The Sun.
London, England, 1835-02-04 00:00:00

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.

John Phillips was convicted of stealing a cushion fro.n a
carriage, the property of George Adams.
, The carriage was left standing in the street without any
person being left in charge of it, and the prisoner, watching
an opportunity, opened the door and took the cushion.
The CHAIRMAN said the Court could not allow the ex-
penses of parties who left property exposed in so careless
a manner ; it afforded a temptation which, to persons like
the prisoner, often proved irresistible. The Court had de-
termined, in all cases where property was exposed in a man-
ner which tempted persons to commit a felony, not to put
the county to the expense of a prosecution.
The prisoner was sentenced to one month's imprisonment.
W. cook, a lad only fourteen years of age, but who has
already been six times imprisoned in the House of Correc-
tion, was transported for seven years, for stealing a piece
of beef from the shop of Mr. Henford, a butcher, in Spi-
talfields.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

GUILDHALL.

Yesterday about forty of the masons employed in repair-
ing Blackfriars Bridge came before Mr. Alderman WIL-
SON, to hear his decision on a case which had been investi-
gated at considerable length the day before.
The complaint was made by the men against Mr. Rad-
ford, the superintendent of the works, for refusing to pay
them their wages, with a view to have the question what
price should be paid for their labour arbitrated by persons
who are acquainted with the work, according to the Act of
Parliament. Mr. Tyrrell attended with Mr. Radford and
Mr. Boyes as solicitor to the workmen. The statute em-
powers the Magistrate to decide the question when the
arbitrators cannot agree, but in this case the parties agreed
to tako the Magistrate's decision in the first instance.
Mr. Alderman WILSON therefore proceeded to bear evi-
dence as to the nature of the hiring, the sort of work done,
and the fair value of it.
On the first point the men claimed to be paid by time,
at ss. per day, because a strict account was kept of their
hours of labour ; but it was pretty clearly shown that the
hiring was to be paid according to the quantity of work
performed. They were chiefly told, when they applied
for a job, to go to work next morning ; and when they
went, they were told they would be paid by the piece,
but that the masters had not settled what the price
should be. And when they were told, two or three
days afterwards, that they were to be paid 6d. per squaro
foot, 4d. at the end of each weeks and the other" 2d.
when the job wag NO-loci, they. struck and came before the-.
mvistrates. The nature of the work was to chip away all
the unsound stone under the arches of the bridge, cutting
inches;
yesas
adne(pltli;vairnlntif7l lflirtleAftiouctr:ll:lB t
'h Work atsli,llwee,
eQs.arllY *l9l4Pr 4114 mare tiring til4q woricing upoß ao
yp-
right surface, as from the etirvatore of the arch the man
is
e
must work with his hands
:feoi),toteietti.fir
:eta irooei:egdtgryi
aneciwaribat:;:tv:oesih:af4ipi man
price
t.tacr.hcdi :cs.lntdeeedcivenglihicr
at
iibndoorgsditf:rt;bm4e claimedtt
htwabola2feaekse.wpt
tdarotc.li backwards. With
r
n at that price, and one marl
adWcttyruk, amlal yn 940
hWti h;erirre:dt6grlleeiiiitcl;feet an M id ay th¢ five hohfld
urs
boforo drones' time." • 'The witneafies for the men ultimately
reduced their value of the labour from 2s. 6d. per foot to
Is. 3d. or Is. 2d., upon the ground that no man could get I

over more than five feet per day on an average. They put
in a paper, however, which stated that three men working
from the centre to the base of the arch (including therefore
the most difficult as well as the easier parts of the work)
had completed seventy-seven feet in four days, giving an
average of about six feet per day per man.
Mr. Alderman WILSON took this paper as his ground
for adjudging that the men ought to have 9d. per foot. As
he 'ryas called upon to say what was just between the mas-
ter and man, because they had neglected to settle that
themselves in the beginning, he should say that the mason
should be able to earn 30s. a week, and if masters made
contracts that would not allow such wages, it was their
own fault. He thought 9d. a foot was as little as the men
ought to have.
Mr. Tyrrell said it was impossible to comply with the
Magistrate's decision, as the average rate of wages of all the
men employed about the bridge was only 4s. a day ; and if
higher wages were paid to the complainants, it would dis-
turb the whole. He, therefore, gave notice, that he should
appeal against the Alderman's decision.
The men were very well satisfied with the price allowed
by the Magistrate.