The Sun.
London, England, 1826-01-06 00:00:00

.apprenticeship expired, be was furnished with a-suit of clothei
according to the terms of the indenture. When these clothes
were worn out he had more, and so on until he left the family,
and then he chose to take two old milks with him, upon the
pretext that he (Sir 11. W. WilSon). had , said that he would
make him a present of.his liveries whenever lie left him.
Mr. Petit, after !leveret interruptionit from the prosecto3r,
who seemed peculiarly impatient of any reniark from that
tleman, asked how long the defendant remained iii the service
after the term of apprenticeship had expired ?
Sir IL W. Wilson answered, five years.
• Mr. Petit-And so, Sir Henry 11 ikon, after being faithfully
Reeved by this young man for twelve years, you think it right to
bring himhere under a warrant for felony, because he took away
a few old garments.
Sir. it. lIIHNIE said there was no warrant. He told
Wilson that servants had a notion that they were entitled to the
cast off liveries ; and however mistaken the soling man might
be, it could hardly be said that be had committed a felony_
He. (Sir R. Birnie) therefore merely granted a summons. , •
Sir H. Wilson—Sp ynu. see, Sir, there was no warrant.
Sir R. Brniery.—l must say, however, that Sir Henry applied
-for a warrant.
Mr. Petit said, that warrant or no warrant, the defendant was
brought there in custody, and at the suit of the prosecutor.
Sir R. Dinah; said, he did not consider the young man in
dustodr at all.
Sir H. Wilson said, the simple question Was, whether be watt
entitled to the clothesor not. He would show that he had fur-
nished the defendant with a suit of the proper value when his
term of apprenticeship expired, and that he never promised that
he should takelsis liveries with him when he left the service.
Mr. Burkit, the tailor, was then called, and stated that he
charged five guineas per suit for the defendent's liveries, and
that he did not know. of Sir Henry IVileon'a melting any pro-
mise of the kind alluded to.
Sir H. Wilson then made several observations about the
kindness which he said the defendant had experienced in his
family, and the presents he had received, and said he might
have remained but he was obliged tu discharge him lOr bad
behaviour.
Mr. Petit—Discharge him ! Pray was it not at his own de-
sire that he left your service ?
Sir 11. Wilson said he believed it. was.
Mr. Petit—Did he give you warning or you him ?
Sir H. Wilson said the defendant gave warning. •
Mr. Petit—And yet you talk about discharging him.
Sir H. Wilson said he luta behaved very ill, which the de-
fendant denied. •
Sir R. Bittsrix said the clothes had better be produced:' •
. Mr. Petit-0 yes, let the old clothes be produced •by all
means.
Sir H. Wilson—Old clothes ! You may talk of old clothes as
much as you like, . I don't know whether you keep servants ar
not, but—
Mr. Petit—l don't attend here to answer questions. •
Sir H. Wilson—There is no occasion for irritation. We are
not met here for irritation.
Mr. Petit—l am not come here for irritation as you ex-
press it, but simply to watch over the interests of the ybuese
man. It is the practice of the excellent institution of which
I have the honour to he a member, never to desert those
who have once been under its care, -so long as they deserve
protection, but to continue to them in their maturer years
the same fostering kindness which thee experienced in their in.
fancy. I certainly could not help feeling a little hurt whets I
heard you talk about your discharging him when it appeared
that he discharged himself. And with respect to the clothes it
appears that you would have sent him into the world naked
after twelve years of faithful service.
Sir H. Wilson denied that he would have done so.
Mr. Petit—Why you did not know that he had clothes to
wear or &place to put his head in.
Sir H. Nilson repeated his denial, and again said that the
defendant had behaved very ill.
Sir It. Blew= said, he observed on the back of the inden-
ture a certificate of good character signed by Sir Henry Wilson.
The clothes were now produced. They. consisted chiefly of
jackets and breeches, certainly very considerably the worse for
wear. By Sir H. Wilson's desire they were handed over to Mr.
Burkit, who seemed by no means anxious to have the charge of
them.
• Mr. Petit said he hoped Sir H. Wilson was satisfied now
that he had got his old clothes.
Sir It. Birnie had for some time evinced a great desire to put
a stop to the inquiry, and he mow said the question was a very
simple one. The young man had taken away the clothes, im-
properly perhaps, strictly speaking, but he had done so under
the notion that he was entitled to them, and there was not the
slightest ground for an imputation even of constructive felony.
The defendant was therefore discharged.
Mr. Petit—Young man, you are now liberated, and you will
go forth from this office with n character perfectly pure and un-
sullied, for as Sir Richard Birnie hes said, there was not the
slightest pretext for an imputation even of constructive felony.
I will just add, that so well satisfied am I with tho result Of
this inquiry, and so convinced ant I of the goodness of yahr
character, that if' you want a situation ar assistance of any
kind, I will give it you with all my heart.
There had been a pretty strong manifestation of feeling by a
rather numerous auditory throughout the inquiry, and when
the last remarks were made, there was st very lend expressive
turf. auprnilatuesetoseehveercakl
itt.imes repeated, in spite of the Mints of Sir