The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-17 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE-(THIS DAY.)

MARLBOROUGH STREET.,-- OtaRAGEOUS As-
SAULT AT A HARMONIC MEETlNG.—Williani Nolan
and James Burke were charged with committing a violent
assault on George Lewis, an upholsterer residing in Angel-
court, Soho.
The prosecutor said that on the previous night he went
with his wife to the King of Prussia, in John-street, and
after being there a soft time, a proposition was made to con-
tribute 6d. each to a poor female, for whose benefit it ap-
peared the meeting was got up. A quarrel then took place
in the room, he being the only Engiishinau present; when
Burke seized a bagatelle cue and struck him a violent blow
on the head, breaking the cue. He was then knocked
down, and was kicked, and Nolan said, " Kill the --,
kill the --." A woman also beat him on the head with a
pint pot.
Mr. William Turner, of the King of Prussia, John-street,
said, having been applied to to grant the use of his room for
the benefit of a poor female, he consented, the parties pro-
mising to behave themselves properly. After they
had been there a short time the prisoner commenced assault-
ing an old man, and afterwards a general quarrel ensued ;
three or four cues were broken, and he felt satisfied that bad-
not the police timely arrived that murder would have bcen
committed. Previous to the arrival of the officers he
struggled with them till he wrs quite exhausted. Frsm the
way in which the pritoreis conducted themselves he had no
doubt they came for the purpose of creating a disturbance,
and they hen left his place like a slaughter-house.
A female named White, sister-in-law to the first witness,
corroborated his testimony, and said that Burke tore the
bonnet off her head, and then all the men and women com-
menced fighting, the women as well as the men using the
cues.
Other evidence having been given, Nolan said the assault
commenced by the prosecutor.
Mr. Beadou said it was one of those rows in which the
prisoners thought they had a right to use whatever came in
their way. It was a very brutal assault.
The prisoners were fined ,E 5 each, or two months.

THAMES.— MURDEROUS ASSAULT.— A FURY.
Mary Smith, a dissipated looking wotnan, who gave her
address, No. 16, Back Church-lane, which is a fictitious one,
was brought before Mr. Selfe, charged with feloniously
cutting and wounding Mary M'Carthy, with intent to mur-
der
or do grievous bodily harm. She was also charged with
assaulting Mal garet Driscoll. It appeared from the evidence
of police-serg
cant Egerton, No. 24 K, that a woman named
NI `Cartby bad been committed to prison for 7 days for as-
caulling and biting a woman on the breast. The affray
took place at an Irish wedding of an honest and industrious
couple. M'Carthy, a passionate
.ill-conditioned woman
took offence at the marriage, made a disturbance and assaulted
the bride. Yesterday, M'Carthy came out of prison, and
immediately proceeded to the dwelling of the people she had
formerly affronted and made a disturbance. In the evening
she repaired. to the Broom Bear public-h,use, and there fas-
tened a quarrel upon the prisoner, who was formerly a
pr4stitute, and has h:en for some time married to a gun-
y, took up a heavy glass
Atir'-C:etnthdous blow on the top of her
gun-
smith. Some offensive language %yrs exchanged between
the two women, until the prisoner, exasperated at something
e her skull,. and then followed it
the arm, inflicting another and
some of the leaders. The woman
twhsuuepeirulaiiidoebb:lwes rlialt:nah.looniutdbti:jesedeltranr,yubdicsliik:ov:wi dtl:ibenobragnya
lost a large quantity of blood, and . after being visited by
Mr. Comley, divisional surgeon of. police, was sent to the
London Hospital, where she at present remains. A certi-
fic..te from Mr. R. Codrington, house surgeon of the Lon-
don Hospital, was put in, and it stated that the patient,
Mary M'Carthy, was being treated for a lacerated scalp and
arm, and that she could not leave the hospital at present.
Margaret Driscoll gave evidence of the savage conduct of
the prisoner, and said she was also assaulted by her.
Mr. Selfe si.ld that he must necessarily remand the pri-
soner until the person she had wounded was able to appear
against her. He remitted the prisoner to the House of
Detention for a week.

SOUTH KENSINGTON _MUSEUM.—During the week
ending 14th August the =visitors have been as fol!ow :
On Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday, free days, 2,590; on
Monday and Tuesday, free evenings, 4,028 ; on the three
students' days (admission to the public 61.), 583; one
students' evening, Wednesday, 88 ; total, 7,289.
GALLANT CONDUCT.—A Bristol contemporary
says :—On Thur.day, the 29th ult., a middle-aged woman
named Sarah Powell, who had for some time been an inmate
of a union, attempted to destroy herself by jumping into the
river Wye. One of the boys from Colston School, Bristol,
fortunately happened to be near the spot at the time, and,
although no swimmer, courageously leaped into the river,
and succeeded in rescuing the woman from a watery grave.
When the gallant little fellow, whe is about 14 years of age,
brought his burden to the bank he was well nigh exhausted,
but was immediately relieved by the bystanders. The wo-
man was at once conveyed to the workhouse, where the
usual means were adopted for her restoration. It appears
the poor woman is afflicted with insanity, and she has since
been removed to the Abergavenny Lunatic Asylum.
Mat. B. OSBORNE AT DOVER.—The Saturday Re-
view, in the course of au excellent article upon the speech of
Mr. 0 borne at Dover, speaks in the following trite terms
of the " horroi" felt by that gentleman at the success of the
tneesures of the present Admiuistration :—" Mr. Osborne is
very much shocked at the imrnotality and inconsistency of
the present Administration. He is horrified that they have
not given eff7ct in office to the principles which they pro-
fessed in Opposition. He is very anxious to know what is
the meaning of that word in four syllables—Conservative.'
For so young a beginner, Mr. Osborne is in too great a
hurry. He should not p..ss to words of four syllables till he
hrs mastered these of three. The member for Dover has
been some five yews in office, and we should like to hear his
definition of the word Liberal,' with illustrations derived
from his official experience. He complains of the condition of
the Liberal party, and the loss of confidence in Liberal men ;
and lAke he takes upon him to lecture the Conservative
party let him inquire into the cause of that decomposition'
in his own which he pretends to deplore. While he accuses
the Derbyites of pursuing a policy not consistent with their
professions, he might do well to recollect that he has for
many years been a contented and submissive member of a
Government which professed a policy which it did not pur
sue. It is easy enough to fabricate enigmas about chang
without progress, and concession without grace;' but we
should like to know whose fault it is that progress' is to be
looked for only from those who are its avowed opponents,
and that the Liberal party has ceased to expect any grace'
except from the Conservative leaders? but because
the men who usurped the conduct of the Liberal cause have
given their followers delusion instead of progress, and inso-
lence ihstead of grace? Yet it was to this Government that
that the fervent reformer, Mr. Osborne, lent the effective
support of his silence."
TERRIFIC THUNDERSTORM.—On Thursday after-
noon the neighbourhood of Bedford was visited by the most
fearful electric storm we have visited for many years. Singu-
larly enough, twelve months ago to the very day a similar
and scarcely less terrible tempest occurred in the district.
On that occasion extensive injury was inflicted by hailstones
of a piodigious size ; but in the present instance, though the
rain was very heavy for a time, there was no hail, but the
lightning was appalling, and the instantaneous peals of thun-
der resembled a mighty cannonade. We are sorry to report
that serious damage has befallen the locality, of which we
d subjoin a few particulars :—The first injury that fell under
our observation was the filing of a cattle-shed belonging to
Mr. John Wald, of the Fountain Inn, and situated
in a field opposite the railway station. The dele-
gates of parochial authority in St. Mary's very
speedily availed themselves of this opportunity of showing
their zeal in connexion with the fire-engine. Many
iboys and some men dragged the engine to the spot,
after filling it as well as they could with the collection
olafi?dglei itter streams on the road side, wheeled it into the field
just in time to see the fire coinplce its work. Some ser-
vice, however, it undoubtedly rendered, by adding to the
cooling showers which damped and so preserved a neigh-
bouring
haystack and At half-past 3 a special mes-
senger brought twngs that there was a rick on fire on the
farm of Mr. Grant, of Clapham. Post horses from the Swan
were soon attached to the County and St. Peter's engines,
and they were off to the spot near Clapham Folly. On the
arrival of the Bedford fire-brigades, however, instead of
being welcomed, we understand that they were told by
Mr. Grant, jun., that he could do without them ; his
men could pot the fire out. To this, however, it ap-
pears, Mr. George Small very properly refused to ac-
cede, and insisted upon his tnen working St. Peter's
engine. There being a good supply of water, the fire was
prevented spreading, and only one rick was destroyed,
although there were several in close proximity. Mr. Mas-
ten' house, in Olia-street, which is somewhat in the Tudor
style, and has rather high chimney shafts, was struck by
the lightniny, but no personal injury was sustained. The
electric fluid, on entering the front parlour, severed the
brea-tpiece of the marble mantel, cutting through the metal
gas pipe, and, lighting the gas in a most expeditious manlier,
made its exit out of the door, which was fortunately open.
A youth at the time was passing out of the yard of the
Flowerpot publichouse, adjoining the west-end of Mr. Mas-
ters' house; he was wheeling a truck, and the bricks from
the chimney fell so near as to break the truck-handle, but
the boy providentially escaped unhurt. Mr. and Mrs. Masters
were absent from home. About 3.15 p.m. the chimney on the
south side of the Swan Hotel was struck,removing t o large
stones, measuring 3 feet, one of which lodged on the roof,
the other falling into the garden without causing the least
injury to a large vase and bed of flowers, as it alighted com-
pletely upon the path, near the river. The electric fluid
was, no doubt, attracted by the iron cramps let into the
moulded termination of the stonework, one of the cramps
being snapped asunder and the other pulled out. As Thos.
Russell, horsekeeper to Mrs. Hollis, of Wooton, was em-
ployed in the hervest field he and three other men became
erectly alarmed, and as they were running to a hovel in the
field for shelter Russell was struck dead by the lightning.
None of the others received any injury beyond a slight
shock. The lightning appears to have struck Russell on the
brad, as it cut a hole in his hat about four inches in dia-
meter; but there were no marks of injury on the body. He
was between 40 and 50 years of age, and has left a wife and
three children. Several cases of partial blindness have been
forwarded to us, but the parties soon recovered. There was
for a time some indication of a return of the tempest, but
we have since been favoured with unclouded sky.