The Sun.
London, England, 1857-02-18 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE—Feb. 17.

MA.RYLEBONE.—Mr. Broughton was engaged for
some time in an investigation in reference to the case of
the widow Allsop, who, as alleged by her, had lost five
sons in the service of their Qaeen and country—three of
theta at Cabul, and two in the Crimea.
The widow, who had been ordered to attend, was pre-
sent at 2 o'clock. Soon after that hour she was called
in, and was seated near the attorney's table. She was
dressed in half-mourning, and seemed to be somewhat be-
y* id 60 years of age.
Mr. Broughton---I have sent for you to be here to-
day, Mrs. Allsop, for the purpose of putting some
questions to you which I consider it my duty to do in
consequence of a great deal of money having been for.
warded to me since the publication of your case in the
papers. It is now necessary that there should be a clear
understanding in the affair before you have any money
handed over to you.
Mrs. Allsop—Will you allow me, air, to speak to you
privately, for there are many letters that---
Mr. Broughton—No, you cannot have an interview
with me in private. The inquiry must be in open court.
Now, answer my questions. Are you a widow ?
Mrs. Allsop--I am, sir.
Mr. Broughton—In what regiment was your husband
an officer ?
Mrs. Allsop—ln the 44th Regiment for a long time
in India, and he exchanged into another.regirnent. We
then came to England, my husband selling off the half-
pay awarded to him, and hereceived for it 1,4001. I
had after his death a little income,
Mr. Broughton—From what source was your income
derived ?
Mrs. Allsop—Don'tzsk me, sir, for the sake of, those
who are dead.
Mr. Broughton—Now, be careful as to what I am ask-
ing you. Had you any sons at Cabul ?
Mrs. Allsop—l had three there ; they were born
while my husband was in the 44th Regiment ; two of
them, who were twins, were christened one in the name
of James, and the other David.
Mr. Broughton—ln what way did they meet their
death
Mrs. Allsop—They were blown up into the air. Nearly
the whole of the regiment was killed.'
Mr. Broughton—Did you receive any intimation from
the War-office that your sons had been destroyed at
Cabul ?
Mrs. Allsop—Yes.
Mr. 13roughton—Have you received any pay that
might have been due to them ?
Mrs. Allsop—No, sir.
Mrs. Allsop here turned over a number of papers,
some of which were handed, to the magistrate.
Mr. Broughton—When did you first send in a peti-
tion

Mrs. Allsop—ln 1843 ; that was to the Queen' and I
did not send to Prince Albert until after the Queen, de-
nied me.
Mr. Broughton—When you petitioned the Queen why
did not you mention about your sons, who, as you allege,
were killed at Cabal?
Mrs. Allscp (after some hesitation)—l did, to the best
of my belief, state it.
Mr. Broughton—l have a well-authenticated lettet
that you did not do anything of the sort in your petition
to her Majesty. Can you bring forward any witnesses
who knew that you had sons in the army, and who were
killed ?
Mrs. Allsop—Mrs. DouglaP, living in Nutfort-place,
knows it.
Mr. Broughton—ls she here 1
• Airs. Allsop—No, sir.
Mr. Broughton—Are you aware that when applica-
tions have been made at the Horse Guards none of the
names of either of your sons were found entered there I
Mrs. Allsop—Yes, but although I could not get jus-
tice where I had a right, as I thought, to look for it, I
oneinwthhoe
ever
still met with a friend.
Mr. Broughton—Who was be?
Mrs. Allsop—tLord F. Somerset. Don't ask me any
more questions about it.
M saw either of
r.Broughton-y—oCuar sons, knowing
refer m
them
etoany
to be

army
Mrs. Allsop—l cannot now, sir : but I might be able
to do so upon anothet day.
Mr. Broughton—ln 1855 the greatest excitement pre-
vailed in regard to the Crimean war. Will you tell me
why you never made mention about your sons in the pe-
tition which in that year you say you sent in ?
Mrs. kllsop—l did make mention of it_
Mr. Broughton—Now, I have the petition here (the
magistrate produced it and read it), in which you make
no allusion at all to any sons in the Crimea. Rave you
ever applied to the parish ?
Mrs. Allsop—l have, sir ; and have been in the re-
' ceipt of 3s. 6d. per week, but it is now stopped.
Mr. Broughton—Before that allo mance was made to
you, you were, no doubt, questioned with regard to your
circumstances by the proper authorities of Marylebune I
Mrs. Allsop—Yes, I was examined by them.
Mr. Broughton—And did you not tell them you had
three sons only and two daughters ?
Mrs. Allsop—They did not ask me any of those ques-
tions. Lord Raglan was a kind friend to me and as-
sisted me.
Mr. Breughton—Have you any letter stating•that
Lord Raglan ever afforded you aid ?
Mrs. Allsop—l have it not here, sir, but it can be
produced some other time—perhaps .I have it now.
(She here looked over a large packet of papers, but could
not find it.) But, why am I put to all this pain and ex-
posure in court, when Mr. Jenuer, of Doctors'-commone,
could, if he liked to come forward, explain at onoe all
about my interest in my late husband's property ?
Mr. Broughton—Do you remember any inquiries be-
ing made respecting you by the Mendicity Society ?
Mrs. Allsop—Yes ; they have injured me. They get
a great deal of money from the public, and the poor peo-
ple who ought t• have it get little or nothing.
(It had been ascertained that Mrs. Ailiop has been
well known as a begging letter writer for some time.)

-- -
Mr. Broughton (a letter having been banded to bina
by Mr. Franklin).— Were you ever at Bradford
Mrs. All4op—brentford, did you say t I don't know
the place.

Mr. Broughton—Bradford, and not Brentford, was
mentioned. Do you know that town ?
Mrs. Allsop—Certainly not. I am an ill-used woman,
and have put my case in the hands of a lawyer, who will
lay everything fully before the public at large.
After some further questions to Mrs. Allsop the Ma-
gistrate, addressing her, said--It is now unnecessary for
me to keep up this inquiry any longer. I did at first
entertain a favourable opinion of you, but my impression
has since been altered. I believe that your story with
regard to your five sons having lost their lives in the
service of their country is a fable. If it be not so, it is
a most extraordinary thing that clergymen and others
whose names you have made use of in various ways, and
who, as stated by you, have known you fora long while,
know nothing respecting your children,- the young
men who you state have perished in battle. You
told the guardians and directors of the poor that
you had three sons and .two daughters only, and
the letter which I have by me, addressed by you to
Colonel Phipps, is dated March, 1850. When I re-
ceived it from you it bore the date 1856. The Prince
caused inquiries to be made, and they turned out to be
unfavourable—hence arose the letter declining assist-
ance to the widow. I (added Mr. Broughton) have
also made the most diligent inquiries, and they are
equally unfavourable as regards your claim for assist-
ance. After a careful investigation I come to no other
conclusion than that you (Mrs. Allsop) had no sons
killed, either at Cibul or in the Cr:mea, and that your
story in your applications to Royalty was not founded
in fact. lam anxious that it should go forth that., fed-
ing as I do upon the matter, the persons who have con-
tributed sums for the widow under the belie that she
was a deserving object may hare them re'.urned in the
event of Mrs. Allsop not being able in the course of a
few days to establish a proper claim to public sympathy
and aid. Should the donors not ha desirous of having
back their contributions, I shall devote them to the
poor-box, from which many deserving and distressed
persons will derive assistance.
Mrs. Allsop then left the court, saying, "I'll have the
whole of my case put into all the papers."

WORSHIP-STREET.—John Walker, a haberdasher,
in Shaftesbury-street, New North-road, was brought up
for re-examinatien upon a charge, preferred by the parish
authorities of Shoreditch, of neglecting, ill-feeding, and
cruelly using his orphan niece, eight years of age ; a❑d
a boy named Charles Gleed was charged with wilfully
smashing the other defendant's windoivp.
The ca-e of the boy came on first, and in that Collard,
a constable of the N division, stated that while on duty
in Sbaftesbury-street on the preceding evening he saw
the boy fling something at the first-floor window over
the haberdasher's shop, and directly after heard a smash-
ing of glass. There was a great mob of people collected
round the house, but he went in among them and took
eut the boy.

Mr. D'hyncourt—What was the cause of the mob
collecting ; did you ascertain
Constable—Yes, sir ; a person named Walker, now
under remand from this court, and out on bail, for ill-
using a child, lives there, and ever since the first exami-
nation a scene of excitement has heels Exhibited there
which is perfectly indescribable. The police are on duty
in the neighbourhood in numbers, but a mob of from 700
to 800 people, and of all ages and both sexes, collects,
and the consequence is that business is prevented, and
the shops near are closed. I never saw such a disturb-
ance or display of feeling ; the windows of the house are
broken, and, although the shutters are up, the pannel-
ling beneath them has been kicked in and splintered. A
great amount of damage has been done to the premises,
and I really believe that Walker's life will be in danger
if the mob get hold of him.
A gentleman present—l can bear witness, sir, to the
scene in the street being a's described by the officer. I
never saw such a disturbance or destruction in my life ;
at least 10/, worth of damage has been done to the
hone.

Mr. D'Eyncourt—l must express my strong disappro-
bation of such a manifestation of feeling as this. The
object of it is now under examination here, though oat on
bail, and has been perhaps himself fearful of personally
applying for a remedy, but the persons who so assail
him may rest assured that if either he or any one on his
behalf applies to me for redress I will grant a process
against them immediately.
Mother of the boy—Why, sir, my boy is only one
among a thousand ; this pelting sometimes goes on till
12 o'clock at night.
Mr. D'Eyncourt—l have it in my power to send your
son to prison in default of paying a 40s. penalty for
throwing stones in a public thoroughfare, but, as you
appear to be a, woman in distressed circumstances, and
the boy to have acted more from an evil example than
anything else, I will in this instance only sentence him
to pay the amount of damage he has inflicted, and allow
the officer to receive it and refund it to the owner of the
premises,
The woman gladly paid the money, and the boy, after
reproval from his mother, was discharged.
Walker afterwards appeared in discharge of his bail,
accompanied by Mr. Heritage, his solicitor, and, the evi-
dence previously taken having been read over, and the
witnesses cross•examined by Mr. Heritage, be was again
remanded upon bail, himself in 1001. and two sureties in
501. each, a slight increase upon the former amount of
bail. This amount he could not procure, and the
officers, therefore, took him away in a cab, to save him
from the indignation of the mob, who had assemtled
outside the court to the number of several hundred
persons.

CLERKENWELL._A large body of unemployed
artisans and labourers who had formed part of a meeting
in a field near Agar-town,' St. Pancras, marched up in
front of the court, headed by the chairman of the meet-
iog, who acted as spokesman. He stated to Mr. Combs
that they had applied to St. Pancras parish for relief,
and having been refused they came peaceably to seek
advice and assistance from his worship. The poor
persons now attending were starving with their families
and bad not tasted food all day. Numbers of the per-
sons present confirmed this fact, and Mr. Combs hu-
manely ordered that bread should be procured and dis-
tributed to them, and the station-house yard next to
the court was immediately crowded by the hungry
multitude. Mr. Bayliss, the chief usher of the court,
ordered an immense quantity of loaves of various bakers
in the neighbourhood, and they were handed over by
Mr. Superintendent Martin of the G division, and other
officers in quantities according to the distress and 'wants
of the recipients.

THAMES.—Two strong and able-bodied fellows, of
ruffianly appearance and manners, named Joseph Lee,
aged 19, of No. 30, Devonshire-street, Commercial-road-
east, and James Sadlier, of No. 12, Star-street,
Commercial-road-east, plumber, 22, was charged with
seizing John Duhm, of No. 6, Lower Pelham-street,
Spitalfields, by the neck, throwing him backwards, and
attempting to rob him of his watch and money.
The prosecutor said—l was returning home about 2
o'clock this morning, and while passing along High-
street, Whitechape, I saw the two prisoners with
another man and a woman. Sadlier came up to me and
said, " What have you been insulting my girl for ?" I
replied, "I have not seen her or you before." Upon
which Lee seized me by the throat and nearly strangled
me. He threw me down and held me fast while Sad-
lier, who acted in a most violent manner, tore my waist-
coat open, and put his hand in one of my pockets, but
there was nothing in that pocket. He then made a
snatch at my watchguard. By a desperate effort I par-
tially released my,elf, and got upon my feet, and was
enabled to call "Police !" The policemen came up, and
the two ruffians threw me-on the ground and ran }away.
But for the policemen arriving as they did I should cer-1
tainly have been robbed of all I had. They struck me
twice, and hurt me very much.
Mr. Yardley—Are you sure those are the ra en who
attacked you

Mr. Duhra—l am, sir ; I can positively swear to
,hem.

Margaret English, a young woman, said,—l was pass.
ing and saw the prisoners together, and one of them
caught the prosecutor by the throat and threw him
down. There were three of them, but one ran away,
and got clear from the police.
Police-constable Woodward, No. 187 H, stated that
he saw Mr. Duhin in the hands of the prisoners, and on
running to the spot the men ran away. He followed
Sadlier a❑d overtook him close to the Red Lion and
Spread Eacde public-house on the north side of the High.
street. On apprehending him he said he had just come
out of the public-house. He took the prisoner to the
prosecutor, who at once said, "He is one of the men
who attempted to rob me."
Police-constable Burgess, No. 190 U, said he also
heard the prosecutor crying "Police) police I" and pur-
sued Lee and succeeded in apprehending him.
• Police-sergeant Foay, No. 7 H, said be knew both
prisoners well as the associates of thieves. Lee bad
been in custody, and was once summarily convicted at
the Worship-street court.
Lee pleaded guilty. The other prisoner said nothing.
Mr. Yardley said he was not going to dispose of this
case summarily, and committed the prisoners for trial.

L AMBETIL—George Collins, a smart young fellow,
who gave his address 54, Queen-street, Palace-road, Bir-
mingham, was charged with the following attempt at
highway robbery and violence
Mr. William Harvey, of 19, New-street, Kennington-
road, traveller, said—About 12 o'clock last night I was
passing along the Kennington-road and overtook and
passed the prisoner. Immediately after I had done so I
received a severe blow on the back of the head, and on
turning round I saw the prisoner, who said "he would
have ray money ; that he had none, and would have
mine." He then put his hand into his pocket, and took.,
out something which I thought was a knife. To avoid
him I ran into the road, when I was followed by the
prisoner; and at this moment Mr. Moss, a gentleman
who is now present, fortunately came up. I told him
what the prisoner had done to me, and he endeavoured
to secure him, when a policeman carne up, and took him
into custody.
Mr. Joseph Moss, a clerk in the War-office, residing
at No. 6, New-street, Kennington, deposed that he saw
the prisoner chasing the prosecutor, and the latter asked
him to assist him. He did so, and pushed the prisoner
back while he was striking at the prosecutor. The pri-
soner said he would have the prosecutor's money or his
life, and was very violent indeed.
Mr. Elliot—Are you sure the prisoner made usa of
those expressions ?
Mr. Moss--Quite sure, and he was very violent wheat
he said so.

Police-constable Joseph Kneck, 115 P, said—Last
night, while on duty in the Kennington-road, I heard a
scuffling noise at some distance off, and on going to the
spot the prisoner Was given into my custody by ,Blr,

vey, who told me what he had done. I asked him bow
he came to attack the gentleman, and he replied, "I'll
have his Prone, r his life." 7 rhea, took him to the
from svLat.,.a, Lou. me then the p (,se-
cutor I back to the spot where the assault had been
committed, and there found this knife.
Cook, the gaoler, recognised the prisoner as an old
customer, and the prisoner himself acknowledged to
having been committed from this court for two months
on a charge of picking pockets; but Cook was of opinion
that that was not his only visit,
The prisoner, who offered nothing in defence, was
fully committed for trial.