The Sun.
London, England, 1835-01-27 00:00:00

THAMES OFFICE.

HORRIBLE CASE OF PROFLIGACY.—CHARGE OF MCl-
DER.—Yesterday Barnett, a Jew, the proprietor of an ii:-
famous brothel, No. 30, Coburg-street, Commercial-road,
East, and Elizabeth Barnett, his wife, a Jewess, were
brought before Mr. BALLANTINE and Mr. COOMBE, charged
on suspicion " with being accessory to the death of Char-
lotte Waller, and also with secreting her in their houso for
the purposes of prostitution."
The investigation of the case excited an ext-aordinary
degree of interest.
Mr. Wooler appeared for the defendants.
Mr. CooMBE asked the male prisoner what be was, and
where he lived? Barnett—l keep a house, to be sure.
Mr. COOMBE—What house ? What do you do with it
Barnett—Quite a regular house ; I let it out.
Mr. COOMBE—Now, sir, is not your house a notorious
b—y house ? Barnett—That's nothing to noho iy ; I've
nothing to do with that now.
Mr. COOMBE—Have you not had girls living in that
house for the vilest purposei ? Barnett—l have had several
girls in the house, but I have none at present.
Mr, COOMBE inquired when the last girl lived in the
house, and what was her name ?

The female prisoner replied that the namo of the List
girl was Charlotte ; sh.c did not know her other name ; she
left a few days ago ; she was brought to the house.

Mr. COOMBE and Mr. BALLANTJNE—Yes, we know it ;
let this horrible case be proceeded with.
The first witness called was Mr. Waller, merchant, who
handed his card to the Magistrate, and in consevence of
severe indisposition was accommodated with a chair. He
was attired in deep mourning, and appeared overwhelmed
with grief. He said his daughter, at the time of her death,
was seventeen years of age. She resided at Fakei:ham, in
Norfolk, with her grandmother, by whom her education
was superintended. Witness carried on business in London.
Last week he received a letter from a person in St. Bar-
tholomew's Hospital, stating that his daughter was a patient
there and was not expected to survive many hours. He
proceeded to the hospital, and was almost distracted at
finding his daughter at the point of death. All he could
collect from his child was, that she had lived in the house of
the prisoners, and had been very much iii used : but he
could not gather from her where they lived. Mr: Waller
after describing the, efforts he made to discover the abode of
the " wretches" in all parts of the metropolis, said that a
woman was sent to the Hospital on Sunday by the pri-
soners to inquire about the patient, and he ordered her to
be detained, by which means he ascertained the residence of
the prisoners, and demanded of them the reason of detaining
his daughter. They said they had taken her as a lodger ;
but he was afterwards informed that she was engaged by
Mrs. Barnett to nurse her children, and was not allowed to
leave the house alone. He subsequently ascertained from
the information given him by the police, that the prisoners
kept a most infamous brothel into which girls were fre-
quently decoyed, and he gave them into custody.
Selina Jones, a nurse at St. Bartholomew's Hospital,
said the deceased was admitted there on the Bth of January,
and at that time was in a most deplorable state. Her dress
was ragged, and she was afflicted with a disgraceful dis-
order. She was in a filthy condition, and from her ap-
pearance, she did think she could not long survive. She
asked the girl to send to her parents, but sho appeared
reluctant to do so, and said they would be shocked at her
situation. On the following day two girls came to the
hospital, and gave the deceased some tea and sugar, and
a few half-pence ; but the Barnetts never camo near her.
She asked the deceased how she got into such a disgrace-
ful situation, and she stated that she came to town on 4

Mr. BALLA NTINE—You know, of course, that this woman
and her husband trade in " dress lodgers," girls whom they
decoy from the paths of virtue for their own corrupt pur-
poses. Did you ever see the deceased with the woman ?
Charlton—l hare, Sir, seen her frequently with Mrs. Bar-
nett following her closely. She was very quiet and or-
derly, and dressed very fashionably in clothes provided by
the prisoners. When I saw her at the hospital she was
dressed in her own clothes. ,
After other evidence in confirmation of the infamous
manner in which the girl had been deluded, and the base
traffic carried on by the prisoners and others of the same
::tamp,

Mr. Wooler, for the prisoners, said that the magistrates
had no jurisdiction in the case, and consequently the pri-
soners would be entitled to sheir discharge. He would,
however, offer no apology for their conduct.
Mr. BALLANTINE said he knew Mr. Wooler would not
defend such atrocious transactions. There were many
houses of a similar description in all parts of the metropolis,
where hundreds of virtuous girls were ruined by such
wretches : nothing could be more horrible. The subject
was brought before him every dav, and the parishes, who
alone had the remedy in their hands, ought to prosecute.
Mr. COOMBE regretted he was obliged to discharge those
infamous miscreants, who had the impudence to tell him
they kept a regular house. Regular ! Yes ;it was regu-
lar infamy. Mr. Waller would be doing a public as welli
as private duty, in indicting the prisoners for keeping a dis-
orderly house.
•

Mr. Waller, who was deeply affected, said that would
not restore his lost daughter : he was obliged to the Bench
for their attention to the case.
Mr. COOMBE was sorry he could not commit them for
trial ; but the death of the girl lay at their door.
The prisoners were then liberated, and, as they were
leaving the office, were saluted with the groans and hisses of
the bystanders. A great number of Jew receivers of stolen
property, prize-fighters, and others, who keep similar houses
in St. George's, were in attendance.
The unfortunate deceased was a girl of very prepossess-
ing appearance ; and it was only a fortnight since that she
and her brother, who is two years older, came into posses-
sion of a legacy of ,200/., bequeathed to them by a relative.