The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-27 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
IV E.S'TMIN STE R.
EXTENSIVE ROBBERY BY A FORE➢lAN.—Walter
Sallis, a foreman at Messrs. Rigby's, the extensive
builders and contractors, Holywell street, Westmin-
ster, was placed at the bar before Mr. Broderip,
charged with stealing a great number of mahogany
slab 3 and boards, the property of his employers.
Mr. W. Cumming, an inspector of the B division,
stated that he had been engaged by Messrs. Rigby
during the last ten days in investigating the cause of
the late extensive fire at their premises, and from in-
formation he received in the course of that inquiry he
was induced to go to 119, Lillington-streer, Vauxhall-
bridge•road, where he found 20 slabs and planks of
mahogany. He subsequently apprehended the pri-
soner upon the charge of stealing them, when he said
he could very soon clear himself and account for it all
by his hook.

Several witnesses were called, whose evidence
proved that in the month of November last a large
log of mahogany was being cut at Messrs. Rigby's,
fir Messrs. Wigram, of B'ack wall, and that the pri-
soner, who was superintendent of the saw-mills, and
bad a considerable quantity of vAluable timber under
his charge, about six weeks before Christmas last told
Mr. Hutchinson, a builder, engaged in erecting some
houses in Lillington-street, that he had some mahogany
for sale, and ultimately sold him, at the rate of five-
pence per foot, the slabs and planks subsequently found
by the police inspector, and fur which Mr. Hutchin-
son paid the accused the sum of 51. 13s. It was
further shown by the testimony of men employed in
the saw-mills at Messrs. Rigby's, that atter the log
of mahogany spoken of had been cut there, a cart was
loaded with the planks and slabs, by direction of the
prisoner, in his employer's yard, and owing to some
suspicion existing in the minds of two or three of the
men that all was not going on right, they made a
memorandum at the time, and had the cart which
conveyed the mahogany away watched to Mr.
Hutchinson's, builder, in Lillington-street. It fur-
ther transpired that the prisoner had sold two other
pieces of mahogany to a carpenter named Price, and
Mr. John William Lyon, cashier to Messrs. Right,
distinctly proved that the prisoner had no authority
to dispose of any timber upon the premises, and no
account whatever had been given by him of the sale
of the mahogany slabs and planks purchased by Mr.
Hutchinson.

Mr. BRODERIP having intimated to the prisoner
that it would be his duty to remand him for a wefk,
in order that some further evidence to complete the
ease against him might be produced, inquired whether
he wished to say anything at present, or would re-
serve his reply, if he had any, until then.
The prisoner declined saying anything until a
future occasion, and was remanded for a week.

CLERKEN WELL.
Yesterday a respectably-dressed young Scotchman,
who said his name was John Rice, residing at the
Yorkshire Dining-rooms, Duke-street, London-
bridge, applied to Mr. Combe for advice and assist-
ance under the following circumstances :
Applicant said that he came from Edinburgh about
a week ago, and took lodgings at the above house.
He had held the situation of clerk to the firm of a
coal-merchant, whose service he had left in conse-
quence of their going to California. He came to
London with the view of procuring a situation, and
on Thursday last he saw an advertisement in the
Times newspaper stating that for a douceur of 101. a
situation as clerk and collector could be provided for
any respectable young man who was willing to ad-
vance that sum, and application to be made at the
" Auction, Estate, and General Offices, No. 61, Theo-
bald's-row, Holborn." The applicant instantly made
application there, when he found a place fitted up and
covered with bills. and he had an interview with a
fellow who put on an air of consequence, and inti-
mated that he could procure for him a most respecta-
ble situation as clerk and collector, and it would be
necessary for him to advance 51. on account, and he
would negotiate with the parties, so that he (appli-
cant) might enter the situation on the following Mon-
day. He advanced the 51., for which he was given
a receipt signed " John James," and he left the
place. On the Friday he received the following
letter :

" Auction Estate and General Offices,
61, Theobald's•row. London, March 22, 1850.
" If Mr. li!ce call upon Mr. John James to-morrow
morning between ten and eleven o'clock, he will be at
leisure ti see him respecting the situation advertised is
the Times newspaper.

"JOHN JAMES."
Applicant called at the time appointed, r.nd saw Mr.
James, who informed him that all was right, and said
it would his necessary for him (applicant) to advance
another 51. to make up the 10/. before he could get
him the situation, and he might enter into the ser-
vice on the Monday week following. He began to
suspect the party, and declined parting with more
money, and on making inquiries he ascertained that
numerous persons had been defrauded of their pro-
perty under exactly similar circumstances, and the
neighbourhood was in continual confusion in consr-
(pence of the parties who were duped applying to
have their money returned to them, and applicant de-
termined on making the present application.
Mr. ComBH said it was lucky fur him that he had
not parted with the 10/. He could not a,sist him ;he
could only recommend him to seek redress in the
county court.

The officers described the plan to have been
carried on by a nest of designing fellows, who had f)r
years past pursued their nefariouc practices in the
same manner in various parts of London, and their
victims were generally poor needy persons in search
of employment.

Applicant left the court, saying he would follow aa
advice of the worthy magistrate.

CITY COURT OF SEWERS.

Yesterday the commissioners assembled at Guild
hall, Mr. Deputy Peacock in the chair.
REPORT UPON MR SIMO.N'S SANITARY REPORT.

The Committee upon Health brought up their re-
report upon the celebrated report of the medical
officer of health, presented to the Court on the 6:h of
November. The committee were required to report
their opinion as to the course to be adopted thereupon,
and especially with reference to those matters recom-
mended therein which do not come within the posers
of the commissioners to carry into execution.

The CUAIRMAN stated that the report was one of
great importance to the public, and had been the re-
sult of between twenty and thirty meetings of the
committee, and he recommended that it should be
printed and circulated.

The motion was at once agreed to, and the report
was sent to the printer without being read. It is sup-
posed that the subject-matter will produce several dis-
cussions, in which the City community will of course
be deeply interested.

IMPROVEMENT AT ST. PAUL'S.
Mr. HAYWOOD presented a report on this subject,
in which he stated that the plan proposed for throw-
ing open to the public the western area in front of
St. Pain's Cathedral, and for widening the thorough-
fares around the cathedral, would atiord.a carriage
way of an uniform width of forty feet between Paul's-
chain and Ludgate-hill, and thereby prevent the con-
stant inconvenience arising to the public from the
stoppage of vehicles and the dangers of collision, so
frequently occurring in the present state of that im-
portant thoroughfare.
The report having been received,
Mr. BARBER took occasion to state that he had re-
cently received a letter from the canons and minor
canons of the cathedral, expressive of their desire to
see the proposed improvements carried out; and he
hoped, after the liberal speech of his Grace the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury at the Mansion-house on last
Friday, in connexion with the great Exhibition of
1851, that this project would meet with no obstruc-
tion to its completion before that event should take
place, from those ecclesiastical authorities whose ap-
proval was an indispensable preliminary.
Adjourned.

EXTRAORDINARY ATTEMPT AT
FRAUD AT NEWCASTLE.
nn n Tuesday last, by
magistrates
at At
hne apnopl ilci ce
a-
ct ionunr twins
Shields, and Mr.
Mr. W. J. Thompson, of North
tnihiasdetotwo
evidence respect-
ing Clay, of Newcastle, to e
the sitting
hear evidence
made by per-
sons an extraordinary attempt at
apprehended
in France.
The I'
ranee.
The particulars of the case ar
sons who had been lately
of July, 1849, Mr. Thompson
and 1 \lr. Clay, who are
in business as brokers, received at the same time
letters from persons in
.France,
_ purporting Co., to be
agents for the house of
Michellon and merchants
at Paris and Nantes, requesting each of these gen-
tlemen to ship for Nantes 100,000 tons of coals, at
the prices
specified
shippedin in certain French
vessels, which had been chartered in Nantes, and
several
of the French ports in the Channel, by AL
SOUlt, a French broker at Nantes. Fifty-six French
vessels accordingly arrived in the river Tyne, con-
signed to these gentlemen, but, as the reference given
by Michellon and Co. did not seem satisfactory, they
applied to the French Consul at Newcastle, with the
captains of the vessels, for his advice on the subject.
An inspection of the correspondence satisfied him that
the captains had been the victims of a fraud attempted
on Messrs. Thompson and Clay, or the coalow,ners of
Newcastle, by a gang of swindlers in France. Under
these circumstances they declined to load the vessels,
which were accordinglydetained in the river for several
weeks, awaiting further instructions. The opinion
of the Consul proved correct, for a 4 soon as the ficti-
tious house of Michellon and Co. were aware that the
loading of the vessels had been stopped they absconded.
It then appeared that the house of Michellon and Co.
had carried on their operations on a most extensive
scale, the principal seat of their business having been
established at Lyons, in the beginning of 1849. The
parties were, Francois Peyre, a watchmaker living at
Nantes, a liberated convict ; Auguste Michellon, ex-
clerk in the dockyard at :Conlon, living at Lyons ;