The Sun.
London, England, 1835-02-12 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

MANSION-HO USE.
A woman named Mary Merton was brought before the
LORD MAYOR, by Smith, the beadle of Cornhill, charged
with having attempted to impose upon the parish by means
of a forged pass.
The beadle complained that it was a common practice
amongst idle vagabonds, who would not work under any
circumstances to procure false passes, by which they con-
trived to gain a livelihood. The defendant in this case had
called upon him, and produced a printed form of a pass,
regularly filled up with her name and the names of four

children, stated to be her's, and purporting to be signed by
two Guildford Magistrates. Witness perceived upon exa-
mining the pass that it was a forgery, and that all the writ-
ing in it was by one hand. He questioned the woman
about her children, and was told by her that they were
outside, but the moment it was perceived that he " smelt a
rat" the four " poor babies" vanished, and witness had since
ascertained that they had run home to St. Giles's, where
they had been borrowed at the rate of about twopence a
head per diem.

The LORD MAYOR—I perceive by this pass that the
Guildford Magistrates have allowed you thirty-five days to
walk from that place to Cornbill. Pray what did you pay
for this pass ? Defendant—l paid nothing, my Lord. I
got it from a woman I met on the road, that had four
children as well as myself.
The LORD MAYOR—And where are your four children ?
Defendant—Gone on before me to St. Alban's. They
weren't going to wait in the cold, poor things, so I shoved
'em all into a waggon.
The LORD MAYOR—I shall send you to Bridewell for
three months, and I wish I had the parents of the children
you hired to favour the imposition.
Defendant—What are my poor children to do without
me ? Don't you think Iv'e the feelings of a mother about
me ?—(A laugh.)
The Beadle—My Lord, the children are completely up
to the business. The moment they find the parishes are
awake they cut off in different directions, and arrive at
home without fail.

Sapwell, the officer, said that the forged pass practice was
quite popular amongst the working paupers. He had the
other day torn one, the woman who had it having be-
sought him on her knees not.to get her punished, and hav-
ing told him that the thing was constantly done along the
roads.

The LORD MAYOR—It is evident that this is made a
regular trade, and we must check it. Some rascal gets a
livelihood by aiding these people in their frauds. The pri-
soner shall go to Bridewell for three months, and no doubt
her sentence will spread quickly through St. Giles's. I
apprehend that this penalty, which I shall always inflict in
cases of his kind, will have a due effect upon people of this
description.

The defendant was then committed for, three months.
She had not been long locked up in the cage when she told
Smith that she borrowed the four brats, and if they had
not been hired by a party at another quarter of town she
would have brought them up to blind the Lord Mayor with.
Thomas Little, the person who some days ago underwent
an examination upon the charge of having committed a for-
gery, by writing the name of Mr. Ryder, a tailor in the bo-
rough, across a bill for the amount of 561. 175., was brought
up for re-examination.

It was stated at the first examination, that the prisoner
would be able to produce evidence to prove that Mr. Ry-
der was in the habit of authorizing persons to accept bills
in his name, and it was more than insinuated that the bill in
question was an acceptance of that description. No evi-
dence, however, to that effect was brought forward on the
present occasion.

Mr. HIIMPREYS (for the prisoner) complained that the
Bankruptcy Commissioners had thought proper to call his
clierit before them for examination pending the case against
him in the Mansion-House, inasmuch as questions might
have been asked of him, the answers to which might have
affected the case.
Upon the other side it was stated that the Commission-
ers certainly had that and greater power.—Committed.

UILDHALL.
A man named Scott attended before Aldermen Sir C.
MARSHALL and LUCAS, upon the complaint of Pinder, the
beadle of St. Sepulchre's for refusing to be sworn to his
legal settlement.
The beadle stated that about five weeks ago the defen-
dant married a widow with three children, one of which was
taken into the workhouse, while she was allowed a pittance
towards maintaining the other two and herself. On hearing
she had married a man who was able to support her family,
her boy was, according to the new Poor Act, sent home
from the workhouse, and the stepfather objecting to receive
him, and reqUiring the parish to apprentice him, which re-
quest it was not deemed necessary to comply with, the pa-
rochial authorities wished to ascertain what parish the step-
father belonged to, so that they might know how to spose
of the boy, if the parents should desert him. The over-
seers were willing to pass the boy to the stepfather's parish
if he was unable to keep it, but he would not say what pa-.
rish he belonged to. The boy was put in the workhouse
only a week before the marriage.
Mr. Alderman LUCAS said he supposed the man did not
know when he married the widow that he was to have three
children thrown into the bargain.
The man replied he was quite willing to take the two she
had at home when he married the woman, She was an
ailit2g, delicate creature.
MTh CHAPMAN MARSHALL said '
having relieved St. Sepulcly• '
widow and two childr,-

ne spoke very fairly, and
-e-s from the weekly relief to the
-d, it was too bad to boggle at giving
. w get finally rid of the whole burthen.
•fgpiym, LucAs concurred in this observation, and

an apprentice fee '
Mr. Ale