The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-15 00:00:00

THAMES POLICE.

The Court was occupied from the opening until
nearly the close, in hearing two cases of assault pre-
ferred by Mr. W. Major, M.D., who acted as surgeon
of the barque Dublin, on her homeward bound voy-
age from Australia, the one against Captain Dunihan,
master of the vessel, and the other against the first
mate, named Cooper.
It appeared from the evidence that the commence-
ment of the voyage was very harmonious, and the
passengers did all in their power to while away the
tedium of a long confinement on shipboard. Some of
the gentlemen having a literary taste, got up, but
without the adjuncts of types or presses, a sort of
newspaper, in the style of a shipboard gazette, to
which each, as inclination prompted, furnished his
quoturn. Fora time all went on " merry as a mar-
riage bell," until some random shot in the journal,
which was never aimed with intent, touched the captain
on the raw, and led to some little unpleasant-
ness. It appeared, too, that one of the pas-
sengers knelt, on one occasion, in a mock heroic
vein to the captain's lady, " a new affianced bride,"
soliciting her to play some favourite air, but the
jest was taken so seriously that the breach between
the captain and the passengers was widened. They
had not been many weeks at sea when the crew and
the passengers were put on short allOwance both of
food, water, and wine, though the master at starting
had assured several of the passengers that he had laid
in a sufficiency for one 'hundred days. The passen-
gers naturally became discontented, and from that time
all was discord. On one. occasion Dr. Major wrote
an order for wine for one of his patients, which the
captain did not think sufficiently respectful in its
wording, and challenged more courtesy. The
doctor denied that he intended any disrespect,
words ensued, and the captain struck, him two blows
upon the head, and so far from offering an apology or
expressing any regret, he said he was only sorry that
instead of striking he had not ropes-ended the doctor.
The case was fully proved, and
Ma.- BALLANTINE, after commenting with some
severity on the conduct of the captain, who, though
holding the highest position as commander of the
ship, was still in real rank and intellectual position,
far inferior to the gentleman whom he had treated
with such indignity, fined him the fullest penalty of
51., or two months imprisonment.
The next charge against the first mate was then

proceeded with.
It appeared that the defendant had written some
letters to the plaintiff, which the latter seemed to
think offensive, and requested him to write no more
such. This led to replies and remonstrances, and the
defendant (Cooper) called the, doctor an old woman,
a fool, a madman, and ultimately i, b— b—. The
plaintiff admitted that, being irritated by the lan-
guage of the defendant, he said thank God, though
I have not personal strength, lam • not a mutton-
headed' fellow. Thereupon the defendant seized him
by the throat, which he Compressed until the plaintiff
was black in the face, and struck him on the fitce and
on the temple.
This case was also fully proved, and Mr. BALLAN-
TINE seeing nothing in it to distinguish it from the
previous one, passed the same sentence.
11r. Fearnley, who appeared for the defence, said
his client could not pay the fine, but he, Mr. Fearn-
ley, wished to put in an acceptance for 251. to let him
go at large, until another case of assault, in which
the two latter defendants are included, and which is
to be taken on Thursday next, comes on for hearing.
Mr. Pelham, who conducted the prosecution, ob-
jected to this, and the owner of the vessel, who said
he had lost three thousand pounds by the voyage,
owing to the misconduct of the master (Dunihan).
He was satisfied that the acceptance tendered was for
some passage money due to his vessel.
Mr. BALLANTINE said, that.under the circumstances
he would be no party to any of their arrangements.
The captain then paid the fine, and the mate was
locked up in default.
WORSHIP-STREET.

Mr. John Lyon, a country gentleman, residing at
Lee, in Kern, was charged before Mr. Broughton
with having wilfully broken a pane of glass at the
dwelling-house of 111 r. Yule, a manufacturer of
preserved provisions, in Wilson-street, Finsbury-

square.
The complainant stated that he was sitting in
his drawing-room about ten o'clock that morning
when a pane of glass in the window was suddenly
demolished by some one outside, and on going to the
door he observed the defendant, who instantly avowed
himself to be the author of the mischief, and he ac-
cordingly sent for a policeman, and gave him into
custody.
In reply to the charge, the defendant, who was in a
state of v►olent excitement, said that he had just
arjved from the country, and was passing the pro-
secutor's house when he was compelled by an urgent
requirement to turn towards the side of a gate lead-
ing to the warehouse, and which bore every appearance
of having been publicly used for a similar purpose, but
the moment he had done so a torrent of water descended
upon him from an iron pipe communicating with the
premises, and he was instantly deluged from head to
foot. As soon as he recovered the shock produced by
the suddenness of the ablution, he went round to the
front door, where he saw the complainant, who at
once admitted having erected the . apparatus for the
purpose of administering a sound ducking to every
one who made a temporary stoppage under such cir-
cumstances, and that he had given general orders to
his servants to turn on the water whenever they saw
any one so engaged. On hearing such an avowal, he
(defendant) immediately repaired to this Court, with
a view of obtaining redress, but finding the bench
unoccupied he returned back, and in the irritation of
the mon lent broke the window, in order to bring the
matter in a tangible shape under the notice of the
Magistrate.
In answer to questions from Mr. BROUGHTON, the
complainant said that the nuisance which existed be-
fore he erected the water-spout was the subject of in-
cessant complaints from the opposite inhabitants, and
was rendered more intolerable from the peculiar na•
ture of the business which he carried on ; but that no
one might be taken by surprise, the words " Beware
of the pipe," were legibly inscribed immediately over
the spot.
The defendant said that he conceived he had been
most injuriously treated, and the thorough drenching
he had re ceived would probably be the death of him,
as he had been long suffering from a severe rheumatic
affection.
Mr. 1311.0liGEITON said that the want of proper
places of convenience in this crowded metropolis was
a most crying evil, and necessarily gave rise to innu-
merable offences against public decency. Without
deciding. on the question as to whether the coca-