The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-24 00:00:00

ous manner of the three, who joined each other upon a signal,
which seemed to be well understood by them, caused them to be
watched, and one of them having been observed to quit a tobacco.
shop hastily, inquiries were made there, and it was discovered that
a counterfeit fourpenny piece had been uttered in payment for a
pennyworth of tobacco. The prisoners were accordingly pur-
sued and taken into custody, but their associate escaped. On
subsequent Inquiries at the different shops the prisoners had
visited, it was tound they had uttered counterfeit fourpenny pieces
at each, which were so well executed, and bore such a similitude
to the genuine coin, that it was a matter of considerable difficulty
to detect the difference. Some of the base money was produced,
and it was stated that when the prisoners were taken into custody,
each of them had a genuine sixpence in his possession, from which
circumstance it was inferred that the man who escaped was the
person who supplied them with the base money, and remained out-
side the different shops in the event of a discovery taking place.
Mr. CorriNcinam said that utterers of counterfeit money
were on the increase at that side of the water, and that it
behoved tradesmen and others to be particularly on their
guard, as base fourpenny pieces were a description of coin
that were not in much circulation, and therefore might be easily
taken for the genuine, especially as those produced were such a very
close imitation of them. The Magistrate then asked the prisoners
what account they gave of themselves 7—The prisoners said they
had very little to say, only that they were not aware the fourpenny
pieces they had passed were bad ; that they lived at Whit( chapel,
and had come over to the south side of the river for a walk.
The MAGISTRATE said that it was incalculable the losses sus-
tained by tradesmen owing to the quantity of base money uttered
by persons like the prisoners, and that he had very little doubt
they would be identified by the Solicitor of the Mint, he should
therefore remand them ur,til Saturday.
HARMONIC INIIARMONICS.—WiIIiam Regan, a young man with
his face disfigured from bruises, was charged wills committing a
violent assault on a policeman of the M division, and with destroy-
ing a quantity of his mother's property.
It appeared that on the preceding night the defendant was chair-
man of an harmonic meeting in Toutey. street, and having imbibed a
considerable portion of grog, he quitted the chair and proceeded
home. He, however, had scarcely entered the house when he
commenced the work of destruction by pulling down a Dutch clock,
smashing it to pieces, and threatening to knock out his mother's
brains with the weights. The poor woman was so much alarmed
at the violence exhibited by her son that she called in the aid of the
police, but before their arrival he destroyed nearly the whole of her
furniture, and made the most violent resistance, striking and kick-
ing the policeman in the most savage manner. At length he was
secured and lodged in the station-house.

The defendant called the magistrate's attention to his disfigured
countenance, saying that it was done by the policeman, who, how-
ever, denied the assertion, declaring that he had received the in-
jury in an encounter he had on quitting the harmonic meeting.
The defendant's mother pleaded strongly in his behalf, and urged
that he was a good son to her until he joined the harmonic meet.
ing, and that it led him into all kinds of dissipation.
Mr. Corrixonsm said that such plaees as those, where the har-
monic meeting was held, frequently led young men into extrava.
gance and debauchery ; but the defendant might have committed
some desperate act while he was under the influence of liquor,
and that in order to prevent a repetition of such conduct, he
should now hold him to bail to keep the peace.
The defendant was locked up in default of procuring the re-
quired sureties.