The Sun.
London, England, 1845-05-08 00:00:00

vict under sentence of death to colt:tress to him (Sir Peter
Laurie) his guilt. He never—
The LORD MAYOR inte ted That is not the
question before :the ,an therefore it is irregu'sr
to pursue it.
Sir PETER LAURIE said it might be so, but still it was
a good opportunity for him to remark that'these means
of making a felon notorious ought to be avoided, when
the less that was said about him the better.
The LORD MAYOR said, he wished before the conversa-
tion was closed to make a very few remarks. In the first
place he begged to observe, that some of the observa-
tions which had been made elsewhere had been calcu-
lated to bring in the whole of the Corporation as liable
to blame, whereas the body of the Corporation were en-
tirely innocent of the whole affair. He begged also to
state that when he held the office of Sheriff, be had never
received a copy of the order of 1842, which had been
read that day. At the same time, it appeared to him
that the order left the admission of the public on the
occasion of the condemned sermon being preached, very
much at the discretion of the Sheriffs for the time being,
the words being as well as on other Sundays. For him-
self, he would add, he had never been present at an execu-
tion except upon one occasion, when he was Sheriff elect.
That was at the execution of Courvoiseer whose case had
excited great interest, and a strong manifestation of that
morbid curiosity which had been alluded to. He had
felt it his duty to attend, fearing that he might
be called on to perform a similar duty to that
discharged by the gentlemen who were at that
time Sheriffs. Happily, however, he and his colleague
went through their shrievalty, and were spared that
pain. At the condemned sermon preached to Courvoisier
he saw one of the Prison Inspectors present as a visitor,
and the same gentleman was also present on the morn-
ing of execution, having introduced into the prison a
gentleman, who was said to be a Noble Lord, but cer-
tainly he introduced a friend.—(Hear, hear.)
Sheriff SIDNEY was sure the Sheriffs were most anxi-
ous to pay deference to the proper authorities, but he
was anxious it should go forth that the Sheriffs did not
admit that they had committed any act of which they
were ashamed. He could safely assert that no Sheriff
had been better advised by the Under-Sheriff than had
been his colleague and himself, and everything that had
been done was done after due reflection, and advisedly.
Having said thus much, he hoped all that was further to
be said upon the matter would be deferred, until by the
report, which no doubt would be supplied to the Secre-
cretary of State, they should know what charge was
made against them. In the meantime, let public opi-
nion be suspended on the subject. He defied any one to
say on the case as stated, they had done anything
wrong. All that had been done he was prepared man-
fully to defend.

Alderman lItJMPJIERY thought that a copy of the
order which had been brought under the notice of the
Court, should be sent to the Governor of Newgate who
had just now informed him (Alderman Humphyry) that
he had never before known of the existence of any order
prohibiting the admission of strangers to hear the con-
.demned sermon. He was sorry to hear the worthy
Sheriff declare publicly that he was still determined to
carry out the opinion he had expressed until something
like condemnation of the practice should be made.
Sheriff SIDNEY—I said I shou'd respect all proper
authority.

Alderman HUMPHERY said he perhaps had misunder-
stood the worthy Sheriff• However, Sir J. Graham had
informed him (Alderman Humphery) that he had sent
down one of the prison inspectors to make a full inquiry
into the circumstances, and it was to be presumed, that
when an inquiry was made, a report would be made to
the Home-office, and sent down to the Cerporation.
Then it would be seen how the Inspector dealt with the
matter.

The Loan MAT on observed, that on Saturday hst tho
Committee of Aldermen had directed copies of the orders
read to be sent to the Sheriffs as well as to the Governor
of Newgate.—llere the matter dropped.

STATE OF THE CITY PAISONS.

A report was presented from the Gaol Committee on
the subject of a conference with the Governor of Bride-
well Hospital, relative to additional accommodation being
aff,rded there for prisoners, in consequence of the
crowded state of the City Gaols, and also a further re-
port on the subject of the means taken to purchase
ground adjoining Newgate for the erection of a new
Compter.

The first report stated, that upon the examination of
Captain Kincaid, the Superintendent of Bridewell, it
appeared that there was only accommodation there for
seventy males and thirty females, and that in cone.
quence of the lengthened imprisonment awarded at pre-
sent to vagrants and others, the prison was generally
kept full. Notice was sent round daily of the number of
cells vacant, in order that the magistrates might
regulate the commitments there accordingly. It
was further stated that there was not space,
neither had the Governor funds to extend the
building and increase the accommodation of prisoners.
The second report recapitulated the proceeding.; taken
with reference to several plans which had been suggest( d
for the increase of the present Compter, by the additions
to be made to it on the site of the late Fleet prison.
Both of these plans had been rejected, and the report re-
commended the erection of a new Compter in the rear
of Newgate and the Sessions-house, on a site preferable,
on the score of space and situation, and abutting upon
Warwick-lane. The report concluded by stating that
the Committee were decidedly of opinion ti.at it was in
dispensably necessary to adopt immediate measures for
the accommodation of prisoners ; and, in order to carry
out the provisions of the statute recently paned in rela-
tion to their classification and employment.
Sir P. LAURIE thought it extraordinary that the re-
port did not contain a single syllable as to the probable
cost of carrying its recommendation into effect. What
was the estimated cost ?

Sheriff IIusTER: About 100,0001.
Sheriff SIDNEY thought the Court would do well to
inquire whether a much more eligible site could not be
found out of the city?
The LORD MAYOR remarked that the better course to
adopt, would be to print the report, and fix the consider-
ation of it for another day.
Sheriff SIDNEY: The subject has been already six
months under consideration, and nothing has been done
yet.

The report was then ordered to be printed, and the
consideration of it was adjourned.

COMMITMENTS TO BRIDEWELL.
Sheriff SIDNEY rose to bring forward a motion of
which he had given notice, to the effect, "that informa-
tion having come to the knowledge of the Court, that a
prisoner committed to the prison of Bridewell by Sir
James Duke, had been liberated contrary to the warrant
of commitment, it is the bounden duty of the Court to.
inquire fully into the circumstances, with a view
remedying such an infringement of the c,
criminal laws oC
the country."
The LORD MAYOR inquired whether, in the abs,,eree
of Sir James Duke, the Sheriff would not postpone the
motion.
Sheriff SIDNEY replied that he did not think it ne-
cessary to have any delay, as the circumstances were
well known to the Court. By the course whith they
had taken in the matter, the power and authority of
the magistrates of the City of Londe7l had been set
at nought, in a manner calculated
justice. He had taken pai 'lO defeat the ends of
t".a to ascertain the circum-
stances, and he belie
Ist of March, Sl'7"ed them to be these :—On the
". James Duke committed three men t
the treadmill.% House of Correction— two for fourteen
days-, ithd cue for seven days. On being taken there.
:,), the police-constable, two, named Stevens and Alder.
son, were received, bot the third, Morris, was refused:
admission, and consequently brought back to the justice-
room, by police-constable Barnes, 324. On his return.
Sir James Duke gave Barnes strict orders to take the
prisoner again to Bridewell, and leave him there, whether
they would receive him or not. Barnes obeyed his in-
structions, and on the following day it was discovered:
that the prisoner had been discharged by order
of the Governor, because the prison was full ;
and on this discovery being made, the con-
stable was dispatched to retake the prisoner, but
failed in securing him, as he had given a false address-
True, the man had only been committed for seven days,
but the same could have been done if he had
been committed for an offence for which he might
have been liable to seven years' transportation. Already
sufficient encroachments had been made upon the powers
of the Court with reference to the Royal Hospitals, and
without saying more, he would move " that it be re-
ferred to the Gaol Committee, to inquire into the power
of the magistrates of the City of London to commit to
Bridewell, and to report the instances, if any, in which
the warrants of commitment have been discharged."
Sir PETER LAURIE SRid there could be objection to
the motion, but he must complain that it had been
brought forward in the absence of Sir James Duke.
The motion was then agreed to.
NAVIGATION OF THE THAMES.

Alderman FAREBROTHER presented certain titers._
tions proposed by the Watermen's Company to be made
in the bye-laws for the regulation of steam-vecsels
navigating the River Thames. The proposals were re-
ferred to the Navigation Committee.—Adjourned.

THE NaW TOOTH-BRUSH, made on the most
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No. 7 middling, No. 8 soft. These inimitable brushes
are only to be had at Ross and Sons', and they war•
rant the hair never to come out, at ls. each, or 10s.
per dozen in bone. and 2s. each, or 21s. per dozen in
ivory,

DEAFNESS—ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS.-39, Albs-
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when fixed in the cavity of the ears, are not more uncom-
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vanced age, and of forty or fifty years' standing of ex-
treme deaness, instantly to join in general conversation,
and to catch the sound of a distant, low speaker, at
church, theatre. &c. They pour the conversation into
the cars to such an extent, that in most severe cases
deafness cannot be observed. Also original Ear Cor-
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improved Hearing Trumpets of every description. Many
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the Royal Society and Royal Institution of Great Bri-
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they are placed before extremely imperfect vision, it
*s brought to its youthful, natural, and original stall"-
Also Achromatic Telescopes, Opera-glasses,
_Aliocro-ne
scopes, &c.—Caution : Messrs. S. and B.Solomw
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