The Sun.
London, England, 1832-10-05 00:00:00

Q UEEN- S QUARE.

Yesterday William Parker, a butcher's lad, of
Union-road, Clapham, was brought up for final exa-
rnitiation before Mr. GREGORIE, charged with steal-
ing from Mr. George Parkins, an elderly bachelor,
of independent fortune, of No. 16, Kennington-oval,
a valuable gold watch, chain, and seals, under the
followtog rather singular circumstances.
The prosecutor, who is between 60 and 70 years
of age, was at the Mitre tavern, Stangate, near
Westminster-bridge, on last Monday week. It so
happened that there was also present Mrs. Gregory,
a widow, fast approaching three-score, of No. 7
High-street, Lambeth, who was transacting some
business with a party about a house which she was
about to take. The glass circulated freely, and in a
snort time the prosecutor and the widow got into a
very lively conversation, and appeared mightily de-
lighted with each other's company—so much so,
indeed, that the widow offered to see him safe home.
The offer was accepted, and they trudged along
until they came to the Stags, at Kennington, when
it was deemed advisable to finish their journey in a
coach, which was called off the stand, and they both
got in. The coachman was ordered to stop at the
Clayton Arms, Clayton-street, Kennington, where
the party got out and drank several glasses of negus.
Having enjoyed themselves for some time, they
again got into the coach, and the coachman drove
them to the prosecutor's house; but as ill luck
will happen, the housekeeper was gone out, and
there was nobody at home. In this dilemma the
coachman was ordered to drive to the Cock, at
Kennington-green, where they again alighted, both
parties a little elevated from the refreshments which
they had taken during the afternoon, when on a

tatilden the prosecutor found that he had lost his
gold watch, chain, and seals. An alarm was in-
Aqi!ly given, and the police were informed of the
circumstances, when suspicion immediately fell upon
Mrs. Gregory, who was taken to the station-house
the Waterloo-road, and searched; but no watch
sea, found upon her, and she vehemently protested
her innocence, which was clearly established by the
subsequent part of the proceedings. Mrs. Giegory
was immediately liberated, and from her information
it was ascertained, that when they took the coach
at the Stags, at Kennington, a lad, dressed like a
hatcher, got upon the box with the coachman, and
was present when they got out of the coach. She
described his person and appearance, and, from the
description, he was apprehended by the police. On
Ling taken into custody on the following day, he
said that he found the watch. at the bottom of the
coach, and that he had sold it to a person, who
had paid him lls , and was to give him 2/. more.
A female witness was examined, is ho stated that she
saw the prisoner with a watch after the robbery.
Mr. GREGORIE asked the prisoner if he wished to
say anything in answer to the charge.
The prisoner was drunk at the time, and knew
nothing about it.
The prisoner was fully committed for trial, and
the parties were bound over to prosecute.
As the prosecutor was leaving the office the pri-
soner called out to him from the cell, " I say, Mr.
Parkins, -won't you stand a glass of summut to
drink ?" The old gentle Man turned round, when
the prisoner hailed him again in the same terms;
upon which he called his hou-ekeeper, who was
with him, and, giving her a shilling, desired her to
give it to the prisoner, who received the gift with
the utmost astonishment.
• MARLB OR 0 U G S TREE T.

Yesierday Mr. Baker, a livery-stable-keeper, in
Park-street, Camden-town, charged David Bold-
ridge, a lad empkyed by him to drive a four-
w;,eeled fly, with having cruelly beaten one of his
horses.

Mr. Baker saw the lad galloping furiously towards
Hampstead-bridge, whipping the horse at the same
time most unmercifully. The vehicle having stopped,
he came up, arid found the horse bathed ►n sweat,
and, in fact, as wet as if he had laten dragged
through a pond. On examining his flanks, he dis-
covered the animal had been cut foul, as the skin
on the inner part was stripped off, and there was a
" raw" which exactly fitted a knot in the whip us, d
by the lad. Mr. Baker. here produced a very heavy
whip, with a flinty knot tied in the lash, and re-
marksd that such a whip as that was capable of
tearing out the inside of any horse.
Farquharson, the street-keeper of that district,
said, the inhabitants complained loudly of the con-
duct of the drivers of the four-wheeled fl e', as they
were in the constant habit of racing against each
other, and endangering the lives of foot-passengers,
in and about the vicinity of Camden-town. There
were about thirty of these vehicles plying about that
place, and the conduct of the drivers had become so
outrageous of late, that there were six or seven at
that moment in custody charged with offences simi-
lar to the present.
Mr. CONANT said he would inflict punishment, in
hop?s that the boy would learn to exerci•e humanity
in future. At all events he must be taught that cru-
elly was not to be practised with impunity.
Ile was then fined 40s. for the offence.
WORSHIP STREET.

The Magistrates of this office have bee❑ much
occupied lately with the investigation of charges
preferred against Thomas Middleton, a weaver, who
was suspected of having embezzled about 301. worth
of silk intrusted to him to weave for Mr. Parsons,
one of the most extensive of the manufacturers in
Spital-square. Upon each day of examination, the
neighbourhood of the office was crowded with work-
people in the same employ, and the most remark-
able feature in the case was, the eagerness with
which the prisoner's conviction and punishment
were sought for by his sbopmates, who seemed
fully persuaded that he had himself made away with
the property which he said had been stolen from
him. The zeal displayed by them, however, was
explained by the fact that the loss would fall upon
them. It was stated that Mr. Parsons employs up-
wards of 600 looms, and upon each loorn's wo►k
given out receives a deposit of one shilling, as se-
curity against loss.
It appeared from the evil:-nee, that the defendant
had received work for three looms, one to be wrought
by himself, and the others by his wife and another
member of his family. As the work proceeded he
obtained wages i❑ advance to the amount of five
guineas; but on the 41) of September he gave no•
tice to his employers that the whole of the manu-
factured portion of the silk had been stolen from his
looms.

Several of the most respectable of the workmen,
however, ►who gave evidence against him, said that
the work had evidently been cut out by a weaver,
and they were of opinion, from all they saw about
his place, that it had been done by the prisoner
himself. It appeared also that he had been for
some time working as a labourer at the dock's in-
stead of his loom, and he accounted for that by say-
ing, that his wife being near the time of her ac-
couchement, he went to earn a little ready money to
provide for that occasion, the wages he had received
in advance upon the silk having been already ex-
pended. The Magistrates observed that it was a
case of strong suspicion against the prisoner, but
there was a possibility of his having been robbed of
the work as he alleged, and they therefore dis-
charged him out of custody.