The Sun.
London, England, 1832-09-24 00:00:00

BOW-STREET.

EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF LARCENY, OR IN-
SANITY.—Mr. W. Clifford, a man about fifty years
of age, attired in a most respectable manner, and
described as a teacher of languages, was brought be-
fore G. R. MINSIIULL, Esq., by a policeman of the
F division, charged with having that morning stolen,
in the shop of Mr. Mott, a silversmith in Pickett-
street, Temple-bar, a silver cream-ewer, value two
pounds, his property.

. .
The prisoner, respecting whom it may be neces-
sary to say a few words before we narrate the facts
of the case as proved by the witness, has been for
many years a schoolmaster in the neighbourhood of
Soho-square, and recently a teacher of languages in
Holborn. He is the author of a pamphlet addressed
to Earl Grey and Lord Melbourne on the subject of
the criminal jurisprudence that would, if adopted, be
the means of protecting property and preventing the
commission of crime. A few weeks ago the prisoner
came to this office, and presented himself before
Mr. Halls, one of the magistrates, to whom he
handed one of his productions on the necessity of a
total change in our criminal law, as a security et)
property and prevention of crime. tie said that he

had corresponded with the Judges of the land and
the Ministers on the so(•leut upon which he had
written, atm.' unless they adopted his plan in a very
short time there would be no respect paid
to property in the country. Mr. Hills pro-
mised to read his pamphlet, and he left the
office ; the worthy Magistrate at the time, from
his manner, and also from the contents of his
work, concluding him to be, upon the particular solr•
ject upon which he had written, in a state of mental
aberration ; whether the Magistrate was incorrect
in his opinion will be better seen in the sequel. A
shopman in the employment of Mr. Mott stated the
prisoner came into his master's shop that morning
„.........-,
and asked to see a silver stand, value about 61. Wit- i'
ness informed him that he had no such article in ihe
shop, and then the prisoner asked the price of a
silver cream-ewer. Witness told him it was 21. ;
nd the prisoner, after look Mg at it for a fey seconds "--
ran out of the shop with it. Witness followed him, '
and found that lie had gone about ten yards from
the shop door. Witness took him into custody,
and gave him into the charge of a policeman. The
prisoner offered no resistance.

• Policeman 25, F division, said that he received
the prisoner in charge, and on his person he found
the pamphlets he then produced, and also two silver
cream-ewers, one of which was claimed by the last
witness as his master's property.
Prisoner—l did not attempt to escape, and had
no intention to commit a robbery.
Mr. Mrssuctd.— It looks very like a robbery.
Prisoner—My object is to prevent robbery and pro-
tect property.—(A laugh.) I sav that my pam-
phlet, addressed to Earl they, will prove I had no
intention to commit a felony. That pamphlet is my
defence. Ido not deny taking the cream-ewer, but
I had no intention to make money of ir. I had a
great national object in view, and no intention of
stealing. I was determined to bring the subject of
my pamphlet before the country, as the only means
of preventing shopkeepers from being plundered,
and saving the nation from destruction. I have
written to Lords Grey, Brougham, Althorp, Mel-
bourne, Russell, &c. upon the subject, and have sent
hem my pamphlet. I have this (lay written a le:-
ter to Lord Grey, but the letter has been taken from
me by the policeman. Ido trust, however, that
your Worship will send the letter to his Lordship,
as the security of property in this country depends
upon the adoption of my advice to his Lordship,
contained in that letter.

Mr. NiNstiull, said that he should not send the
letter, and he had heard no excuse for the offence
committed. The finding another silver ewer on the
prisoner tended to show that it was not a single
offence he had committed. Prisoner—l h.tve com-
mitted no crime; I intended to commit no crime ;
but I do not deny taking the ewer from Mr. Mott's
shop.

. Mr. MINSHULL—I shall remand you, and perhaps
may find out:where you obtained the other ewer.
PrisOner=l will not give you any trouble on that
point, your Worship. I toak the other ewer from
the shop of a silversmith, corner of the Poultry, in
Cheapside, a few days ago, in precisely the same
way that I took the one from the shop of Mr. Mott.
I walked out of the shop, and expected the shop-
man to follow me and take me into custody. Ile
did not pursue me, and I have kept the ewer ever
since, never intending to appropriate it to my own
use, or I might have sold or pawned it.—[The pri-
soner here give the policeman the address of the
silversmith from whose shop he took the second
ewer.]—ln taking the property in question I knew
I should be charged with robbery, and I had detei-
rained to sacrifice my feelings and my liberty for the
good of my country. I knew I should be brought
nefore a Jury, and I shall be able to convince them
that my intentions were virtuous.
Mr. MINgIIULL said that he could only treat the
offence as a robbery; and asked the prisoner if he
4ad any friends, as he should very much like to see
hem if he had.

Prisoner—Friends, to be sure; who is better
known than myself? No man who ever came to
this office; and on my trial you will see thousands
come to speak to my good intentions. I would riot
rob any one. I had no means of giving publicity
to my pamphlet, which is published in Frith-street,
Soho, price one shilling, without being brought be-
fore the public. My system must be adopted, or,
n the course of a few months, there will be nothing
!,ut universal plunder.

Mr. MlNstiuti—l shall remand you for a few
4lays, and will see your friends in the interim. The
flieer will give notice to the silversmith in the
Poultry to attend on the next examination.

The prisoner asked for his pamphlets, and
'gain pressed the Magistrate to send his letter to
Efal Grey.
Mr. MINSHULL said he would attend to the wishes
of the prisoner, and ordered him to be remanded.
The witnesses were bound over by the Magistrate
to prosecute on Mr. Mott's charge.
It was stated that the prisoner had frequently ad-
dressed public meetings on the subject of his altera-
tions or improvements in the criminal law ; and
hough he converses calmly and rationally on every
other subject, he appears decidedly insane upon that.
A very pretty and well-dressed young woman,
amed Ellen Dorcas, came to the office with her
aunt to ask the Magistrate's advice. She said she
was a native of Exeter, which she had just left for
the first time in her life. About two months ago
.he became-acquainted with a young gentleman who
was there for a short time, who paid her attention,
tnd promised to marry her if she would come with
him to London, where he had, he said, considerable
property. She consented to come away without
the knowledge of her friends, and he prevailed on
her to pack up as much property as she could, and
-end it to an inn, parcel by parcel. He next pro-
posed that he should come to London, bringing with
him her baggage as well as his own, and assured her
that on her arrival she would find him at the Golden
Lion,-Golden-square. She came, and found there
was no Golden Lion at Golden-square, and that she
had been cruelly deceived and plundered.
The MAGISTRATE lamented that he could do no-
thing unless the robber could be found; but advised
'ter if she Saw him in the street to give him in
charge to en officer immediately. With this advice
the poor girl left the office.
Q UEEN-SQ UARE.
UNSTAMPED PUBLICATIONS.—Coney, the in-
'ormer, brought up a yornig man of the name o f
Thomas Hanbury, and charged him with selling an
ististamped pubttcation entitled the Poor Man's
Guardian. He saw him selling that morning the
above paper near Astley's Theatre, and took him
nto custody. A bundle of the papers was found

upon him.
Mr. GREGORIE was looking at the number and
late of one of the papers, when the prisoner said to
him, " I'm glad to see in your hands, for the first
time, a newspaper of the right sort."

The MAGISTRATE askedlim whether he had any
defence to make ? Prisoner—None in the world;
As long as that paper was published he would sell
it, let the consequences be what they may. lie
thought proper to do so, and would in spite of every
obstacle.

Mr. GREGORIE—If you arc brought before me
again I shall inflict the utmost punishment the law
allows upon you. For the present offence you must
go the House of Correction for six weeks.

DELIGHTFUL REMEDY FOR HICCOUGH.
—Four drops of cinnamon oil on a lump of sugar, told in
the mouth till it (the sugar or hiccough, one or both) is
gone.—. The Doctor.

an
I.:olLrs
n'eNtteewyroercke,iivueedntiobnytitihee V
follocrginigni:
dent:A boat containing nine persons in the whole, left
that place on an excursion. The boat had two seatE,n, a
:nate of one 'of the vessels lying at anchor, and a
Smyriz (late of Cheapside), besides four friends of Mr.
SMITH. They had not proceeded far when a sodden
,quall upset the boat, and the \\ hule, were lost. S,veral
boats put off, but, owing to the confusion and alarm, all
perished. What makes the aff:ir still more melancholy
is, that Mi. Smarr had just written home for his wife to
go to him. She sailed on Sunday last from Portsmtuth,
in the Samuel Robertson, to meet Lim.