The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-10 00:00:00

SEPTEMBER 10,

1861.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET,—TMPORTANT TO
BENEFIT SOCIETIES. ATTEMPTED FRAUD.—
Henry Banman, a boot and shoemaker, was charged
before Mr. Beadon, with the following attempted
fraud on the West-end Bout and Shoemakers'
Society.
Mr. Edward Lewis, of Great Marlborough-street,
appeared for the prosecution, and said the prisoner
was charged with endeavouring to obtain money
by false pretences. The society consisted of four
branches, the West-end Men Bootmakers' Society,
the West-end Ladies Bootmakers' Society, the
Boot-closers' Society, and the Heavy Bootmakers'
Society, and there were both provincial and metro-
politan lodges, where assistance was rendered to
workmen at different towns in search of employ-
ment, and the funds of the society were dispensed
by means of cards given to applicants to enable
them to receive assistance in the different towns
through which they pass, but no workmen was
entitled to the possession of more than one card.
On Saturday week last the prisoner applied to
the Female Bootmakers' Society, and obtained the
necessary assistance by the production of a card,
and he, on the same night, applied to the Men's
Bootmakers' Society, . and by producing a similar
card, but in a different name, attempted to obtain
further assistance, but it was at once detected by
Mr. Dadshon, the secretary, to be a forgery, and
the prisoner given into custody. On being searched
a third card was found on him. Mr. Lewis stated
that in consequence of the society having discovered
numerous forgeries of late they had determined to
prosecute. •
Mr. Wm. Palmer, secretary to the Bootmakers'
Society of Reading, said on the 29th of August he
relieved the prisoner at Reading by the name of
Foster, and signed his card, but the card produced
and purporting to be signed by him was not signed
by him nor with his authority.

LAMBETH.—WiIIiam Stevens, the proprietor
and conductor of a Peckham omnibus, No.
6,709,
and the owner of the conductor's badge No. 1,555,
appeared before Mr. Elliott to answer a charge of
gross misconduct towards Miss Martha Topham, a
young lady who had been a passenger in his vehicle.
Miss Topham said that on Sunday week she had
been to visit a sick sister, and about half-past 10 at
night, in company with a young lady friend, took
a seat in the defendant's omnibus, in Gracechurch-
street, to be conveyed to the residence of her mother,
Camberwell-green. The vehicle moved over London-
bridge, and having then its full number of passen-
gers, and she (witness) being seated next the door,
requested the defendant to close it. His reply was
that he supposed he knew his business without
being told it, and he should close the door when he
thought proper. At this time defendant was stand-
ing on the step, with the door in hand and
smoking a short pipe, and witness told him that he
had no right to smoke, that it was offensive to his
passengers, and that she should lay a complaint
against him for doing so. He said he did not care a
farthing for such a person as she was, that she was
a woman of the town, and that if he had noticed her
at first he should not have permitted her to get
into his omnibus. On the omnibus reaching Cam-
berwell-green the defendant opened the door, and
alluding to her, no doubt, said, " Now, woman, get
cunt." She told him she required his number, to
have some redress for his slander, when he in-
stantly slammed the door to, and drove herself and
her friend to Nigh•street, Peckham, where he put
them out. He then demanded her fare to that
place, but she refused to pay him the fare beyond
Camberwell-green, where he should have put her
down. He told her if she did not pay twopence in
addition he should take her to the police station. A
police constable fortunately came up, by whose ad-
vice she paid the fare for both to Peckham, and the
officer took the number of the omnibus and the de-
fendant's badge.
The witness was cross-examined at some length
by Mr. Edwin, the defendant's solicitor, but with-
out materially varying her previous statement. It
appeared, however, that there were some females in
the vehicle between whom and the complainant a
few words passed in reference to the conductor. •
Miss Minnie Magner, the young lady who accom-
panied the last witness, corroborated her testimony
in every important particular.
For the defence, three ladies of undoubted re-
spectability were called, and all described the man-
ner of Miss Topham as of an overbearing character,
and not only offensive to the defendant but to them,
calling them the creatures of the conductor, and
making use of language which they attributed to
something more than excitement. There were some
discrepancies in their statements, and all swore that
the defendant was not smoking a short pipe, while
Miss Topham and her witness solemnly asserted the
contrary.
Mr. Elliott observed that it was quite clear that
the conduct of the defendant from the beginning to
the end was most improper, and for it he must pay
a penalty of £2 and expenses, or be imprisoned for
20 days.
The penalty was at once paid, and the defendant
discharged.

GREENWICH. HIGHWAY Ronß E
VIOLENCE.—WiIIiam Thomas, an. AmeriticYanwsieTal!
man, was charged with being concerned, with two
others not in custody, in assaulting and robbing
James Callen] on the public highway.
The prosecutor said he was returning home on
Saturday night, and when in the Plou h- road
Rotherhithe, met the prisoner and two othger
e-
rican seamen, who asked him if he was the
steward
of the Grace Darling, a vessel lying in the Com-
mercial Docks. He told them he was, and they then
said they were seamen on board another vessel in
the dock, and that they *ere to be paid wages on
Monday, at the same time asking him to lend them
each a shilling until that time. He lent them the
money, and also treated them to something to drink,
when they said they were going on board their ship
and would accompany him along the road. They
then walked together, the prisoner and his com-
panions speaking of him as the kindest friend they
had ever met with; but they had not walked more
than 70 y ads before one of them struck him a blow
which felled him to the ground, when a cry of" Boot
him," " Kill him," was raised, and he was kicked
violently in the face and head, one of his eyes being
now closed from a kick he had received. While
lying on the ground one of the party knelt upon
his chest, and he W3B robbed of £1 17s. He seized
the prisoner and raised an alarm. Tne other two
men ran off, and made their escape.
Police-constable Kelly, 55 M, having confirmed
this statement,

Mr. Traill remanded the prisoner till Saturday.

DEFRAUDING: FORESTERS'BENEFIT SOCIETY.—
William Aram, a journeyman bricklayer, residing at
64, Earl-street, Edgware-road, was brought up on
remand charged with obtaining money under false
pretences from the funds of the Foresters' Society.
The facts of the case have already appeared.
A gentleman now attended for the prosecution,
and said there was no desire to proceed harshly
against the prisoner, but tit the same time, as the
society possessed so many members in all parts of

entered, and suspicion fell on the prisoner. He was
taken on Saturday.
Mr. D'Eyncourt remanded the prisoner for a
week, and refused to accept bail.
A CABMAN CHARGED WITH CAUSING THE
DEATH OF A BOY.----A respectably attired and de-
cent-looking man, who gave the name of John
Muckley, aged 32, the driver of a hackney carriage,
badge 6259, residing at 5, St. Emmen's-hill, West-
minster, surrendered to his bail, charged on his
own confession with causing the death of Francis
Bidborough, a boy about ten years of age, by driving
over him with his horse and cab, at Tonbridge-
street, Euston-road, St. Pancras.
Inspector Reynard, of the E division, attended to
watch the case on behalf of the Commissioners of
Police.

Mr. John William Standford, a foreman in a boot
factory, said, about ten minutes past three on Satur-
day afternoon, as he was coming out of the Dolphin
public-house, he saw defendant driving a horse and
cab. The cab was then in the act of turning from
Claremont-place into Tonbridge-street. At the
moment he looked the wheels of the cab were then
passing over the body of the deceased, who was
lying on his stomach. The prisoner, who was driv-
ing a Hansom cab, had a gentleman inside as his
fare and was driving at a very moderate pace ; in
fact, he was walking, as he had pulled up to turn
the corner. The deceased, with some other boys,
was playing at the spot at which the accident hap.
pened.

- The prisoner, in defence, said he was not aware
that he had run over the deceased until he was
called to by the first witness, and then he turned
round and saw the boy lying on the ground. When
the boy was picked up he could speak. He was
truly sorry for what had occurred.
Richard Bidborough, the brother of the deceased,
residing with his father at 44, Little George-street,
Hampstead-road, sain he was playing with his
brother and some other boys at the time in ques-
tion. His brother took a ball away from a boy and
ran across the road, and was in the act of turning
round to see if the other boy was following him,
when the horde the prisoner was driving struck
him on the shoulder and knocked him down. The
cabman was driving slowly at the time.
Another boy who was present at the time df the
accident said that the cabman was not in the least
to blame, as he was driving very slowly at the time
of the accident.
Mr. D'Eyncourt said he was very sorry for the
poor boy's father, but, from the evidence, there
could be no doubt that it was an accident, and the
defendant was not to blame in the matter.
The prisoner then left the court.