The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-26 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—march 25.

MANSION-HOUSE.—Charles Murray, the son
of a baronet, was brought before the Lord Mayor,
charged with having been drunk in th,l streets, and
with having grossly misconducted himself. He
bad been, four m mths ago, sentenced in this court
to imprisonment for three months on a charge of
robbery.

Policeman 531 said—About a quarter to 8 o'clock
1 .1' --
chapel, I saw the prisoner, wh,) was accompanied
by a female, take off his coat, hat, and waistcoat,
tear open his shirt and flannel waistcoat, and then
run out into the middle of the road, crying, " I
am mad—l am mad !" I then saw him throw him-
self on the middle of the pavement, bead foremost.
He commenced knocking his head against the pave-
ment, and said he would kill himself. I went to
him to try and pet suade him to put on his clothes
and go home, but he refused to be guided by me,
and said he would lie in the street until he should
acc3mplish his death. I then got the assistance of
three other officers, and succeeded in placing him
in the station-house, where he immediately began
to knock his head about with his usual severity.
The Lord Mayor—What have you to say now,
defendant ?

The defendant—Why, my lord, I was going with
a woman to see some friends of hers, and I met
som,, friends and wanted to treat them, but she
would not let me, and she threatened to leave me
altogether if I penevered. Well, I had a littl3 drink
on board, and what she said vexed and excited me,
and I did act inconsistently.
The Lord Mayor—You seem not to have been
benefited by the severity of the correction you
underwent here on a former occasion.

The defendant--I have been very sober lately,
my lore, I assure you, and if you will just look
over this I shall take particular care of myself in
future.

The Lord Mayor—You say you have been sober
lately : you could not help that. You have only
just come out of prison, after three months of
compulsory abstinence.
The defendant—l have been out of prison three
weeks, my lord, and all that time I have been as
sober as it was possible for a man to be in prison.
Tile young woman who was with me cmn tell you
all about me. She and I were going to visit some
respectable friends in Petticoat-lane. (Laughter.)
They were her relations, not mine.
The Lord Mayor—l have made the strictest in-
quiry into your character, and know everything
about you, and I cannot help saying that you are
one of the most incorrigible rogues that ever came
before a magistrate.
The defendant—No, my lord, not that, not that.
The Lord M.yor—You, t'le son of a baronet,
have had every possible kindness and attention be-
stowed upon you by your family. Hundreds and
thousands have been fruitlessly expended upon you,
and yet you seem determined to pursue your mad
career.

The defendant--You have heard their side of the
quPs ions, but your lordship knows nothing of mine.
The Lord Mayor—l know all. I have taken
great pains to ascertain all the facts, and I find that
you aro a complete disgrace to your rela►ions. You
certainly ought to be sent to an asylum to be taken
close care of for the rest of your life.
The defendant—Look over this, and I will take
care of myself, for I have now got a lodging out of
town amongst most respectable people, and 1 shall
drop bad company for the rest of my life.
The Lord Mayor—What ! you going with a pros-
titute to Petticoat-lane I You likely to change your
degrading habits? When you were apprehended it
would have been an act of decency in you not to
give the name of your family, which you have so
cruelly disgraced.

The defendant—What, my lord, give a false
name No, my lord, I can't tell a lie.
The Lord Mayor—Not tell a lie, and actually
going on a visit with a prostitute to Petticoat-lane.
The defendant—She is a respectable young
woman, and no prostitute. She has my money
now. I had 141. when I came out of prison, and
she has what is left. Here she is.
A decent-looking young woman then got into the
witness-box, and said she lived in Baldwin's-
gardens, and the defendant lived with her, and was
a very good-natured young man, but unfortunately
too fond of treating people. Of the 141. which he
had when he came out of prison no more than ss.
or 63. remain, and she saA the rest was spent in
the purchase of clothes and necessaries for both of
them.
The Lord Mayor—You must have lived well to
have spent 141. in three weeks. I shall fine bim
20s. or send him to prison for 21 days ; and I can
tell you, if you are a respectable person, that the
sooner you leave such a fellow the better.
The defendant—She is a respectable person, with
a very good heart, and I can assure your lordship
that she might meet a worse fellow than me.
(Laughter.)
The defendant was then removed, and was soon
afterwards discharged upon payment of the penalty.

LAMBETH.—M's• Mary Kettle, an aged lady
of property, residing at 15, Hill-street, Walworth,
attended before Mr. Elliott, to answer to an infor-
illation laid against her by order of her Majesty's

Commissioners of Inland Revenue, for having in
her possession five gallons of illicit spirits, upon
which no duty had been paid, and for which offence
she was liable to a penalty of 1001.
A clerk from the office of the solicitors to the
Inland Revenue attended to support the informa-
tion ; and Mr. Solomon appeared for the defendant.
From the evidence adduced it appeared that
from information received by them, two officers of
Excise called at the house of the defendant on the
15th of last month, and, having represented them-
selves to be officers, asked her if she had not come
illicit spirits on her premises. She at once ac-
knowledged that she had some spirit, which she
hid purchased from a female ai French brandy,
and desired her servant to unlock the cupboard
where it was. In this cupboard the officers found,
in stone and glass bottles, five gallons of stuffs
me-
what resembling the colour of brandy, which they
described as illicit spirit, 33.9 under proof, and
which they took it on them to swear had not paid
the duty. _

In cross-examination one of the officers admitted
that he had made some inquiries of the defendant
respecting ber property, but both denied that they
knew anything about the woman who sold the
spirit, as they called it, to the defendant. Tiny
positively denied that they were aware that oue of
the women was thovife or daughter of a revenue
officer.

Mr. S, lemon said he did not believe that a more
impudent conspiracy than the present to fix on his
client—a poor old lady 80 years of age—au offence
for which she was liable to be mulcted in heavy
penalties, could have been entered into. The real
facts of the case were these. His client, who at
her advanced age was excessively weak and
nervous, had actually been coerced to purchase
the staff, a sample of which had been produced,
and which the officers took en themslves to call
" spirits," from two females for 50s. One of
the females from whom the purchase was made,
he, Mr. Solomon, was informed by a police•sergeant
was either the wife or daughter of an Excise officer,
aud that circumstance would account for the fact of
the information that had reached the of who
had given evidence in the case, and the detection
that followed. Under the circumstances, he should
apply to his worship for a postponement of the
case, to give the opportunity of bringing forward
the two women in question, as he understood they
were to be fouild, and properly exposing the con-
spiracy.

The clerk from the Inland-office could not see
what could be gained by an adjournment. The fact
of the spirits being found on the premises of the
defendant could not be denied, and the offence was
therefore clearly established. Besides, he under-
stood it was a man, and not a woman, who had
given the information, and the officers could have
no interest in the matter, as they got no portion
of the penalty.
_ _

Mr. Solomon was very glad the law was altered
in this particular. Before closing the case he
should like his worship to hear the testimony of
the defendant's servant.

Eliza Fruin, the servant of the c'efel.dant, was
here sworn, and deposed that two females had
called three or four times on her mistress and
praised her to purchase some brandy, which they
slid they had brought from France ; and on the
Friday before the Monday on which the office's
came they called the last time, when they said they
had brought the brandy with them, and as they
must not take it away, declared her mistress should
have it at 103. a gallon, and she paid them 2/. I.os.
for it.

Mr. Elliott felt bound to convict in the lowest
penalty of 251. ; and Mr. Solomon expressed his
determination of memorialising the Board of In-
laud Revenu9 for a mitigation of the penalty.

THAMES.—Hannah Wither:, aged 13, was
charged with stealing a silver watch value 3/. from
Mrs. Petrie, matron of an institution for the
maintenance and education of destitute girls at
Barnet. The prisoner ran away, with two other
girls, and pawned the watch in the Cummercial-
road East.

The magistrate commented very severely on the
conduct of pawnbrokers in receiving goods from
children without making inquiries.
Mrs. Petrie raid the girl was disqualified for re-
admission into the institution at Barnet, and asked
Mr. Selfe if he could sew' her to a reformatory.
Mr. S.lpsl.ia bia tio:k was full or applications
for admission into reformatories, but he regretted
to say there was not one in the county of Nliddlesex.

THE LIBEL ON THE .Ivall'AROR OP THE
FRENCH:

The Polish bookseller, named Stanislaus Thor-
zewski, who stands charged with publishing the
pamphlet, Lettre au Parlement et a la P resse, in-
citing to the assassination of the Emperor of the
French, was brought up yesterday at the Police-
court, Bow-street, before Mr. Jardine, for final
examination and committal. The case appears to
have excited considerable interest amongst the
foreign refugees, the court being crowded with
persons of that class.
Mr. Bodkin, on the part of the Crown, intimated
that at the close of the proceedings a correct trans
lation of the entire pamphlet would be produced,
in order that it should be added to the depositions.
Mr. Leverson, the prisoner's attorney, said that
one of the authors of the pamphlet, M. Talandier,
had expressly requested him to state that he (the
author) had no desire to screen himself behind the
mere seller, but was willing, and even desirous, to
take his place as defendant iu the case. He was
now present for that purpose.
Mr. Bodkin said that any such application must
be made to the Solicitor for the Treasury.
Mr. Leverson then said that he hoped to be able
to convince the magistrate that the case should
end here, and that this was not a " scandalous
and malicious libel." In inquiring what was
a " false, malicious, scandalous, and seditious
libe'," a curious difficulty arose, that nowhere
could it be found that the law defined "what a
libel is." It was said to be, and ought to be, a prin-
ciple of law, that no one should be condemned on
cx post facto laws, yet that was constantly done by
the judges, who, on the pretence of declaring the
existing laws, really established new ones. It was
said that this was not wri.ten law, but common
law, which meant just what the judge chose to call
law for the occasion. So long as common law con- '
tin ued to disgrace our jurisprudence its basis should
be the consideration of what rule of conduct will
promote the welbeiug of society. He said that
the decisions on which the prosecution would pro-
bably rely were similar in character to the cases of
witchcraft that disgraced our history. The learned
but scarcely honest Lord Edenborough had laid it
dowu that whatever tended to wound the feelings
of the person referred to was a libel. Now, the best
proof of the wound to a person's feelings was the
circumstance that he took the trouble to prosecute,
so that it amounted to this, that a libel was any-
thing that a person chose to think one. In Rex
v. Cobbett, Lord E lenborough said : "It has been
observed that it is the right of a British subject to
exhibit the folly er imbecility of the members of
the Government ; but if in so doing individual
feelings are wounded, there the line of interdiction
begins, and the offence becomes the subject of penal
visitation." He was surprised that Punch was not
prosecuted when he lately represented the Premier
in an undignified position. In Rex v. Tuchin, 3
Holt's Reports, 424, it was held—" If men are not
to be called to account for possessing the people
with an ill opinion of the Government, no Govern-
ment can exist." In Rex v. Watson, " an entry by
a corporation on their books, that a person against
whom damages for a malicious prosecution had been
awarded, was actuated by public motives, was held
to be a libel, and adverse reflections on the verdict
passed by a j ury were held to be libellous." At a time
when there were many capital offences, and slavery
was legal, it was held to be a libel to assert that the
laws of the realm were contrary to the laws of
God. In Rex v. Winterbottom it was held to be a
libel to say that Pitt's National Debt juggle did no
reduce the debt. Iu the case of Mr. Win. Scirviug,
in Scotland, the following words were held to be
libellous :—" The time is now come when we are
to assemble round the flag of liberty, to support
it ; that we are plunged into a war by a_ wicked
Ministry and a compliant Parliament." Yet few
persons would now doubt thetruFrsthonf
cthheßepsewuobrldic.
words,
as applied to the war with the
it
occurred,
These examples proved that the law
as
was
manufac-
tured by the judges for each occasion
and that it was in the same position as the law of
witchcraft.
Mr. Jardine—Suppose it is so, can I alter it?
Mr. Leverson—Suppose a person were charged
with witchcraft and brought before you, would you
commit him ? _ _

---Mr. Jardine—When that case is brought before
me I shall know how to deal with it. This is not
that cage.
Mr. Leverson said that magistrates would not
usually commit unless they had a probable belief
that a jury would convict.
Mr. Jardine—l think you misunderAandf,
doeposition hero, If all that is wrong law, it do

. . __.-ace.„resee,
not beeorne me to set those anthers' • : .•• : ---es : :see •-.7. e
gel er Am, • ess se
ft.
feu-t oe elsewi2ei --1: r .hese feints ! I :.: .-- . .., .re ..
Mr. Leve, s• 0 s 441 th,t even acee ee .i.O-F, '47..'-- :it.A b
expen,e, aneiety, 10-ssof time, mid -. IA . 14410
which he vi ould refer to presently. ".
_'-'41,.--1"
....,.1" i
.I`,,i ...
ioirci ' .• 4
LA,
utmost lit e:ty of d scussiori, good go', i- ' ' t . ''''-
', . ' misconduct,--r goolitiAtt g
;
imposs ibl e
: -7
.
of ,he goeserenent conk, i.es be -knee.n, and itsteas
most iwportsnt,that misconduct. should be kuown
that it might be checked. Abuse of a ruler must
therefore be allowed b any extent. Let him:prove
if he can that he is not guilty of what be •ifecbarged
w;th, but let him do so by open discussion.-, 77:- . '
Mr. Jardine—Do you mean to maintairYthat it
is fair discussion to say that a man is ati aesassin
and ought therefore to be assassinated.? .
Mr. Leverson—lf he is a ruler, I am justified in
saying that he is an assassin, if I can prove it. _But
suffer me to establish a principle which I find that I
am stumbling against.. It is said that discussion is
to be. free, but to be decent. According to English
law, what the judges please to blame es indecent.
What is indecent ? Is it to blame the ruler? Yon
wid not venture to say that. But is it great blame
that is indecent ? Why the greater blame is to say
that be is more unfit to govern. Then you will
allow the lesser evil to be discussed and not the
greater. Mr. Leverson then proceeded to contend
thet nowhere in the pamphlet was there a direct
incitement to assassination ; and one of the passages -
quoted, and, he presumed, relied upon by the
Crown, was, "Friends, we salute you; if our
means are different, our cause is the same." That
was by no means a dire c! exhortation to assassinate
anyone. It was not even abuse, unless they showed
that he had been guilty of the offences charged to
him, for his name was nowhere mullioned, and the
only reason why anyone could suppose it meant the
Emperor was, because they knew that be had been
guilty of those crimes. 0
Mr. Bodkin said there was a passage commencing
"Did he not, as President of the Republic." -se -.-
Mr. Jardine said it was reasonable. ,to euppOite
that it meant the Emperor. His course was clear;
he must send the case before a jury. 'TM- wag not
goinee,tb punish ; he had no such power.
Mr. Levi rson said the committal was a punish-
ment. But he would ask, was it possible that any
jury—that any twelve men off the Treasury bench.
would convict the prisoner, except of the printing
and publi,ling only ? Mr. Leverson then referred
to the writings of " Junius," of Lerd Denman, of
Mr. Disraeli, and of Mr. Gladstone, and to the
letters of "An Englishman" in tee Times, which,
he said, advocated regicide, and inquired whether
prosecutions would be instituted against the pub-
lishers of Lord Denman's works against Mr. Dis-
raeli, Mr. Gladstone, and the Times? or had Mr.
Walter, the proprietor of the Times, purchased a
shameful impunity at the cost of a base sub-
serviency ? In every Greek and Roman history the
slayers of tyrants were extolled, and the magistrate's
own children might at that moment be reciting,
with the glow of admiration on their youthful
countenances, such lines as those of Lord Den-
man's, commencing, " I wroath my sword," &e.
Mr. Leverson proceeded to recite several pieces of
this description. He next asked the magistrate if
he was prepared to risk the agitation which this
committal would give rise to, and the riots that
might follow ?
Mr. Jardine—That argument is one which can-
not be allowed at all. 1 have nothing to do with
the question whether the prosecution is a proper
one, and all those consequences to which you have
referred ought not to enter into my considera-
tion.

Mr. LEN.'OTSOll—They are part of the question
whether a jury will convict.

Mr. Jardine—Whether a jury win be influenced
by popular opinion is a question with which I have
nothing to do. lam bound to suppose that they
will do their duty, and give their verdict according
to the facts proved in evidence, and the law laid
down by the judge.
Mr. Leverson continued at some length to re.
state his principal arguments, and concluded by
reminding the magistrate that he was not only the
servant of the Crown, but also the guardian of the
people's liberties, which could only be maintained
by the utmost freedom of the press.
Mr. Bodkin,—Sir, it is for those who instruct
Mr. Leversou to consider whether his course is
calculated to promote the interest of the defendant;
but if any justification were wanted for the course
taken by tt,e Government in instituting this prose-
cut:on, it would be that a gentleman who is on the
roll of attorneys of this country should stand up
and detend the doctrines that are promulgated is
this infamous pamphlet. Mr. Leverson, who has
referre I to some parts of the pamphlet, seems to
haue who'ly forgotten what he ought not, that in
some parts the writers refer to the late attempt on
the life of the Em eror, and express their regret
that they cannot claim a share in the honour. If
that, uvt, ntUrtka, do
.0‘
know what the English or any other
means. There cannot be a dearer privilege tna.e
err., 10- er.:y of t'ie press, and I believe it is enjoyed
in England to the utmost extent. No one
wishes to interfere with it, but when I see
pamphlets directly inciting to murder, I say that
they are abhorrent to the common feelings of every
civilised nation, and peculiar abhorrent to the
Engli.sh. It cannot be the opinion of magistrates,
juries, or any one else, whos3 opinion is worthy
having, that such writers should be allowel to
she!ter themselves behind the pretence of the liberty
of the press. The learned counsel went on to say
that Mr. Leverson's argument amounted to this,
that the law was all wrong, and every decision that
had heel made was erroneous. And that was the
sort of law on which it was attempted to convince
the magistrate that lie ought not to commit !• The
law was not to be fritted or talked away in that
manner. The only duty of the magistrate was to
commit the prisoner, unless he could find sureties
for his appearance to take his trial.

Mr. teverson said he had not expressed any
opinion whatever, as to whether assassination or
tyrannieide was jrntifiable.

Mr. Jardine----I am perfecqy aware of my posi-
tion, and I know that my opinion on any of the
points raised by Mr. Leverson ought not to have,
and would not have, any weight whatever. The
only point 1 have to consider is, whether there is
enough to satisfy me that a prinut facie case is made
cut, and that there is reasonable ground to Suppose
that the ca'e will end in conviction. I think there
is, and I must order defendant to find bail to
answer the charge.
Mr. Bodkin, referring to what had occurred at
the last examination, said that when he asked where
Mr. Mill was to be found, he did not intend to im-
ply any disrespect for that gentlemen, but he felt a
doubt of the authority. The result showed that he
was right, for Mr. Leverson had no authority to
use Mr. Mill's nacre.

Mr. Leverson said he believed now that he had
not the authority of Mr. Mill, but being carried
away by his indignation at the refusal of the Crown
to accept of the bail of the printer of the pamphlet,
in whose veins flowed the Royal blood of Poland,
and who was, moreover, a highly respectable
tradesman, he was thrown off his guard, and made
use of what he believed to be an authority from
Mr. Mill—given in the course of conversation on
an occasion when he had derived great pleasure.
from Mr. Mill's company. Sureties were now in.
attendance, the proper notice having been given.
The sureties having been accepted, the-recogni-
Faeces were entered into and the defendant set at
liberty.
The translation of the pamphlet mentioned by
Mr. Bodkin was afterwards attached to the depo-
si' ions.

BUILDING FRAUDS.—At the Sussex assizes, held at
Lewes on Wednesday, the case of a builder at Brighton,
charged with defrauding the Conservative Land Society,
was traversed to the next assizes owing to one of the
counsel being called up to town. The prisoner had been
committed for trial by the Brighton magistrates on Fri-
day last. The prisoner had agreed to complete four
houses in Ranelagh terrace, Brighton, frr the society.
He wrote to say that two of the houses were complete
except papering. He seeeived 301., the last cf the
money due to him except 101. to Le paid for papering.
The society's surveyor examined the houseP, and found
that there was no pipe connecting the water-closet with
the cistern, from which the water should have been laid
on, and no soil pipe to either house. The deficiency was
not apparent, being hidden by paper and plaster. About 10
feet of piping was wanting between the cistern and the
closet. There was a piece of pipe visible from the
out ide, giving the appearance of the pipe having
been
fixed.
A. SAD REVERSE OF FORTuNR,—Soma twelve or thir-
teen years ago an eminent Russian artist, named XL
p res e withn
t iughSi at!
file b .rz
exhibitionst tel, a rari vme da
gi
nni
fit hcei sn
tcoun try
painting,, bringingr e
John the Baptist preaching in the Wilderness. This
completed in Rome, where he resided for nearly a quarter
work, the labour of many years of incessaanntdtfoai
Dzgitetreiniteiroen,
of a century, and met with tho admiration of the most
which would
eminent artists in that classic land.
radrtune. His picture was
Unhappilyile
failed
for
have
commandal.v
eil eanb
ensured
zrte
htdtaethl , i
pmbaetfrao:naeascaean
dsatt
visited and applauded, but that circumstance, though
highly satisfactory to the feelings of a poor artist, pro-
duced nothing more substantial, and in a short time the
little he had accumulated for years was exhausted, and
he sank into obscurity and
ic n 3 poverty. Alter many exer-
t I- so extricate himself from his painful position,hn
sank under it at last, and died of a broken heart. WI
widow aid lives, and is reduced to the greatest d Ito-
tio n, for it is an extraordinary fact that t 1
h!"urystal
hed place in
, 1 the
the poor
Palace, it remains unsol,l, and
picture holds a distinguie
want ;had it not
abreteinst d The
ylonbgf
asince die!iteohfra
fewie f 1,8001., and this poor
price of this
. celebrated picture
lady, now in her 63d year,would gratefully treat
with a purchaser,
fowrout the chhaavrei
or accept as annuity for life in lieu
of that mu;