of law,
asked the defendants whether they had anything
to soy.

litiles said they had no chance afforded them of
getting any witnesses to say anything for them.
Mr: Punter observed that this was not so.

Hales then said any civilian who was present at
the tune they were alleged to have committed these
assaults could hale seen that the blows complained
of did not come from the soldiers.

The other prisoners said not a blow was struck
with the belts at all.

Mr. Paynter committed them for trial, Hum-
phreys being sent under Lord Campbell's Act for
unlawfully assaulting and inflicting grievous bodily
harm.

WORSHIP-STREET.—A boy named Thomas
Wood was charged with attempted poisoning.
A bootmaker named Robinson, of Somerset-place,
Hoxton, stated that the prisoner was apprenticed to
him to learn shoemaking about seven months ago
by the parish of Shoreditch, and conducted him-
self unexceptionably until the preceding evening,
when witness sent him for the supper beer, and on
his returning and placing the beer on the table he
was noticed to put a small paper parcel down 'by
his side. He was asked what the paper was, and,
as he seemed to give an evasive answer, witness
took the paper up, and, to his great consternation,
found it superscribed with the words "Oxalic acid.
Witness was fearful the boy might have contem-
plated suicide, and expressed a hope that he had not
swallowed any of it himself, or it might get them
all into serious trouble. The prisoner smiled, said
he knew the acid was a poison, and that he had just
picked the package up in the street, but that he
had not taken any of it. On looking more closely
at the paper it was evident that it had been par-
tially opened, and that it did not now contain as
much as it did originally, which seemed very sus-
picious, and he therefore closely questioned the pri-
soner as to whether he had placed or dropped any
of it into the porter. He assured them that he bad
not, and, as the witness and his wife were satisfied
with the way in which he said this, they both
drank the beer, and went to bed, but were uhortly
afterwards seized with cold shivers and. trem-
bling, accompanied by a burning sensation in the
chest and throat, which lasted for a considerable
time, aed then went away. They were both Tel
uneasy about the missing portion of the oxalic acid,
and as the prisoner, on again questioning him the
next morning about it, then said that he had thrown
the remainder into a pail, witness felt so suspicious
and dissatisfied with his statement that he sent for
the police and gave him into custody.
He was remanded.

CO UN TRY MARKETS

LEICESTER-JAN. 21.

There was a tolerable supply of wheat to-day, a fair
attendance, and trade steady. White wheat, 48a to 60
—red, 42s to 47s per 36 stone; a very fair inquiry for fills
barley, grinding, 30s to 34s ; malting, 3Ss to 42e per qr.;
the oat trade was firm, at quotations ranging fro m 26s to
32s per 24 stone. Beans scarce and unchanged--old, at
48s to 525, new 40s to 43s per 38 stone.
Fine flour, 33s I Seconds, 31s Thirds, 29s per 20 stone.

NORWICII—JAN. 21.
Here, to-day, there was rather a fair attendance of the
trade, and an inactive market. There was a good ehof of
wheat, but the principal part being much out of condition,
as it has been for some weeks past, prices for dry samples
were at rather more money, and inferior qualities were
at former rates. The supply of mailing barley Ivas not
so good, but at fully the currencies of last market. In oat?;
beans, and peas little or no change. The same may, be said
of flour.
White wheat 47s to 50s I Red wheat 42s to 441
Malting barley....42s to 48s I Chevalier barley 34se to 40S
Distilling- do.. ....25s io 273 I Oats.. 24e to 255