The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-07 00:00:00

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT, Aug. 6.

The Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce sat to-day, and beard
bankrupt petitions, none of which were of the least public
interest.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.

THE POLICE COMMISSION.-11 will be fresh in the re-
collection of our readers, that five gentlemen were com-
mitted for trial by Mr. Broderip, of the Thames Police-
court, on the 25th ult, upon the serious charges of riot
and disorderly conduct, and with assaulting Thomas
Cobley, policeman, 65 K, and attempting to rescue a
prisoner from his custody. Their names and addresses
are John Gardiner, Esq., of Brett's Hotel ; Wm. Robert
Gardiner, his son, a law student, of 76, Margaret-street,
Cavendish-square ; Frederick Lewis, also a law student,
of the same place ; Joshua Ungley Bateman, Esq., of
8, Avenue-road, Regent's Park, barrister-at-law ; and
Mr. Philip Francis Doit, of 58, Upper Warton street,
gentleman.

- The charge imputed to the defendants by the police
was, that they had conducted themselves violently in
the Commercial-road, East, shouting, " Down with the
police—,to h— with the police;" that they had ob-
structed the officers in taking a drunken and disorderly
female to the station-house, and that they had gone so
far as to push against the police and tread upon their
toes. At the hearing before the Magistrate Mr. Bateman
and the other defendants solemnly declared that the
police had attributed language to them which originated
in falsehood, and complained that three of them had been
locked up in the station-house upon offering themselves
as witnesses for the other twodefendants. Notwithstand-
ing the repeated assurances of the defendants, Mr.
Broderip sent the case to these sessions, observing to Mr.
Bateman " You are a lawyer, and know that I cannot
deal with it summarily. It is either a riot to attempt to
rescue a prisoner, or it is nothing at all. It is impossible
for me to decide upon it ; the Act of Parliament gives
me no such jurisdiction." The defendants were then
ordered to find bail for 50/. each, and the police were
bound over to proecute in their own recognisance of 20Z
each.

Messrs. Clarkson, Bodkin, and Wilkins, had been re-
tained for the defence ; but, yesterday, some astonish-
ment was expressed in Court upon Inspector Valentine,
of the K division, entering the witness box, and addres-
sing the Learned Chairman, said he begged to apologise
for interrupting the Court, but he had been directed by
the superintendent to apply to withdraw the prosecu-
tions against the five above-named defendants, and to
request the Court to discharge the recognisance of the
policemen who have been bound over to appear.
The LEARNED OUTMAN inquired by whose autho-
rity the application was made.
The Inspector stated by the authority of the Police
Commissioners.
The CHAIRMAN next asked upon what grounds the
prosecution had been withdrawn, and the Inspector re-
plied that it was in consequence of no violence having
been used, or injury received by the police.
The CII tIRMAN remarked that it was a strange and
singular proceeding to bind parties over to prosecute
when no complaint was to be preferred.
After a few other observations, the application was
acceded to.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(YESTERDAY.)
MANSION-HOUSE.

An Irish gallant, named Michael 0' Grady, was brought
before Aldermen Sir John Key and Farebrother, charged
with having refused to contribute towards the support of
his wife, who became chargeable to the parish of Ald-
gate. It was understood that the defendant intended to
plead that he had never been married to the complainant,
who happened to be considerably the older of the two.
The complainant produced an old, disfigured piece of
paper as her marriage certificate, which appeared to be
of the date of May, 1827, and showed that the ceremony
had taken place in Killarney, in the district of the parish
of Aglos, and been performed by the Rev. Doctor
M`Naughton, a Roman Catholic clergyman. She said
the marriage was legal according to the Roman Catholic
creed, the religion they both professed ; and she de-
clared thit ber husband had for a series of years treated
her with the most heartless neglect and cruelty. She
had, however, until lately, never required any assistance
from him ; but finding that her strength was failing her,
and that hr husband was able to support a youthful
substitute for her, she thought it but fair that he should

save the parish the expense that otherwise must necessa-
rily fall upon the authorities.
Sir JOHN KEY—Do you mean that he has married
another woman ? Complainant--She lives with him at
any rate, your Lordship. He gave me regular notice
that he intended to leave me. He said, after looking me
in the face for some time one (IV, your Lordship, that
I was too old and too ugly for him, and that he must
have a handsome young woman, and no other would do
for him.

Sir Joroi KEY—How long is it since you parted ?
Complainant—About eight years, but we often parted
before that ; we have been always parting.—(A laugh.)
Sir JOHN KEY—When did you last receive assistance
from Aldgate parish ? Complainant—This day I was
obliged to apply, while he dresses out his lady in silks
and satins.

Sir Joins' KEY— Well, defendant, why do you
refuse to relieve this poor woman, who has
a legal claim to all you can do for her ?
Defendant—Please your Lordship, I was never mar
ried to her. To be sure, we haVe lived together, and a
better, more affectionate, or kinder-hearted husband
never breathed the breath of life.—(Laughter.)
Alderman FAREBROTHER—And to convince her of
the warmth of your attachment, you turn her off and
take another woman into her place ? Defendant—Your
Worship, I really thought she was dead or transported.
There was no use in my acting kindly, for away she
would tramp from me whenever she took it into her
head. She has been the death of me fifty times at least.
Complainant—Oh, goodness! why, your Lordship, he
knocked me up stairs and down stairs till I was quite
insensible.
Defendant—l can call witnesses to my tenderness,
your Worship. I was the sweetest tempered man—
(Laughter.)
A professional gentleman, who attended for O'Grady,
said his client had never been legally married. He
begged to be informed by the complainant what was the
name of the chapel in which she had been joined in ma-
trimony to Mr. O'Grady ?—The complainant said that
they were married in a house, and that it was as good a
ceremony as ever was performed by a priest.
Mr. Goodman (the Chief Clerk)—And you are both
Catholics ? Complainant—Certainly we are.
Mr. Goodman—Then your testimony is quite sufficient
as to the validity of the marriage.
The defendant's solicitor—lie was only seventeen
years of age when he formed this connection.
Defendant—And I was so comfortable, and affec-
tionate, and tender, to her, your Lordship.
Alderman FAREBROTHER—And by way of showing
all this you kicked her up and down stairs.
Defendant—l never touched her in my life, I'll be on
my oath.—(Laughter.)
Sir JOHN KEY—Well, you will prove the sincerity of
your affection by taking her home, and sending Miss
Sniffum about her business.

Defendant—And if I do, why she must go to the
parish. It's quite impossible for me to support 'em
both upon my small means, and Sniffum is of some use to
me; but Mrs. O'Grady used to take delight in following
me from situation to situation, and then abscond. I
have not been in her company this eight years till now,
and I hope this is our very last meeting.
For a length of time the defendant resisted the appli-
cation to allow his wife a farthing, declaring that he
should be obliged, if the authorities persisted in compell-
ing him to support her, to go upon his travels to other
countries. At length, however, up In the assurance of
the Alderman that his travels should be bounded by the
walls of a prison, of small dimensions, he entered into
sureties to make the allowance demanded by the parish.
Sir Joiax KEY said he had received a letter from Lord
Strangford, stating that his Lordship, having obserbed in
the daily papers, an account of the impositions prac-
tised by a person calling herself " Ellen Willoughby "
and " Margaret Cope," and having received a
letter signed " Ellen Willoughby," inclosing a (no doubt)
forged certificate, similar to these described in the re-
port ; he had thought it advisable to transmit the same
to the Mansion-house. His Lordship added that he
had sent to Hythe, the place in which the writer said
she was known, and to which she was desirous to go,
and ascertained that no such person was known there at
all. SirJ. Key stated that he had also received a letter from
another nobleman, mentioning that a letter had been
sent to his wife' (no doubt upon the authority of the red
book), directed' to Brookes' Club-house, St. James's-
street, and subscribed " Fleming," to the same effect as
those, copies of which had appeared in a former occa
sion ; that IL had been sent to the writer before the re-
port had been seen, and that the object in troubling Sir
John Key was, that the Dublin police might endeavour
to get hold of the parties implicated in the ingenious
fraud which, if it had not been for the press, would un-
questionably have very extensively succeeded.
Sir JOHN KEY stated that he had received a sovereign
for the relief of John Thompson Irvine, the unfortunate
merchant who lost all his property at Harnburgh, and
has been endeavouring for many years to support his
ehildren,.whose mother has been some time, in conse-
quence of the pressure of adveise circumstances, in a
lunatic asylum. The note inclosing the money was
signed "J. 5.," and requested that the Alderman would
acknowledge it in the Times. He likewise stated that
he had received for the same poor man the second half
of the five-pound note which had been transmitted by a
benevolent person who had seen the statement of the
distressing case in the newspapers.
CLERK:EN WELL.
Mr. George Williams, a middle aged man, proprietor
of a hair-dressing establishment in Warner-street, Clerk-
enwell, was charged with violating the person of Eliza-
beth Dttckworth, aged 15. The case was remanded for
further evidence. ,
Benjamin Beadle, a cab- driver was charged under the
following aggravated circumstances:—
On the 7th of June an unfortunate girl, named Jane
Hughes, was sitting in the Guy Earl of Warwick public-
house between five and six o'clock in the morning, when
the prisoner entered, and, after using language of a very
rough and offensive character towards her, asking her to
drink some gin and milk. She refused, whereupon the
prisoner, without receiving further provocation, flung the
glass at her and broke it to atoms on her forehead. The
unfortunate woman was dreadfully mangled by the
splinters of the glass. She became insensible, and bled
profusely from the wounds. When she fell, he flung a
pint pot at her head, which fortunately did not take ef-
fect. When the police were conveying him to the cell at
Bagnigge-wells station, he suddenly thrtsw himself on his
back and kicked Nott, police constable 99 G, so violently
on a delicate part part of his person, that the office al-
most fainted from pain, and was for some days unfit for
duty. He was sentenced to a month's imprisonment.
Three Irishmen, named Hughes, lifahony, and Fitzgerald,
were charged with creating a disturbance at the Carved Lion
public-house, Lower-road, Islington.
At ten o'clock last night the prisoners, who were drinking
in the house with some soldiers, became exceedingly dis-
orderly. The police were called in, who attempted to re-
move them, but they "pitched into" the police right and
left, and several other policemen were called in before they
could remove them.
The prisoners declared they were perfectly sober, and as a
proof of it, urged that they had lost their hats.
They were fined ss. each, or seven days' imprisonment.
QUEEN-SQUARE.
Four young men, named Holmes, Nowell, Roberts,and Scott,
whose abject appearance indicated that they were no strangers
to hunger and distress, were placed before Mr. Bond, charged
by Mr Elliott, the master of St. Margaret's workhouse, with
the following conduct.
Mr. Elliott said the defendants came to the workhouse, in
Dean-street last evening, between eight and nine o'clock, and
applied for a night's lodging. Having admitted a great
number of persons during the preceding part of the night,
and there being no more room in the house, the defendants
were told that their wishes could not be complied with, but
were offered bread, which they refused to accept, and insisted
on being admitted into the house, and provided with beds.
Finding that their request was not complied with, they
created the most discordant noises, and knocked at the door
with so much violence, and used such bad language, that
they were given into custody.
Mr. BOND said that the offence the defendants had com •
mitted did riot come within the meaning of the Act of
Parliament, as they were not in the workhouse at the time.
The way to get into the workhouse was not by insolent
conduct, but by civility. He should,: therefore, discharge
them.