The Sun.
London, England, 1832-06-22 00:00:00

LAMBETH-STREET.

Yesterday a Hebrew gentleman, of great wealth
and high respectability, who for many years retained
the friendship and confidence of the late Duke of
Kent, as well as other distinguished individuals, and
through whose influence several important immuni,
ties have been granted to the Jews by different
foreign Courts (particularly that of Spain), appeared
with his solicitor before Messrs. HARDWICK and
WALKER, to meet a charge preferred against him on
the preceding day by a female domestic, named
Esther Kirby.
The defendant, who is upwards of 72 years
of age, and appeared extremely feeble and decrepit,
from the effects of gout, was accommodated with a
chair during the investigation.
The complainant, on Monday fortnight, entered
the service of the defendant, and a few days after
her master followed her into a closet of the drawing-
room, and pressed her very much to kiss him. She
refused to do so, and resisted liberties which he on
several subsequent occasions attempted to take with
her. On Friday last, while making her master's
bed, he entered the chamber and forced her on the
bed ; but she pushed him away from her and got out
of the bed-room. On subsequently mentioning the
subject to her parents and friend., they advised her
to adopt the present proceedings.
In her cross-examination by the professional
gentleman who attended on behalf of the defendant,
the witness admitted that she had not complained to
either of her master's sisters (two of whom were
in the house) of his conduct towards Ler. She also
acknowledged to having thrown a cat out of the
two-pair window into the yard in her passion, but
denied that the family had given her warning to quit
in consequence of this act of inhumanity, and other
improper conduct.

The defendant, in the most solemn manner, de-
clared that the statement made by the complainant
was, from beginning to end, a tissue of falsehoods,
and that the charge itself was a mere conspiracy,
got up fur the purpose of extorting a sum of money
from him.

The wife of a respectable grocer, who resides
nearly opposite to the house of the defendant, had
frequently observed the complainant come out of
her master's house of an evening, and go to the
corner of the street, where different men were in
the habit of "waiting for her. She also observed
these men take libert►es with her in the open street,
which a decent or proper female would not permit.
Another witness had overheard a conversation be-
tween the mother of the complainant and one or
two of her friends, when the mother declared that
unless ►he old gentleman paid them 40/, the busi-
ness should not be settled.
Mr. HARDWICK said that the tables were very
nearly turned on the complainant, and had a charge
of attempted extortion been more clearly established,
he should have punished her to the utmost extent
the law would allow, as he could not conceive a
more serious charge than that of attempting to ex-
tort money under such circumstances. With re-
spect to the charge immediately before him, he
thought that the defendant's age and infirmities
completely negatived any thing like violence, and he
should therefore discharge the complaint.
The defendant then left the office in company
with his friends.