The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-27 00:00:00

MARLBOROUGU-STREET.

EXTRAORDINARY CASE.—Mary Wright, about 45
years of age, was charged as follows :

Police-constable Wm. Eadie, 198 C, said last
night I found the prisoner naked in the middle of
the road in Oxford-street, aud, thinking she was in-
sane, as soon as I could get some clothes I took her
to the hospital ; but as the surgeon stated there was
nothing the matter with her, I took her to the
station.
Mr. Knox—What time was it?

Constable—A quarter to 10.
Mr. Knox—Do you really mean what you say—
that she was naked.
Constable—l do, sir.
Prisoner—lt's quite true.
Mr. Knox—How came you to do such a thing?

Prisoner—We had been having some conversation
about persons getting a living in the streets having
a license put on them, and I did it for a lark, and
the boys annoyed me.
Barns, the gaoler—l have known the prisoner as
the keeper of a stall with vegetables in Oxford-street
for about 17 years.

Prisoner—That's true, but I don't go out on Sun-
day like St. Giles's women.
Mr. Knox—She seems to me not to be in her right
mind. Was she drunk last night?
Inspector Bowles—She was.
The Prisoner's Sister—Ever since 1860 she has
been out of her mind. She has been at Hanwell,
but was let out to give her another trial. I have
now had her living with me in Barrett's-court ten
weeks, and my children are afrad of her.
Mr. Knox—She is a very unfit person to go
about the streets.
The sister—When she has fits she falls on the back
of her head, and becomes
worse. She is not safe
to be about.
Mr. Knox—The best course will be to take her
to Marylebone workhouse, and then have her
passed to Hanwell. -

T II AMES.
STEALING COALS ON TIIN: RlVER.—William Eld
and Thomas Eld, brothers, most notorious river
thieves, who had been convicted several times, were
brought before Mr. Benson, charged with stealing
3701b5. of steam coal from a barge called the Tory,
the property of William Cory and Son.
George Read, an inspector of the Thames Police,
was in a police galley this morning at 10 minutespast
six o'clock, and saw a man in the barge Tory hand-
ing a basket of coals to a man in a boat alongside.
The man in the barge jumped into the boat, and
both rowed away.
William Eld was using the
skulls, while his brother was throwing water on the
coals and wetting them, to give them the appearance
of having been overboard. The inspector and his
men gave chase to the boat and captured the priso-
ners. Both denied taking coals from the Tory.
The coals in the prisoner's
boat weighed 3701b5.,
and were exactly similar to the coals in the barge.
Owen Sheen, a river constable, confirmed the
evidence of his inspector, and Mr. Thomas Willetts,
foreman to Cory and Son, coal merchants, said that
coals had been taken from their barge, Tory. The
coals were for steam
purposes, and worth 18s. per
ton.

The prisoners protested their innocence, and said
that lightermen gave them the coals out of other
barges.
Mr. Benson sentenced the prisoners to be impri-
sonedßid was liberated
for six weeks, and kept to hard labour.
Inspector Read produced a ticket-of-leave, from
which it appeared that Thomas
from Millbank prison on the 2d of May last, and
that he was sentenced to seven years' penal servi-
tude for warehouse breaking and larceny on the
18th of August, 1861.

Mr. Benson—And has his sentence been cow
muted ?

Inspector Read—No, sir ; he bad four years
before that.

A list of convictions against William Eld were
put in. He bad been imprisoned for 18 months for
felony, and repeatedly
convicted summarily at this
and other courts.

Mr. Benson said there had been a great failure of
justice. If these representations had been made to
him when he called upon the prisoners for their
defence he should have committed them for trial.
He could not alter his decision now.