The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-20 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, _TUESDAY. EVENING-, AUGUST 20, 18#4.

seasoned, as the hands have been taken off her for
three years ; she could be launched next year. The
Sybille, 36, is in a forward state; and the Thetis, 36,
has her timbers all prepared and stacked. The 26-
gun frigate Juno was Nunched last month ; the
Creole, 26, will be launched about the end of October ;
the Amethyst, 26, immediately. The frames of the
Alarm, 26, the Malacca, 26, and the Niobe, 26, are
all ready. The Calypso, 20, -will be launched this
year; Coquette, 20, Challenger, 20i and Camilla, 18,
have their timbers preparing. The frames of the 16-
gun sloops, Atalanta, Dispatch, Elk, Heron, Mariner,
Martin, Kangaroo, Liberty, find Zebra, are mostly
prepared. The Kingfisher, 12, is nearly 'ready for
launching ; the frames of the Britomart, 10, and
Hound, 6, are prepared; and the Dart, 3, is in a for-
ward state.

SUMMARY OF THE ABOVE.
Ships of the Line-22.
Royal Albert
Royal Frederi'!k llO Sanspareil B4
Victoria
Prince of Wales llO Brunsiviek
Marlborough
Windsor Castle .. 110 Cressy
Aboukir
Extnouth ... 90 Lion
Princess Royal
Algiers
St. Jean d'Acre 9O Mars BO
Frigates-17.
Arethusa
Liffey • 50 Thetis
Raleigh 5O Niobe
Constance 5O Alarm
Severn
Shannon
Leander 5O Juno 26
Active
Flora 36
Corvettes, Sloops, and Brigs-18.
Coquette
Calypso 2O Mariner
Challenger
Camilla lB Zebra
Atalanta
Dispatch
' Elk l6 Britomart lO
Heron
Kangaroo
No. Guns.
22 ... 2,014
17 ... 650
igs, &c lB ... 265

Ships of the Line
Frigates
Corvettes, Sloops, Bri

Totals..

57 2,929

CUSTOM-HOUSE DETENTION.

TO THE EDITOR Or THE TIMES.
Sir,—l was glad to see some sensible remarks on
the detention of passengers by the London Custom-
house authorities, and venture to offer a brief account
of what has just occurred to myself, which I
think will point out the defective part of those perhaps
necessary, but certainly always troublesome and an-
noying, regulations.
On arriving at the London-bridge wharf the pas-
sengers' luggage was conveyed to the baggage-
room, while they awaited in an adjoining one
the pleasure of the officials. Although the
steamer comes up to the wharf, and the baggage-
room is upon the wharf itself, more than an hour
elapsed before the officers announced themselves ready to
examine the luggage, which, to passengers just lan led
after a voyage, and perhaps long absence from Eng-
land, is no slight trial to their patience. Their names
are given from the Captain's list, and therefore, in
the order in which they paid their fares, and, fortu-
nately, mine stood among the first. Even when the
examination commenced, it was very slow and weari-
some work ; a party with a large quantity of luggage
would not be less than twenty minutes, or perhaps
double that time; so that even I, who luckily had not
more than seven or eight names before me, had to
wait nearly another hour before my turn came; and
from the numbers which were below me, I am con-
fident that some must have been detained more than
double that time.
On entering the baggage-room I found a landing-
waiter at a desk writing into a book the numbers
which had been affixed indiscriminately to each article
of luggage. There was only one man to search out
my things from the confused heap, which he could
only do with my assistance 5 for the affixed numbers
did not follow each other in any sequence, and were,
therefore, no guide whatever. He then called out
my name with the numbers aforesaid, and the landing-
waiter entered them. The same man had to open
and examine the trunks; I was not permitted even
to unlock them, still less to open them myself. He
was much hurried, and the examination was ne-
cessarily very imperfect, although a good deal
of fussy and rather annoying roughness was dis-
played in pulling the clothes out of their plwe and
crushing them down again without the slightest re-
gard to their smoothness, &c. This done, the trunk
was stamped by another landing-waiter, and when
all had Me through this process, they were taken to
another table to be again stamped and delivered...
There was a great deal of pretension made at " open-
ing everything," even down to a little parcel of a
dozen apricots. Thu whole process seemed as badly
arranged as possible. Nothing could be more use-
less than affixing random numbers to each article of
luggage, and then entering them into a book--a pro-
cess which alone took as much time as the whole
examination would have done in a Belgian, and still
more a Prussian, Custom-house. There being only one
man to search out the luggage of each person, open and
examine, it is perfectly absurd when we consider that
he has to perform the same duty for 80 or 100 pas-
sengers. There was no incivility shown beyond an
unavoidable degree of rough haste in going through
the examination, although the half surly silence of the
chief landing-waiter—a stout middle-aged man, why
did not vouchsafe a word beyond a monosyllable
or two to his sub—struck me as very different to
the cheerful civility particularly of the Prussian
officers. With them the business is much more
simple and short, and the baggage of a couple of
hundred railway passengers is dispatched in the
same time that is required for a dozen by the mud-
dling and feeble arrangements of the London Cus-
tom-house. A circle of tables is formed round the
room, within which at least a dozen officers stand with
the baggage ; the passengers range themselves on the
outside with some more officers for still further expe-
dition ; the whole is done much more agreeably, and
with fifty times the dispatch ; each article receives its
mark of having been examined, which is inspected by
two more officers at the doors; and lam sure that I
speak svi;hin bounds when I say, that from the mo-
ment of my arriving at the station to my leaving it I
was not detained twenty minutes. E. R.
August 14, 1844.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

OLD COURT.

James Richard Downes, 23, clerk, was indicted for
feloniously embezzling three several sums of 11.65. 6d.,
GI. 175., and 11.65. 6d, the moneys of Robert Saywell, his
master. The prisoner pleaded guilty.
Mr. BALLBNTINE, who.appeared on behalf cf the pri-
soner, urged, in mitigation of punishment, that the
prisoner had, hei-ctolore, borne a good character, and
also stated that his master was desirous to recommend
him to the merciful consideration of the Court.

Mr. Saywell, in answer to inquiries from the Court,
said be was deskous to recommend the prisoner to the
mercy of the Court, but he was at the same time
compelled to state that the sums mentioned in the in-
dictment were not mere isolated cases of embezzle•
ment; but he had reason to believe that he had received
other sums, to the amount of 150/., which he had appro-
priated to his own use.
The prisoner was sentenced, to be kept to hard labour
for twelve calendar months.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(YESTERDAY.)
BOW-STREET.

Yesterday afternoon-Michael Read, and Jane Fur-
pley were brought before Mr. Hall, charged with
cruelly cutting and stabbing James O'Flaherty with
a pair of scissors.
The occurrence took place on Saturday night in
the lodgings of the wounded man, to which the two
prisoners went ; and. he was so badly injured as to
be. immediately removed-to King's College Hospital.
Being unable to appear, Mr. Hall sent a messenger
for Mr. Twyford, who pioceeded with the second
clerk, Mr. Bowstead, to the hospital, to take the de-
positions of the wounded man.
The statement of O'Flaherty was, that he was sit-
ting, on Saturday night, in his house, when the two
prisoners entered, and after they had sat for some
time drinking together, the male prisoner wished the
• female to go away with him, which she refused,
whereupon lie struck her. The wounded man inter-
fered, and was immediately struck by Read, whom
he immediately collared, struggled with, and fell.
While down Read seized a pair of button-hole scis-
sors, with which he inflicted many deep and desperate
wounds in all parts of O'Flaherty's person. When
separated the prosecutor was nearly dead from loss of
blood ; and on being removed to the hospital, was
found to be wounded most severely.
The prisoner was remanded till the improved state
of the prosecutor's health permitted his appearance.
Patrick Larkin was brought up for final examina-
tion, charged with stealing several letters from the
Post-office. The facts of the case appeared in The
Sun last week.. .The prisoner said nothing in his de-
fence, and was fully committed for trial.
Q EEN-SQ LIAR E.
•
Yesterday, Mrs. Pelham, who underwent several
examinations at this Court a short time ago on the
charge of gross neglect and cruelty to her son, Brent
Spencer, a lunatic, and against whom a true bill has
been found, accompanied. by Mr. Head, from the
office of Mr. Steel, solicitor, waited upon the magis-
trate.
Mr. Head stated that the object of his visit was to
reply to a ronntic statement which .had been made
at that Court on Saturday last... The". magistrate
would remember that a female named Bird had come
before him, and -said that about one or two-and-

twenty yeirs ago her child had been taken from her
by Mrs. Pelham and that she had never been able to
find her until that day, when she recognised her at
Chelsea workhouse. Mrs. Pelham had felt it her
duty to come forward, and was now prepared to meet
the charge, which had not the slightest foundation,
and which was calculated to do her a very serious
injury. She had enough to answer at the present
moment without being' made the victim of such idle
stories as these, and was desirous of putting the ma-
gistrate in possession of such facts as must leave the
inference on his mind that she was innocent of this
charge. The woman's child was stated by her to be
one or two-and-twenty years of age, while Wilson
Pelham, the conjectured offspring, was above three-
and twenty, and, as regarded property, there was not
a penny coming to him in any way. There was a
total absence of all motive in the affair, as Mrs. Pel-
ham had not the slightest expectancy, by substitution•
or otherwise, of receiving any emolument by him,
and moreover, she could distinctly prove that he was
her own child. Mr. Ryder had, it appeared to him,
been extraordinarily zealous in this matter, far indeed,
he considered, beyond his duty as chairman of the
Board of Guardians.

Mr. BurntELT. interrupted the gentleman. He did
not agree with what tie said of Mr. Ryder.
Mr. Head continued—Some observations had been
made on the subject of some property—an allowance
received by Mrs. Pelham from Edinburgh ; that pro-
perty had been left to Mrs. Pelham thirty-one years
ago by her own mother, and he held in his hand at
that moment a_ letter from. the North British Rail-
way Company, treating with her on the subject of
her property, which was situate in the Canongate, at
Edinburgh. He concluded by repeating that there
was not the slightest grounds for this charge, and ex-
pressed a hope that as the poison had gone forth so
would the, antidote.
Mr. BuituELL said he had no control over the press,
nor ought he to have. A statement had been made
to him on Saturday, which was under consideration.

Mr. Head observed that, although the story was so
idle, Mrs. Pelham had considered it her duty to come
forward and repel the accusation.
Mr. BURRELL said that he had not yet taken any
steps in the matter, as his mind was undecided.
Mr. Head and Mrs. Pelham then withdrew.

stating the facts to him, that gentleman expressed
the greatest astonishment at them, and immediately
signed a certificate, formed upon his own personal
knowledge of the supposed lunatic, couched in terms
stronger, if possible, than the others. Applicant had
since made repeated applications at the Charter-
house, accompanied by the strongest remonstrance
against the course they had taken ; but not the
slightest notice had been given to them, and he now
wished to know what steps he could adopt that were
most likely to be attended with a beneficial effect ?
The applicant then handed to the Magistrate the three
certificates he had alluded to, accompanied by a letter
from his friend Mr. White, the latter of which bore
every evidence of perfect sanity, and was such, to all
appearance, as a man in full possession of his facul-
ties would indite.

The. Magistrate, after perusing these documents at-
tentively, told the applicant he was afraid he could
render him but very little assistance under the cir-
cumstances he had stated, for the only course open
to him, that he could see, was an application to the
Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, requesting
him to issue an hlheas corpus. That was the only
advice he could give him.
The applicant shook his head doubtingly at this
step, but thanked the Magistrate for his attention,
and withdrew.

THE ~ TARTAR SOLDIER" IN
HYDE PARK.
On Saturday last, about five o'clock in the after-
noon, a very large number of people, princi-
pally military men, were attracted into Hyde
Park to witness the horsemanship and mili-
tary exercises of a very curious individual, a Tartar
soldier, formerly in a Mahomedan regiment of cavalry
in the Russian service, who, it was understood, would
exhibit himself and his_ horse in front of the Horse
Guards barracks. Accordingly, at five o'clock, or
shortly after, the Tartar made his appearance, ac-
companied by several gentlemen on horseback, one
of whom appeared to act as his interpreter, and
in some degree to direct his movements, and a
large space of ground for his evolutions was cleared
out and kept, as the term is, by the privates of the
2d Regiment of Life Guards. The Tartar is a
good-looking man, apparently between twenty-five
and thirty years of age, of an athletic frame, with con-
siderable squareness of limb, but with no superfluous
flesh. He stands about five feet ten inches in
height, and may weigh about 13 stone. He was dressed
in a tight fitting tunic of rose-coloured silk, wadded,
and capable of resisting a hard blow ; very loose
trousers, drawn tightly round his legs just below the
knee, and met by tight black boots almost resembling
long gaiters. On his head was a sheepskin cap of
black wool, similar to those worn by the Persians
who were in the suite of the Persian Ambassador
when in this country a few years .ago. He had
mustachios on the upper • lip. His arms consisted
of a pair of pistols, which, in the course of his
performances, he repeatedly discharged, and a' pole
about ten or a dozen feet long, which he used as
a lance, throwing it with considerable force when
galloping, and with so correct an aim, that had it not
been for the quickness and agility of the gentleman
who volunteered to be the object of his aim, and who
was also on horseback, a broken head or a fractured
bone would probably have been the result. We
believe this part of his practice is what is called
throwing the " djereed." The Tartar also dis-
plays considerable skill in lifting this weapon from
the ground without dismounting, but this he
performed without potting his horse in motion, mak-
ing him stand still whilst he recovered his weapon.
He also threw himself off his horse while at the
top of his speed, and vaulted again into the
saddle with great - ease. The performances were
very well in their way, but nothing that cannot be
done, more especially the equestrian feats, by a large
proportion of the men in our cavalry regiments, and
by hundreds of others; and the spectators did not
seem to be much astonished by what they beheld.
Towards the close of the exhibition Mr. Maynard,
formerly an officer of the Blues, the son of Lord
Maynard, mounted upon a troop horse, with a fencing
foil, undertook to encounter the Tartar, who was
armed with a basket-hilted single-stick, and nothing
daunted by his formidable appearance and reputation
as a swordsman, succeeded with apparent ease in in-
flicting a " palpable hit" upon his ribs, just beneath
the left arm of the Tartar (who is a left-handed
swordsman), as the latter raised his arm to inflict a
perpendicular cut-at his head. The Tartar did not
appear to comprehend what had occurred, and in
rather an irritable manner dismounted and did not
renew the contest. Mr. Maynard then threw his
fencing-glove on the ground, and putting his horse in
a cantor, lifted it up without dismounting. This gen-
tleman also exhibited the feat of vaulting into the
saddle, -and in the comparison of horsemanship with
the Oriental foreigner certainly. suffered noting. As
a skilful swordsman the Tartar is certainly to be sur-
passed by many of those_,,who were on the ground,
and many of the_ I.4ife. Guardsmen expressed their
willingness to contend with him. On Tuesday last,
are believe, he exhibited at the barracks in the Re-
gent's-park, and was matched with Limbard, consi-
dered the best swordsman in the regiment quartered
there,. and also with Hemmingway, a good swords-
man of the. same regiment. Limbard, in the sporting
phrase, had the best of him, and Hemmingway also
set him at nought, In the course of the exercises of
that day he discharged his pistol so close to the face
of .the last named of these two men, that the powder
drew blood, and the man's face is blued, probably for
the rest of his life, as such marks are rarely oblite-
rated. Some allowance must, however, be made for
the impetuosity of the Tartar, and .his total unac-
quaintance with the manner and feeling in which our
national sports are carried on.
The following account of this singular personage
may not be uninteresting to our readers ; we have it
from a gentleman who has had opportunities :of in-
quiring and coining at the facts :—Balthazar Beck
Pogus is the son of a Kniaz, or Khan of Independent
Tartary, a country which boasts of never having been
conquered by, or subject to any foreign power. The
inhabitants are Christians. At the early age of four-
teen, Balthazar joined the Circassian army and fought
against the Russians for three years. At the end of
this time the troop in which he served were taken
prisoners, when engaged in a battle near Tiflis. As
Balthazar had no choice left but to be sent to Siberia
or to take service in the Russian army, in the hopes
that some day or other a chance of escape would offer
itself, he chose the latter; 'and was sent to Warsaw,
where he was placed in .a Mussulman regiment, and
served in it for nine years. - In November last,,a mus-
ter of his regiment was' ordered ; the horsemen under
• his command consisted-of 29, but as he appeared on
parade with 28 only, his superior officer inquired why
. the number was not complete, and on being told that
the-reason was, that one Of. the men had been taken
' very ill' in the morning, and there had been no time
to report the circumstance, he exclaimed, " Christian
-dog, I shall punish you for this breach of discipline ;
yeti are one of those who eat pork, and your religion
is a dog's religion !" and. at the same time struck Bal-
thazar . on the breast in an insulting manner with the
back of his hand. . Thus outraged without cause, be-
! fore his own men, the Tjartar could no longer master
his feelings, and, in a state of frenzy, he drew his
, . sword and cut down the officer who had so griev-
' ously wronged him. He saw, in a moment, that
he was a lost man, and there was no safety
L for him but in the desperate expedient of
flight Beckoning to his cousin and his ser-
. vast, who served in the same regiment, to
follow, he started without losing a moment. They
made for the frontier of Prussia, but by mistake they
took the road of Plock instead of Plonsk. Meanwhile
an alarm was raised, and Cossacks were sent in pur-
suit of them ; but although the pursuers obtained
fresh horses at the different pickets, so well were the
fugitives mounted, that it was not till after they had
ridden twelve hours, having performed a distance of
120 English miles, and being very near the Prussian
frontier, they were at length overtaken. An officer
with seven men rode up to them, calling out to Bal-
thazar to surrender. He replied " Never;" and
added " You know me, and that when I take an aim
I never miss ; if therefere, you value your life, suffer
me to proceed." Ati „that moment two pistol shots
were heard, and his companions dropped dead from
their horses. Balthazar revenged them,by shooting with
his brace of pistols two of the Cossacks ; then, setting
' spurs to his horse, he resumed his flight, followed by
the remaining Cossacks. So good, however, was his
horse, of Arab breed, that his pursuers, one by one,
man, as he rode after the Tartar, fired at him, and
wounded him in the thigh. He felt the bloodorg
in
s-tno,ptobpuedta hblevyi
trivseauscaitlinoadt
cdoaefseatpi
at
letmy
brook,p; ear ri
and
In, ;
(2,
livi
dropped off, till only one remained—the officer. This
loi
tu, ts
suddenly situation
tn ill
e ruttlioyn
bdeoN
came
s .
' seemed to forbid his further progress. Rousing, how-
ever, his jaded but .high-couraged horse, he rods
boldly at the brook, and got clear over. The Cossack
officer, following closely, attempted the same feat, but
failing, fell with his 'horse into the water.
Balthazsr, now in Prussia (for that brook formed
the boundary), and freed from his pursuers, rode on
to the first village, where having told his story, be
was -taken in and kindly treated. Shortly after the
Russians sent to claim him as a deserter, but the
Prussian authorities refused to give him. up. Seine
Prussian gentlemen of distinction in the neighbour..
hood showed him great kindness, and when he reco-
vered from his wound, which was, not for a long time,
and expressed his desire to return to his own home,
they advised him, as the best mode of doing so, to getto
the toast and embark for England. Accordingly, hav-
ing been supplied by them with money for the journey
and with letters to friends at Dantzie, he proceeded on
his horse to that city, where he met with further
kindness from the officers of the garrison, by whom he
land his horse were sent to this country, whence it is
.I said be; intends-to depart- for France, and -by way of
Marseilles to gpt to Cosistantinople. We understand
he has been patronised by Lord Dudley Stuart, and

other influential persons, and that a subscription to
defray his expenses and journey to Constantinople, to
the amount of 501., has already been made. He has
the 'greatest affection for his horse, a grey Arab, of
great beauty and extraordinary good points, and has
refused to part with it for any price. On being asked
a few days ago by an officer of the Life Guards if he
would sell the animal, he energetically laid his hand
upon the scalp of his head, and said, " I would sooner
cut this from my head, and make my horse eat hair
and all, than sell her, my preserver !"—Times.