The Sun.
London, England, 1844-07-24 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY 24, 144.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE.

LOSS OF LIVES AT BLACKFRIARS' BRIDGE.

Under-Sheriff Anderton waited upon the Lord Mayor
yesterday, for the purpose of particularly calling his
Lordship's attention to the dreadful accident which oc-
curred at the temporary pier at Blackfriars-bridge, on
Monday evening. Numbers of persons had, he said,
assembled on the pier to witness a regatta on the water,
and a portion of it having given way, several lives were
lost. The inhabitants of the neighbouring houses were,
in consequence of the frightful occurrence (the full ex-
tent of which they were not yet acquainted with), in a
state of the most painful excitement ; and blame was
attached to the Corporation for. having allowed the tem-
porary pier to remain along the shore, occasioning con-
siderable danger to human life, and palpable inconve-
nience to those engaged in commercial pursuits upon the
banks of the Thames. Speaking as one of the public, he
could not help saying he was surprised that more nu-
merous accidents had not occurred. He also begged
permission to draw his Lordship's attention to the state
of the steam-vessels conveying passengers to different
parts of the river. Last night one of the steamers was ob-
served, at Blackwell, to have on board upwards of 1,000
persons, so that there the immense mass stuck, deriving
its safety, in a great degree, from the impossibility of
moving from one side to the other ; for if the vessel
dropped a little upon either side, the most awful de-
struction must have taken place. He knew that the
Lord Mayor had felt and expressed great apprehension
of the consequences of thus over-loading when his Lord
ship came into office, and had shown a determination to
remedy the evil, but he regretted to find that the active
exertions of the Chief Magistrate did not appear to re-
ceive that energetic assistance which was so requisite in
circumstances distinguished by such conflicting inte-
rests. The inhabitants of Blackfriars hoped that the
Lord Mayor would visit the river as soon as possible ;
and cause the immediate removal of the temporary
piers, or at any rate, compel those who derived profit
from them, to make them firm and secure. The autho-
rity of his Lordship was the more required, as the over-
loading seemed to be upon an equality in all the steamers
plying from London-bridge to Richmond.
The LORD MAYOR expressed his satisfaction at the
manner in which the Under-Sheriff had publicly called
his attention to the melancholy disaster which had oc-
curred, and to the practice of overcrowding the steam-
vessels—a subject which had frequently occupied his
mind. He regretted that delays, arising from the
nature of the difficulties which pressed upon the
subject had taken place ; but the Committee,
together with the Waterman's Company, were, with
the aid of the City Solicitor, at the present
moment engaged in framing rules which would
soon be acted upon, and were calculated to remedy the
hazardous evil of over-crowding. He certainly con-
curred with Mr. Anderton, in expressing surprise that
more extensive mischief had not taken place. The pe-
culiar brightness of the weather was certainly favourable
to the navigation of the river ; but as fogs might soon be
expected, the danger was likely to become imminent.
The regulation of the number to be admitted on board
each steamer was under consideration, and he trusted
the plan to be acted upon would be well adapted to the
important occasion. As to the piers which had been
temporarily erected, he had taken care to throw
out a. hint to the Navigation Committee, that all
temporary erections of the kind must be sanc-
tioned and subjected to constant survey. Whe-
ther that hint had been acted upon generally he could
not tell but the accident of the last evening proved the
necessity for interference. He had given orders to the
proper officer to prepare for a survey, which it was his
intention to make from London-bridge to the extent of
his jurisdiction up the river, on Thursday next, when. he
should cause the removal of everything which he should_
consider injurious to the navigation, and direct that the
piers, which the public convenience required, should be
adequately secured and fortified. It appeared to him
that the multitude of piers which had been constructed
for private advantage, constituted a very great incon-
venience to the public, as the steamers were, in the course
of their passage, in the habit of stopping every two
minutes. The trade of people along the banks was like-
wise considerably affected by the traffic of the steamers,
and one coal-merchant had declared that his loss in wear
and tear of barges on account of the ceaseless plying of
the crowded boats, amounted to at least 5001. a year.
Mr. Anderton—My apprehension is, that it we do not
adopt some effective course the Government will save
us the trouble by taking the power into.their own hands.
The LORD Mkroa—My opinion vs regards the regu-
lition of the speed of steam-vessels is, that we should
have an authorised agent on board, a sort of City pilot.
We should erect public landing places ourselves too, and do
away with those private piers altogether ; con-
vinced the Navieation Committee will make every exer-
tion for the public safety and benefit, and it will no
longer be considered indispensible to pack people toge-
ther like a flock of sheep to insure their security from
drowning. I shall make the necessary representations
to the Committee, and go upon the survey myself on
Thursday next.

CLERKEN WELL.
Francec Mary Cass was charged with attempting to
commit suicide.

The prisoner is the wife of a decent mechanic, residing
in Stoke Newington, and the mother of a family. They
have lived for some years in comparative comfort, but
latterly the unhappy woman became acquainted with a
female of loose character, who first led her into bad
company, and then involved her in debt and difficulty.
Remorse and the dread that her husband would discover
her embarrassed situation drove her into a state of
frenzy, and early this morning she strove to drown her.
self in the New River at Stoke Newington. A labourer
named Cashel, who chanced to be going to his work,-
heard the splash, rushed to the river side, and saw the
prisoner sinking in the water with all her clothes on.
He dashed in and rescued her from a watery grave,
although she requested him "for God's- sake not to
save her."

The unfortunate prisoner, who seemed overwhelmed
with grief, did not utter a syllable.
The Magistrate (Mr. Comm) consigned her to the
care of her friends.
Henry Hutchins, charged with bigamy, the particulars
of whose case were mentioned in a former number of
this paper, was fully committed for trial ; as was. John
Barrett, for obtaining money by fraudulently represent-
ing himself as an agent of the Anti-Corn-law League.,

BOW-STREET.
Yesterday, George Gator, a constable of the F division,
peared before Mr. Twyford, to answer a complaint preferred
against him by Mrs. Hogg, wife of a
hosier and glover, 73,
Fleet-street, for taking her into custody against her will, and
using brutal conduct towards her.
Mr. Corder, the clerk to the guardians, and Mr. Boswood,
relieving officer of the Strand union, attended to watch the
case, as the decision of the Magistrate was expected to guide
the police in future respecting the course to be pursued by
them regarding deserted children.
Mr. Hogg stated, that on Tuesday evening, the 21st inst.,
about seven o'clock, he was returning to Essex-street, ac-
companied by his wife,
her niece, and his children, and, an
turning round to ascertain the cause of their delay at the
corner of Essex-street, he was perfectly astounded at seeing
them surrounded by a mob of persons, among whom was the
defendant. On going up, he found his wife in a very agitated
state, and with difficulty she informed him that the con-
stable was about to take her to the station-house. He imme-
diately accosted the defendant, demanding to know if his
wife was really in custody, and he replied she was, and that
she should accompany him to the station-house. Witness
then heard something about a lost child, there being a child
standing in the crowd at the time, but he did not ask the de-
fendant why his wife was in custody, and he appealed to his
sympathy on her behalf, pointing out that she was far gone
in the family way, surrounded by her four children, of which
he took no notice, and having procured a cab he had them
conveyed to a neighbour's house. He then came to the station,
and when the charge was taking he thought the inspector on
duty appeared to sanction such an outrage on the liberty of
the subject.
In answer tb the defendant witness said he did not see him
lay hands on his wife, and he allowed her to go to the station
in a cab while witness sat on the box.
Mr. Corder observed, that of late cases of deserting children
in the streets were of frequent occurrence, in consequence of
which the police were obliged to use the utmost precaution,
and require the parties to accompany them and lay the-
charge before a superior officer in the usual way. '
In answer to further questions by the defendant, witness
denied having said his wife should not go the station unless
it was distinctly understood she was in custody, nor did he
sat his wife bring the child to the defendant.
Mrs. Hogg, who seemed in a very weakly state, said she
was in the Strand at the time in question, and seeing the de-
fendant on duty, she brought a little girl, about five years
old, who was crying at the corner of Essex-street, to him,
saying, " My good man, will you take this child, and find
out where she lives?" To which he replied, " No, madam,
I shall not take the child, but I'll take you." She then said,
"My good man, what have. I done that you should take
must go with me to the station-house." Witness asked did
me?" and he again replied, " You are mprisoner, and you
he suppose she wanted to take anything from the child, hav-
ing four of her own with her, but he made no other reply
than that she should go to the station-house, upon which her
husband came up.
Cross-examined by the defendant—ln the confusion after-
wards he might have said he would take charge of the child
if witness would accompany him to the station. The child
was dressed in black, and witness was also dressed partly in
black. He might have also said;
" If you leave the child
you must consider yourself in my custody."
The defendant, addressing the Magistrate, asked if a child
appearing under the protection of any person, was brought
to him as' being deserted, was he obliged to take a mere asser-
tion in such a ease ?
Mr. TWYFORD said •it was not his duty to give instruction
to a constable on such a subject.
The defendant said he had acted under the impression that
the child might have been under the protection of the person
preferring the complaint,
Mr. Twvronn said it could scarcely be called a mistaken
sense of duty, that because an individual called the attention
of a policeman to a destitute child, such• persons ought to be
taken into custody, and he wished to hear the opinion of Mr.
Corder upon the subject.
Mr. Corder, assuming that the child was deserted—
Mr. Twrrono—No, no ; it is given in evidence that the
complainantwas surrounded by her family.
Mr. Corder—If she happened to be the parent of the child
the constable acted very properly.
Mr. TwyFonn—No doubt the man thought he was acting
right, but he happened to be wrong.
Mr. Corder said he could state most remarkable cases of
desertion where the parents appeared to be in very respect-
able circumstances.
The defendant, appealing to Mr. Corder, said he was told'
on former occasions by the Strand union authorities, if lie
brought another deserter to them he should be reported to
the CommiSsioners, unless ho also brought forward the parties-
concerned ; and in the present case the complainant brought
the child to him by the hand.
Mr. Corder assured the Court that cases came under his
notice in which,.bribes to any extent had been offered to
screen the parties concerned.
TWYFORD admitted that such might have been the
case, but here the constable should have ascertained the
address of the parties, and put himself in possession of every-
thing connected with them.
Mr. John Kendrick, of Temple-street, Whitefriars, proved
that he was returning home with his wife when he saw a -
child without hat, or bonnet, apparently in a bewildered
state, which led him to conclude it was lost. Mrs. Hogg,
with whom he was totally unacquained, came up at the
moment, and, after pointing it out to the defendant as lost,