The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-16 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—May 14.

BOW-STREET.—Joseph Petit, a stylishly dressed
Frenchman, of about 35 years of age, was brought up
on several charges of robbery from hotels.
As he affected ignorance of the English language, Mr.
Sudikatis was engaged as interpreter.
It would appear that the prisoner has, for some time
past, been in the habit of visiting respectable hotels for
the purpose of plunder. His plan was to present him-
self at the hotel in the character of a gentleman on his
travels, expensively got up, and provided with a neat
little leather bag. Having engaged a room he would
retire to it as soon as possible, and establishing himself
there as a central position, would make excursions to
the ad;on zg' r (tins as opportunity offered, collecting all
the valuables he could lay his hands upon, and finally
decamping at the first opportunity. On Thursday, the
sth instant, he called at the Bedford Hotel in Covent-
garden, at about 6 in the evening, and asked if he could
have a bed. He was told that h could, and was shown
to the room No. 19. The next morning, Friday, the
6th, a gentleman, named Wodehouse, who occupied the
adjoining room, No. 20, missed his dressing-case, con-
taining amongst other Prticles five 51. Bank of England
notes, and one 101. note. Suspicion fell upon the occu-
pant of No. 19, and the waiter on going into that room
found that he bad disappeared. In the course of the
same day, the 6th instant, the prisoner visited the Exe-
ter-hall Hotel at about one o'clock in the day, and en-
gaged a bed for that night. He at once took possession
of the room. About 20 minutes after Mrs. Haxell, the
landlady, went up stairs to her own room and missed her
bracelets and some other articles of jewellery, valued
altogether at about 301. It wrs then found that the pri-
soner had left the house unobserved. No clue to dis-
cover the thief was found until Wedne-day, when Ser-
geant Gummer, of t 40 division, went to Stevens's
Hotel, Bond-street, ane, was shown into a room in which
he found the prisoner's bag, which he searched. Among
other articles it contained two "jemmies," of peculiar
form; and apparently of foreign manufacture, and a very
handsome stiletto. The prisoner was out at the time,
and the constable waited for him. He entered about
one o'cicck in the morning. The constable showed him
the " jemmies," and asked if they were his property.
He said " No," and was at once taken into custody.
The witnesses from the Bedford and Exeter-ball Hotel
identified him rearS'ly, although his appearance was very
much altered by the removel of a pair of very large black
whiskers, and hair so remarkably black as to form an
unpleasing c intra,t to his psllid complexion ; now his
hair was only a moderately dark brown, and he had no
whiskers or board, but only a slight moustache. When
he was searched five Si. not,;, 191. in gold, and a quan-
tity of jewellsry, chiefly consisting of very elegant rings,
pins, and stuis, were found on him.
Mr. Wod,houie was a 1 Is to identify four of the notes,
but could not speak as to the other.
It was intimated that there were numerous other cases
against the prisoner.—He was remanded.

WORSHIP-STREET.—Niessrs. Arthur M‘Namara,
Fel x Carteret, and James Willing, managing directors
of the London General Omnibus Company, were sum-
moned to answer a charge of having unlawfully used for
hire certain hackney carriages, after having received a
written notice from the Commissioners of Police that
such vehicles were not in a fit and proper state fur public
use.

Mr. Charles Jeeks, the police inspector of hackney
carriages, stated that one of the defendant!' omnibuses,
which was about to start upoirits regular journey from
Shoreditch Church to the Elephant and Castle, exhibited
such a dilapidated appearance that be examined it, and
found the steps broken, the panels split, the seat cushions
in the interior raggcl and dirty, and the door so much
out of order that it was incapable of being closed. A
written notice was subsequently served upon the defen-
dants, in which they were required to discontinue the
uie of the carriage in question, but notwithstanding the
injunction, which was followed up by a summons, the
same omnibus bad been ever since employed in tra-
velling the road up to that morning. One of the New
North-road omnibuv which. was equally out of repair,
had also been kept running in defiance of a similar pro-
hibition. Mr. Harnmill convicted the der-mdants in a
penalty of 30s. for each offence, with the d•stinct under-
standing that if such omnibuses were again used, the full
forfeiture of 3/. would be imposed for each journey they
performed in the disgraceful condition described by the
officer.

MARLI3OROUGH-STREET.—Mr. Henry Tilbury,
brass-founder and gal-fitter, 54, Upper Maryiebone-
street, was charged with ges stealing.
For the last two or three years he had been surrepti-
tiously consuming the gas of the Imperial Gas Company
by means of a secret pipe which was connected with the
company's main, and which supplied 30 lights and six
melting stoves.

Mr. Tilbury pleaded guilty, and implored the magic
trate to deal with the ease summarily.
He was sentenced to two months' imprisonment.
A similar charge against a licensed victualler in Mary-
lebone stands remanded at this court,

MARYLEBONE.—The young man who had given
his name W. Webb, and who had described himself as a
sailor, underwent a re-examination before Mr. Long, on
the charge of having attempted to murder Mr. A. Buck-
ler, by stabbing him with a butcher's dressing-knife, in
a railway carriage.
The wounded person, whose life was at one period
aonsidered to be in extreme danger, said —I am assistant
to Mr. Rollick, a draper, in High•street, Poplar. At a
quarter to 8 o'clock in the evening, I got into a carriage
on the Black wall Railway, and there was a change at
Stepney. The carriage I was in was a second-clai.•s one,
and my destination was the Hampstead-road. I took my
ticket at Popfar, for the Camden-town station. All the
passengers alighted, and left me alone in the carriage.
This was at about 23 minutes past 8 o'clock. I saw the
prisoner just as the train was about to start from there,
look in at the window ; ho opened the door aui took his
seat opposite to me ; directly he had done so the train
was in motion. He asked me which was the next station
and I told him " Hampstead-road," when he remarked
That's right." He moved towards me and said, "It's
half-past eight, isn't it ; what is really the time 3" I
took out my watch and told him it I'm tyfent7.llye.%

.minutes past eight, or about it. I turned my bead
to look c ,ut of the window, when ho struck me "1'
great till olence in the neck. I did not know at the roe:
ment'with what instrument he had done it, and he
al
me o. the arm in the same manner. I sprang to
feet al id grappled with hint, and when I had, after .1
struggi e, nearly overpowered him, I saw a knife in WO
left hank 1,, I caught at it with my right by the blade,
and succe ,tided in pushing him into the corner, where be
had been sitting. With my left hand I held his rig
and gran ped him by the neck, struC
ll this
Mr. L 011 g—find you your hand on the knife A
time ?

Prose, .!utor—l had, sir.
Mr. Long—Did it cut you?
Prosecutor—Yea;
31r. Long—After you were struck as you have staWdi
did you find that you were bleeding
Pr ostn-utor—Yes, t•ir, I bled most profusely ; the,Prit
soner :bttempted to draw the knife through my ha"' te--
called murder as loud as I could ; we bad a deerr"
strug ;le together, and I squeezed his throat with 10/
left h snd with all my might, ,jif
Mr.. Long—The train was going on all this time, 11,9". 3
Pr asecutor—Yes, sir, but it had almost stopPeu
bad neared the Hampstead station. I kept on el"',;(1
out murder, and as soon as the train came to Stdo
the door of the carriage was opened by one of the gull' I,
',sr a porter. I then said, "this man has stabbed ird
Blood was flowing fast from the wounds which bad
received. The prisoner remarked, "It's not me, it Ili;
tb at gentleman ; he tried to stab me. I took the
fr( rm him, and, in self-defence, I stabbed him." I gado,
th,r knife to the porter. It was with both our b,a°thi
the prisoner having hold of the handle, and I '9'
blade.
Mr. Long—He says that you attacked him! What do
you say to that ?

Pro;ecutor—lt is entirely false. tle'
Mr. Robertson, surgeon to the police at Poplarf,..A
scribed the nature of the wounds the prosecutor 's'r--
received ; and,
14'
Sergeant Webb said he had ascertained that the 1;04
soner was not a sailor but a butcher, and that his
name was Levy. ea
The prisoner, who had nothing to say, was rellOnd
till Thursday next.
tA . the
He was then removed from the bar by Ans—d" the
gaoler, and was conveyed in the Government van to
House of Detention. A great number of persons e9eem.
bled around the vehicle to obtain a sight of him.