The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-19 00:00:00

THE SUN,

that the King, having received from the Duke de
Nemours a notification of the demise of the ex-King
Louis Philippe, his grand uncle, had gone into mourn-
ing for 30 days.

the prisoner kneeling upon a man who was lying
down on the pavement. Upon his going towards them
to assist in raising the latter, who was very much in-
toxicated, the prisoner got up and ran off. The
scavenger proceeded to lift up the drunken man, who
said that " that vagabond has stolen my watch." The
scavenger accordingly went in search of a policeman,
to whom he gave information of the robbery, and that
the person accused had run down the street.
The prisoner cross-examined this witness with con-
siderable dexterity.
The police-officer, A 103, proved having found the
prisoner in a doorway, towards which the drunken
man pointed, at the bottom of Cecil-street. When
he told him what he wanted him for he said, " Oh,
indeed !" He took him to where the prosecutor was
lying,.when the latter said that the prisoner was the
man who had robbed him of his watch. The pri-
soner having been conveyed to the station-house was
searched, but as nothing could be found upon him he
was liberated. The officer said he was not satisfied
about the matter, and therefore he again went down
Cecil-street, and in the doorway from which he had
taken the prisoner he found the lost watch and chain,
which he now produced. About ten minutes after-
wards he saw the prisoner coming along the opposite
side of the Strand. He went up to him, and on tell-
ing him that he had found the watch, and that he
should again take him into custody, the prisoner said,
" Oh, indeed, and so you are going to give me another
turn r The man was then conveyed once more to
the station-house.
The prosecutor stated that on the evening in ques-
tion he had supped at the Albion near Drury-lane
Theatre, and had afterwards taken too much liquor,
so much so, that on getting into the street, he found
himself to be very drunk. While in that state he had
been robbed of his watch, and that was ail he knew
about the matter. He recollected nothing more.
The prisoner then proceeded to cross-examine this
witness, and thus commenced, in a sanctified tone of
voice,—" Sir, do you know that a very solemn duty
now devolves upon you, and therefore I shall call upon
you to reflect seriously bef ire you answer the ques-
tions I shall put to you. Now, sir, do you know the
serious responsibility of an oath ? are you aware of its
great importance, and have you made yourself ac-
quainted with the obligations which are imposed upon
you by the ninth commandment, which runs thus,—
' Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neigh-
bour ?' Now, man, reflect before you give your
answers."
The prosecutor, who, like every other person in
court, had been taken by surpri-e by this outburst,
said, " Oh, yes, Oh, yes."
The prisoner—Well, then, now turn round and
look at me well, and then tell me if you do not in me
behold and recognise an old acquaintance and an old
companion !
The prosecutor (laughing)—You, you an old com-
panion—no, not a bit of it.—(Laughter.)
The prisoner (looking round)—Sir, this is a very
serious affair to me, and sorry am I, truly sorry am I
indeed, that you should laugh at that in which I can-
not join. Do you not remember me ?
The prosecutor—What ! remember you ? Not a
bit of it. I don't know you.
The prisoner—Don't you remember smoking a
pipe with me, and afterwards, going with me to a
coffee-shop, where you wanted something salt to take
with your tea ? What, don't you recollect me now ?
The prosecutor—l have told you I don't know yen,
how many more times am I to tell you so?
The prisoner, with whining vehemence, exclaimed
that it was most extraordinary that the person in the
box had lost all knowledge of him ; indeed, it was
astonishing that he had not instantaneously recog-
nized him, as they had been eating and drinking and
smoking together for several hours. That they had
been so he should call witnesses to prove.
The prisoner then unfolded a heavy brief, and said
"Let Henry Watson be called."
The witness, who is waiter at the Harp Tavern,
proved that the prosecutor was in the company of
the prisoner at the house on the night in question.
They were drinking grog together, and did not leave
till 3 o'clock in the morning, at which hour they left
the house together.
CrOss-examined by the prisoner—He remembered
fetching four books while the prosecutor was in the
house, in which names were entered. The name of
the prosecutor was written in the books as having be-
come a member of "The City of Lushington."—
(Loud laughter.) On that night the prosecutor be-
came a " citizen " of that "ancient body," and the
witness received "one shilling" for the entrance fee,
which sum was devoted to the purchase of two pots of
beer.—(Renewed laughter.)
Another witness deposed to the same effect.
The prisoner then was about to address the jury,
and opened the brief as though he intended to read
from it, but
The Learned CHAIRMAN declined to hear the speech
at that stage of the proceedings, and, in reference to
the brief from which the prisoner was about to read,
said he hoped he would not by his conduct compel
the Court to make public the means by which he had
become possessed of it. (We were informed by the
governor of the House of Detention that the prisoner,
when in prison, bad instructed a solicitor to defend
him, and having given him the grounds for his de-
fence, instructed him to prepare a brief, to retain
y acted upon these in-
counsel, and to subpcena several witnesses. On Tues-
scltaryuetthieonsso,liocailtled
solicitor,
at t havinghe d
u prison
to inquire if anythingl
further had occurred to the mind of the prisoner
which he thought might be of advantage to his de-
fence. The prisoner asked to look at the brief, which
the solicitor, very innocently, handed to him. Tile
prisoner, having looked into it, put it into his pocket,
and said that be should now neither require the as-
sistance of the solicitor nor of counsel. In this way it
was that the prisoner obtained his brief.)
The Learned CatafuluAN summed up the evidence ;
and the jury returned a verdict of Guilty.
vepriyckedtThe Learned CHAIRMAN sentenced the prisoner to
six months' imprisonment and hard labour.
Henry Good, aged 24, a
he well-dressed
pocketof
young a
I
of a purse containing
6s. 4d , her property, when she was riding in an om-
nibus.
madayn,eam was
edinAdie indicted
m for having
Holman,

The prisoner pleaded Guilty.
It appeared that on the evening of the Nth ult. the
prosecutrix having arrived at the Paddington ter-
minus by the Great Western Railway, got into an
es.
for
proceeding to Charing-
ewhen she was speak-
ing to a friend who was with her in the omnibus,
omnibus
rAs
they the
wereu rp purpose
going of n
the conductor of the vehicle interrupted their con-
versation by asking her if she had lost anything,
whereupon she put her hand into her pocket,
and then, for the first time, she discovered that
her purse had been taken. When she quitted the
terminus her purse was safe in her pocket. It then
appeared that the omnibus conductor, George
Bowern, had noticed the prisoner and another man
lohietmerinngtilabout terminus, and had also watched
both followed the lady into his omni-
bus, which had met the 23 minutes past ten o'clock
them
the
train from Bristol. Entertaining a suspicion of the
prisoner, the conductor kept him in his eye, and at
one part of the journey he asked him to get outside
so as to make room for a lady. The prisoner, how-
ever, declined to comply with the request. The om-
nibus therefore went on, but when it arrived near. to
called
eodu t
h` S
y` got out, paid" Gil., and was
George-street, Edgeware-road, the prisoner suddenly
htiotasso He
te. The conductor instantly
told the lady to feel if she had lost anything, and at
the same time he watched the movements of the pri-
soner and his companion. The former went into
George-street, whither the conductor, having ascer-
tained that the lady's purse had been taken, at once
pursued him. When be got up to the prisoner, he
told him that he " wanted him. The prisoner said,
" For God's sake don't do me an injury," and began
to shuffle about his hands. The conductor threw
his arms around the man who had a cloak on, and
held him until the policeman, for whom he
called lustily, arrived, to whom he handed
him over. Prior to the coming up of the policeman,
the conductor in the struggle bad dragged the pri-
soner back into the Edgeware-road, and by the time
the policeman came they had got upon the railings of
an area. As soon as the policeman made his appear-
ance the conductor saw a purse drop from the pri-
soner, and fall through the iron railings. He com-
municated this circumstance to the policeman, who
knocked up the inhabitants of the house, went into the
area and picked up the purse, which was identified by
the prosecutrix.
The prisoner now said he was anxious to say a few
words to the Court.
The Learned CHAIRMAN was ready to hear anything
he wished to offer in explanation.
The prisoner then said—My Lord, lam not, I as-
sure you, a thief. lam not a person who would com-
mit a theft on principle, and although in the present
case I admit my guilt, yet upon a feeling of religion,
and of all those proper feelings which ought to guide
a man in his passage through this life, so great an ab-
horrence of thieving have I, that but for the starving
and destitute condition of my poor wife and family, I
should not have fallen into the commission of this ac-
tion, for which I have been brought before this court.
I am not a thief, my
Lord ; for my religious princi-
ples and feelings are both powerfully opposed to such
a character. Driven to despair by the destitute state
of my dear wife and children, I was unhappily induced
to plunge into this crime. I hope, therefore, that,
taking my unfortunate case, and the painful circum-
stances by which
I was surrounded at the time, into
your consideration, your Lordship will treat me with ,
mercy.

A police-officer here stated that he had known the
prisoner for six years as an expert " swell-mob's
man." He was associated with a large gang of the
swell mob, and he was attached to that branch of the
body who attended the theatres and omnibuses to
pick pockets. In 1844 the prisoner was apprehended
for attempting to pick pockets at the entrance of the

LONDON, TH URS DA Y EVENING, SEPTEMBER 19, 1850.