The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-15 00:00:00

NEW COURT.

IN THE MATTER of T. HOLT.—Yesterday . this de-
fendant, who stands charged with a misdemeanour, of which
Lord William Paget is the prosecutor, was called, at the
opening of the Court, to surrender, but he did not answer.
Shortly afterwards he came into Court, when an application
was made by Counsel for the trial to be postponed, on the
ground that Mr. Holt required • more time to prepare his
defence.

Mr. Commissioner BLHALOCK granted the application, and
his recognizances were enlarged to the next sessions, which
will commence on the 4th of March next.

The defendant was then re-conducted, by a tipstaff, to the
Queen's Prison.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(YESTERDAY.)
CLERKENWELL.

An elderly widow of distressed appearance came before Mr.
Combe, complaining that excessive interest had been de-
manded from her on a pledge by Mrs. Sarah Condwell,' a
pawnbroker, residing in Exmouth-street, Clerkenwell.
Mr. COMaE, having heard her statement, sent Bingham,
the warrant officer, to Mrs. Condwell's to inquire into the
matter.

Soon after, the pawnbroker's foreman and the poor woman
came into Court. She stated that three years ago she pawned
a petticoat in Mrs. Condwell's, which she had not been since
able to redeem. The sum she obtained upon it was 3s. 6d.,
and by "backing" the article by the payment of interest, she
had prevented the duplicate from expiring. On Monday last
she tendered Bid. to the foreman as the yearly interest, but
he refused to receive it, saying he would not take less than a
shilling. Having never paid so much interest before, and
being very poor, she declined complying with his demand,
and came before the Magistrate.
Mr. COMBE said the legal rate of interest would not en-
title the pawnbroker to more than what the applicant had
offered. Why was it not received?—The .foreman said he
asked the woman no more than he received from others. He
was bound to ask what his employer wished, and not to
take less.

Mr. Comm? told him he was not bound to commit an
illegal act, and nothing could warrant him in doing so. In
this case an attempt had been made to charge an interest
of fifty per cent. more than he was entitled to, and that
from a poor widow.

. - -
The woman, in answer to questions from the Clerk, said
she had lost a great deal of time, and been at much trouble
and inconvenience, in coming before the Court, and waiting
on Mrs. Condwell on several occasions.
Mr. COMBE recommended the pawnbroker to allow her
some compensation for loss of time. The foreman obsti-
nately refused, upon which the Clerk observed that Mrs.
Condwell had rendered herself liable to a fine of 10/. for
charging excessive interest, and that in case the applicant
laid the information, she would be entitled to half the penalty.
This useful suggestion brought the foreman to his senses,
and he made ample compensation to the poor widow, who
thanked the worthy Magistrate, and left the Court.
MARLBOROUGH-STREET.
Charlotte Collins, very fashionably-dressed, and of lady-
like appearance, was brought up in custody of Inspector
Dudley, of the E division, charged on suspicion of entering
the shop of Mr.lWilliam Chickell Jay, of 247 and 249, Regent-
street, silk mercer, with intent to commit felony.
The Court was thronged with tradesmen who had charges
to prefer against her.
Mr. Jay stated that between six and seven o'clock last
evening the prisoner entered his shop and made a selection
of goods to the amount of 28/., and directed they should be
sent to a fictitious address in Bond-street. While .looking
over the goods, however, she was identified as being the party
who some months previously ordered goods in a similar
manner to be sent to an address, which proved to be false,
and on that occasion it was discovered, that while selecting
the goods she contrived to steal a piece of valuable silk. Her
ordering the goods was a mere ruse to afford her the oppor-
tunity of stealing.
Mr. Wm. Poppy, of No. 285, High Holborn, silk mercer,
&c., stated, that about five months since, the prisoner paid
him a visit, and ordered goods to the amount of 12/., to be
sent with the change of a 201. note, to Miss Parker, at No.
21, Charing-cross. Of course, no such person could be found
there. Immediately after she had left the shop a valuable
shawl, which had been shown her, was missing.
Mr. Baker, of Ludgate-hill, silk mercer, was visited by
the prisoner in a similar manner, and lost a piece of silk.
Inspector Dudley said, that on searching the prisoner's
lodgings, at No. 4, Upper Rosamond-gtieet, Clerkenwell, 21
duplicates were found, • which related, no doubt, to the pro-
perty stolen. She had been carrying on this system of de-
predation to a very great extent for upwards of twelve
months past.
She was ordered to be detained in the custody of. the In-
spector until the property at the pawnbrokers should be
examined.

QUEEN'S-SQUARE.
DESPERATE ASSAULT.—John Kale and Mary Beasley (his
sister), were charged with violently assaulting John Beasley,
under the following circumstances :
The prosecutor (who is the husband of the female prisoner)
stated that, from the intemperate and irregular conduct of
his wife, he had been frequently obliged to leave her. At
eleven o'clock last night, on his return to his mother's house,
where he was in the habit of staving, Kale rushed into the
room, and upsetting the table at which he was eating his supper,
struck him a violent blow across his head 'with a shovel, which'
he had taken from the fire-place on his entrance. He then
knocked him down and stamped on his chest, and would no
doubt have murdered him, had not his cries of " Murder "
brought several personi to his aid, who secured the prisoner.
The female prisoner, it appeared, assisted in the assault.
The Worthy MAGISTRATE said that it was his duty to make
an example of those who resorted to the un-English practice
of assaulting others with such dangerous weapons. He
should, therefore, fine the male prisoner 31., or six weeks' im-
prisonment, and the female prisoner 305., or three weeks' im-
prisonment.

UNION-HALL.
George Elmer, a policeman, belonging to the Brighton
Railway, was charged before Mr. Cottingham with stealing
a gold seal and ring, .the property of a gentleman named
Fisher.
It appeared that on the preceding evening, the com-
plainant drove up to the terminus of the above railway in a
cab, and in his hurry to get out he left a gold seal and a
ring on the seat. The prisoner, whose duty it was to attend
to the regulation of the different vehicles, was observed to
take the articles out of the cab and afterwards conceal
them. He, however, denied the accusation, but when the
place where he had been previously seen to go after leaving
the cab was searched, the seal and ring were found hidden
under some earth.

Inspector Baker, of the above railway, gave the prisoner
an unexceptionable character up to the present offence.
Mr. COTFINGRAM said that the offence was a most serious
one, and that the prisoner, instead of protecting the property
of passengers, had in this instance plundered one. He (the
Magistrate) certainly should sendithe case for trial, but would
remand the accused until the complainant came up from
Brighton.
Wm. Hardham was charged with wounding George Sey-
mour, who was very ill from loss of blood.
The complainant went into the Crown public-house, West-
minster-road, on Thursday night, and having had some al-
tercation with the prisoner, the latter struck him under the
chin with some weapon, and inflicted a serious wound. The
complainant had been in the hospital since, and the Magis-
trate, seeing the case was of such a serious character, sent for
the surgeon, with a view of having his evidence reduced to
writing.

FIRES IN LONDON.
.IMPORTANT EXPERIMENTS.—A great many proposals
' having lately been urged upon Government, with the view
' of establishing in London, and all the large towns through-
out the provinces, a system for the more speedy extinction of
fires, viz., by attaching hose or leathern pipes, with branches,
to the plugs and mains laid down in the streets, so that the
water might he thrown to a sufficient altitude by its own
pressure, without the aid of fire-engines, an experiment a
few days since was made by Mr. Quick, the engineer of the
Southwark Water Company, in order to ascertain how far it
could be made applicable. The Company not having the ne-
cessary apparatus to make the trial, the assistance of the
Fire Brigade was granted to carry out the experiment, Mr.
Braidwood, the superintendent of the force, being present on
the occasion, the particulars of which will be found to be
highly important. The report, which is extremely voluminous,
states that it took place on the morning of Thursday last be-
tween the hours of four and nine o'clock, Mr. Quick selecting
Old Gravel-lane, Union-street, and Tooley-street, as the most
favourable spots to carry on the operations. During the
whole period the pressure of water at the Company's works
at Battersea was kept at 130 feet, and every service pipe or
outlet was kept shut, so that the trial should be fairly made.
The first experiment took place in Union-street, by hav-
ing lengths of rivetted leathern hose (two inches and a half
in diameter, and 40 feet long) attached to six standcocks,
placed Into plugs, all situate within the space of about
700 yards. The water was conveyed from the head at
Battersea,,through 5,300 yards of iron piping consisting of
4,250 yards of 20-inch main, 540 yards of 15-inch main,
and 500 .yards of 9-inch main. On one standcock being
opened, the jet of water thrown from the copper branch
(with i-inch hose pipe on) reached an elevation of fifty
feet, and the delivery was at the rate of 100 gallons per
minute. The next object sought was to ascertain the
quantity of water that could be obtained from the plug.
The branch pipe for this purpose was taken off, but the length
of hose remained on. The delivery was then found to be
260 gallons per minute, showing that nearly two-thirds of
the water was lost by confining it to a small jet. Had
the standcock and hose been taken away, there would
have been quite sufficient water to supply three fire-
enginei, each delivery being equal to the discharge from the
first standcock. Another was then opened, and the jet from
the former was reduced to 45 feet elevation. Other two were
added, and the jet of the first was then 40 feet; and on three
being opened, the jet from the first rose to 35 feet. The
fourth was opened, and the jet of the first decreased to 30
feet. • The fifth was then brought into play (viz., six in all),
and the jet from the first only measured 27 feet, fully show-
ing that there was a regular gradation in the height of the
jets, according to the number opened. The next trial was
made in Tooley-street, the standcocks being used as in the
former case. Some slight difference was observed in the ele-
vation to which the jets were thrown, the first gaining 60
feet; and when the whole'were opened the height was re-
duced to 40 feet, the delivery of water being at the rate of
70 gallons per minute. Another trial was then made in a
street leading into Tooley-street, where there was only a ser-
vice-pipe laid down, called a 5-inch main. The first stand-
cock threw a jet of 40 feet, and on the others being opened,
the one furthermost from the first started only emitted a jet
of 24 feet, and a delivery of 58 gallons.

MR. SHERIISAN KNOWLES.—This celebrated dra-
matist has been lecturing in Manchester, on the genius of
S hakspeare.—Liverpool Journal.
FLOGGING OF PAUPER CHILDREN.—MOIIday an
adjourned and lengthened investigation, opened on Friday
last, was resumed before Mr. Carter, the Surrey Coroner, in
the Board-room of Lambeth Workhouse, touching the death
of Edmund John Lanworn, aged one year and seven months,
who was alleged to have died from ill-treatment received
whilst an inmate of the Lambeth Infant Poor Establishment,
Norwood. The nature of the case and the evidence are ex-
plained by the verdict, which was as follows :—" That the
deceased child died a natural death, and we (the jury) do re-
quest the Board of Guardians to investigate the circumstance
of a rod being introduced into the infant ward of Norwood
House of Industry, and whether that was done by the sanction
of the mistress, Mrs. Crick, and that no personal chastisement
be allowed on the part of any one to infants of such tender age
as are placed in that ward." Mr. Churchill, one of the Guar-
dians, said that an investigation had already commenced, and
the Board were determined to eift the whole matter.