The Sun.
London, England, 1829-06-12 00:00:00

UNION-HALL.

Yesterday a mechanic named Rich was brought
up on a warrant, charged with severely castigating
his wife with a rattan across the shoulders and down
the back. The poor woman, on taking her station
before the bench, stripped her gown and other
inside garments off her back down to her waist, be-
fore the Magistrate had time to prevent the expo-
sure, and exhibited the stripes inflicted by the de-
fendant.

The complainant stated that her husband was in
the habit of drinking, and, when under its influence,
of using her with great harshness and cruelty. She
however had put up with a great deal of ill usage
from him, and would have put up with much more,
if he had not on a recent occasion procured a thick
rattan, with which, instead of chastising her with his
hands, he applied with all his might across her back
and shoulders until he inflicted the stripes she had
just exhibited. The poor woman, who to all ap-
pearance was a harmless person, declared that she
vas not aware what provocation she had given her
husband for acting with such severity towards her,
arid now begged to be informed whether a husband
was legally authorised to use a whip, rattan, or in
fact any weapon, in punishing his wife.
The MAGISTRATE told her that no man was justi-
fied in inflicting such injuries on a wife as it appeared
the defendant had done in this instance.
The defendant, who is an ill-favoured fellow, was
then called on to answer the charge. He admitted
having rattaned his wife, and then looking towards
her, said—" But, my dear woman, you knows I
didn't touch you until I found you dunked all that
there gin in the bottle in the cupboard." Then,
addressing the Magistrate, he proceeded in this
strain—" Your worship's majesty I'll tell you the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Well, your worship, as I was a going to say, this
here wife o' mine- got hold of a pint a gin, that I put
in the cupboard, to have with my supper when I
corned home from work, and finished every. drop.
I was vexed, I owns,—wery much vexed indeed,
and in my herrytation I takes up a rattan, and gives
her three cuts across the shoulders. Well, if I did,
your worship, I did no more than she has done be-
fore, for she knows well she has struck me over
the head times and often with the poker, the
broom handle, aye, or any thing that came to
hand first. She was near cutting off the top of
my nose a little time back, your worship, and
if I had not bobbed my head down, the knife
that she hove at me would have cut me to shivers;
I declare, your Worship, I have sarvcd my King
and country on board of a man of war, and would
rather have a tussle with an enemy at sea than be
brow-beaten in the manner as I am by this here wife
of mine. I can't keep a drop of grog in the house
with her that she does not swallow off. lam sorry
to say, your Worship, that she is very much given
to liquor, and so I must lean e my case in y our hands."
The wife declared that the greater part of that
which her husband had stated was untrue; he it was
that, all the neighbours besides herself could vouch,
was seldom or ever sober; and if, he was not
punished in some way or another, or 'held to bail,
she could not possibly remain under the same roof
with him.

The MAGISTRATE said, that sailors were pro-
verbial for their mild and kind behaviour towards
the other sex. The conduct, however, pursued by
the defendant on this occasion, was in direct oppo-
sition to any thing like mildness or suavity of man-
ners ; and as he was represented on oath to have
conducted himself in the way described, a re-
currence of it must be prevented by holding him
to bail.—The defendant was accordingly held to bail.