The Sun.
London, England, 1828-11-17 00:00:00

A charge of assault, arising out of the late coal
convictions at this office, was preferred by Thomas
Lawder, a labouring coal-meter, against Mr. llezz-
jamin Somerville, an extensive coal-merchant and
wharfinger, residing at the Vauxhall-wharf, near
Vauxhall-bridge.
The complainant stated, that on Tuesday last he
went to the defendant's wharf with Gill, the officer.
for the purpose of pointing out a coal-dealer named
Samuda, against whom a summons had been issued
for practices similar to those recently heard at this
-office, and who, it appeared, dealt with the defend-
ant. On their entrance into the office on the wharf,
they inquired for the person whom they wanted, but
the individual to whom the application was made,
suspecting their business, refused to give them any
information on the subject, merely saying that Mr.
Samuda was not there, and that he only occasionally
called at the wharf, as other dealers were in the
habit of (Icing. Shortly afterwards the defendant
walked into the office, and having been apprised of
the business the officer and complainant had come
upon, he also refused to communicate where Mr.
Samuda was to be found. The officer then pro-
duced the summons, and presenting it to the de-
fendant, observed that he should leave it there, and
requested that it might be handed to the individual
for whom it was intended, when he called there.
The moment Mr. Somerville got the summons into
his hand he flung it on the ground, saying that if it
! was left there he should use it for a certain purpose.
The complainant then mentioned the expression used
by the defendant. The summons was then taken
off the ground by the officer, who placed it on the
desk, remarking, that it was his duty to leave it
there; upon which Mr. Somerville snatched up the
summons, and tearing it in pieces, threw it on the
ground, trampled upon it, ar►d seizing complainant
by the shoulders, pushed him violently out of the
office, and served the officer preciseiy in a similar
manner.

Gill, the officer alluded to, confirmed the above
statement.
The defendant, who is a Quaker, declared that
the complainant, as well as the officer, had given an
incorrect relation of the affair. lie then proceeded
to state, that when the summons was shown to him,
he remarked that he had nothing to do with it, ad-
ding, that Mr. Samuda only called occasionlly at the
wharf, and that his place of abode was unknown to
him. With this explanation, however, the parties
were not satisfied; and when he (defendant)
ordered them off his premises, they refused to, go,
and ultimately flung the summons into the office,
saying that they should leave it there. He certainly
felt indignant at such conduct, and finding they were
not disposed to leave the office when ordered, he
might have placed his hands gently upon them for
the purpose of enforcing his request. With regard
to the expression attributed to me, said the defend-
ant, I deny having used it, but, said he, casting a
look of contempt on those who made the charge, the
expression is worthy of the lips from whence it has
proceeded.
The defendant called a witness in his behalf, but
it appearing that he had not witnessed the com-
mencement of the transaction, his evidence was of

, ---
little avail. _ -------
Mr. HONE said that the assault had been distinctly
sworn to by two persons on their oaths. It was
evident from the whole proceeding on the part of the
defendant on this occasion, that he harboured an
angry feeling towards the complainant in consequence
of what had so recently transpired at this office re-
lative to the discoveries made into the abuses of the
coal trade. If, said the Magistrate, you made use of
the expression attributed to you, and which has
been sworn to, I can only say that it was gross and
abominable; but, leaving that out of the question,
you had no right to assault either of these men in the
The was then summarily decided without
execution of a duty they were bound to perform.
sending to the Sessions,
two Magistrates being
present, who convicted the defewlant in a penalty of
31. and costs.

---- --
A great number of official warrants have lately
received:the Royal signature.

_ .
The will'of LUKE HANSARD, printer to the
House of Commons, has been proved in the Prerogative
Court of Canterbury.
,s personal property is estimated
at ninety thousand pounds, besides freeholds. He seems
to have made a most equitable division of his wealth
amongst his family; be has left an immense number of
legacies to pertons employed il2 his large printing establish-
Meta. Even bis apprentices are remembered in his

however, were two handsoMe silver dessert
spoons, bearing the crest of a blackamoor's
head and the cipher S., and as it was strongly
suspected, from the very unsatisfactory manner
in which the prisoner attempted —to account
for the possession of them, that these spoons
were stolen, Goddard set about endeavour-
ing to trace opt an owner for them, nor was he long
at fault in doing so; for as he was passing along
ford-street, he stepped into the first silversmith's
shop he met, to inquire if they could inform him
who the maker of the spoons was, as the makers are
generally known to each other in the trade, and he
found that he happened to pitch by mere accident
upon the very shop that had supplied them, and he
learned that they were made for Martin Stapylton,
Esq., a gentleman of large fortune in Yorkshire,
whose town residence is No. 18, Manchester7square.
When the prisoner was apprehended, he said that
these spoons were made a present to him by a friend
of his named James Murphy, a gentleman's servant,
who had lived with a Mr. Benyon, in Yorkshire; but
where he was to be found now, the prisoner said he
could not tell.
Mr. Stapylton and two of his servants attended
on Saturday, and identified the two spoons as be-
longing to Mr. Stopylton, and as having been missed
from a set about a month ago; and there was also
missing, the butler said, a gilt silver dessert spoon
from another set, bearing the same crest and cipher.
The two servants also recognized the prisoner as
having been in the habit of coining with their con-
sent occasionally to Mr. Stapylton's house, and as-
sisting them in cleaning up the plate, &c., and this
they said they permitted the.prisoner to do because
he was in distress, and that he was a friend of the
footman,*whose name is " James Murvey;" they
admitted that the prisoner had access to the whole
of the plate and other property on several occasions,
and these spoons • were missed about the time that
the prisoner was last at the house.
The MAGISTRATE asked the prisoner if the foot-
man was present ? [James Murvey was the person
of whom he spoke on a former day as having given
him the spoons.]
He replied, that he was not. The man to whom
he alluded was named James Murphy, and had lived
with a Mr. Benyon.
Mr. Stapylton's footman said, that he had lived
with a Mr. Benyon, of Yorkshire, but although he
had given the prisoner permission to come to Mr.
Stapylton's house, and occasionally gave him some
food there, he never gave the prisoner any spoons
or other property, or any permission to remove or
pledge any.
Mr. Stapylton said, that he thought it a very fa-
vourable circumstance in the prisoner's case, that he
did not steal more, or,the whole of the plate to
which it now turned out, by the very culpable negli-
gence of the servants, he had full access, although
he (Mr. Stapylton) was totally ignorant that such a
person was in the habit of coming to his house at all.
Mr. DYER said that the great misconduct of ser-
vants in families in this respect was mainly the cause
of the frequent robberies that take place.
The prisoner was then fully committed for trial.
Mr. Stapylton wished to state that he had in one
of the newspapers been erroneously called "Captain
Stapylton," whereas he is not in the army at all : he
certainly was in a Light Dragoon Regiment many
years ago, but had long quitted the service.
MARYLEBONE.
On Saturday, John Hale and Warboys,
Paddington coachmen, were charged with driving
furiously in the New-road, on the 6th inst.,and they
were convicted each of them in a penalty of 2/. lOs
UNION-HALL.