The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-21 00:00:00

character. She however appeared to be an incorrigible
thief, therefore he should fully commit her for trial.
CONVICTION OF A BRACE OF RAILWAY PICK..
POCKETS.—Mary Ann Sweeny and Sarah I%rash, two
notorious pickpockets, were brought before Mr. Combe,
charged with stealing a purse containing Bs. lid., from the
person of Mrs. Amelia Devall, in the first-class booking-
offiee of the North Kent Railway terminus, London-bridge.
John White, a detective officer, in the employ of the
South-Eastern Railway Company, stated that on the pre-
vious afternoon he was on duty with Inspector Richards,
of the South-Eastern Railway, in the booking-office of the
first-class Nerth Kent Railway terminus, London-bridge,
when he saw the prisoners enter and mix with the crowd:
Knowing them to be suspicious characters he watched them,
end saw theta go up to Mrs. Devall, when Sweeny pressed
rather rudely against her, and afterwards both prisoners
hastily left the office. Witness immediately went to the
laty and asked her whether she had lost anything. She put
her hand in her pocket, and missed her purse and contents.
He instantly pursued the prisoners, and with the assistance
of Inspec,or Richards, took them into custody. When
Sweeny was searched, the purse and Bs. and three halfpence
acre found on her. _ _

In answer to the magistrate the prisoners pleaded guilty,
and wished to be dealt with in a summary way.
They were accordingly sentenced to six months hard
labour each in the House of Correction.

LAMBETH.—SHEEP STEALING.—James 1111Kenzie,
described as a hawker and collector of hones, residing at
Norwood, was charged before the Hon. G. C. Norton with
slaughtering and carrying away a sheep, the property of
Mr. Medlicott, proprietor of the Greyhound Tavern,
Dulwich.

Sergeant John Burt, 26 P, deposed that on Thursday
morning he received information that during the preceding
night a sheep belonging to Mr. Medlicott bad been
slaughtered and carried from a field belonging to
Mr. Constable, a farmer in the neighbourhood. Soon
after lie saw the prisoner, and, perceiving spots of
blood on his clothes, be accused him of stealing the
sheep. This be denied, but on searching his house he
(witness) found there several pieces of fresh fat, some pieces
of skin with wool on them, and partially burnt, and the
shank bone of a leg of mutton. On examining the garden
the skin and entrails of a sheep were found buried there,
and subsequently the carcass of the sheep was found in a
sack in a hedge about 100 yards from the prisoner's resi-
dence. The prisoner on Ilia way to the station-house ad-
mitted that he had something to do with it, but said it was
not him who had killed the sheep. The witness added that,
on looking over the prisoner's premises, be found a still set
there, and all the apparatus necessary to carry on illicit
distillation.
James King, servant to Mr. Medlicott, said that on
Wednesday evening lie counted the sheep, and found them
to be 41 in number, and on the following morning there
were only 40. This circumstance led him to look for the
missing animal, and in his search he found a quantity of
blood in the field, where the sheep had evidently been
slaughtered. In reply to a question from the magistrate,
the witness said he did not think that one person would be
able to catch one of the sheep while in the field, for when he
dressed them he always required assistance.
The prisoner, in reply to the charge, made a long, ram-
bling, and improbable statement about meeting a stranger
at a public-house, getting drunk with him, and the stranger
bringing the dead sheep to his house.
The magistrate committed him for trial.

ELECTION INTELLIGENCE.

-----s--
REIGATE.

The resignation of Sir Henry Rawlinson, who has ac-
cepted an appointment to the India Board, renders vacant
the representation of the borough of Reigate. There are
three candidates in the field—viz., the Hon. J. W. Monson,
who is a Whig, and who, from his connection with the family
of Lord Monson at Gatton, possesses some local influence;
Mr. W. A. Wilkinson, formerly member for Lambeth; and
Mr. Edwin James. The last-named gentleman addressed
the electors in the Town-hall, on Thursday evening, and
obtained an exceedingly flattering reception.
Mr. J. 11. Apted, a local resident) having been voted to
the chair,
Mr. EDWIN JAMES, who was received with hearty ap-
plause, came forward to address a crowded and highly re-
spectable meeti g. After some introductory remarks, in
which he reminded the raeeeing of the days when the
representation of the borough was a mere sham, and its
members were returned as the nomiuees of Lord Somers,
he adverted to the period when, under the political system
of former days, Lord Monson, having purchased the estate
at Galion, returned its members, and when, if he remem-
bered rightly, there were three electors, each of whom paid
£l,OOO a-year for his privilege. Going on to criticise the
address of his opponent, the Hon. J. W. Monson, Mr. James
expressed himself in favour of the unconditional abolition of
church rates, the extension of the suffrage to £5 house-
holders, and the adoption of the ballot. Ever since he had
had the power to reason and to think his sincere con-
viction had been that the Government of this country must
he based upon social and political progress. He was in
favour of a very large extension of the suffrage, because he
believed that the people, by education ; by.thought, and by
intelligence, were entitled to it, and derefore he would sup-
port most willingly the principle adopted in the Reform
Bill of Lord J. Russell, and which principle be held
to be a just one—namely, the extension of the fran-
chise to £5 householders. (Cheers.) At the same time
be believed that without the ballot an extension
of the franchise would be a curse instead of a bless-
ing. It was all very well to say that the ballot was un-
English—that there was something extremely disagreeable
and un-English in a secret system of voting; and so there
was. But there was something much more un-English in a
system of intimidation—there was something muck sore
disagreeable in my Lord or my Lady Somebody driving uP
to the door of an elector and saying, " If you vote for Mr.
Edwin James or Mr. Asybody Else, you shan't have our
custom." (Laughter and cheers.) The ballot was no party
question, for he believed that neither Tory nor Liberal
would gain votes by it ; it was a mere matter of
arrangement to vote fairly on both sides. Advocating the
spread of education among the people, he hoped to see the
difficulties removed which at present exist as to secular
and religious education. He was an advocate for a
thorough reform in the law, though perhaps the electors
did not like lawyers, and would be inclined to sat,
" It is of no use for you to come here ; you are a lawyer.
Now, lie did not think that there had been a bad
specimen of lawyers in the House of Commons ; and when
he mentioned the names of Roebuck, Brougham, Denman.
Erskine, be must say he belonged to a profession which
could not be accused of sacrificing the people for their owtt
gain. (Hear, hear.) He could assure them that there was
not a more sincere law reformer, who wished to carry out
the principle that a man may obtain his rights without
necessarily involving his ruin, than her Majesty's present
Attorney-General. He (Mr. James) had had the honour of
working with him, and bad seen him neglecting a lucrative
practice for the purpose of codifying the law. The candi-
d ite went on to declare his entire adhesion to the principles
of civil and religious liberty, and congratulated the electors
on the recent admission of Baron Rothschild to Parliament-
He did not mean to say that they had to thank the Go-
vernment for it. They had conceded rather than car-
ried the measure. To the present Lord Chancellor It
must have been a very bitter pill to swallow, after he
had so repeatedly told us that Parliament would he un-
christianised by the admission of Jews. The candidate then
remarked on the political conduct of Lord Palmerston
during his recent administration, who, he said, had obtained
a Parliament with a triumphant majority in his favour, but
elected on no settled principles. He had, perhaps, the
largest majority that ever sat behind a Minister on the
Treasury benches; but the last session had brought about
the entire annihilation of his power, and had thus taught
a great political lesson. Lord Palmerston, from the pine
oracle of his power, assumed a 'one of arrogance towards
members of the House of Commons of which many 01
them loudly complained. He made certain appointments
which shocked the moral feelings and sense of decency of
very large portion of the people of this country ; and whoa
at length certain menaces came from France Lord Pal-
merston did not resist them as he ought to have done;
wit, the stern and independent sense of the people re-
belled against any truckling to the dictation of a foreign
Power. (Loud cheers.) Referring to the conduct of the
p esent Government, the candidate attributed the main-
tenance of power by Lord Derby to a feeling among the
independent Liberals that they would not be bandied
about from Lord John Russell to Lord Palmerston, and
from Lord Palmer:4on back again, and he believed the
independent Liberals would continue to support 13114
so long as he passed liberal measures. He beliive4 that
as ,long as Lord Stanley and Mr. Disraeli were members
of the Cabinet the Government would not oppose liberal,
measures, but he confe•sed he should not be surprised h
before long there was a split. After a few further re-
marks of a general character, the candidate concluded
amid loud e'leering ; and a resolution pledging the meet-
ing to support him at the ensuing election was carried
with but one dissentient.