The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-28 00:00:00

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

THE WAY TO PUNISH A RUFFIAN.-Hugh Murphy,
a tan, surlylooking fellow, was charged before Mr.
Tyrwhitt with assaulting, in an unprovoked manner, a
young man named Thomas Organ, also a young woman
named Ellen Capron. _ _ _

The complainants were walking along Oxford-street,
near Charles-street, arm-in-arm, when the prisoner, with-
out the least provocation, struck the young woman, Capron,
a severe blow in the eye, and afterwards knocked her corn •
panion, Thomas Organ, down, and a fellow who was in
company said be would do for the young woman, and threw
her down.

Prisoner, in a morose tone, denied ever seeing the corn,
plainants at all.

Capron said the prisoner also used abominable language.
Mr. Tyrwhitt said it was perfectly unaccountable that a
man should assault persons in such a way, and without any
provocation. It was a great pity the prisoner was no.
punished on the spot. It would have been the best way
with a bully like he was. A good man would have done the
prisoner up in three minutes. He should fine him 405., or
a month, for the assault on the woman—who must on al
occasions be protected—and 205., or 14 days, for the assault
on the young man, who seemed too delicate to protect even
himself.

The magistrate's remarks seemed to meet the approval of
lose in court.

THAMES.

Tirr TWICE STOLEN W./LI-ex.—Alfred Brooks, calling
himself a hawker, a well-known Spitalfields thief, about
21 years of age, was brought before Mr. Woolrych, charged
with stealing a silver watch, value £5, from the person of
George Wright, a letter carrier, of Bohn-street, Stepney.
On Thursday last a man named Joseph Stonebrook was
convicted by Mr. Woolrych, and sentenced to three
months' imprisonment and hard labour for steal-
ing the prosecutor's watch, while he was in a
crowd assembled to look at an electrifying machine at the
corner of Arbour-street, West Stepney. The watch was
recovered. Yesterday afternoon the prosecutor was
passing along Great Alie-street, Whitechapel, and was
making his way through a crowd assembled to witness
some boys playing at peg-top, when the prisoner snatched
his watch from his pocket, broke it from the ring to which
it was attached and handed it to a confederate
who ran away. The prosecutor immediately seized
the prisoner, who resisted and said " What have
I done." The prosecutor said, "You have stolen
my watch." The mob around the parties called out,
" Let him go, he has not got your watch," and the prose-
cutor, fearing ill-treatment from the Whitechapel ruffians
who were standing by, did release the prisoner, who walked
away. The prosecutor walked alongside the prisoner along
Alie-street and High-street, Whitechapel, until they
reached that notorious place Petticoat-lane. The prisoner
immediately started away from the prosecutor, who called
out " Stop thief," and he was stopped before he had well
entered the lane by a bystander and given into the custody
of James Hallett, a police constable, who at once recognised
Brooks as a thief.

In answer to a question by Mr. Woolrych, the prosecutor
said that his watch was in his left hand waistcoat pocket.
It broke from the swivel directly the prisoner snatched it.
Prisoner—lt's nouso contradicting that witness. He said
at the station-house that he gave a man three months for
stealing the same watch last week.
Mr. Woolrych—No; I gave him three months for the
robbery.
Venables, a police-constable, No. 141 K, said the pri-
soner had been convicted several times, and had not been
long out of prison.
Mr. Woolrych remarked on the alarming frequency of
watch robberies, and directed Venables to bring proof of
the prisoner's former convictions, and remanded him for a
week,