The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-11 00:00:00

THAMES.

A lad named Henry Rainer, aged 15, was put into the dock
to answer a charge of stealing 51. 10s. in money from a box in
hie mother's best-room.

The case was a very distressing one indeed.
Mrs. Ann Rainer, an infirm old lady. residing at No. 33,
Johnson's-street, St. George's-in-the-East, stated that the
prisoner was her son, and he had frequently robbed her. On
Saturday morning last the prisoner left home, and a few mi-
nutes afterwards she had occasion to go to her box, which she
kept under lier bed, and missed two sovereigns, a half-sove-
reign, four half-crowns, and ten shillings, which she deposited
there on the previous day. She at once suspected her son,
who slid not return till morning, when, on being questioned, he
became very insolent, and. refused to give any account of him-
self, and owing to his threats and violence she was compelled to
give him into custody.
Mr. MODEair —And is it your intention to prosecute?
The witness, who was much affected, said she scarcely knew
what to do. Her husband, who was the captain of a South
Seaman, would not be home for some time, and her eldest son
was also at sea. She was alone in the world, and had been
most grievously wronged by her yr urger boy. Two ships
had been procured for him, but he would not remain in either,
and was constantly pilfering anything he could lay his
hands on.
Edward Gray, a police-constable, No. 59 11, stated that the
boy was given into his custody, and that he brought home with
him a pistol, a powder horn, and some percussion caps, which
he hail purchased with a portion of the money be had stolen
from his mother. The boy said he bad purchased a jacket and
waistcoat with some of the money, and had spent the remainder
with other boy s. He asked him what he had been doing
since last Saturday, and he replied that he had been rowing
about the river in boats, and sleeping during the nights in a
barge alongside Execution Dock, Wapping.
The prisoner was asked if he had any defence to make, and
he replied sullenly, " No, Sir."
Mr. BuonErtir said this was a most lamentable case. The
poor woman
.who appeared to prosecute her own child was
quite alone in the world; her husband absent on a whaling
voyage, and her eldest son far away from her at sea ; and, as
the only means of checking the career of the prisoner at the
bar, she was compelled to have recourse to this proceeding,
and a very severe one it was. He hoped this case would be
brought under the notice of the Worthy Assistant Judge, at the
Middlesex Sessions, and that the lad would be prevented from
returning to his evil ways, for if he came. out of prison he must
either prey upon the public, or upon his unfortunate mother.
The prisoner was then committed to the Middlesex Sessions.
Emma Watts, aged 17, was brought befor Mr. Broderip,
on a charge of robbing Mr. Richard Wiscoe, a gentleman, of
24, Colet-place, Commercial-road East, of property to a con-
siderable amount.
The prisoner entered into the service of Mr. Wiscoe exactly
five weeks ago, and his daughters had missed property from
various dra'sers in the house almost daily ever since. On
Tuesday afternoon one of the young ladies missed a shawl from
a drawer, and some pictures which a child had been playing
with on a bed in the course of the day. On the same evening
the prisoner asked fur and obtained permissicr. to go out for
an hour, and one of her master's daughters,' suspecting that she
had been
a policeman,eenpilfering,spoke to her father on the subject, who
named Whittleton, 173 K, to take the
prisoner into custody directly she left the house. The police-
man obeyed the instructions given him, and brought back the
prisoner to her master's house, and she immediately dropped a
white cambric handkerchief upon; a chair, and a large pot of
scented pomatum, rolled from it. The policeman then asked
her it she had any other property about her. She replied in
the negative, and said she wished to retire to the hack part of
the house. The policeman refused to allow her to leave the
apartment, and lc ft her there a short time with Miss Susan
Wiscoe, who directed her to undress, and found upon I cr the
shawl and the pictures the had missed on the same day. The
prisoner begged of the young lady to forgive her, raid promised
not to offend again. The prisoner was ordered to put her
clothes on, and when she bed done so, the policeman was called
in and took charge of the property anti the prisoner tko;andshe
delivered to him a key which opened the locks of all the drawers
in the house. The prisoner said she found the key at the
bottom of a drawer in the child's bedroom. After Whittleton
had locked her up, he proceeded to her mother's dwelling,
where he found a gold pia belonging to a gentleman who