The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-19 00:00:00

POLICE .INTELLIGENCE.—Oct. 18.

MANSION-HOUSE.—Geo. Archer was brought
up, on remand, charged with assaulting Thomas
Aldiss with a red-hot poker.
Aldiss on the first occasion was unable to attend,
and he now appeared in court with his head tightly
bandaged, and. his left eye, or so much as could be
seen of it, frightfully contused. He said—l live
at No. 8, Sweet Apple-court, Bishopsgate-street,
on the first floor, and the prisoner lives in the
same house, on the ground floor. On the even-
ing of Saturday week, about seven o'clock, I went
home to get a cup of tea, and there was something
that did not quite please me. I had a few words
with my wife, and she went downstairs. Well, as I
Was sitting there, quietly eating my rasher of bacon
and drinking my cup of tea, I heard the prisoner
abusing my old woman with the most disgusting
language, so I went down directly to see what was
the matter. He was ',standing at his door in his
shirt, and I said, "What d'ye mean by usinn. that
using
language to my wife ?" 'Without a word he sprung
at me, laid hold of me by the toll a- and neck-tie,
and with a great jerk he pulled me down two stairs,
and threw me on the floor, and tried to pull me into
his room. As I said before, he was naked, in his
shirt, and as he was pulling me along I laid hold of
the tail of his shirt to help myself up, and I believe
I wrenched his shirt into two or three pieces.
When we got into his room the shirt gave way
entirely, and down I went flat on the floor, with
him on the top of me. He tried to bite me by the
ear, but I stopped that, for I managed to get my
thumb into his mouth. I pushed it chuck down
1 his throat, and gagged him, so—(suiting the action
to the word). He got away from me, however, but
before I could get up he laid hold of me by the
throat. I hallocd " Mulder" as well as I could, and
a policeman came and knocked his knuckle a with
his staff, upon which he got up, ran to the fire,
pulled out the poker, and struck at me with it. The
first blow missed me, but the second struck me on
the head, and I do not recollect any mere about it.
I cannot say whether the poker was red hot or not,
as it was all done so quickly I had not time to
notice, but I know he took it from the fire. When
I came to myself it was Sunday afternoon, and I
was at the hospital, with only one eye to look out
of. I thought I was done for. I can see a little
now ; but I have to go back to the hospital when I
leave here, as the doctor is afraid of erysipelas.
Barrett, 614, said he was called to Sweet Apple-
court, and found Aldiss on the floor, with the
prisoner clutching his throat. Witness struck him
on the knuckles., upon which he seized the red-hot
poker from the fire, and struck a blow which wit-
ness avoided by stooping, and the poker, instead of
hitting his head, struck the panel of the door, and
broke it into three pieces, which " fizzed" from the
heat of the poker. Witness ran out for further
assistance, and when he' got back, found the pri-
soner still naked at No. 8, but Aldiss had been re-
moved to a house opposite.
- -

Nelson Baker said, he lived in Sweet Apple-
court, and was standing at the corner on th) even-
ing in question, when a mob of children came run-
ning towards him crying " Murder," but he took
no notice of that, as it was generally the case there ;
but when a rccond mob of children ran down the

court with the same cry, he went to see what oval
the matter, and found the prisoner ca the top of
Aldiss. When the prisoner struck about him with
the red-hot poker, witness thought it time to get
out of the way, and ran from the house with the
policeman. Finding, however, that the prisoner
did not follow them, he went back and peeped into
the room, where he saw Aldiss lying on the floor
insensible, and bleeding profusely from the head.
Fearing the prisoner might follow up the blow and
kill his victim outright, he rushed into the room,
and taking Aldiss by the collar, dragged him into
the opposite house.
The prisoner was again remanded for medical