The Sun.
London, England, 1826-10-18 00:00:00

POLICE INTELLIGENCE,

GUILDHALL.--Btxruty v. Sianforts.—Yesterdity, Messrs.
Simmons, father and son, silversmiths in. Holborn, were charged
with having inflicted divers heavy blows on the person of a
Mr. Bentley, because ,he did not chaise to take the money they
offered him for some old silver-spoons which be had proposed to

sell them.
Mr. Bentley is an elderly man, of -very decent appearance ;
and according to his account the matter. was thus :—He had
a pair, of • old fashioned silver table-spoons which he wished to
sell ; and on Monday evening, he and a friend called at the
shop of Mr. Simmons, in Holborn, for that purpose. Mr.
Simmons, the father, ,was on one side the shop serving some
customers, and Mr. Simmons, the son, was on the other side, dis-
engaged; so, putting the spoons into the son's hand, he asked
whether they bought old silver. "We do," replied Mr. Sim-
mons, jun.—" What sin you ask for them " Oh, I don't know
what to ask," replied Mr. Bentley—" let me know their value."
" 1 can only buy them by weight, as old silver, because they are
engraved," replied Mr. Simmons, jun. " Very tire% then you
had better weigh them," replied Mr. Bentley. Then Mr. Situ-
-mons, jun. weighed them ; and, having so done, ,he tossed them
into a drawer under the counter, at the same time handing seven-
teen shillings and tenpence to Mr. Bentley, as :their value.
"Oh !" said Mr. Bentley, " that is not sufficient—l have been
offered two and twenty shillings for them ; and therefore I will
thank you fur them again." But Mr. Simmons, jun. would not
let him have them again ; and upon his persisting in demanding
theia, high words ensued, which ended in Mr. Simmons, jun.
giving him a blow on the month. Mr. Bentley resented that blow
by throwing an inkpot at Mr. Simmons, jun., and thereupon Mr.
Simmons, so. rushed to the assistance of his son, and both toge-
ther they gave Mr. Bentley many very grievous blows, and vio-
lentley ejected him from the premises. " I declare to God,"
added Mr. Bentley---" 1 was not five minutes in their shop, and I
was driven out of it With my face covered with blood, and without
either'my spoons or the money !"--,ln proof of the violence he had
undergone, he directed the Magistrate's attention to his eyes and
nose, all deeply tinged with bliek, and blue, and green, softening
into yellow"; and to his under lip, lacerated within, and swollen
without; and to his handkerchief very awfully stained with blood.
" And these bruises I received, and all this blood I lost," said he,
" because h did not chose to sell my spoons!"
Mr. Hargreave, the friend who accompanied him, corroborated
his statement. " Mr. Bentley asked the young Man for his
spoons again, peaceably and civilly," said this witness, "and
as he positively refused to return them, I endeavoured to pre-
vail upon Mr.. Bentley to leave the shop and seek redress by
other means; but I could not prevail upon him, and therefore I
walked to the door, and I had not stood there one minute before
Mr. Bentley came out of the shop with his face covered with

blood." '
Mr. Simmons, jun., a yo►►th about 17, in ttis defence, admitted
that be refused to return the spoons—though why he refused, he
did not condescend to inform the Court, neither did the Court ask
him; but he positively declared that Mr. Bentley struck hint
first; and moreover, be accused Mr. Bentley of calling him very
oppiobriOus names, and of hammering the counter with his fist.
Mr. Simmons; sen. said he was engaged at the time at his own
counter, on' the other side of the shop, and knew nothing of the
subject in dispute until he saw his eon struggling in the grasp of
Mr. Bentley, • and of course he endeavoured to rescue hin► ; for
never in his life did he see a man in 'such a rage as Mr. Bentley
wail. "'I admit that I did give a blow on the head," said Mr. S.
" and I think :in in doing I did him a kindness ; for if I had not
I verily believe he would have killed my son !" He added, that if
Mr. Bentley bad applied to hint for the return of his spoons, all
this unpleasant►iess might have been prevented.
Sir JoittePranixo said, " It certainly is very strange conduct
to endeavour to compel a man to sell his goods whether he Will or
not ; but I think you had better come to some amicable arrange-
ment, without giving me'the trouble to proceed further. It is a
very foolish piece of business."
Mr. Simmons seemed perfectly willing to come to soma
amicable arrangement, anti his hand appeared to slide instinctively
into his breeches pocket in search of that universal commodity,
which, as Tinton says, can make black white ; but Mr. Bentley
would have nothing at Oto do with it. ." No !" cried he, "
arrange nothing. Let them find bail !"
So the unlucky spoons were returned to Mr. Bentley, and the
• equally unlucky Messrs. Simmons's were ordered to find bail for
the, assault.

THAMES POIXE.—IEnt %nom. Da.y.—/loberi Cu
pou, a watchman, stationed in th; Commercial .road, appeared to
answer a complaint preferred against him by a Mr. Henry V.theard
Baker, for a neglect of duty. .Mr. Baker stated, that on the Itit
of ()ember, he is always in the hahit of having a large party, to
commemorate an event ever to la, voila:mitered, and never to be
forgotten, which event it was then unnecessary to mention.
hhowever, upon that occasion, a great number of his friends had
assembled ; dinner was served up, and the guests had already
borne ample testimony to its excellence, by the apparent happiness
the partaking of it seemed to have infused among them; the pies
and puddings had already undergone gestation, and were succeed-
ed by the double Gloster and Stilton cheeses, stout, &c. The
ladies bad retired, and the bottle was beginning to circulate freely ;
the usual constitutional toasts had been drunk, and they were put
about to give that domestic toast, tt The tingle married, end the
married happy ;" when, in t a boxiest inns knock came to the door ; •
the swerent, imagining that it was some impatient guest, immediately
opened it, and waited their entrance, but an one entered, nor did
any one appear. He abut the door, and returned to enjoy the good
cheer he hail left. Another knock came, which •was succeeded
by knock after knock. Added to that, the ladies in the drawing-
room, while sipping their tea, and masticating their muffins, were
serenaded by a concert on tin kettles anti old sauce-pats; in fact,
tacit an uproar had been created, that the guests of Mr. 8., un-
able to endure it any longer, were about retiring, but that was
not even left to their option, for the hall-door, on the outside,
was fastened by fixing a stick across it, and it was with the
'greatest possible setertion that they were able to force it open.
The annoyance continued until about two o'clock in•the morning.
He could not attribute this conduct to any one except a certain
neighbour of hie, who was envious of hie domestic happiness, anti
had done it to torment him ; but what be had to complain of was,
that Capon had his box exactly opposite to his house, and must
have heard it, and never, in any manner, interfered to-prevent it.
Mr. BALLA wevwe.-.4 presume, Sir, that the 15th of October
is the anniveraary,of your wedding-day ?,--Mr. Baker (enthusias-
tically), it is my welding-day, and a day I always hold sacred.
Mr. Bkmateevi.tx asked Capon what he had to say for him-
sof?—Cepon said, that he slid not hear all the knocks.---Mr.
hakes ~--You could not but have heard them, for you cried, past
twelve o'clock—as well; during which time they were beating
the kettles, throwing shot up at my windows, and knocking vio-
lently at the door, and I could not get out,. for they bad me Nam-
ed in. Mr:llaker's statement was eonfirtned by two of his friends,
who had partaken of his hospitality.
Mr. liataaxrYttw said, it war evident that Capon had neglected
his duty, and this gentleman should not he annoyed. lie, there-
fogs, simuitisuspenti him for two months, and he was sorry belted
not the power of dismissing him altogether.
A 'Gentleman stepped for Ward, and begged to interfere for the
watchman. He said, he • was a neighbour of Mr. Baker's, and
what hail been done watt merely a joke.
Mr. BALL A ItTYNK said, the case had been disposed of, and all
the parties then 4eft the Office.
• - •

IC HMOND GAOL, PEN TTENTIAB.Y.,—The Com-
mission of Inquiry into the allegation of Cruelty, and exercised Ihr
the purpose of Proselyi i,ing Catholic Prisoners to the Protestant
Church, closed its proceedings at a late hour yesterday. We are
unwilling to make even one observation upon this extraordinary
affair, which halo involved such serious imputations against our
highest Institutions, but we feel justified in declaring our opinion,
from what we have heard, and it is in accordance with an opinion
already expressed by us, that cruelty has not been used for the
nurpose of Proselytising in the prison. it will, however, be the
of the Government to decide upon the evidence now before
',ether practices of a nature too severe have been
' discipline of the Institution. On this subject
orudent nor proper of us to hazard an opi-
-4,e dingo of ." Proselytism" and the
',,forineAl, that some of the most
~ver yet elicited, has been
of the Protestant
damns in itself a body
xeite no ordinary sett-
:es have been taken of
At an early Period of
eel or Agent was relin-
. quence would have been,
nia gentleman no report of
r obtained. For two days
,rder from the Chief Secretary
by perseverance, succeeded in
Jived to remain: Art objection
► being a Law Student, nuil it
rith the ennoent, he should not be
was ruled by the Cotrunissioners
t. Subsequently the powers of the
mul T. J. Dolan, Esq. the Law Agent,
_..v,,aluable, was permitted to attend. We
bL " ulTwirfkuraf of the report... Du-