The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-29 00:00:00

On the 13th instant, not having received the goods, Mr.
Docket went to Stevenson, and.asked him the reason they
were nut sent, when he replied, "Me send them' what have
I to do about sending them ?" and then added, Spicer had
borrowed money of him upon the goods, and he should not
let them go until 51. was paid, as Spicer had instructed him.
Mr. Docket informed Stevenson that no expense wes to be
incurred upon the things after the first day, as all had been
amicably arranged, and they were not to be condemned. On
the 15th instant, Mr. Docket again went to Stevenson, when
Spicer told him that the eight articles had been condemned,
and Stevenson then admitted, in the presence of Spicer, that
the condemnation had taken place on the previous day, and
that he had bought them, and added, that if Mr. Docket
would give him Si. 125., he should have them. On Mr.
Docket expostulating and threatening to go before a magis-
trate, Stevenson said he would kick him out of the place.
Spicer and Stevenson were perfectly well acquainted with
the nature of the agreement, and the former, from first to
last, never had any authority to dispose of the property.
Spicer, in answer to the charge, pretended that as he had
had a warrant given him to distrain, he was perfectly justi-
fied in removing and impounding the furniture, and was
bound to sell it in five days after the seizure. He had been
at a great deal of expense in getting into the house, moving
the goods, &c., and sold the things to reimburse himself, as
Mr. Docket would not pay his list of charges (amounting to
nearly 5/.)
Stevenson declared most positively that he had no con-
nexion with Spicer, and that the relation in which they stood
to each other was simply that of landlord and tenant. He
assured the magistrate that he never had the goods in his
possession until after they were regularly appraised in the
presence of a policeman, when he bought them at an in-
creased price. Spicer occupied some premises of his, where
he impounded furniture, and whenever 'he seized any he
locked it up. He (Stevenson) had, of course, no control over
property in possession of another, and having seen the ap-
praiser sworn by the police, and the articles valued, he was
not aware when they were afterwards offered to him that he
did any wrong in buying them.
After a great deal of conversation, much of which was
irrelevant,
Mr. BunnELL ordered Spicer to find good bail for his ap-
pearance at the Central Criminal Court, to answer the charge
of conspiracy ; but, considering the case much lighter against
Stevenson, said he should be content with his own recog-
nizances to appear at the same time and place.
Spicer was locked up..
WOR SHIP-S TREE T. •
CHARGE OF STABBlNG.—Yesterday, Benjamin Freeman
was charged before Mr. Bingham with stabbing a young
woman, named Mary Ann Webb, with whom he cohabited.
William Long, 77 K, stated that about eight o'clock on
Thursday evening he was called into a house in Collingwood-
street, Bethnal-green, where he found a young woman lying
upon a bed and attended by a surgeon, and was informed
that she had been stabbed in the abdomen with a knife now
produced. The prisoner was sitting in the room, and from
what was stated, it appeared that he had become irritated by
the refusal of the female to partake of some provision;which
he had brought in for their supper.
A certificate was produced from the London Hospital, to
which the female had been conveyed, stating that the wound
-was of a very dangerous nature.
A large double-bladed clasp knife was exhibited, the large
blade of which appeared to be stained to the extent of nearly
two inches, the depth of the wound.
The prisoner, who appeared grieved by the occurrence,
stated that it was entirely accidental. He was eating at the
time with the knife in his hand, and was not aware that it
was pointed towards the female.
The Magistrate remanded the prisoner for a week.
SOUTHWARK.
DARING ROBBERY IN A PUBLIC-HOUSE.—Yesterday, John
Watson and John Samuels, two well-dressed men, the, former
about 45, and the latter 30 years of age, were charged with
stealing upwards of 50/. in sovereigns and silver, besides two
watches, in a public-house called the Old Justice, in
Bermondsey-wall, and also with committing violent assaults
on policeman 237, M division, and on a young man named
Samuel Brown.
Mrs. Mary Wickens, the wife of the landlord of the Old
Justice public-house, stated, that between two and three
o'clock on Thursday afternoon the two prisoners entnrecl the
house, and inquired if they could be accommodated with a
private room to transact some important business, saying that
they had been there on the preceding week, and that they
should wish to occupy the same room in which they had been
on that occasion. Witness informed him that the room was
in confusion, but that they could be accommodated in the
parlour. They, however, replied that they had some letters
to write, that they did not wish to be broken in upon, and
that as to the room mentioned being in confusion, they did
not mind that so that they would not be interrupted. Witness
accordingly accompanied them up stairs to the club-room on
the first floor, and on taking their seats at the table they
called for pen, ink, and paper, and a glass of hot rum-and-
water, and addressing the landlady, said they expected a
gentleman there, but that if he called she was not td permit
him up stairs, but to let him remain below in the parlour
until they were informed of his arrival, and that they would
go doWn and see him. The witness then left the room, and,
by way of precaution, although she had not the slightest kus-
picion of the two customers, on passing her own bedroom, Pa
the same floor, she locked the door and placed the key in
her pocket, and afterwards sent up the writing materials and
the glass of rum-and-water by her neice, who observed that
both men appeared to be intent upon some manuscript
which one was reading to the other. The niece then quitted
the room, and in about a quarter of an hour afterwards the
prisoners left the house, one of them carrying a blue bag,
which he was seen to have on their entrance. Almost im-
mediately after the departure of the strangers the landlady
went up stairs, and perceiving the door of her bedroom was
ajar, she quickly entered, and found that her drawers had
been forced open, and and a bag containing between 2pl. and
30/. in sovereigns, a bowl containing 30/. in silver, aild two
watches also had been taken. She hastened down stairs, and
having given her husband a hurried account of the robbery,
desired him to mind the bar while she went in quest of the
thieves. She ran down Bermondsey-wall, and at the same
time exercising her lungs to their fullest extent, gave notice
of the plunder that had just been committed in het house,
which soon attracted the passengers, amongst whom was
a young man named Samuel Brown, who joined in the pur-
suit. They continued running until they got into the Spa-road,
when the landlady obtained a distinct view of the two priso-
ners, whom she pointed out, and they were soon overtaken by
Brown, who, perceiving that Samuels carried a blue bag,
immediately tried to arrest him. Samuels, however, dis-
engaged himself from the young man's grasp, and ran into
a gateway, followed by the other prisoner. Brown directly
went in after them, when he was attacked by Samuels, who
had a "life-preserver," with which he struck him a• severe
blow on the head, in his attempt to secure him. By this
time policeman 237 M arrived, and a desperate struggle
took place between them, both the prisoners making the
most determined resistance; during which Samuels, still in
possession of the weapon, turned upon the policeman, and
struck him with such force on the head as to cut through
his hat, and inflict a wound near the temple. The policeman
was stunned from the effects of the blow, but he still retained
hold of his assailant until he was at length disarmed of the
life-preserver, and both the prisoners were ultimately soured.
The blue bag which Samuels was previously known to have
carried was missed, and on a subsequent examination of the
place under the gateway where he and his companion had
taken refuge in the heat of the pursuit, the bag containing the
whole of the money was discovered concealed under a quantity
of mould, which had evidently been recently dug up! for the
purpose. The bag, with its contents, was produced u Court,
and it was further,stated that the two watches were found in
the possession of Watson, upon whom were also found a crow-
bar and several picklock keys.
At the conclusion of the examination, Mr. Traill perceiv-
ing that the prisoners had refused to give their addresses at
the station-house, asked them if they were now willing to
disclose their places of abode? •
Samuels, who is supposed to be a Jew, with an air of com-
plete nonchalance, said that he was not going to tell where
he lived, but that he was prepared to abide the consequences
of his conduct.
The other prisoner said that he was willing to take the
whole responsibility of the act of plundering the Old Justice
upon himself, and that Samuels had no hand in the affair.
In reply to a question put by Mr. TRILL, the policemen
in attendance said that they could not identify either of the
prisoners; but it was stronly suspected they belonged to a
gang of well-dressed thieves who have committed robberies
to a serious extent in the houses of licensed victuallers. The
men in custody were well-dressed and respectable-looking,
their appearance being well calculated to throw the landlords
of public-houses thoroughly off their guard.
Mr. TRAILL said that he should remand the prisonersl until
to-morrow (this day), and probably other charges of a simi-
lar nature would be preferred against them.

THE BOILER EXPLOSION IN
BISHOP WEARMOUTH.

SUNDERLAND, THURSDAY EVENING. —The excktement
consequent on the terrible explosion at the Bishopwear-
mouth Ironworks has partially subsided, but still the spot
has been visited by thousands in the course of the day, and
the most anxious inquiries are made respecting those suffer-
ing from the injuries they received, all of whom are going on
well, with the exception of three—namely, Richard Pearson,
William Carr, and George Siddle, who are not expected to
recover. The inquest on those who have been killed will be
held to-morrow morning, and will probably occupy the whole
day. Downey, the engineer, is much improved, and it is
considered that he will be sufficiently well to attend the in-
quest. He was not, it appears, actually within the; engine..
room when the explosion occurred, but just on the 'outside,
and his injuries were caused by the fall of materials pro-
jected with such violence into the air.

A witness of the appalling calamity observes that the top
of the building for a moment rose like a cloud, but the
next it flew to pieces, and, along with nearly tile entire
contents of the building, the boiler and the steam escaping
from it, ascended as if from a volcano, and instantly the air
was filled with the wreck of machinery, broken splinters,
iron, bricks, tiles, wood, and dust, which were driven in
every direction. In the vicinity of the works, and to a con-
siderable distance, the appearance of the roads and houses
was as if the ruins of the entire factory had been 'strewed
around. The boiler itself, which had exploded, huge as it
was, was bKoken into several pieces, and distributeeto va-
rious distances. One piece weighing between two and three
tons, was dashed against a portion of the warehouse adjoin-
ing the road, which it burst through, and alighted on the
opposite side of the road, having been driven from its posi-
tion a distance of nearly ninety feet. Another large frag-
ment, weighing about a ton and a half, was thrown into the
yard of Messrs. Hartley and Co.'s glassworks, which are
situate on the north side of the road, nearly 200
feet from where the explosion occurred. A piece of
pipe connected with the boiler, weighing about 1 cwt.,
was actually thrown a distance of 687 feet, and alighted
in Johnston-street, where it made a deep indentation in the
ground ; and, strange to say, another piece ascended so high,
and was thrown to such a distance, that it entered one of the
lofty chimneys of Messrs. Hartley and Co.'s works, where
it formed an obstruction for some time. When pieces of iron
of such immense weights were thrown to such distances, it
may be well conceived how flakes of iron and missiles of
brick, wood, and tile would be showered around. No lives
were lost by the falling materials beyond the works, though
various individuals were slightly injured by the light mis-
siles ; others had a narrow escape, and the houses in the imme-
diate vicinity of the catastrophe sustained slight damage.
Mr. Hutton, of Ford Paper-mill, had a narrow escape, he
having' just passed a spot on the road on which a lofty
chimney was thrown. A huge bark of timber was thrown
against the house of Matthew Smith, a farmer, nearly oppo-
site the works. It struck the window, broke the sashes
and glass, and a portion of the splinters were dashed across
the room against a plate-rack on the opposite wall, where
it shivered the shelf to atoms. Fortunately, none of
the family were in the apartment at the time, the do-
mestics being engaged sorting diseased potatoes, in a
shed behind the premises. Another portion of timber
was thrown over the house on to the roof a kitchen behind,
the roof of which it smashed in ; but again there was, fortu-
nately, no one near at the time. Indeed, casualties of this
kind are toe 111.1MerQUS to particularise, there being scarcely
a house in the vicinity of the works but has sustained more
or less damage. One poor woman, named Ann Hurst, on
the eve of her confinement, was so much alarmed as to bnng
on premature labour, and she was removed from her own
house to another, some distance from it, in a state bordering
on frenzy.
A mere list of the wounded c..an be of little interest to par-
ties at a distance fp= the locality, but to the following are