The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-28 00:00:00

THAMES.

AUDACIOUS STREET ROBBERY.—An active and well
known thief, who gave the name of James Byrne, but
whose real name is Smith, was brought befoi e Mr. Selfe:
charged with the commission of the following impudent
robbery.

Mrs. Charlotte Cooke, the wife of Mr. Stephen Edward
Cooke, of the Dining-rooms, No. 6, Little Argyll-street,
Oxford-street, stated that she went to the surgery of Mr.
Arnold, in Brook-street, Ratcliff, last night, to have an
operation performed upon one of her fingers. She was on
her return home, along the Conimercial-road, a few minutes
before ten, carrying in her hand a black bag, containing.
15s. in money, some books, and other property, when the
prisoner came up to her, snatched her bag and ran away.
She pursued him, and screamed aloud, and also called out
" stop thief." The prisoner was stopped by a young man,
and her bag, money, and property were recovered.
The prisoner, a sullen and impudent fellow, here said,
" The woman don't know what the bag contained. She
said there was only 14s. 6d, in it last night when she was
at the station."

Mr. Selfe—You can make the most of that when you are
before a jury. She now says there was 15s. in the bag.
Two young men, named Story and Bissett, said they saw
the prisoner running with a black bag in his hand. They
seized him by the collar, and took the bag from him.
Inspector Dendy, of the H division, said he believed the
prisoner had just come out of the Wandsworth House of
Correction, where he had been imprisoned for 12 months.
Roche, the gaoler of the court, said that convictions of
the prisoner in that court could be proved without diffi-
culty.

Mr. Selfe said he had seen some remarks in the news-
papers attributed to his intelligent and experienced col-
league, Mr. Yardley, in which he entirely concurred, that
it was most important for the proper administration of
justice that wherever there had been a previous conviction
against a prisoner charged with felony, the police ought to
be in a condition to prove the former conviction. In the
first place, he could not, under the summary power en-
trusted to him, sufficiently punish offenders for such auda-
cious robberies as these ; and in the next place, where a
person had been previously convicted he had no right to
convict summarily.

After some further discussion, the 'prisoner was com-
mitted for trial, Inspector Dendy undertaking to prove
former convictions when the prisoner was tried.

DWELLINGS OF THE LABOURING
CLASSES.

MEETING AT HERTFORD.

A meeting of noblemen, gentlemen, clergy, and
other persons connected with the town and county.
of Hertford, was held at the Town-hall, on Satur-
day last, for the purpose of taking into considera-
tion the propriety of forming a Building Company
with a view to improve and erect dwellings for the
working classes.
On the motion of the Right Hon. W. COWPER,
M.P., seconded by the Hon. and Rev. GODOLPHIN
HASTINGS, Lord Raynham, M.P., was called to the
chair.

The CHAIRMAN said he felt it a great honour to
be called upon to preside over so influential a meet-
ing assembled for the important purpose of taking
such measures as were in their power to improve
the dwellings of the working classes.
Mr. ABEL SMITH, M.P., said he had great plea-
sure in proposing the resolution which had been
placed in his hands—" That it is advisable to estab-
lish a Company in Hertford, to be called the Hert-
ford. Building Company (Limited), for the purpose
of improving and erecting dwellings for the labour-
ing classes, in the county and town of Hertford,
with a capital of £5,000 in 1,000 shares of £5
each."

Mr. R. DIMPDALE, in seconding the resolution,
said he had received several letters in answer to in-
quiries made by him, furnishing information rela-
tive to the manner in which the plan proposed to be
adopted here, was carried out in other places. At
Ramsgate they had a company in connection with
the Metropolitan Association, in which 21 per cent.
had been paid on all the shares. At first the profits
were only 7s. per share, but now they were 14s.
The Liverpool Society had been attended with a
similar result. This society expended £4,200 in
building, and let their houses at rents varying from
4s. to ss. per week, clearing £2lO or 5 per cent. on
each share. He had written to the chairman of the
Metropolitan Association, calling attention to what
was proposed to be done in Hertford, and was re-.
ferred by him to what had been done at Liverpool.
This gentleman recommended that the Local
Society or Company should be independent, as
there would be some expenses incurred in connect-
ing it with the Metropolitan Association. What
was proposed to be done here was to obtain a sub-
scribed capital of £5,000 in shares of £5 each, only
£2 10s. being called for on each share. The work-
ing capital of the company would thus be £2,500.
It would cost £BO or £B5 to build a cottage
according to plans they had, and supposing they
built 20 to begin with, the outlay would be £1,700,
leaving £3OO for the purchase of land. This was
perhaps more than they would have to give for it,
but at Ramsgate they paid £322. £2,000 would
thus be expended, leaving £5OO to pay preliminary
expenses and form a sinking fund. Then, as to
returns, 20 houses let at rents of £6 a-year would
produce £l2O. This plan had been tried in other
places besides those mentioned by him. A society
had been formed at Hastings, and answered well.
At first there was only one set of cottages, then two,
and now there were four sets, and dividends were
paid to the shareholders at the rate of 6 per cent. ;
and the Hastings people said they did not see why
they might not get rid of all the filthy places in course
of time, either directly or by inducing the owners to
improve them. Now this was just what they wanted
to do in Hertford and other towns in this county—to
convert the bad houses into' good. A society at
Brighton had paid 43- per cent. to the shareholders ;
and if they could do this in Brighton, Hastings, and
other towns, why should they not do it here. (Hear,
hear.) There was a great want of decent houses for
the poor in Hertford, and at St. Alban's they were
getting quite as bad. What they wanted to do
was to make a beginning, to provide model
houses, and to show landlords, who would not
be unwilling to follow in their wake, that these im-
proved houses would pay. He could not agree with
the remark that it was useless to do anything, un-
less they pulled down the old houses ; for by build-
ing cottages they would be drawing poor people
away from the miserable places in which they now
lived, and by inducing landlords to reconstruct and
improve their cottages, they would be constantly
diminishing the number of the inferior houses.
(Cheers.) He thought they might at all events
make the experiment here, by starting with an acre
of land, which they would probably get without
difficulty for £2OO. They might then expend £1,700
or £l,BOO in building, leaving £5OO for a sinking
fund, and to launch the scheme. Suppose they failed,
the shareholders would not be injured ; for the pro-
perty would certainly be saleable at an improved
value, and the shareholders would get their money
back. They must combine the commercial with
the charitable in a movement of this kind, for un-
til they saw that the thing would pay they would
never convince the smaller holders of property, and
induce them to improve their cottage property,
which was what they. wanted to do. The subject was
one of the utmost social importance. In a work of
Dr. Southwood Smith's, he read that the annual
mortality in London was twenty-three in every
1,000 of persons living, while in the model lodging-
houses of London the deaths were only 8 in the
1,000 ; showing that there might be an actual sav-
ing of many thousands of lives a year by the im-
provement of the dwellings of the poor, and the
consequent removal of the preventible causes of
disease and death. He had taken a great interest in
this matter, and he did not despair of persuading
the people of Hertfordshire to adopt the plan now
suggested, and which had been successfully carried
out in other places. He believed there were more
tramps passed through Hatfield than through any
other town in the county ; and, if they could build
a model lodging-house there, he believed it would
answer well. The London Association had a model
lodging-house which paid 17:per cent., and taking
all their lodging-houses together, they paid 43 per
cent. These were facts encouraging in a commer-
cial point of view ; and he was sure they would
agree that there few other ways in which they
could do so large an amount of good by so small an
outlay of money. (Hear.) He had much pleasure
in seconding the resolution. (Cheers.)
The resolution was then put to the vote, and de-
clared to be unanimously agreed to.

The HIGH SHERIFF✓ (M. H. C 4 osselin, Esq.),
moved the next resolution !—" That those gentlemen
who subscribe their names to the memorandum of
association for 10 shares and upwards be appointed
directors of the company, with power to add to their
number."

Mr. W. R. BAKER seconded the resolution, which
was agreed to.
The proceedings then terminated.

ATKINSON, THE DARLEY MURDERER.—WiIIiaM
Atkinson was tried at the last York assizes for the murder
of Elizabeth Scaife, at Darley, and acquitted on the ground
of insanity. He has since remained at the Castle, and has
lately been very violent, attacking indiscriminately the
governor, officers, and prisoners who happened to be near
him. Within the last week he inflicted some severe injuries
upon a man who is confined along with him. They had had
some words, when Atkinson struck the other prisoner most
unmercifully, and inflicted some bruises upon him. There
is no'doubt the affpir wouldhave ended,much more seriously
if one of the prison officials had not interfered and separated
the parties. In all probability these passionate outbreaks
will cause Atkinson's removal to another place of security.

T ICI D ED IT lON

SUN OFFICE, Seven o'

_DESPATCH FROM INDIA:

INDIA OFFICE, TUNE 27.
The Secretary of State for India in Council has received
the following papers

GENERAL ORDER?

Fort William, March,29.
His Excellency the Governor-General in Council has
much satisfaction in publishing the accompanying letter
'from the Right Honourable the Commander-in-Chief,
in which Lord Clyde warmly recommends the Medi-
cal and Commissariat Departments to the notice of the
Government of India.

The Governor-General in Council desires to express to the
Director-General, Dr. Forsyth; to the Inspector-General
of her Majesty's Hospitals, Dr. Linton, C. 8., ; to Colonel
Ramsay, late Commissary-General; and to Lieutenant-
Colonel Thomson, C. 8., the present Commissary-General
of the Bengal Army; and to all the officers of the Medical
and Commissariat Departments, who have been employed
in the field, or who have elsewhere furthered the service by
their exertions iu providing for the welfare and the wants
of the troops ; the cordial acknowledgments of the Govern-
ment of India for the important services they have ren-
dered.

The Commander-in-Chief in India to the Governor-
General.

Lucknow, February 21,
My Lord,—The military operations in the Presidency of
Bengal which ensued on the great mutiny of 1857, having
happily been now brought to a close, I have the greatest
satisfaction in recommending warmly to your Excellency's
protection two great departments of the military adminis-
tration to which the troops, and the officers who have com-
manded them in their long campaigns, are under real and
great obligations. I allude to the Medical and Commis-
sariat Departments.
The former, being composed of officers belonging to the
two services, has shone equally in the matters of general
organisation and of regimental arrangements. The Direc-
tor-General, Dr. Forsyth, and the Inspector-General of
her Majesty's forces, Dr. Linton., C. 8., in Calcutta, have
worked successfully to meet the great requirements made
on them ; and the staff and regimental medical officers have
well maintained the credit of their noble profession and the
reputation for self-sacrifice whieh belongs to the surgeons
of her Majesty's armies, a reputation which is maintained
in the field on all occasions, as well as in the most trying
circumstances of the hospital.
It has been remarked throughout the army that, from the
time of the slender forces taking the field against Delhi,
and from Allahabad, in the summer of 1857, the system of
the Indian Commissariat has been found equal to the tasks
imposed on it, in spite of the extraordinary circumstances
in which it" was suddenly placed, and of the actual loss of
the resources, viz., the great contractors and 'agents, with
which it had been the custom-to work.

For this system the army is in great measure indebted to
the late Commissary-General Colonel Ramsay, and his
successor, Colonel Thomson. The latter officer, being in
personal charge, supplied the field force of Delhi under
unexampled circumstances, when Sir A. Wilson stood
before that city almost cut off from the rest of India.
The Commissary-General has been nobly supported by
his subordinates ; and I do but speak the truth when I
affirm that no department has ever possessed a more efficient'
staff of officers than those forming the establishment of the
Bengal Commissariat.—l have, &c.
CLYDE, General,
Commander-in-Chief, East Indies.