The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-25 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY MORNING, MARCH 25, 1.844

made to prevent the interference of Thomas Stowell, the
common informer, who on Saturday last attempted to
thwart the ends of justice, by an endeavour to mislead a
female witness in her identity of the boy Williams.
Mr. COTTINGHAM directed that should any complaint
of a similar kind arise, he should order the removal of
Stowell from the Court, who had no right whatsoever to

only an accident? Denis—That's it, your Wurtchip
only I could not exactly swear it.—(Laughter.)
Mr. BALLANTINE ordered Denis to pay ls. damages,
and 25., the costs of the summons, which, being done,
the parties adjourned to a neighbouring public-house to
discuss the merits of the case, the manner of hearing,
some half-and-half, and the justice of the decision.
HAMMERSMITH.
Mr. William Bolton, the landlord of the Ship public-
house, in the Suspension Bridge-road, Hammersmith,
was summoned before Mr. G. Clive, the sitting magis-
trate, at the instance of the police, for having had his
house open before the hour of one o'clock on Sunday
last, the 17th instant.
Mr. Bolton having pleaded not guilty,
Police-constable Gibson, T 121, deposed that on the
forenoon of Sunday last he went, accompanied by an-
other constable, to visit the defendant's house. On
knocking at the door it was opened to them by the de-
fendant, when they saw four persons standing at the
bar. The defendant said they were travellers. On go-
ing into the bar, he found a pint pot about a third full of
beer on the counter.
By Mr. CLIVE—The. men were entire strangers to
witness. The defendant told us they were travellers.
The door was opened by the defendant immediately that
they knocked.
By the defendant—Caine from the direction of the
bridge to the house, but did not see him standing in the
road before they came up. Defendant told them that
one of the four persons had been taken ill, and had had
some brandy-and-water.
Police-constable Jones, T 31, deposed that he accom-
panied the last witness to the defendant's house, and
corroborated his statement as to four persons being at
the bar.
By the defendant—Th© shortest of the four appeared
very ill, and he said something about having had brandy-
and water, or he should have.died. The whole of the
young men offered to give their addresses in support of
their statement. Every facility was afforded by the
defendant to the police searching the house, and on their
entering he opened the bar-door, and said, " There are
four persons there," but witness had already seen them
through the glass window.
Mr. Bolton declared that the real facts of the case
were these:—Oa Sunday, soon after eleven o'clock, two
young gentlemen brought a third to his house, saying he
had been taken very ill, and begged for God's sake that
he might be admitted for the purpose of having some
hot brandy-and-water. On the police coming to the
house he explained to them the circumstances, as did
also the party in question, who were all connected with
public offices, and were therefore unable to attend at
that Court that day. He had, however, the waterman
in attendance who had brought them up the river, who
would prove the truth of his statement. He then called
Charles Campbell, waterman, of No. 1, Church-street,
Waterloo-road, who deposed that on Sunday morning
last he took a party of three gentlemen up the river
from Westminster-bridge-stairs. It was a very cold day,
and the wind blew very hard. One of the gentlemen
who sat in the head of the boat, when near Hammer•
smith-bridge, was taken very bad, and they were all
afraid he would have died. He was taken ashore at the
bridge by the other gentlemen to the defendant'S house,
and witness afterwards went to see how he was, when
the landlord asked him in, and he had a pint of porter
and a biscuit. The pot he had it in was that which the
policeman had spoken of.
Mr. CLIVE said that was not a case for a conviction.
The summons must be dismissed.

themselves or their assistants have taken the evidence in,
is one which has been discountenanced and discouraged
in many countries, and should not in any case be per-
mitted. The situation of magistrates' clerk and prose-
cuting attorney in one and the same case is, in a great
measure, incompatible, and should not be continued.
That the robbery in this case was what is called a
" put-up" there can be no doubt, as since it has been
committed a carpet-bag and box, which was intended as
a "dummy," has been discovered by the police. The
box was placed in a bag in the same way as the one
containing the sovereigns, and was as near as possible of
the same size, and the bag of the same description as
that stolen.—Sunday Times.

interfere in the case.
A sergeant of the detective police said that Stowell
was continually in the company of thieves, and that he
now wanted to act as solicitor for the accused persons.
Mr. COTTINGHAM said that he should take care that
that should not be the case.
The only additional evidence adduced was that of a
Mrs. Bear and a little boy, her brother, who identified the
boy Williams as having been concerned in the robbery
of Mrs. Kingsmill, who had her pocket picked of a purse
containing twelve sovereigns. The witnesses said they
were walking behind Mrs. Kingsmill at the time she was
robbed, and saw the two men and the boy Williams
commit the offence, and that they escaped at the time by
running down one of the turnings. They were certain
as to the identity of the boy, but not so as to the other
two prisoners, whom they were unable to swear to with
any degree of confidence.
Sergeant Langley said that Mrs. Cutts, the lady who
was robbed of the 7201. in the Islington omnibus, was so
ill that she was unable to attend, and that Mr. Cutts,
being persuaded that her illness was produced from the
agitation consequent on the magnitude of the robbery,
had, therefore, expressed a wish that she should not be

compelled to appear again.
Mr. COTTINGHAM said that Mrs. Cutt's attendance
was absolutely necessary ; that the fact of the three
prisoners launching out into extravagance immediately
after the robbery of the above lady was a strong cir-
cumstance of suspicion against them, in addition to Wil-
liams being identified as riding in the same omnibus
with her, and also two men resembling tho other pri-
soners, although she could not speak with the same de-
gree of certainty as to their identification.
The prisoners' counsel contended that the evidence
was not sufficiently strong to bring the charges home
against either of them, but the Magistrate differed in
opinion on that subject, and said that he should commit
Williams for trial, but, with a view to have the at-
tendance of Mrs. Cutts, should remand the other pri-

soners until Friday.
Another attempt was made by a young female, named
Caroline Hillman, to commit suicide this morning, and she
was brought before Mr. Cottiughasn on the charge.
Police-constable, 48 M, stated, that at two o'clock that
morning, while on duty on Blackfriars'-bridge, his attention
was called to the prisoner, whom he observed lingering about
the Surrey side of the bridge. Believing she meditated self-
destruction, he watched the prisoner for some time, and saw
her run down the steps leading to the water ; upon which he
instantly followed, and was just in time to prevent
her from precipitating herself into the river. She
had divested herself of her bonnet and shawl, which she left
on the steps. When taken to the station-house it turned out
that she was an unfortunate woman, and had left her lodging
in the Waterloo-road at ten o'clock the same night to go to
the Victoria Theatre.
The defendant said that she had been drinking and that she
was unconscious of what she did. On promising to abstain
from liquor in future, she was placed in the care of her friends.

On Saturday information was circulated, by authority
of GoTernment, and inserted in the Police Gazette,
offering a reward to the amount of 300/. for the dis-
covery of a person, at present unknown, who, on the
morning of the 13th instant, attempted to murder
Charles Grimmer, a farmer, at Pakefield, in Suffolk,
by discharging a loaded gun at him. Rewards of 501.,
on the part of her Majesty's Government, and 201. by.
Mr. Grimmer himself, in addition to 2801. by the Ma-
gistrates and others, are offered for the discovery, and it
is stated that her Majesty's pardon will be granted to
any accomplice (excepting only the person who actually
fired the gun), who will give such information as may
be the means of bringing to justice the perpetrator of
the outrage.
THE HOUSEBREAKING AND ATTEMPTED MURDER IN
ESSEX.—The following description is given of the two
men, said to be Irish labourers, who, on the night of the
15th inst., broke into and plundered the house of Mr.
Peter Asplin, jun., at West Tilbury, Essex, and attempted
to murder his farm servant. One of them is about five
feet eight inches high, of dark complexion, with very
dark, small whiskers, good-looking, and thick set, with
good teeth, which he shows very much when talking,
and has a scar under the cheek bone. The other is five
feet six inches, about 25 years old, fair complexion, light
hair, small whiskers, long face, with high cheek bones,
and a wrinkle down each cheek, his wrists and ankles
nearly as large as his arms, two of his fingers joined
together above the first joint, and is ruptured. The
lower part of their dress is supposed to have been very
muddy when they made off, as they walked in the mud
after leaving the boat in which they crossed the river
from Gray's to Northfleet ; and they were traced as far
Shooter's-hill the next day.
At the rotice Committe of Aldermen for the remov
ing Irish and Scotch paupers, on Friday, the presiding
magistrates, Mr. Alderman Copeland and Mr. Alder-
man Johnson, expressed a wish that it might be made
known through the Press that the Houses of Shelter for
poor people would be closed for the season in a few
days. The metropolis, the City especially, had of late
been inundated with destitute objects from all parts of
the country, who had been attracted by hearing of these
places of refuge, though they could not expect to find
employment in their ordinary occupations—as miners,
agricultural labourers, &c. These poor persons had
been a great tax on the City poor-boxes, where they
had less funds than at the Metropolitan police-courts.
It was very desirable that the poor objects should have
timely warning of the closing of the receiving-houses
alluded to, that they might not continue to pour into
London, when there were no_ such places of resort, and
where there was no possibility of their getting em-
ployment.

THE LATE ROBBERY FROM THE
OXFORD COACH.
OXFORD, SATURDAY EVENING.—It being understood
that Richard Elliott, the person in custody on suspicion
of being concerned, with two others, in robbing the De-
fiance Oxford coach, on the Monday before, of a box
t o see
ye
containing 1.500 sovereigns, was to have been publicly
examined before the county magistrates to-day, consider-
mthaenyprisoner, and hear
of the inhabitants
of
consider-
able l
this
s interest
city
to wbaes
manifested
presentthe proceedings against him. In this, however, they
were disappointed, for, from some reason or other of the
clerical magistrates and others, who have the conducting
of the case, the most mysterious secresy is preserved.
About three o'clock Dr. Harrington, who is the
Principal of one of the Colleges, and also a county ma-
gistrate, attended in the committee •room of the
county gaol, adjoining the city, for the purpose, as it
was stated, of further examining Elliott, and our
reporter made application to be present. He was li
introduced to the presence of Dr. Harrington by
Captain Robins, the governor of the prison, and, upon
his stating that he had come from town to attend the
examination and report the proceedings for the Sunday
Times, the Rev. Doctor replied that an application had
just been made to him by the solicitor engaged for
the prosecution, requesting that the examination of that
day should be strictly private, and it being his impres-
sion also that a disclosure and publication of the evi-
dence in the case, as far as it had gone, would tend to
defeat the ends of justice, he could not comply with the
wish of the reporter to be present.
The reporter ventured to suggest that all examinations
of the sort taking place in the metropolis were pub-
lished, and the magistrates before whom they took place
invariably acknowledged that their publication, instead
of defeating, materially assisted the ends of justice.
The Rev. Doctor replied that, as far as the present
case was concerned, he was of a different opinion, and for
these reasons he must insist upon the investigation
being strictly private. He begged at the same time to
say that when the case was quite ripe for publication he
should have no objection whatever to the presence of
reporters for the public press.
The reporter then withdrew.
An application was then made on the part of Mr. Ro-
binson, who attended on behalf of the prisoner, to be al-
lowed a private interview with his client, but this was
refused. He next requested to see him in the presence
of Ballard the officer, but this also was refused, as well as
permission to be present at the examination. He (Mr.
Robinson) then requested to be informed upon what
ground his client wag kept in custody, and was told by
the Reverend Magistrate that such a eotirse was unusual,
and that therefore he could not comply with the request.
At a later period of the day Dr. Marsham, another
clerical magistrate, and Captain Shepheard, attended,
when the prisoner was brought before them. There were
also present Ballard, who, had formerly belonged to
Bow-street, and who, it appears, is especially employed
in the case, Sergeant Thompson of the D division of the
metropolitan police, and Lucas, a marshalman, who ap-
prehended the prisoner on the night of the robbery. The
prisoner was very respectably dressed, is a genteel-look-
ing young man about thirty years ofage, and it was said
has kept a tobacconist's shop, in Bell-street, Edgware-
road, for some years past.
Sergeant Thompson recognised him as a member of
the " swell mob,' and stated that he had been in cus-
tody before, and committed to the House of Correction
as a member of that fraternity of thieves. Beyond this
nothing has been discovered to implicate him with the
' robbery..
Mr. Harrington told him the decision of the Bench
was to remand him to a future day, and asked him if he
had anything to say against being retainc'd until Friday
next ?—The prisoner said he should prefer Wednesday
to Friday, but, upon his being informed that Mr. Robin-
son, his solicitor, wished for the longest day, he said he
had no objection to Friday, and was then removed to
his cell.

Dr. Harrington subsequently intimated to Mr. Robin-
son that the next examination should also be private,
and that if after this, the Bench should see reason to
commit the prisoner for trial, their clerk would commu-
nicate with him (Mr. Robinson), so that on a future day
he would have an opportunity of attending and cross-
examiningntahbved.dr
iffeeressnetdwitnesses in the case.
The wife of the prisoner, an exceedingly good-looking
severalyo hungowuros, woman,
aannd , waans
applicationi n
ance at the gaol for
was
fma sandien
on her behalf to the Bench to be allowed even
to shake hands with her husband, but this was denied.
The refusal seemed to distress her much, and she cried
very bitterly.
There are two circumstances in the case worthy of
remark—one is that the prisoner was left in the care of
Lucas from the time of his apprehension until that
(Saturday) morning, when he was ordered into the gaol,
and the other that Mr. Walshe, the magistrate's clerk, is
employed for the prosecution. The practice of permitting
tuagotaitee clerks to 44 as atttornep in protiocutions they